Return to Labyrinth
--by Goblynn
Chapter I
Sarah Williams was alone. Very much alone.
It had been nearly a year since her father had died.
A year next month. She could hardly believe it.
It started out so simply--he had come home from
work one day with what they all thought to be a case of your everyday,
run-of-the-mill common cold. He had taken medicine and gotten plenty of
rest, and they believed he'd shaken it. Then it got worse.
Her stepmother rushed him to the hospital emergency
room one night at three a.m. The doctors concluded that he had contracted
some type of virus and prescribed a barrage of antibiotics, shots, and
a multitude of other drugs, hoping that something would stop it.
Nothing did.
Eventually, he was admitted into the hospital ICU,
and a month later, he was gone.
Three months changed her entire life.
The bills he left behind were unbelievable. Bills
for prescriptions, hospital visits, check ups, his hospital stay, and his
funeral. Not to mention the usual cost of upkeep of the family--minus what
he had brought in as income. Those bills had cost them their home.
Sarah's stepmother dipped into the family savings
in order to keep the wolves at bay. For a few months, it worked. But a
few months ago, the money ran out. Her stepmother decided to take on a
second job, but what she earned from that, combined with her regular pay
and Sarah's earnings, still wasn't enough. They were forced to put the
house on the market. It was sold a month ago, and after paying off what
was still owed, her stepmother gave her five thousand dollars of the money
that remained. It was to help her get started on her own, so she found
an apartment across town, while her stepmother returned to her hometown--taking
Toby with her.
At first, Sarah was almost happy. Her job as a teaching
assistant in a local high school kept her occupied, as well as her efforts
to become acquainted with her neighbors and learn her way around the area.
Then there was Michael, her boyfriend--of sorts.
They had met in high school, gone to the same college,
and finally started dating. He helped her move into her new place, and
kept her company whenever her grief or loneliness resurfaced. She had told
Michael about the Labyrinth once, but he brushed her off--saying that he
wasn't really interested in "mythology."
She knew then that she would never truly love him,
that he would never possess her mind, heart, and soul--not like…
Sarah banished the thought before she even finished
it.
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She sat down at her vanity table and gazed into her
mirror--the same one that had been in her room eight years before, when
she had admitted to Hoggle and the others that she would always need them.
Every year since then, on the anniversary of her "journey," she called
them. They always came, bringing news of the past year's occurrences in
their world, reminiscing, and celebrating.
Sarah smiled and opened her mouth to call them--they
would rid her of this sadness--but stopped before the words came. *I can't
let them see me like this.*
When they had visited that first time after her
father had...well, she swore to never call them when she was grieving him.
It hurt her even more to know that they were saddened, that it was her
pain she saw reflected in their eyes. She pushed herself away from the
mirror and stood.
"A walk. That's what I need." She grabbed her cloak
and headed out the door.
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There was a small park behind her building where
a great, old oak tree grew. From one of its limbs hung a swing--one made
of knobby rope with a wooden board for a seat. She sat down in it, swinging
gently, taking comfort in the happy memories of the children that had sat
in her place--recalling her own memories of childhood.
Sarah turned her face skyward, gazing at the full
moon. *So much like a rare pearl cast upon a sea of the blackest velvet,
with tiny diamonds scattered 'round about...* She loved nights like these--they
were an invitation to magic.
She laughed aloud at her own melodramatic tendencies.
"As though I need any more magic in my life. I've had quite enough, thank
you." She grew silent once more. The moon was so enchanting…
*I wonder what it looks like as it sails its course over the Labyrinth.
Is it just like this, or is it--*
The sound of beating wings interrupted her thoughts. Her eyes searched
for the creature that created the sound, and finally found it in the limbs
above her. It was an owl.
A snow-white owl.
She looked away, blinked, and looked back. It was
gone. She sighed, her head dropping as her shoulders sagged with weariness.
She felt something land in the soft folds of her cloak, where she had gathered
it into her lap to sit. She pulled back the soft layers of fabric to see
what it was. A crystal.
Pure and clear, it captured the reflection of the
moon in such a way that it seemed as though the light were coming from
within.
She looked up.
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He smiled wickedly down at her, dropping to the ground
from his perch high in the oak tree, his cloak billowing out behind him.
He landed gently, barely stirring the dust beneath their feet.
"It's you. I should have known."
He smiled again. "Yes, Sarah. I thought I would
'drop in' for a visit and see how you've been. It has been such a long
time."
"Not long enough, Jareth. Get away from me."
"Now, Sarah. Is that any way to speak to your greatest
benefactor?"
"Benefactor? What have you ever given me?"
His face became grim, eyes flashing with carefully
restrained wrath. Sarah recognized the look--she'd seen it before, in the
moments just before she defeated him in what was left of the Escher room.
"I made you who you are today."
She regarded him calmly, no emotions whatsoever
in her face. "True, Jareth. So what am I supposed to do--cower before you
in fear and reverence, or do you want something more?"
An unnamable expression flitted over his features
for a just a moment, then promptly disappeared. The wicked smile returned.
"I shall have to give that some consideration." And he vanished.
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Sarah grabbed the phone, dialing furiously.
"Michael? I'm so glad you're still awake."
She laughed.
"Well, you can catch up on your sleep some other
time…Listen, I need to talk to you about something…No, it can't wait…It's
very important…You will?…Thanks, Michael…Yeah, I'll see you in a few…All
right, by the picnic table…'Kay…Bye."
She placed the phone back in its cradle, her attention
drawn to the crystal she had placed on the table. She held it up in the
dim light of her bedroom. Looking closely, she would have sworn she could
see the Labyrinth inside.
Above it, the moon was full.
And a snow-white owl was soaring through the midnight
sky.
She placed the crystal on the table once more, and
walked out, making sure to lock the door as she left.
Behind her, the crystal vanished.
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Sarah saw Michael waiting for her by the picnic table,
just as he said he would. She grimaced. He didn't look happy.
*I hate to drag him out at this time of night, but
I need to tell him.* She frowned again. *I just hope he understands.*
At the sound of her footsteps, Michael looked up.
Seeing her, he gave a weak smile.
"Hi, Sarah. So what's going on that's important
enough to make me drag myself away from much-needed sleep?"
She took a deep breath. "Michael--he came back."
"Who came back?"
"Jareth."
Confusion reigned over his face.
"Who's Jareth?"
"Come on, Michael! You remember. He's the Goblin
King. The one who stole Toby and made me solve the Labyrinth before I could
get him back. You remember, don't you?"
Michael sighed in exasperation.
"Sarah, listen. I've had a really rough week. My
boss has been railing me for everything. I really don't have the time for
this--or the patience. So drop it, okay?"
She stared at him in utter disbelief. "You think
I'm making all this up, don't you?"
"Sarah--"
"Don't you?!"
"Sarah, listen to me!"
"I don't believe this! I thought you understood.
How could you do this to me?"
Michael gripped her shoulders and shook her violently.
"Shut up, Sarah! I don't want to hear this!"
"Let go of me!" She pushed against his chest with
all her might.
He let go of her, anger burning in his dark
eyes. Then he hit her.
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Sarah gingerly touched her stinging cheek. "Michael…"
"Sarah, I'm sorry…" He took a step towards her.
She stepped back, keeping her distance. "Sarah, you have to understand.
I've been under a lot of pressure lately. I didn't mean to hurt you." He
took another step, reaching out for her. Sarah backed away.
"Keep away from me. Don't you ever touch me again,
you bastard!"
Michael's anger flared again, and he struck her
once more. She stumbled backwards, nearly falling. He grabbed her by the
wrist, jerking her back to him--raising his hand to hit her another time.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Sarah's mind whirled. *That voice…*
Her gaze ventured over Michael's shoulder to the
figure behind him. Michael spun around, never releasing his hold on her
wrist.
Before them stood a man--one dressed entirely in
black, save for his blood-red tunic--with long, blond hair and the most
bizarre eyes…
"Jareth." Sarah found her voice.
"Who are you?" Michael's voice trembled slightly.
"I believe you already know the answer to that particular
question, Michael. Sarah told you, did she not?" Jareth smiled, revealing
tiny white teeth--teeth that easily resembled fangs. "I advise you to never
harm Sarah again."
Jareth stepped very close to him and whispered in
his ear.
"If you do--you will face me."
Sarah wrenched herself free of Michael's grasp and
stepped between the two. "Jareth, stop. You can't do this."
"Sarah, why should you protect him? Look at what
he's done to you." In a rare display of tenderness, the Goblin King reached
out to touch her face, his gloved hand grazing the newly-formed bruise.
She flinched, drawing back from his touch.
Jareth lowered his hand, pain momentarily filling
his eyes. It was quickly replaced by anger. "You can't stop me, Sarah.
I may have no power over you, but he is a different matter entirely."
His eyes turned back to Michael's face. "Tell me,
Michael--are you afraid of the dark?" Jareth's teeth glistened in the moonlight.
He took another step.
Sarah held out her hand imploringly. "Jareth, don't.
He doesn't under--"
Michael shoved her with every ounce of his strength
at Jareth. She stumbled and fell, her skull hitting the picnic table with
a sickening crack.
The world spun and went black. The last thing Sarah
heard was Michael's shout.
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