At the strong gust of wind that came from nowhere, Sarah closed her eyes. The wind was powerful, but just as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared.
She opened an eye hesitantly and gasped, opening both eyes wide. Sarah was in the underground, but the person on the throne wasn't Jareth! It was a woman, lounging back while eating a pear. The other thing Sarah noticed was her outfit. Did people /still/ team black mini dresses with pink and black stockings?
The woman leaned forward and looked at Sarah keenly, as she finished chewing.
"Hello, Sarah! Nice to see you again. Now listen carefully, I haven't got much time."
Sarah gulped and went to open her mouth, in order to reply.
"I said listen! I'm Elle. I'm the labyrinth and I make it do crazy and wild things. Are you with me so far?"
At Sarah's nod, Elle continued. "I'm ancient. Here long before Jareth ever became King of this dump. He'll have to tell you about it, not me. I'm here to explain the other part to you. Are you still with me?"
Sarah blinked and nodded, looking down at the table that appeared in front of her. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water, and began to drink.
"This is the underground. The Fae folk who get bored of the normal mundane stuff that Fae do normally... They come here. This is just the Goblin part. There are Fae spread far across the realm. Seelie, Sidhe, you name it."
Elle paused to take another bite of her pear. When she finished, she continued. "Jareth got drunk one night, and we made a bet. I was to find him a suitable woman... Suitable enough to become Queen of the Labyrinth. He said it would never happen, but you happened."
Elle eyed Sarah, waiting for a reaction. Sarah waited, trying to comprehend this all.
"I found you suitable. I see many things. I've seen girls turn into mature women, or rather, the beginning of womanhood. You went down that path. But you also made friends, faced challenges, and never gave up. The one thing Jareth never counted on, was falling for you. A mere girl of 15? It would never do. And yet, he still offered you that choice. Most impressive, when you said no. Could have skipped on the whole dramatic thing, though."
Elle finished her speech and leaned back, quickly finishing her pear. "Well?"
Sarah stared at her. "Can I see Jareth now?"
Elle shrugged, got up out of the throne, and slinked to the shadows.
====0o0o0====
Sarah walked to the throne and sat down, crossing her ankles neatly as she did so. "Jareth?"
With a burst of glitter, a rather sullen looking Jareth appeared. "Yes, my precious?"
His words were a snarl, and they cut Sarah deeply. But she couldn't give up.