I'm Sleeping Here Tonight

Scarlet blinked in shock at his question, feeling her heart race. She hadn't felt this way when the Empress Dowager asked her, but why did his question affect her so much?

Lost in her thoughts, Jareth's deep chuckle interrupted her. "I was only joking. Why the serious face?"

Scarlet raised an eyebrow, confused. His tone didn't seem like a joke to her. As Jareth chuckled again, she looked at him, feeling a strange ache in her heart and a headache coming on. She didn't understand why she was so drawn to his smile, but she found herself longing to see a genuine one.

---

Scarlet stepped down from the carriage with Jareth's help. Despite her hesitation, she grasped his warm hand, feeling a flutter in her chest.

Why is he still following me? she wondered, glancing at his tall, imposing figure.

Reaching her chamber door, she blocked Jareth from entering. "You should go back to your room," she said, pressing her lips together nervously.

"I'm sleeping here tonight," Jareth replied, stepping forward, but Scarlet quickly interrupted him.

"No, it's not right for us to sleep in the same place," she said, blinking rapidly and avoiding his gaze, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"What if Edward attacks me again? My hand still hurts—who would protect me?" Jareth said, pausing as he noticed Scarlet's distant gaze.

"What are you thinking about, Scarlet?" Jareth chuckled, gently pinching her forehead and ruffling her hair lightly, making her heart race again.

Scarlet stood there, afraid to enter her chamber. If she did, it would mean she was ready to sleep with Jareth. Damn, she was already imagining things. What are you thinking, Scarlet? She shakes her head and decided to enter the room when she saw Jareth removing his cloth. 

Catching a glimpse of his hot body, she awkwardly turned away from him and questioned as she protectively covered her body. "Why are you taking of your cloth? You aren't expecting anything? I am expec- " She smacked her mouth like she wanted to control what she was saying.

Why can't she control her mouth? She thought in frustration. 

Jareth smirked and closed the distance between them. He possessively wrapped his hands round her waist and she could feel his member pressing gently against her.

"That is your doing. I need to take care of it," he said, pausing before adding, "unless you want to take care of it?" he whispered, his voice dripping with temptation. 

"I guess you need to take care of it," scarlet replied in a bearly audible voice, which Jareth managed to hear.

"You guess?" Jareth continued to tease, a smirk playing on his lips.

Reluctantly, her heart still racing, she said, "You need to take care if it," 

She heard Jareth deep chuckle, making her heart race even more. Taking quick, decisive steps, she lay on the bed trying to calm her pounding heart. She couldn't let herself feel this way. Never. She knew this feeling all too well and tried her best to manage it.

Just this night, Scarlet! she warned herself.

But the scene of her kissing him back only made it worse. She closed her eyes tightly, recalling the foreplay she and Jareth had shared before, and a blush crept up her cheeks.

The door jolted open, signifying Jareth's arrival. She slowly adjusted to the edge of the bed, pretending to be asleep.

Her hands were becoming sweaty with nervousness. She screamed in her mind, This isn't the first time you're spending the night together, so why make a fuss?

When she finally managed to calm her racing heart, Jareth lay beside her, making her anxious again.

"Are you asleep?" Jareth asked with a smile. She could imagine his expression and the way he was looking at her. She continued pretending to be asleep, but then she felt Jareth's cold hands. 

Damn it, his touch was making her feel things down there. She could imagine his lips on hers again, and her eyes twitched at the thought.

He continued grazing her hair in a caressing manner. His eyes darted to her lips, and the memory of their kiss flashed in his mind. He touched his own lips unconsciously, a smile forming.

He lay back gently, careful not to disturb Scarlet. He kept looking at her sleeping face, feeling his heart beat faster for reasons best known to him.

Scarlet, thinking Jareth would be asleep by now, slowly peeked and saw him looking at her affectionately. There was a connection she couldn't quite explain.

"Can't sleep?" Scarlet asked, and he nodded in response.

"I thought you were asleep. Did I wake you?" he asked worriedly.

"No, you didn't," she said, sitting up. "Do you want me to play a song for you? It helps with sleeping," she offered as Jareth also sat up.

"You know how to play?" Jareth asked in utter surprise.

"My mom used to play it when I was little," she wanted to say but couldn't, so she simply said, "Yes."

She stood up, walked to the drawer, and brought out a short, beautifully intricate ash flute with a pink teddy key at the bottom of it.

Scarlet sat back, closed her eyes, and started playing the flute with a rhythm Jareth recognized. He watched in amusement as she played with so much emotion.

At first, Jareth didn't recognize the tune, but as Scarlet continued to play, it formed a melody he remembered. His mother had loved this song so much, though he never knew why. He had always pestered her to teach him, but he never managed to learn it. He missed every bit of it since she had died.

It sounded so much like how his mother used to play it.

How did she know this song? he wondered.

When Scarlet opened her eyes, she saw a tear escaping Jareth's eye. She blinked in shock and awe. She hadn't expected this song to touch Jareth just as it had touched her when she heard it from her own mother.

"How do you know this song?" he asked, his voice slightly cracked.

She stood up, placed the flute back inside the drawer, and lay beside Jareth. "My father used to play it for me," she said with a calm expression, showing no hint of a lie.

"Do you feel like sleeping now?" she asked, and Jareth nodded.

Soon, he fell asleep with Scarlet close to him, feeling safer than ever.

---

The morning rays of sunlight streamed through the curtains, reaching Scarlet's eyes and causing her eyelids to flutter open. She didn't see Jareth, but she still felt happy. She smiled, knowing it was the best night she had since arriving here.

"Scarlet," Ilvia greeted with a smile.

"How was your night, Ilvia?" Scarlet asked in return after stretching.

"It was fine, Scarlet," Ilvia said, drawing the curtains open.

"What about you?" Ilvia asked, still smiling.

"It was good, Ilvia," Scarlet replied, getting down from the bed. She walked towards the window, inhaling the fresh morning breeze, her hair dancing softly in the wind. She felt so happy.

"Do you feel any pain? I can ask the royal physician to prepare an ointment for you," Ilvia said, puzzling Scarlet.

"What pain?" Scarlet asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow.

"Everyone knows you spent the night with His Highness," Ilvia said shyly.

"It's not like that, Ilvia," Scarlet said, her face flushing as red as a tomato. She felt embarrassed by Ilvia's implication.

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Scarlet," Ilvia said, nudging her playfully.

---

Jareth walked back to his chamber, grinning from ear to ear. He couldn't stop thinking about Scarlet and wanted to see that side of her again.

He sat on a chair after removing his robe and placing it on a cushion. He tried to focus on some documents, but it was impossible. All he could think about was Scarlet.

The door burst open, and his eunuch rushed in, more urgently than ever before.

"What is it?" Jareth asked, not in the mood for anything.

"Your Highness, Emperor Edward has gathered the ministers for a discussion on the peace treaty."

"So?" Jareth said with reluctance, placing his hand on his chin.

"He is preparing for war," he said with great difficulty.