Jareth stared down at the girl with mixed feelings of hatred and longing. He hated that their roles were now reversed; he might have no power over her, but she had all kinds of power over him. And she didn't even know it. He longed for her to call for him again, even as he knew that she never would.
Jareth, the Goblin King, feared by all in his kingdom, was forever trapped in his owl form. Unless she called for him. He'd seen her call for Hoggle, Sir Dinamus, and Ludo. But never did she call for him, or even think about him, as far as Jareth could tell. It drove him to the the brink of madness to spend everyday, all day, thinking of her, and knowing that she gave him no thought at all. It was the purest hell.
Sometimes he thought that his salvation would never come. Then other times, when he caught her looking off at far away places that only she knew about, a little smile playing on her beautiful lips, he began to believe and, despite himself, dream.
So, Jareth waited. Day in, and day out. Sun rise, to sun set.
Sarah Williams, who'd grown from the pretty 15-year-old in to a beautiful 24-year-old, watched the little children at the park play. She loved children; had hoped and dreamed of them. But, alas, since there was no man in her life, and most likely never would be, Sarah doubted that she would have any of her own.
So she often took Toby, her now 9-year-old step brother, to the park, giving her father and Karnen, her step mother, a break from the demands of the little boy.
Toby was so full of life. Everything he discovered everyday seemed to brighten his eyes and make him smile in wonder. Sarah loved watching him. She imagined that was how she was when she was little. Innocent to the ways of the world and amazed at everything that happened in her life.
Some of the life had dimmed in Sarah after her trip through the Labyrinth. Things seemed ordinary now. Just mundane and blah.
Sometimes, when Sarah couldn't sleep, she would step out onto her balcony and stare into the distance. She would image that she was back in the Labyrinth, the one place it seemed like dreams might come true. She would picture Hoggle, Sir Dinamus, and Ludo. She would sometimes even think of the odd little Goblins. But never would she let her mind wonder to their King. Sarah refused to think of him, even in her day dreams.
So, Sarah lived. Watching life go by and watching the children play.
Sarah, who'd been so wrapped up in her own day dreams and pondering, didn't notice that it was getting late till Toby appeared at her side, tugging on her sleeve. Toby was mute. The doctors couldn't seem to find a reason. Everything was fine, they said. Toby just couldn't (or, as one had guessed, wouldn't) talk.
Sarah stood, taking his little hand in hers. "Ready?" she asked.
Toby nodded, before leading Sarah to the side walk. Sarah always found this amusing. For whatever reason, Toby had made himself her protector. He looked both ways, up and down the empty street, before continuing down the path home.
When they reached the porch, Karen was waiting for them. "Thank you, Sarah." she said softly, before turning to Toby, "Tell Sarah goodbye, Toby. Dinners ready and getting cold."
Toby turned to Sarah, throwing his arms around her in his trademark goodbye. Smacking a sloppy kiss on her cheek, he bounced up the steps and vanished inside, no doubt heading to the kitchen to see what was cooking.
Sarah watched him go, a little part of her aching. Karen watched this with a knowing eye. "Sarah," she started, "you need to find you a good man, settle down, have a few children of your own."
Sarah nodded, thanking Karen and giving her a hug, before turning and walking the lonely path to her own little flat.
Maybe I should buy a dog, Sarah thought. But that seemed too much like giving up on her dream of children.
Sarah continued thinking about life's questions. She was so wrapped up in herself that she didn't notice how dark it had become, or how empty the little shops and streets were. She didn't see the snowy white owl that floated soundlessly above her head. Nor did she notice the dark shadow creeping out form the ally way in front of her.
Suddenly a hand closed over her mouth and a heavy arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her off her feet and into the dark ally.
Fear spiked through her, every muscle tense and ready to flee. Sarah started to shake her head back and forth, trying to dislodge the dirty, smelly hand over her mouth. If I can just cry out, she thought.
Then, Sarah was violently thrown to the ground, knocking the breath from her lungs. Before she could scream, the hand was back, cutting off her air and preventing her from yelling. A heavy weight, that of a man, closed in on her. He was tearing at her jeans, trying to undo them and pull them down at the same time.
Sarah managed to open her mouth under the hand and bit down, hard, on the fleshy part between the thumb and forefinger. The man swore and pulled back his hand.
"Jareth!" Sarah screamed in at the top of her lungs. Why that name, his name, she'll never know.
The man slapped her across the face. Hard enough to daze her and cause her head to slap against the hard conceit under her.
Then, just as quick as the attack had started, it was over. The man was gone.
Sarah, dazed and confuse, shook her head to try and clear her vision. She could just make out the shape of someone, a man, looming over her in the darkness. A hand came down and lightly traced her face. "No," she said weakly. "No more."
"No more, I promise." That voice. She hadn't heard it in so long. Yet it wasn't the same. It was lighter, kinder.
Sarah was lifted from the ground, held close to a lightly muscled chest. She sighed, knowing, somehow, that she was safe and could, for now, let down her guard.
Sarah let the darkness that was closing in around her take her. Trusting the man holding her to keep her safe.
Jareth stared down into the face of the girl that he'd loved more then life itself. She was a woman now, but her growing up had only made her more beautiful. Except for the slight purple bursing on her right cheek, she was a vision on innocence and loveliness. Seemingly untouched by the world around her, Sarah was the image of a queen.
Her chest rose and fell with each breath. And with each breath, Jareth had to drag his gaze away. Sarah had grown. Indeed, she had grown in all the places that made a mans' mouth water and his palms itch to touch, caress, and claim.
Jareth looked up at her face, excepting for her to still be sleeping. Instead, his blue and green mismatched eyes connected with her soft brown ones.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. And, if it was possible, Jareth felt his heart break a little more.
He hardened himself and sat down in the chair by the large king sized bed. "You called for me. Don't you remember?" he could see in her eyes that she didn't. "Such a pity."
Sarah sat up slowly, never taking her eyes from him, as if afraid he might jump her at any minute. She pulled her graze away and looked around her. The chamber was his; he'd had nowhere else to take her and refused to go to that tiny broom closest she called a home. Besides the extra large king size bed in the chamber, there was a seven foot tall armoire. On either side of the bed were to heavy oak night stands. That was the only furniture in the room, besides the chair Jareth had "created".
There were two doors leading out of the bed chamber. One lead to the hall way. The other the bathroom. Sarah was staring at both as if trying to decide which was which and if she could make it before Jareth caught her. She couldn't, Jareth knew. And she must have realized it herself, because she turned her eyes back to him and stared at him, waiting for an explanation.
"You truly don't remember, do you?" he asked her, looking intensely into her eyes. He genteelly probed her mind, and found that she couldn't remember anything after she dropped off Toby.
"Toby is fine; he's home with his family." Jareth replied, in answer to the worry in her mind.
"Then why am I here, in your castle?" Sarah asked quietly, still looking him died in the eye, unflinching.
"You were attacked," as he said this, he reached out with his gloved hand and lightly touched the bruising on her face. "And you called for me." This he said as he dropped his hand and formed a fist in his lap to keep from reaching for her again.
"But why..." Sarah let the sentence trail off, not knowing what she could say.
"Why, indeed." Jareth stated, standing and walking across the room to stand infront of one of the windows in the chamber. He stared out at his kingdom, not really seeing it, but not wanting to have to look at the confusion on Sarah's bruised face.
"Why did you bring me here? Why not take me home?" Sarah asked, pushing herself up from the bed. The covers fell to her waist, revealing a soft, flowing white night gown. "Did you undress me?!" she gasped out.
"You called for me, that gives me the right to take you where I chose." Jareth stated, turning for the window to stare at the vision upon his bed. "And yes, I did."
"Why?! You had no right!" Sarah yelled at him, not caring that he had saved her, just wanting to know why he'd thought it alright to remove her clothing.
One minute, Jareth was standing by the window, and in the next instant, he was leaning over her, pinning her to the bed without ever touching her. "You called for me, Sarah, that gave me the right." He stared deeply into her eyes, touching her nowhere, yet over powering her with his maleness. "And don't forget, I saved you. You life is mine now."
Sarah shivered from the intensity of that threat. But she hide it well, saying only, "My life belongs to no man."
Jareth leaned in closer, inhaling her sweet honey suckle scent. He raised one hand and lightly grazed the unbruised side of her face. "That is where your wrong, Sarah. You are mine now. You called for me. I saved you." His hand lowered to her throat, lightly circling it. "Don't forget that."
Jareth glazed into her frightened eyes a while longer, before pulling himself away and walking out the door on the right.
Sarah let out the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding and looked around.
What have I gotten myself into, was her last thought before exhaustion won out and she slipped back into her dreamless state, praying she'd wake up in her little bedroom.
Sarah opened her light brown eyes, still unfocused with sleep lingering in the warm depths. The room was ditch black. And silent. That couldn't be a good sign.
She sat up, pushing the heavy feather cover off her. She sat her feet on the floor, feeling the bitter bite of the cold wood against her tender skin.
Holding her hands in front of her, Sarah slowly creped forward. The only sound in the still room was the shuffle of her tiny feet and her shallow breathing. Her small hands bumped into the stone wall and she slowly worked her way to the window she'd seen Jareth standing at earlier. Feeling the velvet hanging, Sarah searched for the part and then pulled the curtain aside. Gentle moonlight flooded the room. Sarah glazed out the window and felt her breath catch at the sight before her.
Like some kind of painting, the beauty below was captured in all its splendor and bathed in pale blue moonlight. The stone walls of the Labyrinth were familiar, yet vastly different from what she remembered from 9 years ago. Instead of the master piece of twists and turns that had challenged her before, now it was a crumbling ruin, nothing near the glory it once was.
Emotion over came Sarah as she stared out at the devastation before her. Tears leaked from her soft brown eyes without her knowledge.
She felt, rather the heard, Jareth come up behind her. His glove-clad hands fell to rest on her shoulders. They pulled, lightly turning her to face him. He placed a hand beneath her chin and pulled her face up to his.
"To think, you cry for something you once fought against," he whispered quietly. His eyes stared deeply into hers; she couldn't look away from the mismatched blue and green that seemed to see all the way into her soul.
"I ... I'm not crying for that. I'm crying because I'm stuck here with you." Sarah was surprised that she could manage to get the lie out without choking.
"I see." Jareth replied calmly, not moving away from her or releasing her from his grip. "Do you know why my kingdom is in ruin, sweet Sarah?"
"No." Sarah wasn't sure why she was whispering or why she wasn't fighting Jareth's hold on her.
"Do you remember your words to me, 9 years ago, dear Sarah?" Jareth's hand slowly started to tighten on her chin.
Sarah realized then that this was another one of Jareth's games. She started shaking her head, trying to back away from him and break free of his hold.
Jareth smirked at her attempt to escape while he backed her against the stone wall. He quickly yanked both her arms over her head and pinned her to the wall by holding both her wrists in one hand. The other hand he wrapped around her throat; not tight enough to cut off her air, but tight enough to cause her to still within his grasp and look up at him with fear rimming her beautiful brown eyes.
"Do you know," Jareth started slowly, staring into her eyes as his mismatched ones filled with anger and hatred, "what gives the Underground so much power, and causes it to thrive throughout the centuries, Sarah?"
Sarah's only answer was to shake her head from side to side.
"When you believe in something, you give it power. You give it energy; energy to become real." He eased in closer to her, giving her the forced intimacy of taking in the air he exhaled. "When you take that power back, your believe no longer holds the power of life; it no longer has "power over you"." The last was said in such a soft whisper that Sarah almost thought that she'd imagined it.
But the anger in Jareth's eyes was the certainty that cleared her mind.
"Is that why I'm here, because your Labyrinth is dying?" she managed to get out without her voice shaking and getting away more of her fear.
"No."
After that one word Jareth released Sarah, stepping away from her and moving to the door. Without another word, he was out the door.
The last sound Sarah heard before collapsing on to the floor in a heap of tears was the locking bolt being thrown home.
After spending a restless night and countless tears, Sarah awoke the next morning feeling sick and sore. Her face was throbbing from the slap she'd received and it was all she could manage to get out of bed without the acid in her stomached making an unseeingly appetence.
She walked across the floor in her bare feet and tried the door she'd seen Jareth walk out of twice. It was the locked tight.
Sighing, Sarah moved to the next door and genteelly pushed it open. The sight that meet her eyes was one of beauty.
The bathroom Sarah found herself in was complete with a claw-toed bath tub and held a beautiful brass wash stand, with glass pitcher and basin. Lifting the pitcher, Sarah found it was already filled with water. Pouring the basin full, she reached in and found the clear water icy cold. Splashing some water on her face, Sarah reached to the shelf on the wash stand and pulled down a soft, cuddly towel. Wiping her face off, Sarah then set about some more personal washing. She didn't know how long Jareth would be gone, so she made the chore a quick as possible.
Sarah walked out of the small, but lovely bathroom and set about finding something beside her current night gown to wear.
Open the armoire, Sarah stared in the emptiness. No hope there, she thought, closing the doors.
Turning, she the scanned the room, looking for the jeans and shirt she'd been wearing before being attacked.
Instead, laid out on the now made bed, was a knee-length skirt, button down white shirt, a pair of black knee-high boots, and a light pink bra and panty set. Blushing to herself, Sarah looked them over and found with a start that everything was her size.
Glancing around the room, Sarah hastily pulled the night dress over her head and slipped into her new clothes. Everything fit perfectly, even the boots. Sarah sighed, wondering why Jareth would brother giving her new clothes, when he couldn't seem to stand being in the same room as her.
It seems that all Sarah could ever find was questions.
Never answers.
Jareth stared out the high window of his great hall. He was trying very hard at keeping himself from conjuring a crystal and seeing what Sarah was doing. He'd locked her door last night, so he knew that she was still in her room. He just couldn't get the picture of her tear stained face from his mind. She'd been crying for the Labyrinth; he knew that she had. But he would continue to let her lie to him and herself. Until he managed to tell her why she was here, at least. Then he would have to explain everything to her; which was something the Goblin King did not like doing - telling others why he did something. He was king; he didn't explain, he did.
Still though, part of him wanted to tell Sarah everything. Tell her how long he'd been waiting for her to call him. How many different ways he had imagined her reaching out for him.
Never had he thought or dreamed about her calling for him, the man she hated, when she was in danger, when she really needed help.
Sarah was sitting on the window seal, staring out at the ruin that was the once beautiful and compelling labyrinth. The sight of the crumbling walls still managed to bring tears from her eyes, but she was able to force them back. The only betrayal of there existence was the too bright shine in her brown eyes.
Her back was against the stone wall, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her tiny arms were wrapped around her legs, pinning the skirt in place. Her dainty, dimpled chin was resting on her knees.
That how Jareth found you. He didn't make a noise as he entered the room and came up behind her. He just stood behind her, arms crossed over his chest, watching Sarah, wondering what was going on inside her head.
Sarah didn't look over at him; she didn't even seem to move when she said, "You must really hate me. For what I've done."
Jareth said nothing, although it pulled at a small place inside him to hear her talk like that.
"After everything I've done... Or rather, un-done. I've killed your home with a few careless words. I've destroyed everything that you've known, and loved." Sarah turned then, giving Jareth a look that felt like it went all the way down to his soul.
"Sarah,..." Jareth didn't know exactly what he was going to say. He dropped his arms and stared deeply into her eyes. Finally, he held out his hand. "Walk with me. I want to show you something."
Sarah broke eye contact, instead turning her eyes to the hand he had held out. After what seemed like forever, she lightly laid her soft hand in his rougher, larger one and brought her eyes back to his.
Jareth closed his hand over hers and pulled her from the her window sit, drawing her up toward him. He didn't pull her right up against him, but just close enough for her to feel his body heat. He heard her draw in a sharp breath and tightened his hand around hers, thinking that she might blot at any moment.
"You can't back out now, Sarah," he murmured softly, his breath lightly stirring the hair at her temple. "You're in too deep now."
With those last words, Jareth used his magic and flashed him and Sarah both from her bed room.
