Sarah turned, slowly, to see Jareth emerging from the arch behind her. His appearance took her breath away. He looked otherworldly. She hated herself for what she had to do, but she knew it had to be done. "Give me the child."
"Sarah, beware." His voice sent shivers down her spine, but she stayed stubbornly solid. "I have been generouls, up until now. I can be cruel."
"Generous?" the word caught her by surprise. What did he mean, generous? The entire night had been impossible. "What have you done that's generous?"
"Everything!" he snapped. He started pacing a slow circle around him, his voice softer. "Everything you have wanted, I have done. You asked that the child be taken. I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you!" his voice rose again, snapping on the last word. He softened, once more. "I an exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?"
"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered," Sarah murmured, her heart breaking, "I have fought my way here to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. For my will is as strong as yours, and my king-"
"Stop." Jareth's voice was tinged with fear. He calmed himself. "Wait. Look, Sarah. Look at what I'm offering you." He twisted his wrist, a crystal appearing on his fingertips. "Your dreams."
"And my kingdom is as great..." Sarah started walking towards him.
"I ask for so little," Jareth continued. "Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want."
"And my kingdom as great... damn." Sarah looked away. "I can never remember that line."
Sensing victory, Jareth pushed forward, forcing Sarah to back up. "Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave."
"My kingdom as great, my kingdom as great..." Sarah looked back up at him, realization in her eyes. "You have no power over me."
Jareth looked disappointed and even... hurt. His lips thinning, he tossed the crystal into the air, just as the clock struck thirteen. He fell back, off the edge of the platform, in a flurry of fabrics, transforming, shifting into a barn owl. Sarah stuck out her hand to catch the crystal, grasping for a memory of her time in the Labyrinth, but the crystal popped like a bubble on her fingertips. She blinked, and she was back in her living room, the clock chiming midnight. Jareth flew around her and out the window, and Sarah watched him go, feeling like she just made the biggest mistake of her life.
So, something new, something different. Is it bad that I typed this up almost completely by memory...? This story's gonna be difficult, and I can't promise even semi-regular updates. It'll come as it comes, and y'all will just have to be patient with me. ^^ Hope you enjoyed!