Thank you to everyone that enjoyed chapter one! Things will start picking up now and chapter 3 is on its way soon. I am just hashing out some details before posting!
I do not own any part of the Labyrinth or Jim Henson's work.
When 8 o'clock rolled around, Sarah caught a cab back to work. The bar was already packed when she arrived. She dropped her purse off in Billy's office before jumping behind the bar to join him and the other girl. She looked new, a pretty young blonde who had big blue eyes that waved emphatically at her. Sarah just smiled.
The next couple hours passed in a blur. Sarah was getting so much cash influx from tips she had to deposit it into her purse in Billy's office twice now. Everything was going smoothly, except for the odd stares she was getting from the bar regular, O'Malley. He sat in his usual seat at the bar, taking his usual drink every hour. Sarah had never much noticed him. He was harmless and quiet, not a noticeable patron aside from how often he came by. Tonight, however, he seemed to be watching her. Every time she glanced in that corner of the bar she caught him staring with glazed over brown eyes. She ignored it, she was used to men ogling in this line of work.
Closing time came quickly and Sarah was glad for it. While she never seemed tired anymore, she still grew tired of dealing with drunks. Melody, the new blonde girl, had held up quite well. Billy came out with two fat envelopes for both of them after he had locked up. Melody danced in joy at the cash and quickly left in a cab, crying over her poor feet after the long day.
"I'll see you tomorrow night, Billy," Sarah called back into the bar before exiting into the dark, cold night just in time to see a lone cab drive by. She waived it down frantically before it got to far down the road.
Sarah had just plopped into the back seat and tugged on the taxi cab door when a hand stopped it abruptly.
"Got room for one more?"
"Apparently so," Sarah edged to the corner of the car as O'Malley climbed in next to her.
"Sorry 'bout that," he gave her a drunken grin. "Her stop first, you can drop me at The Dead Rabbit on Water St. next," he called up to the driver.
Sarah eyed him suspiciously as they took off but remained silent. She didn't have the energy to feign a polite conversation. When they pulled up to her stop, O'Malley stared up at the dismal complex.
"You're joking, right?" His Irish accent was thick with dismay.
"Um, no?"
"This place is disgusting, not to mention in a horrible location."
"Thanks for your observations, O'Malley, appreciate it!" Sarah retorted, opening her door and climbing out hurriedly.
Sarah hadn't noticed O'Malley had followed her to the front door until his hand touched her elbow making her jump again.
"What are you doing?" she snapped, her eyebrows furrowing.
"You deserve better than this place," he spoke smoothly, his eyes watching her face closely.
"Sure I do, but I can't exactly afford more at the moment."
"I know someone who may be willing to assist with that."
"What is that supposed to mean?" She shook her head annoyed as she fumbled with the key to the building door.
"I know you've been touched by magic, Sarah."
Sarah's eyes snapped up at him, a scowl on her face. "Excuse me?"
"No need to pretend. I'm quite familiar with Fae beings. You've been touched by them."
"I have no idea what your…"
O'Malley cut her off. "I don't need an explanation. I am just here to offer you a solution."
"A solution?"
"I happen to know someone who has taken an interest in you. He wishes to have you join him in the Underground as his guest."
Sarah's jaw dropped in shock. She had no idea how to respond to that. Was he being serious? Did Jareth know she was an immortal now? Did he send O'Malley to collect her? After all this time?
"Well you can tell Jareth to fuck off, I have no interest in being his guest," Sarah bit out, her mind still scrambling.
O'Malley looked stunned for a few seconds.
"The Goblin King? Like bloody hell I'd hand you over to him." His tone was so shaken that Sarah had to fight back a grin. At least she knew she wasn't the only one who felt that way about him.
"Oh, well then who is it?"
"His name is Lord Cruex. He is the King of the neighboring kingdom of the Goblin City, the City of Stone. I am a courier of his, in a sense. I let him know if I find any bits of magic that may have found their way up here. I was quite surprised when I found you. It's not too often you find a human that returns from the Underground without ties to a ruler. He was quite intrigued when I told him I found a rogue human."
"A rogue?" Sarah's scowl grew.
"Every human that enters the Underground is either sworn in under a ruler, or they become a slave."
"And your ruler is Cruex?"
"Precisely."
Sarah's brows scrunched again. She had no idea there were multiple kingdoms in the Underground. Let alone that she was considered a 'rogue' human. O'Malley just grinned at her deceptively.
"It will be worth your while to meet with him."
"I'll have to think on it," Sarah responded after a few seconds. O'Malley nodded, not at all surprised by her answer.
"Take this, in the meantime," O'Malley handed her a small paper bag. "A gift, from his majesty."
"What is it?" Sarah opened the bag and saw fruit inside.
"They're from the Underground. I'm sure you've been missing the taste of magic." He winked at her then.
Sarah gave him another peculiar look. She had no idea if she trusted this King Cruex, nor did she have any clue as to what his intentions were. Her last trip had been a rather sour experience with another King of the Underground, which had ended horribly for her.
"I'll check in tomorrow to see if you have an answer for me. Goodnight, lass," and with that he turned from her and left.
Sarah stood stunned for several moments before retreating to her apartment and immediately running a hot bath to remove the chill that had set into her bones. She climbed in gingerly, thankful for the reprieve of the hot water. She couldn't believe what she'd just learned. A chance to finally meet another immortal? What if he was like Jareth? What if he wasn't? She knew not to trust the Fae, no matter what. But what if this was her way back into the Underground? A way to not be so alone anymore.
The bag of fruit lay on the floor nearby. Sarah eyed it for several long minutes, her curiosity burning away at her like a hot flame. She couldn't help herself as she reached for it and pulled a plum from the paper bag. It looked so ordinary. Just a regular plum. She shook her head with a chuckle, knowing deep down she hoped it was a magic plum. She was growing so tired of being the only immortal around, so lonely. It didn't take much internal debate to decide it was worth a shot. Maybe she would end up in another crystal dream, maybe she would die. What did she have to lose, really? She bit into the plum and laid back into the tub. At first, there was nothing, just the juices on her tongue. Then it happened. A warmth bloomed in her chest, a sudden vibrancy illuminated in her skin, so subtle she sat up just to observe it. Her whole body began to hum with a flush of contentment. This was what she had been missing out on, this feeling of nourishment, and this feeling of… magic. Sarah's head fell back onto the tub as she laughed and laughed. Hot tears poured out of her eyes, the sudden feeling of joy that wrapped around her as the magic filled her was overwhelming. It was like she had been dehydrated for decades and was finally given an entire lake of water. The joy quickly turned to pain and sorrow, as the emotions she had been devoid of these last years culminated until she was sobbing, choking and crying out like an animal. Every loss she had had, her parents, Toby, all of it came crashing down on her in waves until she could no longer breathe. It seemed like hours before the waves subsided, letting her catch air again. That treacherous wall around her had come crumbling down the second her body had had the energy to handle it. She laid back into the tub, feeling the humming of her body and observing the vibrancy of her pale skin as her eyes dried and the ache in her chest faded. When she finally pulled a nightgown on and crawled into bed, she found a deep sleep for the first time in years.