Disclaimer: All references to the characters Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and the film Labyrinth belong to Jim Henson Studios and other pertinent parties. I do not claim ownership to the characters and / or the original source material.
The One and Only Author's Note: One morning I had two questions tease me from afar. First of all, what if the children of Toby and Sarah encountered the Goblin King? How would that happen and how would they deal with him? Secondly, what would happen if the wisher completely forfeited their right (or anyone else's right) to run the Labyrinth? What would the Goblin King do, or the better question, would he do anything? Could he do anything to sway or manipulate the wisher / runner into saving the wishee? As you can see, these two questions snowballed into others and led to this odd story. This isn't romance, but you will get a Jareth being Jareth (dry, witty, flirty, introspective, bored, and manipulative) as he was in the film. You will get a few other familiar faces as well. The story is set in the fall of 2013 in the same East Coast town as the original film, and that is where we will begin. – p.s. (edited 4/17/13)
Life's Little Lessons: Chapter 1
Go to your Aunt's house with your cousin after school today. You'll spend the weekend with them. I'll pick you up Sunday morning. – Dad
Scrawled in the school secretary's curly handwriting, eight year old Thomas had had to ask his teacher Miss Simpson to read it for him. She did in her soft voice, but everyone in the classroom heard. Miffed, he tore the note from her hands and trudged back to his desk. In the last half-hour of school, every student pretended to work on their homework. Miss Simpson was nice like that – giving them time at the end of each day to do a little work before heading home. Except Thomas sat at his desk sullenly, no paper out or pencil in hand. He glowered at the note. Miss Simpson let him be.
Eventually the class began to pack up their things and stare longingly at the clock. Conversations began to spring up like a brook burbling to life from an underground well. Thomas didn't bother to talk to anyone or look at the clock. For some of his classmates, the last minute crawled by, too slow for their anxious hearts to be home and outside playing. For Thomas, he wished the clock would stop so he wouldn't have to spend another night at his Aunt's under his cousin's watchful eye. The bell rang just to spite him or so he felt.
His classmates poured out of the room leaving him behind at his desk. Miss Simpson came around to crouch beside him.
"Tommy? Aren't you going?"
"Why should I?" he asked bitterly. Here is as good as anywhere else, he thought. "And don't call me Tommy. It's Thomas."
"I'm sorry, Thomas," she said with a smile. "Would you walk with me to the front doors? I could use the company plus it's my turn to watch the playground." She paused to give him an opportunity to respond. When the silence dragged on for far too long she cleared her throat and tried again. "Thomas, wouldn't you rather be outside than cooped up in here?"
Begrudgingly, he admitted mentally, he did want to be out of the school building and in the sunshine. Outside was better than being inside. Outside he had some freedom. He moved slowly as he packed up his bag. Miss Simpson nodded and tidied up her desk a little. Then they were walking side by side through the school halls to the entrance and the playground beyond. Miss Simpson seemed to want to say something to him, but he ignored her.
Except there would be no playground for him. Talking to his previous teacher – an older woman with a considerable amount of gray hair and an easy smile – was his cousin Charlie. Charlie was merely her nickname; anyone could see that Charlotte Jones was a pretty girl with the same eyes as her mother. Thomas's footsteps slowed as he eyed his cousin through the tinted glass of the door.
"Is that your cousin Charlie?" his teacher asked sounding slightly confused. Thomas nodded. Miss Simpson looked thoughtful for a moment before putting her hand on the door. "You're rather lucky to be so close to your cousin. Your parents must appreciate the help."
"They don't care," he stated frankly. If they did… they'd be here instead of her he thought bitterly. He wasn't about to open up to this new teacher. She didn't care about him. Not really.
Miss Simpson opened the door and held it open for him. He walked through and rushed by Charlie without acknowledging her.
"Ah! You must be Miss Simpson?" asked his cousin as she turned from the teacher to her younger cousin. Charlie's hand reached out to tousle his strawberry blond hair, but he ducked away and ran. "Hey, Thomas! Wait for me! Nice to meet you, Miss Simpson! Good to see you, Mrs. Swanson!"
With that, Miss Simpson watched the young girl race after her cousin, her worn messenger bag banging against her leg. She watched the obviously feminine Charlie catch up easily to her younger cousin on her long, lean legs. The strawberry blond boy dodged a tousle to his hair again and stuck his tongue out at his smiling cousin. Yet when they came to the corner to cross the road, Thomas's hand slipped into Charlie's without question. He held on to his cousin's hand even after they had crossed the street. Mrs. Swanson soft chuckle turned Miss Simpson's attention back to the older instructor.
"Having trouble with Tommy?" the older woman asked with a sly grin. Miss Simpson nodded. The grin slipped and Mrs. Swanson sighed. "Charlotte was telling me that since her cousin's parents are divorcing, they are asking her family to pick up the slack. With growing frequency, Thomas's father has been leaving him with them on the weekends."
"Oh," replied the younger teacher. "From his files, I wondered what had changed. His grades have been slipping, and he doesn't talk to any of the other students. It's like… he's cut himself off from the world. Poor thing. The divorce must not be going well."
"Apparently not," confirmed Mrs. Swanson as she moved to watch over the playground. The younger teacher followed. They patrolled the playground and talked quietly about young Thomas (not Tommy) Williams and his cousin Charlie (Charlotte) Jones.