Author's note: This chapter has been rated M in advance for some adult innuendo that follows. You have been warned! It also refers to Camden in London, and Gilgamesh, a high-end restaurant in the borough which really is full of dark corners and exotic vibes. If naming real life places is against the rules, please let me know (I'm new to this! :) )
Sarah sat shaking at her desk. Her heart was beating so far and so loud she was sure any minute now either it would explode or someone would hear it and walk over to her. She looked around wildly.
"Well, Sarah? Not even a hello after all this time?" said the voice.
Her mouth was dry. Come on, say something Sarah! she willed herself. At lightening speed, her mind ran through a number of possibilities. There was no one she had ever told about the Labyrinth, but there were surely people who knew of the Goblin King. Perhaps along the way she'd let it slip to some friend, someone who thought this was all hilarious. But then who could have got his voice so absolutely right?
Sarah for god's sake, speak!
"This isn't funny, whoever this is." she hissed into her headset.
Jareth laughed, that same bellowing laugh that had infuriated her seven years ago and sent shivers down her spine.
"Do you really think I'd wait all this time just for a joke, Sarah?" he chided.
Sarah pushed her chair back and stood up slowly. She looked around. All around her people were engaged in calls. Not one person was looking in her direction. Some of the staff had started packing up their things, and she noticed the night shift staff members starting to arrive at their desks. Everything around her was as it should be. Except for this call.
"Who is this?" she said, her voice barely a whisper. How much trouble was she going to get into for this? No one was allowed to take personal calls on the job. And how had he come through straight to her? It didn't work that way.
"You know very well who this is Sarah." said Jareth.
Sarah clamped her hands over her eyes. She was desperate to get off the call, and desperate to keep on listening. It was impossible, but she caught herself thinking I wish it was you. But it isn't. It can't be. You're not real.
She sat up straighter in her chair and hit the call terminate button. They were almost never allowed to do that, and she knew within seconds Amanda would be hovering over her mind. She'd find some way to explain.
"Now now Sarah, did you really think you'd get rid of me that easily?" said Jareth. Sarah felt her heart plummet. She jabbed the call terminate button again and again.
"How are you doing this? What trick is this?" she asked, her voice starting to quiver.
She heard him sigh on the other end. "This? This is nothing. You of all people should know that. Playing tricks on the mortal world is a simple matter for me. Or to use your own words," he paused, and Sarah could hear the smile in his voice "a piece of cake."
She stared at her screen, absolutely still. He wasn't going to get the better of her. She straightened up and pushed her chin out defiantely.
"I don't believe you. You're not … him."
"Who am I not?" Jareth said. He was toying with her, she could sense it.
Oh god, she thought, he was going to make her say it. And if someone overheard her they'd think she'd really lost her mind.
She brought the headset's mic as close to her lips as possible. "You're not the Goblin King." she said finally, her voice barely audible.
"Oh, am I not?" Jareth feigned doubt on the other end of the line. "Then how could I do this?"
Just then a shriek came from a few desks away. Sarah swung around to see what was going on, as others around her stopped their calls to investigate too.
There was Amanda, arms flailing as she tried to brush off dozens of cockroaches from her pristine peach coloured business suit. She was hopping around as the creatures seemed to drop in a constant stream from the roof tile above her. A small circle of staff had formed around her, some trying to help her, others just watching, dumbfounded.
Jareth roared with laughter on the other end, and Sarah couldn't help but giggle.
"She torments you, does she not?" he asked airily.
Sarah shook her head. "Coincidence. This is London, there are cockroaches everywhere."
"So you demand further proof?" sighed Jareth.
"Do your worst" Sarah dared.
"Then you must meet me." said Jareth. "I have waited seven years for this day. Meet me this evening, and I will give you all the proof you need."
"No way!" Sarah snorted. "I don't even know if this is really you. And I have plans for tonight, it's my birthday and I'm doing things. With real people, people who care about me." she said. She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. No sooner had she said this than her cell phone began vibrating off the table.
"I'm afraid your plans for tonight have been cancelled." said the Goblin King, the mocking apparent in his voice.
Sarah grabbed her phone. Message after message said the same thing, sorry about tonight, something's come up, I'll make it up to you. Everyone had backed out of the birthday drinks she'd planned. Even tonight's audition was no longer going ahead. Sarah felt the anger rise inside her.
"You jerk! Do you know how long I've been rehearsing for that audition?" she hissed.
"It can wait. But I will not be kept waiting. You will come to see me tonight." said Jareth.
"Still so arrogant. What do you care if we meet or not? Where would I even know to find you? And after everything you did, do you really think I'd come to meet you alone?" Sarah spoke rapidly and almost at her normal volume now. For seven years this man had held control over her heart, and now he was interfering with her life, her plans. Did he honestly think she'd want to meet him after all that?
"You vanish after torturing me, and you turn up after seven years with the sole purpose of ruining my 21st birthday. Human years might not mean much to you, but in this world, turning 21 is very special. How were you even so sure that I'd even remember you after seven years?" asked Sarah. There. That should really provoke him, she thought.
"Ah Sarah," Jareth sounded genuinely stung. "I have spent the last seven years thinking about you, a mere mortal. And here you are asking me, a King of the Underground how I can be so sure that you still remember me? And you assume so quickly that I would ruin this little celebration of yours."
"So go ahead, where are you planning to meet me? And how? You're from the Underground. This is London. You won't survive a second on this city's streets." said Sarah. She was desperately trying to sound uninterested, but she wondered if the edge in her voice gave her away.
"Actually, Sarah, you forget that London is an old city, and I know it very well. You think I won't survive a minute on these streets, and strangely enough those were my very thoughts when I saw you emerge onto this city's streets."
He's been watching me? For how long? wondered Sarah. That would explain her constant feeling of being watched.
"I know this city like the back of my hand," he continued "And I am also very well known in certain parts of this city, pockets you might say, where people from the Underground are made welcome."
"You want me to believe that people from the Underground walk the streets of London." Sarah asked, bemused.
"They do. Surely you've been to Camden." said Jareth. Sarah tried hard to suppress the laugh in her belly. So she thought, he has a sense of humour.
"There is a place in Camden, named after an ancient king, a great leader of Babylon. You will meet me there." said Jareth.
"Gilgamesh." Sarah snorted.
"The very same. At eight o'clock I will await you there and I will answer all your questions."
"Well, you can forget it. I'm not coming."
"Oh Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. So defiant still. You say that now, but the time will come when you will be begging me to come."
Sarah's face burned bright red at Jareth's innuendo. He laughed deeply for several moments. She felt her eyes start to blaze with embarrassment. He'd walked her right into his trap. She felt like a fool, and all of a sudden she could think of nothing more to say.
"And I know you will be there tonight. You are too curious not too come. That's what intrigued me about you. Your childlike curiosity has always stayed with you."
Sarah looked down at her hands, mute.
"Do you fear me, Sarah?" asked the Goblin King.
Yes. "No." said Sarah defiantly, shaking her brown hair from side to side.
"Liar" sneered Jareth.
"I will be waiting for you tonight, and don't worry," said Jareth "I will do you no harm. You have my word. Till then, Sarah." and with a loud click, the line went dead.
Sarah sat listening to the call tone in her headset for a few moments before her mind kicked into gear. She ripped off her headset, jumped from her seat and ran over to the call log department.
Jamie, the IT guy who took care of the log was at his desk, eating a peach. "Hey Jamie, can you do me a favour?" Sarah asked. Jamie looked up through his glasses, munching "Sure, what can I do for our future stage star?"
Sarah smiled. Jamie was so sweet to her. "I just got off a call. Can you pull it up for me? I want to listen to it again. I missed the customer's address and I want to get it down." she said.
Jamie moved his mouse around and clicked it a few times.
"You took a call just now?" he asked.
"Yes. It came through at exactly 5.25."
"Are you sure?" asked Jamie "Because there's no calls in your log after 5.12 today."
"Really? Um, can you check again? Is that today's log?"
Jamie shrugged and scrolled through the calls, taking another bite of the peach.
"Yup, it's for today, and nope. No call at 5.25."
Sarah thought for a moment. "Could a call have come through that didn't get recorded by the system?"
"Not likely" said Jamie.
Sarah's shoulders sagged, deflated, and she groaned. There was only one way this was possible, and that prospect both terrified and exhilarated her.
"Don't worry too much about it. It was just one call." said Jamie.
"Thanks Jamie." said Sarah as she walked back to her desk. She collected her things and headed to the door, glancing back over her shoulder to see Amanda in her office raging down the telephone at some poor soul about the building's cockroach infestation.
Stepping through the glass doors, Sarah had never felt more grateful to be out in the cold, damp London air.
Her journey on the underground passed in a blur, and before she knew it she was pushing her key into the door of her flat. Inside, she tore off all her clothes in a fit of anger and got into the shower. Audition cancelled, birthday celebrations cancelled, all because a fairy creature wanted to play games with her. She stood under the blast of hot water, allowing it to calm her nerves.
What did he want? Was he trying to drive her to the edge of insanity just to prove a point? She wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the bathroom. She sat still for a few moments, before looking at the clothes she'd laid out for the evening's celebration. An emerald green dress that reached the floor, cut deep at the neck, large gold earrings and a selection from the many bangles and bracelets she'd accumulated over the years.
For a moment she thought of wearing something else. If I turn up wearing that, he might get the wrong idea, but she quickly dismissed the thought with a shake of her head. This was her birthday. She'd bought that dress weeks ago especially for today. And she was going to wear it. If Jareth thought it was for him, that was his problem, not hers. She would make herself look absolutely breathtaking. Two can play this game, she thought with a smile.
Jareth sat for a few moments looking at the crystal ball he held in his hand, smiling to himself. For seven years, he had waited for this very day to talk once more to the only woman who had faced him as an equal.
When Sarah had wished her brother away, she wasn't aware that the Goblin King had already been watching her for several months. He had been biding his time, waiting for circumstances to line up exactly as he wanted in order to step into the young girl's life.
Sarah's presence in the Labyrinth had presented him with a great dilemma. Never had he been defied the way she had defied him. The girl had been as fearless as any knight he had come across.
He had been sure she would not solve the Labyrinth in time, and had planned to retain her close to his castle until she came of age. For although human years meant little in the Underground, the Goblin King would not have harmed her. She was barely more than a child, and morality spins along the same lines in the Underground as it does Aboveground.
There is no fun in hunting trapped prey and so when she had solved his Labyrinth, he had stood by his word and let her go. For months afterward, he had been in a foul mood, and the goblins had paid for it. They learnt to be cautious around him and not provoke his wrath. He spent all his time staring into the crystal ball, watching Sarah, and it had pained him that since that day, she had never once uttered his name again.
Sarah had captivated him. No one had ever managed to solve his Labyrinth, and as she had drawn closer to the Goblin City, he had started making things up, new obstacles to slow her down. Later he had mulled over her victory and found her to be more formidable than he was. He had used magic. She had run the Labyrinth with nothing more than her wits and ability to win people over.
She had entered and left, unconquered. The thought was unbearable to him. Women from the Underground had fallen in and out of his bed with ease, but it was too easy. There was no challenge in it, no thrill. They fawned over him for his status as King, but they offered nothing interesting to say. They would spend hours perfecting their appearance, but all had laughed at his suggestion to read a book.
"My King" his closest advisor had eventually said, gently trying to broach the subject. "Goblin City is short of supplies. Bread is hard to find. I have received word that two separate enemy villages are planning an attack. What troubles my King?"
Jareth had sat staring out of his castle's window "A mortal woman. No, a mortal girl." he had confided. "She may have to live by my laws while here, but you know as well as I do that I could not harm a woman-child."
"Then, great King, you must wait." said his advisor. "Time passes quickly in the mortal world. Their age of maturity is 21. That's only seven autumns from now."
Jareth had nodded. Seven autumns. It didn't seem so long. It would give him time to see how his adversary grew with time.
But he was nothing if not patient. And now Sarah was back within his grasp. He sat back on his throne, grinning. Oh how he enjoyed games. And this game was going to be very, very enjoyable.
Sarah stood outside Gilgamesh, wondering if she really was going to go in. Now's the time, she thought to herself, turn back now or there's no going back.
She pulled her navy floor-length coat closer around herself, bangles clattering as she did so.
What are you scared of Sarah? A figment of your imagination? Just go in there! she commanded. The clicking her black high heeled boots made on the stone pavement seemed to be coming from far away as she strode decisively towards the door.
Inside, the walls were covered with ornate carvings and rich tapestries. She walked a few more paces, taking it in. Dark shadows sat in every corner, pouring down the walls intercepted with light.
A young woman with thick rimmed glasses was looking down at the reservations book when Sarah approached. "Um, excuse me, this might seem a little strange but.."
"Come with me" the woman said without looking up. She spun on her heel and started walking into the venue at a brisk pace. Sarah quickly started to follow. How did she know what she wanted to ask? This day was getting stranger and stranger. The woman ahead walked wordlessly and without looking to see if Sarah was following. When she reached what seemed to be the back of the place, she pushed aside a heavy black tapestry and kept walking.
After a few more paces, she slowed down, stepped aside and pulled back a final curtain. Sarah stepped through hesitantly, and looked around. The walls were deep red and covered with gilded frames. All were empty except for one containing a large mirror.
A low copper topped table sat to one side with candles and velvety red rose petals covering its surface and a large, soft looking chair was placed almost in the centre of the room. Other than the candles, a softly glowing lantern overhead provided the only other source of light, bathing the room in a gentle orange colour.
"I'm sorry, we must have the wrong room" said Sarah, spinning around, but the woman was long gone. She walked over to the chair and ran her hand over the velvet fabric. Strains of oriental music filled the air. She liked this sort of music. From the tiniest bits of information she had gathered, she knew her mother was half-Moroccan. That had been why Sarah had taken up oriental dancing as a hobby. The music, the veils, the gold coin belts, all of it felt familiar to her.
She took off her coat and hooked it over one arm, her back turned to the room's entrance. She was trying to place the scent in the room, somewhere between jasmine and sandalwood when a voice behind her made her jump.
"Hello Sarah." said Jareth.
Sarah stood still, heart pounding. Seven years. Seven years had passed since she had last seen him. She hesitated as she tried to steady her breathing.
Slowly, she began to turn around, her eyes on the floor, until her body faced him.
"Well, well, well. What a fine woman you have grown into." said Jareth. Sarah stood rooted to the spot. Jareth walked up to her slowly, his boots striking the ground with a dull thud at each step, his cape rustling behind him. Sarah truly had blossomed into a beautiful woman. Every trace of childishness was gone from her face. She was a little taller than he remembered, and her brown hair tumbled in gentle waves around her shoulders.
He was enjoying looking at her immensely, when he realised she wasn't looking at him. This was interesting. He'd have to provoke her, but do it wrong and she'd simply walk out of there without another glance.
"So. You fear me so much that you would not dare to look at me. This pleases me." teased Jareth, and immediately Sarah's eyes flew up defiantly and here he was, after all this time.
His blond hair, the arched eyebrows, one hand resting on his hip, the other on a crystal-topped swagger stick, dressed as flamboyantly as always. A silver medallion glinted in the deep V of his shirt against the skin of his chest.
In spite of herself, Sarah's mouth fell open. He was so much more beautiful than she had remembered. The last time they had stood face to face, her mind was entirely on her little brother.
This time, there were no distractions.
"Hello, Sarah" he said again, smiling at her. "You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this."
