Sarah sat at her vanity mirror brushing her hair. As she sat there her mind wandered back to memories of when she was just a child living in a world of fantasy and magic. When she ran through the Labyrinth and made her way to the castle at the centre to rescue her half-brother Toby. She had won. She defeated the Goblin King and his Labyrinth. Her memories were so clear, as if it was yesterday.
'Just Love Me, Fear Me, Do as I say and I will be your slave.'
Those words haunted her dreams every night for the past 4 years. He offered her everything her heart desired. And he loved her.
She had a choice; him or Toby. She was only fifteen. She wasn't capable of making such a difficult decision on her own. She loved Toby but he was her brother, it was a different kind of love. Jareth loved her; the kind of love that Sarah read about in her stories, the kind that is rare but lasts forever. Even though she was so young she knew what she felt. She loved him with hr heart and soul. But for the first time in her life, she had to go against her heart and save her brother.
'You have no power over me'
As Sarah said those words she left Jareth emotionally torn, with scars that couldn't be healed with magic or spells…but love.
There was a knock at the door. Sarah quickly snapped back into reality.
"Sarah? Honey you in there?" asked her Dad.
"Yeah I'm in here" Sarah replied as her father walked in, shortly followed by Toby.
"OK we're gonna head off now" he said
"Ok, See Ya Tobes, have a great time." She said as she gave her little brother a hug.
"By Sawah" he said.
"Call us if you need anything." said her dad.
"OK" replied Sarah.
Her Father and Karen were taking Toby to see Karen's Parents for the weekend. So Sarah was home alone. It was a freezing winter's day so she decided to go make some hot chocolate.
As she walked down the stairs she placed a hand on the banister. As soon as her palm touched the wood she felt as if she was back in the Castle, watching him disappear and reappear on all the stairs. Quickly she got off the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Her dreams weren't always remembering the bad things. She also made new friends. Ludo, Sir Didymus and especially Hoggle helped her on her quest in the Underground. It had been so long since she had seen them. They occasionally popped in to catch up but lately their visits were rare.
Grabbing her mug she wandered back upstairs. She stood in the doorway for a moment and looked around her room. She hadn't really changed it over the years. She still had her toys and books and all her other treasures. She felt like a 15 year old stuck inside a nineteen year olds body. She didn't think she had grown up. Not inside she didn't. She sat on her windowsill and sipped her hot chocolate. Staring out the window she soon fell asleep.
When she woke up, it was dark outside. She glanced over to her clock. 7:45 it read.
'Oh my god I slept for 5 hours!' she thought to herself.
She dragged herself off the windowsill and stretched. As usual her dreams were filled with memories of that night.
"That's it!" she cried. "I've had enough of this. I'm tired of feeling guilty." She walked over and stood in the middle of her room, facing the window.
"I WISH THE GOLBIN KING WAS HERE RIGHT NOW!" she yelled.
With a sudden gust of wind the windows were thrown open and in flew a white owl. In a matter of moments, Jareth appeared. He looked exactly as Sarah remembered. White poets shirt, black vest with skin-tight pants and long black boots. Sarah could feel her heart pounding within her chest. He was as amazingly handsome as ever.
"Hello Sarah." He said.
"Hello Jareth." She replied, trying to recover her voice.
"I would say it's good to see you, but how do you say that to someone who destroyed your heart and soul with 6 simple words?" he said coldly. Sarah looked at her feet.
"I need you to know that I'm sorry." She whispered, on the verge of tears.
"Sorry doesn't make up for the pain of 4 years of misery!" snapped Jareth.
Tears began to fall silently down Sarah's cheeks.
"I called you here because I needed to ask you something." she sighed, wiping her cheeks with her shirt sleeve.
"Oh and what, pray tell, might that be?" Jareth wondered, walking up to her. She couldn't look him in the eyes. She refused to fall under their magic once again.
"I need to know how you feel." She said.
"I thought we just covered that." stated Jareth. Sarah sighed.
"I need to know how you feel…about me." He paused for a moment.
"I want to despise you!" he cried. "I want to hate you for the pain you caused me Sarah!"
As Sarah could do was look down and nod. Jareth walked over to her mirror and studied it for a moment. It was covered with photographs of a woman that he assumed was her mother, a young Sarah and a couple of Sarah with a young boy. "Toby" he thought to himself.
"But I can't." he sighed. "I can't hate you because I think about you constantly. Because I need you more than life itself. Because I want you with every fiber of my being." He said as he walked over to her.
"Because I lost my heart to you long ago and never got it back." He whispered gently, lifting her tear stricken face so that they were looking eye to eye.
"Because I love you Sarah…I never stopped. I never will."
He let go of her face. "There you go Sarah. You got your answer and I understand that you don't return my feelings so I'll never bother you again." He said as he turned to face the window. Sarah couldn't believe it. He still loved her. Even after all she had done to him, he still loved her. There was no way she would let him go this time.
"I love you too!" cried Sarah as her face began to flood with tears again. He stopped. For a single moment it seemed that time stood still. He turned around. He desperately wanted to believe what he was hearing. After all the pain and sleepless nights she had caused over the last 4 years…she loved him.
Jareth walked over to her silently. His face was unreadable. He lifted her chin and looked deep within her eyes and into her soul. He no longer saw fear and hatred but true and honest desire. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her with such longing that neither of them could have ever dreamt of. Jareth's arms fell onto her waist. He quickly pulled her closer to him, now that he had her, he couldn't lose her. Not ever again. Sarah placed her arms around his neck. Reluctantly, they broke apart. Jareth put a stray piece of her long brown hair behind her ear. She positioned his face in her hands and kissed him again, only this time with the heat and longing she had bottled up for 4 years. Jareth kissed her tenderly on her lips, eventually making his way down her neck. She ran her hand through his wild, blonde hair and enjoying the moment they both had waited so long for. Once she snapped back into reality she wondered for a moment. She unwillingly brought Jareth's face back to hers.
"Do you still want me?" she whispered in his ear. Jareth grinned at his beloved. Sarah felt weak at the knees. He kissed her again before picking her up. Sarah wrapped her legs around Jareth's waist as he gently placed her on the bed.
Jareth awoke so find Sarah lying peacefully asleep in his arms. He hated to go but he still had a kingdom to rule. Carefully he got up and looked at the love of his life. He kissed her forehead and placed a note on the pillow next to her as he disappeared.
Sarah awoke to find she was alone. She wondered if last night was a wonderful dream like all the others. It wasn't until she saw the note lying in the pillow next to her.
You looked so peaceful I couldn't wake you.
I have to get back to the castle but all you have to do is call.
Sleep well my Sarah.
Jareth
Sarah smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.