Within Dreams - Ch 18 - Laby Fan Fiction

BETWEEN THE STARS PART 1

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Between one eye blink and the next, Sarah's location switched from a rainy, pitch parking lot to a brilliantly lit, mini, enclosed Parthenon replete with classic white marble pillars and a large wading pool in the center. They stood near the water's edge and she noticed a few dozen, brightly colored, fat koi swimming lazily within the translucent shallows. Lily pads and lotus flowers adorned the surface giving the fish shady hiding places.

"You keep goldfish?"

Dee gifted her a withering glare which, coming from the cover girl embodiment of beauty, was incredibly humbling, "They're koi, not goldfish and they can live for centuries. You rather I should get a puppy?"

"Oh, I guess living for hundreds—"

Another glare...

"...thousands of years can get lonely." Sarah offered an apologetic smile, "You'd want pets to stick around awhile, huh?"

"Something like that, come on." Dee walked around the koi pond waving Sarah to follow. "Off to my sanctum sanctorum." She led her to double bronze doors set on the opposite side of the pond. They opened at one casual wave of Dee's hand and Sarah narrowly avoided tripping over the goddess as they entered the next room. Awed, Sarah gaped at the panoramic, mountaintop vista laid out at the far side of the luxurious and spacious chamber.

"Holy shit..." she whispered, slowly stepping down into the sunken living room. As soon as her feet touched the lowest level her clothes and hair dried to pre-drenching and she felt refreshed. She noticed Dee's clothes morphed to a comfortable, bright blue and gold sari. Not unlike a modernized toga.

"Well, I guess you could say it's holy since it's my home."

"Sorry!"

"Don't be, it's a spectacular view."

"Is this...are we on Mount Olympus?"

Dee snorted delicately and swatted a hand at her, "Please, I moved out ages ago. This is the top of the world. Olympus mainly houses the last of the old fogies losing their power," she pursed her rosebud lips thoughtfully then added, "except for Ares, he has his own place; he's still going strong and a few others."

"The god of war?" Sarah managed to squeak out.

"Mm-hmm...what a bod, but he's asshole." Sarah quirked a brow until Dee grudgingly confessed, "I dated him for a few decades. It didn't last."

"Aren't you supposed to be married?"

"No judging! Besides my husband is a wet blanket who took off to explore new dimensions ages ago." She harrumphed then said, grumbling, "...like you never dated an asshole under questionable circumstances. Don't forget who you're talking to, hon." Dee waved a scathing finger in her direction, "I know all the sordid details of your love life."

Blushing, Sarah ducked her head and wandered off to admire the view, discovering the windows were open air with a pleasant breeze. Stunning peaks...made it easy to forget why she traveled here with Aphrodite. With her back still facing the goddess, and her arms crossed, Sarah asked her first serious question.

"Earlier, when you first walked up, you said the Goblin King couldn't answer me. Why?"

"You sure do go for the grand prize don'tcha?"

Sarah spun around, "You mentioned we didn't have a lot of time."

"Hmm, no we don't." Dee sighed, resigned. "What if I said that you and Gerard were never supposed to meet?"

"How can—" Dee held up a hand forestalling Sarah.

"What if I also told you that Jareth is your soul mate?"

"Huh?" Sarah staggered back, her hands fumbling for the wide, marble window seat where she plopped, heavily. Her tailbone stung from the impact, but the pain was negligible to the shock to her brain. "The Goblin King...my soul mate?" She looked upward to Dee's compassionate face, no guile projected. "But that's...that's..."

"Crazy? Why? Because he's fae and you're mortal?"

"No, because he's an evil villain and I'm a...a..."

"Valiant heroine?" She sat comfortably next to Sarah, "Aren't you a little old and a bit too wise for black and white fairytales, Sarah?"

"But I love Gerard!" Tears sprang to her eyes again. It seemed she cried every few minutes the last few days. "There's something about him that's perfect for me. We just fit together—"

"Like soul mates perhaps?"

"Oh...oh, no, Dee what did you do?"

She gave Sarah a sad smile, "It wasn't me, hon. Well, not exactly. I admit I've been running around for years trying to fix everything, but I'm not the one who made a mess of it all. If things had been left well enough alone everybody would be cozy as pigs in blankets right now, all according to my original plan."

"Your plan being that Jareth and I end up together?"

"Absolutely!"

"But why? I don't even like him."

"So sure about that are you?" Sarah frowned at her, fire in her eyes, and Dee tossed up her hands in mock surrender, "Alright, alright, we'll address that later. Look, the upshot is this: Jareth is the last of his kind and his realm is dying due to mortals losing belief in magic.

"Losing belief...like what you said about the other gods losing their power?"

"You got it in one. Like I said, smart." Dee grinned and tapped the side of her nose making her lavender eyes sparkle. "Belief or faith is incredibly powerful, one of the most powerful forces in the universe, just as powerful as love."

"Which is why you're still around," Sarah surmised, getting into the discussion eagerly.

"Exactly! Mortals don't worship me as Aphrodite anymore, but they still believe in love and beauty. Oh, and that asshole, War," Dee casually explained. "A few of the other gods are still knocking around strong like Athena, Hera, and always Hades, but most have either faded completely, weakened and left, or been forced into slumber by the rest of us cause they're a pain in the world's ass." She added as if an afterthought, "Then there's the newer kid: Jevoh aka Jesus aka Allah aka Budda and so on and so forth. He's a decent fellow, but too much of an introvert for my tastes."

"Oh, man," Sarah leaned forward and put her head between her knees, "everything's spinning."

"It's a lot to absorb, I know." Dee patted her back.

"I think I'm gonna puke."

"Just breathe, hon, slow and easy." A golden pail materialized on the floor between Sarah's feet. Sarah mumbled a faint 'thanks'.

"How do I fit in to this?" she asked, her voice muffled by her jeans. "You said you needed my help."

"Yes, about that...It's serious, and there's more I have to tell you before we get to that part. Being fully informed is important."

"More? Oh God...why?"

"Because it's about free will, Sarah; free will is the one true gift any of us will ever possess, yet it can cause so much trouble if not used wisely. That's how we got here."

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The niggling increased forcing Zeus to realize the necessity of soon giving up the diverting entertainments he sorely missed the last thousand plus years. Mortals, so easy fooled and led astray! He detested leaving the dissonance he sowed; it gave him such fuel, such power! The level of belief once he revealed his identity in the age old shower of gold or classic image of a swan was no longer. Now mortals' acceptance came by stubbornly and required a bit more showiness and determination, yet it was well worth the effort.

That pulling sensation again, stronger. Hellfire and brimstone! Give the god of gods respite from obligation; he just woke up a few decades ago from the imprisonment his ill-begotten children deeded a requirement. Can't the immortal of immortals reap the benefits for bit before working? Another yank on his physiological chain...

"Very well," he groused, disengaging from the woman lying beneath him. Their naked bodies separating with a slick sound. "I must be off, my dear. Duty calls."

The young woman looked up with eyes sockets stained by dried mascara; her lips were swollen and bruised. She spoke in a quavering voice, "W-will you be...back?"

"Ah, my luscious peach, would you like that?" Zeus asked, bestowing a last, deep kiss upon her slack mouth. Blinking several times, she didn't answer; instead her head turned to the side and stared at the semi-conscious, nude man chained to the wall of her bedroom. Zeus followed her line of sight.

"You p-promised you'd free him...if I cooperated." The god of gods sighed in aggravation. Demanding little things, these mortals; he'd forgotten how testy they made him.

"I cooperated...d-didn't I?" She asked, still meek but growing bolder. Glancing between the beautiful nudity of the woman and the view of her beau dangling so torturously by his wrists, Zeus felt his erection vigorously return. The sight of mortal blood always did arouse him. Her man moaned piteously, his head rising then slumping completely to unconsciousness, the chains rattling as the man's body fell utterly limp. Zeus decided he could delay his business a bit longer.

"Hmm...Not entirely, my sweet, innocent morsel," he said with a leer, "Roll over."

Her eyes agog, she hesitated, unwilling to believe his intention. "But!"

"Yes, exactly...," he replied, flipping her over. Her last vision of Zeus's virile physique crowned by salt and pepper hair and beard was obscured by her pillow smashing into her face. She shimmied uncomfortably to clear her breathing as she surrendered painfully to the god's insatiable desire. Zeus's grunts filled her ears as her own mews of pain echoed his efforts. Knowing the cost of resistance was her boyfriend's further torture and possible death, she forced her body to remain limp and accept the god. He'd already proven how easily he could harm either of them and she prayed to any other god for their survival.

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Robert Williams paced while his wife and son anxiously watched him. Neither Cassie nor Sarah returned to the ICU waiting room since they saw Sarah race through almost an hour ago. Having looked in the nearest hospital vicinity, Sarah remained unfound and they assumed Cassie remained with her brother regardless of visitation rules. Unfortunately, the staff would not allow more family into the ICU for the present. True worry set in when time passed into the second hour of her missing and Kathy and Todd Evans arrived without knowledge of Sarah's whereabouts.

"You didn't see her at all?"

"No, Mr. Williams," Kathy shook her head and set her large gym bag down. Todd frowned, she was missing? "We didn't see her outside or anywhere in the hospital as we came in, but it's still raining heavily out there and it's hard to see anything."

"Oh, Bob," Karen exclaimed grasping her husband's hand, "where could she be?" He hugged her then pulled Toby in close. "I don't know, dear, but I'm sure she'll be back soon."

Kathy spoke, "Whatever's happened I know Sarah's very upset about Gerard and wouldn't go far. She'll be back."

"I agree," Todd said. As much as he hated the thought, he realized his wife was right.

"But what if something's happened to her?" Karen stated, wringing her hands, "You didn't see how distraught she was." Karen pulled away from her husband a bit to face Sarah's friends.

"She'll be okay, Mom," Toby commented with a sincere expression, "She's tough, she can take care of herself."

"Toby?" his mother replied as everyone gave him a quizzical look.

"Trust me," he said, smugly. After this weekend he just had a feeling about his sister. She knew a lot more than she let on. "Where ever she is she's handling it and she'll be back soon."

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Once her nausea and dizziness passed, Sarah sat upright and took several deep breaths. Dee waited patiently for her to regain her composure.

'The Goblin King is my soul mate. Oh. My. God. This can't be happening,' cycled in Sarah's mind, over and over, until a single, coherent question surfaced.

"So if Jareth is my soul mate, where is he?"

"That," Dee grinned,"is a very good question, Sarah." Dee stood up, "Follow me; this is the part you need to witness yourself. You need to understand the why of certain motivations."

"Beautiful," she said dryly.

Dee chuckled, "Why, thank you." Rolling her eyes, Sarah stood and followed the goddess across the room until they stopped in front of a large screen, wall-inset TV. Dee waved her hand in front of it, and noisy static snapped on.

"We're watching television?"

"Not exactly...just watch and listen." She nodded for Sarah to face the screen. The static faded out and a familiar scene appeared, a place not seen by her since her adolescence. Her hand flew to cover her mouth.

"Oh God, I know that place. That's Jareth's Escher room!"

"Correct, do you recognize anything else?"

"It's destroyed; like when I last saw it." She faced Dee, "Is it still like this?"

"Keep watching, Sarah. What you're seeing is the past; approximately one week after you defeated him."

"Seriously? You can see the past on this?" she asked, intrigued despite her frustration.

"And potential futures, now hush." Another hand wave and the volume increase as the image of a haggard Goblin King, still wearing the white feather cloak and gray clothing, stumbled into view. Apparently he hadn't changed apparel since the day of their confrontation, and his manner of walking made Sarah suspect he might be intoxicated.

"What's wrong with him, Dee?"

"Listen..."

"Sarah!" She heard Jareth cry out mournfully as he lurched and fell to his hands and knees upon the very stone floor whence she overcame his final challenge. The depth of emotion attached to her name further fractured her already wounded heart. Like the proverbial car wreck one claimed no wish to see, but couldn't turn from; Sarah silently watched the Goblin King's past play out on the impersonal television screen.