Labyrinth and its characters belong to Jim Henson. Written for fun, absolutely no profit.
Fire Within
Chapter 1: Worlds away
From the darkest room of the tallest tower in his castle, Jareth sat on the window ledge. The pale second moon highlighted his mismatched eyes, only to be covered by heavy clouds, leaving him in darkness again. Even after 4 years his thoughts were still tainted with images of the same mortal girl. Sarah was no longer a child. Her beauty had enhanced, but her memory was yet to be awoken. Sarah had spiraled downward since their last plight, falling into a dangerously chaotic life. Even with her as an outcast, his heart waited for her, and soon she would know it. Jareth grimaced at the mere thought of losing her, but at the path she was on, urgent intervention was needed. He'd die before allowing the raging flame that was Sarah to die out. He continued to observe.
Aboveground, the air was gray and poisoned from the exhaust pipes that passed by. In the small luxurious restaurants, families dined, enjoying each others' company. It had been so long since Sarah had gone out with her family. Normal life seemed so distant and out of reach that she would often push those bittersweet memories from her mind. Night was approaching and the birds had gone quiet, snow began to fall.
Sitting on the concrete floor of an old park were four lost souls. Four people, always in need of something, always following an endless, pointless search for their next high.
"I have seventy bucks in cash" said the thin olive skinned girl while she forced loose black strands in her beanie, "but I'm not sharing with you two idiots!" She told the twin brothers sitting next to Sarah.
"Sar, do you wanna put our money together to make it last longer?"
"Kath, whenever we mix in our cash we end up fighting. We'll get by as long as we keep it away from these two." Sarah told her cousin while pointing at the identical young men. One of them scooted closer to Sarah, holding her to him, "Oh- My darling! My beloved! My Muse! How cruel art thou", he said dramatically, "To let me perish, thine heart is so cold!"
Sarah tried not to give in, but the corners of her mouth began to quiver, both girls burst out laughing. Sarah and Katherine had met the twins, Abel and Adam since 2 years earlier, they were as funny and charming as they were dangerous and self-destructive.
Abel looked at her imploringly, still holding her tightly. The laughter had died. Abel licked his lips, dark blue eyes set on Sarah.
"No, seriously, Sarah. Lend me some cash."
"Abe, I can't!"
"I need a hit. Now." His velvet voice was aggressive yet pleading. The familiar sign had arrived; he started shaking due to the ever present need which haunted his entire being. Sarah ran her thumb over his while their hands were interlocked.
"Abe, I get you, I really do. But we have to pay for the hotel room; we can't sleep on the snow, can we?"
"Guess not." He smiled at her and signaled the small crew to go; they gathered the few belongings they had. Sarah flung her messenger bag over her shoulder, looked at the nighttime sky. There was a tap on her shoulder. "Let's go Sar, before it gets colder."
Jareth observed the crystal orb in his hands and gave a deep sigh. She'd changed so much, yet she was still much the same.
She can't go on like this…