*Disclaimer: I own nothing that is the related to the wonderful works that is the Labyrinth. This story however is all mine.
"I have reordered time, I have turned the world upside down and I have done it all for you. I'm exhausted by living up to your expectations of me, isn't that generous. While you sit around and do nothing all day I work myself to the bone, and still you're not satisfied. Really Sarah I should count myself blessed if I but had your life, as "unfair" as you claim it to be."
His voice continued to rise in volume. She knew this tune like the inside of her own eyelids. It was always the same. He came home after many meetings or a trying day of settling disputes between the goblins of his kingdom or after another failed attempt of a runner to reclaim a wished away child and would happen to find her in the exact moment she finally let herself take a quick break. His timing was impeccable.
While he continued to bellow about all of her shortcomings she thought about her daily routine. She would awaken about an hour after he had left their bedchambers and she would begin tackling her daily tasks. She would freshen up the linens then make the massive king size bed. She would then gather together the soiled clothing from the previous day and set them by the door to take to the wash. She would roll up the large rugs around the bed and drag them outside and unfurl them over the balcony railing where she would proceed to beat all the glitter out of the fibers. After the rugs were satisfactorily de-glittered she would carry the soiled clothing down three flights of narrow stairs to the cellar. This particular room had an extraordinary underground spring she used to wash the laundry in. The clothing would be set next to the wash board and into the broom closet she would venture next. After removing a few drunken goblins from its confines she would secure the broom and dust pan and quickly make her way back to their chambers. She would then sweep the entire suite to be sure the pesky glitter was completely gone. The rugs would then be dragged back from the balcony and positioned exactly where they were before. With broom and dustpan in hand she would carefully traverse the three flights of stairs, careful not to spill a single speck of glitter from the pan, back to the cellar below the castle. There was a hole in the ground that was enchanted to get rid of anything that was dumped into it, and there was where she deposited the contents of the dustpan. Once the broom and pan were returned to the broom closet the back breaking chore of washing the clothes began. It was one of her least favorite tasks but it was one that had to be done. After scrubbing the glitter and muck from the clothing, and leaving her hands red and raw, she hung the garments up on a line stretched across the room to dry. She trudged upstairs once more to change out of her now wet sleeping attire and into her chosen outfit for the day. Once the wet clothing was properly deposited into the appropriate receptacle she would go down two flights of stairs into the kitchens. There she would eat a quick breakfast and plan what she was going to make for dinner. She would then proceed to dust and wipe the walls and any furniture throughout the rest of the castle. This was a daily job since that blasted glitter seemed to stick to everything like a magnet. She almost wished for a vacuum, but knew better than to request something so trivial from her Jareth. By the time she cleaned, and thanks to the resident goblins, re-cleaned the hallways and foyer it was past time for lunch. She would return to the kitchens and throw together a light lunch. She always ate alone because Jareth would procure a meal through his natural ability to conjure whatever he required. She would once again clean the kitchen and put everything in order. After finishing with that off to the sitting room she would go. She would dust and beat the cushions to clear away any glitter that might have settled onto their surfaces, then she would fluff the pillows and restock the wet bar and tea cart. The rug in the sitting room would receive the same treatment as the ones in their bedchambers. Once satisfied that her task was adequately done she would venture back in to the kitchen to begin the preparations for dinner. Two hours later and another wonderful meal completed she would once again clean the kitchen of any mess she had made. The table would be set and the food would be kept warm through the serving platters magically imbued to keep the foods at the perfect temperature. She would venture back to the cellar to collect and fold the now cleaned and dry clothing then return to their bedchambers to put them away. She would then freshen herself up and go to the library only one flight of stairs below their floor. She would quickly dust the many shelves and wipe the constantly dingy window to let in an adequate amount of light before curling up on a comfortable armchair and pick up her current book of choice.
It would always be at that exact moment that her dear Jareth would appear in the doorway. He would look at her and his lip would curl with distaste. She no longer wasted her breath on pleasant greetings or questions about his day. She viewed it as pointless and only slightly delaying the inevitable. She could see his eyes narrow and he would take in a large breath, then she knew she was in for another one of his lectures. It was always the same. He would yell and criticize. He would demand to know why she enjoyed sitting on her duff and waste her life reading when she could be productive.
At the beginning she used to try to explain all that she did, but he wouldn't believe her.
"We have a fully staffed castle of servants that do all of that Sarah. Now tell me what have you really done today, and this time the truth." He would inquire with his annoyingly irritating eyebrow raised his voice colored with disbelief.
It was true that the castle was fully staffed with servants, but what he failed to notice was that they hadn't lifted a single finger since the day he brought her to live with him. He just took it for granted that they were doing their job. She internally smirked at that. Well he was about to get a rude awakening.
She had only been living in the underground for almost a year. When she first moved to the castle beyond the goblin city Jareth had let her know that once an underground year had passed she would be unable to return aboveground. Too many years would have passed above and she would return and look not a day older than when she had left. It would cause too many complications and make it impossible for her to return to a normal life. At first she had no intentions to return above. Why would she? She was living a dream with the love of her life in a place filled with magic and wonder. She almost disregarded the passage of time, and she would have if it were not for her slight wariness of Jareth's love of tricks. It was true he could not lie, but that didn't mean he couldn't twist the truth to suit his own needs. She had verified the information he gave her in the library and found what he had told her to be not entirely accurate. It was true that once an underground year had passed numerous years aboveground would have flown by. What he failed to mention however, was that if she returned before a full underground year it would be as if she had never left. Time was always a fickle thing around Jareth. After that she just couldn't help tracking the passage of time.
Even though she loved Jareth fully, she couldn't take another mental hit from him about her uselessness. She just could not stand to hear him berate her another time feeling like her heart was shattering like the crystal orb she unknowing broke that fateful meeting. She knew he was using her as a way to release his stress and burdens from the day, but she was not going to make excuses for his behavior any more.
She knew if she stayed she would give into the feelings of worthlessness and despair that were clawing at her, trying to pull her down into the dark oblivion of depression that would make her soul fade until she would be nothing but an empty shell. After all what good was a shell of a person? It isn't good for anything but breaking, and that's what she would do. She would, she had no doubt, break and in so doing would commit the worst sin imaginable; suicide. She was glad she had enough strength and wits about her to recognize the dangerous path his words were forcing her down. True she loved him and she would never hurt him by making him suffer her death, so she was leaving.
She patiently waited for him to finish his last critique about her time management skills, or lack thereof, and invite her to dine with him on the meal the servants had no doubt prepared. She placed her book back on the shelf instead of on the end table. She knew she would not be there to reach for it again. The action was lost on Jareth however. Once she rose from her seat he turned and left through the hall to descend the stair to go to the dining hall. She walked as she normally did and once at the table she sat and listened to him describe his day. She nodded at the right times and made noises of interest. He finished his meal and left to retire for the night. She had yet to finish eating so she remained behind.
Once he was out of sight she was tempted to clean the table and dishes, but decided against it. She would leave it for him to find. Let it be the first sign that everything she had ever told him about her daily activities was the truth. She slowly walked around and took one more look around the castle that had been her home for almost a year. She had nothing in the entire place that she could take back with her, except the clothes she was wearing the day she came to live with him.
Once she decided he had enough time to do his nightly routine and was most assuredly sleeping she crept into their bedchamber. He was completely asleep so she no longer had to worry that he would hear her. He was a notoriously heavy sleeper. She opened her wardrobe and in the very back she retrieved her clothing tied in a small bundle. She went behind the changing screen and removed her underground attire and put on her aboveground clothing. She gently folded her discarded clothing and placed them on the foot of the bed. She walked to the head of the bed and looked once more upon the otherworldly beauty that was Jareth then leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead. She stood and turned with a whispered "goodbye" and without a second thought she walked to the full length mirror hanging by the door.
"I wish to return to my home aboveground" She quietly stated for the benefit of the mirror only. The mirror's surface quivered and she once again saw her apartment exactly the way she left it. Without a backwards glance she stepped through the frame and away from her heart.
Jareth awoke early the next morning as he always does. He immediately noticed the absence of his beloved next to him. He quickly assumed she fell asleep in the library reading one of her ridiculous books. He gave only a passing glance to the clothing resting at the foot of the bed. He descended the stair and went to the library. Once the door opened it was apparent Sarah was not there. He next thought she might have gone into the kitchen to wait for him as she used to do when she first came to live with him. He allowed himself a satisfied grin. His pep talks must have finally gotten through to her. He didn't find her in the kitchen or in the sitting room. He ventured into the dining hall just to be thorough. The sight that met his eyes made him slightly stumble back. There sitting on the usually immaculate table was the previous nights dinner dishes and leftovers.
His first thought was that his servants had overslept. The more he thought about it however the more he concluded the impossibility of that ever occurring. He knew his servants were deathly afraid of displeasing him and of the consequences that came because of that displeasure. He tried to summon a member of his housekeeping staff but no grubby goblin appeared. He was really irritated now and decided to pay the servants quarters a little visit. He vanished in a puff of glitter and instantly reappeared in the hallway of the servant's residence. He slammed open the first door he came to and found it to be completely empty. Down the hall he continued and found varying degrees of unused rooms. It appeared his servants hadn't used the rooms in almost a year. The realization of that blatant fact caused him to clutch his fist over his heart.
"My dear Sarah was telling me the truth." He brokenly whispered to the emptiness. "What have I done?"
He flicked his wrist and produced a crystal. "Show me Sarah" he demanded. The crystal however remained blank.
"Show me Sarah!" he ordered once more with a tremble of desperation in his voice. The crystal continued to remain blank.
He crashed to his knees at the realization that Sarah was no longer in the underground. The crystal in his limp hand fell to the floor and shattered. Through his lack of trust in his beloved he had pushed her away. His words now echoed through the empty castle. The same words he would yell at her on a daily basis about her complete and utter failure to do anything productive now haunted him. The words he mistakenly thought were motivational or inspiring were in fact cruel and condescending. Through his hurtful words he had driven away his love, his life. The tears came falling unrelenting from his eyes as he allowed the pain to come through his mouth as he heartbrokenly wailed
"SARAH!"