Brook drags herself into the bathroom, each step an eternity, every breath painful. A red faced, puffy eyed reflection stares mournfully back at her as she wipes the wetness from her cheeks.
At first she'd been in disbelief and denial at the news. Her boyfriend Mike is too young, too smart, and cares too much about Brook to have cheated and gotten some younger girl pregnant. Shock had turned to anger and dismay when a mutual friend had revealed Mike was indeed dating another girl two grades below Brook named, Sarah Williams.
Brook rests her head on the cold sink trying to calm her fraying nerves.
She was still a virgin and though she'd connected with Mike in a way she'd never felt with anyone else, it didn't feel right to give herself up to anyone easily. So she'd been patient and made him wait a few months until she knew he was her, Mr. Right.
"Now I know the answer to that," she mutters.
Self-pity quickly evaporates as she reminds herself he had been perfectly capable of waiting until she was ready and that she was not the bad guy.
What respectable 20 year old had sex with girls 4 years younger than him anyway? A guy who was not the person he pretended to be and not the right person for Brook. But still, she can't help feeling some resentment towards this younger girl and soon-to-be-baby that had a hand in ruining her relationship.
Jareth thrashes awake from his sleep in a cold sweat. An animalistic fury pumps through his veins as he feels his heart pound painfully in his chest. Only one word comes to his mind as he scowls at the moon beyond his bedroom balcony. Sarah.
Yes, the girl who had escaped the mighty King haunts his dreams and waking thoughts constantly. He found his powers waning and his subjects growing weary of his dangerous mood swings that only worsened over time. It had been a year since she'd solved the labyrinth and taken with her not only the babe he'd whisked away, but the shred of good his heart once had. Never in all his years had Jareth been so attracted to someone, he didn't know if it was really love. Infatuation, definitely. Obsession, slightly. But she had been far too young to be his lover, too naive to realize what he'd offered her, too closed off to understand his desires.
Sarah's rejection had been quite disappointing at the time, but it slowly grew into a daunting nightmare that lurked behind every thought and word. Perhaps that was what bothered him most, not that she'd successfully completed the Labyrinth, but that he'd failed to make her understand he wanted her, needed her companionship. He had allowed her to leave and hoped that as she grew older she would remember him and think back to his promises of her dreams and his affections. Perhaps she'd reason that what he offered was not so bad in exchange for something as simple as giving into his wants. Now, something in his body told him that was all too late, that she'd never be his. With a snarl Jareth transforms into a white barn owl and flies off into the night.
Sarah hums to herself as she does her little brother's laundry. It doesn't bother her to help take care of Toby anymore. If there's one thing the Labyrinth's Champion has learned from last year's adventure it's: treasure family.
A smile lights her green eyes as she rubs her stomach affectionately, soon she would have her own family. Since that day a year ago, Sarah had fought with a sense of incompletion. Her life on the surface improved as she matured, but her heart craved something more.
She pauses for a moment as her heart flutters at the thought of the Goblin King. Her feelings for him had confused and frightened her. She still resents him for taking her brother and trying to control her, but with each passing day she'd become more emotionally distraught.
Sarah found the need to seek the attention of older men as her mind in some sick, wounded way couldn't rid itself of Jareth. Though she'd only danced with him, she still felt tainted, marked like she would always be his no matter what she did. The boys her age didn't understand her need to be liberated from her former captor's possessiveness that gripped her soul from a world away.
Then she met Mike and an idea came to her. If she allowed herself to be taken by another man physically and emotionally, Jareth could never truly own her and the mental torment would end. Mike was kind, caring and honest, completely the opposite of the selfish manipulative goblin king. It had been so easy to give her heart and body to him so why not the rest of her life? She had wanted to secure her love with Mike and completely cut off Jareth by having the child of the man who took her innocence. It had been selfish she knew and Mike was upset right now. In time he would understand her reasons and stay because he'd love their child and would always want be in her life for at least that reason.
"You foolish girl", Jareth hisses as he looks into Sarah's heart from his perch above her open window. He would have been a slave to this girl's every want and desire, given her everything she asked as he had before. Disgust and rage seeps through the snow white owl as he leers down at what had once been his. The light and strength she'd once possessed had faded into a paranoid insecurity that had led to her tainting pregnancy. The innocence that he'd been drawn to was snuffed out like a candle as she desperately tried to rid herself of the feelings she harbored for him. Not that he cared now, she was used garbage and a shell of her former self, much like she'd made him.
The Goblin King feels betrayed as he leaves the pitiful sight. Sarah is no longer worthy of being his queen and the enchanting spell she'd cast over him was broken, but much to his disdain a part of him still yearns for her. He truly hated himself for such weakness as he resents his lingering feelings for the wretched girl he's slowly beginning to despise.
As the owl flies, the wind carries to him a strong sense of spite from another mortal nearby. It intrigues him when he realizes the strange animosity is directed at Sarah as well. Curious to know why anyone else would hold as strong a grudge against the young girl as himself and to his silent horror, anxious of a possible threat to her safety, Jareth investigates.
Brook finally stopped crying when anger had taken over and spurred her into action. Every gift and picture she could find was rounded up and tossed into the backyard fire pit. With her father being out of town on work, she had promptly decided to send memories of her ex to a fiery grave.
Jareth watches in amusement as this new girl's eyes burn with the same passionate destruction as the fire she sits beside. From the wise solemn expression and matured features he can tell she is older than Sarah. Even in her emotional state she holds herself with pride and an inner strength that fuels her resolve. He can't help but compare the girl to his beloved.
Once beloved, he mentally corrects himself. He wanted nothing more than to rid his mind of Sarah's annoying influence over his emotions.
His anger becomes one with Brook's and the fire suddenly flares up, causing the charred gifts and pictures to erupt into sparks that flutter down like a fiery rain. In her surprised eyes, the Goblin King sees an innocence and wonder he is drawn to. This girl could be his liberation. He would distract himself with her and the connection of hatred they shared until his heart was cold and whole once again. Then he would take his revenge on the girl who'd tried to crush him. Jareth focuses his power on the fire and creates a gift for his new playmate.
Brook's eyes widen in amazement as a small book is thrown from the flames into her lap. She jumps back in fear of being burnt, but is shocked to see the little paperback doesn't even have a scorch mark much less any damage.
"The Labyrinth?" she didn't remember Mike giving her this, in fact, she didn't even remember ever owning the book. She touches it lightly, only to find it is only slightly warm. The curious girl skims through the pages until an unusual character catches her eye. The Goblin King who looked like an 80's rockstar with his spikey blonde hair and glittered face grins up at her as she reads. The Goblin King takes wished away children to his castle beyond the Labyrinth in another world.
She snorts at the odd story as she sets it down and returns her glare to the flames. "I wish the Goblin King would come take me right now," she mutters sarcastically.
"That can be arranged," an amused voice chuckles.
Brook nearly shits herself as the man from the Labyrinth book appears in a strong gust of wind and sparks before the fire. His mismatched eyes seem to see into her soul as they leer haughtily into her own. He is one of the most handsome and bizarre men she has ever seen and his intense gaze holds hers captive in awe until she finds the courage to speak.
"Who are you and how the fuck did you do that?" Okay she was not always one for tact, plus this guy had literally appeared out of thin air and that shit just didn't happen everyday, hell it didn't happen ever.
Jareth shakes his head disapprovingly at her cluelessness, perhaps she was not as intelligent as he originally thought.
"Tut, tut. We both know the answer to that, dear thing. As for how, you'll come to find I posses many extraordinary talents," his conceited tone matches his infamous smirk. The girl had absolutely no idea what he was capable of.
Brook is too dumbstruck to even think about the possible sexual innuendo his words might have had. She wonders if she passed out from crying. Then again, this felt too real to just be a dream. She eyes the Goblin King carefully. "Let's suppose for the sake of my sanity I believe you. Why are you here?"
The regal, blonde man flashes a sinister smile, revealing his sharp teeth. "Why Brooklyn, precious." He purrs seeing her annoyed look at his use of her full name, though how the hell he knew it, she had no clue. "You are the one who summoned me. As you requested, I am here to take you away."
Brook's eyes widen in fear, slowly realizing this is real. Instinct urges her to run, but her legs are numb and frozen in place.
Seeing the distressed look on her face, the intimidating King chuckles. The sound is hollow, holding a hint of his inner sadism. It's been a while since I've had this much fun, he muses. Her anger, fear, and sheer wonder of him make Jareth feel more powerful than he'd been since he'd lost to Sarah. This was all he ever wanted, to rule over someone in such a primal and intimate way. Now he would have his wish for a change.
"Waaait, I didn't mean that. Couldn't you hear the sarcasm?!" How had he even heard her say that anyway? Brook wrings her hands dramatically, trying to convey her mistake to the unimpressed King before her. She might hate her life right now, but it still means something to her. She couldn't just up and leave. Besides who knows what this guy would do to her.
"I don't believe in fairy tales anyway, how was I supposed to know you'd actually show up?" Children's stories are never real, that's why they're for children after all. This is so impossible it must be a dream, she concludes. Though her hopes are quickly crushed by Jareth's sneering laughter.
"My dear," he takes a menacing step forward making Brook feel very uncomfortable, especially with that horribly fake smile on his face that doesn't quite reach his cold eyes. "What's said is said. You cannot blame ignorance for your words. As your human saying goes: say what you mean, mean what you say," he mocks. Words are more powerful than anything in all worlds and her foolish ones had given him power over her.
Brook glances at the house, calculating the distance and her chances of making it to the door before he can catch her.
"That would be unwise Brooklyn," a humorless, familiar voice breathes in her ear. Her body struggles, but his arms wrap around her waist tightly and pull her into his chest.
"It looks like I'll need to teach you some obedience my pet," his dark chuckle fills the night as their bodies disappear in a swirl of feathers and glitter.