Chapter Text
"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave" he purred, leaning lightly against a worn down wall as he held out the crystal.
"I'm not sure that's how it works," you said sarcastically. "Slavery generally entails having power over said slave, not the other way around." You crossed your arms, watching him as he eyed you curiously, wondering what to make of you. "Now I made it all the way here, and fell down whatever freak of gravity broke the castle and got us down here, whatever the bloody hell that was, and I won't even start on the crap you pulled in the labyrinth, so can I at least see him?" Usually the wishers weren't so persistent(or sarcastic), but then again, only one other had made it this far and she had been most unusual indeed.
"I want my brother back. Now." You demanded.
"If you wanted the child, you shouldn't have wished him away. You know that. No one wishes someone away out of love" Damn that smirk. He knew exactly how to get at you, Like he knew shit about what life at home had been like. You HAD wished him away out of love, to protect him, and now that you had a place of your own you could take care of him and give him a chance at the childhood that had been ripped from them. Assuming you could reason with this asshole.
"Come to think of it," he mused. "He is quite old to be wished away. And you took so long to come back for him, why, its been a year! Usually they're just babes, but this one is what, 3 years now? What did he do, ask for too much of your time?" He was mocking you and you knew it. Trying to make you feel selfish and insecure. "Shut up" you muttered, angry.
"What was that, love?" He straightened and slunk towards you, crystals spinning in his hand.
"I said shut up" you backed away as he kept coming closer. You didn't like having him any closer to you than necessary.
"Feisty, aren't you?" Just like Sarah. for whatever reason, you interested him greatly. Why would you come back after a full year? You hadn't even attempted to try and get him back once the clock had started your thirteen hours. You hadn't seemed to care at all, actually, if he was being honest, you had seemed almost relieved. Most had the decency to at least appear like they cared, but not you apparently. Despite all this he was curious and he chided himself for losing his meticulously kept composure over some mere mortal, but curious as he was he wondered how you would react if he gave you a choice…
"I'll give you a deal. The laws that bind me state that I cannot give the babe back once they are in my possession if the wisher does not get them back within the specified 13 hours," he explained, eyes glinting.
You were curious now. If he couldn't give you back your brother (if you could actually trust a word of what he said, and so far that didn't seem likely) then what was his proposal? "That is unavoidable. But if you were to live down here, then you would be allowed to spend as much time with him as you desire."
Horror ran across your face as you realized what he was suggesting. Forever in the underground? Stuck with this glittery asshole? But if it meant you got to see your brother again... Was it really worth it? You knew immediately that the answer would be yes. In reality, he wasn’t even supposed to exist at all. He was a fairytale villain, who stole children once he tricked you into saying the words. A character out of a book. You wondered if you were hallucinating, if you had been hit over the head too hard or something. Either way, dreaming or not you had to deal with it, no matter how crazy it was.
And then it occurred to you that he might not even be telling the truth. He might just be fancying a new slave. He didn't seem to be lying though, and was that pity you saw in his eyes? No, it couldn't have been. This was the guy who stole children for a living. Someone like that can't be capable of many emotions, least of all pity. Who the hell steals children anyway?
You really didn't want to leave the apartment or the job at the bookstore that you had aboveground either. To let go of that would be to lose everything you had worked and fought for. It was the only sense of security that you had had for a while, and you were finally rebuilding yourself after years of abuse and trauma. It was really a miracle that you had gotten your job and were even able to afford an apartment that wasn't full of drug lords. Many people your age had gone to colleges and universities and were still struggling to find work, and yet your place was pretty okay for what it was. You couldn't afford to lose that. But if what he said was true, and he couldn't give back your brother, maybe he could come aboveground...
Jareth waited patiently as he watched the indecision play out across your beautiful features. He was not known for his patience or understanding, but for some reason he sensed the need for you to collect you ideas. What was it with you? This wasn't like his personality at all, and he chided himself for growing soft over a mere girl he had met only once a year ago. Yet, he felt almost protective of you and your brother as well. It was obvious that at some point someone had done something to the both of you. He remembered when he had accidentally yelled at your brother in the beginning and he had gone completely white and stayed silent the rest of the day, refusing to look him in the eye. Children, from what he knew were supposed to be loud and challenging, not silent and fearful. There had been another time also, where he had been building with a few bricks and a couple goblins in the throne room. Jareth had been watching from his throne when he decided to sit next to him on the floor and watch. When he looked up Jareth had put up his hand to give him a high-five and was shocked when he had flinched like he expected to be hit. At first he suspected it was because of you, after all you were the one to wish him away, but you seemed just as weary.
The effect on you was just as evident in the way that you shied away from any physical contact, and how you held yourself in such a way that made you look smaller, less of a target. Your arms gripped around you like you weren't quite sure what to do with them, and you were staring at him like you expected him to attack you. He knew for a fact that in the labyrinth you had jumped at every single noise and always made sure that there were two ways out of anywhere you went. It was hardly noticeable at all when you were being sarcastic, but when you weren't concentrating on it you seemed to shrink back in on yourself.
"I-I can't stay down here," he was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of your voice. "B-but maybe you could stay aboveground with us? If you absolutely have to keep my brother, that is." You looked extremely unsure of yourself, and yet you were brave enough to offer an alternative to his proposal. He sensed that this would provide more comfort for both you and the boy, as he knew now you would do whatever it took to stay with him. Few he had met had such fire, and he found it almost refreshing. This arrangement would also grant him a chance to see more into the life of the girl who provided such interest in his otherwise goblin-filled existence.
"I think that could be an agreeable compromise. Of course I would occasionally need to visit the kingdom to keep the goblins in check, but this could work, if you are so willing, until more permanent arrangements can be made."
You nodded, relieved. ‘more permanent arrangements’ sounded a little ominous, but you would deal with that if, and when, it came up. You had expected to have to bargain and needle your way into being able to stay aboveground, but there had been absolutely no problem whatsoever, which admittedly made you a little weary of what he might be planning. You didn't want to share a small apartment with any guy, and he especially made you nervous, but what choice did you have?
"Alright." You said. You would learn to deal for the sake of your brother. He deserved at least that much from you.
"Now I know you must be eager to see your brother after such a long time, so how about a reunion dinner to celebrate?" He held out his hand and gingerly you took it, before he used what you assumed to be magic to transport you to the ledge where you had fallen. What a nice trick that had been, falling through the floor. Jerk...