A KIND OF PALE JEWEL
"Well, I'm sorry!" Sarah screamed as she slammed her bedroom door shut.
Toby's wailing could be heard through the walls, as the low baritone of her father's voice rumbled from downstairs, trying to coax his wife into a more reasonable state. She wouldn't listen to a word he said. Sarah already knew that. Her only hope was that her father might be able to keep her stepmother from harassing her further. It wasn't Sarah's fault that Toby had gotten sick.
Was it?
Only several hours earlier, Sarah and Toby had been enjoying themselves immensely, Merlin barking and Toby giggling as his older sister recited scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream. For Sarah, there was no audience like an enthusiastic two-year-old and an excitable sheepdog. She was very much content with their appreciation, and it was for this reason that she decided she could more or less put to sleep her dreams of shining in the spotlight.
In fact, Sarah got so much joy out of the toddler's company that she had stopped resenting the time her stepmother forced her to spend with him. She could only hope that he never remembered her awful wish. Or, if he did, she hoped that he would at least assume that it was simply a dream stemmed from a story she had told him. Her stepmother would probably love to hear that Sarah had filled her little boy's head with nonsense stories of magic and goblins.
Oh, well. It was her own fault. Just like it was her fault that Toby got sick. He wouldn't have gotten sick if she hadn't insisted on Sarah taking him with her to the park today.
Sarah really had tried to get Toby home as soon as possible. For all the times she and Merlin had run home through the pouring rain, She couldn't think of another occasion that they had ever run so fast. To top it all off, she had small child wailing in her arms, ducked under her jacket, trying to keep warm.
Sarah paused, her arms holding her soaked dress above her head. It had been uncomfortable removing it. The cloth clung like a second skin and as soon as it was off, a cold blast of air chilled her body. Her eyes scanned the room, and she racked her brain, trying to do a mental step-by-step of how she had gotten home.
"Damn," Sarah muttered aloud.
She had left her script in the park. It was probably drenched by now. Even if she aired it out to dry, it would never be the same.
"Oh, no!"
Sarah tossed her dress across the room, kicked at the air, and crashed unceremoniously on top of her bed. Her hand grasped for her pillow and she covered her head, so that her sobbing couldn't be heard. She wouldn't want anyone to think she was competing with Toby for sympathies.
After her adventure, Sarah had promised herself to revaluate her life. It had made her realize the importance of appreciating what one had, and that things could always be worse. But it was times like now that she really felt more than ever: it simply wasn't fair.
"Sarah?"
For a moment, Sarah considered ignoring the call of her name, assuming it was only her father coming to inform her on what he and her stepmother had decided, but after several seconds, her name was repeated and she recognized the voice.
"Sarah?"
She sat up and turned to her mirror, smiling at the sight of her dearest friend.
"Hoggle!" Sarah exclaimed, the smile evident in her voice.
Jumping off the bed, she tossed aside the pillow and plopped down in front of the vanity, a smile still plastered on her face. From what she saw in the mirror, Hoggle seemed to be standing right behind her. He slightly shuffled back and forth.
"How are you?" Sarah asked, gleefully, her earlier upsets suddenly forgotten.
Hoggle's eyes where cast down, focused on his hat that was clutched between two fidgety hands. He glanced up quickly and looked back down as he answered her.
"I'm doin' fine. I's just wonderin' why you was cryin'."
Sarah smiled warmly in the mirror.
"Toby got sick when I took him to the park today."
Sarah noticed Hoggle's worried expression when he glanced up at her.
"It was raining," she explained. "Honestly, I think he'll be fine. It's just that my stepmother always gives me a hard time. It made me feel pretty guilty."
Hoggle nodded in understanding, his gaze once again towards the ground. It bothered Sarah.
"Hoggle," she coaxed, "is there something wrong?"
His head shot up and, much to Sarah's amusement, a pink tinge filled his cheeks. Seeming to be at a loss for words, he motioned one of his hands, and her eyes followed the direction. Sarah felt her own cheek grow hot as she realized that in her frustrated state, she had forgot to put a shirt on.
She quickly bounded towards her closet and pulled on the first shirt she found. Feeling absolutely ridiculous, she turned back to the mirror and took her seat again.
"Sorry about that," she said and gave Hoggle an apologetic, albeit embarrassed, smile.
Having seemed to gain more confidence with her fully clothed state, Hoggle visibly relaxed and finally met her eyes as he talked to her.
"I'm sorry to hear 'bout Toby," he told her.
Sarah nodded. "He sounded sick. I'm worried. He has a terrible cough and his nose was running all over the place."
Hoggle raised an eyebrow.
"Well, more than usual," Sarah conceded.
"Hmm." Hoggle's eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought. "I dunno if I should be tellin' ya this, but, er..."
"What?"
"Well, I s'pose if ya wanted, you could come back to theh labyrinth. Fairy dust'll cure almost anythin'."
"You think it could cure a baby's cold?"
Hoggle sniffed. "I don't see why not."
"Okay!" Sarah beamed. "But, um...how exactly am I supposed to get there?"
Hoggle seemed to be weighing the options over in his mind and finally came to a conclusion.
"Wish fer yourself ta be here."
A shiver ran up Sarah's spine. Wish for herself to return to the labyrinth? The last time Sarah had made a wish, she regretted it. She wasn't so sure she was ready to take such a risky chance again.
"Wish myself there?" Sarah hoped Hoggle had a better plan.
"Well," Hoggle said, backtracking slightly, "I mean, it's theh easiest way, ain't it? And alls ya gotta do when yer done is wish yourself back, right?"
Sarah thought it over.
"I'm not gonna let nothin' happen to ya," Hoggle assured her.
Hoggle's promise shattered any doubts she had about returning and gave her a feeling of security. "You're right."
She smiled at him.
"I wish I was in the labyrinth."
A feeling that was both light and heavy settled in Sarah's head, and caused her eyelids to droop until they closed. It was like a ride on a roller coaster, except instead of making her sick, the dropping of her stomach turned into a soft fluttering, and Sarah's mind was instantly filled with thoughts of clouds, bubbles, cotton candy, and fluffy white sheep.
The sheep seemed to be bleating in the distance, accompanied by sound of soft, tinkling bells. For a moment, Sarah lost consciousness, and forgot all about her sadness at Toby's sickness, her happiness at seeing Hoggle, and her apprehension at setting out on another journey. For a moment, there was only the feeling of falling, and it was wonderful.
When Sarah woke up, however, she had a splitting headache and she wanted nothing more to continue laying where she was. But the ground beneath her was hard and uncomfortable, and if she didn't want to further strain her body, she would ultimately have to get up.
Getting to her feet, Sarah took a look around. She was in the labyrinth, all right, but not where she wanted to be.
"Hoggle!" Sarah cried out into the darkness.
Of all the places to end up, she had to fall into an oubliette.
"Hoggle!"
Sarah tried to get her eyes to focus.
"Hoggle...?"
"I'm afraid Hoggle won't be able to help you."
Sarah's breath caught in her throat as she became completely still. She couldn't see a thing in the blackness of the oubliette, but she would recognize that voice anywhere.
"What do you want, Goblin King?" Sarah hissed.
Light suddenly illuminated the room, and allowed Sarah to see his royal highness, in all his glory, standing before her. His clothing was as extravagant as ever, and the fire burning in the corner threw shadows across his face, making him seem even more imposing than Sarah had originally thought.
He shook his head.
"Sarah, Sarah," he addressed her like a child, "I would have thought by now you would have known what I wanted from you all along."
Sarah glared.
"I beat you," she whispered. "You had no power over me then, and you still don't. I'm not about to let you, either. You can take your offers elsewhere."
The Goblin King drew back, his eyes narrowing into glowering slits.
"Very well," he replied. "Then you can stay here until you change your mind."
Sarah bolted to her feet.
"That's not--"
"Fair?" He finished for her, taking a small amount of pleasure in her furious rebuttal.
"No," he admitted, "I suppose it isn't."
With that said, he faded away, leaving only the fire as evidence of his visit.
"I wish I was back home!" Sarah exclaimed, and stamped her foot when nothing happened.
She threw her back up against a wall of the dank room, and slid down to the ground. She needed to think of a way to get out. If she accepted the marriage proposal, if that's what it was to be considered, then perhaps she could trick him into taking her to his castle and make her escape from there. It was a long shot, but right now it seemed like her only chance at freedom.
"Hoggle!" Sarah cried out again, frantically hoping that he might hear her. "Hoggle, where are you? Didymus! Ludo! Somebody, help!"
Sarah felt more hopeless than she first did when she entered the labyrinth. What a strange experience that had been. From her start at the hilltop outside the labyrinth's door to the final minute of her thirteenth hour, everything had seemed like a dream. Had it not been for mirror discussions with Hoggle, Didymus, and Ludo, or the strange inkling she got at the back of her neck when she sat alone in the park or beside her bedroom window, she had no doubt she would have brushed the experience off as some wild and imaginative dream.
Or perhaps a nightmare, now that she really thought about it.
Sarah slipped further to the ground, her hands laced on her stomach and her chin resting against her chest. Voices of the labyrinth began to fill her head, whirling her thoughts about like a lulling dance...a waltz that had no beginning or end. She began to see images and suddenly it was if she was no longer in the oubliette, not even in her own time, but in a memory long passed.
There was a glorious collage of colors, seemingly bright, but undeniably faded and old, as if someone had allowed a layer of dust to collect upon the vision. To say that the feeling was suffocating would be an understatement, but to claim that it was altogether unpleasant would simply not be true.
The music playing, the chiming keys of a wind-up tune, washed over her, pulling her along softly. Faces peaked out at her from every direction. Calculating eyes focused on her, sizing her up and daring her to come nearer. All the while, the expressions were hidden. She was to only decipher their emotions by the glint in their eye, for their faces were covered by masks. Goblin masks.
One face remained uncovered. She could see it through tangles of hands and eyes, of laughter and whispers. It called to her, but she would not listen.
Things were not always what they seemed.
There was no danger here. That which she needed to beware was unseen and she could feel that it was close. When the time came, she would have to make her decision.
"Damn you, Jareth!"
Sarah gasped as she was broken out of her lightheaded reverie. A man had fallen from the ceiling, and he was sprawled out in front of her. They both listened as the latch of the door above them was locked. The man jumped up and cursed again.
"Jareth, you no-good, dirty, rotten, disgusting, slime—"
He stopped abruptly as he noticed Sarah sitting in the corner, a looked of confusion splayed across her features. He took a step back and coughed embarrassedly, he hadn't seemed to have expected her.
"Sarah?" The man asked.
Sarah slowly got to her feet and furrowed her brow. She dusted off her hands and took a good look at him.
"Yes, I'm Sarah," she replied. "Do I know you?"
The man looked startled and quickly shook his head. "No, no."
She crossed her arms. "Then how do you know my name?"
The man shrugged, defeated. "Well, Jareth has only been ranting about his bride-to-be for the past few hours."
Sarah gaped at the man. "I've been here that long?"
He grinned. "Seems like nothing here in the underground, huh?"
"I can't believe him!" Sarah exclaimed.
"I can't either," the man scowled. "That's one of the reasons I'm down here."
"What?" Sarah asked.
The man looked a bit flustered. "Well, a nice young girl like you has no business being kept against her will in an oubliette. Especially when the only way out is to marry that scab, Jareth."
Sarah gave a friendly laugh at the man's indignation. "You hate him, too, huh?"
The man tossed his head back. "Hate him? I positively despise him. All he's ever done is make my life a living hell."
A dark look shadowed his brow.
"Of course, I never told him that to his face. Not until recently. And look where that's got me."
Sarah sympathized with the man's anger.
"Although," the man declared, looking up at Sarah and winking, "I must say that the company's not all that bad."
The man seemed to be surprised at his own brashness, and frowned uncomfortably. Sarah giggled, and covered her mouth, and own blushing cheeks, with a hand. His comment had left her feeling both flattered and vulnerable. She had never really had someone pay her compliments of such nature.
It didn't help Sarah's self-consciousness that she found the man attractive, either. She needed a name.
"Thank you," she replied to his compliment, "but I'm curious, who are you?"
The man shifted, apparently her inquiries didn't make him any more comfortable. He pondered the question for a moment and then finally replied.
"I guess you could say I'm a prince of sorts."
That didn't surprise Sarah in the least. He looked every bit the prince, at least in the face. His cheekbones and jaw seemed to be carved of ivory, while his brows were dark and intent. The face was very aristocratic, one to challenge Greek gods. It was just his manner of dress that took away from the royal air.
His boots were cut high, and his pants clung tight, although looser than that of the Goblin King's. A earthen tunic billowed from his torso, and seemed to soften his otherwise hard features. He was absolutely beautiful.
"But what is your name?" Sarah prodded.
The prince turned from her. "It would probably be best if I didn't tell you my name."
His reply agitated Sarah, but she could understand if in his present situation he wanted to be careful of angering the Goblin King further.
"Then I guess I'll just have to call you Prince," Sarah concluded.
Prince gave Sarah a look of surprise and then smiled, a lazy turn of the mouth. "I guess you will."
"So, Prince," Sarah started, "you wouldn't have any idea how to get out of here, would you?"
He glanced around the oubliette and nodded. "Well, there should be a door somewhere around her, shouldn't there?"
Sarah's mouth fell open, half in amusement and half in annoyance. "Of course! Why the heck didn't I remember? Hoggle did that the first time I came through here!"
Prince found the door, and turned back to Sarah, frowning slightly. "It wouldn't have done you much good, anyway. Only magic folk can control aspects of the labyrinth."
"Oh," Sarah replied, feeling a little put out. "I didn't know that."
He glanced back at Sarah, an eyebrow raised, and she was hit with a huge wave of deja vu.
"What?" Prince asked her as he jiggled the knob of the door.
"Nothing," Sarah replied.
Prince shrugged and opened the door for Sarah. "After you."
Taking advantage of his courtesy, Sarah walked through the door first and was blinded by the brightness of the world outside. They were standing in the maze.
Prince walked out behind Sarah, brushing himself off. "No, Jareth isn't the sharpest knife, is he? I guess he forgot I'd be able to open the door."
Sarah grinned at her new savior. "I'm glad he's a dull blade."
Prince laughed outright at her statement and pulled her along, apparently knowing where to go.
"So," Prince began, trying to make small talk, "do you think you're going to Jareth up on his offer?"
Sarah gave him an incredulous look. "Who, the Goblin King? Never! I wouldn't marry him if he were the last goblin on earth!"
Prince laughed. "While there are several things wrong with that statement, be sure to tell him so if you see him again." He winked.
Sarah felt giddy as they walked together through the labyrinth's many passages. She wasn't so sure that she should warm up to someone so quickly, her head told her to be careful, but she buried those thoughts at the back of her mind. After all, she was friends with Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus, and she had trusted them almost from the beginning. Prince had helped her and she felt very comfortable with him. It was familiar comfort, as though she had known him her entire life.
"Prince," Sarah asked, after they had walked about an hour. "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly has the Goblin King made your life a living hell? Did he hurt you?"
A stony expression chiseled its way onto Prince's face. "No," he stated calmly, "I did. He tricked me into hurting someone very dear to me...several times. He's good at that."
Sarah put her hand on his shoulder in a gesture of friendly sympathy.
"I just wish I had learned from my mistakes the first time," he finished.
Prince said nothing more he began to move quicker, as if trying to out walk Sarah. She easily matched his stride, and continued beside him, silent. Whatever he had done, it was obvious that the memory was very painful.
Sarah took a moment to reflect on her own encounter with the Goblin King. He had taken Toby, and offered her thirteen hours to solve his labyrinth. Along the way however, he had made it seemingly impossible to get anywhere and there were often times that Sarah felt like giving up completely. The thoughts made her feel very guilty, and although there was no way of him knowing, she felt as if she had failed and hurt Toby those many times she felt like quitting. At one point, she had even forgotten her mission.
The Goblin King seemed to have a gift for making people betray their loved ones, and from the mood Prince was in, she had no that he had loved the person he hurt very much.
Sarah looked overhead and saw that the sun was nearing the west. It would be dark soon.
"Are we near the castle?" Sarah asked.
Prince's dark blue eyes through her a side glance, annoyed at first, but it softened when it clicked who was talking to him.
"Yes," he replied, looking up and taking note of the setting sun. "We should be there soon, but we'll have to wait a couple of hours. I'm guessing that if Jareth hasn't figured out already that we're gone, he will soon. If we wait until dark, then we can sneak in."
Sarah stared at the ground in front of her as she walked along, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind.
"What are we going to do then? Do you think we should attack him? Or maybe try to battle him again?"
Prince shook his head. "No. I'm going to try to negotiate."
Sarah gave him a hard stare. "What? Like a deal? The Goblin King doesn't make very good deals."
"I know that," he replied. "But, I think I have an idea how to get you your freedom."
A clearing appeared in the distance and they both came to a stop, deep in thought.
While Sarah had many more questions to ask, she stopped at the expression on Prince's face. A holocaust seemed to going through his mind, mixed emotions easily read in his eyes. The longer she stared, the more evident it became to her how difficult his was for Prince. For whatever reasons he had decided to fight Jareth and help her, the outcome wouldn't be in his favor, and fear was eating him up from the inside.
He was sacrificing himself for her, somehow.
With that thought in mind, Sarah took two steps forward and threw her arms around Prince's shoulders, squeezing him tightly and murmuring her thanks against his neck.
She felt him go totally rigid, and for a moment was afraid that he would shove her away. Much to her pleasure, however, his hands gradually raised themselves to rest on her sides. They stood like this for a beat, taking in what the other had to offer.
Every so slowly, a thumb began to brush back and forth against the tender skin of Sarah's midsection, and the embrace quickly went from friendly to unexplored territory. She drew in a deep breath, inhaling a scent that was purely male. It made her feel funny, like when she fell into the labyrinth.
Prince's other hand slowly made it's way up her back, and he slid his fingers through her hair, marveling at her softness. In return, Sarah tightened her grip on him, paying close attention to the difference between their two bodies.
He was so much taller than her, at least another head, and he seemed more than content holding her. He let his forehead drop down to her shoulder, and she felt a lock of his dark blonde, almost brown, hair slide against her cheek. It was soft, like his touch, but seemed to brand the skin it grazed.
When Sarah hugged her father, it was familiar, almost like hugging herself. Prince's hug, although familiar and welcoming, was unlike anything she had ever felt and amplified every one of her senses. She could see him shivering beneath her, smell his skin against her nose, hear the shaky, erratic breaths that were coming from his mouth, and feel him. Most of all she could feel him.
His arms were locked around her like armor that would never let anything hurt her. The skin beneath his clothing was so hot, she could feel it as if it was naked against her own. Even his heartbeat, which fluttered like the wings of a trapped owl, could be felt against her own breast, and it helped to reassure her that these feelings were real, and that they weren't just one-sided.
Sarah leaned back, and he reluctantly eased his face away from the crevice of her neck, where he had been hiding. He was completely flushed, and she wondered if she looked the same. Prince held her gaze, searching for something.
"Thank you," she whispered softly.
Darkness had settled in the labyrinth, with the setting of the sun. Twinkling glows of faery lights hovered around Sarah and Prince, and a musky, sweet smell hung in the air. Never had the mood been so perfect for discovering love. Magical was the only word that came to Sarah's mind.
"How sentimental," a sarcastic drawl came from the shadows.
Prince completely broke away from Sarah, and forced her to stand behind him. Jareth cocked an eyebrow at the display, and leisurely sauntered forward, all the while Prince held his hand behind him, to hold Sarah back.
"Enough is enough, Jareth!" Prince barked out. "Send her back aboveground! Now!"
"Why so hostile?" Jareth questioned, unfazed by Prince's anger. "There is no need to shout."
"Do it now!" Prince demanded, as he began to lose his temper.
Sarah watched in disbelief. Never had she seen someone address the Goblin King with such malevolence. Not even she had been so vicious.
"Why?" Jareth asked again. "Why are you in such a hurry to get her back to her own world? Could it be perhaps..."
He paused for a moment, as if to think it over in his head. "Why, I do believe you're trying to keep her from hearing something."
"You shut your mouth, Jareth!" Prince barely bit out.
The Goblin King smirked. "Are you telling me that you haven't told her of our little deal? Why I'm utterly shocked."
Sarah's entire body stiffened. Deal? She looked at Prince.
"What deal?"
Jareth took in a mock gasp of surprise. "So you didn't tell her. Why am I not surprised. Well, I'm not the kind to lie to a...how did you refer to her?" He thought for a moment. "Ah, yes. An innocent girl."
Sarah watched in amazement as her strong prince sunk down to his knees.
"Jareth, please," he pleaded. "Punish me. Send Sarah home."
The Goblin King remained silently, giving the kneeling man a crucial stare. Finally he seemed to soften.
"Very well," Jareth replied and Prince sunk back on his heels. "Here."
In both hands he held a crystal. He offered them to Sarah.
"This," he said, raising his left hand, "will send you back home. You will never remember this, nor any of your memories of the labyrinth.
He," Jareth said, nodding towards Prince, "will be dealt with and take full responsibility for what has happened here."
Sarah's eyes became blurry with tears.
"Unless, of course," he continued, this time holding out his right hand, "you accept this crystal, and agree to stay here, ruling by my side. Otherwise, your...prince will take the fall."
The temptation was killing Sarah. Prince's eyes were wide, frozen with fear. His fate truly on the line. He was laying himself down for her. Sarah knew that she had been deceived, but regardless of his deception, she didn't want to see Prince hurt.
She reached for the crystal.
"Sarah, no!" Prince begged, springing from his knees to stop her.
She paused.
"Take the other crystal," Prince urged. "...please."
Jareth held his left hand out closer to her.
"Then you understand our agreement?" Jareth was saying.
"He's going to die," Sarah acknowledged aloud, her voice small.
"In a sense," Jareth replied.
A tear leaked from her lashes. She turned to Prince. "Do you have to?"
Prince couldn't meet her eyes.
"I..." He trailed off.
The hard expression on the Goblin King's face fell slightly. "You've made your decision then?"
Sarah's finger grazed the glowing orb, sending a wave of thoughts, emotions, and...someone else's thoughts into her head.
A sensation, half falling, half gliding, ripped through Sarah's stomach. There was nothing about this feeling that was enjoyable. Pain, sadness, and a deep longing seemed to ache deep within every bone, nerve, and cell.
She just wanted it to end.
She just wanted to go home.
She just wanted to...
Wake up.
Wake up.
Wake up.
"Wake up, Sarah!" An angry stepmother yelled from downstairs.
Sarah shot up into a sitting position. The sheets fell down and were rumpled, as if they had been wet recently. She saw that she was still only wearing her bra. Sunlight brightened her entire room and made her squint her eyes as she looked for her clock.
It was morning. She must have fallen asleep when she got home from the park last night. Her head was killing her.
"Toby," Sarah said to herself, suddenly remembering his illness.
She got out of bed and grabbed a shirt from her closet, not bothering to look at what it was.
Sarah had almost made it out of her bedroom, when she noticed something odd sitting on her bookshelf. Something she couldn't remember seeing before.
"That's odd," she thought out loud. An elegant prince stood, his head held high, a crown around his head. It reminded Sarah of the faery doll she kept on her dresser.
She set the figurine back down on the shelf and headed out the door towards Toby's room.
She could have sworn her bookend had been a dwarf.
THE END