The Red Thread – Part Three
She opened her eyes, heard the soft plish-plish noise of water, and felt rocking beneath her. Her vision was filled with a brilliant, cloudless blue sky. Her hands were resting over her chest and her legs were drawn straight out. A memory surfaced in her mind, from her high school days in theater. Her drama teacher had been insistent that each person in the class memorize a poem a week, to exercise one's mind and practice retention. Once, quite ambitiously, Sarah had memorized "The Lady of Shallot" and now some words came back to her, like a faraway song flittering across the hills of her mind:
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
A familiar voice said, "Sarah?"
Sarah leaned up on her elbows and looked at the far end of the dinghy where the Goblin King sat. This place was full of light, as if a sun should be out, and yet she didn't see one. However, in the light, Jareth's hair looked like spun gold. He was wearing black jeans and a tight fitting, dark blue collared shirt that was mostly unbuttoned to show off his smooth chest. All-in-all, it was a rather plain look for the Goblin King, but they were in a tiny dinghy so maybe he didn't have the room for his usual outfits. His hair was still an elaborate, untamed mane.
"You finally wake," Jareth said.
Sarah slowly sat, her back twinging from lying against the flat, hard boards of the dinghy and she rubbed the sore spot. Looking around, she saw only empty blue waters, nearly the same shade as the blue sky. "Where is this? Another dream place?"
"In a way," Jareth murmured. He was fiddling with something and it took Sarah a moment to realize it was the red thread. She followed the crimson string to her own wrist, where it was tied.
Jareth turned and suddenly said, "Look, land." His voice sounded surprisingly bleak.
Sarah looked up. Okay, she had just scanned the horizon and she was sure there had only been ocean for as far as she could see. She took a deep breath. "I'm beginning to wonder about all of this. I want answers, Jareth." Sarah carefully walked to the other end of the dinghy, which bobbed dangerously in the water as she moved. She sat down close enough to the Goblin King to rest her hand on his thigh. His mismatched eyes stared into hers, enigmatic, giving away nothing.
"Take us somewhere else," she said. "Take us back to the ballroom and we can talk there." She didn't like being in this small boat in the middle of nowhere. This wasn't her dream, was it the Goblin King's?
"In this respect, Precious, you give me too much credit," the Goblin King said, smiling sadly. "Once, long ago, you told me I had no power over you. The sentiment holds true, and it is one I have never reciprocated." He reached out and touched her hair, letting the dark strands filter through his pale fingers. Why did he look so sad?
"What are you saying? This isn't your doing?"
"Neither this nor the ballroom, Precious. It was you, it's always been you."
"How? I've never called you before. I've never been able to bring you to me."
"Did you try, Precious? Did you really try?" Jareth chuckled. "Such irony that you'd call me now."
"Jareth…what is the red thread?"
Sarah looked at her wrist. The string was short again, keeping them close. Jareth leaned back, resting his elbows on the edges of the dinghy, and because the thread was so short, Sarah was forced to scoot closer until she was sitting between Jareth's outstretched legs. Sarah wasn't sure if the thread would grow to allow such movement, it seemed to change at its own whim, but she didn't want to feel its pull so she went along willingly.
"Let me tell you a story," Jareth said, and when Sarah made a noise of protest, he held up a hand—the one not tied to the string—and glanced over his shoulder. "We have some time. Please, indulge me."
Sarah sighed but said nothing else.
Jareth said, "Once upon a time, there was a shockingly handsome, wonderfully virile, incredibly powerful Goblin King—" Sarah raised an eyebrow. Jareth grinned, but continued the story, "And he was foolish enough to answer the call of a particularly naïve teenage girl who didn't like her brother or her stepmother. This girl called to him and he took the brother away, just like she asked—"
"Why?" Sarah asked, unable to help herself.
"Why indeed?" Jareth said, tilting his head back with a sigh. He gazed across the cloudless sky as if the answer were there, written against the heavens. "Have you forgotten your fairytales, Sarah dear?"
Sarah was about to snap a retort—probably something like "why must you always answer a question with a question?"—when the lines from a particular book came back to her memory: But what no one knew was that the Goblin King fell in love with her. Sarah tried to scoff it away, but the expression on Jareth's face made the words stick in her throat.
"So, when the Goblin King helped the girl, he expected…something else, but the girl wanted her brother back. She had foolishly wished him away and like a toy she missed once it was gone, she realized she loved her brother—once he was gone."
Sarah winced. She didn't like this summing up, this recounting, of her past. She was still ashamed about her behavior. But, she found herself fascinated nonetheless; after all she'd never heard the events from his point of view before.
Jareth said, "The Goblin King thought this was a wonderful opportunity! He had a very long life, you see, and perhaps a game would provide some entertainment. And he liked watching her. At first, he just played along, but this girl provided him with so many delicious feelings. Amusement when she said 'it's not fair!' Annoyance when she called the Labyrinth 'a piece of cake.' Admiration when she didn't scream or cry in the oubliette or when the creatures of the Labyrinth played tricks on her. Jealousy when she bestowed a kiss upon another."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "It was such a small kiss, amongst friends."
Jareth ignored her. He seemed transfixed by his own story telling, although he refused to look at her. Instead, his gaze was affixed to the sky. Sarah could study his profile leisurely: the sharp cheekbones, the elegant curve of his neck, the rise and fall of his chest. He may be a magical being, but he breathed, just like her.
"Anyway, it was probably that spark of jealousy that forced his hand, because he made a bid for…seduction. Something he was very good at, mind you," Jareth flashed her a grin, "so he was very confident this young lady from Aboveground held no chance. The game suddenly seemed very real to him and he wanted to win. But then, there was a moment…there was a moment when she entered the ballroom in a beautiful white dress, something out of her wildest imaginings where princesses danced with princes and slippers were always made of glass. There was a moment, yes, when the goblins-turned-humans chortled, danced, and stroked their ugly masks…and she walked by them with some fear, yes, but with her countenance every inch a queen…there was a moment then, yes, when the Goblin King pulled down his own mask to see better and was transfixed." Jareth paused. "Their eyes met from the distance across the ballroom. If he had known what would happen, he wouldn't have been so cocky when he first looked at her, but it was too late. A bond was made between them, then, which could not be broken."
"A bond…" Sarah looked at her wrist, but the red thread had disappeared, however if she thought about it hard enough she could almost feel a ghostly string around her wrist. "If it's the kind you're suggesting, shouldn't it link our hearts?"
Jareth gave her a bored look, perhaps in answer to her light and disbelieving tone. He said, "It doesn't just connect our hearts, Precious. It connects us, all that we are." He sighed and sat up. "It's quite a nuisance, really. The reason I am here is because of it."
Before Sarah could ask another question regarding that, Jareth glanced over his shoulder and frowned. "The land is close now."
Startled, Sarah looked up and gasped in surprise. She was sure the boat hadn't been moving any closer to the strip of land on the horizon, but now she could easily see it laid out like a carpet before her, taking up the whole horizon. She could make out the grass and craggily mountains, but there didn't seem to be any trees.
"What kind of place is that?"
"A place to end." Jareth looked thoughtfully at Sarah. "Tell me what you remember of that day—besides the grapefruit and the yogurt."
"Oh, um, I can't seem to remember anything beyond getting back into my car," Sarah said. "Why?"
"Please, Precious. Try to remember."
Sarah looked out over the water. She watched the few ripples come out from the dinghy as it glided across the surface, however she noticed the ripples didn't travel very far, as if the water was more viscous. She remembered a Discovery Channel special she'd seen on the Dead Sea and shivered.
"I…can't remember, it's a blank."
"You must," Jareth said, firmly.
"Why?" Sarah asked, exasperated. "Why must I do anything, Jareth? I'm getting tired of this…this dream! You're telling me we're connected by a little red thread…well, what happens if I snap it? Will I wake up then?"
"No," Jareth answered, softly. He didn't say anymore. Suddenly, he cupped Sarah's cheek, causing her to stiffen in surprise. "Ah, Precious, I suddenly feel overcome by remorse. Perhaps for everything, for I cannot deny that your life would have been easier had this connection never been forged. However, the irony of it is that I may be able to save you, something I couldn't do without the connection between us."
"Save me?" She stared into his eyes and he wasn't the usual trickster and tempter she knew. He was being serious, and his serious, unhappy expression made her heart pound with fear.
"Remember now, Sarah. You must remember. Close your eyes…"
His voice was so hypnotic, like a lullaby. Sarah remembered him singing to her—or maybe it had only been in her mind—but that had always been the hardest thing to resist. How was she meant to resist him when he sung to her such sweet, sad songs?
Sarah closed her eyes.
"Think, remember. You are Aboveground that day. Do not plunge into the missing parts of your memory just yet, instead pull back to just before. Where are you?"
"In…in the parking lot," Sarah said, slowly. She could see the memory in her mind's eye, and spoke out loud what she saw. The pavement was warm enough she could feel heat rising from it as she struggled with the paper bag and her car key. After some moments, she opened the door and deposited the bag on the passenger seat. "I got into the driver's side and…and…"
"What do you see outside the window?"
"The window?" Sarah hesitated, then focused, trying to jog her mind. "I see an old lady trudging to her car, a cane in her hand and a plastic bag in the other. But, then the key turned in the engine so I looked at the gear...made sure it was in drive before I took my foot off the pedal…and then…"
"Can you smell anything?"
"The citrusy scent of the grapefruit, yes. I think the heat of the car brings out the smell more. I…I press the button and the window slides down, bringing in cooler air. By then, I've turned into the traffic…"
"What do you see now, outside the window?"
It took her a moment of shifting in her mind, but the images were coming easier now. "Cars…a lot of cars…" She had waited for the light to turn green again at the intersection. She was the first one in the lane, and her apartments were just beyond. She was nearly home. Her stomach growled.
Here, her mind began rebelling. It didn't want to remember, but Jareth's soothing voice continued, prompting her memory with mundane, innocent questions. She began to hyperventilate, fear rising in her like a tidal wave. Something bad was going to happen, she knew it.
"The light changed. I exhilarated. Oh god…" Sarah's voice hitched into a sob. There was the screech of tires and she looked up to see a lone car trying to make it through the intersection, probably thinking the yellow light would have lasted longer. "I see his face for a moment…just one moment. A man, and he looks as surprised as I probably do. Then…"
The sound of twisting metal, the world a blur of colors, her body slamming to and fro…horrible pain, and then blessed darkness, a momentarily lull. But, the memories didn't end there. Like Pandora's Box, they had been released and the next thing Sarah saw, the next thing she recounted to Jareth, was waking up.
Her body was in such pain she couldn't move. When she looked out her driver's side window, she saw the car had barreled into her. The car door was indented as if a giant fist had hit it. Pushed against the door was the other car, its front crumpled. She could see the man slumped inside. She turned away. She could feel a stickiness sliding down the side of her face, but she couldn't move her hands to touch it. When she breathed, she coughed and tasted blood on her tongue, and her hitching breathe rattled like something was loose inside.
"I looked through the windshield and there were cars stopping, people coming to help—and then I saw you." Sarah opened her eyes and met Jareth's gaze. "You were standing in front of my car and you looked so sad. And then I closed my eyes and…"
Darkness and a pure silence she'd never heard before, because something had been missing.
The sound of my heart, of my breath, they were gone, Sarah realized and she began to cry now, silent tears falling down her face.
"Next thing I know, I woke up in the ballroom," Sarah said, finishing this horrible recounting. "But…but I'm breathing! I can feel my heart! That had to be the dream and this is the reality!"
"No," Jareth said, gently. "This is an in-between place. Our connection, the red thread, drew me to you. I knew the moment something happened. You drew me to you, Sarah, just before you…and you said my name when you saw me. And then I was in the ballroom with you and I realized that it was a little time given to us to say our goodbyes."
"No," Sarah sobbed. "This isn't happening. I can't be…I can't!" She couldn't say the word, she couldn't allow herself to believe it, because if she did, then she would really disappear. She looked at the approaching land and said, "Where are we going, then, if I'm…?"
Jareth glanced over his shoulder and nodded towards the land. "That is the Land of Death," he said.
"No," Sarah murmured again. The tears were sticky and cold against her cheeks, but she couldn't bring herself to wipe them away. A part of her was scared that her fingers would come away wet with blood and not tears. "No!"
A kind of dementia came over her mind then. In a way, it was comforting, like a warm blanket. She turned to the water, her eyes scanning its immaculate surface. Who knew how deep these still waters ran? But, she tensed her muscles.
Jareth leaped forward, faster than she would have guessed—inhumanly fast. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. He shifted so the boat was balanced, sitting in its center. Sarah was shivering violently, although she didn't feel cold, and Jareth rubbed her back soothingly.
"You cannot do that," he said, softly. "The river would suck away at your soul."
Sarah shuddered, her mind whirling. If she couldn't escape this boat by swimming, then she was doomed to finish this journey to…where? What beyond awaited her? She glanced up at Jareth.
"Why are you still here? Are you going to drop me off at the pearly gates?"
Jareth gave her a small smile. "Not quite. Perhaps I just can't let go."
She supposed it was nice to have the Goblin King as company on this journey, unlike the last one where he had been her adversary.
Sarah stiffened, remembering something from her time in the Underground. She gasped, her heart leaping with hope, and pulled back from Jareth's arms so she could look him fully in the face. "Reorder time!" She grabbed his hand. "Please Jareth, you did it when I was in the Labyrinth. And, you did it when I came back to the Aboveground, so it looked like I'd only been gone a few hours. Please, reorder time now and take me back to that intersection! I can change the outcome!"
"I can't," Jareth said, gently. "If this had happened in my realm, then maybe. If you hadn't said those words to me, then maybe. But it's definitely too late now, Precious. You've been claimed by another. I cannot reorder your time."
"Claimed?"
"As all mortal souls eventually are." To her surprise, he leaned forward and began unbuttoning her shirt. Sarah made a sound of protest and shrunk back, but Jareth stopped at the second button and pulled it wide so her sternum and the edges of her bra were visible. Sarah looked down and saw a mark just above her breasts. It took her a moment of staring at it before the mark made sense to her befuddled, shocked brain: a black lotus. It looked like a birth mark, but she'd never seen it before. She touched the lotus and her skin felt smooth and blemish-free.
She raised her head and looked at Jareth. "Claimed," she murmured.
He nodded.
Sarah's vision blurred with tears again. Her voice trembled and she said, "There must be something you can do. You said 'mortal souls,' but you're not mortal, Jareth! You're powerful, too! Please, I'm not ready…" She stopped, but then took a shuddering breath and made herself say it: "I'm not ready to die."
Jareth winced, tried to look away, but Sarah cupped his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. "You answered my wish once, Jareth. I wish—"
"Sarah," Jareth's expression darkened. "Don't. You don't know what you're doing."
"I do! I wish—"
"You will regret this!"
"I wish for you to save my life!" Sarah said, her voice rising over his protests.
Jareth jerked away until he was at the front of the dinghy again. He suddenly looked magnificent, every inch the king. The craggily land was his backdrop, making the Goblin King look harsh and untamed. His clothes had changed in the blink of an eye; he was wearing the black armor. A wind suddenly moaned over the ocean, causing his hair to dance wildly.
"There's a price," he said.
"Name it!"
"I'll claim you. Your words, that parting gift to me so many years ago, will mean nothing. You will be mine, Sarah."
Sarah hesitated. That was a steep price, she knew. She thought to bargain, but the dinghy was perhaps only minutes from the shore. The Land of Death, Jareth had called it. She wasn't ready to die. And surely Jareth would be kind to her? Or maybe she was just being hopeful because they were connected through the red thread.
Sarah licked her lips. "But—"
"No bargaining," Jareth snapped. His face didn't give away any of his thoughts. His eyes were half-lidded, watching her. He held out a hand, made a gesture with his fingers, and Sarah felt a small breeze caress her cheeks and move through her hair. "It is a simple deal: to keep your life from Death, you give it to me."
"I…would go with you…"
"Yes."
"To the Underground."
"Yes, after I reclaim you from Death." Jareth glanced over his shoulder. "Once the dinghy touches land, the time for deals is over, Sarah."
Sarah felt a spark of panic. She looked into Jareth's eyes and her heart pounded with fear, but she said, softly, "I wish for you to save my life."
"Will you be mine?"
Sarah swallowed, but her throat felt like it was lined with desert sand. She said, huskily, "Yes."
Jareth smiled.
Author's Notes: Whew! This part ended up being much longer in length than the previous ones, so there will be a part 4, and a part 5 that will serve as an epilogue. :) Anyway, sorry for the delay. Blahblahblah-real-life-issues-blahblahblah. Anyway, I am editing part 4 as we speak. :)
Please review! All suggestions/comments/questions welcome and I always reply. Did you expect this outcome or did I surprise you? What are your thoughts on the deal between Jareth and Sarah? Any predictions for the future? :) Hope you're enjoying this little tale so far!
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the original Labyrinth. This is just a little bit of fiction done for pleasure and non-profit. I only lay claim to my original characters/ideas. This fanfic should not appear anywhere besides places I have put it. Thank you.
