AN: Very adult themes, not for the underage reader. A bit of fun while I work on the chapter for my main story ;)
Sarah snapped the thread on the sleeve of her dress with her teeth and stepped back to look at her work, her head cocked to one side. Perfect! Before her, her dress spread out on a dressmaker's dummy. A full, silvery fabric skirt, tight bodice, billowing organza sleeves that fell off the shoulder. She had been saving all year to get the very best materials, and this year, her cosplay costume was going to be her best one yet.
It had all started in the months after she had successfully run the Labyrinth. She had won, to be sure, but her victory had left her feeling hollow. She was listless, forlorn, almost heartbroken that she had had to leave that world behind, and she escaped into her own world. Her father and stepmother had worried about her intensely, watching her lose weight and vanish into her own mind. This was more than teenage rebellion. Sarah's obsession was starting to make her unwell.
When she wasn't crying she was snappy and irritable, and the one thing she hated more than anything else is if she was interrupted while reading her battered Labyrinth book for the upteenth time. If she wasn't doing that, she was writing endless dialogues in her diary, all the things she had wanted to say to Jareth, but couldn't. All the things she had hoped he'd say to her in another world, another time. Circumstances that were impossible now.
"We need to do something about this." her father had said, frowning. "She's not been the same since that night we went out, remember? That day it had been raining and she was late back from the park? She spends all day in her room reading those books. Sometimes I think it would be better if I threw them out. She's almost 16 now, should she still be into that stuff?"
Her stepmother nodded. She too had noticed how withdrawn Sarah had become, barely even interacting with Toby at the best of times. "Look, maybe instead of trying to stop her, let her indulge it. Sarah's never really fitted in with her peers. Maybe she's lonely. Maybe it'll do her good meeting others like her, acting out that book of hers. Kids use play therapy, after all." she suggested. With the blessing of Sarah's father, her stepmother had started looking around for some way of helping Sarah indulge her hobby.
Soon after her 16th birthday, her stepmother had come back with something for her. Sarah had immediately bristled at the woman's voice as she gently approached her. What did she want now, more babysitting? Or maybe a reminder of how she still didn't have a boyfriend?
"Sarah," she'd said nervously. "I know you're quite into your… games and dressing up and uh.." Sarah shot her a look as if to say Get on with it when Karen had pushed a flyer in her direction.
It was for a national fantasy cosplay convention. Any theme, any costume, as long as it was based on a fantasy movie or book. Sarah's bad mood had started to lift a little. Maybe she could act out her dreams, indulge them a little, to help her cope with having had to leave her fantasies behind. She chewed on her lip, noting the location was a city at least a three hour drive away. "You'd take me to this?" she asked Karen uncertainly, tapping the flyer against her open palm. Her stepmother had nodded enthusiastically. Despite what Sarah thought, she really did care for the girl. "Sarah if it'll make you happy of course!"
The next few weeks had been spent with Sarah staying back in her school home economics department as she put together her clumsy first interpretation of the dress she'd worn in Jareth's magical ballroom with the help of the home economics teacher who was delighted that at last someone out of her teenagers was taking an interest in sewing. It didn't look that much like the original dress since Sarah had never made a dress before, but it would do.
On the day itself, she had done up her hair as best as she could using her stepmother's hairspray and describing it as well as she could so that her stepmother backcombed and primped until she got it pretty close. "Wow!" Said Sarah. "You got it pretty big!"
"Oh honey," said her stepmother, "I was a teenager in the 70s. There's nothing I can't do with a can of hairspray. Is this a princess from your books?" she'd asked.
"No, not really. I guess you wouldn't call her a princess. More like… a warrior I suppose." Sarah had replied. "She's called Sarah too. A king is in love with her. This is just what I imagine she might have looked like."
Karen had nodded, pinning Sarah's homemade hair decorations in place. "This is a pretty fancy dress for a warrior!" Sarah had shrugged. "Maybe she just wanted to take a break from her battles for one night." she'd said, slipping awkwardly into a pair of low-heeled silver shoes, her first heeled shoes, and they'd headed off.
When they got there, Sarah had been nervous, but in the end she'd found that actually going to the convention had given her an enormous sense of relief. There were no other characters from the Labyrinth there, which didn't surprise her - she'd never met anyone else who'd even read the book - but she had got talking and made some friends. Karen had watched from a discreet distance, smiling when she finally saw her stepdaughter looking happy after so long.
The drive back home had been filled with conversation and stories, Sarah telling Karen about the other fandoms which she'd heard of, the exhibits and books and the charming ball at the end of it all. "And there was no one else from the Labyrinth?" she'd asked Sarah. Sarah shook her head. "But it doesn't matter. There were elves and fairies, so, you know, I had a good time." she'd said, watching the dark road they were driving down for a few quiet moments. "Thanks for taking me to this." she'd said at last, stealing a shy glance at her stepmother.
It had been the beginning of a new bond. Every year Karen had driven her to the cosplay convention until she was old enough to make the journey with friends she'd made there, friends she'd see every year. Once, she even saw a Jareth and a Ludo, and the three had huddled together in excited conversation. Sarah had found herself drawn like a magnet to the Jareth, and was surprised to find the Jareth was actually a girl, but she supposed it made sense. After all, there had been something androgynous about the Goblin King. "Who are you?" they'd asked when they realised she knew the story of the Labyrinth as well as they did.
"Sarah!" she said simply. They'd looked at each other. "Oh" said Jareth, scratching her head. "From which part of the book? I don't remember Sarah in a ball gown?" the others agreed. They were right. The ballroom sequence obviously didn't appear in the book because it had actually happened between her and the Goblin King.
"Er… it's in the European edition. My aunt sent it to me from… Belgium." she said, thinking fast.
The others nodded. "I didn't know there was a different edition!" said Ludo from under his costume. "Cool!" They'd spent the rest of the convention together and attended the ball at the end of it, dancing and laughing until it was time for them to go their separate ways.
More years, more cosplay, more balls. Each year Sarah had gone as herself in the magic ballroom, her costume growing better and better each time.
Now she was 21, and this year her theatre company was actually going to be in the city itself, so she was going alone. She'd arrived with them a week earlier, carefully arranging her costume on an empty seat of the airplane. When the air hostess had noticed, she had politely tried to get Sarah to move it.
"Miss, you can't use a seat for your dress unless you've paid for it."
There was no way Sarah was stuffing all that material into an overhead locked and crushing it. Especially not the billowing sleeves, which had taken her six weeks to get just right.
"It's my wedding dress." she blurted, to which the air hostess had smiled, clasping her hands together. "Bless you, honey! I hope you and your prince charming live happily ever after!" and she'd left her to it, no more questions.
Now it was the night of the convention. Sarah had felt like spoiling herself, so for this night only she'd taken a room in the hotel of the convention, which this year was in a fabulous venue, an enormous hotel with opulent surroundings and even a large garden in the back. She'd been too busy rehearsing to really celebrate her 21st birthday so tonight would serve as a replacement.
Apart from the expensive material to get the dress just right, this year Sarah had taken extra care to make her costume as authentic as possible. She's bought a custom-made steel-boned corset, sent all the way from France, real silk stockings and silver high heels which she had painstakingly glued tiny crystals onto, one by one. She's even borrowed a crinoline from the theatre's costume department to wear under the dress itself.
It took her a good three hours to get ready, but when she was done, even Sarah was amazed by how beautiful she looked. The silver silk material of the skirt shimmered with every movement and she breathed in as deeply as she could, tracing over the tiny little crystals she'd sewn on the bodice as they sparkled in the light. Silver silk organza sleeves billowed from her off-shoulder neckline, showing the gentle curve of her arms under the delicate fabric. Even her headpiece was more elaborate. She'd fashioned it all over from new materials this year, silver-plated jewellery wire and real crystals dripping from behind the silk flowers and leaves.
Sarah looked at herself in the mirror. She stood up a little straighter. "Well! What have we here? If it isn't you." she said to herself, doing her best impression of Jareth's voice. "And where are you going?"
"I'm going to the ball." said Sarah, answering herself. Silence. She wished for a moment that Karen was there to see her, or that she at least had a mysterious gentleman on her arm. But no. The truth was, she wished Jareth was there to see her. It had taken her until her late teens to realise the emotions she'd felt for him during their dance in the magic bubble, and how she'd wished then that she had been older when she'd run the Labyrinth… "I wish you were here tonight, Jareth." she said to the mirror. "You should see me. I'm really something." She stuck her tongue out at herself and changed her posture again as she imagined Jareth would do, giving her reflection a manly bow in the mirror and laughing when she stood up.
Easing herself through the narrow door of her room, Sarah made her way to the convention down an elaborate marble staircase, gathering admiring looks from everyone who crossed her path.
Even though she'd come as the same exact character for seven years running, her friends all rushed to Sarah to pile praise on the hard work she'd put into her costume. "You look amazing!" said her friend dressed as a Labyrinth fairy, her long blond wig almost touching the floor. "Thanks!" said Sarah. "So any Jareths here today?"
"Not sure." said her friend who had once come as Jareth but this year was dressed as a talking door knocker. "We only just got here too." Sarah shrugged her bare shoulders. Maybe at the ball later.
The hours passed quickly in between laughing and having fun with her cosplay friends. She got plenty of admiring looks, even if no one knew who she was supposed to be. Before long, dusk had splashed its colours across the sky and every one began filing into the garden in the back which had been transformed into a lavish ballroom.
Sarah looked around, open-mouthed at how beautiful it was. The organisers had really gone all out this year. Huge white marquees sheltered the space from the chill of the night air. Gigantic crystal chandeliers hung from everywhere, joined with thick, silvery ribbons and all types of feathery decorations. A strong feeling of deja vu washed over her as Sarah looked around, watching the other visitors laughing loudly and clinking their glasses. Most of them were fantasy characters, yes, but there were so many of them dressed in Venetian carnival attire. It could have almost been the ballroom itself.
Her friends were talking to her, but Sarah was too distracted to listen. She cut them off suddenly. "Guys, this is the most beautiful ball I've actually been to." she said, half whispering. The door-knocker looked at her. "Don't you mean ever been to?"
"Huh? Uh yeah!" said Sarah, realising her mistake as she stared around wide-eyed. It was all so spectacular. If this was the closest she'd get to closing the chapter of what happened in the Labyrinth, it would do for her. Sarah was lost in this thought when something caught her eye. Ballroom music was playing now and people had started to couple up to dance, some awkwardly stomping on each other and laughing, others really getting into it, staring into each other's eyes just like back in…
She saw him again. A Jareth! There was a Jareth here tonight! Perfect! Thought Sarah. What better way to round off her night than to dance in this ballroom, wearing this dress, with an imitation Jareth. She excused herself from her friends and tried to push through the crowds. She could only see the back of the person, but there was no mistaking it - the glittering blue jacket, the blue-streaked hair, that was a Jareth. Someone had gone all out on their costume just like her, and if nothing else she had to meet whoever it was.
She caught sight of him again, a little closer now, with two women on either side chatting to him. When he turned to walk, she finally saw his face as he turned back with a smirk at something one of the women said. Sarah stood rooted to the spot, realising that this Jareth had noticed her presence and was heading straight for her. Confidently. Homing in right on her as if no one else existed in there.
He walked purposefully towards her, and yet he seemed to be walking so slowly. A small space seemed to open around Sarah, and suddenly the Jareth was before her. Now she had a chance to really look at him. It was a man, that's for sure. His features were fine and chiseled, his posture just like Jareth's. The medallion, the frilled shirt, those arched eyebrows. It could almost have been him. Almost. But there were very tiny differences - he grinned at her, holding his hand out to dance and Sarah saw his even teeth, and his eyes, both blue.
She broke into a huge smile. "May I?" Asked the Jareth, and Sarah closed her eyes to enjoy his voice. A British accent! She practically leapt into his arms and his embrace felt like putting her hand into a glove made just for her.
The Jareth said nothing as he spun her around the ballroom, never taking his eyes off her. All Sarah could do was gawk at him, and finally he broke the silence. "That's quite a costume! I think every man in here has been vying for a dance with you, fair maiden."
Sarah smiled. "Do you come here every year? I've never seen you before. What's your name? I'm Sarah."
The imitation Jareth laughed at her stream of questions, cocking his said and looking down at her. "I'm Adam. And no, I've not been to this convention before. First time. It's quite lovely tonight, isn't it?"
Sarah nodded. It was. It was so, so lovely. She was dancing with Jareth again, and even if it was just pretend, she wasn't letting him go this time. A slower song came on and Sarah felt her heart swell with joy as she leaned in closer to rest her cheek against the neck of her Jareth and felt his arms tighten around her waist. She wouldn't be seeing her other friends tonight. Tonight, she was not letting Jareth go until dawn broke.
Several hours later Sarah and Adam crashed through the door of her hotel room, almost ripping her dress in the process. She was pretty drunk, having thrown all caution to the wind, not caring at all any more, having too much fun and drinking more champagne than she'd ever had. She'd spent hours and hours dancing and chatting to Adam, but in the end the animalistic draw she felt to him - to Jareth, if she was honest - had got too overwhelming. When he'd leaned in to kiss her at last, outside the marquee as the cold air had started to make her shiver a little, and whispered "Let's go somewhere a little more private." Sarah had not needed to be asked twice.
Now they were doing a strange kind of dance, stumbling around her room as she tried to get closer to him, enjoying his intoxicating kisses. He was the best kisser she'd ever encountered, or maybe it was the fact that she wanted to pretend he was Jareth, she didn't know. But her entire body was screaming to be with this man. It was more than obvious that he felt the same way. It was obvious where this was going. She felt Adam's hands reach behind her for the zip of her dress as she peeled his jacket off him, feeling even more dizzy on the sensation of his kisses on her neck and bare shoulders.
In the half light of the room, he lowered the dress of her body, running his hands up her silk-stockinged thighs, moving his hands higher and touching her through the fabric of her underwear. Sarah gasped. He began to kiss the inside of her thighs as she leaned her head back, breathing deeper. "Get me out of this thing." she'd breathed, and Adam had deftly undone the laces of her corset.
"Listen, this is going to sound really weird but… do you mind if I call you Jareth?" she asked breathlessly as his fingers finished working on the corset and began to move to her bare stomach, inching up her body.
"Please do, my precious thing."
That voice. No… Sarah suddenly grew rigid, and very, very sober. She froze against the kisses flying over her skin. Adam - Jareth was behind her, running his hands over her hips, moving them up and down her stomach, inching closer to where she had bashfully crossed her arms across her front.
Sarah slowly turned her head to look back over her shoulder, to look into his eyes. But it wasn't Adam any more. Oh no, and she hadn't had that much champagne to drink. Staring back at her were the mismatched eyes and the sharp grin of the Goblin King.
Sarah felt herself start to blush red. "It's really you!" she gasped, trying to pull away.
"Oh come now, Sarah, why so shy?" asked Jareth, not letting her out of his grip. "We were just starting to have some fun. You've done an excellent job. You look exactly like you did in my fantasy ballroom. Except you're a woman now, and that, my dear, is a very crucial difference which I intend to explore thoroughly."
"How did you get here!" she asked, looking at him again to make sure.
"You wished me here my sweet girl." said Jareth. "And I had to wait for you to come of age before I could touch you again."
Of course. How could Sarah have not realised? How could there have been a Jareth from the ballroom at the ball when there never was a Jareth from the ballroom in the book? He had known her character immediately, even though it never appeared in the book. This was definitely Jareth.
"But you… we… we spent the whole evening talking and you said nothing."
"We spent the whole night talking about you. And I am finished talking. The only sounds I want to hear from you now are more, shall we say, carnal."
He was right. Sarah quickly ran through the conversations they'd had. She hadn't even realised he'd crafted all his answers to be vague and all his questions to be about her. Jareth pushed his body into her, turning her around and sitting her on the edge of her bed.
"I've waited a long time for this, my precious thing." he said, brushing a strand of her elaborate hair piece out of the way before lowering himself on the floor and removing her shoes and stockings. "And I know you have too." When he was done removing her stockings with a flourish, Jareth slipped her silver shoes back on her feet and looked back at her with a smile as Sarah she stared at him confused.
"Why are you putting my shoes on again?" she asked.
Jareth was like an animal ready to pounce, squatting on the floor in front of her. He fixed her with a hungry gaze, his mismatched eyes stripping her to her soul. "Because the next time you look at these shoes, I want to remember me inside you. I want you to see how they shimmered on either side of my head when you trembled with pleasure."
An overwhelming wave of desire washed through Sarah. She felt her previous state of relaxation return, but when Jareth tried to push her onto the bed, she froze again.
"I can see you're torn, precious." said Jareth, going back to kissing and touching her legs. "So I'm going to make a suggestion. Let tonight be what it will be. After all, I can only travel between the worlds to the same person once a year."
Sarah closed her eyes as his kisses moved higher.
"All we have is tonight?" Sarah asked again.
"All we have is tonight. Until 5 am to be precise."
Tonight. Would it be so bad to let this be what it would be? She had Jareth again, and this time she could come to him as a woman. Hadn't this been what she'd wanted? Yes, oh it so is. Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds before Sarah lifted Jareth's face to hers and moaned at the passionate kisses he poured over her. He was like a man possessed, frantic, kissing her so hard it hurt. "I knew you'd be quite the wild animal." he growled, sinking his hands into her hair as he kissed her.
Jareth lifted her to the bed in one swift movement. "Jareth…" she moaned as she realised he was naked too - she hadn't even noticed but given the state she was in, she'd probably undressed him without knowing.
"Don't tell me you're going to change your mind now, my precious," said Jareth, biting her lip gently as he kissed her. "No, it's just… this is a little overwhelming." said Sarah.
A slow, predatory smile broke across Jareth's face. Without warning, he pinned Sarah's hands to either side of her head, exposing her fully to him now. She noticed his gaze trawl across her body, completely naked now. Except for the shoes. She arched her body towards him, gasping. "Sarah, I have waited seven years for you. And I fully plan to overwhelm you. There is absolutely no way I am going to go easy on you. And you don't want me to, either."
Sarah began to breath harder as Jareth's kisses moved lower, and her eyes closed as the sensation. He kept her hands pinned in place. "You better close your eyes, because you won't be getting any sleep tonight." he murmured. Quick as a flash, he produced two silk scarves and fastened Sarah's hands to the frame of the bed. She was immobilized. Sarah was delirious now, desperate to experience what he was about to do to her, and a little scared of it too.
Jareth raked his hands over Sarah's naked skin, kissing her lower on the skin of her breasts and sucking hard on her nipples, not letting up when she began to moan and writhe in pleasure. It was immense, more than Sarah had ever imagined. She swore she could see fireworks start to spark behind her closed eyelids as he flicked his tongue over her faster, encouraged by her reaction. It was crazy. She was actually here, in a bed, naked with Jareth. Her mind was blank of everything, except the pleasure she was feeling.
Jareth sucked harder, licking her erect nipples. His hands were all over her at the same time, "I'm going to enjoy every part of you Sarah. Do you want me to?" he whispered.
"Yes!" cried Sarah.
"Good girl." said Jareth. "You were very bad for beating me in my Labyrinth. I'm going to make you pay. I'm going to make you climax as many times as I like as compensation. Does that sound fair?" he asked. He didn't need Sarah to answer. When he reached down lower still, she moaned and moved herself under his touch.
Jareth suddenly felt overcome by desire. He would wait no longer. Unexpectedly, he hooked her legs over his shoulders and entered her suddenly, without warning. Sarah practically screamed from the pleasure of the sensation. In her delirium, she could make out the silver shoes sparkling in the gloom of the room on either side of Jareth's head. He was right. Those shoes would seared into her memory now, forever tied to this moment. He watched her for a moment, then pointed to the clock on the wall. It was 1 am.
"I have a lot I want to do to you." He said. "So I don't think you'll object to this." Sarah saw him move his finger and the time between each second grew twice as long. Jareth had reordered time, slowing it down to half speed.
He turned back to enjoy the sight of Sarah beneath him, helpless, melting around him with desire, just a little bit scared, and now surprised about his tampering with time. "We're going to have have a lot of fun my sweet thing." he said, clamping his lips over hers as she began to say something and pulling his hips back to start pounding into her at a speed which made Sarah feel like she would lose her mind. Within moments, she felt the warm pool of her first orgasm of the night start to spread through her as she screamed into Jareth's kiss, careening over the edge.
"That was quick." said Jareth. "I think the next dozen or so should be a little more drawn out." He didn't stop. He kept going, rocking his hips slower now as he bent down to lick her again, and Sarah realised this was going to be a night she'd never forget.
Dawn was starting to break as Jareth poured cool water over Sarah's head. She was naked in the bath of cool water he had carried her to after hours spent giving her pleasure repeatedly in every way he knew how. When she had become too bruised to continue and too weak from pleasure to stand, he had filled the bath with lukewarm water and lowered her into it. "It'll ease your body. I do apologise. But I couldn't hold myself back." he said, rinsing the last of the shampoo from her hair.
Sarah smiled, wrapped in a state of bliss. "Shall I lie to you Jareth?"
"Go ahead."
"I didn't like that at all. It didn't feel outrageously good. You were not exactly what I had hoped for. I haven't missed you, and I haven't waited seven years for you."
Jareth grinned. "Shame on you for lying to me you wicked girl. Truthfully, how did you like what I did to you?"
Sarah looked over her shoulder at him, exhausted, smiling. "I couldn't lie about that if I tried. You've ruined me, Jareth."
"Good," said Jareth. "Then you won't mind if I come back and do it again next year."
The clock began to strike. Five am. Jareth gave Sarah a deep, hungry kiss. "Time to go, Sarah. Goodbye, Queen of the Labyrinth."
"Goodbye Jareth," said Sarah, waving lazily at him as he walked through the full-length mirror in the bathroom.
In the days that followed, Sarah wondered if she hadn't imagined it all. But then she'd remember how it felt, the intensity of each time, and trace her finger over the jagged bite mark on the inside of her thigh. No. This wasn't just her imagination. This was real.
A year later, Sarah was back in the ballroom. A slightly different venue, many of the same crowd, her dress and costume as usual, but just a little better. And her glittering, bejeweled silver shoes. She'd walked around the ballroom for a half hour or so, searching, looking, and wondered for a moment if she'd been wrong, when she felt a gloved hand reach around her waist and a familiar voice whisper in her ear. "Hello, Sarah. I hope you rested because you shan't be sleeping tonight." Sarah grinned, blushing, as her mind wandered to all the things she and the Goblin King would be doing later that night.