I know what some of you are thinking: "Why the hell are you posting a new story, when all of your other ones are incomplete?!" Well, I wrote this story last year, and completely forgot about it. I was literally just searching through my documents, and I saw this under an unfamiliar title. Labyrinth is my favorite movie, it was actually the first movie my mother got for me when I was a child, and I've honestly been in actual love with Jareth for the longest time.
Since this movie is my favorite, I've always been very reluctant to write a fic about it, and kept my fantasies safely locked away in my head. I wrote this chapter when I was on a 12 hour flight, to pass the time, and I don't think it's too bad. This is not a story that will updated right away, or even regularly, so warning you now. It is something I want to take my time with, and put actual effort into, because of how precious Labyrinth is to me.
Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and perhaps follow it for more in the future.
He watched her closely for many years. Watched as she aged, as she matured. He saw her bloom from a waif of a girl into a beautiful young woman, grow into the roll of wife and mother, and even as her own daughter was born, he still loved her very much. Yes, Jareth was still smitten with Sarah Williams, well, Sarah Jones now. The once young girl now a lovely mother living a dull, normal life. The Goblin King sneered at the thought of her living such a dreary existence. Sneered at the boring husband she had chosen, the stressful job she had to work.
But nothing could suppress the pain that bloomed in his chest when he realized that she was truly happy. Happy with the stress, the normality of it all. Happy with her average husband, and their average sex life. She was disgustingly happy. So he watched and watched, realizing that as she grew older, he stayed the same. The same brooding man, born to a body that barely ages, born with a mind that will see eons but is the same age as his body; immaturity, selfishness, ill tempered.
Through out the many years Jareth had watched Sarah, he had wondered and wondered what he had done wrong. Perhaps he wasn't forward enough with her? Perhaps she was too young? No, after her rejection Jareth never took into account that his ego was his eventual downfall. And when it seemed to him that he truely loved Sarah at the time, the King was simply lonely, and Sarah had brought a bit of excitement to his world. Jareth's kind had a tendency to let their emotions rule them, and when emotions and magic mix, bad decisions are made.
The mistake started with granting young, spoilt Sarah her wish. Indulging in her fantasies, being the villain to her story. He did everything she asked without realizing that she may have actually been too frightened to realize it. Too young and naive to notice his advances, his feelings towards her. Jareth understood this much, and as he watched Sarah tend to her young daughter, he knew he should have waited a bit more for her. Knew he shouldn't have given her a limit of time, shouldn't have threatened or scared her. Even now when wrinkles lined her gentle face, and her once lithe form long gone, he still thought of her as beautiful.
As time went by however, he found the feelings of not love, but for the longing of friendship. Jareth pinned for the opportunity to talk to her, but she was never alone. He began watching her less and less. From stopping to a few days, then a few weeks, eventually he would stop watching years at a time. One day several years later, as he rested in his chambers, Jareth felt a strong pang of despair ring through his heart. Immediately he summoned a crystal to check on Sarah. He could not recall how many years it had been since he'd seen her, but knew it was not overly long.
Within his magical crystal the familiar innards of her cozy home were shown to him. A cold chill shot through him when he realized the home was empty. Flowers lined the entire kitchen, black cloth hung over the furniture, and on the large sofa sat a lone figure. In a moment of excitement, Jareth thought that it was Sarah in her youth, though realized that such a thing was not possible. No, on the couch dressed in a black shirt and jeans, hands clinging to a silver urn, was Sarah's daughter, Violet. He was gone much longer than he had thought. The last he saw her she had barely learned to walk, but here she was, a few years older than her own mother was when she came to his labyrinth. Tears stained her lovely face, bright hazel eyes rimmed red, and she was deathly pale.
Jareth noticed she was trembling, and in anger he wondered where her parents could possibly be. How could they let their beautiful child suffer alone like this?! A choked sob brought the King out of his anger, and watched as she gently placed the urn on the wooden coffee table next to another identical pot. Watched still as she slid her palms over the tops of her thighs, and shook with sobs. Letting her face fall forward, Jareth could no longer see her expression as her thick, dark hair so much like her mothers fell over her shoulders to shroud her face.
"M-mom," she gasped as she tried to breathe, and Jareth felt the same pang that lead him to check on Sarah. "Dad," she groaned in pain. "W-hy are you g-gone?" She pulled her knees up to her chest, and began wailing, "Why did you leave m-me!?" The crystal fell from Jareth's gloved palm, shattered into nothing before it hit the ground, and erasing the sorrowful sight he had just been watching. His hand came up to clench at his chest, and he nearly lost balance as he stumbled to sit.
"It cannot be," it was a whisper, but it shook his whole being to say it. "Sh-she cannot be gone." The once proud king could not bring himself to say the word. His mind refused to believe what he had just seen.
