Losing the Game, winning a Heart
By Lilith
Disclaimer:
I don't own Labyrinth or anything related to it. I'm not making profit out of
this story.
Present
He grinned. Everything was ruined. Gone. Lost. He ran with his hands through his hair. But it was good to have his normal shape again. At last. But still. There was nothing left. Only himself. Nothing was his anymore, except for his own body. He chuckled. It was all gone. All the power that had run through his veins. All the magic. It had left his punished body and mind. They. They had drained him from all he ever had possessed . His power, his lands, his task. Away. They had given it all away. Away to another. He growled. Rules. They had said it were the rules. The loser should lose. For a second his thoughts went back in time.
Seven years before
"Who are you ?"
"I am Jareth. King of the Goblins."
"Right. You've been performing this task for …."
"Eight hundred and thirteen years."
"I am Sir to you."
He still could feel the cold air, making him shiver. Or had it been the fear ? He had known what was coming.
"Yes Sir."
"That's better already."
The room had been round. With damp dark walls. No candle had been lit. A ray of moonlight fell through a large window. Lighting the man who had been put in irons. He had been standing in the centre. Surrounded by hooded men. They wore black clothes, making them hardly visible in the shadows. One of them was sitting behind an enormous desk. This was the person that had been speaking to him. The others had been silent.
"You know why you are here?"
For a second he had thought about lying. Or not answering. But he knew it had no use. This would be about surviving. So he straightened himself and looked right in the eyes of the hooded man.
"I know Sir."
For a second he thought he saw a glimpse of surprise on the others face.
"Well, that makes things a lot easier. Do you also know who we are ? "
He had nodded, though his head had felt like it was full of concrete.
"Yes Sir. I know who you are. You are the Council of Magic."
He had spoken the last words softly, as his mind reflected on the task of the council. They took care of the magic world and all it's creatures. They made sure everything and everybody would stick to the rules. They kept an eye on every magic gifted creature, to see if they did what they should do. Tasks given to those creatures by the council itself. And even though they were never seen, everybody knew they were there. They were very powerful. They made the rules of magic.
"Very well then. It saves a lot of time."
The hooded man behind the desk took a paper from a large pile.
"You've lost the game, Jareth."
He had shivered upon hearing this. Though it wasn't a surprise that had known. Why else would they have taken him here ? He closed his eyes, thinking about the past day in the Labyrinth. His Labyrinth. His kingdom.
"I said: you've lost the game, Jareth. What is your answer ?"
He had shrugged. What to add to the truth ?
"I did Sir"
"How could this have happened, Jareth ?"
He had smiled at the man in front of him. Why it happened ? For a second he wondered if they already knew, and they just wanted him to lie, to make it all harder to him. But he didn't want to lie. He had wanted to show them he could stand tall and tell the truth. He had wanted to show them he did not regret the reason why he had lost. He really didn't regret it.
"It was the girl Sir."
The hooded man behind the desk looked right into his eyes. He remembered striking cold blue eyes observing him. He had felt they looked right into his soul.
"The girl, Jareth ? What about the girl ?"
For the first time he had felt movement from the other hooded men. It had felt if the were uncomfortable with the direction the questioning went.
"The human girl from earth. She…"
His voice had trailed off. He had known the wouldn't like what would be coming next. Still he had continued.
"…she distracted me."
He had clearly heard the others shift now. Even the questioner had seemed to grow uncomfortable this time. Slowly he had gotten up from behind his desk and had started walking towards the man in the middle of the room.
"You fell in love with her."
It had come as a statement.
"Yes Sir. I did."
The shifting had turned into a wave of whispering.
"Silence!"
The hooded man had reached him and stopped only an inch away from his face. Beneath the shadow of the hood he had seen a angry face.
"So you broke the rules and forgot your task, OUR rules and the task WE have given to you, because of a girl. A girl without any magic ?"
He had not been able to stop smiling. The girl had magic, he had known this ever since he had seen her. But he had also known this wasn't the magic the man in front of him had called magic. So he had nodded.
"Yes Sir. That is the reason."
The man with the hood growled.
"Well, well. So you wanted to lose ?"
He had pondered over this. But he had come to the conclusion he had not wanted to lose. It had just happened.
"No Sir. I didn't want to lose. Like I just said. She distracted me. That's the reason."
The man in front of him had started circling around him.
"Think you are smart hmmmm, Jareth ? But what if she wouldn't have said the words, would you have been able to perform the punishment of losing ?"
He had felt annoyed by this man circling around him and his assuming questions.
"But that didn't happen Sir. I am the one who lost."
The hooded man had gripped him neck. A shot of pain had run through his body.
"Well if you really think you are so smart, Jareth. Let's see how you handle this."
The man had let go of his neck and pointed at one of the other hooded men.
"Open the door."
The line had broken and a door appeared. With a loud crack it had flown open. And two men, dressed as soldiers, had come walking in, followed by a person dressed in white. He could still remember the feeling of shock when he had seen who it was.
"Sarah."
He had uttered her name without thinking. He had heard the chuckling of the man next to him.
Sarah was brought in front of him, but the hooded man had positioned himself next to the girl. The look on her face had been one of terror. And when the hooded man had turned to her, she had looked at him, as if asking for help.
"Welcome to this important meeting, girl from earth. I would like to ask you some questions. But I do have to say, you had better answer them. And you had better tell the truth."
The look on Sarah's face had turned from terror to annoyed. He had smiled, knowing that speaking to her like this, made her stubborn and headstrong rather then intimidate her.
The hooded man had continued.
"Earth girl, you've recently met this man ?"
"My name is Sarah. And yes, I met him."
Her hands had picked at her medieval dress.
The hooded man growled annoyed.
"And I am Sir to you."
"Well Sir, then why did you get me here?"
The man with the hood had reached out his hand and put it on her shoulder.
"This man has broken our rules by losing. He will be convicted. But our rules also say the winner must identify the loser. So girl from earth, did you win the game you have been playing with this man?"
She had folded her arms.
"My name is Sarah."
Suddenly her face had turned white. He had understood that the hooded man had performed a magic trick on Sarah with the hand he had on her shoulder. He had felt rage running through his veins, but he hadn't been able to help her.
"Answer my question!"
She had sunken to her knees, the hand still on her shoulder.
"Answer my question!"
He hadn't understood why she answered. He had just been hoping she would have been doing it for him. The thought had given him strength.
"I would stop that if I were you!"
Before he had blinked the man had let Sarah go and had tightened the irons, almost breaking Jareth's wrists. Then he had turned back to Sarah.
"Answer my question!"
"No!"
The hooded man had shouted angry.
"Not? Well, then I'll just look for the answer in your mind!"
He had placed his left hand on Sarah's head.
"You did. Thank you for the information."
The man with the dark hood had turned from the pale girl and had looked triumphing at him.
"Well, that leaves us one very important question then."
He had been sure the questioner had grinned while saying this.
"Jareth, do you regret that falling in love with this girl made you lose this game we ordered you to win?"
He had seen the surprised look Sarah shot at him before the hooded man moved in front of her. He had known, that if he would just agree with them the punishment wouldn't be that bad. But she had been there. So he had straightened his back and answered.
"I do not regret it Sir."
By the look of his opponents eyes he had seen what he had already feared.
"Bring the girl back to earth."
"No!"
Both he and the hooded man had turned in surprise to Sarah.
"No, please allow me to say goodbye to Jareth."
The man dressed in black had chuckled.
"Why should I permit you something, earth girl ?"
But before he had finished his words Sarah had run to Jareth and thrown her arms around him. He had felt something slipping into his shirt while she had whispered something in his ear. Then she had been taken away from him, while the hooded man was shouting.
"Take her away now!"
And after saying this, he had had turned to him.
"Jareth I sentence you for seven years in your owl shape, while I take, on behalf of this Council of Magic, all your magic, titles and lands. You'll be nothing after this ! Council, do you agree with this verdict."
An agreeing humming that had sounded like thunder rolling filled the room. From behind the closing doors he had heard Sarah shouting.
"That's not fair!"
He had smiled. But then suddenly he had felt the hand of the hooded man on his head. Panic had ran through his veins as he had known what was coming.
And then there had been nothing more than pain and a flashing white light.
Present
For seven years he had been an owl. Living like an owl. But able to think as Jareth. He had been angry. He had cursed everything and everybody. He had felt helpless, stuck in an annoying form. And the had given him boundaries, he had not been able to leave the Underground. Being forced to see how some new guy took over his reign. It had driven him almost mad.
Almost. As there had been one whisper that had lingered inside his mind. The voice of Sarah.
He smiled. It had been this that had kept him from going crazy.
He got up, still having to get used to his human form again, and took something from the pocket of his shirt. He looked at the small silver ring lying in the palm of his hand. The thing that Sarah had slipped into his shirt as she had embraced him. It was the ring she had put into the Wiseman's box. He wondered how she had gotten it back.
Together with her words it would help him to get out of the Underground. He didn't want to stay there for two reasons. First he couldn't stand the idea of being a minor to the new Goblin King, and second there was Sarah and the words she had spoken.
"Come to me. I'll wait for you."
He clenched his fist around the ring and shouted: "I wish to be near Sarah!"
A few hours later
The doorbell kept zooming in a highly annoying way.
"I am coming!" she shouted down the stairs.
As fast as she could she slipped into a pair of trousers and a shirt. Why did people always fell this urge of visiting her while she was taking a shower ?
With a smack she opened the door.
Her visitor had been waiting with his back turned to her. Now he slowly turned.
"Hello, earth girl."
"My name is Sarah."
"And mine is Jareth…"
For a moment her visitor fell silent. Then they looked in each others eyes.
Seven years they had waited.
Sometimes words are unnecessary. They both knew how they felt. And at a time like this, deeds are the only way to communicate.
Slowly they moved towards each other. Took each others hands. And kissed.
The reward for their waiting: love.
THE END