The night sky shines brightly over the Goblin Kingdom with its stars and crystal moon. A sky is a protective and watchful thing. It is the roof of the world. The sky sees everything, even the small, simple acts of a king and a lady when they think no one is watching. The sky watches patiently, wearing a Cheshire smile.
The Goblin King stepped out onto his balcony, tiredly looked out over his protectorate and gave a mostly contented sigh. Diplomacy had demanded his presence for yet another attempted truce between a pair of 'Seelie' and 'Unseelie' nations. It won't last. They bicker, they war, and when one or the other is too bruised to continue they call him in to ensure that negotiations stayed fair. Because he is a neutral party. Because he rules a land that is constantly in flux. Because he has a basis for comparison. One of these days, he said to himself, I'm going to gain some sense and tell them to find somebody else to oversee their self-induced madness. Then I'll make it so that all who bear business of the State must first travel through the labyrinth. That should cut down all the trivial matters both courts try to put on me.
Jareth was glad to be home. Goblins can be simple and tedious, but are preferable to the deceit and constant machinations of his capricious fae brethren. At the very least goblins are honest in their trickery. With all Underground creatures you know from the outset that you're likely to be tested and fooled with. It's part of the game. With goblins a friend doesn't suddenly become an enemy for seemingly no reason and the stakes are always straightforward. Jareth wonders aimlessly about when he got tired of it all. There was a day when all of the games and passionate power plays would have greatly amused him to no end, but now… Now the unrest concerns him more than anything. They can't just leave well enough alone.
I guess our kind just lives too long. They-we just want to start anything to make the boredom subside. Jareth would have continued further still down that trail of thought but for two slim hands that wrapped themselves firmly around his waist. He contemplated them briefly, then put his own hands softly over top of them. Suddenly he wasn't so tired anymore. Funny thing that.
"I wasn't expecting your company tonight, Sarah." Jareth stated mildly. A small smile pricked at his lips as she tried to pull away. No such luck. He had decided to revel in this unexpected contact as long as possible, and so he encircled her wrists with his long fingers. Seeing that her escape was now entirely dependent upon her captor's whim, Sarah settled into him, placing her head lightly on his shoulder. Jareth gave a small hum of approval in response. Sarah knows his game. She knew this was a possible outcome when she initiated this particular stage. Now she'll have to deal with it. Besides, if he knows the contrary girl as well as he thinks he does, this is probably what she wanted. She did seem rather content. If she really wanted him to let go, Jareth was rather certain he would have suffered a kick to the knees or a stomped foot at the very least by now. One does not hold Sarah Williams against her will for very long without painful repercussions. Jareth inclined his head so that he could look at her. "So what brings you here, precious?"
"Well, originally I had thought to smash around the labyrinth a bit, perhaps storm the castle and make a few demands, but that's been done before, and I didn't want to become too predictable." Sarah said with a wry smile.
"Oh? So you slink through the shadows and follow the king to his bedchambers? How bold of you. Careful with that, precious. People might see you doing that and suspect things. Of course, you could always make it true. Although I can't say I'd mind too terribly much either way." Jareth let the statement hang and gave her a predatory grin.
Sarah gave him a derisive glare. "I didn't have to slink through anything, Goblin King. You made the mistake of giving me an open invitation. Be careful about what you say and how you say it." She chose to ignore his innuendo. "I didn't even need to follow you. I waltzed right in and waited for you in that nice plush armchair you have in the corner over there. I was actually surprised when you didn't see me when you walked in. You walked right passed me."
"I was a bit preoccupied." Jareth stilled for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "You know, when I gave you that open invitation, I had hoped you might use it on other more enjoyable activities." He murmured as he skimmed his thumbs back and forth over her wrists and smiled inwardly as her skin pebbled over with chill bumps. "Cold?" He chuckled quietly.
Sarah suppressed the urge to shiver as his laughing breath feathered over her skin. He says these things half-jokingly, and it's the other half that sets her stomach on edge with...something. Sarah mentally shook herself.
"Sorry Jareth, I'm not quite that easy. And besides, if I were to take you up on that particular offer, we'd miss out on all this wonderful verbal sparring." Sarah sighed and closed her eyes, letting go of some of her pent up tension as she did so. "Can't I just have maybe missed you a little bit? There doesn't always have to be an ulterior motive. Sometimes I get this weird mood, and I think to myself 'I wonder what Jareth is up to. Maybe I should check up on him and make sure the chickens haven't started a rebellion or something like that.'"
"While I am touched by your care for my well-being, might I remind you that I have ruled over this place several centuries longer than you've been alive." He had to laugh at her audacity. "Give me some credit, precious. On occasion I do know what I am doing. And have my ears betrayed me, or did I hear you say that you missed me? Even by Above timing, I couldn't have been gone more than three weeks."
"Oh, shut up." Sarah said without bothering to open her eyes to glare at him. Jareth was laughing again. This night had become much better than he could have dreamt. He loosened his hold on Sarah so that she could disentangle herself from him if she wished. He was pleased when she didn't move to do so right away and instead rested her cheek against his own. "Don't get used to this." She could have been pouting if one judged by her tone of voice, but her face betrayed her. Under the light of a crystal moon, entwined with the Goblin King, Sarah Williams was smiling.
"I wouldn't dream of it, precious thing."
Original Notes and Disclaimer
Inspired by a portrait of the GK and his Lady by Saniika, on deviantArt.
I do not own the rights to Labyrinth. Those belong to the late great Jim Henson and company. I do not own Jareth. I do not own Sarah. Hell, I don't even own a goblin. (Not that I'd want a goblin. What would I do with a goblin?) All I have is a Labyrinth DVD, and technically I stole that from my mother and conveniently forgot to give it back. (*Draws sword* You want it? Come and claim it! - Whoops, wrong movie! *Sheaths sword and looks properly abashed*) So all standard disclaimers apply. Not mine, no money, poor university student. Rated a light "T" for a few choice innuendos by his majesty. Sarah does tend to bring out the best in him.
So I have this headcanon that Sarah became a fairly frequent visitor of the Labyrinth after her initial sojourn. And within this headcanon is the headcanon that she and Jareth start off with a rather rocky sort of friendship that slowly evolves into something greater. This scene is probably a little later in that transition.