This wonderful brain fart of a story popped into my head last night after I decided to watch Labyrinth for some unfathomable reason. I hadn't seen it in years, and this time around I realized that Jareth's motives are...well, what are they, exactly? So I decided to make him a bit more of a creeper than in the movie, and you'll see where that leads. I hope.
"My kingdom is great…my kingdom is…damn, I can never remember that line…"
"Sarah," the soft, hypnotic voice of the Goblin King commanded. Here in this otherworldly realm, nothing mattered anymore. Nothing except getting back home.
"Where is the child?" she heard herself asking automatically. It had been her quest, after all, to get him back. "Where is my brother?"
"He is back home, safe and sound. As I promised. You've won him back." The Goblin King deftly held the crystal ball in his fingertips. She could see the faint image of her brother playing in his crib. She took a step closer, and another. She had to see for herself that he was truly all right. Impulsively, she lifted the orb from the King's outstretched hand just as the clock began to strike.
"Oh, no…" she whispered, realizing what she had just done. Throwing the glass sphere to the floor, she found that it did not shatter. Of course it didn't. Jareth had thrown one and it had bounced.
"Your fate, however, is now an entirely different matter," her unwanted companion smirked. Foolishly, she retrieved the crystal, held it in both hands, and closed her eyes. This crystal, he'd said, contained her dreams. Her only dream now was to be home. After a moment, she opened one eye to see the King staring at her condescendingly, a sneer forming on his lips. "And what did you think you were going to do with that?" he asked with a sinister chuckle. "Wish yourself away?"
She opened both her eyes and stared defiantly back at him. "As a matter of fact…"
"It can't be done," he finished for her. "You've sealed your fate by taking the crystal."
"Undo it, then!" she demanded petulantly. "You can do anything…can't you?"
"No! I'm finished doing things for you, Sarah!" he barked as he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back into reality—his reality—as easily as if they were passing through a curtain. "Now the time has come for you to do something for me."
"What do you want of me?" she asked, her voice hitching. It took every ounce of willpower she had left not to burst into tears.
The King took notice of her distress and lifted her chin so that her watery gaze met his stern one. "Come now, there's no need to be like that. As long as you obey me I promise no harm shall come to you." She would not listen, and jerked her chin from his grasp. At long last, he sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing more to be done. You're stuck here and that's that. You may as well accept it."
She turned away from him as a single tear fell from her eye. "Never."
"Have you learned nothing from your time here?" he wondered. "I am trying to offer you comfort. But if you keep refusing me, I will have no choice but to become your enemy. And if that happens, there is no safe place anywhere in the city or in the labyrinth for you. Not even in an oubliette. I know what you are thinking, Sarah. Do not test me."
She nodded and allowed him to take her hand and lead her away from the maze of endless stairs. She would let him believe that he had her…for now.
But she would need to find another way out.
"Here we are," he swung open the heavy wooden door to reveal a cozy, well-lit cavernous room with purple stained glass windows and an enormous canopy bed with cloud-like white coverings. "This should suit you."
"It does," Sarah said woodenly, her lines well-rehearsed. "Thank you."
"Shall I send for a meal to be brought?" Jareth asked.
Sarah gave it some consideration. She was ravenously hungry, but there was that peach he had given her…She decided she would only eat when she absolutely couldn't stand the hunger anymore.
"The food will not hurt you." he assured her, as though reading her thoughts.
"All right," she agreed, after a moment's more consideration.
"And if you don't mind," he continued. "I'd like to speak with you later about something very important."
"Why would I mind?" she had to be very careful what she said from now on if she were ever to get out of here.
"Don't think I don't know you're planning on running away, Sarah." He sounded exasperated as he circled her and locked her gaze with his once more. "I'll always be two steps ahead of you." With a chuckle he retreated from the room, leaving Sarah alone with her thoughts.
The door closed behind him with a solid thud and for a good minute Sarah just stared at it, as if willing it to open for her. She did not notice that behind her, the room had changed from a warm, inviting space to a dank, musty old room that had been long abandoned. When at last she turned around and saw that she had been tricked, she merely sighed and sank down on an old rotting chest at the foot of the bed.
"Why am I not surprised?" she asked the thin air. She had gotten over being shocked by anything in this strange world. Now, she was just tired. The tears of despair she had been holding back burst forth. She didn't care if Jareth could see her somehow. She had nothing left to protect.
"Oh, dear." chided a familiar voice after an indeterminate amount of time had passed. "Are you not happy with your arrangement?"
Sarah looked up to find the room had changed back to a comfortable, well-lit one, complete with a roaring fire and a dining table set with a feast. The Goblin King sat as though waiting for her as he poured himself a glass of wine.
"Care to join me?" he asked nonchalantly. "There's another chair, you know."
"I can see that," she answered, matching his tone. Wiping her eyes before turning to him, she hoped to put on a brave face. "I will join you."
"Good," he purred, gesturing to the vacant chair. She sat down and he poured her a glass of wine, and motioned that she should take some food. There was a whole roasted chicken and potatoes and so much more she lost track. Her stomach audibly complained of its hunger, but she was still hesitant to take any. She didn't trust Jareth any further than she could throw him.
"I told you, it won't hurt you. You have my word." he promised, taking some food for himself.
Sarah followed suit, and once she had swallowed the first mouthful, asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"I know you're young yet," Jareth smiled cunningly, "But I was wondering if, someday, you might agree to have me."
"Have you? You mean…marry you?"
"If it comes to that." he replied cunningly. "I do not wish to lie to you, Sarah. I've had others before. I am as old as time itself. But it has been a long time since the last, and I've gotten rather lonely."
"Do you mean to tell me you selected me, specifically?"
"Yes. The child, you see…well, that just made it all the more easy for me. I played the part you wanted me to play, Sarah. I was the villain you had envisioned. But I can be more, much more, if only you say the word. I selected you because you're strong, my dear. Stronger than any others I've seen in a while."
"Can I ask you something?" Sarah asked boldly.
"Of course," he said, however, his posture changed suddenly from relaxed to tense.
"How long were you watching me?"
"Oh, not too long. Perhaps a year." he smirked.
"A year?"
"Oh, don't look so shocked. I didn't watch you that closely." he chortled. "Just enough to know that you were well worth my time. If I may admit something to you, I'm getting rather tired of playing the villain. If you will allow me to show you my true self, will you show me yours as well? I promise, Sarah, I really did not mean you any harm. I simply…well, I simply wanted to get you here."
"And you couldn't think of a better way than that?" she accused, her hunger quite forgotten.
"And how do you propose I should have done it? Whisk you away in the dead of the night without any sort of introduction? I realize the one we had was less than ideal, but at least it was something."
"I'll say it was something," she replied. She almost laughed at the absurdity of this conversation, but caught herself just in time.
"Do me one small favor," he said. "And consider it. Sleep on it tonight—the room will be just the same when you wake—and tomorrow, if it's your decision, I will send you home."
"Thank you."
"Good night, then, Sarah." he smiled, and then disappeared.
"Good night…Jareth."
All hope was not lost, though she didn't really trust him to honor his word. There was the slightest of possibilities that she might still get home after all. It was only a simple matter of playing her cards right.
So...that's that, then. Review and we shall see whether or not I should continue this farce of a story. Also, I'm not sure what I should rate it. It could get pretty dark depending on where I decide to take it.