Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, Cabaret, or Phantom of the Opera.
Author's Note: -- indicate the switch between real time and the past and indicate a switch between the past and thinking of the past within the past.
--
Unlike him she lacked the ability to control time.
Seventeen years later Sarah found herself staring into the black and white laminated page of her teen reflection. The time when her hair sparkled in a long, dark symphony and her skin smooth. She now touched the unwanted silver strands longing for the days before. Creases lined her lower eyelids as well as her knuckles. Both her mother and stepmother warned her of the dangers that came with cracking them.
She sat on the decade-old couch lined with a several tears in the cushions. The coffee table gave rest to many books, magazines, and a few old newspapers. In the center of all the cluttered rested an invitation to Toby's graduation next month. The level underneath the table held photo albums. The blue one and the gray one contained the pictures of her beautiful mother, a Broadway actress, who died two years before her father remarried. She found his decision too quick and his second choice a lousy replacement, a thought that haunted her until recently when a unwanted shared bond brought them close. The red album showed the smiling faces of her new family with the first six years of her younger brother. The white one, her favorite, held the wedding photos of her and her husband, Reggie, her first true relationship, the man who passed four years ago, leaving her no children. Sarah's only remembrance rested in frozen moments.
A shelf held a framed picture of her father, who passed away two years before Reggie. Two pictures of her late husband crowded the edges of the shelf. In between the picture of Reggie on the right and the one of her father sat the porcelain doll carousel, the last gift her mother bought her in New York.
Sarah stood up and crossed her arms wondering if she should even go to her own brother's graduation. He did go to hers, but neither he nor his mother could make it down for a single performance of Cabaret. Granted she played a chorus member, but it was still her first and only performance. She gave up her own ambitions the day she married her love.
Reggie was a local politician who ran for mayor, and barely lost. He came from a family in which his mother did not work, nor did his grandmother. His two sisters married wealthy men and both were homemakers. Sarah realized she was going nowhere with her acting career and complied to Reggie's request. After all she found out too soon Reggie's position on her choice.
Sarah remembered the time she announced the audition to her husband.
--
"Reggie!" Sarah exclaimed dashing through the house with a grin wrapped around her face.
"Sarah, have you gone mad?" Reggie asked emerging from his office, his hand over the phone speaker.
"Reggie! I've been called back!"
"For what?"
"I'm one of the twenty possible for Carlotta!"
"Who?"
"The diva. Phantom of the Opera."
"Oh, the stage show."
Sarah's face drooped at the raising of Reggie's nose.
"Sarah, if you wish to see the show we can go," were Reggie's words.
"I don't want to see it, I want to be in it."
Reggie turned his back to Sarah and he raised the phone back to his ear.
"Reggie, it's an opportunity…"
Reggie spun around pointing to the phone before shooing his wife away.
Sarah huffed and stomped off, grabbing her bag.
During the audition her concentration centered her husband's strange behavior, interfering with her vocal work. The image of her husband's face leaped in between her lines, pausing at each memory of Reggie's hand silently asking her to leave his space. Sarah's breathing slowed at the raised brows of the casting director.
Sarah felt a fire beneath her neck as she stepped out of the room, gripping her purse strap. Her head turned at the sound of the door opening when the middle-aged man sporting a gray beard and lousy comb-over peered out at the woman in the gray sweater.
"Sarah, may I speak with you," the director asked.
Sarah slowly approached him.
"I don't know how to say this kindly," he began. "But maybe you should find another career."
Sarah shook her head, "I'm sorry, I had trouble with…"
The director raised his hand and said, "Your private life doesn't matter here. You can't remember two lines. Why should I choose you?"
Sarah lowered her head.
"That's all, you may leave."
The director turned to his assistant leaving Sarah standing in the dimly lit room. She grabbed her coat and bag and took her leave into the snow.
She never auditioned for another show.
--
After the two year struggle with stomach cancer Reggie passed leaving Sarah alone. She left the New York duplex for a small townhouse in New Hampshire.
--
Upon the arrival she inhaled the chilled air, gazing at the Autumn leaves rehearsing for their final flight.
Toby helped her carry in all she owned. The scent of the new house drowned out the memories of all the ghosts she left behind.
While her and her brother unpacked her things she came across a box she forgotten about twelve years ago.
"Toby, where'd you find this?" Sarah asked unable to remembering packing the item.
"In your closet," he answered as he carefully put away the dishes.
Sarah took a deep breath and slid the pocketknife along the yellow tape. She flipped open the flaps as dust crowded in her face. She pushed away the particles and cautiously glimpsed into the interior.
Inside were plaster figurines of those she once know. The day she met Reggie she forgot about her friends, eventually concluded them to be imaginary. The ceramic figure of Ludo now held gray where the brush strokes were once orange and lively. The one she made resembling Hoggle somehow had its left foot broken off. She smiled, vaguely remembering those she once called friends. Even if they were figments of her imagination, they kept her sane for those seven years.
The first night he arrived at her apartment, Reggie took a disgust towards the dolls. Sarah enjoyed the courtship and decided it best to temporarily place them gently inside the wooden box. That became their resting place for years.
"Creepy," Toby said taking the dwarf figurine from his sister's grip.
Sarah gave him a half smile as she picked up the last doll. She held her breath at the fading beauty she captured in the face of the goblin. His pale yellow hair was now cracked and faded to a near white. His elaborate ball garments no longer held their sparkles. The nose had chipped away. All that remained were the painted mismatched eyes.
Sarah was instantly reminded of how the following year after her adventure she took a ceramics course as an elective. She modeled her new craft after her friends. They all took appreciation to her marvelous attempt to bring themselves into her art.
Sarah held the doll wondering why she chose to recreate her enemy's likeness in the first place, and why he was the one who turned out the prettiest of the bunch.
The memory pranced into her head as she thought of that one Saturday afternoon she got into another fight with her stepmother over her choice in careers.
Sarah locked herself in her room, hugging her pillow while tears lined her cheeks. She cried to herself repeatedly that her life was not fair. Sarah leapt from her bed and slammed herself on the chair in front of her vanity table. Inside her top drawer sat a slab of unformed clay. It was to be used for her final project, but soon found it another use.
Sarah allowed her anger to chisel away. Before an hour was up the clay now held the form of a handsome man, only not quite a human. She glazed the art form before allowing it to bake in the oven.
The next morning Sarah noticed the empty figure sitting on her dresser believing someone found it and retrieved it from the oven before it burnt. She picked it up and returned to work on the figure until it formed into a familiar face. Sarah reminded herself she did not want this doll to turn into who she was modeling it after. Her fingers disobeyed her thoughts as they forced the paintbrush and glitter to form the perfect likeness of the beautiful goblin king.
Sarah allowed Jareth to rest upon her vanity as she closed her eyes for a Sunday afternoon nap. She woke to find Hoggle glaring at the new addition to her collection.
"How'd you get here?" Sarah gasped nearly dying from shock.
"You called while sleeping," Hoggle answered.
"What are you doing?" Sarah asked.
"Why'd ya make that?" Hoggle asked pointing to her artwork.
Sarah found herself speechless.
"Feel for him?" Hoggle asked.
Sarah swiftly shook her head.
Hoggle nodded and grasped the figurine, raising it above his head.
"No! Don't!" Sarah cried as she grabbed the doll before Hoggle had a chance to release it.
She held the figure close to her asking Hoggle how he could even think of destroying one of her precious works.
Hoggle sighed but said nothing more of the matter.
"Where do you want these hideous things?" Toby asked holding the miniature Hoggle.
Sarah snatched him away and put him on top of the bookcase along with her other companions. She placed the doll resembling Jareth back inside the box and ordered Toby gently store it in her bedroom closet.
--
Now Sarah made her way to the bedroom where she stashed the box two years ago. She opened it up to find the figure covered in yellow tissue paper. Sarah unwrapped the doll and held it in her right fist. The face frowned at her, now missing a hand and a leg. Sarah figured Toby broke him when he accidentally kicked the box into the wall when helping her store her many shoes. She stroked the cracked, chilled face.
"I'm sorry," Sarah spoke. "I should fix you, but I can't."
She placed the doll on the bed and left the room, turning off the light. She stood in the doorway glancing at the darkened figure laying on the bed.
"You're the only one who believed in me," she said. "No one offered me what you did."
She shut the door and walked into the kitchen. The painted eyes of her friends guarding the living room followed her moves.
"I wish I could speak to you again, just once," she whispered to herself.
Sarah filled a glass with water and gulped it down before returning to the couch. She turned on the television to find a rerun of some reality show. She shook her head not understanding how shows with little substance became the new thing. Back when she was young T.V. was a wholesome source of entertainment. Strange how things can change in nearly twenty years. She flipped through the channels to find a rerun of one of the sitcoms from her generation playing on a channel for classic programming.
Sarah watched the screen until her eyelids fell.
She woke up hours later to find herself laying in the gravel outside a gigantic castle. She looked up in shock at first, but soon realized where she was. Sarah took a deep breath before standing up. She looked down to find herself draped in a pink, royal Renaissance dress complete with a white bodice and gold lacing up the back. Her arms were covered in matching pink gloves.
She lifted the ends of her dress and ascended the stairs to the castle. She walked into the throne room, illuminated by a crystal chandelier. Where she once remembered being only one chair she found a second a bit smaller than the first. She turned around to find a table with empty wine glasses and a full bottle of champagne sitting there. Beside the beverage sat an arranged basket of ripe fruits.
She felt a presence behind her.
"Excuse me," a deep, soft voice said.
Sarah slightly jumped then turned around to gaze into the eyes of the one she used to know. His face had not aged since the last time she saw him. His hair still the same style, only a bit longer, and lighter. He wore a glittery, green cape over top his sparkling white, ruffled shirt. The black pants clung to his shaped legs with boots overlapping. His eyes were lined in a matching green.
Sarah stood speechless as he moved closer to inspect her. He tilted his head to the side trying to remember the slight familiarity in her face.
"Sarah?" he asked hesitantly.
Sarah nodded.
"Sarah?" he asked again, this time in disbelief.
"Yes, Jareth, it's me," she said with a smile.
"How did you come here?" he asked.
Sarah shrugged.
"I'm glad to see you again," Jareth said, his eyes still wide.
Sarah gave no reply.
"How have you been holding up?" he asked.
"Alright," Sarah lied.
"Alright?" Jareth asked detecting the rumble in her voice.
Sarah nodded.
"Well, as long as you're here, would you like something to eat or drink?" Jareth asked.
"A drink would be nice," Sarah replied.
Jareth made his way over to the table and poured the liquid into a glass for Sarah and one for himself. He handed one to her and she sipped slowly.
They both sat down beside each other at the table, turning their chairs towards one other.
"So, it's been a long time," Jareth said breaking the silence.
"Almost twenty years," Sarah responded.
The room returned to silence.
"How's acting going?" Jareth asked.
"Oh! Great! Plenty of plays! I'm practically a star."
"That's great."
"Yeah. I party every night. Won a Tony last month."
Jareth raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, I don't act anymore. My husband didn't like it much."
"Didn't? As in past tense?"
Sarah looked down, "He died."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"It was four years ago. Time to move on, I know."
"No, I understand how it feels to lose a love."
Sarah gave him a half smile.
"I loved him. But he never believed in me. My family didn't." She looked into Jareth's mismatched eyes and said, "You were the only one."
Jareth lowered his head and smiled.
"I do believe in you. I knew you could."
"I wish I had your confidence."
"You defeated the labyrinth and me. Wasn't that confidence?"
"I lost that motivation years ago."
"You still can, you know."
"No, I can't. I work as a secretary now. There's no time."
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
Jareth poured Sarah another glass and said, "You're a guest."
"But I wasn't invited."
"You must've wished yourself here."
Sarah shook her head. "I would've remembered that."
"Maybe in your sleep."
Sarah shrugged.
"Never give up. I did once and often regret it." Jareth gulped down the liquid.
"What was it?" she queried.
"It's not important now," Jareth said finishing the rest of his drink in one swallow.
Sarah held the thin neck of the glass between her fingers. She swirled the liquid around staring into its soft hue, inhaling its sweet scent.
Jareth put his cup on the table contemplating whether he should take another shot. He gave into the temptation and poured himself another helping, taking half of it in one swallow.
The wind blew across Sarah's face causing her spine to shiver.
Jareth looked up, meeting Sarah's worried eyes.
"How are my friends?" Sarah finally asked.
"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Jareth responded.
"I don't think they'd wanna see me," Sarah responded. "I was pretty selfish when I met Reggie."
"Who?"
"My husband."
"Oh, yeah."
"How have they been?" Sarah asked.
Jareth sighed and lowered his eyelids.
"Don't look at me like that," Sarah said turning away.
Jareth apologized not knowing he was giving her a look of pity.
"I'm sorry, it's just…"
Sarah lifted her head not entirely wanting Jareth to continue. Jareth shook his head until Sarah's nod convinced him to go on.
"The dwarf died a few years ago."
Sarah cupped her hand around her mouth and shook her head as tears fell.
"I'm sorry," Jareth said standing up and kicking the chair.
"No, thank you," Sarah said placing her hand on his.
"We tried to contact you."
"I didn't listen." Sarah gripped her arms and squeezed forcing the tears to stream.
"He told me to tell you that you were always his best friend," Jareth said grabbing hold of Sarah's vengeful hands.
Sarah gazed at the ground mentally punching herself in the face.
"I betrayed them," she spoke softly.
"No, they understand," Jareth said placing his hands on Sarah's shoulders. "After a certain age they all lose their memory of the labyrinth."
Sarah leaned on Jareth's warm, gloved hands.
"It's a fact we all accept. Only a powerful urge can bring them back once they forgotten."
"Like tonight?" Sarah asked looking into Jareth's gorgeous eyes.
"Yes. Something brought you back tonight."
Sarah pulled away from the goblin and turned her back on him. She put her hand on her head and began mentally recalling the events of the night. All she could remember was glancing over the yearbook.
"I don't know," Sarah replied.
Jareth nodded. "It doesn't matter," he said.
"No. Something made me remember the labyrinth tonight," she said waving her hand. Suddenly the image of the figurines popped into her head. She recalled the fragments from the one that once formed Jareth laying cold on her bed.
"I wanted to see you again," Sarah said quietly.
"Pardon?" Jareth asked.
"You. I wanted to see you again."
"Me?"
Sarah nodded as pink filled her cheeks.
"Why now?"
"I realized how much those words meant to me," Sarah answered with a smile.
"Words?"
"You offered me my dreams," Sarah answered advancing on Jareth. "You believed in me."
He naturally retreated a few steps before becoming encased in an embrace.
"You were all I needed all this time," Sarah said.
She looked up at Jareth waiting for a response.
When none came she continued, "I've been lost and now I'm found in your arms."
"Sarah," Jareth said pushing the woman away.
Sarah's smile left as she noticed the pity in Jareth's eyes.
"What? I thought it's what you wanted."
"Yes. Wanted. Not anymore."
"But why not?"
"I can't. You waited too long, Sarah," Jareth replied.
"I made a mistake. I hurt you…"
"You crushed me," Jareth interrupted.
"I'm sorry, please don't hold it against me. Please. Love me."
Jareth grinned knowing those words way to well.
"Jareth, now's not the time for revenge."
Jareth's smile faded and he took in a deep breath. "Look, Sarah. I'm a changed man now. I took an oath of commitment. And I'm not sorry."
"What do you mean you can…" Sarah's sentence ceased as she noticed the gold band around Jareth's left ring finger. Sarah shook her head. It couldn't be. It couldn't possibly be.
"Jareth, it's late," a soft voice called from the staircase.
Sarah and Jareth both turned to face the graceful beauty gradually descending the stairs. Her skin was pale and her hair a wavy red. She had beautiful green eyes and the yellow dress draped perfectly over her delicate body. Her legs carefully supported her immense belly containing a precious life inside. Something seemed familiar about the woman, but Sarah could not find the answer.
Jareth helped her down the last step and she grabbed her back.
"I told you not to climb anymore steps," Jareth scolded.
"Who are you talking to?" the woman asked eyeing Sarah.
"Oh, she's an old friend," Jareth said leading the stranger over to Sarah.
"Catarina, this is Sarah," Jareth said pointing to the human. "Sarah, this is my wife, Catarina."
Sarah shook the lady's hand holding back her tears.
"I remember you, Sarah," Catarina said upon releasing Sarah's hand. "I believe I must compliment your ballroom dancing."
Sarah finally realized Catarina was the same woman she witnessed Jareth first dancing with at the masquerade ball. She also looked roughly the same age from seventeen years ago.
"Jareth, are you drinking?" Catarina asked noticing the filled glasses on the table.
"Friendly activity," Jareth responded.
"Don't forget you're meeting with the elf king tomorrow at noon, I don't want you hung over. You know how important this alliance is."
"I had two drinks," Jareth defended.
"Okay, but no more." With those words Catarina kissed Jareth on the forehead then turned back to the steps.
"Catarina," Jareth responded crossing his arms.
"I'm fine," Catarina replied. "Don't be up too late, you need your rest."
Jareth nodded and blew her a kiss.
"I don't believe you're married," Sarah asked when Catarina was out of listening distance.
Jareth nodded.
There was a long silence with neither one looking at the other.
"Do you love her?" Sarah questioned.
"I do," Jareth answered sharply.
Sarah inhaled deeply before saying, "She can't love you more than me."
"Actually she does. Unlike you she returned my love."
"Jareth!"
"I think you should go."
"I didn't mean…"
Jareth turned away for a minute. After cooling down he faced Sarah once more.
"Come with me, Jareth," Sarah offered extending her hand.
"I can't, Sarah. I have a wife, and a son, and another on the way. The goblins need me. Without my leadership they'll destroy themselves."
Sarah lowered her head in defeat. She now knew exactly how Jareth felt the moment she rejected him all those years ago.
"I'm sorry," Jareth whispered hugging Sarah.
"I guess this is goodbye," Sarah spoke.
Jareth grasped her tighter and whispered a farewell in her ear.
"I'll be here if you ever need me, friend," Jareth said as Sarah took her leave.
Sarah left the castle for the darkness ahead. She walked slowly into the fog as her dress melted into the outfit she wore earlier.
Sarah sat up on her couch and massaged the red mark forming on her temple from her arm's pressure. She rubbed her eyes and grabbed the remote to turn off the television. She walked over to the figurines and glanced at their smiling faces. Her lips lowered at the sight of Hoggle. She flipped his statue face down on the shelf before heading to her room.
Sarah picked up the ceramic Jareth and smiled at the imperfections. She grasped the figure tight and took it into the kitchen. She raised the doll above her head ready to strike it to the tiles below. She stopped and brought the figurine to her face. She frowned as she held the doll close to her heart.
Sarah searched her closet for a bottle of superglue then proceeded to reattach Jareth's hand and leg. She grabbed what remained of her old paints and returned color to his cracked face. Sarah left him on a scrap of newspaper to dry knowing that tomorrow Jareth would find a place among the rest of her friends on the shelf.
She returned to her room yawning, ready for a good night's sleep. Sarah pulled the covers over her body wondering how her life would be right now if she chose to accept Jareth's offer that fateful night. All those thoughts would eventually bring her to tears so she tried to let the face of the man she knew she loved pass away. If only it would pass forever.