Misplaced Hearts
by Elite867
Special thanks to my Beta, Nopa LaMais.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth or any character belonging to the Labyrinth. I do; however, claim all original characters in this story as my own.
Chapter 1: Pride and Prejudice
There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel
Open and closed within your eyes
I'll place the sky within your eyes
There's such a fooled heart
Beating so fast in search of new dreams
A love that will last within your heart
I'll place the moon within your heart
As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you
As the world falls down
Falling
Falling down
Falling in love
I'll paint you mornings of gold
I'll spin you Valentine evenings
Though we're strangers till now
We're choosing the path between the stars
I'll leave my love between the stars
Falling
Falling down
Falling in love
How many times had he heard that song deep in his memory? Too many to count, Jareth thought, too many. He wanted to wrench the song from his memory, the words from his lips, but they lingered there. Forever they lingered with him. Jareth recalled the heart break when Sarah, his Sarah, rejected him and for what? A child?! Preposterous!
He was Jareth Ruari of the Underground, a Fae of Royal blood and King of the Goblin Realm, ruler of the Labyrinth, guardian of the unwanted and nobody rejected him. The fact that Sarah had done so made his blood boil. He offered his heart to her on a platter more times than he could count and she threw it all in his face to win back the child he had stolen. Jareth scoffed at the thought. He had stolen nothing, it was his duty to take the unwanted when a wish was made, he was simply doing his duty.
His heart was indeed a fool to offer her so much, her dreams, his kingdom, all he could he would have given to her. But no more, she made her choice. The impetuous brat who carelessly wished away her brother, who was nothing more than a selfish and self-serving bitch has made her choice. Jareth allowed himself to shed one tear for her, for the love they would never share and for his own broken heart. He shed his tear then walked out of the ballroom.
It was in that ballroom that the entire Underground had been witness to one of her many rejections. That alone should give him the right to seek retribution for his wounded pride. As much as he loathed the girl now, he knew retribution would bring nothing to him but more pain. He whispered a silent prayer that she would suffer as he knew he would and then he allowed her memory to drift to the deepest recesses of his mind, hopefully to never again be remembered.
"This is not the way it was supposed to turn out," an ominous voice spoke once the King had left the ballroom.
"No, it is not," another and more authoritative voice replied.
"What do we do?" The first voice asked.
"Nothing," the second responded. Unseen eyes filled with sorrow glared at the remains of the once opulent ballroom.
"Such a sad love," the first voice whispered.
"Sad indeed, let us hope they will rectify this themselves."
The two mysterious beings vanished from the ballroom, leaving it completely empty. The magic and love was gone while the hearts that should have been forever united were now incomprehensibly divided. There was a heartbreaking sound echoing in the room, 'falling in love as the world falls down.'
Sarah bid farewell to her friends as the last of them returned to the Labyrinth. She lay on her bed, a bed that was once active with the cheers of her Labyrinthine companions and was now completely empty and alone. She knew she was still a child in her own right but she felt so much older now. She tried to fall asleep but all she could see was a strikingly handsome Goblin King offering her her heart's desire. She almost cringed when she heard herself saying the words, 'you have no power over me.'
She was tempted to accept him, to love him and to give up her life for him. But she could not give up Toby's life. She could not make such a choice for him. She also was unsure if Jareth's offer was not another part of the challenge. Perhaps it was simply a diversion. Had she accepted him she may have found herself back home and alone, without Toby.
"Who am I kidding," she whispered to herself, "I could never love a pompous bastard like him." Sarah thought once more of the arrogant Goblin King who had tormented her for nearly 13 hours. He was arrogant, cruel, dangerous and a thief. She envisioned him toying with many young women in his 'castle' while stealing their siblings in the middle of the night. The more Sarah thought of him, the angrier she became.
"What right did he have?!" She practically screamed to herself. Jareth, the playboy of the Underground gallivanting with young girls, turning innocent children into goblins and toying with love or the false pretense of love. Sarah sighed once more and then vowed to leave it all behind her. She had won, despite all of his trickery, she had won. Toby was safe in his room and she had become the heroine she used to dream about. She would miss her Labyrinthine friends, but if she was going forget the Goblin King, she knew she would have to forget about the others too.
Sarah whispered a soft goodbye to her dear friends. She did not know how, but she knew they had heard her. She allowed herself this night to mourn the loss she felt from everything that had happened in the Underground. By the morning she had locked away her feelings and focused only on her life aboveground.
"There is so much anger between them both, can they overcome it?" The mysterious voice spoke again, this time from outside Sarah's window.
"Only time will tell," the second replied.
"I do not think we should do nothing."
"We will not interfere unless we have no other choice. For now, we will wait and see if they can restore their own destiny."
"She is full of prejudice against him and he is too prideful to see past her rejection, they will not act to restore their destiny. They want no part of it." The first voice spoke in a soft but authoritative manner.
"Perhaps you are right, but pride cometh before the fall and they will fall if not by their own doing, then by ours."
A third presence entered the fold, "Sisters, what news?"
"Destiny has been denied," the second and clearly older voice replied.
"I see," the third voice remarked sadly, "is all lost then?"
"No," the second voice answered, "you should know, sister, all is never lost unless we will it to be so. Their minds have been clouded and their hearts misplaced, but it is not over for them."
The mysterious beings vanished to return far underground, beneath the realm of the Goblin King and even beneath the realm of the dead to a realm known only as Asgard. Meanwhile, both Jareth and Sarah lay in their respective beds dreaming of each other and the love that was denied this night. In their dreams they cried out to one another, seeing the truth of the love offered but by morning truth had been hidden by pride and prejudice and hopes of love were once again locked away.
A/N: As my note on my previous story suggested, this story may be slow coming. I have two very intense research papers due in a month and will only have limited time for writing. I will try to update as frequently as I can, but please bear with me if it is not as frequent as you like.
And please review, they keep me motivated! Thanks