Title: Muse
Author: RebelRebelMonster
Summary: "I'm afraid, Sarah, dear, that you have no choice in the matter," replied Jareth, eyes twinkling. He lounged back in his armchair and casually pulled a crystal from thin air. It danced between his fingertips. "The Labyrinth—and I—have chosen you. You are, in every sense of the word, our muse."
Genre: Romance/Drama
Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth—thanks, Jim Henson and Co., for this compelling story.
A/N: Hey guys! Fast update if I do say so myself. Sorry it's coming so late at night, but I think you'll see soon why I couldn't help but post right away… Anyway, I really think I'm gonna be able to do at least one more chapter before my big move, and you're gonna be happy if I do, I think. I'll end the note there because this chapter, albeit short, is, well...just go read it! More author ramblings at the end. Enjoy!

Chapter 14
Starlight
Starlight
I will be chasing the starlight
Until the end of my life
I don't know if it's worth it anymore
Hold you in my arms
I just wanted to hold
You in my arms
My life
You electrify my life
Let's conspire to ignite
All the souls that would die just to feel alive
But I'll never let you go
If you promised not to fade away
Never fade away
Our hopes and expectations
Black holes and revelations
("Starlight", Black Holes and Revelations, Muse)

As Sarah tasted the sweet, succulent peach on her tongue, the world melted away around them. Colors paled and burned around her, the wind howled, and she reached out for Jareth, but he wasn't there. Finally, everything stopped moving, and she was in a familiar dream.

"Everything's...dancing…" she murmured, blinking her eyes to try and stop her head spinning.

She was in a crystal ballroom, and all around her, people were dancing to a song that she...knew—yes, yes, of course she knew it, but how did she again?—dressed in finery with the faces of goblins! No, no, they were only masks.

Briefly, Sarah glanced down at herself, and was hit with a wave of deja vu when she saw that she was dressed from head to toe in a very familiar white ball gown. Head still hazy, she slowly strode forward into the throng of masked dancers.

As people swirled around her, laughing and jeering, their faces hidden behind horned masks with black eyes, she couldn't help but stare back in slight awe. She felt woozy, uncertain; she instinctively knew she had been here before, but when, and how? She'd forgotten, and that wasn't good, no, no, she couldn't forget...it was too important. Something was too important. But what was the something?

As she moved, dream-like, through the endlessly twirling bodies, still somewhat dazed, she glanced around, turning on the spot, searching, but for what, she couldn't seem to remember. A distant memory, one of awe and beauty and the belief in fairytale princes echoed in the back of Sarah's mind, but then she shook her head, dispelling the echo, trying to focus her thoughts.
It was then that the music seemed to swell around her, and she spun around, slightly, and finally, she saw him.

Standing on a step higher than her, dressed in deep blue adorned with crystals, masked like the others—until he slowly lowered the mask obscuring his face. Their eyes met, and her mouth fell slightly open in what wasn't astonishment, but recognition.

Jareth, her mind whispered. And then it all came back.

There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes…
A kind of pale jewel
Open and closed within your eyes

As they looked at each other, Sarah felt a familiar heat blossom in the pit of her stomach, and with a jolt, she remembered she had felt the same heat then, years ago, when this place and this dream of theirs had started as a trick; a guise designed to distract and deceive.

I'll place the sky within your eyes...

The song marched on, with her and Jareth still staring at one another, until quite suddenly, he moved sideways and seemed to vanish. Taken aback, she moved forward, searching again, now straining to reach out with her empathy for him, but curiously enough, nothing was there, not even from the others around them.

Still determined, she glided forward, still looking, but in vain, she knew now, he would come back. He always did.

There's such a fooled heart

She spun around, searching some more, and met a masked man who reached out to her, jollily accosting her with a fake snake poking out of a chest. Startled, she ignored the shrill laughter of those around her, turning away from them, still looking. She knew he was still here.

Beating so fast
In search of new dreams
A love that will last
Within your heart
I'll place the moon within your heart

Why had he left her? she wondered, growing more confused and dizzy as she circled the room, searching for him. Why this? Why again? What had she missed the last time?

As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill is gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you…
As the world falls down

Falling...falling in love

The dancers around her were growing bolder and louder. Sarah pushed her way through a couple, spinning around, trying to find the familiar face in the crowd of others.

I'll paint you mornings of gold
I'll spin you Valentine evenings
Though we're strangers till now...

She turned again, and suddenly, he was there, staring back at her. In that moment, her heart seemed to fall right into her stomach.

We're choosing the path between the stars
I'll leave my love...between the stars.

Before she could do anything else at all, let alone think, he strode towards her. Without thinking, she put a hand on his shoulder, and he took her other hand in his before they began to dance like the others, spinning slowly around the room, their eyes locked on each other. Sarah was incapable of thought in that moment. As he guided her, his lips moved along to the music:

As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill is gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you…
As the world falls down

Falling...falling in love

But soon enough, the words stalled, and Sarah's eyes found clarity even as she looked into Jareth's. She understood why he had brought her here. And although she didn't flee—she wouldn't, not like last time, this wasn't last time—she did speak.

"No," she said quietly, her eyes imploring Jareth.

His eyes widened in surprise, and they stopped spinning. Everything else around them stopped. Momentarily, Sarah tore her eyes to glance at the 13-hour clock—it seemed he had stopped time itself.

"No?" he asked, his voice rough with emotion. She grasped his hand tighter.

"No...not like this," she said carefully, meeting his eyes again.

The dark cloud that had threatened to steal over his features dissipated, and he gave her a wry smile.

"As you wish."

At that, he pulled her close to him. Sarah wrapped her arms around his torso and put her ear to his chest, watching as the world around them changed.

The dancers' and their laughter flickered away, and the crystal ballroom they stood in faded into nothingness. Sarah's hair fell loose, and her ball gown became a sleek, silky ebony gown that felt delicious on her skin. The brightness of the bubble they had been in dissipated, plunging them both into darkness. Sarah closed her eyes, squeezing Jareth tighter, and she felt his hand caress her hair.

"Look, Sarah."

She opened her eyes and gasped.

"Stars," she murmured.

All around them, everywhere, were stars. She imagined it was as real as standing amongst the actual cosmos. Lilu's cave was a pale imitation to this garden of starlight, where the lights actually burned bright all around the two of them, creating an endless array of color, sparkling in the deep blue that surrounded them.

She let go of Jareth, gazing around in wonder, but he held fast onto one of her hands. A smile broke across her face as she glanced back at him; the starlight and sky shining in the reflection of her eyes.

"I thought you said you move the stars for no one."

At that, the Goblin King smiled back; a true smile, one that was as dazzling as the landscape around them.

"I find no one usually means you, Sarah."

She laughed, and he pulled her back towards him, grasping her hands in his, his smile waning as his eyes grew serious.

"So this is where you hid them," she said slowly, her smile fading too as she saw the change in his eyes, "Where are we, anyway?"

"In a dream, of course," he said, "One of many I've made. It's for you, Sarah."

"Mine?" she asked.

"Yours," he said, nodding. He leaned in closer. She felt her cheeks grow hot.

"And you?" she whispered. Her heart seemed to be beating so loud that she was sure he heard it.

Jareth's eyebrows perked up, and his smile returned full-force. At that, he let go of her hands, and brought her even closer somehow, his hands on her waist. Her mind was a blur as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her breathing loud and clumsy in her own ears. Their eyes hadn't left each other for a moment; neither of them even dared blink. Slowly, painfully, he leaned into her, his lips coming within a hair of hers.

"Yours."

With that, his lips found hers, and her smile became a kiss.

.

…

.

A/N: BAGH! Who else is excited as me? I subsist off of your feedback (namely in the form of reviews), so send them my way for a bigger shot at the next chapter before my move Labor Day weekend (which, I can promise, will continue where we left off -wink, wink-). To be honest, I wanted to write and deliver both chapters at once for obvious reasons (so again, this is not an intentional cliffhanger), but I felt weird keeping this chapter under wraps for any period of time with that ending. Hope you like! Thanks again to everyone for their support in the form of follows, favorites, and best of all, reviews! Have a great Sunday!

P.S. A link to Sarah's black dress has also been added to my profile for anyone interested—I'm sure you're familiar with her white ball gown already.