Thankful
Author's Disclaimer: No, I do not own Labyrinth. All rights go to their respective owners. I just like playing with the characters for my own amusement, and hope that others enjoy it, too. In keeping with tradition (of late), I wanted to write a little story for the big holidays. Before, I combined Thanksgiving and Christmas, but, now that I have been hit by a fluffy-one-shot bug, I will be able to have something individual for each this year. These are just some thoughts of Sarah celebrates her Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy it!
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Sarah was smiling too much, but she didn't care. She felt as though her life could not be any better, and she was grateful for all that she had.
It was a beautiful May day, air warm as can be. Her family was in town, and within a month, she would be married to Jareth in their park. As she walked through the park, she could remember her younger days, first play-acting, then, after her Grand Adventure, playing with Toby in the park. But it was more than just playing for her, especially once Jareth came back. Then, the three of them bonded over pirates and rogues, and how good always triumphed over evil.
She didn't think the day could get much better, but then, she heard something, and she had to stop to smile to herself. Passing by another part of the park, she could hear the little kids playing and screaming, and that sound made her smile more.
Thoughts of the future passed in quick succession, even though she had thought about most of it, thanks to Karen's help. She would be Queen, taking on those duties, as well as sharing her life completely with Jareth, just as she had always wanted to. However, part of that complete sharing also brought another thought: children of her own. Sure, she wanted to have kids to tell stories to and play with, but that thought suddenly took on more weight now that they were almost married. She couldn't help but imagine herself with Jareth, taking care of their kids while being completely sleep-deprived. Somehow they would make it work, because they always had with everything else in the past. With kids, everything changed, but was still better somehow.
A year and half later, Sarah discovered that she was wrong yet again. As she sat opposite Jareth while they celebrated Thanksgiving Underground, she found that she had even more to be grateful for, as she had been blessed with much since then. This year, nineteen year old Toby was visiting, sitting between his two new favorite people, the twins. Still quite small, the toddlers cried with the lungs of their father, even a little in tune with one another. A boy and a girl, they were already different in what they liked to do, and yet were similar in how they always got what they wanted, and worked together to get it.
Just that morning, Jareth's little princess was seen taking goblins and forcing them to dress up in outfits that she had picked out from her wardrobe, while the goblins all fought over who would wear them. Meanwhile, the little prince could be seen trying to pick up the goblins, as though trying to lift weights. No doubt, one day he would have a throwing arm just like his father had the fiercest kick ever known in the Underground. Both father and mother had played with them when they had first awoken, until the festivities needed to start.
Sarah wanted the celebration to be "just like home", down to the exact same foods and activities done. She had worked hard, cooking alongside her favorite cooks, as well as introducing them to turkey at long last. That had been an adventure.
She had wanted to hunt down a turkey as her family had always done, since her cousins owned a turkey farm. However, now she had her own magic, and could simply have made one appear, but that felt too easy. She had tried to convince Jareth to come, but he preferred to watch the little ones, while she went and found the right one. To Jareth's chagrin, his army of helpers with the little ones disappeared in favor of Sarah, as the goblins were all quite curious about what a turkey was, and if it really was like a chicken, but bigger. That, and they didn't want to dress up anymore.
So, instead of coming up and surprising a turkey to take home at the farm, Sarah found herself standing in the middle of the farm, staring at the chaos caused by the goblins. Everywhere she looked, they ran after or fought with the turkeys that they had cornered, with one brave soul even trying to ride a turkey, though soon thrown off. After ordering the goblins to choose just one turkey, the biggest one was decided upon, with the whole goblin horde surrounding the fat tom. Never again would they be allowed to visit. On the plus side, they definitely wanted to try turkey since they were meaner than chickens.
After getting the turkey home, Sarah tricked Jareth into helping her prepare the turkey by claiming that he was very good with his hands, a useful skill. If half of the stuffing created did not end up in the turkey due to being thrown at and ending up in each other's hair, then so be it. Jareth also found that tickling Sarah while she was stirring was fun, as she had a habit of squeaking and then flicking a spoon of the delicious stuffing at him in retaliation. The goblins cooks knew better than to get involved, as other experiments with cooking (usually involving flour or sugar) had shown that they only helped to create an even bigger mess. They were content stealing bits of the leftover stuffing.
By the time the turkey was finally in the oven, Sarah was ready to sleep again, but Jareth was ready with a back massage so that she could relax properly but still be awake. When it was all ready, they all sat down to a great-smelling meal, with Toby helping the little ones eat, while the parents looked on happily. The goblins had their portion of the food, even though Jareth was upset with them for choosing Sarah over him. As a result, select goblins suddenly disappeared from the table just as they were about to eat their first bite. Some even got puffs of glitter sent over them, and soon all were on top of the table, trying to catch the bits of glitter, easily distracted from eating.
Overall, the dinner passed by without too many comments, other than about how delicious turkey was, and how they should bring some down to live Underground, in the hopes that it could be eaten more often, as well as give the chickens some friends. Jareth had spoken at the beginning of the meal, and now Sarah got up to speak at the end.
She said, "As we finish our first Thanksgiving here, I am gladdened by all that I see. As I speak, I am surrounded by all whom I love and cherish more than anything in the world. Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for all that you hold dear in life, and sharing that gratitude with those around you. I have a loving family, new additions, wonderful friends, and a job that I look forward to every day. I have found my place in life, and I am truly happy to be here with you all. No matter what has happened in the past, I would not change a thing, despite my initial fears. My heart could burst at all the love I have found here, so present as it is. Thank you, all of you, for what you have done, and thank you for being in my life. You have enriched my life more than I can ever possibly explain."
Jareth stood at that, and came over to Sarah to surround her with a soul-gripping and very affectionate hug. The goblins were in awe of the couple's moment for several minutes, until one small goblin shouted, "Group hug!" Then, everyone in the room converged on the surprised King and Queen, and the chaos ensued as always. But, it was still the happiest chaos imaginable, and Sarah would not have it any other way.
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Author's Notes: While I don't own the characters, I do own Sarah's quote at the end, which I echo wholeheartedly to all of you wonderful people who read. Much love to all who read! You make the writing experience so much more fun and worth it. This would not be possible without your encouragement. I also want to thank my sister, who had a hand in inspiring a part of this story, the turkey hunt. Fluff makes me really happy, and I wanted to leave you with a small gift as I run off to go spend time with my family for Thanksgiving. The kids were not given, so I leave that to your capable imagination. I know some of you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so I hope you have a great November 28! For everyone else, my biggest wishes for happiness, health, and safety during this Thanksgiving. I hope you can spend it with those you love, just as Sarah does. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!