FicWad

Chapter 24 - Aftermath
Sarah slowly regained consciousness in a strange lavish bed to the sound of a woman’s voice.

“Focus on me, that’s right, easy now… There she is.”

The woman in question was sitting on the edge of the bed near the pillow with her right hand cradling Sarah’s head. She was unquestionably sidhe, with her skin almost as pale as china and the copper-colored streak that ran across both of her eyes, which were a piercing ice-blue. Her hair was an unnaturally fiery red and was pulled back somehow; she couldn’t quite see from the angle. The woman had been regarding her with a scientifically calculating gaze but upon seeing Sarah’s confusion upon waking it softened into a light, teasing smirk.

“Welcome back,” she said in a flat, sarcastic tone, removing her hand and moving to tend something that was burning in a small crucible on the bedside table. Whatever it was made a sharp, herby smell. Sarah quickly took in her surroundings and the woman’s words sank in at the sight of bare, gray masonry and a small, glassless medieval-style arch window. She was most certainly in the Underground somewhere, but where was Jareth? She started to sit up and suddenly noticed that she was physically exhausted. The strange woman turned back to her and forced her to lie back down.

“All in good time, child, but you need to lie still and rest for the moment until I am quite certain that there are no after-effects from the shock of your crossing. There, drink this, it will help steady your nerves,” she handed her an earthenware cup full of steaming liquid. Having no choice but to comply, Sarah took a sip and nearly spat it out - it tasted wretched. The woman looked apologetically surprised at her reaction and immediately took it from her, got up and walked to a table at the other side of the room.

“It is my error that the flavor it pungent instead of sweet. I have treated very few of your kind. I forgot,” she said, crushing a couple of fresh leaves of something into the cup from a vast array of plants and containers on the table. With her back mostly turned, Sarah could finally see that her bright hair fell past her waist in a long, thick braid. No, not a braid, a Celtic plait! She wore a floor-length light-blue gown with tightly-tailored sleeves that ended just above the hand in a point. She looked like she was only in her late twenties but Sarah knew that appearances were not to be trusted here. But there was something hauntingly familiar about this woman as she stirred the mixture in the cup and brought it back over to the bed with the slightest of smiles in her eyes. And then it dawned on her.

“Are you Morgan Ravensong?”

The woman looked slightly offended but she gave her a frowning smirk as she daintily sat back down on the bed.

“That’s Lady Morgan Ravensong to you, child. I know that my brother has the bad habit of dropping protocol at the drop of a hat but you must learn it if you’re going to live here.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

“I know,” she said, handing the cup back with the reprimand. “This should be more palatable.”

Sarah was a bit more tentative this time, only taking a tiny sip - only to find herself draining it thirstily; it tasted sweet and savory now and her body seemed to crave it. A smugly satisfied expression overtook Morgan, almost as if she were mocking the fact that she knew what made her human patient tick.

“Care for another?”

“Is it alright?”

She surrendered a smile. “If you take it a bit slower.” She took the cup from her hands and filled it with hot water from a small kettle on a stand over a candle, crushing and mixing the appropriate herbs. “You’re lucky to be alive, you know.”

Sarah gasped. “What’s happened?! Is Jareth okay?!”

Morgan actually laughed a genuine laugh, shaking her head.

“Such an affectionate little creature. It’s amazing he ever turned your head. Well, perhaps your heart to be a bit more accurate. At any rate, he’s fine,” she said, coming back with the refilled mug, sitting. “What happened is that the rogue Lord Ravensong simply behaved as himself - impetuous and far too excitable. Thought he’d run off and be the hero without thinking the whole plan through and forgot to slow down the time-space continuum to bring you through he was so panicked,” she said, looking as if she felt embarrassed for him. “You would’ve had time to leisurely scrawl ‘farewell, cruel world’ on the interior glass of the vehicle with any medium available.”

Sarah was thunderstruck. He could’ve…that meant that…

“Drink!” Morgan commanded and Sarah hastily complied, the sudden meaning of the situation becoming all too clear: this outcome had, in all likelihood, been completely avoidable. He could’ve just gotten her out of the car and onto the sidewalk. She could still be on earth.

Earth. My god, it’s really gone. For as upset as she should’ve been feeling, she only felt a strange calm, no doubt the work of the drug she was so quickly self-administering. She forced herself to stop. She felt detached, numb. Morgan sighed, watching the information sink in. On intuit she touched her hand.

“It is true that we can do many things. We change our own bodies. We make the great leap within the worlds and between them, pressing time and space into our service. But we are still a part of them; we cannot stop the flow, nor turn it back on itself as some may believe. I am truly sorry for you loss, child, but done is done here. You cannot go back.”

Sarah nodded, blinking back a tear.

“Please call me Sarah.”

“…Sarah…” she tried the name out, feeling the odd, simple shape of it on her tongue. She had been used to referring to her as ‘her’ or ‘the girl’ when talking about the matter most of the time. Not a bad name for a human she supposed. And smiled a wistful small smile. “Did you have a title back there I wonder?”

“Ms. Williams,” Sarah rolled her eyes. “Not that it matters anymore.”

There was something strange starting to work in Morgan’s unpracticed heart, something that said that she and this human female were not as different as she would’ve liked to believe. There had been a time when she had been a princess. She forcibly shoved the thought to the back of her mind and extinguished the herbs in the crucible by stamping them out with a pestle. Sarah silently watched her quick, studious movements. Morgan and Jareth were so alike in certain ways it was uncanny. Maybe it was just because they were trained and brought up in the same manner, she reflected. Morgan felt her curious eyes and smirked.

“So the both of us aren’t awake all night,” she said, finishing and turning her attentions back to her patient. “Now then, it’s past time I assessed your physical state again. I understand this is going to feel a bit strange but to try to relax; I shan’t hurt you,” she said, stroking Sarah’s hair for a moment in almost a maternal fashion. And with that she dove inside her! Sarah gasped at the sudden sensation of another consciousness and the power that went with it. No, Morgan was still sitting on the side of the bed, her hand was hovering over Sarah’s face, slowly moving down the length of her body. But her eyes were vacant. She was scanning Sarah’s organs from the inside! She could feel her moving down with the hand, in her chest, her stomach, her nether-regions. Her fingers and toes tingled with a near-burning sensation for a moment and then it was over. Sarah did a full body shiver as she felt Morgan leave her. Her eyes were intelligent and reassuring once more. “Easy now. The worst is over. Here.” She gently pressed her hand to the Solar Plexus in Sarah’s abdomen and gave her a light burst of energy, just enough to solidify and ground her sense of self again. Sarah sighed in profound relief, suddenly comfortably warm. Cozy was the word. Cozy and safe. It was so delicious she nearly fell asleep but she felt her hand receive a quick squeeze and was at attention again. Now that her imminent duties were out of the way, Morgan’s demeanor had changed slightly more into a feline, gossipy expression.

“My brother is pacing like a caged animal up in his study but I’ve a mind to let him stew a bit longer; he wasn’t exactly courteous in bringing me here, either. He transported me here without warning, roughly told me what happened, shoved me in here, told me to do my best and locked the door.”

Sarah gasped, taken aback. “I’m sorry if-”

“Hush. You are not responsible for his personal conduct,” she waived her off. “In the meantime I am willing to answer some questions you may have. Anything that can be answered succinctly and not requiring lengthy explanation - I’m not quite that sadistic.”

Sarah swallowed, trying to line up her thoughts.

“…well, first off, how should I address you?”

Morgan smiled at her wise choice. “Either Lady Ravensong or Your Grace will suffice for the moment. I have no doubt that if Jareth has his way we will all be on a first-name basis before the month is out,” she rolled her eyes. Her expression suddenly turned very serious. “I know you were his paramour upon Earth and you vowed to follow him beyond your world, but now that you have come here do you have any reservations or doubts? Any fear at all for you future? I know it is cruel to ask this but he wants to bond you to himself the very moment I leave this room. He will give you no time at all to think let alone change your mind.”

Sarah wasn’t sure what this woman was playing at; it didn’t totally wash as being concern for her. Something in the delivery was off. She cocked her head suspiciously.

“You don’t like me because I’m human.”

Morgan was surprised that she had perceived the true issue so clearly, then remembered that she had been living with a sidhe for the better part of seven months. She’d had time to learn to see through certain cloaking mannerisms. Sarah smirked grimly at being proven correct. Her companion began again a bit more carefully.

“I hold not your species against you; there’s nothing you can do to change it. But it is true that my nerves would rest easier if you were another sidhe. He means to change you into a creature that is inbetween the two, dependent upon him alone for survival. Has he spoken to you of this?”

“He did mention the process,” Sarah nodded.

“You would be adding nearly twenty lifetimes to your burden with your death intertwined with his own. Are you really ready to take this upon yourself? Once decided, there will be no turning back.”

“I’m already here. I love him. You talk like I have a choice.”

“You still do. Of course, he won’t mention it,” Morgan said quietly, glancing out the window. “I know we roughly resemble your own kind but we are far removed from humanity. We do not think like you do. We cannot feel as you feel.” She closed her eyes. “He cares for you very deeply; I’ve never seen him care so much for anyone or anything in my entire life.” She opened her eyes and looked hardly into Sarah’s. “But it is not human love. It is a consuming thing, an all-enveloping need to be made permanently one with another being in heart, mind, and soul, to care for them at any cost as an extension of the self. He wants so badly for this to work that he is completely ignoring reality. You could be lost to him. I ask you, Sarah Williams, are you truly ready to choose this fate?”

Sarah’s heart immediately went out to him. He had been trying so hard, bending over backwards to make her comfortable with him. He did his best human impersonations around her, everything from trying to show more emotion and refraining from teleporting in her presence to having a body scent. Morgan had tactfully eschewed another subject completely: the strain that such a union would present to Jareth. For a moment Sarah faltered. The thought had never crossed her mind. He had always come across as so strong and sure of what he was doing that she had never questioned it. The memory of him half-dead on the floor flashed through her mind. Appearances could be deceiving. No doubt Morgan was wondering how long he would be willing to keep playing along, if he would tire of it.

“Don’t think me cold, Sarah,” Morgan suddenly spoke and Sarah was instantly reminded that she could read her mind, too! “It’s only that interspecies relationships rarely work.”

Sarah took a deep breath. “I suppose as a matter of form I should ask you what is this ‘out’ that you keep referring to.”

Morgan smiled predatorily. “Smart girl. Always know your options. Well, it’s fairly simple: if you change your mind before the moment of bonding - I care not what’s going on at the time, I’ve seen my brother naked before,” she added conspiratorially, making Sarah flush, “call upon me by my full name and wish yourself into my care. I will collect you and take you away to the human colony and we can gradually siphon the power off of you there. It is just beyond his jurisdiction; he can’t legally follow you there and after I talk to the queen of that country he wouldn’t be able to touch you at all. You would be completely safe, free to live out the remainder of your life among your own kind. I already know they would be overjoyed to have you; there has always been a disproportionately large number of males. Another female still within her childbearing years would be most welcome. It is a self-sufficient community; they work the land for food and ply any number of trades necessary for a good existence. It is always temperate here - you need not worry of freezing or starving. Illness is almost unheard of there. You would be free to live and love and do as you pleased with your life. There is a price, of course…for my services,” and here Sarah noted that she had glanced down at her arm and was lightly tracing the blue veins visible in her wrist. She gasped in shock and fear and thrust it under the covers, suddenly remembering what Jareth had said about the women here. Morgan genuinely laughed at her reaction. “I was wondering when you’d think of that! And that brings up the final issue,” she sighed, almost looking sympathetic. “He shows the signs.”

Sarah closed her eyes, shaking her head on the verge of tears. “No…”

“It is his nature, child,” Morgan said gently. “Would you deny a carnivorous animal the very meat it needs to survive? He needs this to remain healthy and strong, and especially after what he’s just been through I am amazed that the onset wasn’t immediate. He has been trying to stave it off for you; a bond made in his present condition would be much less volatile even if he began feeding afterwards. But he can’t put it off much longer. We restrain them the first few times before they learn how to control the impulse so they don’t accidentally kill the donor. No doubt he will ask you to be one of his. If you refuse, still claiming that you love him, it will be a grave insult indeed, well-nigh unforgivable. He tells me that you are strong and brave. Are you this brave, Sarah?”

Sarah thought about how he had looked the last time she had seen him. He hadn’t looked quite well in spite of his demeanor. Holding out indeed. The thought of him being actively vampyric almost made her want to wretch for a moment… but the moment passed. She remembered him delicately suckling her finger in her home and healing her afterwards. He had almost made it like a kind of love-making. It didn’t have to be an ordeal. Her heart was bursting at the thought that he was only a few rooms away. She knew what her answer would be.

“Yes,” she said quietly. And slowly smiled. Morgan sighed with a resigned half-smirk.

“So be it. Just remember it isn’t too late until you see those gold sparks fly,” she haughtily teased. “I’ll just fetch him, then.” Without any warning she covered Sarah’s ears with her hands and screamed his name so loud that the tables shook and the room was still ringing when she removed her hands! “He’ll be down presently,” she announced cheerily, getting up. Within the next second Jareth burst into the room looking a wreck and beside himself with worry.

“What is it?! What happened?!”

“Everything’s fine!” she shouted back at him, mimicking his intensity, her blue eyes blazing with merriment. His eyes narrowed.

“You didn’t…”

Morgan turned conspiratorially to Sarah.

“The old boy’s lost his tongue; I’d better get out of here before he remembers he has teeth!” she laughed. “Remember my offer, dear. Got to fly!” And with that she changed into a bright little cardinal and zipped out the window singing, just short of Jareth’s lunging grasp. He sighed, catching his breath.

“Sometimes I think she’s more trouble than she’s worth,” he muttered to the window but presently he turned to Sarah with tenderness and sat down at her side, taking her hands and fervently kissing them. The door quietly swung shut of its own accord. Looking down at him, she noticed how gaunt he was, nearly all of the little coloring that he had was drained from his face. And to think that he was like this because of her… “I’m terribly sorry, my love; I didn’t mean for it to happen this way,” he shook his head sadly. “You called out to me and I just saw you in danger and I…I’m so sorry,” his voice finally broke on him as he buried his face in her chest, silently loosing tears. Sarah exhaled and simply held him close for a minute, treasuring the feel of him against her once more, running her fingers through his crazy silken mane.

“I forgive you,” she whispered. He looked up at her for a moment almost in disbelief and suddenly shot forward, kissing her with unbridled passion, all the fear of watching and waiting stripped away in a moment, leaving only his longing and she was instantly caught up in his hunger; they couldn’t seem to be close enough. Tears mingled freely with those kisses, all the pain behind them now, suddenly released amidst the firestorm. At last Jareth broke away. Gold sparkles hung thick in the air.

“Do you still desire to marry me?” he asked. Sarah blinked.

“I thought that was a given at this point!”

“I ask in earnest,” he said, looking seriously but tenderly into her eyes. “Be my wife.”

“That wasn’t much of a question,” she teased, shaking her head. He rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh, staring at the ceiling.

“Will you please be-”

“YES!” she laughed. And suddenly pulled him to her by the front of his shirt. “But only because you said please,” she purred daringly. He smiled a knowing, predatory smile before closing back in on her mouth, gradually lowering himself onto her. He still felt too far away with just the covers and their clothing separating them. They were holding each other tightly now and Sarah noticed with a thrill of excitement that he was no longer holding back. Even the dream he had given her had not felt like this; his intention had been there but his will and energy had not and she finally understood why he had been so careful with her. Even if she had hated him outright she would’ve been completely, totally, gloriously helpless against this masterful assault of her senses and would’ve surrendered herself at the snap of his fingers had he desired it. He had wanted to be sure of her true feelings. She had never felt anything so delicious in her entire life and they weren’t even joined. He came up for air momentarily and she suddenly saw that his power had unified behind him almost in the shape of two gold wings that flickered and flowed like aurora borealis. They curled around the both of them, stopping only an inch short of her skin, obscuring her vision of the room. He was poised and ready. There was no turning back she thought joyfully without a moment’s hesitation or regret. This was where she belonged, here in the arms of her love. He reached up to caress her face for a moment then leaned back in, teasing the sweet spot behind her ear with his lips as he spoke.

“Then let’s stop that infernal body clock of yours right now,” he ground out. A split-second later both their clothes vanished and he was underneath the blankets with her. The rest was a blur of mind-blowing pleasure and intense golden light.