Chapter 1: As the World Falls Down
Sarah looked in her old room, almost completely boxed up and ready to go. The only things left out were her bed and mirror. Tomorrow, she thought, she'd be moving into her new apartment with her fiancé, Damon.
She stood at the doorway to her room and thought about him. His auburn hair and stunning blue, almost violet, eyes shown prominently in her mind and she sighed with happiness.
She'd been engaged for just over a year now, and it had come time for them to get a place of their own. She'd found a lovely apartment over on Willow Avenue in the downtown area, and she'd jumped at the chance to rent it.
Love had found her quickly after she had left the Underground, almost overnight. Damon appeared at school one day as a new student, and she fell for him. They had begun dating soon after. 'It was a good relationship,' she thought, 'and he makes me forget those troubles I have at home.' They'd been a couple for six years, and she's loved every minute of it. And yet, something lurked in the dark recesses of her mind; a nameless face and an unexplainable longing for something that was now long forgotten in her memory.
It felt strange being back after all these years. Her stepmother was long gone, taking Toby with her. The divorce made things rather difficult at first, and she had never quite gotten over the anger she felt towards her father's ex-wife. All this came back to her as she glanced at the boxes full of her memories.
She sighed as she pushed back a long strand of dark brown hair away from her pale white face, looking once more at the emptiness of her childhood haven.
Sarah walked slowly over to her bed and sat down on the red silken covers. Suddenly, she felt something sharp underneath her. She pulled back the covers to reveal a small red leather bound book. In gold print across the front read the words The Labyrinth. Sarah traced the letters with her index finger as she remembered how often she used to read it. It called to her, in a way that said: 'Read me, take me, and I shall grant you happiness.' The voice that sounded within her was not her own. Instead it was a deep rich voice that stirred her emotions and compelled her to pick it up.
She opened it to the first page and from it, fell a single white feather. It shown brightly against the scarlet sheets.
"Jareth." She whispered. 'That name,' she thought. 'Where did it come from?' An image flashed through her mind. A face. Long white gold hair framing a pale sparkling face with ice blue eyes. Sarah felt a strange desire as it faded from her mind's eye.
"You called Sarah?" a voice behind her sent her spinning as she turned quickly to see the man from her visions sitting on a large box across from her. He looked rather irritated with her.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my room?" her eyes stared in awe as his eyes matched with his. He was clearly taken aback by what she had said and looked at her with suspicion.
"You mean to tell me, dear girl, that you don't even remember me?" He raised his perfectly formed eyebrows and stood up. "You destroyed half of my kingdom, defeated me at every turn and you, Sarah, can't even remember me?"
Images flashed through her head. He held Toby, a never ending room of stairs, and finally, he stood before her in white silk and feathers as the world fell down around him. "The Goblin King." She said softly.
"What did you say?" He looked at her with something akin to fear and panic. Something struck a nerve within him.
"You're the Goblin King." Sarah said, suddenly remembering everything. Jareth moved quickly and covered her mouth.
"Do not speak that title. I am no longer the Goblin King. I'm not even supposed to be capable of crossing the border, do you understand?" she nodded silently, still in shock at what was happening.
"What-what happened?" Sarah blurted out as Jareth removed his hand from her mouth. Jareth glared at her with slight malice.
"Well, let me explain before you speak again, and I shall." He looked at Sarah, almost daring her to speak. When she remained silent and still, he continued. "After your little victory, the whole Labyrinth began to fall apart. I was the ruler, and therefore no mere mortal was supposed to defeat me. That barrier," he indicated the mirror "was never meant to be crossed by a mortal the other way, let alone two. Until it is fixed, not only can I not sit upon the throne, but I may neither return to the world I loved so without being attacked by those who wish me ill. The fate of the underground is bound to mine, and so I still must protect it. The barrier has been broken for six long years Sarah, and I haven't a chance in the world until it's fixed."
"What, pray tell, does this have to do with me? It's not my problem, it's yours." She shrugged and stared at him, taking in his appearance to burn into her memory for later.
"You see, that's where you're wrong. It is your problem now. The only way to fix it is for you to cross it one last time."
"I don't care, I'm not going back. It's neither my job nor my responsibility to help you. Now, I'm going to go to sleep and you are going back to where you came from." Jareth straightened himself up and looked at her calmly, raising an eyebrow as he listened to what she said.
"Oh?" he said softly. "Is that so?" Jareth lurched forward as Sarah went to dodge him, but he was quicker, and, upon grabbing her, he threw her into the mirror.
Sarah closed her eyes as she expected to hit the sharp glass, but instead, she felt herself falling. She opened her eyes to pure darkness as she fell for a time, losing all sense of direction in the abyss surrounding her. Finally, she felt gravity's pull and she closed her eyes to prepare for the impact. The ground sunk underneath her like a cushion and she opened her eyes to see that she had landed in the familiar golden brown sands of the Underground.
Jareth's shiny black leather boots gleamed from the light of day above as she tilted her head up to face him. Jareth looked down at the girl by his feet and smiled a cruelly victorious smile. "You will soon learn, Sarah, that I'm always right and shall always win." He laughed viciously as he started towards the Labyrinth.
"Wait!" Sara cried. "You have to take me back home! That was the deal!" Jareth looked at her in puzzlement.
"There was no such deal as I can recall, and even if I could, I wouldn't take you back." He turned around and began his walk again.
"Wait. You mean to tell me that I'm stuck here until you can get me back?" Sarah was now growing more angry then scared.
"No, I mean I have too little power to get you back, and you'll never be able to cross that border, even with my power restored. The border will not let you cross, not now, not ever again. This is your home now, you may stay with me."
"That's not fair!" The words struck her as she remembered her teenage years and how often she'd said that. Jareth stopped abruptly and turned to face her once more.
"After six years, I thought I'd never have to hear that from you again. That's exactly what got you here in the first place, and I would suggest not making the same mistake twice. You have two options; either you stay with me at the castle, since I'll be back as king, or you'll be left to your own devices. You gave me a favor…"
"Forced it you mean." Sarah interrupted. Jareth looked at her and scowled.
"Can I not say one thing without your constant interruptions?" he gave her a challenging look again, and again she remained silent. "Now, as I was saying, since you've rendered me a favor, I feel as though I should do something for you." Sarah could tell that the idea displeased him. She pondered for a moment as she thought of the possibilities. Jareth looked at her impatiently as she thought it over, making her a tad nervous. "Well? Do you have a problem?"
"No, I'm simply trying to think of a way that doesn't somehow involve you. As I can't think of one and I have no where else to go at the moment, I accept your invitation." She stood there as he started to walk away. Jareth realized she wasn't following, and turned back to her.
"Well," Jareth eyed her with irritation. "Aren't you coming?" Jareth started towards the Labyrinth a final time and this time, he did not wait. Sarah snapped out of her shock and ran after him to catch up.
"Hey, if you needed me to cross that so badly, why did you wait until now to bring me here?" Jareth paused and looked at her.
"If I answer, will you be silent for the rest of the journey?" He looked at her with hesitation, all of these incessant questions and whiny remarks were starting to tax his patience.
"Fine. Just fine." Sarah looked at him with aggravation. Clearly he didn't have much contact with anyone, even after six years of being on his own.
"The reason I waited until now was because every time I looked for you, you were either gone or with that annoyingly over romantic gentleman, whom I might add is hiding something from you." The thought of the other man stirred an enigmatic rage within him as he kept walking. 'I never could understand how she could fall for a man like that, but it's her life. If she wishes to waste it on a fool like that it's her problem.' Jareth glowered at the ground.
"What?" Sarah turned red at the thought of Jareth looking in on her and Damon. "How do you know?" Sarah could tell that he himself was neglecting to mention something but decided to press the current issue of Damon instead.
"What did I just say?" He sighed and stopped walking for an instant. "I know because I have my own magic to use. I can do many things that you mortals cannot. I won't tell you what I can do or how, mostly because it's largely unnecessary, muck like your talking."
"But-…" Jareth cupped his hand over her mouth briefly and hushed her, before continuing their hike to the expanse of maze that lay before them.
Dusk fell over the Labyrinth as they approached the doors of the maze itself, giving it a last glint of gold. Sarah's eyes wandered over to the spot where she had first met Hoggle. Suddenly, her thoughts began to turn towards her old friends here. She hoped that somewhere Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus were still alive and well. She hadn't spoken to them since the night she left. She'd tried to call many times, but not once had they ever answered. Sarah missed them, but she harbored a slight anger towards them for leaving her alone. 'He might know where they are.' She pondered asking him, but she knew he wouldn't answer anything else, and she'd promised to stop talking, not that that alone would've kept her from asking. Sarah sighed with a melancholy breath as she continued walking, her feet sore, into the Labyrinth.
The moon shone brightly overhead and lit the shining surface of the walls around them. After what seemed like hours, Jareth stopped and began to search the area.
"What-…" Sarah started.
"Ah, ah, ah…no speaking remember?" Jareth looked at the ground and began to whisper strange words in a low deep voice towards the ground. "Dietoma … Parvina … Grondim … Alvisiem…" As he spoke each word, a bright red symbol slipped from between his lips and settled, one atop another on the ground before them. Suddenly, a fire burst between them, lighting up the darkened corridor. The walls of the corridor were narrow, and Sarah could not get around the fire to where Jareth now stood. "You sleep on your side, and I shall sleep on mine." He passed her his cloak over the fire so she could be comfortable,
Sarah pulled the large black velvet cloth around her. 'It's warm,' she thought. 'I'm shocked he has any warmth to give.' She looked up at the unfamiliar night sky of the underground. She wondered quietly about Damon. Surely her father would tell him she was missing. What would he do if she did not return? Would he find someone else?
"The Goblin King has taken me away from the only things that really mattered to me. I have no dreams, no hope, nothing.' At this realization, she began to weep; tears falling gracefully down her pale white cheek.
Jareth sat against the Labyrinth wall next to the bright heat of the fire. "I can't believe I had to do this. It's almost not worth getting my throne back." He stopped thinking for a moment as he heard the soft, almost inaudible, sound of a woman weeping. He turned and looked at Sarah and saw the unmistakable gleam of tears running down her face. He felt a sudden grip on his heart. 'She doesn't like this anymore then I. I suppose taking her away from that mortal hell and treating her like I do my subjects doesn't help. I loved her once, and perhaps I still may. But why must she cause so much trouble? This precious little mortal somehow managed to tear my heart and kingdom into pieces." He stared at her and felt a pang of guilt. 'Maybe I'll try to do something to put her mind at ease. Anything so I don't have to listen to her incessant crying when I'm trying to sleep.' Jareth eased himself down to the ground and closed his eyes, letting sleep enfold him.