Treasures Untold, Riddles Unnumbered
By WhiteInfinity21
Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth, the lyrics belong to Loreena McKennitt.
The Goblin King could not decide what to do regarding Sarah. Should he pursue her or should he let her come to him? One the one hand, Sarah's rejection had stung bitterly, fracturing his heart. The flipside was that despite her unknowing cruelty, he desired and loved her still.
Torn by indecision, the Goblin King left the Labyrinth and traveled through the barren wastelands that surrounded his kingdom, past the hills full of prickly bushes, dense copses of low-lying trees and scattered clumps of bunchgrass. On and on he traveled, through many different landscapes until he reached the tallest mountain on the continent, thousands of miles away from civilization. There, in a lonely, cold cave near the mountain's peak resided a reclusive oracle. Those who could reach the seer's isolated home could ask any one question of the oracle and would have it truthfully answered.
It took him ten days to ascend the mountain and find the seer, on countless occasions barely avoiding death by the skin of his teeth on his climb up. Battered and bruised, weary beyond measure Jareth stumbled into the oracle's cave, the question he had come so far and risked so much for poised on the tip of his tongue.
"Rest for a moment to recover your breath so you can properly talk," the ancient being murmured, its age and shapeless gray robe hiding its gender and race.
His legs no longer able to support him, the Goblin King collapsed to his knees.
"By crossing the wastelands, traveling through the wilderness and climbing my mountain with naught but your own two feet, without aid of servant or magic, you have earned the privilege of asking any one question of me," the seer intoned, "Jareth Goblin-kith, I sense you carry a heavy burden in your heart that you wish to ask me of."
Jareth drew in a shuddering breath and spoke, "my heart is divided, I cannot decide to go to my Sarah or let her come to me. What should I do?"
The orcale's eyes grew cloudy and a low, heavy voice issued from between the ancient one's thin, papery lips.
Thirteen mortal years shall before She will come to you, soul weary and wise beyond her years, the hardships She will have lived through shall extinguish the fire and dreamer's mind that you treasure Her for. Trials unnumbered and tasks untold await you should you seek Her out. This path is the more difficult of the two for you but it will be the more rewarding in the end. Much frustration can be avoided if the truth of her desires can be discerned early on. Either path shall lead you to each other, but one shall have to endure much before reaching the other, depending on which choice you shall make.
The seer jerked and regained awareness.
"Your question has been answered, go," the oracle told him.
The Goblin King bowed his head and exited the cave. He had an answer, of sorts, but it had been made clear to him that the decision ultimately was his to make.
During the long flight home, the Goblin King contemplated his options and finally came to a decision. He would go through trials unnumbered and tasks untold to win the hand of his beloved, for it would be a tragedy for Sarah's fire and dreams to die away.
And thus the Courtship of Sarah began, a fairytale of romance and adventure in modern times.
There was an owl sitting outside her window. Not just any owl though, no, Sarah knew that a normal barn owl would never been out and active during broad daylight.
No, she thought, only a being that defies all of manner of traditional convention would show such unnatural behavior for an animal.
Sarah went over and opened her window.
"Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be," she sang, "come in and talk to me."
The owl shot her a peculiar look but nonetheless launched itself off the branch and flapped into her room. In a gust of wind and a sudden flash of glitter, the barn owl was gone and the Goblin King was standing in Sarah's room.
Jareth licked his lips, unsure of where to begin.
Finally he spoke, "Sarah I find myself at a loss. Despite what happened last time we faced off, I still desire forever with you. I know not where you stand but I dearly wish to know."
A mysterious sparkle came into the young woman's eyes and an enigmaticsmile curved at her lips, "I will be yours with one condition: fulfill my desire."
The Goblin King arched a brow at her, "and what would that be My Lady?"
"That which I want is more precious than dreams and is the root of every being's deepest, most desperate desires," Sarah told him in a teasing tone.
"It shall be yours," Jareth vowed before disappearing in a shower of glitter.
It took the Goblin King a week to find the closest thing to Sarah's description listed in the books in his library. The raw dream material he could obtain easily, but it took a special type of container to house it. The construction of the blue diamond case with its emerald style cut took almost a week to complete. Once finished, the Goblin King trapped the raw dream matter that he had harvested from one of his most powerful dream crystals within its diamond case. The gift was complete, it was time to return to Sarah.
Two days since she last saw him, the Goblin King returned and presented her with a blue diamond box with its milky, glowing contents. The contents inside of the exquisite box cast a tranquil, soft blue glow onto the gloved hand that was holding it.
"For you Sarah," Jareth presented the treasure to her, "more valuable than dreams, it exists in the core of every being. This is a raw, unformed dream that you may mold and shape to your liking."
"It is lovely," Sarah replied taking the diamond box from the Goblin King and placing it in one of the empty cubby holes that used to be filled with stuffed animals, "but it is not what I desire."
"Then what do you desire, Sarah?" Jareth calmly asked.
"A bond stronger than blood but when true weighs less than air," Sarah wistfully sighed.
"Anything for you," the Goblin King murmured and then vanished.
This time the Goblin King knew exactly what to get his love. Stronger than blood, if made into a bond it was unbreakable. As to the weight, this item was the exact weight of air, for it was made of the wind itself. An air ribbon matched the description Sarah had given him exactly.
The Goblin King spent three days finding the perfect breeze from which he would harvest his fragment of wind. It came from a blooming apple orchard in the fertile lands that lay just west of the river that split the continent in two. The fragrant scent of apple blossoms was heavy within the snappy, playful breeze that the Goblin King found, quite like the girl he would be giving the air ribbon to.
As soon as the wind fragment was stored within his wings, the Goblin King was off to the Sylph kingdom, built in the clouds, a good day and a half away when traveling by wing. After arriving and exchanging pleasantries with the Sylph King, the Goblin King spent four solid hours bartering with the Air Weavers' Guild for the price of his commission. Finally the head of the Air Weavers' Guild agreed on having full access to the Goblin King's Labyrinth for a full day in exchange for the creation of the air ribbon that was to become a gift for the girl the King was courting.
This was a high price indeed for the Goblin King jealously guarded the Labyrinth's wonders from outsiders. But it was worth it for the quality of the air ribbon that was to come from their deal.
After the air ribbon was completed, the Goblin King went Aboveground as the Sylphs were flying around in his Labyrinth, exploring its every nook and cranny, delighting in all the mysterious and marvelous things they found there. For the Goblin King, it had been weeks since he saw the face of the woman he was enamored with, for Sarah it had only been six days.
"For you dearest," the Goblin King spoke as he placed the air ribbon in her hand, "made out of a playful breeze, this ribbon, when made into a bond is stronger than any bloodtie."
"It is wonderful," Sarah replied, for indeed it was. Holding the translucent, gold tinted ribbon in her hands, the air ribbon felt like a gentle breeze caressing her skin. The scent of apple blossoms drifted up to her face as she stroked it. "But it is not what I want," she clarified.
"Then what do you want?" Jareth asked.
"Something that will never fail to lift my spirits, the mere thought of this will give me a sense of warmth and comfort no matter where I am," Sarah replied.
"I shall find it for you," the Goblin King vowed before leaving.
He spent weeks searching high and low seeking an item that matched Sarah's description. The Goblin King finally discovered what he was looking for after overhearing a conversation between two old, retired dwarves in an inn out in the middle of nowhere. After buying a pitcher of fine, dark ale for them, they gladly described in detail the object of the Goblin King's search.
In the deepest bowels of the Lam Mountains it lay, formed out of magic and the earth's blood. These highly coveted gems were guarded by a wily and cunning dragon of immeasurable age. A single Fire Ruby could fetch the price for an entire kingdom, or so it was said. Many a treasure hunter had perished by the flames or in the jaws of the dragon that jealously guarded these mystical gems.
So off to the Lam Mountains the Goblin King went, spending over a month finding just which passage in the warren of caves and tunnels that led to the one that the dragon resided in. All of the Goblin King's cunning, courage and resources were stretched to the limit to be able to sneak past the dragon, grab a magnificent Fire Ruby from under its snout and get out of the underground cavern with his hide intact.
Exhausted from his harrowing quest, the Goblin King spent three days abed in his castle before he had the strength to go Aboveground.
"For you Sarah," the Goblin King spoke as he offered the chestnut sized softly glowing jewel to Sarah, "the fire in this jewel will warm you no matter where you are with just a thought. Gazing into the ruby's inner blaze will never fail to lift your spirits."
"It is priceless," Sarah breathed, "but it is not what I want."
"Then what do you want?" Jareth asked, still tired from his latest quest.
"Something intangible and yet something that many spend their entire lives in pursuit of when more often than not it is right in front of them," Sarah replied, looking pointedly at Jareth.
The Goblin King obviously missed her quite unsubtle hint and returned to his kingdom after promising that he would get what she had asked for.
There were so many intangible things that mortals wasted entire lifetimes in pursuit of. Fame, fortune, respect, popularity, a sense of belonging, superiority, all of these mortals coveted. Another thing that mortals often chased after was power; power of all kinds, in a dazzling array of forms. Sarah had asked for something intangible that was sought after by many of her kind and that was exactly what he was going to give to her: power, in any one form that she desired.
For this gift he would harness power directly from the Labyrinth itself, binding it in the form of a contract to be released when Sarah signed it. Such a thing was a very dangerous item to create, but for Sarah it would be worth it. Four days were spent as the Goblin King extracted the power and sealed it into a piece of parchment on which the magical contract was written.
"For you," the Goblin King simply stated holding the innocent looking rolled up piece of parchment bound with a silver ribbon.
Sarah took the parchment, unrolled it and read the contents.
"What the contract offers is intangible and is something that many mortals seek for their entire lives," Jareth explained, answered the question in Sarah's gaze, "just write what form of power you desire and sign your name and it shall be yours.
"This is... dangerous, too dangerous," Sarah shakily responded, "I cannot accept this, it is too tempting to me. Power is not something I need. Power corrupts when not kept in check. I cannot risk it."
She handed the contract back to the Goblin King. He took it with a sense of relief. Jareth had had great misgivings about offering Sarah such a tempting and easily misuseable gift; but that was what he had thought she had wanted and what Sarah wanted, Sarah got.
"Why would you ever think that I would want such a thing?" Sarah asked.
"I was just trying to make you happy," the Goblin King sighed.
"The sentiment behind the gift was appreciated, but that contract was the last thing I need," Sarah stated, "destroy it."
"If it isn't power you want, then what is it that you wish from me?" the Goblin King wearily asked.
"From you, I need only my most feverent wish, my most sought after dream, my deepest desire fulfilled," Sarah replied.
"Then it shall be yours," the Goblin King murmured and then vanished.
Sarah sighed and shook her head. He just wasn't getting it, but at least his actions, however misguided, showed that he cared. She still had hope that Jareth would figure it out.
A wish, a desire, a dream. That was what Sarah wanted. But not just any wish, dream or desire, no. What she needed was the one most precious of them all to her. The Goblin King had no idea what that unfulfilled need of hers could be so he would give her a single, limitless wish. A wish that could grant anything, any single thing she asked for.
To fulfill such a task, the most powerful of materials was needed. Pure, raw magic would not be powerful enough to do such a thing. No, for such a gift, the very essence of creation itself was required. Finding that was nigh onto impossible, but somehow, someway, the Goblin King was determined to do it.
He searched high and low, spent years exploring every nook and cranny of both the Aboveground and the Underground. The Goblin King talked to creatures of every shape, size and nature imaginable and beyond. He sacrificed much and was met with disappointment time and time again during his search. Eventually he returned to the tallest mountain in the land where the oracle still lived, seeking a clue about his self-imposed task.
The seer only shook its head and replied that the answer lay within.
The Goblin King took the oracle's advice to heart, spending hours, sometimes even days, in deep meditation. He sought for some mystical connection within himself that would allow him to connect with the power of creation.
Five years passed before the Goblin King discovered that the raw material of creation was everywhere, intimately bound to everything in existence. After making the discovery, collecting that power was a simple but drawn out and tedious task. The Goblin King could only harvest so much before the matter that the creation power was connected to ceased to exist. The king did all his collecting far, far away from his Labyrinth, so as not to weaken his kingdom.
Deep in the heart of the wastelands, hundreds of miles away from any living creature, the Goblin King slowly, painstakingly extracted the raw material of creation from the air and land around him. Another five years had passed before he finally had amassed enough, sealing the power in a crystal. The simplicity of the container masked the incredible power contained within.
After a long period of recovery, the Goblin King, still exhausted mentally and spiritually, finally returned to Sarah. Time flowed differently in the Underground than it did Aboveground. While the Goblin King spent over fifteen years creating Sarah's limitless wish, only a year had passed for her. Though it had been far longer for the Goblin King than it had been for Sarah, both had felt the long separation keenly.
The Goblin King didn't even bother to speak when he presented the gift to Sarah, the innocent looking crystal doing nothing to suppress Sarah's sudden anxiousness. She knew looks could and often were deceiving and gingerly took the orb, a bit wary of it due to the nature of the Goblin King's last gift.
"What is it?" she asked peering into the crystal.
"A wish," was the Goblin King's answer.
"A wish?" Sarah repeated.
"A wish that will grant you anything, any single thing thatyou desire," he explained.
"Th-this...this is... this is precious beyond compare," Sarah whispered, "but it is still not what I want."
The Goblin King's body went stiff. Anger filled him, he had slaved away for years creating this gift and now Sarah had scorned it!
"Can I never live up to your expectations?!" he exploded, "I went to the ends of existence and beyond for you and this is how you thank me?"
Sarah stood there stunned by his sudden fury. As sudden as the anger came, it drained away, leaving him exhausted.
"I can't do this anymore," Jareth moaned in despair, "I love you Sarah, but-"
Happiness sparked a hot, white fire in Sarah. Finally, finally he said it!
"Jareth!" Sarah interrupted.
Jareth pinned her with a hard gaze.
She reached up and cupped his face with her hand, "I'm yours."
The man looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
"What?!" he croaked in disbelief. Surely he was hallucinating!
"All I ever wanted from you was your love," Sarah murmured gazing into Jareth's eyes, "all those gifts pale in comparison to having your love."
Jareth's mouth dropped open as his legs suddenly gave out under him. Sarah caught him before he fell to the ground and guided him to her bed. She sat down next to him and took a deep breath.
"Love, such a simple word that can never do justice to the emotion it labels," Sarah explained, "more precious than dreams, love is at the root of every being's deepest desires. Love creates bonds stronger than blood but when true weighs less than air. Love requited will never fail to lift my spirits and just the thought of it makes me warm inside no matter where I am. Intangible, so many people spend their entire lives looking for love when it is usually right in front of them. Just like you were the entire time."
"It is my most feverent wish, my deepest desire, my most precious dream. Your love is all that I ever needed to make me happy Jareth. It was what I wanted, desired, needed," Sarah concluded, "I love you Jareth and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
A silence stretched between the two after Sarah declaration.
"Do you really mean it?" Jareth hesitantly asked, the insecurity easy to see in his eyes.
"With all my heart and soul," Sarah assured enveloping Jareth in a hug.
I have already been at your hand
To grant whatever thou would'st crave
I have waged both life and land
Your love and goodwill for to have
Sudden joy filled Jareth with renewed energy. Before she knew it, Sarah was being attacked by an excited, amorous Goblin King. Clothes went flying as Jareth eagerly showed Sarah just how much he loved her. Fast and wild, their first joining was over in a matter of minutes. But that did nothing to deter the new lovers as they took their time exploring each other's bodies, their lovemaking stretching into the early morning.
Hours later when they finally awoke from their deep, sated slumber, Jareth admired how lovely Sarah looked in the late morning sun as they lounged in her bed. Sarah's hands were leisurely exploring the planes and angles of Jareth's body as she spoke.
"I guess what Karen always said was true," Sarah mused, "men are the most oblivious creatures on earth when it comes to matters of the heart."
Jareth smiled lazily in response to Sarah's good natured teasing. Her statement certainly was applicable to him. Jareth actually felt a bit silly about not figuring out what Sarah really wanted sooner, he would have saved himself much grief if he had done so. The oracle had warned him afterall.
"So how soon until we get married?" Sarah asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.
"For a royal wedding, two years at least." Jareth idly replied.
Sarah groaned.
"I won't even try to describe all that goes into planning a royal wedding in the Underground. Guest lists, seating arrangements, decorations, entertainment, banquets, balls, feasts, arranging for suitable housing for all the guests, the list goes on. Not to mention making sure that the goblins stay out of trouble, an impossible task at the best of times. And that is just for the castle itself. It is traditional to have a kingdom-wide, non-stop, two week straight celebration that leads up to the wedding itself. And as the royal couple , we would be expected to attend different functions and events round the clock. It's very tiring I hear," Jareth explained.
"You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me." Sarah moaned as she collapsed back down onto the mattress.
"You put me through so many years of toil and hardship to win your hand," Jareth reminded her, "it is only fair that you suffer a little as well."
"First off, all that trouble you are referring to could have been avoided if you had just told me your feelings early on. Did it never occur to you that a girl needs to know that the man she would marry is in love with her?" Sarah pointed out, poking him in the chest for emphasis.
Jareth gave her a sheepish grin but even he would not put up with the abuse Sarah's finger was doing to his chest. He grabbed the offending finger and put in his mouth and curled his tongue around it as if her finger was a piece of candy.
"Stop that!" she swatted him.
Reluctantly he released her finger.
"And secondly, all this mess you are talking about can be easily gotten around," Sarah smugly announced.
"And how do you propose to do that?" Jareth drawled as he drew lazy circles on Sarah's leg.
"Why use your most recent gift to me," Sarah laughed as she reached over, opened the drawer on her nightstand and took out the crystal containing her wish, "I wish that everything for our wedding has already been arranged and that we could get married. Right. Now."
A priceless look of shock crossed her lover's face before they disappeared in a blast of silver and blue glitter.
Two weeks later
"So far you used your limitless wish to speed up the wedding, used your air ribbon to restrain me on our wedding night, and employed your Fire Ruby in some very naughty ways," Jareth listed as they were eating breakfast in bed, "since I destroyed the power contract, at your request, the only gift you haven't used is your unformed dream in its diamond case."
"Hey just because those gifts weren't what I had asked for doesn't mean that I won't use them to their fullest potential," Sarah retorted taking a big bite out of the banana she was eating.
Naughty thoughts raced through Jareth's head at the sight of his wife avidly devouring the phallic fruit.
"Besides," Sarah continued after she swallowed the piece of fruit, "I know you enjoyed how I chose to use my gifts, so I don't want to hear any complaints."
"So how will you use your unformed dream?" Jareth asked, curious.
"Hmmm… perhaps I will use it to trap some unsuspecting mortal (or an obnoxious husband) in a tarnished crystal ballroom for eternity," Sarah teased.
"We never did finish that dance," Jareth mused fondly.
"We never stopped dancing Jareth," Sarah happily murmured, "nor will we ever stop."
Jareth gave her a goofy grin at the image her statement presented.
"Do you have any ideas for your unshaped dream?" Jareth prodded.
"I'll know when it happens," Sarah shrugged.
She picked up the baseball sized blue diamond box with its glowing, milky contents. An image formed in her mind of a laughing sandy haired, blue eyed five-year old boy as he ran through a familiar park, a large sheepdog chasing after him. A fond smile crossed her face as the mental image faded, she now knew what she was going to use her unformed dream for.
Through trails unnumbered and dangers untold, Sarah had fought her way through the Labyrinth to reclaim the child she had carelessly wished away, winning the heart of the Goblin King in the process. After treasures unnumbered and riddles untold, Jareth strived for many long years to win the heart of the woman who had once bested him. They both had gone through the ring of fire to reach each other, finally achieving their own personal happily-ever-after.
Someday that young child that Sarah had seen in her mind would grow up and embark on his own adventures and find his own fairytale ending. But for now he was just a child and Sarah had better things to do (mainly her husband) than ponder the future. When that day finally came for her younger brother, Sarah would send him a very special dream to get him started on his own path and to remind Toby that magic existed all around him.
It was just a matter of knowing how to look and that certain words have great power.
The End.
Yes, I know, another one-shot instead of updating The Moon Mad King. I'm a bad author but I already have another one-shot I'm working on that I want to complete before I resume writing The Moon Mad King. Hope you enjoyed this latest offering.
Please leave a review on your way out. Constructive criticism is welcomed, leaving a flame just because you do not like the fic is not.