So if you're looking for instant gratification, this probably isn't the story for you and feel free to leave...
But I wish you would stay ;D I promise there will be eventual smut :D Sometimes waiting brings the most gratification.
If you're looking for a well thought out sequal to the movie Labyrinth, then you're definitely in the right place.
So without further ado... enjoy!
Breaking Barriers
"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom is as great-"
"Stop," Jareth stretched out his hand toward her, wary. Slowly, he pulled out from somewhere on his parson a crystal ball, "Look, Sarah. Look what I'm offering you. Your dreams..."
"-And my kingdom is as great," Sarah repeated herself.
Jareth began to look uneasy.
"I ask for so little- just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want..."
Sarah continued once again, her brow furrowing in concentration.
"My kingdom as great... my kingdom as great... damn, I can never remember that line..."
"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave..." Jareth outstretched a proffered hand towards Sarah, beckoning.
Sarah, still lost in thought, tried to remember the words that would save herself and her brother from the Goblin King's wrath. A few moments passed. Jareth held his breath, expectant. Suddenly, Sarah looked up with wonder on her face and spoke in a triumphant voice:
"You have no power over me."
And that's when Sarah's world caved in.
Sarah wrote these words within her journal, completing the story of her journey into the Labyrinth. Looking back on the faded green notebook, Sarah sighed with satisfaction, feeling a great burden lifting from her shoulders- one that had been plaguing her for months. She could now carry on with her life. Yet, as she put her notebook away, she had to wonder: Where was Jareth now? Could he possibly be watching...?
With a mental shake of the head, Sarah dismissed the thought. She couldn't imagine that the Goblin King had truly meant what he had offered her. It was an act. He wanted her love probably about as much as she wanted his.
Which was not at all, right?
Of course. She had wanted to get Toby home safely and that was all. And she had succeeded. Still, Sarah wondered if she would ever completely forget the demons of her past. She knew she would absolutely try her hardest to though.
It was time to begin life after facing the Labyrinth.
Somewhere, not quite so far away as someone might think, Jareth WAS watching Sarah within a crystal ball. His mismatched eyes- one hazel, the other blue, gazed intently into the depths of the crystal. For a brief instant, the mask of indifference Jareth usually kept in place fell away.
"How eloquently you put our story into words, Sarah," Jareth murmured to himself, "Unfortunately those words put an end to my quest to capture your brother-"
He gently stroked the smooth crystal's surface.
"-But I hope you realize that I'm not remotely finished. After all, the boy had merely been a way to get to you. The journey for you has just begun..."
Jareth's thoughts were cut off as he continued to gaze into the crystal ball. Distracted by what he saw, he brought the crystal ball closer to his face and watched the scene within with more intensity. He watched in faint astonishment as Sarah pulled her notebook back out from its hiding place. She began writing again, with slow, deliberate strokes. A profound afterthought:
Jareth's Return
Jareth's astonished expression was soon replaced by one of sheer amusement. Laughing, he hurled the crystal ball into the air.
Sarah drove through her old neighborhood almost reverently. She had never before fully appreciated this area's beauty. This place had been her home for eighteen years, and for the first time she was looking at it with new eyes. The leaves on the trees were just coming into their full form. Small flower gardens were tended to in almost every yard. Quaint picket fences skirted the sidewalks. Houses were kept neat and tidy and old neighbors of Sarah's noticed her as she drove by and waved. Sarah waved back, excited and happy to be home. Suddenly, Sarah wished that she had happy memories of her first year at college to share with these friends and neighbors. Sadly, she did not.
Sarah had been extremely disappointed with college life. At first she was excited- ecstatic even- to escape the every day doldrums of her life. She would meet amazing people, experience new things, become a part of something- at least that's what her college claimed to do for its students. So far, though, Sarah had only realized one thing: that she was an outsider.
Ever since her encounter with the Labyrinth, things had been different for her. Of course, she had been something of an odd duck to begin with, but in the back of her mind, she thought she would grow out of it eventually. She had still been in that phase of her life when she had been thwarted by a Goblin King and had traveled through a mysterious ?nd difficult maze.
But her life had changed dramatically after that. Gone were her childhood fantasies. She had realized after her journey that she had been wasting her life- dreaming it away, really. She decided it was time to actually live. So she put away her toys and costumes, and neatly tucked away all her fantasies. She became, quite suddenly, Simple Sarah. Not Sarah the Princess or Sarah the Adventurer. Simply Simple Sarah.
Her college was several hours away from her home. But she did not blame distance for the obvious difference there was between her and the other people there. She could not quite put her finger on it. She just didn't belong. She had tried making friends, but no one wanted to hear about Simple Sarah's boring life. Guys were interested in her looks, but once they got to know her a little bit, they always backed off. At times she wished she could go back to that innocent Sarah. The Sarah who had been so willing at the time to risk her own brother's safety for the sake of her fantasy, but she just couldn't. Something, or someone was preventing it.
But none of that mattered right now. Sarah was home again- and it felt wonderful. After an overwhelming first year at college, Sarah welcomed the familiarity of her old victorian home, her childish bedroom, and all the beautiful, if somewhat naive, memories that came with it. She would live here for the remainder of her summer under the care and devotion of her father, stepmother, and most importantly, her five-year-old brother, Toby, who simply worshipped the ground she walked on.
As soon as Sarah walked through the door, she was greeted exuberantly by her family. But Sarah felt a certain need to be alone. So as soon as she got in her hugs and hellos she walked straight to her bedroom. After putting away all her things, Sarah flopped down on top of her bed, her thick brown hair cascading across her old blue dinosaur pillow.
She lay there for quite some time- simply existing and knowing that that was enough for now. Occasionally she'd gaze across at her room, silently caressing every detail of it. As thoughts passed through her mind, she quietly dismissed them. She had been thinking nonstop for her entire first year of college. Right now what she wanted to do was relax.
But, sometimes Fate has a hand in destinies, especially one as great as Sarah's.
Inexplicably, Sarah's gaze fell on her old Escher poster. Without quite realizing it, she lost herself in its strange optical illusion. It was impossible to tell whether the stairs in the poster were supposed to be concave or convex and whether the people were walking up or down those stairs. It was while Sarah was staring at the poster, so transfixed, that a thought crossed her mind she found impossible to dismiss.
The Labyrinth.
It raced through her mind, suddenly, like lightning through a dull sky, thick with clouds. She had very nearly forgotten of its existence. New thoughts had pushed old ones out. Sarah frowned to herself. She had been very busy trying not to think, what made the Labyrinth enter her mind now? It must have been her sudden exposure to the things of her childhood, Sarah decided. After all, it had been almost nine months since she had visited her home.
Satisfied with that answer, Sarah went back to that quiet, non-thinking place in her mind.
At least, she tried to.
Thoughts of the Labyrinth kept creeping, unbidden, into her mind. She remembered, quite suddenly, Ludo's innocent smile- how he couldn't pronounce the 'r' in her name; and Hoggle, how he had bravely jumped onto the giant robot goblin's back in order to save her and the rest of the companions; and Sir Didymus with his unfailing courage and valor. These memories poured onto her as a ray of sunshine. And for a moment, she basked in its warmth. But they were soon clouded over by one other.
Sarah felt an icy prickle on the back of her neck. It drizzled slowly, as an ice cube, melting down along her spine. She knew she was forgetting someone...
With another jolt it came to her. One hazel eye and one blue eye seared the very core of her soul- hot to the touch. A smirk, appearing in the corner of his mouth, ridiculed her. His stance was elegant and his demeanor mocking, clever and caustic, yet somehow beautiful and mysterious at the same time...
The Goblin King.
Her mind had nearly blocked out the memory of him. But he had left a mark on her, a mark that was still sore and still deep despite the years that had passed. She had been hurt by what he had done to her and her brother, yet also horribly confused by emotions that she hadn't experienced before. One emotion, however, she had recognized right away. Anger. She had felt its presence several times throughout the Labyrinth.
On the other hand, she had felt happiness. Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus had become loyal friends in the short amount of time that she spent with them. She had also felt triumph. After succeeding in different obstacles throughout the Labyrinth she had felt on top of the world- invincible, even.
Suddenly, in need to remind herself of what had happened four years ago, Sarah began looking for her journal.
However, not a minute passed by before her stepmother called Sarah down for dinner. Sarah yelled back "Coming!" and hustled down the stairs.
Sarah sat down at the table and began to dig into her meal with sudden appetite. Her father and stepmother eyed each other warily at Sarah's uncommon behavior. After a quick moment of silent communication, Sarah's father cleared his throat.
"So Sarah, I know we asked you this last time we spoke with you on the phone, but have you finally decided on a major yet?"
His question was met with silence.
"Sarah," he spoke, louder this time. Sarah jumped.
"Hmm?" she asked absentmindedly.
Her father repeated the question.
"Well," Sarah said with a sigh after swallowing a mouthful of food, "I've finally gotten it narrowed down to three- no, wait- four different things," Sarah resumed her consumption with vigor. Toby watched her with a comical, astonished look on his face.
Her father prompted.
"And those would be...?"
Sarah looked up, and, after a moment of silence, realized the question was, again, directed at her. Sarah swallowed thickly.
"Creative writing, screenplay writing, visual arts and, of course, acting- although that last one is seeming more and more like an impossible dream," especially for Simple Sarah, she thought to herself. Sarah stared morosely at her evening meal, thoughts again, turned inward.
"Sarah," began her stepmother, "are you feeling all right? You are acting a bit-" she exchanged glances with her husband, "uncharacteristic..."
Sarah glanced at her suddenly empty plate and her father and stepmother's nearly full plates.
"Oh," gasped Sarah, "no, I'm just tired from the traveling and a bit disoriented yet..." Sarah quickly stood up and pushed her chair in.
"Pardon me, but may I be excused? I'm sorry but it feels... strange being here again..."
And, despite her supposed exhaustion moments before, Sarah fairly flew up the stairs to her bedroom. She wasn't sure why, but she had an urgent need to find that notebook. It was as if there was a sudden constant tapping on her shoulder- one she knew that wouldn't go away until she answered it.
An hour or so later, a disheveled Sarah finally admitted she had lost her journal. She had combed through every inch of her room, but a journal had not been forthcoming. Sarah was about ready to collapse on her bed again and admit defeat when yet another thought struck her. Sarah flew back downstairs in much the same fashion she had flown up them. She quickly found her parents, as they were where she left them, and hastily asked them if they had seen her journal. She gave a brief description.
Her father shook his head, but her stepmother replied:
"I seem to remember something of that sort in Toby's possession the other day. Sarah, I hate to tell you this, especially in your present state, but he had a crayon in his other hand, and that can only mean one thing..."
Her stepmother noted Sarah's stricken face, "I'm sorry dear, I didn't think twice about it at the time."
Sarah tried to calm down. How had she gotten so nervous? It was only a stupid journal. But even as she thought that, she heard her voice, anxious and wheedling:
"Well, where's Toby? I have a few questions to ask him..."
Her stepmother shook her head.
"Oh, honey, can't it wait till tomorrow? He just fell asleep and he's going through this phase now..."
"No!" Sarah nearly shouted, then checked herself. What was wrong with her?
"I mean, yes. Yes. I will," she repeated, "silly of me... goodnight."
Her parents each gave her a kiss on the forehead, but both had anxious looks in their eyes, and both wondered what was truly on their daughter's mind.
Sarah did not sleep well that night. Not only did it take several hours for her to fall asleep in the first place, but her dreams were plagued by troubling images that invoked strange emotions within her. She dreamed of her journal. Her heart ached with enormous longing. Toby had her notebook and he wouldn't give it back. He'd hold it out in front of her, and every time Sarah made a grab for it she was convinced that this time she'd get it. But no, Toby pulled it away from her grasp just before her fingers touched it. She also dreamed of being lost in the Labyrinth. She'd turn a corner and find a deep hole that led to nothing, or a dead end, or something to prevent her from continuing. Or she dreamed of fighting the robot over and over again. Somehow every time she thought she destroyed it, it would come back to life, making it impossible for Sarah to travel through the gates to the Goblin City.
But more than anything, Sarah dreamed of Jareth. She was in the crystal ballroom again, surrounded by splendor, and Jareth danced with her- a smirk on his lips, but a strange look of... wanting in his eyes. The look was haunting, and for a moment, everything faded out from around her until it was just Sarah... and him. When she finally came to her senses, she went to grasp the chair that she knew would shatter her reverie. Before she swung it, she looked back at Jareth, knowing in her heart that he was sad to see her go...
Sarah awoke with a start, disoriented. The room was spinning about her and she felt a falling sensation in the pit of her stomach. But Sarah accepted these assaults on her senses. The symptoms were almost ordinary to her now. She knew she'd feel like this after dancing in so careless a fashion... so close to Jareth... The dress she was wearing was huge and gaudy. She felt stifled suddenly. It took quite a bit of her strength not to start tearing at it. The clock chimed. A strange feeling settled in her. How much time did she have left? What time was it?
Slowly, Sarah realized that she was at home. The heaviness of the dress was actually her blankets around her slumbering form. They were twisted as a result of the strange dreams that had plagued her. The chiming of the grandfather clock within the ballroom was actually the clock from the downstairs entryway.
The feeling that came with the thought of Jareth being so near her, was not so easily explained.
Sarah glanced at her alarm clock; 10:00 am.
It took her a moment to remember why she had an urgent need to get up and out of bed. Then she remembered- the notebook.
Sarah clamored out of bed, threw off her oppressive covers and pushed her hands through the white wooly sleeves of her robe. She needed to find Toby. Sarah hadn't forgotten the dream she had had of the notebook. She prayed that something of that nature would not occur. She wasn't sure what would happen if she didn't get that book, but she knew it wouldn't be good. Quickly, Sarah made her way to Toby's bedroom, but once there, she paused.
The lights were turned off. An unruly cloud had thrust itself over the sun, making the day seem darker than it should have. Sarah half expected lightning to streak through the sky. It was very quiet in the bedroom, very eerie. Sarah strained her ears for the sound of Toby's quiet breathing, but she didn't want to startle him out of sleep and cause him to cry. Sarah looked surreptitiously at the bed.
It was empty.
There was one terrible moment of flashback. Surely this had happened before? As Deja Vu clutched its icy hand around her neck, Sarah threw back the covers on the bed. Toby was missing. The incident was horribly familiar. She remembered the night she had lost Toby to the Goblin King and the scene before her now was perfectly the same.
Sarah glanced around the room in worry and spoke softly, calling out his name.
"Toby?"
The room remained quiet. There was no owl attacking the window, no strange shadows that appeared in the corner of her eye, yet Sarah felt trapped.
"Toby?" Sarah called louder. Still no answer.
Sarah began to panic. Horrifying thoughts raced through her mind. What had happened to him? Surely what had occurred four years ago could not be repeated? Surely Sarah had banished the Goblin King from Toby after saying those fated words? He couldn't have returned. It was impossible.
Finally, her nerves giving her energy, Sarah ran from the bedroom to the top of the stairs.
A dark silhouette waited for her at the bottom. Sarah blinked hard and looked again, but even as she did so, she felt her stomach plummet. Resolutely, Sarah shook her head against her fears. She would give him no advantage. Sarah stepped forward.
"Where is he?" Sarah demanded in a loud voice. There came no reply.
Sarah took one step down.
"Where's Toby?" Sarah's fear turned to anger, "Speak to me!"
The figure began ascending the stairs, one by one. Sarah heard herself gulp loudly. Was she prepared to go through this again? Sarah closed her eyes and braced herself.
"Sarah," the figure spoke, "It's Monday. Don't you remember? Toby has preschool."
It was her father. Sarah did a double take, but her vision did not waver. How could she have been fooled into thinking it was-
"If you had woken up even ten minutes ago you would have caught him. That's what you get for sleeping in so late, Lazy Mary," her father chuckled to himself and left Sarah.
Sarah stood silently feeling an uncomfortable mixture of relief and embarrassment. Of course he had preschool. Now that she was in the right frame of mind Sarah clearly remembered this fact. Sarah blinked again to herself, this time out of confusion. Again she asked herself how she could have been fooled so easily. Sarah collapsed where she stood on the stairs and buried her face into her hands.
She really needed to find that notebook; She was nearly losing her mind over it.
A/N Well, hope you all like the first chappie of my story. Hmm... what could be happening to Sarah? And what did Jareth have planned for her? Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out xD REVIEWS ENCOURAGED!! Thanks for reading TheArtist