Mornings Of Gold
Hi everyone, this is my first go at writing a Fan Fiction story and hopefully I'll do OK. Please note, I do not own the characters of Jareth or Sarah or anything connected to Labyrinth. The idea for this story is all mine. But the encouragement to write this however belongs to my friend Angie. So please enjoy the story and if you feel to want to leave a review that would be great. Thank you for reading.
Jareth spread the blanket out on the ground underneath the cherry trees by the lake. This was the perfect spot for what he had in mind. It was night but in about an hour it would be dawn and that is what he was waiting for. That and the arrival of his beloved Sarah.
His heart was pounding. As the Goblin King, the Keeper of Dreams and the Master of the Labyrinth, he was used to a certain amount of stress in his life but this, this feeling was unlike anything he had ever known. The next hour would shape the rest of his life and that was a scary thought. And once again his future was in the palm of her hand. Just as it had been 15 years ago.
Jareth smiled as he thought about her. Her face swam in his minds eye. Her long black hair, her smile, her green eyes. She was just stunningly beautiful. Not just on the outside but more importantly on the inside as well. She was just the most perfect woman for him.
He thought of all those years they had been apart. He had thought of her constantly, even dared to look into one of his crystals to see how she was. He had watched over her, waiting, waiting for the right time to talk to her, to be there if she needed him.
He had realised shortly after she had left his labyrinth with her brother what a fool he had been. How his actions had looked and how she had misunderstood him, through no fault of her own. Jareth thought back to that moment after she had jumped from the Escher room and he had faced her. He had behaved arrogantly and instead of explaining himself, he had challenged her.
"Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave". He really should have told her the truth. That for once in his long life he had grown tired of being alone. Of only being with people who gave in to his every whim. The court was full of them, simpering fools. He wanted an equal. Someone who wouldn't agree with him just because of his status but someone who would agree with him because he was right and someone who would tell him if he was in the wrong. That person was Sarah.
And over time as he watched her from afar he had grown to love her very deeply. He watched her grow from a bratty teenager to a young woman. A woman that just melted his heart as he watched her in her chosen profession. A teacher. The patience she had, the enthusiasm for her subject, which was of course drama. She inspired her students and they all loved her.
As she neared her 30th birthday he had begun to wonder if he would ever get the chance to re-enter her life and then fate threw him a second chance.
That night was etched in his mind. He had thought it would never come. He had been sat in the throne room trying to decide what on earth he was going to do with his goblins. As much as they annoyed him, they were his subjects and he would protect them with his life but this time they had gone too far. A child had been wished away that day and had told the goblins stories of above. There was a tradition known as Pancake Day. Everyone made their own pancakes from flour, eggs and milk and then cooked them in a frying pan, tossing them halfway through to ensure they were done on both sides. So, he had been surrounded by goblins all tossing pancakes in makeshift pans. It was total, utter carnage. There was flour all over the floor along with eggs and milk. Half cooked pancakes dripped from the ceiling after their goblin owners had thrown them too high and there on his throne was the stack that the goblins had deemed were cooked. He had been speechless and just been about to dangle each and every one of them in the Bog of Eternal Stench when he had heard her.
"I wish the Goblin King would take me away, right now". It was her, it was Sarah.
In the blink of an eye he had appeared in front of her in a shower of glitter. He had chosen to appear as he had to her all those years ago, in full Goblin King regalia.
"You called Sarah" he had said and then instantly regretted it when he saw her face. She had been crying. And for a long time. Her face was red, her eyes swollen and she looked exhausted. She was however the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
"Sarah, precious. What is it, what's wrong" he'd said and moved towards her and she closed the distance, folding herself into his arms. She'd cried and cried. She had barely been able to get her breath. He had held her to him, stroked her back, lifted her in his arms, settled her on the bed and been there for her just as he had promised all those years ago. The next morning she had managed to tell him that her father, step mother and Toby had been killed in a car crash. His heart had broken as he saw the pain in her eyes. He had vowed that one day he would see happiness once again shining from them.
He had stayed with her throughout the next few weeks, helping her come to terms with her loss. He had become her rock. Over time she had managed with his help to return to work, to begin her life again. He visited her often. They would sit, talk, watch a movie, go for a walk in the park. Until the day came that Jareth felt a respectable amount of time had gone by and he felt that he could ask for their relationship to become more.
He had plucked up the courage to tell her how much he loved her and how he didn't expect her to return that love but he had needed her to know. She had totally surprised him with her next words.
"Oh Jareth, I thought I'd never hear those words. I've dreamt of you saying them but I never dared hoped that my dreams would come true. I love you too, more than you could imagine."
And they had never looked back. Their relationship had gone from strength to strength. Sure, they had their fair share of disagreements but they had found that communication was the key. They both had a stubborn streak but they had learned to compromise. And they had shared laughter, life and many, many happy days together. He had found his soulmate.
"Jareth? Are you OK? That's the third time I've called your name". Jareth was pulled back to the present with the arrival of his one true love. He had been that caught up in nostalgia he hadn't heard her approach.
"Sarah, my love. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you coming. I'm fine, just thinking" he said as he took her hand and led her to the spot he had laid the blanket out. The lake sparkled under the light of the waning moon. I was just beginning its descent heralding the arrival of the dawn.
"Oh, thinking about what?" Sarah enquired of him
"Of you, my precious one" he replied. He gestured for her to sit on the blanket. Once she was seated her joined her and took her hand. This was it. The perfect spot, the perfect time.
"Sarah, I need to tell you something. Nothing bad", he felt compelled to add after seeing apprehension on her lovely face. Once that look had passed and she had relaxed he continued. "Sarah, I asked you here tonight to fulfil a promise I made to you many years ago. To paint you mornings of gold. And I felt that as the sun rises on a new day that it was also the perfect time to ask you something. You have given me so much in the time we have been together. You have made me a better person, a kinder person. You have made me into the king that I always wanted to be. You're my equal, in all things. I can't imagine a day going by and you not being there. I want you with me, by my side forever. I love you so much, my precious. Sarah Williams, will you be my wife."
As he spoke these words, the sun rose over the lake and the dawn arrived, painting the sky with hues of yellow, orange and gold. The lake glittered like a carpet of gold too. There it was, their mornings of gold.
Jareth held both of Sarah's hands in his and looked into her eyes. And there shining in those deep green eyes her saw something. Happiness. And he realised he had honoured his vow from that night when they had met again. There was happiness in her eyes once more. Then Sarah dived into his arms, held him tightly to her and then pulled back and said
"With all my heart and all that I am, yes. I will be your wife. Your love for all time." She leaned forward and Jareth meshed her lips with his. It was something that he would never tire of, kissing her. He felt the love emanating from her soul in that kiss and he returned it with every fibre of his being.
When they pulled apart he made a gesture with his hand. A crystal appeared in his palm. It shimmered and slowly shrank. Before their eyes it took the form of a silver ring. Two bands entwined together meeting in the centre where a purple amethyst sat. Jareth slipped the ring onto Sarah's finger, sealing their vow to one another.
And as Jareth took Sarah in his arms and turned them so that they could see the dawn he thought that he had never in his life been happier, more content or more in love than he had been in that moment. He found himself humming a tune from years ago and then the words passed his lips
"I'll paint you mornings of gold
I'll spin you valentine's evenings.
Though we're strangers till now
We're choosing the path between the stars.
I'll lay my love between the stars"
Sarah snuggled into him and he knew his life was complete.