Terra Cognita by Betty Bokor
Jareth/Sarah. Sarah wants to go back.
Spoilers: The movie, the book, and some of the Return series.
Disclaimer: The Labyrinth original characters belong to The Jim Henson Company and Lucasfilms Ltd. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.
Terra Cognita
Chapter 4
Sarah was awaken by a knock on her door. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was. She had fallen asleep on the large bed. She got up hastily, fixed her clothing, and walked to the door. She expected to see the happy goblin, but her heart skipped a beat when she found the King on the other side of the door.
"Are you ready for lunch?" he asked without much emotion.
"Sure, yes."
He offered his arm to her and she took it. As they walked in silence through the corridors, she took the time to observe her surroundings. In the morning, she had been too tired to pay attention, but now she had a good chance. The stone floors and walls resembled what she had seen of the castle during her first visit; however, the interior of the castle seemed to be much more elegant than the throne room. Actually, anything would seem better to her than that room.
As they crossed through different areas of the castle, she realized that no goblins were seen littering the place as in the throne room. They appeared to be confined to that room when in the castle. The few goblins she had seen since then seemed well groomed and well behaved and no chicken had crossed their path.
After a few minutes, they reached their destination. Two heavy doors opened and the King led her into a splendid but small room. Close to a large window in the back, there was a tall, thin man chatting with a beautiful woman by his side. As soon as they noticed Sarah and the King, they stopped talking and smiled at them.
"Father, Mother, this is Sarah Williams. She has just passed the Labyrinth challenge," the King announced as they approached the couple.
"Sarah! It's a pleasure to meet you, young lady," the man said. "I'm Iain, High King of the Seelie Court, and this is my wife, Queen Aisling."
Sarah curtsied almost automatically.
"Congratulations," the Queen said. "We've been waiting for Jareth to approve a challenger for a long time. I cannot even remember when was the last time he allowed anyone to try," she smiled at her son, "so, as soon as we were informed you were running, we decided to come."
Jareth looked uncomfortable.
"But, now that you have passed the test, we will be happy to welcome you into our family."
Sarah felt their enthusiasm seemed exaggerated; she had not accomplished that much, but, she supposed, it was a novelty for them that a human would want to stay in their world. It was nice, on the other hand, that they thought of their people as a family and that they were willing to welcome her to it. She had no time for more analysis because she was soon led into the dining room where the conversation revolved around life in the Underground and her life aboveground.
After lunch, Jareth accompanied her back to her room. He opened the door for her, kissed her hand and retreated as he said, "I'll be in the library if you want to talk."
Sarah closed the door behind her, feeling flustered and giddy at the same time. He was willing to talk with her? That sounded marvelous… And a library! Her favorite place in the world.
She was about to take her shoes off, when she noticed an eclectic group sitting in the small area by the fireplace.
"Hoggle? Sir Didymus? Ludo?" There were also several goblins sitting by the fire and even Ambrosius was there. "What are you all doing here?"
"We have come to celebrate your victory, milady," Sir Didymus said.
"Especially if you're going to cook around here…" a small goblin added. "It would be unfair if we can't have those treats you always bake for us anymore."
"Oh, don't worry!" She sat with them. "I'll bake any time I can! We have to figure out where I'll live and what I'll do for a living, but as soon as I find the right place, I'll be happy to prepare your favorites."
The creatures looked at each other as if she had said something alarming.
"So, you haven't asked… or you did ask and he said no?" Hoggle wanted to know.
Sarah was clueless as to what he meant. "Asked what?"
"You know; if that rat was willing to consider you for the job."
"What job?"
"The queen job," Hoggle said with impatience, as if it were evident. "We'd really like you to be the queen… Much better than him, that's for sure…" he explained.
"What?" she asked again. "I don't know what you're talking about," she confessed, though the idea of becoming Jareth's queen sounded delicious.
"Oh, fair maiden, His Majesty is a good King, we know that, but a lady by his side would sweeten his character, improve his mood… He's been lonely for too long."
Sarah still looked confused. "Okay, okay. Let's start at the beginning. I haven't asked him anything like that and I don't think I'd dare, either. Why would I? It's not like I found an ad saying that the job was vacant…"
"You asked him to pass the challenge and he let you… and you passed it… So, that gives you the right to be considered at least, right? All you have to do is ask. Didn't he tell you nothing about this?" Hoggle tried.
Sarah shook her head, feeling a mix of exhilaration and dread. "So, let me see if I understood this correctly. When I asked to pass the test and stay here, he thought I meant it as his wife?"
"What else was he supposed to think?" another small goblin who visited Sarah regularly asked.
Sarah had trouble breathing. He had believed she was asking to be tested to be his wife and he had agreed. "Is it true he had not allowed a challenger in a long time?"
"Oh, yes, milady," Didymus confirmed. "Right around the time you visited the Labyrinth with your brother, he stopped accepting suitors. His parents were extremely concerned about his behaviour."
She felt dizzy. She stood and walked back and forth trying to calm down. Then, she sat back on the floor, close to her friends. "Okay. I passed the test. What comes next?"
"You ask him to consider you. See, you have the first requirement; you have the heart in the right place, you care about us… Now he has to decide if you're qualified in every other way. The test don't matter if he says you're not right," Hoggle clarified.
"What do I need to be right?"
"Only he knows. I don't care what he thinks; I think you're right, but he's the only one who can decide. Go ask," Hoggle requested again.
"Right now?"
"Make haste, milady. Ask while his parents are here; they need to welcome you after he's chosen you," Didymus added.
Sarah felt dizzy again. The Queen had said that they would be happy to welcome her into their family. Had Jareth confided in her before Sarah got there? Or was it just his parents' need to see him married? She was willing to take the risk anyway. "Is there a special procedure, something I should do?"
"Just ask," Hoggle responded.
Sarah stood up. She knew where he was and that he was waiting for her. "Where's the library?"
"One floor down, on the left wing," the smallest goblin answered. "I can take you there."
She agreed and the goblin took her through halls and stairs until they reached an intricately ornate door.
"Here we go. The library, Sarah, but you have to do this yourself," the goblin said and quickly left her alone.
Sarah considered knocking, but she thought a library was not a private room, but more a public one, so she slowly opened the door. Jareth was sitting in a leather armchair, holding a book in his hands, but he did not seem to be reading. It looked like he was deep in thought.
She looked around. Two floors and uncountable shelves gave the impression of an infinite collection. Special books, manuscripts, and parchments were displayed on tables and stands. Large paintings and many other works of art decorated the large space.
Sarah could spend her life in that room.
Jareth noticed her and called her name.
"Sarah, you've come." He appeared somewhat surprised; he stood and invited her to sit in the armchair facing his. With a gesture of his hand, the fire in the hearth close to them came to life.
The King sat back and just looked at her expectantly.
"So…" she started nervously. "I'm not sure I understood exactly how this works, but Hoggle and Sir Didymus seem to think that I could be… considered…" She was not sure she would be able to say the words and he was not helping with his silence. "That maybe you'd consider the possibility of me…" She had trouble understanding why it was so difficult to talk about something she wanted. She was not shy; she had no trouble talking to boys, but he was not a boy and he was somehow intimidating. And this was so personal. It was easier to argue with him. How did men manage to propose to women? Was that fear of rejection the feeling in her gut that kept nagging at her? She sighed and stood. "Okay; I can't do this; I don't know how to talk about this or if I should talk about it at all or if we've all gone crazy and-"
"Is it so hard for you to imagine being my wife?" he interrupted. "Is it so dreadful that you can't even put it into words? Then I misunderstood your intentions when you returned. If all you wanted was to make the Underground your place of residence, then I'll make sure you find proper housing and an activity suited to your skills."
Sarah felt he was dismissing her. He grabbed his book from the small table where he had left it and opened it to read. He looked hurt, sad, disappointed, and it reminded Sarah of their last conversation so many years ago. It hurt just to think about it.
"No," she said softly. She knelt by his side, took the book from his hands, and put it back on the table. "That's not what I wanted."
He looked at her with such intensity that she shivered. To be this close to him made her feel all kinds of new sensations.
"The truth is I wanted to be here to be close to you." She expected a reaction, but he did not move. 'Ever since I left, I've thought that there was something there, at the end, that I didn't understand, that I missed because I was too young or too immature to understand. So I wanted to come back and figure out if there was a chance that I was right."
He did not answer immediately and the seconds seemed eternal to Sarah.
"You are right," he began slowly, "but it's also true that you were too young then; I was simply offering you the chance to stay here and see what the future could bring."
"I'm here now," she said as she got a little closer and grabbed his hand.
He did not pull his hand from hers, but he did not look moved by her words. "You've shown that you care about my subjects for many years; I was sure you'd pass the challenge, but I'm not certain you're ready to spend your life by my side. And life here is not as short as in your world; once you become one of us ‒and by that, I mean a fae, not a goblin‒ your life will be much longer. We don't need to rush. We can get to know each other and, in time, maybe you'll consider the possibility of being my queen."
Sarah smiled. He was serious; he cared about her. She felt more relaxed; she could trust him, but she was not a patient woman. "Maybe we can do it the other way around…" she suggested with a small smile.
He was surprised by her boldness, but he liked it. "How's that?" he asked, feigning lack of understanding.
"The closer you get to someone, the easier it is to get to know him… Besides, I've been listening to stories about you for almost eight years; I think I know you pretty well; I don't really need to wait."
He had to smile. It had been a very long time since he had had someone that young and impetuous around. And this someone seemed as attracted to him as he was to her. He really liked her. "I've been listening to stories about you, too," he smiled. "Would you mind if we make a formal announcement tonight to inform everybody that the kingdom will soon have a queen?"
"I wouldn't mind it at all if it's very soon."
"Not soon enough," he replied; he leaned down and kissed her and Sarah immediately knew all her dreams would come true.
A. N.: It's done. Have a Happy New Year and, please, let me know if you enjoyed it!