Return To The Labyrinth
A Labyrinth Fan=fic Written by:
Basil Mcentire & Talim Sparrow
Chapter One:
The Ball That Started It All
Maleficent looked out of her tower window seeing the labyrinth go on for miles. It could have been all hers if only her brother hadn't stolen it away from her. She would never understand why, she was just as strong as he was maybe even stronger. There had to be a way to get it from him.
If only she had a way to take Jareth out of the picture. She wasn't sure that she could outright kill him, especially not without getting caught. Looking at one of her crystals she tried to imagine a fate worse than death for her dear brother and finally inspiration struck. She could use that pathetic human child to trap Jareth in one of her dreams. Picking up one of her dream globes she smiled evilly. It was a few years ago that she created one of these using them to live out her fantasies and now they would make her dreams a reality.
Sarah was sitting in her living room, wearing the same outfit she had worn the night Toby was taken; she had recently gotten a haircut so now her hair was just at her shoulders and at the time she was keeping it up in a bun. It was not long till her old friend El Vira Cromwell, or Vira for short knocked on the door, Sarah smiled quickly going and opening the door "Hey Vi, Come on in" she said. The girl entered; she was maybe a year older then Sara, had stunning light sapphire eyes, midnight black hair that went well past her thighs and was wearing a classic little black strapless dress as well as matching black slip-ons with gold accents.
"Hey Sarah, sorry I'm late. I had to run a quick errand on the way" she said, her accent a thick Irish.
Sarah smiled, "No big, what do you want to do."
"Tonight?" she asked as the two sat down on the couch. "Not sure, just hang out here and talk I guess," she said. Sarah nodded.
"Sounds good to me, I'm not sure what we could do either," she admitted chuckling.
It didn't take long for the girls to figure out what they were do that night, because soon the lights went out as thunder clapped and lightning streaked through the sky. They turned to see an owl fly in through the window changing shape in a whirl of magic. In a few seconds the goblin king stood before them wearing his usual skin tight pants, dark shirt and black jacket. "Hello girls," he said with a smirk. "Busy?"
Sarah sighed. "Well, actually no. Hello again Jareth," she said. Vira couldn't help but chuckle. He always had known how to make quite the entrance.
"Good," Jareth said moving closer to Sarah. "Then you two will be free to be my dates at a ball tomorrow night."
Sarah wasn't surprised, but couldn't help but glance at Vira. She knew the ball would probably bring back some memories for her. Vira looked at her and winked 'no worries Sarah, I'll be fine' written on her face.
"We would be happy to," Sarah said, smiling. She had to admit, it was never a dull moment ever since she had become friends with Jareth, even after everything.
Jareth knew that Sarah would never turn him down; no matter what she said in the labyrinth he did have some power over her and he didn't mind Vira either. "Well then, I'm sure you two need to find something suitable to wear, I'll pick you up tomorrow evening." With a glittery poof he was gone just as quickly as came, leaving only a feather to prove he was even there
The girls both sighed. "Well, it seems we've got some plans tomorrow; think you can whip us up a few dresses?" Sarah asked looking at her near sister.
Vira nodded, "You know it! I'm guessing you want one that's very simple, yet elegant?" Sarah nodded, it was not long ill the two were in the sewing room, Vira working as quickly as she could to prepare the dresses. She ended up inviting Vira to stay the night so that they would be 100% ready when Jareth made his next entrance to get them for the ball.
Maleficent held the invitation to the ball plotting her revenge. Soon everything would be in place and Jareth would be out of the way. There was no doubt in her mind that the human would be accompanying him to the ball all she had to do was figure out how to get the dream globe to the human.
Finding a small purple box she carefully wrapped the globe in a dark glittery cloth and put it inside. Maleficent smirked to herself finding this all too easy. She called a goblin to her side and had it deliver the present to Sarah's room. One more day, that's all she had to wait.
Sarah smiled as she watched Vira work, "You know, it amazes me; I always wonder how you do it."
Vira looked at her, "Do what?"
"Say so strong, act as if nothing ever happened so that you can keep your talents a secret. Even when I know for the fact the day before you were fighting the urge to cry because of all the heck you have been through," Sarah said. "You haven't even told Jareth of your magic have you?"
Vira sighed, "Not yet. I promise you I will, I just..."
Sarah put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey hey, don't worry, I'm not gonna rush you into it. It's hard I know."
Jareth sat in the window of his throne room watching his two favorite humans in one of his crystals. He had always been fascinated by humans, to the ire of his mother and most other fae, but these two were especially fascinating. As he listened into to their conversation he almost did a double-take at the ball. Vira had magic? Jareth shook his head, it wasn't possible. She was a human, wasn't she? He almost transported himself back into the aboveground to ask her, but stopped. Maybe he could toy with her a bit and have some fun to force her to tell him. He trademark smirk returned, at least now the ball wouldn't be so boring.
Sarah was now at another desk, helping Vira with a small part of one of the dresses. "Ouch!" she said.
Vira looked at her, rolling her chair over, "Poke yourself with the needle? No worries, happens to me all the time and I've been sewing this dress types for years." She smiled, very gently putting two fingers on the cut and muttering something low under her breath. There was a small flash of light around the wound and within seconds it was healed. Sarah smiled. "Thanks, you doing alright?" she asked glancing at her leg, her dress was moved slightly and a long scar could be seen that went from the tip of her thigh down to her knee.
Vira nodded, "Its fine Sarah, The only way that thing would even get near killing me would be if it were re-opened."
"And you can bet I am never gonna let that happen; you're too much of a sister to me," Sarah said hugging her gently before they both went back to making the dresses.
Jareth spent the remained of the evening flying throughout the labyrinth enjoying himself. He had a lot to think about and lots of evil plots to scheme. He got a surprise when he returned back to the castle the next morning to find a visitor waiting for him in the throne room. 'Oh no,' he thought seeing his mother sitting on his throne. As slowly as possible he tried to back away, but wasn't in time.
Dementia smirked, her pale skin covered by a red satin dress that went around her neck. "Good evening my son," she said smiling, her hand under her chin, rubbing it in thought.
"Mother," Jareth said as he came over to greet her. "What brings you to the labyrinth?"
"I happen to know you have a ball coming up tomorrow, and you've invited those mortals. You know how I feel about them." she said.
"Of course I do mother, but I really think these two are unique. At the very least entertaining"
"Oh my, please tell me you're not falling under that mortals spell again." she said sighing as she shook her head.
"Mortals don't cast spells," he replied sarcastically.
"You know what I mean Jareth" she said, glaring at him.
'The look of death,' Jareth thought almost laughing to himself. "Yes mother." Jareth sighed; this was one woman he knew he didn't want to mess with. "Maybe you should meet them."
"Hmm, interesting idea, but I want to know right here and now Jareth: are you falling under either of their spells and don't you dare make another sarcastic comment?" she asked.
"Of course I'm not falling under their spells. I am the Goblin King, no one can control me," Jareth said trying to keep his temper in check.
Dementia nodded, "Good. I will be at that ball to meet these two that you seem to think are so... interesting..." Before he could say another word she disappeared, turning into a black dove and flying out the window to her kingdom.
Jareth watched his mother leave grateful that she didn't stay long. He moved to get himself ready while chuckling to himself, his mother would be most helpful in toying with Vira; on the brighter side if Vira did have powers then his mother wouldn't mind so much that he was interested in them.
The girls were ready and waiting for Jareth to arrive. Vira was wearing a beautiful, yet classy Irish style ball gown; it was white and emerald green. Sarah smiled. "You may have some magical talents, but it shocks me how you always manage to bring in some of your Irish heritage to everything and anything you make for yourself when it comes to making yourself a dress or something," she teased.
Vira chuckled, "Thank you! You know me, I am very proud of my Irish heritage." Sara chuckled; she was wearing a white gown very simple with blue accents. They both were looking forward to tonight, they had a feeling it would be a night to remember.
Jareth hated waiting more than anything and that's what he felt like he had been doing all day was waiting. Finally it was time to go and pick up the girls and with a quick wave of his hand Jareth was transported in his owl form to the aboveground. He decided to skip the flashy entrance for now, since he had just seen them the night before. He flew in through their window and transformed back into his fae self. The girls looked like they were ready and Jareth made sure to get a good look at both. Sarah was always beautiful and her white gown hugged her body perfectly, but then he looked over to Vira and for the first time in his life he was truly stunned. She was absolutely perfect.
Vira smiled, "Good evening Jareth." Sarah nodded; she was shocked at how great Vira had done at making these dresses. She couldn't help but smile; she was, oddly enough actually looking forward to tonight.
Then Sarah remembered something. "Shoot! I was hoping to be ready when you arrived, one moment," she said, darting upstairs and opening her jewelry box then coming back down handing Vira a very unique ring. "I was saving it for your birthday next month, but I figured you would enjoy wearing it tonight; especially since you've been trying to find one of these for as long as I can remember," she said.
Vira looked at it and smiled. "Sarah...Thank you... I have been searching for this for quite some time," she said, slipping it on her finger.
Sarah smiled, "No problem, just consider it a friendship ring."
Jareth muttered a few comments under his breath about waiting for women and quickly transported the three of them underground. They found themselves standing outside of a large silver white castle. Before they went in Jareth decided to warn the girls about his mother, "My mother will want to meet you both and she doesn't like humans so try not to act so.... mortal."
Sarah held back the urge to say 'Vira won't exactly need to try.' They both nodded, "Alright, thank you for the warning."
Jareth took a breath and held an arm out to each girl and together they walked into the ballroom. He smirked thinking that he had the best looking dates in the whole place and would have told them so, but he wouldn't be that nice. He caught a glimpse of his mother, but before she could make it over to talk to him he grabbed Sarah asking her to dance.
Sarah nodded, accepting it. Vira winked at her 'I'll be just fine' written on her face. Sarah sighed, she couldn't help but chuckle and think 'I should have known better then to worry. There's no way she'll be intimated by his mother.' Heck, nobody can intimidate Vira, she remembered.
Jareth whirled Sarah around loving the feel of her in his arms. Pulling her deeper he breathed in her scent wishing for the millionth time in the past few years that she took him up on his offer and stayed with him in the labyrinth. Seeing her grown up now and much more mature made him love her all the more. With a smirk he asked, "Change your mind yet? You know my offer always stands for you."
Sarah sighed, "I have to give you credit Jareth, you are stubborn." Meanwhile, Dementia approached Vira, "So you're the other mortal he befriended."
Vira nodded, "Yes, I am Sarah's good friend."
Dementia sensed something different about her, but ignored it. "I see…so mortal, what interests do you have in my son?" she asked.
Vira sighed, "We're good friends and just for your information, I do have a name...Vira." Dementia looked at her partly surprised, this one was very headstrong.
A smirk appeared on Jareth's face as he saw Vira and his mother together. She was definitely the one he wanted his mother to meet first; in some respects she had the attitude of a fae. She might not have been cruel, but she was just as stubborn and wouldn't put up with his mothers crap. After a minute of debating he decided that she had enough torture for now and danced Sarah back over to Vira.
"I see, well I suggest good friends is as far as you go mortal. You would not want to mess with me," she said, still trying to intimidate her.
Vira just took a deep breath nodding slightly, "I see, well trust me when I say this, you wouldn't want to mess with me either and due to your sons age and the fact that he is in fact a goblin king, I do believe you can't control who he cares for anymore."
"Mother, I see you met one of my dates," Jareth said as he brought Sarah over. "This one is Sarah Williams, she has beaten the labyrinth."
Vira looked at Sarah; she had taught her quite a bit, this might turn out to be a test to see just how much she had learned. "Ah, Sarah...I've heard quite a bit about you mostly from m...I mean… Jareth," she said. This was the first time she had ever actually called him by first name instead of referring to him as her son like she controlled him. Vira tried to hide a smirk.
Jareth smiled slightly glad that the conversation wasn't going as badly as it could have been. "Do you know if my darling sister be attending the ball this evening?" Jareth asked praying the answer was no.
Dementia smirked, "Yes, she'll be here, but not until later in the evening. She said something about taking care of business." Sarah couldn't help but look at Vira, wondering what on earth she had said.
"Good," Jareth said trying to hide the unhappy look on his face. "Vira would you like to dance with me?" He couldn't help but notice that there was a little tension between his mother and Vira and as much as he would have loved to have fun torturing her he decided she could use a break.
Dementia looked at Vira, the look in her eyes was definitely a warning, telling her 'Remember what I had said, don't get to close to him,' but Vira simply ignored her and smiled at him. "I would love to Jareth." she said.
He pulled her a way with a small glance at Sarah hoping that she would be alright by herself for awhile. They danced for a minute before Jareth asked, "Whatever you said to her must have been pretty good for her to be at least somewhat civil. But then again from the looks of that scar you have you are used to facing some kind of beasts." He meant it as a joke since he didn't really know what the scar was from, but Vira didn't seem to think it was that funny.
Vira tried to get off the subject of the scar, "Well, let's just say she didn't like what I had to say to her." The look on her face was one that said the scar brought back some memories she was always trying to forget.
Meanwhile Sarah looked at Dementia, wishing she could just slip away into the crowd. "So, you're the mortal that broke my son's heart, but yet he still remains friends with you." She sighed, "He can be a fool sometimes."
Sarah glared at her, "He is no fool; he is a good man and though there's no spark between us we are good friends and mother or not I will stand for you sitting here calling him a fool." She was shocked at herself, Vira had taught her more then she thought.
Jareth chuckled lightly at Vira, "Obviously she didn't like it; it was bad enough that you spoke in her presence." He pulled her close just like he did with Sarah and wondered about all the things he didn't know about this girl. He had been spying on Sarah throughout most of her life, but there were a lot of things about Vira that remained a mystery to him and how she obtained magical powers was one of them.
"Oh, I did more than speak to her, believe you me," she said, she couldn't help but smirk. Dementia had tried her hardest to intimate her, but it didn't work one bit and she knew Dementia could not stand it.
"Really? She believes that you have cast a spell over me, but maybe it's her you cast a spell over; one that I will have to learn," Jareth replied.
Vira smiled, "That's what she told me, she also warned me not to get to close. She didn't like what I had to say in reply. That's what really caused the tension."
"What did you tell her?" Jareth asked curious what a mortal could possibly say to make his mother back down.
"I basically told her off, my exact words were being of how old you are and the fact that you are indeed the goblin king, she cannot control how you feel about anyone or control you at all," she said.
Dementia was completely dumbfounded; it seemed these two mortals were learning from each other and they were both extremely headstrong.
Jareth was shocked, in all his years he had never really told his mother off and he didn't intend to ever. "And you are still standing I see. That is impressive. What other little tricks do you have up your sleeve?"
Vira smiled, she couldn't help but glance over at Sarah and Dementia, "It seems Sarah may have learned some things as well..." Dementia glared at her, but said nothing. She was dumbfounded, unable to think of a single thing that would intimidate or even scare her.
Jareth noticed this as well and a satisfied look appeared on his face, "Shall we go and save my mother?"
Vira nodded. "Indeed we shall," she said smiling at him. What Dementia had said began to make her think; perhaps she cared about him as more than a friend, but the question was what was she going to do if she did? She could put him in danger if she told him especially with the mother and others.
Jareth took her hand guiding her back over to her friend and his mother. The more time he spent with Vira, the more he wanted too and maybe with her attitude no one would ever say anything about it. On the other hand, he was the goblin king and didn't care what anyone else had to say about them. He smiled politely at his mother, "Are you two getting along?"
Dementia didn't reply, she merely sent a glare at both of them and walked away Vira looked at Sarah, "What on earth did you say?"
Sarah smirked and repeated exactly what had happened. "You taught me more then I had realized Vi," she said.
"If I would have known the effect you two would have had on her, I would have brought you down to meet her sooner," Jareth said.
Both of them couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you Jareth," Sarah said.
Vira smiled, "That was excellent work Sarah; we're starting to rub off on one another."
Jareth put an arm around each of the girls enjoying the looked he was getting from the passing fae. There were lots of jealous men that couldn't find such beautiful women and jealous women that wished they could get Jareth's attention. He enjoyed watching them all go by making him feel more and more superior by the minute, which he already knew he was.
Vira couldn't help but enjoy the feeling she got whenever he was holding her. Sarah noticed this and smirked, 'Oh how this would drive Dementia wild and how wonderful it would be for the both of them.'
Jareth noticed his mother was still keeping an eye on him and got a crazy idea. "Vira, would you mind doing me a favor?"
Vira looked at him. "What?" she asked, even Sarah was curious about what he was up to
With a short glance at his mother to make sure she was still watching he said, "Kiss me."
Sarah was shocked, but smirked. Vira tried not to blush; she smiled kissing him. Sarah tried her dangdest not to just say 'you go girl' and Dementia glared at them. She was getting more and more furious about the two mortals Jareth was getting close too, too close too.
The kiss had lasted much long than Jareth intended. He was just expecting a quick peck from the girl, but she went all out. When he finally pulled back his head was spinning as he stared down at Vira, for a minute he completely forgot about Sarah something that had never happened since she rejected him. He knew that he should say something sarcastic or insulting to keep up his normal front, but his mind was a complete blank. Maybe she did cast a spell on him.
Sarah looked at the look on his face and tried to hide a smirk. She had always had a gut feeling there was a spark between them. Vira was looking at him too, her mind a complete blank. It had felt amazing; it definitely made it clear how she felt, but she was still afraid to tell him especially after everything she had been through.
"Well, I am sure that made her angry enough," Jareth said clearing his throat. "Well girls, would you like to sit here, dance some more or would you prefer a view of the gardens?"
Sarah smiled, "I'm gonna go get something to drink. You two go on ahead," she said smirking, slipping away before Jareth could stop her. Vira smiled. "That view of the gardens sounds lovely," she said trying to hide that she was still feeling the aftershock. What a kiss, that was all she could think at the moment.
Jareth nodded standing up and holding his arm out to her. They walked out of the side door and down the path to where the garden was. It was like a mini labyrinth of flowers. As they followed the path Jareth resisted the urge to create a long stem rose for Vira. He breathed in the outdoor air trying to clear his head and resist any feelings for this girl.
Vira smiled as she looked around. "It's a beautiful garden," she said enjoying every second.
Jareth shrugged preferring the wasteland that took over most of his labyrinth. "You never answered my question about what tricks you have up your sleeve besides irritating my mother."
"I have quite a few," she said noticing a fountain, she smiled muttering something under her breath and making the water from the first level of it flow down to the second, causing a rainbow to appear as it went into the first. She remembered how that always used to cheer Sarah up whenever she was down and couldn't help but smile herself.
"Did you do that?" Jareth asked
"It's an old Family trait, each of our generations has controlled and element and each new generation gained that element. I am the odd ball; I somehow gained all 4 and didn't have any past generations to gain them from," she said smiling.
Jareth thought about that for a minute, someone in her family history must have been from the underground; magic just didn't exist up top at least none that he knew of. "You are full of surprises," he said with a smile.
"Thank you, I like to be a bit mysterious at times," she said.
"I'll figure it out," Jareth replied with a smirk.
"Knowing you I'm sure you will, but I can promise you I won't make it easy" she said smirking
"I wouldn't expect you too," Jareth said then almost cursed himself. He was definitely flirting. His mind drifted back to Sarah and how much he still loved her. One thing that came with long life was strong emotions even if he didn't show them and one he refused to show was how much Sarah had hurt him. He was glad that she at least still let him in his life, but it would never be enough for him. "I'm sure Sarah is waiting, do you want to go back in?"
Vira smiled, but thought this would be a perfect opportunity to think. "You can go on ahead, I'll be in, in a few minutes," she said. Meanwhile Sarah was thinking, trying to devise a plan on how to help Jareth and Vira.
Jareth nodded and headed back into the ballroom to find Sarah. She was sitting in the same spot they were earlier and he was glad to see that no other fae was trying to get her attention. He sat next to her putting his arm around her.
Vira sighed sitting down on a bench by a bush of roses. "What am I thinking?" she said to herself. "Your falling for him girl, big time and it's not good. It could put him in some extreme danger and I just couldn't do that to him." She sighed, "But I can't control how I feel with him either. What am I gonna do?" She was stuck; this had to be how Sarah felt before she refused him. That was another thing that scared her; what if Sarah changed her mind, what if she never got the chance to tell him or what if he offered her the same thing? Would she accept, because she loved him, even with the danger it would probably put him in. She would have to, she couldn't break his heart, she cared about him too much to do that. What on earth was she going to do?
Sarah smiled, "Welcome back, I'm guessing Vira decided to enjoy the garden's for a few minutes longer?" She asked though she could sense what she was really doing and was trying to think of a way to take those problems out of the way for Vira and Jareth's sake. She knew that neither of them could take going through what they had gone through twice.
"Yes, apparently Vira likes flowers," he replied with a shrug. "Anything exciting going on in here?"
Sarah shook her head, "Not really, surprisingly Dementia hasn't cause much problems." She was doing what she could to help Vi have the time she needed to think, all the while, trying to figure out what she could do to help. "So, you and Vi seem to be getting close," she said smiling.
Jareth shifted uncomfortably, "Not really, it was just to toy around with my mother. I would have asked you to kiss me, but if you did then I would never have let you go." A sneaky smile started to form, "but if you want to take that risk I am sure my mother can handle being a little more annoyed."
"Jareth...I know you too well to fall for your lies. You cannot tell me you didn't enjoy kissing her," she said an eyebrow raised as she looked at him. 'Don't even try to lie' written all over her face.
"I may be a fae, but I am a man and Vira is not unattractive. Of course I enjoyed it."'
Sarah chuckled, "Yeah and she's quite the girl...Believe me when I say, it's never a dull moment when she's around and anybody even dares mess with you if your close to her in any way, they had better look out."
"Well it's nice to know that she can take care of herself," Jareth said.
"Oh yeah, you know she has a trick as to how she doesn't let anyone intimidate her. It took me forever to learn, but she always says that as long as you just ignore whatever the person that's trying to intimidate you is saying, whatever he or she says will never work and even if they say something that really does get to you, don't show it. Stay strong and you'll be just fine."
Jareth smirked, "Well that's no fun for me. How can I possible have fun with her or you if you both just ignore me?"
Don't you worry, she'll let you have fun with her. She has quite a few tricks up her sleeves to somehow both make it easier and eyen more challenging for you to find out the mysteries behind those sapphire eyes of hers," she said chuckling. "You know, I always tease her saying that it's no wonder you two get along so well, you're like in so many ways it's not even funny."
He nodded and said, "Oh I am learning more and more about her mysteries and I love a good bedtime story. Speaking of would you like to come to my castle and tell me a bedtime story." Jareth was hoping to get a rise out of her. He knew that she would say no, but it was fun to ask anyway.
Sarah couldn't help but laugh, "You try Jareth, you do try."
Meanwhile, Vira was pacing amongst the garden, she reached the center beautiful red, white and blue roses surrounded her. She sighed still unable to get him out of her head, but she froze hearing footsteps behind her. She muttered something, her sword hidden, completely invisible to anyone but her. "Who's there?" she asked.
A stranger came from the shadows laughing, "Jumpy aren't we?"
Vira froze, "No..You can't be..." She said, but before she could say another word he grabbed her pulling her into the shadows and they were gone like that.