One Samhain Night
Author's Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth. All rights go to their respective owners. Hey look! A new Labyrinth story! Sorry about the delay. Anyway, I finally joined livejournal and labyfic, and they do prompts. I decided to combine the prompt idea with my desire to write a Halloween fic since I did not do one this year (very sad). The main ideas for this story come from the picture prompt on livejournal, and an image from The Goblins of Labyrinth. Brian Froud included some concept art in it, including (what I assumed to be) an image of Sarah sitting on a ledge, holding a mask. I love that image and wanted to capture it in a story, so I did. Forgive me for my awkward ability to describe. I hope you enjoy!
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"Sarah, can I have your extra candy?"
"Of course, Toby. Tomorrow. Right now, you need to go to bed."
"But I want to play with the goblins."
"Tomorrow, Tobes. They'll be back. Besides, I remember them saying that there is a special party Underground tonight, so they're probably at that."
Sarah leaned in and kissed her little step-brother on the forehead before heading to the door.
"Will you go?"
Sarah stopped for a moment to consider Toby's question. She could be honest. At this point, why not?
"Yes, I'm going. The Goblin King said that he got me a special dress for tonight."
"Can I go with you?" Toby said as he yawned.
"Not tonight, Squirt. When you're older."
"Promise?"
"Of course. This is my first one so I can tell you about it later."
"Oh boy. Can't wait," yawned Toby again.
"Good night, Toby. I love you."
"Love you, too. Night, Sarah, and say hi to the Goblin King for me."
At that, Sarah closed the door and headed to her bedroom. Halloween as she knew it was now over, now that Toby and she had come home, traded candy, and blown out the candles in their carved pumpkins before putting Toby to bed. But, the night was still young, and Sarah had plans of her own.
True, she had never attended a Samhain revelry before, but over time, she had come to trust Jareth more. The last couple years had given her a chance to attend events held in the Goblin Kingdom, the first one being the yearly celebration for the Labyrinth Champion, the Champion's Ball.
Sarah liked shaking hands with all of the goblins who inhabited the Goblin Kingdom, and she was glad when she could leave to escape all the drunken singing that always happened when they toasted their Champion. Jareth could not, but he was used to it by now.
Once she started attending the Champion's Ball for a few years, Jareth asked her to attend a party at the castle, and Sarah had loved meeting people from other kingdoms, prompting her to suggest to Jareth that she would be willing to attend more parties.
And so it happened that a box appeared on Sarah's bed on night, accompanied with a letter. The letter invited Sarah to attend the Samhain revelry that Jareth hosted each year. His only condition was that she wait for him to show her around, since she was still a mortal and could be seen as a lost mortal for sacrifice.
Inside the box was the outfit Sarah was to wear for the revelry. Different types of folk wore certain colors and outfits. For Samhain, masks were customary, and so Sarah had a white mask that covered her whole face, a red ribbon to hold it in place. The mask matched her outfit, a thin, white dress that went to her knees and had fitted, long sleeves. While it hugged her curves at her midsection, it billowed out at the bottom.
The soft cotton felt good on her body, and when she went outside in the dress, she felt warm. It was balmy for a New England Halloween, and the slight breeze felt good on her grown-out hair as she let it fall about her face.
Once outside, Sarah made the trek to the meeting place she and Jareth had agreed on. Walking through the now-dark streets, Sarah eventually made it to the park where she had used to read Labyrinth out loud. Once she crossed the bridge, she headed into the forest, taking the path Jareth had shown her.
When Sarah arrived at the meeting place, Sarah leaned against a tree, waiting for Jareth to appear. When Jareth was fifteen minutes late, Sarah began to worry.
Then, she heard a sound not far away.
Sarah got up from the tree to investigate the noise. After walking a few feet away, she saw a faint glow in the distance, as well as heard what she thought was singing. Sarah was about to head back to her tree to continue waiting for Jareth when she saw several goblins come toward her, waving and jumping up and down. She waited for them to get to her, just in case he had sent them in his place. He had sent her trio of friends in his place for her second party, so it was possible.
"Lady! You late!"
"So is your king," said Sarah with a little irritation.
"He stuck in meeting and late. Wants to see you bad. Come with us!"
As the goblins spoke, one of the goblins pulled his hands out from behind him, revealing a flower crown with white and light pink blooms. He smiled up at Sarah and held out the crown to her, so she took it and put it on. She started to put on her mask as well, but the goblins made a fuss, so she did not put it on.
All the goblins seemed excited to lead her to the kingdom, so she followed them. They had not gone far before the volume of the singing became much louder, and likewise, the glow became bigger and brighter. A little more distance showed that there were figures dancing around a giant bonfire.
When they were close to the clearing where the bonfire was, Sarah saw the veil. It had always been said that the veil between the two worlds was thinnest on that night, and Sarah had to agree. Every time she had ever gone through it, it had taken time to get through, the distance and the light fog that always appeared magically. Tonight, though, no such fog existed, and it was easy to see how close she was to everyone else.
Sarah reached out to touch the veil, but then the goblins tugged at her dress.
"This way, lady!" they said, pointing to the right.
And so they went to the right, Sarah assuming that they were leading her to Jareth. When they came upon the veil again, the goblins went through, leaving Sarah to stare at it. It seemed much brighter and hazier there, and Sarah did not understand why until she also stepped through the veil.
What Sarah saw made her gasp. All around her were white Christmas lights. Every branch and tree had the lights draped around them, creating a pathway to walk under, and with the light playing off of the dried leaves, it certainly was a sight. She felt as though she were under a house of light.
Jareth had definitely done this for her, since he did not like using electricity or anything modern like that. Jareth knew how much she liked Christmas and decorating, so perhaps that was where he thought of this. She would thank him for this when she found him, whenever that was.
There were moments like this that Sarah held very pleasant thoughts about the Goblin King. He could be arrogant and full of himself sometimes, and he had a habit of trying to provoke her to get a rise from her, whether or not there were others around.
At the same time, he was known to arrange little things like this for her from time to time, whether it was allowing her to pick out her dresses for the Champion's Ball, or letting her friends lead her in. He was also a great dancer, and she was lucky that he took it upon himself to dance with her at least half of the time to make her feel comfortable when she first started attending the balls.
Close to the gazebo of lights was a small bench, and Sarah sat down on it, enjoying the view. However, it was not long before the singing drew her attention again. She was curious, and so she wandered over to the fire.
When Sarah got close to the fire, she was able to make out the fae in attendance. All sang loudly in a language she did not understand, but that was fine with her. It was melodious and joyful, and she could not ask for more.
Once one of the fae noticed her, she waved to Sarah to join them. Sarah was glad to join, but in her joy, she did not notice the sinister look that crossed the fae's features, or the similar looks that came onto others' faces.
Once Sarah was in the inner circle, the group began to chant and dance, joining hands around Sarah. For several minutes, Sarah enjoyed the atmosphere, until the chanting's rhythm became faster, and several of those in the circle began giving Sarah hungry looks.
As the chanting hit its apex, Sarah saw everyone's faces turn toward her. Then, they let go of each other's hands to reach toward her before stepping toward her. That gesture, combined with their faces, suddenly reminded Sarah of when she had been in the firey forest, with the fireys coming toward her as though to try to take off her head.
For one brief moment, she thought she was seeing things as one of the fae looked at her, his bright red, hairy mask seeming to turn into a firey, and Sarah panicked.
With reflexes perfected from years of tag and hide-and-go-seek with her younger brother, Sarah braced herself and ducked. Then, she dove under the outstretched arms and took to running as fast as she could. As she ran, she heard loud cries of anger and frustration, along with the crashing of feet giving chase, and it occurred to Sarah that perhaps she had almost been used as a part of their celebration that night, as Jareth had warned her.
Sarah continued to run when that realization hit her, and all she could think about was Jareth. How she wished that he was there, protecting her or otherwise holding her close. Perhaps then she would not have to worry about losing her life, or having to deal with sticks and thorny plants that scratched her as she ran through them.
How she wished that she had waited, and Jareth had not been late. That she could just enjoy herself as she had in the past with him, even if it was not realistic to always be like that. That instead of doing the limbo to avoid low branches, she could dance the waltz with Jareth, as she had several times now. It filled her lonely nights when she tried to fall asleep, and she feared that this night would also join the ranks, though as a nightmare she wished to forget.
How Sarah wished that it were not some fae chasing her, but rather, Toby and Jareth, teaming up as they had in the past, plotting behind trees and then screaming their battle cry (Toby's idea) as they ran to catch up to Sarah (Jareth usually). The two made a good team, especially when they were fighting against Sarah.
Once Sarah was in the forest some ways, she stopped to see if she was still being pursued. She did not hear any branches crackling or see anything, besides the omnipresent glitter that seemed to coat everything in the Labyrinth. She was not sure if she was in the firey forest or not, but she hoped not for her sake.
Sarah decided to go back to the bench where she had been before and weaved her way through the creaky trees and fallen, stale leaves. When she was close, she heard leaves being crunched. She stopped.
Waiting a few moments, she heard nothing, so she continued. Then, she heard more crushed leaves. She stopped and still heard nothing. She continued looking all around, but could not see anything. She ran faster, and the snapping of branches became louder.
Sarah kept looking around as she ran, and she was forced to stop when she saw two trees in her path. Not only did the crunching increase in sound, but she finally saw movement. She took a couple quiet steps closer to the two trees until she felt a branch touch her right shoulder, and another one touch her leg near her knee.
Sarah kept looking around until she heard what she thought was someone's heavy breathing. She waited a few moments, and it became louder. She saw nothing until she felt heat on her right shoulder. When she looked that way, Sarah jumped and staggered back a step.
From her lips, she breathed, "Jareth."
She did not know what it was, but she was afraid. There was a large, furry beast, as tall as Ludo, but thinner and darker in color. The beast's paws (she assumed they were) were shaped just like Ludo's, but its head was vastly different. Instead of the simple horns and kind face of Ludo, the beast of her nightmares had the face of a goat, long and thin, with orange bulging eyes, a long nose, and a small goatee at the bottom of its face.
The thing growled at her, its sound a cross between a dog's bark and Ludo's rock call. It was only when she tried to take more steps away that she realized that one of the upper paws had claws, and those claws were in fact caught in her right sleeve.
Sarah's fight or flight reflex kicked in, and she chose to run. She yanked her right arm away, creating a large gash in her dress from the sleeve to the back of the dress. She went in the opposite direction of the beast, running with all her might. She kicked bushes out of the way of her feet, and she pushed or pulled out any branches that stood in her way.
Still, the echoing footsteps kept coming. At one point, it seemed as though another beast had joined the pursuit, but not for long. Every now and then, she would see its face, and she shrieked when she saw it.
After one time when it got particularly close, Sarah got an extra burst of energy. She made more turns, going deeper into the forest. She stopped when a branch got stuck in the bottom of her dress.
She waited, and heard nothing. She waited more, and then she heard more footfalls.
She heaved the branch out, only to pull apart her dress at the bottom, but still, the branch would not become unstuck. After several more tries, she simply ripped the bottom part of the dress off of her, allowing her to run again.
When she ran this time, she was more careful to step lightly, and it paid off. The beast ran in a different direction, and she did not try to stop it. After she heard no sound, she moved a little further to a small clearing. She realized that the entire forest was thinning out, and that she was close to the walls of the Labyrinth, meaning she had gotten in deep, perhaps even close to where she had entered the forest with Ludo.
Dazed and tired, Sarah sat on the ground. After twenty minutes of no sound, her heart beat slower, and she thought that she was safe. She wandered over to an area next to the wall, and sat on a rocky outcropping.
As she looked around to take stock of her situation, she realized several things. First, somehow she still held Jareth's mask in her hand. Second, she felt her flower crown, and realized that several flowers had been lost. Her person was a little worse for wear, with her legs scraped from the tree branches that she passed, and soreness all around.
Sarah closed her eyes, resting her head against the wall and her flyaway hair. Pulling up one knee, she took off her shoes to rub her feet, as well as remove any little bits of thorns and branches that might have gotten stuck to her in some way.
Sarah remained sitting for some time, unsure of where she was. How she would get back, she had no idea, but she knew that the goblins and Jareth would eventually come looking for her.
When Jareth came back to mind, Sarah was torn between a desire to hug him and strangle him. She would do anything to get out of the mess she had gotten herself into, and she found great comfort in Jareth's strong arms. At the same time, he had invited her out during a time that was probably not safe for her, and she regretted agreeing to come out. She should have known better, but she was curious and trusted Jareth. She chose to ignore the warning and still wandered toward the bonfire.
Sarah wanted to call out on the off-chance that someone was looking for her, but she was also afraid that someone else might find her who would not have such benevolent purposes. She was frustrated.
Sarah mumbled, "Oh, how I wish Jareth were here right now. I'd give him a word or two!"
Sarah looked at the ground for several more moments, frustration and cold taking over. She wanted to go home, and that was when she felt it. The breeze.
It was no ordinary breeze. This was Jareth's calling card, that slight gust of wind that swirled around and covered everything and anything in its wake with glitter. Sure enough, she saw swirls of glitter pass her by, and she sighed. She was safe. Then, she felt a gloved hand on her right shoulder.
"Sarah, love? Are you alright?"
"What do you think, Great Goblin King? Do I look alright?"
Sarah turned around to face Jareth then, a wave of warm joy filling her as she saw the familiar eyes (now more concerned) and face (cocked lower), and yet she still could not help but vent her frustration upon him. She was not sure who she was more annoyed with at that moment, Jareth or herself, even if her annoyance toward Jareth was unfounded. She did not see the relief that had flashed across Jareth's face when he first saw her, as concern for her well-being took over.
"No. You look awful. You're all scratched up, and my present has been ruined. You've been crying."
Sarah felt the warm tears at that moment.
"Not for long. They're tears of joy. I can finally leave this place."
Sarah's voice cracked as finished what she said, and Jareth took that moment to pull her into his arms, sighing softly at her choice of phrase. He had worked too hard to let go of her now.
"I'm here now, Precious. All will be well. Do you want to go home, or may I take you to the castle first to get cleaned up?"
It was tempting to just go home and fall asleep in bed. She would sleep well tonight. But, the idea of leaving Jareth at that moment filled her with a strange shortness of breath she could not explain. He had asked at least, something he had been slowly learning to do with her instead of just whisking her away whenever he felt it necessary.
Sarah looked into his eyes and said, "Castle, please."
In a flash of light and glitter, Sarah was in the main throne room, now dirtier than ever from partying goblins, and Jareth sat down in his throne, cradling Sarah as softly as he could. Now was not the time for reprimand, not if he wanted her to stay.
Goblins appeared, and Jareth ordered them to get the healer, as well as certain salves. While they waited, Jareth murmured comforting words in her ear, apologizing for being late and everything else that had happened.
Sarah was quiet for a time, content to just feel warm and safe. Soon, the healer came and inspected Sarah, and he gave Jareth the necessary salves and reported that Sarah was otherwise not injured. Then, the healer left, and Jareth took to applying the salves to Sarah's body. As he applied, Sarah told Jareth of her adventures.
"All done, Precious."
"Thank you, Jareth. I appreciate you doing this."
"Is there anything else I can do?"
"Would you mind if I did not come back to the Underground for a while? I know it's my fault for wandering about, but-"
"I understand," he said, his words a little more brittle than he liked.
"Thanks. I just need some time."
"Is there anything that could help to calm you down after all that has just happened?"
Jareth waited for her to want to go home and leave him alone, yet again. Sarah paused for a moment, and she realized that she had not mentioned anything about the lights when she had first entered. She smiled.
"Actually, there is. It's when I first entered with the goblins. Those lights."
Jareth's eyes lit up. "You liked my surprise?"
"Very much."
"Then let's go there."
Sarah blinked, and she was seated on the bench, Jareth beside her. All thoughts of cold had left her now that Jareth was beside her, and any fear that she may have felt from the bonfire was replaced by the solid protection of Jareth's arms. Yes, this was good. This was the way it should be always.
Sarah's mind continued on in that strain as she looked around and tried not to stare at Jareth's growing smile (smug already about his good job, no doubt), until she analyzed what it was she was thinking. Always? When had she wanted to always be with him? Did he have any such feelings as he once professed?
Sarah had not thought that she had moved when she had that lightbulb moment, but apparently she had, as Jareth pulled her closer to him.
"Is something wrong, Sarah?"
"How long have you been searching for me?"
Jareth did not wait long to answer, his annoyance showing.
"From the moment those idiotic goblins said that they had brought you in my realm."
"How did you find me?"
"You said your right words," he said with a smile, "even if you wished to say some unladylike things to me."
Sarah giggled before responding, "I really must remember those words better."
"Sarah, why are you curious?"
Sarah pulled away before answering.
"I was afraid that you had not been searching for me at all, that you didn't even realize I was here or missing."
"Never, Sarah. I was more worried than I'll ever admit aloud. I know what my kind is capable of, and I didn't want to lose you again."
"Again?"
"When you said I had no power over you. It required your wish for me to come back, and I made sure to fulfill that wish with the ball."
"I enjoyed our time together. I hope we can have more times like that."
"I'd give you much more if you wanted it."
Sweet possibility filled Sarah's eyes. Sarah turned her head to face Jareth as she said, "You would?"
Jareth's voice dropped lower, her view of him finally changing to that of a lover.
"Yes. Allow me to show you how much."
Jareth kissed Sarah then, and she put up no resistance. The night that had seemed so dreadful no longer was. Now, she had more possibilities than she had ever considered before, but she was not thinking about all that right now.
The only thing that mattered right now was that she was sitting under some of the most beautiful lights she had ever seen, and that she was in the arms of Jareth, desired more than she could imagine. Tonight was only the beginning.
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Author's Notes: Aww, it's a more protective Jareth. So, who was expecting all that fluff at the end? If you were not, then you have not read enough of my stories/fluff. Consider this a late Halloween offering, and look for more prompt-inspired stories. So glad to be out of my Labyrinth rut. It's hard to believe that it's already December! I hope everyone is ready for a well-deserved Christmas break/vacation and stays safe. I know I am. Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!