Just a little oneshot I thought up when I had nothing else to do at work.
The smell of roses infused the air, and a gentle breeze rustled through the garden, caressing the bridesmaids as they made their way down the stone path to the platform where the groom stood waiting. Everything was so quiet and still, but for the song whispering in one of the bridesmaid's hearts.
"Everything I've done, I've done for you. I move the stars for no one."
Sarah Williams shook her head, shaking the song away. It had been ten years since the dream, and it had chosen today, her mother's wedding, of all days, to come back. The beautiful young woman could have sworn she saw fairies in the gardenias bushes, and she knew there had been a white owl perched on one of the willow trees. Children had gotten a hold of some of the wedding bubbles, and as the transparent bubbles floated through the air, one of them, larger than the others, had landed briefly in Sarah's palm and then popped, reminding her, oh so much, of another day and time. Yes, the dream was back, and it was its cruel intention to plague her today.
The young woman took her place on the platform and looked down at her cream silk gown, avoiding the gaze of her soon-to-be step dad. The beautiful lady was uncomfortable to say the least. She didn't belong here, dressed in this expensive gown and white gloves with an expensive hairdo that was way over-priced. Sarah could have put the curls in and pinned the dark locks up herself.
She didn't know anyone here. Her mom had called her, out of the blue, a month ago, after over ten years of no communication, to invite her to the wedding. Robert had originally refused to let Sarah go, knowing how hurt his daughter was by her mother's neglect. He let Sarah decide, however, and with a forgiving heart, she had come, only to be ignored by her birth mom and rejected by everyone else. Well, except for a few creepy guys, but their attention wasn't wanted.
"There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes."
"Go away," Sarah whispered and then looked up when her mother came to a stand before her.
The woman took her fiancé's hands, and Sarah couldn't concentrate as they said their vows and then kissed. She felt almost like she didn't exist, like she had never been born, because this bride just didn't care, didn't acknowledge that she had ever been married before or had a child. The white dress reminded Sarah of the soft feathery costume she had seen somewhere long ago, and, oddly enough, that memory comforted. Perhaps there really had been someone that cared for her when her mother didn't. Perhaps there really was someone who had once wanted to take her away from the cruelty of reality and comfort her beyond her wildest imaginings.
That thought soothed Sarah's mind somewhat, until the cheering started. She pulled herself out of her deep thoughts and turned her head to look straight into a pair of unworldly mismatched eyes.
There was a man there, sitting casually in the front row, arms outstretched across the chairs, one leg crossed over the other. He took his time letting his gaze move slowly over Sarah's body, admiring her with nothing less than respect. There were no evil intentions in his eyes; no impure, cold thoughts, just curiosity and admiration. He had short-cropped blonde hair and was dressed in black leather. A few loose strands of hair fell into his eyes, and he stood up smoothly, his gaze never leaving Sarah. He was immediately hidden by mobs of people, all rushing to the newly married couple.
Sarah hurried off the platform, searching for the stranger, but he was gone. The crowds shoved against her, blocking her as her eyes searched desperately for that ghost from her past. But he had disappeared, like a dream, nothing more than a hallucination.
"Miss Williams, you're needed for pictures," the wedding coordinator called, taking Sarah's arm and pulling her out of the mass of people.
"Wait! Did you see that man sitting in the front with the leather suit?" Sarah asked, turning her head about passionately in search of the man she knew she had seen. "He was sitting in the front row."
"Leather in the spring?" the coordinator asked, moving Sarah into position with all the other bridesmaids. "Now smile pretty."
And so for the next half hour, Sarah stood and posed, smiling so much that it hurt. Her feet ached in the high heels she was wearing, and unseen tears burned her eyes as her mother strutted about in all her glory, ignoring her daughter entirely. The photographers kept messing with Sarah's hair and dress, aggravating her to no end. Everyone was laughing and talking, moving about without a care in the world, barely acknowledging Sarah's existence.
Family pictures were the worst. Sarah was asked to stand with her mother, stepfather, and his two sons and look happy. To her chagrin, the sons flirted incessantly, bumping into her, touching her, and making suggestive comments that made Sarah's cheeks flame red. Husband and wife kept kissing and cuddling right there in front of the bride's daughter from the past, forgetting such a woman ever existed, and the tears stung Sarah's eyes as the photographers finally finished and she was pushed, in between her stepbrothers, towards the reception.
She wanted to slap both of them as the new husband and wife were announced and the dancing and feasting began. Both men asked her to dance, and she wasn't given a choice as one of them grabbed her and pulled her onto the dance floor. She was pushed roughly through the dancers, for the man had no clue how to dance, and Sarah nearly ground her teeth together to remain in control of herself. The choice of music was terrible, and Sarah let herself delve into a time long gone, when she danced somewhere else with someone who knew how to dance and held her as though she was the most precious thing in the world, not just another female body.
She was tossed from one brother to the next, and he brought her close to her mother and his father. It was then that the bride said the only thing she would tell Sarah all afternoon, the last words Sarah would ever hear from her.
"Sarah!" the woman exclaimed, looking up and down her daughter's body. "You've grown!"
Sarah gasped with pain as the woman danced away, and she let out a yelp when her dance partner's hand found her chin and forced her face towards his.
"Look at me," the man frowned. "You've been looking everywhere else since we first started dancing."
"I don't want to look at you!" Sarah exclaimed. "And I didn't want to dance with you!"
"It's a wedding! You dance with people," he snapped, and Sarah lost her cool.
As they stumbled through a mob of other dancers and towards some overhanging curtains, flapping gently in the breeze, she caught hold of a wine glass full of deep red champagne and tossed it into the man's face.
He shouted in anger and released her.
Without another thought, ignoring all cries of her name and exclamations of anger, Sarah took off, away from the dance floor; down towards a stream she had seen, running through a beautiful garden, earlier that morning. She kicked off her heels as she ran and pulled out every annoying pin from her dark hair. She shook her head, freeing her hair and letting it tousle wildly as she raced, holding up the edge of her gown as she fled down a grassy hill and into the garden. She didn't stop there, but rushed straight to the stream and then raced in, letting the water splash up to her knees, cooling her anger but never easing her pain.
"Someone come and save me! Come and take me away from this awful place!" She cried, wading in the water, never minding how the very edge of her dress was dipped in the lush blue.
"Sarah, Sarah, always so dramatic."
The woman spun around violently, nearly losing her footing and almost falling into the water. She gasped with surprise when she found the leather-clad wedding guest standing at the edge of the stream, sunlight dancing off his golden strands, making a strange medallion on his chest dance and sparkle.
"You're him, aren't you? You're the Goblin King!" Sarah exclaimed, not daring to move closer, but standing there, looking absolutely stunning, in the center of the stream.
The handsome man smirked, folding his arms across his chest.
"You know very well who I am, Sarah. It's been a long time, but you haven't changed much."
"I haven't?" she asked, eyes blazing as she held her head up higher. "How haven't I changed, Goblin King?"
"You're still so lonely and extraordinarily out of place," he shrugged, pacing casually at the water's edge. "Wishing for love, yet denying it."
"And you would know all that?" Sarah countered, an eyebrow arched. "You, who walk around in tights, singing songs about love that you could never fulfill and offering me dreams that you have no right to offer?"
"Temperamental, are we?" he chuckled. "I can fulfill your darkest dreams, my dearest Sarah, and give you everything you could ever desire."
"No, you can't," she said, suddenly quiet.
"And what is it I can't give you?" Jareth asked, eyes dark.
"You can't give me comfort. You're too imposing and too much a king to do that."
For once, he seemed to be at a loss for words. He stopped pacing and stood there, gazing at her steadily. When finally he found his words, he spoke slowly and clearly.
"Why do you think I'm here?"
"You've come back to haunt me, basically," Sarah shrugged. "You're still sore that I beat your Labyrinth, so you're here to bother me."
"No, Sarah, I came because I was called," Jareth said, stepping into the water and wading slowly towards her. "I was called to comfort you."
"And who would call you? I certainly didn't," Sarah said, standing firm even though she just wanted to back away from him as he stalked closer.
"Your father, mother, and little brother," Jareth said, stopping before her and moving his face so that his eyes were level with hers.
"You're such a liar," Sarah whispered, truth sinking in.
"Am I?" he asked, eyes burning into her heart.
From up the hill, a fast jazz song began; fast and daring, making Sarah close her eyes and let the music surround her. None of this was real. Jareth wasn't really here, no one had wished him to go to her, and she wasn't at a wedding. It was all just a dream, one long, terrible dream.
Hands found hers, and Sarah tried to speak as she felt Jareth move into position, one hand clasped in hers, the other hand at her lower back.
"Just what are you trying to pull?" she demanded as he began to sway her in his arms and then spun her out from him and pulled her back in.
"Just dance," he breathed, his breath rushing against her face as he dipped her low and then moved her out of the water without her realizing it.
She was forced to comply as he spun her, moving perfectly with the music, fast and then slow, forward and then back. The music picked up its tempo, and Sarah found herself moving with him, enjoying herself, spinning in his arms, then falling back against him and swaying as his hands held her close. She closed her eyes as they moved together in perfect harmony, stepping to the side, each step accompanying the other, moving with perfect timing.
Sarah's heart pounded with the music, and her emotions heightened as the music soared, loud and fast, deep and upbeat. She breathed wildly as she spun again in Jareth's arms, amazed by how they moved so wonderfully together, amazed at his skilled hands and professional steps.
When finally the music slowed, Jareth dipped her low, his hands firm against her lower back as she bent backwards in his arms. He could feel her breath rushing against his neck, could feel the wild beating of her heart. Her eyes were wide with pleasure and surprise, so stunned that she was here, in his arms, dancing as though they had never been enemies but were good friends.
"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave."
The words flitted through Sarah's mind as she gazed into the Goblin King's multi-colored orbs, and she forgot that she was lying back in his arms, entirely helpless in his grasp, unable and unwilling to move. His eyes had grown dark with desire, and she didn't care. She wasn't afraid. Her hazel eyes met his and dared him, dared him to defy her, to prove her a weakling, to show his strength.
And he was much too happy to oblige that unspoken threat.
She had a chance to gasp rapidly, one more time, before he lowered his nose to hers and nuzzled his cheek softly against her own. She wanted to stutter his name, to tell him to back off, to look provoking and powerful again, but she was no longer fifteen, they weren't playing a game, and she was powerless.
Jareth didn't say anything as he pulled her up so she was standing, locked in his embrace, his cheek still touching hers and his nose brushing against her own. He smiled wickedly when he felt her stay still in his hold, not really wanting to move, curious as to what he was doing. He chuckled lightly as her arms went around his neck, and then he dipped his mouth towards hers, searching, testing her to see if she had indeed changed, as she had declared she had.
To his delight, she had changed, and when his lips barely brushed over hers, she didn't pull back, but pressed herself against him, clinging to him. He thrilled her by kissing her again, this time with more passion, and yet, with more tenderness, and she became completely absorbed in him, never wanting to move, just enjoying his touch and the pleasure of standing there, unmolested by masses of people. She could have cared less that her mother had completely ignored her. Her stepbrothers vanished from her mind as Jareth growled in the back of his throat and pulled her closer, wrapping her entirely in his arms, holding her without any indication of ever letting go.
His kisses became firmer and insistent, but he never pushed her, never harassed his queen into giving him more. She was perfectly content just the way they were, standing there without a care in the world.
After a few minutes, the goblin pulled back and gazed into his captive's sparkling eyes, his own smiling down at her.
"Did I meet your challenge?" Jareth asked, breathing rapidly. "Or shall I have to convince you more that I am fully powerful."
"You exceeded my expectations for you," Sarah smiled. "But I still think you're a liar."
"Oh?" he frowned, pointed eyebrows arched curiously.
"My dad, Karen, and Toby never would have wished you here."
"You know, my darling, you are completely right," Jareth mused, a mischievous light in his eyes as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "They didn't wish me to come find you."
"See," Sarah said, trying to put her hands on her hips, but he stopped her and put her hands on his shoulders, holding them there.
"No, they wished you away," Jareth corrected himself, swaying with her again, keeping her hands trapped on his shoulders.
"They did not," Sarah argued.
"Your father knew you would be upset here and knew that you never really fit in this world. He knew about what happened in the Labyrinth. I don't know how, but he did. Possibly, he learned from a dream. He, Karen, and Toby wished you away to me, to the Labyrinth. You're to be my queen, if you so wish it."
"Jareth…"
"What is there that you don't want to leave behind?" He asked softly, stroking one of his hands through her hair.
"My family."
"You shall visit them whenever you wish. They are welcome to come into the Labyrinth whenever they would like to. There is nothing here for you. Your birth mother has rejected you, as has your new family. Your father wished you away, Sarah, so you really have no choice. The only choice you have is whether to come peaceably or with a fight," Jareth said gently. "And you can have me. I offered myself to you once, long ago, and you rejected my offer. I offer myself to you again."
"You really love me, don't you?" Sarah mused, studying his face carefully. "You really aren't doing this out of some sort of revenge. You're doing it because you want me."
"Yes," he smiled, pointed teeth glistening in the light. "I love you, Sarah. You've always known that. You just haven't believed it."
"I really am the crueler of the two of us, aren't I?" Sarah laughed. "In the end, it was I who was cruel. I'm so sorry, my goblin king. Will you ever take me back?"
"If my love wishes it," Jareth smiled, touching his nose to hers again.
"I do want you, Jareth."
"You accept your dreams, my queen?" he asked, holding a crystal between them.
Sarah smiled and took the crystal in her hand, watching it dance on her fingertips.
"I think I like how you call me your queen," she said, smiling beautifully as she pulled his head gently down to her and kissed him again.