Tal J. Smith
I do not own Jareth the Goblin King, Sarah, or the Labyrinth. They are all Jim Henson's amazing creations.
"A Bad Day"
Sarah got back to her apartment on the verge of tears, slammed the door and went straight to her room to change from her corporate suit attire to a pair of sleep pants and a T-Shirt. She sat on her bed trying to breathe deeply.
Due to the economy her work was asking more of her without hiring outside help. She was being overwhelmed, not to mention the added stress of night school. The fact that she had her period on the same freaking day as her Final Exam tonight didn't help much either. Working full time and going to school at night was turning out to be a horrible idea. What was she thinking?
Sarah ran her hands though her hair with her nails and scratched her scalp. She could feel the scabs under her hair where her nails had scratched the skin off from conducting this same action far too many times. She sighed again. How can she continue this way? She was stressed beyond belief. It was more then she could take.
She thought of Jareth in her dreams for the past couple years. He was always so nice to her, offering words of encouragement, words of sympathy. It was something she told herself that her sub-conscious was making up. You know, only a dream. But the way he held her and cooed to her in the night, she wished fervently for that kind of treatment while she was awake. She wanted to feel his lips on her and smell his scent of magic and spices. She needed to be in his arms. If only.
She went to the kitchen to make herself some hot tea. Her cramps really started to act up. Her back groaned, she held her stomach and let out a moan. A heating pad on the couch and a nice long movie with her tea was just what the doctor ordered.
She got her tea and sat down on the couch, she reached for a fuzzy blanket and held it tight; the stress of the day catching up to her. Another day of having to tell people she hadn't been able to get to their project yet because she had 13 others to do. Another day of disappointing people, something she hated doing, another night of school and tests. It's not fair!
A tear dropped from her eyes and ran down her face. She wiped it away with the blanket.
A pair of arms gently held her by her shoulders behind her. She was glad she didn't jump, but instead glanced back at the appearance of a familiar Fae king, gently urging her to lean back against him.
"Shhhh, lean back my love, it's only me." Jareth said softly.
Sarah was confused as hell, but allowed herself to lean back onto his chest. He wore a cream colored poet's shirt with long flowing ruffles. His pants were a grey velvet material, and knee high leather boots straddled her hips. He wore no gloves.
He smelled like vanilla and cinnamon and magic.
"Shhhh, my Sarah, it's alright." He cooed. She could feel the rumble of his chest as he spoke soothing words to her. His warm body pressed against hers intimately felt like heaven. He stroked her hair gently, his fingers healing the little scars from her administrations.
"What are you doing here?" Sarah said softly but didn't move, it felt too good, but she still wanted to know.
"Comforting a friend." Was all he said. He pulled the blanket over more of her. "Is that alright? I'll go if you ask." Jareth continued to stroke her hair.
Sarah gave a small nod, sighed, and leaned further into his embrace surrendering herself to his blessed warmth. Her crying increased at the show of sympathy she absolutely needed. She turned and sobbed into his chest for a moment or two before wiping her tears with the back of her hand and lying back against him. His arms went around her in a warm embrace. He didn't judge her or scold her, he didn't even tell her not to cry. He just held her. She closed her eyes and they both got more comfortable on the couch.
She stroked his grey velvet pants along his thigh, liking the way it felt under her fingers. It kept her mind off of herself crying like a child into the Goblin King's shirt. He really did smell wonderful.
"I know the trials of an overwhelming workload and impossible tasks. Know my Sarah, that you can accomplish anything. You are after all the Champion of my Labyrinth." Jareth was chatting nonchalantly in that smooth musical voice of his.
"You are the only one who has bested me, and that is no small feat. A business would be fortunate to have you at their disposal, and would fail if your expertise should not be there." Jareth still played with her hair getting braver at her actual acceptance of his physical self and not just a dream version. She seemed to trust him so far. He softly rubbed down her cheek and neck, massaging muscles and tension.
Sarah smiled, she knew her large company wouldn't even miss her if she were gone, but she felt such pride in what she did. She hated disappointing people. She sighed again, I really should start to think of myself more than others, but isn't that what winded me in the Labyrinth in the first place?
Sarah spoke while her head was on his chest. "Those dreams were real weren't they? I know who you are don't I?"
Jareth hesitated for a second then continued his exploration of her hair. "You weren't supposed to remember them."
Sarah just smiled. "I remember all my dreams about you."
They sat there for a good hour. Jareth conjured a mug of tea on his own after a while. They didn't say much, they just relaxed. It got late, and Sarah was like jelly in his arms.
"You, my dear, need a vacation, and I have just the place." Jareth continued his soft speech, "You could spend a few nights resting in a large warm bed, sleeping in, reading on a soft rug by a warm fire in an expansive library, and have coffee in the mornings overlooking a thriving Goblin City." Jareth mused waiting for Sarah's answer. "And I can reorder time so I would be like you never left when you got back."
He looked down at her, she was sleeping softly in his arms. "Alright my champion, your vacation starts tomorrow, and I will not take "no" for an answer." He just continued playing with her hair and settled himself to stay with his friend as long as she slept. For she had a very long day, and he hated seeing her so…..defeated. It just seemed wrong for someone he knew was so strong, actually be so weekend by life. He would always be there for his Sarah, at least until the world fell down.
That's the way this story will end for now. I just meant this to be a nice comforting feel good story when you have "one of those days", ya know?