Author's Note: Written for
fic_promptly's
Labyrinth, Jareth(/Sarah), satin Somewhat AU (or could be part of the same dream sequence as the ballroom vision)
A gown of silvery satin, laid out on the wine colored silk coverlets of the curtained four poster bed in Sarah's bedchamber. Another gift from her lord and keeper, who thought nothing of gracing her with any number of lavish gifts, but she wondered, gazing on it, where it had come from and how the Goblin King had come by it. Was it some frippery that he had kept tucked away in these chambers, awaiting a companion or a queen to wear it? Or had he sent his minions to snatch it away from some lady's wardrobe? Did some woman grieve its loss, just as much as she loathed the sight of it?"
And yet, much as she hated the garment, she found herself drawn to it, sitting on the bed beside it, gazing at it, running the hemline through her fingers, tracing the embroidery about the neckline and the lace trim at the cuffs of the sleeves. She felt compelled to put it on, but at the same time, she felt repelled by the thought, wondering if Jareth had enchanted it, so that she might find the garment irresistible. Or perhaps he had had it especially made just for her, every thread in the fabric woven with her in mind, and every stitch in the seams and the embroidery sewn as an offering for her, the Goblin King's kept human lady. In that case, he might have magicked it so that a psychic net would fall over her, sealing her fate as his thrall and companion.
He heard the door open and the portiere that covered the door lifting with a rustle of fabric and a click of the beaded trim that graced its edges. Jareth entered, several goblins dogging his footsteps or clambering up onto the bookshelves that lined the room, the better to watch what transpired.
Jareth approached, his hooded eyes peering down at her. "You've not put on the dress I gave you," he noted. "And I had it made especially for you."
"Won't put it on, the minx." -- "Oooh, master's human is ungrateful." -- "Master doesn't likes ungrateful minxeses." -- "Minxeses, that sounds tasty." -- "Shut it, minxeses are for Master, not you." the creatures on the shelves murmured, trading crooked, toothy grins, knowingly, expecting something to transpire between master and human.
"I..." she faltered, avoiding his intense gaze. "I was afraid that I might ..tear it or smudge the fabric."
Jareth moved in closer, kneeling only to get to her level, his feral face turning down in a pensive frown, though it did not go as far as his eyes. "You do like it, do you not? You like it when I bring you gifts."
"Oh. Yes, of course, it's just..." she fumbled. "It's just so much so suddenly."
"Shall I help you to put it on?" he asked, tilting his head, so close that a strand of his pale hair brushed her forehead. He stood so close she could smell him, could see into those strange, almost animal eyes.
"Yes..." she yielded, raising her arms. The goblins behind her keeper purled and sniggered with delight, as her master reached to help her out of her tunic...