Disclaimer: The movie Labyrinth is property of Henson, Lucas, and Froud. Long may they reign...
Chapter 2: Tricks
Jareth grinned down at where the girl had fainted beneath him. "Silly child," he snickered, clambering off the bed and gazing at where she lay still and white against the old bedspread. "She didn't even realize that I was still fully clothed."
The goblins crowded onto the window sill laughed with their King. "A joke well played, sire!" one brave (or stupid) creature called over the snickering. But Jareth, still basking in the glow of having pulled one over on his sometime antagonist, took the comment in the spirit it was meant.
"Aye," he mused, looking at where Sarah's white party dress from the night before lay draped over a chair, "well-played indeed." He fingered the soft material thoughtfully, then glanced over at where the girl still lay unconscious from shock. Jareth shook his head. "Silly girl. She always was too easily persuaded to accept things as they seem."
One of the goblins hopped off the window sill and scurried over to where Sarah lay. Peering at the gold ring on her finger, he stole a quick glance at the distracted Goblin King and quickly snatched the metal band.
He was about to scurry away when Jareth turned and, quick as a striking snake, caught the creature's ear like a naughty child and hoisted him off the ground. "Now, now, is that any way to treat a lady? Stealing things right off her fingers?"
The goblin dangling from his fingers squeaked in terror. "Is not hers! Not hers, king's! Give back to king!"
Jareth glared down at the small creature. "If I have given something to her, then it is hers."
The goblin's ears (the one he was not currently hanging from, anyway) drooped. "But… me thought only for joke…"
Jareth sighed and lowered the goblin back to the ground. "At first, yes. But she should have something to remind her of – something to remind her not to take everything for granted."
As the goblin slowly relinquished the ring, Jareth reflected on his misstep. When he had felt her dream calling, as they so rarely did these days, he had followed it, meaning to simply observe. When he had seen the image, though, his magnificent throne room filled with pews full of goblins, and himself holding the hands of a woman in white, he couldn't help but step in.
When he had heard the words, unfamiliar but somehow right in a way that he simply couldn't define, they had sparked a response in him that came almost unconsciously. And the sheer expression on her face when he had lifted the veil had brought to the surface the mischievous nature that had made Jareth the Goblin King.
So what else could he do but give the girl a good scare? After all, the chit deserved it after all she had put him through… So as Jareth felt her consciousness pull away, her own shock waking her up, he had pulled himself out of the dream and popped into her room to make a few necessary adjustments before taking his position just as the girl woke. Her slowly growing panic had gratified him, as had the pure shock on her face when she whirled and saw him in her bed… But he hadn't expected her to actually faint.
Turning to look at where Sarah was still sprawled on the bed, Jareth chuckled again. "I suppose I should be gratified," he mused. "I've never had anyone faint from almost being kissed before."
The goblins at the window cackled obligingly. The king waved them silent, seeing Sarah's eyes begin to move beneath her lids. Putting a finger to his lips, Jareth motioned his creatures out the window. He was about to follow them, congratulating himself on a job well done, when the girl on the bed behind him sighed softly, almost wistfully. Almost against his will he moved back to her side, looking down to where she lay, lips parted softly.
His expression softened. "Oh, Sarah," he murmured, her name sounding more a caress than a title. "You should remember that nothing is ever what it seems. You always did take things far too literally…"
Softly, in barely more than a whisper, Jareth finished the thought he had stopped earlier. "And you should have something to remind you of me."
Leaning down, the Goblin King softly brushed his lips against those of the sleeping maiden, then straightened, lingering for a moment with his hand against her cheek. Then he chuckled softly. "That's twice you've fainted when I tried to kiss you… I guess the third time's the charm."
Stroking the sleeping girl's face softly once, Jareth pulled himself away and turned with one last lingering look. In three brisk steps he was at the window. Not even breaking stride, he hopped up on the sill with a flick of his wrist and vanished from sight.
Outside, a barn owl winged its way slowly to a nearby tree as, on the sill next to Sarah's open window, a white sheet of paper floated slowly down to rest next to a clear glass globe balanced on a small golden ring.
All right, so I lied: I am writing more. This seems to be the story of accidents; everything written in it was never meant to come about until it did. I guess I just needed to bring this to some kind of conclusion... I never could leave well enough alone. Oh, and the first paragraph is to answer a slightly worried question someone posed to me: no, they never did anything...physical; that would be mean. I always preferred a mischievous trickster Jareth to an evil one. So here, at least, he's just messing around. =)
This chapter was the first one I've had time to edit, but I have two more chapters written... review if you want more!
~Ash
