Return to Labyrinth
"I'm home!" Toby called, shoving his sodden hat onto the small cabinet. "The traffic was a nightmare. Some people shouldn't let out! Idiots…"
He flicked on the lights as he went. Each room burst into brilliance at the mere touch of his finger. Each was opulent, laid out in beautiful colours and styles that made each room unique and yet kept each in balance with the remainder of the house. Yes, it had taken many, many years, but Toby was rich and successful and as far from his deranged parents as he ever could be without death intervening.
That was enough, he supposed. He thought of them rarely. He had need for only one person in the entire world, and with her, everything was well. He didn't have to worry or fear or fret. Everything was right when she was there. She was safety.
Fifteen rooms in, he paused. His eyes slid over to the basement door. It led down to a beautiful home cinema that was (pitifully) very rarely used. It had a view of the pool through a single glass wall. At night, with the great luminescence of the pool lights, it seemed very unlikely for her to go down there. He approached the innocuous door. It opened at his touch with only a slight creaking. He went down the carpeted marble stairs; impatience was not his friend.
"There you are," he declared, flooding the room with light.
There were curtains over the pool wall. He didn't like that. He didn't authorise that. They were going to go – and fast. He hoped they were still returnable. Had she kept the receipt?
"What are you doing down here? And why is it so messy? I invited my boss around, you know. He wants to see this place. It has to be cleaned."
Then, around the side of the couch, he turned. Shock quickly shot across his features. His hands trembled and he almost dropped his case.
He whispered. "My gosh…"
She looked up. A scowl marred her usually pretty face. Dark circles lined her eyes. The usual flared trousers and neon coloured highlights were gone. She was wearing one earring in each ear – a sight that he had never thought he would behold. She rolled her jaw in discontent, ready to yell or mumble, and then walk away, but didn't, not yet. The piercing in her lip shone vividly.
A tiny bundle was nestled in her arms. A sliver of flesh could be seen.
"Christine," he breathed, approaching slowly. "You-"
"It's a baby, Toby," she seethed. "It's our baby. You know, Toby, the one you promised you would be here for the birth of? Guess how old she is? Oh, that's right. You don't know. You didn't even know that our baby was a girl until now, right?"
"Christine!" he snapped. "You know that I had to travel."
"Save your pathetic, snivelling little excuses," she snarled. "You know I'll knock you flat on your back for 'em."
"Them, Christine," he corrected. "Them, not-"
"I'm not in the gutter anymore, right? I can't speak like that in a place like this. Well, get this into your head, Toby, I'm not some daisy that needs shielding from the sun," she moved until her back was slouched in such a way that it seemed to exude suffering and agony. Her deep emerald eyes almost glowed with rage. "You didn't return my calls. You didn't call me. You didn't even tell me that you were leaving until you were gone. And how long ago was that, eh? Five months, Toby. It was five months. I didn't know where you were, what you were doing or if I was ever going to see you again. The staff didn't know if they were ever going to be paid! They're gone, Toby! They've all gone – and maybe I should have gone with them – I don't know, maybe that would've been the right thing to do instead of sitting here, festering like some trash down a gutter!"
He sighed. A hand was run through his hair. He had just come from a long flight. He didn't need this. He didn't need any of it. But, his consciousness argued, she is your wife, and you like it that way. He clenched his jaw, took a deep breath and sat down slowly at the far end of the couch from her.
An apology would make everything all right. That was all that he needed to do. It would make everything all right again.
"Christine," he said boldly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie to you. I didn't mean to disappear – and I certainly didn't want to be gone for so long. My time with the company was always busy. I barely had any time to sleep at all. I even lost my mobile. I'll do what I can to make things better. I can't fix this, but I'll do what I can to make things better. I swear I will. Please, Christine, please don't leave me. I love you. I need you."
She seemed less volatile. That was certainly a good thing. However, when she looked away, he knew that a decision had been made. It didn't look like one that he would like.
"Sarah…" she muttered. Then she looked at him. "Her name is Sarah."
His eyes widened. It wasn't a name that they had discussed. He wasn't fond of his little girl having it, but he kept his composure. The documents would have been sent away and Christine would kill him if he changed the name. So he smiled, and inched forward, wanting to see his baby girl. Christine moved, turning the sleeping child and moving the blankets from obscuring her face. Like her mother, she had strands of dark, dark hair. She was beautiful, with a face that seemed all too recognisable for someone with that name.
"I love her," was all he said.
Author's Note: I had been meaning to watch Labyrinth for a long time now. My first scene was the masquerade, and I fell into such deep 'like' with it. Then I saw from the comments that it wasn't romantic and the two that were dancing weren't an item. I still wanted to see it, but it wasn't such a priority. I put it to the back burner. Then I saw the article, the 'theory', that was shared on BuzzFeed about Jareth and Sarah and I hunted it down. Anything that reminds me of Xian Jiàn and Gǔ Jiàn can't go wrong. Zǐ Xuān's story was called to mind, so I had to see it. Then I started obsessing over videos, which led me to the web comic audio series thing Girls Next Door. After binging on that, I woke up and this was in my head.
I'm delighted with this. I hope you will be too.