Sarah woke up sweating. Images of black crystal dragons following her into waking. They had been terrifying. So terrifying, in fact, she had even wished for him to save her. With a breathless laugh, Sarah flipped onto her back, giddy to be free of the nightmare. Eyes still half- closed, she mused about which was worse- the dragons, or her supposed savior. In her mind's eye, she could see him. Glittering cape, dark brown leggings, golden amulet resting beneath that hauntingly beautiful face…. And that voice…. Offering her dreams in such an enticing drawl, so soft yet heard so easily over the roars of the dragons.
"Am I expected to wait here all day, Sarah?" Sarah jerked up, wide eyes fixated on the majestic image before her. Jareth. He was leaning against the wall, feet casually crossed, eyes belying his calm expression with their arresting intensity.
"I… uh… you're-um?" Looking amused at her ramblings, he strode forward until he towered above her at the side of the bed.
"You're… here." Her thoughts had finally started to merge from the disjointed nature of shock and sleep, leading to this; the only coherent conclusion she could fathom in her shock.
"Marvelous powers of perception. What will you think of next?" His drawl, laced with sarcasm, rested on the edge of arrogance; the arrogant edge. Sarah colored lightly, looking down. With a deep breath, she gathered resolve. It was time for an answer she was sure she didn't want.
"Why are you here?" Jareth laughed, his clear voice echoing along the walls.
"You called me. Surely you have not forgot already, little Sarah. Even for one of your race, that is remarkably forgetful." Damn. She thought so, but it always sucks to have your suspicions confirmed. Especially when confirming them means you just invited a baby- stealing Goblin King into your room because you had a bad dream. Anyway, it's not like it's her choice what she did in a dream! Sarah felt a familiar anger begin to brew inside her- this wasn't fair! Turning her darkened gaze on the object of her anger, she allowed her annoyance to spill into her words.
"So frickin' what? It was a dream! As in little images that don't mean a damn. It doesn't give you the right to barge in here, acting like you're the frickin'-"
"What? The King?" His self- assured smirk only served to infuriate her further. She struggled to her feet on the other side of the bed and was about to renew her tirade when he held up a gloved hand.
"Stop. Whether or not you meant to call me, whether or not it was a dream- and I would have thought, Sarah, that you might have learnt not to dismiss the power of dreams- it does not change the facts. You called, I came. I come… I want something in return." Here his smile turned feral, sharp teeth revealed. Sarah's skin turned cold, her anger evaporated in a wave of fear.
"I don't agree to that." Her voice was low, barely audible, but she was proud of how little it shook. Slowly, she rose her eyes to his, meeting his gaze in a silent battle of wills. Mismatched pupils bored into her, making her swallow rapidly several times. She was the first to look away. His victorious laugh was low and joyful. After a second, though, his voice turned serious. He sauntered over to her, standing a mere foot away as he spoke.
"You agreed to my rules when you ran the Labyrinth. This doesn't change simply due to the passage of time. If you had said this before our… encounter," here a bitter edge seemed to creep into his tone -"then perhaps it would be as you say- I, in fact, would almost certainly have not even heard or heeded the call." With a vicious twist of his lips, he leaned in and lowered his voice to that of a confident,
"But, my dear Sarah, it did happen after, I did hear your cry and I did heed it. So why don't we skip the preliminaries and get down to what I want, hmm?" Sarah stood shaking under his gaze, too overwhelmed to come up with an adequate response. Jareth straightened and his air of indifference once again settled about him.
"So, Sarah…" A crystal appeared on his outstretched hand, glinting with the light. He stared her straight in the eye as he tossed it to her. By reflex, she caught it and his smirk widened.
"Make me an offer." Jareth relaxed back against the footboard of the bed, waiting expectantly. His calm was a stark contrast to the dizzying tirade of thoughts fighting for position in Sarah's mind. What could she offer him? What could she bear to lose?
"I could… I could… train Hoggle and your army; teach them how to read, how to write notes, help them become more efficient?" Her voice rose despite her efforts, her eyes lowered in anticipation of his jeering laugh. She knew he would not accept, but it was all she could think of. For a second, he considered her in his cold way. Then a slow smile began to spread across his face.
"Deal." The word repeated over and again as Sarah felt the disorienting swirl of teleportation.
As soon as her feet were steady, she whipped around, glaring a Jareth.
"What are you doing, bringing me here?! I didn't ask for this, it isn't fair!" A wide sweep of her hand took in the dusty throne and empty throne room. Jareth merely raised an eyebrow, slinking over to sprawl, relaxed, in his throne.
"But you did. You asked to train my army- an army of goblins, Sarah, to read. There is simply no way you could accomplish that without permanent residence in the Underground." With a sinking feeling, Sarah realized he was right. She had thought of just teaching classes through her mirror or something; really, she hadn't thought at all, but the concept hadn't seemed so bad. Now, though, she stood in front of the one person who had the power to send her home and knew she would never convince him to do it. She was trapped. In his kingdom. At his mercy. She was trapped.
A/N: So, what did you think? Any reviews, good or bad, are very much welcomed; I'm quite a new writer and need the feedback. I wrote this planning it to be a one- shot, since there are loads of fics of Sarah back in the Labyrinth, this was just my take on one way she could get there, but I may decide to continue it. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it is the wonderful work of Jim Henson and not mine :(
