The Magic Dance

Chapter 2

"Just a dance," he assured her in his silky voice.

Much to her own surprise Sarah followed him, her hand tingling from the warmth of his. Her head was swimming with thoughts. Part of her wanted to scream for help, part of her wanted to wake up from what she was sure had to be a dream, and another part of her wanted his arms around her. To feel what it was like to be held in a man's arms, like lovers do. That was the scariest thing, that something inside of her longed to believe Jareth's promises and fall for his charm. To be able to receive his affections instead of run from them.

Are you crazy Sarah! He kidnapped Toby! He threw a snake in your face!!! He almost killed you and Hoggle! He's a villain, a bad guy, he's…..

Jareth turned to her finally, and with a slight tug of her hand, pulled her in close to him. His arms closed around her gently in a ballroom dancer's position, just like before in her dream. It was like Déjà Vu. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze, their faces only inches apart. She took in his features for a moment, but she always found herself staring back at his magnificent eyes.

He's beautiful…

Jareth raised his hand and with a wave of it, the music suddenly changed. The first few notes came chiming across the dance floor and Sarah immediately recognized the song. A clever smirk crossed Jareth's face.

"Our song," he said lightly. Sarah could feel her face getting hot, she must have been blushing.

Suddenly Sarah remembered something, she didn't know how to ballroom dance! The last time she had danced with Jareth was a dream, she didn't really know how to dance like that.

"Just follow my lead," he reassured her, as if he had read her mind. He stepped forward and she instinctively stepped back, her feet moving perfectly in time with his steps, as if they knew what to do even though Sarah didn't. Before she knew it they were dancing, gliding across the dance floor together, twirling in time with the music, their eyes never breaking gaze. For the moment, things felt almost right, and Sarah was filled with the same emotions that had filled her before in her dream. And it was nice.

"Falling…Falling…Falling In Love."

Oh God Sarah, what has happened to you?

The silence between them was intense and perfect; Sarah could have danced for hours before she realized even a minute had passed. Jareth's voice brought her back to the moment, knocking her out of her dream-like trance.

"Are you glad you wished for this?" He asked his voice very neutral.

Sarah didn't know how to answer that. Dancing with him was nice--, better than nice, it was wonderful. Yet she still had to wonder about his real intentions. He was clever and crafty, and Sarah was sure that he had more in mind than just being her dance partner at the prom. He probably wanted to kidnap---WAIT!

She was at the prom! She had almost forgotten where she was when she was dancing with him. She broke away from his gaze, and looked around the room. Everyone was still there, dancing to the music. Jareth' voice brought her attention back to him.

"I ask because you never seem happy with my gestures," Said Jareth.

"Gestures? Everything you've done for me has just been awful," replied Sarah, a little anger started to rise in her, but it disintegrated as soon as she focused back on his eyes.

"I've done everything for you Sarah. Perhaps you don't know what it is you truly want," He said, cocking his head to the side again.

The statement made her think. He had a point, she did wish Toby away. Was it enough to make up for the things that happened in the Labyrinth though?

"Think back to when you were twelve, your father announced that he was going to get remarried. Do you remember what happened?" Jareth asked.

"I got mad at him," she recalled. She searched her memories for any clue of what he was trying to get at. "I told him she was a witch, but he didn't believe me and I got sent to my room."

"Do remember what happened after that?" He asked.

Sarah thought hard, it was six years ago! Still the news had devastated Sarah, making that day stick out in her memory while others faded over time. "I wished that someone actually cared about me," She recalled.

"Yes, and that was the first time I appeared at your window. Because you wished it. I watched over you as a guardian would, and as you grew into a young woman, I began to fall in love with you. Everything you wished for, I granted."

The statement made Sarah wonder what Jareth's true origin was. How long had he been the Goblin King? Was he a goblin or a man? There was something he was hinting towards, Sarah could tell by the way he tip-toed around questions, knowing the answer but trying to get her to figure it out herself. She probably could have figured it out too, but something had caught her eye and broken her train of thought.

Sarah noticed the other couples dancing around them. They were ballroom dancing too! This wasn't the 1800's; nobody danced like that anymore, especially at High School dances! Teens these days were extremely vulgar in their dance styles, something Sarah always thought was a pity considering how nice dancing with a partner could be. Like dancing with Jareth was.

Stop staring at him Sarah and focus! There's something wrong here! People don't dance like this, think Sarah, think!

"Jareth, what have you done?" Her voice shook a bit as the words left her mouth. She wanted to stop dancing and look around but Jareth still moved her around the dance floor, not breaking stride at all, even when he began to speak to her.

"Would you like to come back to the Labyrinth Sarah?" He asked calmly, still swaying her.

"No, no, please don't tell me you're taking me back there!" She pleaded.

"Listen to me Sarah, five days, just spend five days with me in the Labyrinth and I'll—"

"No! No, you're a filthy liar! You're always scheming! You'll bring me back there and I'll never be able to leave!" She cried.

"If you wish to return after five days I promise you—"

"No, let me go!" She screamed, pulling away from his hold.

"I wouldn't if I were you," He whispered, frustration apparent in his voice. Sarah looked at her feet to notice the floor was gone, below her was the night sky, the walls around her and all the dancers disintegrated into a sand-like state and fell through the emptiness until they were no longer visible. Sarah clung to Jareth for fear that she would fall.

"This is one of your tricks isn't it," She whispered into his chest.

"All just an illusion. From the moment you made that wish, I used my magic to pull you into an illusion," His voice seemed almost sad.

"This isn't fair! I wish…I wish—"She sobbed, a tear running down her cheek.

"If you wish me away, you'll be rid of me. But is that truly what you want?" He questioned.

He was right. She had almost wished him away. If he was gone she would never have to worry about getting sucked back into the labyrinth. She wouldn't have to worry about an owl perched being outside her window. And yet, she couldn't wish him away. Something in her stopped her from saying the words. Maybe Jareth was right, her emotions made her detest him, but perhaps deep inside of her she truly appreciated what he had done for her. She didn't want to completely lose her connection to the Labyrinth, because after all, it was something she had always wished for. A land of Fantasy and adventure, like one of her books.

"I'll make you a deal Sarah. If you stay with me for just five days in my kingdom within the Labyrinth, I will reorder time for you. If you wish to return to your dreadfully boring life, I will send you to your graduation day, at the end of your schooling. I know how you dislike it. Or you could remain in the Labyrinth with your friends and the people that truly care for about you," He brought her in for a comforting embrace which Sarah surprisingly did not fight.

"Just five days? What's going to happen to me in those five days?" She asked, trying to avoid any of his tricks. Sarah hated High School, she would have done anything to end it earlier, Jareth knew the perfect leverage.

"Nothing to harm you, I can assure you of that. But in five days I am almost certain I can convince you to stay in the Underground with me."

"No tricks?" She breathed, still wary of his ways.

"I promise," He said sincerely. A shadow of a smirk whipped across his face for an instant, but he quickly suppressed it.

"Do I have choice?" She sighed.

"Not in this I'm afraid," He said waving his hand. With that the night sky around them dissolved like smoke, within moments it was obvious they were within the castle beyond the Goblin City.

---------------End Chapter Two---------------

Author's Note: Thanks so much for the positive feedback! It really spurred me on to get chapter two finished quickly. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint anyone, because I could see how parts of it might be confusing. I wanted to scratch the surface here of a bigger concept that I want to bring into the story later and I wasn't quite sure how to allude to that without making it super obvious of what I was getting at. Anyways, hope you enjoy! I'll try my best to update the story as often as possible! Thanks again readers!