Where She Belongs 7

A Labyrinth Story.
Years after visiting the Underground, Sarah finds herself locked away in a mental asylum. Magic is the reason for her being there, but can it also be the reason for her escape? Rating may change. JarethxSarah.

Chapter Seven: Changed

           Sarah sat on that overly-comfortable bed and stared after the Goblin King. So... so I'm just supposed to go and have a bath while I've got these test things looming over me? she thought, worriedly. That's just fantastic. The least he could have done was tell me something about them. Stupid Goblin King...
           Frowning, Sarah stood. Of course, she hadn't realised that the days she'd spent lying bedridden would have made her miss her body's movement so much, and when she tried to put her weight on her feet she staggered somewhat. Just catching herself, Sarah's frowned deepened and she told herself to be more careful.
           She walked slowly, following the path that Jareth and her mysterious visitor had exited using. On the other side of that dark-wood door, Sarah found herself standing in a corridor that seemed to stretch out further than she could see and yet stop before she could think of how it would ever be possible to reach the end of it.
           As she leaned against the frame of her door, it took Sarah some time to figure out that the corridor was not as long as she'd initially thought. In fact, it wasn't that long at all. It was a type of illusion that had fooled her at first glance. Sarah smiled to herself for once. Just like this place; it never did make sense.
           From where she stood, she could see only a few doors other than the one that Jareth had mentioned to her. Her curiosity begged her to look behind the other doors, just so that she could know what was there. But something in the way that Jareth had spoken to her made her not want to test how welcome she'd find herself.
           Her decision made, Sarah ignored her nagging curiosity and stepped through the door that Jareth had said contained a bathroom. Before Sarah could look around though she found herself mesmerised by what lay in front of her. There was a wall entirely covered by a mirror, like something one would find in a ballet studio. And the thing that had Sarah so mesmerised, was her own appearance.
           As she stood in the centre of the room, she couldn't tear her eyes away from herself. Essentially, she was still herself; but there was something different. When she'd seen herself in the Institution, she'd looked so... colourless. It was almost as if, being in that bland place bereft of colour, had, in turn, stolen the colour- the life- from her. Everything then had been grey.
           Looking at herself now though was a very different matter. Everything about her appearance screamed of life and vivacity. Of colour. Her hair was that much shinier, her skin was that much healthier and her eyes were that much brighter. Even the slight pink tinge on her cheeks seemed to add to the glow she now gave off. Sarah couldn't help but grin at the sight of the familiar fae stranger's body that she now wore as her own.
           When she could finally take her eyes away from the stark difference this new body had given her, Sarah looked around the room. It was a simple room, containing only the basics of a bathroom; a toilet, a sink, a bath and a towel rail with two towels hanging off it. But like the other room she'd been in, this one was just as beautifully furnished.
           Sarah couldn't determine what material that everything was made from; but whatever it was, it had a certain glint to it that made it that much more than stunning. She ran her fingers over the cold, marble-like surface of the bath and only then noticed that it had already been run. And by the rising steam, she guessed that it had been run recently; for her.
           She stepped back from the waiting water and stripped off the nightgown she'd been wearing since... Well, she didn't really want to think about how long she'd been wearing it. Now naked, her thoughts were swiftly distracted by the sight of something she was surprised she hadn't become aware of before.
           Sarah blinked as she stared down at herself, noticing one difference to her body that she hadn't quite expected. Except for the hair on her head, that of her eyebrows and eyelashes, there wasn't a hair on her body. Nowhere. She ran a hand over her arm, before moving to gently stroke her fingertips down the length of her legs. The sensation was so strange. Everything felt so... smooth.
           Grooming hadn't been the highest on her priority list in the Institution. In fact, Sarah had quite gotten used to the soft fuzz of hair that had grown on her legs and other such places since she'd been committed.
           They'd never have let her even think about shaving as she used to in the Institution. If they'd not even allowed her a pen, then something with blades was certainly out of the question. But now that there was nothing there, she almost felt more naked than she had been- even without any clothes on- for a long time.
           Shaking herself out of the fixation she'd found herself in, Sarah eased herself into the still-steaming bath. She groaned as the warm water soothed her skin and caressed the contours of her newly-found body. The oils in the water gave off some sort of sweet smell that kissed at her skin, leaving a tiny scent of apple where it touched her.

~~~

           Sarah didn't know how long she'd been in that bath because the temperature had not changed, even by a degree. She knew that she'd been some time though, because she'd been able to wash her hair, which now sat somewhat-drying over one shoulder.
           A cough from the doorway made her look around, away from the pleasant, soothing sensation of the bath. Sarah's eyes quickly found that of the Goblin King's as he stood in front of the door that she only now realised that she did not close.
           "Sorry, I didn't realise that I'd been so long," Sarah muttered, realising that he must have come back expecting her to be already dressed.
           Immediately, Sarah stood and stepped out of the bath. Her body dripped with water that still tried desperately to cling to her and failed as it rolled off her skin. Slowly, she reached for one of the light-coloured towels that hung from the towel rail and wrapped it around herself. But, when she'd secured it to herself, Sarah paused.
"What the...? Why did I just do that? I'd never have done that before; no way," she said, confused.
           Sarah knew she'd been looked at, even naked, in the Institution- but even in a state of dissociation, she had never been comfortable with it. What she had just done though, for a moment she hadn't even thought about it. It had almost come naturally even though it was something that Sarah felt was deeply unnatural to her.
           "Your inhibitions, for the most part, are gone here, Sarah," Jareth said, answering her queries.
           "What do you mean?" she asked blinking.
"You said I'd still be me; exactly the same-"
           "I may have taken away a few of the human things in you to make you more at ease in this world," Jareth replied, tilting his head to the side as he looked at her.
           "You did what now?"
           He raised an eyebrow at her outburst. At the look, all Sarah could do was frown and look away from him. She reminded herself to once more watch what she let slip out of her mouth.
           "No one here has the extent of inhibitions that you had from being brought up Aboveground," Jareth explained.
           As a look of shock and realisation crossed her face, Sarah said, "Let me guess, you took away my hair too?"
Smirking slightly, Jareth replied, "It seemed an unnecessary bother for you to have to deal with."
           "What if I liked it? What if I liked my hair?" Sarah enquired, frowning at the Goblin King.
           Jareth raised a brow at her.
"Well... I'm just saying," she mumbled, not really meaning her last comment.
"You should really ask before you start changing my body."
           He rolled his eyes at her and dismissed her words though she once again spoke out of turn. Once again, went against rules of behaviour that she was yet to learn.
           "Come, you should dress," was all he said as he turned and walked from the room.
           Still frowning, Sarah trailed after him. She found him waiting just inside the doorway of the room she'd woken up in and stopped beside him. With a barely audible  and slightly impatient sigh, Jareth gestured toward the wardrobe on the other side of the room.
           Moving over to it, Sarah pulled open the doors of the tall wardrobe and peered inside. Blinking, she stared inside the wardrobe that seemed to be so much bigger than it had from the outside.
           "It's like Narnia in here!" Sarah exclaimed, looking out at Jareth in disbelief.
           "Don't be ridiculous, Sarah; Narnia doesn't exist. It's merely a figment of a mortal's imagination."
           "Oh yes, because it's such a stretch to imagine Narnia when one's in the Underground," she answered, turning back into the wardrobe.
           She didn't see Jareth's reaction to her comment because she was already staring back into the wardrobe. She suddenly found herself wishing that she hadn't washed her hair so that she wouldn't get whatever she ended up wearing wet.
           There was so much to choose from that Sarah didn't know where to start. There were dresses, shirts, trousers; clothes that she would have worn Aboveground and clothes that seemed to match the style of the Goblin King. There were colourful things, dark things; everything she could even think to imagine. Sarah would swear that she even caught a glimpse of the poet's shirt and jeans she'd worn whilst running the Labyrinth.
"Not that I'm not grateful, or anything; but is it really so necessary to give me all these clothes?" she asked, her head still buried amongst the clothes in the Tardis-like wardrobe.
           "Yes," Jareth answered quietly.
           If she had been looking his way, then Sarah might have noticed the flash in the Goblin King's mismatched eyes. A glint that he could not have stopped appearing had he wished it. How binding rules irritated him.
           As she rummaged amongst the clothes, Sarah ran a hand through her hair to push it out of her face. But as she did, she froze, her fingertips finding only dry, and admittedly very silky, hair.
Looking out of the cupboard and gesturing to her hair, Sarah asked, "Did you-?"
           The Goblin King smirked and shook his head.
"Then what-?"
           "I would have thought you of all people might have understood that my castle is quite susceptible to wishing by now, Sarah."
           "I- I wished it," she said slowly, remembering that she had in fact wanted her hair to be dry so as not to wet anything she should choose to wear.
"But I didn't say it," she frowned.
           "You don't have to. You and the magic here have been linked since your first wish. I suggest that you're careful with what wish for; sometimes you can be taken a little more literally than you would like."
           Nodding slowly, Sarah went back to looking at the clothes and trying to decide what to wear. Though, as she did, Sarah realised something; not once had Jareth's eyes strayed to where they shouldn't. Not even when she had been naked. That was something that she found interesting, though she didn't know why.
           As her thoughts turned to what Jareth was wearing, Sarah found herself wondering if she should wear something like that. But, then again, she quickly recalled what her visitor had been wearing. The two styles were miles apart.
           Eventually though, Sarah decided to change into knee-length black leggings, a long red shirt that reached her mid-thigh, sleeves to her elbows and a pair of flat, black dolly shoes. When she stepped out of the wardrobe, the only reaction she was given was another raised brow from the Goblin King.
           "Hey, don't judge me, I've been locked away for so long, and fashion wasn't exactly on my list of things to think about."
           Jareth stared at the now-fae woman in front of him. Even in such clothes as those she'd picked, she looked beautiful. Still, Jareth reminded himself to find someone to dress Sarah, starting tomorrow. Now that she didn't have to choose for herself.
"You know, I haven't been so dressed up in a long time..." Sarah said, in awe.
           And she thinks that this is dressed up? Poor mistaken little falsely-accused mental patient, he thought, reminding himself to teach her what 'dressing up' really looked like.
           "Indeed, now if you're ready, follow me," he replied.
           And with that ominous choice of words, Sarah followed Jareth out of her room.
           "I wish that you'd tell me what's going on," she muttered after him.
           "Very funny, Sarah. Perhaps you'll find that the Labyrinth will reveal all to you soon enough. Or perhaps even magic can't circumvent this silence," he answered, not even looking back at her.
           Frowning at the back of Jareth's head, Sarah just continued to walk after the Goblin King.
            "Worth a try," she grumbled.