"I am a free human being with an independent will."
"And your will shall decide your destiny."
Sarah pushed inside the Labyrinth, the gates closing behind her. She was alone, without friends, without family, without Jareth. This was her trial and she was going to bravely march through it.
"Who seeks to challenge me and my power?" A dark and deep voice echoed through the brick walls.
Come to think of it, it was less of a voice and more of an echo in her mind.
She stood up taller, squaring her shoulders. "I do." Sarah said with more confidence in her voice than how she actually felt. "I, Sarah Williams, am here to challenge the Labyrinth."
"Why do you seek to challenge me?"
She didn't think that there would be some questionnaire. "I seek to gain power over the Labyrinth."
Silence.
Sarah clutched her cloak closer to her body. Not hearing anything else, she picked a direction and walked.
No sooner had she taken her first step that she fell forward, her hands barely saving her face from eating the ground.
"You think that you can overpower me? You, a human who has been alive for a little over two decades? You think that you can beat me, a being of magic that has been here longer than the oldest ancestor you can name?"
Sarah dusted the dirt off her hands and got up, on her knees. Before she could even react, let alone formulate a response, she saw something that filled her with such terror that she fell back on her stomach.
The floor was gone and she was suspended in the air, her body on a patch of earth barely large enough to keep her on there.
Peeking around, everything was the same except the space where the ground was. Underneath her was a never ending fall, plunging into something bright deep in the ground. The patch of earth that she was on started to teeter back and forth and she struggled to stay on without losing her mind.
"I ask again, why you seek to control me? What is your motive, your goal?" The Labyrinth echoed again. "Why risk yourself?"
She pressed her cheek to the earth, willing for it to not move. She couldn't speak, the nausea settling in her head and stomach. Instead of saying it out loud, her mind swirled with images of Jareth and Adelaide, for she was doing this for her love and not for power. She never cared for power. Never cared to be queen or to be anyone special.
She was doing this because she wanted to prove to Jareth that she loved him and she didn't want him to choose between marrying her and protecting Adelaide.
Slowly, the teetering came to a stop. Taking a brave glance, Sarah looked up to see that she was in a completely different place than she had been before.
Getting up slowly, she found herself surrounded by stone walls again, Goblin City and the Castle in sight.
Except, there wasn't a path for her to move away from. All around her were four stone walls.
"Damn it." She said. She tried to climb the walls too but kept falling, the cracks disappearing and her feet sliding down each time she tried.
The sun was rising some more, beating down on her. The cloak she had on protected her but also made her get even warmer.
"I wish I had some help." She mumbled.
A few more tries and she just about given up, smashing her hand against the stone with a frustrated yell. Collapsing on the ground, she feared that she would stay here until time ran out, unable to win.
"'Allo."
She looked up, almost missing the tiny blue worm with a red scarf. It smiled at her, looking quite adorable. "Did - did you say hello?"
He assured her that no, he did not say hello, but rather, 'Also. He then invited her to stay, to have a cup of tea with his Missus.
She wasn't sure what she could trust in the Labyrinth. He could be one of those tricks, but it was surely better than being stuck here.
Still, if he was a real and not just a trick, then she would very much like to come back. It wasn't polite to refuse an offering host, after all. "Might I take a raincheck on that offer? I would love to, I just really need to get through as I'm on a 13 hour time limit."
"Well, alright." He conceded.
He told her that the Labyrinth was full of openings.
"But... there isn't an opening!" Sarah groaned. Even so, she kept pushing.
And her hand kept on going.
And going.
"Woah." She looked around.
"Hey, 'ang on!" The worm called after her.
"Thank you!" Sarah looked around. "That was incredibly helpful!" She started to turn left.
"Don't go that way!" The worm warned her. "Never go that way!"
In her hurry, Sarah gave him a hasty wave of appreciation. "Oh... thanks!"
She disappeared behind the wall.
"If she had kept going down that way, she would've gone straight to that castle!" The worm shook his head.
Sarah honestly had no idea where to go. The never ending path was impossible to navigate.
She wrapped her hand around the crystal on her neck where Jareth's feather was encased inside. He lost his wings for her, and she was going to make it through.
She had to.
Hoggle stood in front of his King, terrified. It couldn't be good if he was meeting him in the throne room. "Yer Majesty." He bowed. "What a nice surprise!"
He was shocked to see Jareth's face this scarred. Fae prided themselves on their beauty, Jareth most of all. For him to present his marred face in public was shocking.
"Hello, Hedgewart." He said with a sneering smile.
"Hoggle." the dwarf mumbled.
"Hoggle…" He drawled, tapping his fingers on the throne. "You have been spending time with the human woman, Sarah, have you? Helping her?"
"Helping?" He gulped. Did Jareth do something to Sarah? Was he mad at her for some reason? "In what sense?"
"In the sense that you took her into your home, fed her, gave her a place to sleep, and made her work in your garden?" His voice was tight and his eyes would drill holes into Hoggle's face if that was possible.
"Is that a bad thing?" Hoggle started to ramble, as he often did when he was stressed. "I was just taking care of a refugee, that's what we do here. And ya know-"
"What is that glass thing around your wrist?" Jareth put his gloved hand to his face, raising an eyebrow almost in disgust.
"Huh? Oh this!" Hoggle showed it to Jareth. "It's uh, nothing."
"Then why are you so nervous?"
"Not nervous! Just uh, ya know, protective of me things."
"I am the King, Hogbrain. Why in the world would I have need of measly glass jewelry from my Royal Gardener?" He threw one leg over the arm of his throne. "I just asked as I had never seen it before."
"I told ya, it's nothin', Yer Majesty."
"Hoggle." He used his real name, raising an eye. "Tell me now."
"It was from Sarah." He conceded. "She didn't have anything, not even a penny. A kid of a host of hers gave her this, and she gave it ta me because she likes me."
"As a token of affection?" Jareth sneered. "I'm surprised at you, Hogbrain! Losing your head over a girl!"
"I ain't lost my head!" Hoggle pointed at himself. Of course he didn't, it was clearly Jareth who was losing his head over the girl if he was being this damn nosy.
"You don't think she could like a repulsive little scab like you, do you?"
Hoggle had no idea where the hell this was coming from, but instead of being angry, his heart sank at the insult. Sarah was this beautiful, gorgeous ray of sunshine and he was just some hermit who she had called a coward when Ludo first screamed for help. "Well she did say we were-"
"What? Bosom companion? Friends?" The King drawled dangerously at the last word.
Hoggle's shoulders slumped. "It don't matter." He sighed.
Jareth knew that he was being unfair. That he was taking out his anger on Hoggle. Hoggle was a coward, doing his work well as a gardener but he annoyed the hell out of Jareth. To think that this creature caught Sarah's affections was unacceptable to him.
Still, the way Hoggle shuffled reminded himself of his own hurt pride and heart when Sarah left him.
He closed his eyes and thought of her, thought of their time together at Aster Hall. He had been jealous of her easy chats with Terrance and Jonathan, snapping at them a few times when even though it wasn't their faults. And here he was, doing the same with Hoggle. After all, who wouldn't want to be with her?
Sarah was allowed to spend time with whoever she wanted. She may have even found sexual company in the arms of someone else while they were apart. He couldn't blame her but every part in him wanted to strike down anyone who dared to touch her.
It wasn't right that he was doing this to the dwarf or to any man who found his Sarah charming. If he was going to make the best of his second chance with her, he had to let go of this green-eyed monster.
"No, it does matter." He sighed. "It matters to you, and it matters to her."
Hoggle slowly lifted his head up. "What?"
"What I should have said was, thank you. Thank you for taking care of her." Jareth said to Hoggle. "For being her friend. Anyone who treats Sarah well is a friend to the crown, a friend to me."
Hoggle wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just bowed. Why was the King so interested in her?
"Come Hoggle." Jareth waved to him. "My original intention was to make sure that you are around as you are her friend, to keep her company when I am not able to. I will not tell you the full story, that is for Sarah to tell you. But, I will say that she is not merely a refugee. She is someone extraordinary. She is the savior of many of the recent Wished Aways, so she is to be offered some privileges that a normal refugee would not normally be offered."
Jareth looked at the clock and bit the bottom of lip in nervousness.
Nine hours and twenty-three minutes until she was done. Hopefully by then, she could be his.
"Gods, I need a break." Sarah slumped over against a tree.
So far, she had encountered the earth disappearing from underneath her, trapped in a four-walled oubliette-like thing, chased after by a group of angry sentient spiders, nearly fell into the Bog of Eternal Stench, solved a riddle that made her fall into a shaft of hands that dropped her to a forest, a man that she dubbed the Wiseman with a strange and sentient hat, and here she was.
Sarah got up and continued to wade through the forest, glad that she wore boots for this. He ankle was sore, but she didn't dare check on it. Maybe running the Labyrinth today wasn't a good idea, but she feared that she may have backed out if she waited longer.
She wondered what the Labyrinth was like for most Runners. Even if it was as difficult, at least Jareth was there to make sure that no one died or was seriously hurt.
Jareth. A small part of her insecure mind questioned whether this was the right thing to do. After all, he was an experienced man in the ways of pleasure with women and men, doing whatever he wanted when it came to his personal life. And he had been dishonest with her before. What if he bored of her?
She shook these thoughts. It would do her no good to question him like this. He loved her, and she loved him. He was wrong to do what he did but he had redeemed himself. He cared about her, risked his life to save her when it was so easy to just turn the other way.
She took another step…
…And heard a twig snap before she even put her foot down.
Someone was there.
"What's going on?" She called out, feeling nervous.
"YAH!" A strange creature popped up, orange and red feathers all over its bodies.
"HA HA HA!" Another was on her side.
"What do you want?!" Sarah backed away from them.
"We're out to have a good time!" It grabbed it eyeballs and plucked it out with its strange fingers.
"That's right!"
"WHOOOOOO!"
Then, they started to sing a song about not having any suitcases or worries, something that they called "Chilly Down," whatever that meant.
As ridiculous as they were being, Sarah could see the appeal of not having to worry about anything but dancing. She would find them a totally fun bunch if they weren't trying to take her head off.
"Stop it!" She kicked one away.
"Her head don't come off!" One exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course it doesn't!" She yelled, exasperated at them touching her all over, trying to tear her limbs off as they took off their own.
"She's right, it's stuck on!"
"I know what we can do, take off her head!"
"Yeah, let's take her apart!"
She had enough. If they were going to keep touching her after she told them to leave them alone, she had no choice but to take the head from one of them and throw it far away.
"Hey, Lady, that's his head!"
"It's against the rules to throw other people's heads! You're only allowed to throw your own head!"
Sarah ran farther into the forest, ducking under things and evading the creatures as best as she could. "Leave me alone!"
It wasn't fair that they tried to take her head off, but once she tried to take theirs, they got angry.
"We get a free throw!"
"Don't you want us to take your head off?"
"Take off your head! Get a saw!"
At this, she grabbed sticks from the tree branches and started throwing them behind her.
"Ow!"
"Hey, Lady! That hurt!"
She kept on throwing things at them until they were far, far behind her. Once she was totally sure that she evaded them, she settled down by a stream.
She was sweating so much that she didn't even need to take a rest stop to go to the bathroom. She was, however, very thirsty. She wasn't allowed to take anything with her inside except for the clothes on her body, something that made sense in the beginning but was now making her feel quite resentful. She massaged her ankle for a bit, wincing.
"Sarah Williams!"
The voice of the Labyrinth boomed at her with such a ferocity that she fell over, terrified for her life.
"You have caused harm to creatures who live within me!" It boomed again. "You expect to be queen while causing this much harm to someone else?"
"I was protecting myself." Sarah fell on her knees, playing the humble Runner. "I'm sorry, I should have explained myself better to them, but-"
"But what? But you were scared? A true queen would have been more in tune with her subjects. She would have been more kind to them. Just because you are human and are not used to magical creatures, that doesn't give you an excuse to treat them poorly when all they wanted to do was to play. You are supposed to try to learn and understand each creature. Now, I know that you are a selfish person who cares nothing for others!"
Fear seized her whole body, paralyzing her as the dam broke, water rushing towards her, knocking the air out of her. The cold penetrated her bones, her mind losing consciousness, wishing she had been able to say goodbye to Toby and Jareth one last time as she drowned in the depths of the Labyrinth.
Jareth just finished reading reports of what was happening in Estella. To his delight, the people were angry that so many from their village was gone. That village had a good amount of farmers, many who were now refugees in the Goblin Kingdom if they weren't dead. They should be angry, for their King Dominic did not care about them.
Speaking of their king, many were asking for Dominic to step down from the throne, once news of Miread leaked out. They claimed that this fae princess bewitched him, influencing him to allow the villagers to die instead of sending help when he should have. Even the Estellan soldiers who were in Sarah's unit expressed their regret for following the orders to shoot her.
Thalassans were just as angry. They protested, raised their voices in seeing how their armies had attacked an innocent village. Of course, not everyone from both sides thought that this was a bad thing, but there were big enough crowds that the castles were swarmed with angry marchers, demanding justice and true leadership.
Getting a headache, he went to his piano and started to play. A tune filled his head today, a tune that was inspired by Sarah. A love ballad, one that he wanted to sing to her at their wedding day, whenever that was.
He had written it a while ago, but today, the lyrics finally came to his mind. That he would be the romantic lover would paint her mornings of gold and spin her Valentine evenings. But more importantly, he wanted to promise her that his love was true, that he would be there for her even she was in pain as her world falls down.
All of a sudden, something happened to his chest. Everything squeezed tightly, his heart beating strangely. He felt pain travel to his shoulders, everything tensing up. He felt like he was drowning. A chill ran up his spine and his lungs were starting to suffocate.
"Sire!" Theoden ran into the room. "The Gandum Dam has been reported to have collapsed. We don't know how, but it's currently flooding the forest areas of the Labyrinth!"
"Sarah." Jareth panted. "No."
"Your Majesty, are you alright? Sire? Sire!"
Sarah gradually woke up. The first conscious thought she had was surprise that she was even alive. Her clothes were still wet and her hair was a knotted mess.
Something just felt wrong. Her mind was so foggy, it felt like she was in a strange dream.
She heard some crying. The crying of a baby, echoing throughout the Labyrinth. It was a cry that she was very familiar with.
"Toby!" She yelled, getting up, but moving so slowly. Her head might as well be filled with cotton, for she could barely keep her eyes open as she stumbled around to find him. "Toby!"
A barn owl flew above her, but she did not notice, following the cries of the baby. "I'm coming!" She called after the sound of her baby brother.
When she reached even farther in the forest, the owl landed before her, transforming into The Goblin King. Except, in her confused state, she didn't recognize him at all. Right now, she was sixteen years old, wishing her brother away in a moment of anger.
He was beautiful, perfect, and dangerous. The very aura of power and sex radiated all over him, drawing her in.
Her body felt warm and needy, even as she tried to tell herself how wrong this was.
"You're him, aren't you? You're the Goblin King!" She breathed, in awed of his dark power, the man in question tilting his head as a pointed fang made its appearance.
When he just smiled, she bravely said "I want my brother back, please, if it's all the same."
"What's said is said." He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"But... I didn't mean it." She pleaded. Oh, how could she have wished her poor little brother away? Such an innocent thing. All because she was annoyed that she had to watch over him instead of her playacting.
"Oh, you didn't?" He mocked her.
"Please, where is he?"
"You know very well where he is." He taunted her, enjoying her discomfort.
"Please bring him back. Please!"
Never mind that the setting didn't make any sense, as she was already in a Labyrinth. But, she had to keep going. She could not afford to question things anymore, especially when her head was filled with cotton.
"Sarah…" He stalked towards her. "Go back to your room. Play with your toys and your costumes. Forget about the baby."
"I can't." She shook her head.
Seeing as she wouldn't budge, he flicked his wrist. "I've brought you... a gift." He held his hand out, a crystal appearing.
"What is it?" She couldn't take her eyes off of it. It was so clear, so mesmerizing.
"It's a crystal. Nothing more." He manipulated it back and forth, making it slide from one arm to the other effortlessly. "But if you turn it this way and look into it... it'll show you your dreams."
Her dreams? What were her dreams?
"But this is no gift for an ordinary girl, who takes care of a screaming baby." He taunted her some more, making her feel small. As if she was no one of value.
Just like Aunt Vicky and her daughters always made her feel. That she was no one, just some girl who was meant to always be working and caring others. That her worth lay in what she could do to make the lives of others easier, nothing else.
"Do you want it?" He egged her on, holding it out to her.
She stared at it and then back to his eyes. Of course she did. Of course she wanted to be someone better than a girl who cooked and cleaned after someone else, Aunt Vicky telling her that she should be grateful for the room and board provided to her.
Wait, living with Aunt Vicky? The timeline in her head was so wrong. What was the past, present, or future? All of it seemed to blend together-
"Then forget the baby!"
At his harsh voice, Sarah was brought back to the present. "I can't. It isn't that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but I want my brother back. He must be so scared-"
"Sarah…" He lifted the crystal of dreams up, transforming it into a peach. "Don't defy me! You're no match for me!"
"But I have to have my brother back!" She stared at the peach, unsure of what he was going to do with it.
"Then take this." He placed the peach in her hand. "You are hungry, aren't you?"
"No." She lied through her teeth, drooling as she stared at the juicy peach. Peaches were her favorite fruit, Jareth often bringing her the very best ones from the castle while she lived in Aster Hall.
"Sarah." His voice sounded hurt.
Sarah looked up to see Jareth again, this time, as he was when she last saw him. His scar was back on his face, his eye dilated, his Goblin King armor gone, and his hands holding out the peach to her. "Please, you said no more secrets. No more deception. Don't lie to me about how you feel inside."
She felt a pang in her chest. "I'm sorry, Jareth. I won't lie to you."
"You are hungry then?" He didn't touch her, his face distorted into something broken. "Take this."
"I… I shouldn't." She said, trying to understand why she even thought that. It was Jareth, wasn't it? She should trust him.
"You don't trust me?" He whispered. "You don't love me, don't want to marry me?"
"Of course I want to marry you." Her bottom lip trembled. "I love you more than anything in this world."
"Then why don't you trust me when I want to offer you this gift?"
The peach was in her hand now, her eyes meeting his. "I do trust you."
"Then show me. Eat it." He gestured to the fruit.
Sarah brought it to her lips, the smell of it sweet and fragrant.
She sank her teeth in, her tongue catching the sweet nectar as it dripped into her mouth.
"Jareth…" She reached out to him. "Everything's dancing…"
Jareth found himself in the grand ballroom. White strings of pearls decorated the room, reflecting the bright candles that were strewn all around. There were pillows in the middle of the floor, a reminder of his promiscuous days.
Everything was beautiful and bright, enchanting as fae balls always were. He found himself wearing a gorgeous blue jacket, sparkling like the stars in the night sky with a ruffled collar and white gloves. Catching his reflection in a mirror one lady was holding up, he saw that he was wearing light lip gloss to highlight his lips and had blue streaks in his ruffled hair, framing his elegant face.
Speaking of his face, he was perfect. No scars. No abnormalities. His eye was still dilated, but he could see. And oh, how vibrant were the colors!
"Ah!" He flinched. Something seemed to pierce the back of his head as he tried to remember something, something that wasn't the present.
Once again, he was the center of attention. Men and women were throwing themselves at him, hoping to dance in his arms. Speaking of the men and women, the ballroom was packed with them dressed for a masquerade, their masks parodies of goblins. In fact, he had a mask himself, an ugly horned thing that would cover the top half of his face.
They were all dressed quite sensually, their backs or breasts exposed. One man was bringing Jareth's attention to his tight pants, the hard length in them making Jareth breathe hard. Normally, he would eat all of this up, enjoying the pleasures of the flesh, having sex until the morning or even for the whole week if his schedule allowed it. For he was a sensual man, and sex had an added benefit of making him forget for a while of how lonely he really was, how much he really starved to connect his soul with another being.
But, something deep in him reminded him that this was wrong. That as tempting as it was, he did not desire to touch any of these people. That his face should not look this beautiful.
He felt naked with his face exposed, so he put his mask up, looking for something or someone that he had lost.
Sarah heard music flowing in the air. Her shy self clasped her hands in front, walking among the sea of people who were dancing.
The intro of the song seamlessly transitioned to someone singing. A male, someone that she loved.
There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes A kind of pale jewel
Open and closed Within your eyes
I'll place the sky
Within your eyes
She looked down at herself. She was dressed in all white, the dress clean and without any marks, just as a bride should be on her wedding day.
Wedding…
Turning around, she saw that she was dressed just as she was the day she had intended to marry.
Marry?
The more she tried to remember anything that didn't have to do with the scene before her, the more her head hurt.
Everything felt wrong here. All around her were people of all different colors and races. Some with darker skin. Some with lighter skin. Some were fae. Human. Elven. They were all different shapes and sizes as well.
What they all had in common was their extreme beauty and confidence.
There's such a fooled heart
Beating so fast
In search of new dreams
A love that will last
Within your heart
I'll place the moon
Within your heart
She felt like a child in an adult situation, a situation that she dreamed of as a child, to be at a ball and to dance with someone who found her to be the most beautiful. Everyone here was all over each other, bodies dancing gracefully or pressing against each other, short of having sex in front of her eyes.
She caught a threesome kissing on the pillows, the sight making her warm and her body needy for someone to touch her.
She continued to push past people, to search for something that she needed to find.
Jareth caught a flash of white and silver, colors that no one else in the room was wearing. When he looked up, he saw her.
There she was, his bride. Just as she dressed on what was supposed to be their wedding day. Except this time, her hair was done up with silver ribbons, leaves, and flowers adorning her.
Around her neck was the feather that he had lost while saving her life.
His head hurt again, so he closed his eyes and thought of the current situation to will the pain away.
He lowered his mask, his gaze intense and hungry for her.
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 down
Falling in love
For a brief moment, they made eye contact, in awe with each other's beauty.
Two women were by his side, holding up mirrors to his face. When someone moved in between them, Sarah was gone.
Where did she go?
Sarah saw the Goblin King reveal his face. But what was he doing here?
Then he disappeared. Just like that.
As the dancers tried to ridicule Sarah, they also tried to get Jareth's attention. Sarah largely ignored them, her goal just barely out of reach. Jareth, on the other hand, was trying to get closer to her, dancing absent-mindedly with those who were in his way just to get them to be satisfied with the taste of him and leave, sometimes even dancing with two partners at the same time.
A few whispered to him, admiring his clothing and his beauty, trying to seduce him to their beds but he paid no real heed to them, for the person he really wanted was almost within reach.
Settled between two women who wouldn't leave him alone, he waited for one such dancer to lower her fan so that Sarah could see him.
Sarah caught glimpses of the King's glittering blue jacket here and there. She needed to find him, needed to see him.
Her head turned just as a woman lowered her feathered fan.
In between two voluptuous fae women were laying their heads and hands on the Goblin King, her blood absolutely boiling.
Her eyes widened when she realized why she was upset, why she was so jealous.
The two women were Valentina and Princess Miread. Though they were wearing masks, the haughtiness of their expressions were quite recognizable. Valentina's hands came to caress the King's body, Miread's lips pressed against him even as he ignored them.
Again, her head started to hurt as memories of her past infiltrated the present.
Seeing her in anger and distress, the Goblin King moved himself from between the two women, his eyes never leaving Sarah. Without a word, he took her in his arms and they danced.
He never asked, she never questioned. They just easily transitioned into moving in each other's arms. Her lips were opened in awe, her eyes betraying the emotions from deep in her heart.
He opened his mouth to sing.
I'll paint you mornings of gold
I'll spin you Valentine evenings
Though we're strangers 'til now,
We're choosing the path
Between the stars
I'll leave my love
Between the stars
Jareth never wanted to stop singing. Never wanted to stop dancing. He would do anything for her. He would go the stars and bring her back one. He would burn the world and start a new one just for the two of them.
She was the most beautiful dance partner he ever had, inside and out.
Wait, how did he know that?
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
Through the haze, Sarah remembered the time her world fell. How she was branded a traitor, weapons ready to execute her.
Where was the Goblin King when her world fell?
"Hold on tight." A voice echoed deep in her mind.
Jareth's voice.
She saw the dancers move closer to her as her head pounded in pain from her holding onto the memories.
No, she had to get out of here!
Pulling away from the Goblin King, she went to escape.
Jareth stood, his heart broken at her moving away from him. He held his hand out, wanting his beautiful dance partner to come back to him, to dance in his arms.
She grabbed a chair and threw it at the curved wall, everything shattering.
Jareth woke up in his chambers.
The Healer told him of what had happened, that he seemed to have a headache and fainted. Otherwise, nothing was wrong.
He thanked the Healer and asked to be alone.
What he had experienced was nothing he had ever experienced before. He knew now that the Labyrinth had pulled him into the dream with Sarah for some reason. As to why, he had no idea. If this was Sarah's test, then why was he there too?
And why was the song he was composing for her playing in that vision?
He looked at the clock.
One more hour.
Sarah woke up, no longer in her wedding finery. She was back in her normal clothing, a rotting peach in her hand.
Yelling in disgust, she threw it away.
Her memories were in a jumble. Nothing made sense. Nothing was as it should be.
"What was I doing?" She rubbed her head. Getting up, she finally took a step forward, getting a look around her surroundings. There were piles and piles of things.
"OW! Get off my back!"
Sarah jumped back, a little old lady with piles of things on her back scolded her. "Why don't you look where you're going, young woman, hmm?"
"I was looking." Sarah answered, a bit absentmindedly.
Off to the distance, she could see others just like this lady, with things on their backs too.
"Huh? Well, where were you going?" The Junk Lady asked her.
"I don't remember." Was Sarah's rather lame reply.
"You can't look where you're going if you don't know where you're going." The Junk Lady smacked her leg to emphasize her point.
"I was searching for something." Unfortunately, Sarah couldn't remember what the hell she was even searching for.
"Well, look here!"
Her eyes glossed over as the Junk Lady gave her something that she hadn't seen in years.
"Lancelot?" She took her old stuffed bear, the one that she had been upset at her parents for giving to Toby when she was an adolescent brat. "Thank you."
Toby…
Before another coherent thought filtered through her head, the Junk Lady spoke again. "That's what you were looking for, wasn't it, my dear?"
"Yes, I forgot." She thanked the stranger.
"Now, why don't you come in here and see if there's anything else you like, hmm?"
Not a few seconds later, and Sarah found herself asleep in her room. The room that she had stayed in while she was in Aster Hall.
The place where she felt most at home.
"I should go prepare my lesson for Adelaide." She stood up and opened the door.
The Junk Lady came in, and Sarah's heart nearly gave out at the shock. "Better to say in here, dear. There's nothing to see out there! No, oh no! What have we got here?"
Sarah just stood to her back to the door, not understanding what was happening. "Lancelot!" She cuddled her bear close, using it as an emotional shield.
"Your flower crown! You like it, don't you?" Junk Lady placed it on Sarah's head. "Yes yes yes! What else have we got?"
Pile upon piles of Sarah's treasured things, many lost in time were placed on her back. Before Toby was born, she had been a very, very spoiled person who liked her things. As she got older, while she was not materialistic, she did hold closely the treasures that she did have since she wasn't allowed to have a lot of possessions while living with Aunt Vicky.
There it was... Another memory…
"There was something I was looking for… something I'm trying to do." Sarah's eyes were still glossed over in confusion, right on the brink of consciousness.
"Ah, don't talk nonsense!" Junk Lady thrusted a book in her hands. "Everything in the world you've ever cared about is all right here! Here's your little book!"
The golden font embossed on the book read "Pride and Prejudice."
There was something significant about this book.
Sarah carefully opened it to a random page and read out loud. "There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well."
She had read these words out loud once. She read them to someone that she loved… Someone who had gifted this book to her during Yule…
"What's the matter, my dear?" Junk Lady asked her, still piling things on her back just as she and the other Junk People had. "Don't you like your toys?"
That's when it hit her. "It's all junk!"
"Huh? Well, what about this? This is not junk, hmm?" Junk Lady handed Sarah a small barn owl brooch.
"Yes it is!" Sarah threw it at the wall. "I have to win the Labyrinth! I have to be Champion!"
Where the brooch had hit the wall, everything fell apart. Sarah looked up to see the castle in view.
Everything came back to her, everything about Toby, Jareth, her past, her present, her time at war, even her time as a governess.
Because, the way forward is sometimes the way back.
With her own war cry, she climbed out and made way to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City.
She got to the gate to Goblin City. Excitement filled her, she was almost there!
If someone had told her when she was applying to be a governess that she would be on an adventure of a lifetime, she would not have thought this was what they meant.
"Sarah!"
Sarah looked up to see an unexpected sight.
Jareth.
He was smiling proudly at her, dressed in his usual poet's shirt with tight pants and a cape. He used his hand, motioning for her to sneak past the goblin. She couldn't fathom why, but she followed him anyway.
"Jareth! Wait!" She called after him.
A flash of a cape here. A feathery hair there. She began to lose faith in him, wondering why he was evading her just as he did in the peach dream.
No. She told herself firmly. I will not waver in my trust for him.
Making past the gates, she heard a large roar behind her.
A giant automation, some sort of robot with steely eyes with an axe was chasing after her.
In front of her were goblins with their weapons drawn at her.
"Sire! Sire!"
Jareth was reading with a group of children, trying to keep them entertained and keep his own mind away from Sarah. He lowered the book from his face, one tiny girl tugging on his hair. This was the second time today that Theoden came screaming with some emergency.
Gods, how many emergencies can there be in one day? "Yes, Theoden?"
"The goblins, they are chasing after Sarah, destroying Goblin City." He begged his King to come see. "Your Majesty, what is going on?"
The children all looked at the Goblin King for direction, many clinging to him, not wanting to let him go.
He removed a few from his lap, winching as one started to cry, as she was quite attached to him today. "I will be back, alright? I will ask for some ice cream to be brought to you children. Have you ever had ice cream? It's quite a rare treat here!"
They brightened a little, satiated for the time being.
Theoden brought Jareth to the throne room, chaos unfolding in Goblin City. Houses were being wrecked. Goblins were being shoved into cannons. Holes being pounded in walls.
And in the middle was Sarah.
He could not believe that the Labyrinth was sending her into a direct death trap. He had heard of this, of course, as many tried to be the Champion in the past, but had never seen this himself. When he sent goblins after Runners, it was never to this degree of violence.
"They won't listen to me, Sire." Theoden gasped at the image of destruction. "But surely, they will listen to you."
Poor Theoden. His advisor was kept in the dark about Sarah, doing nothing but helping him during his worst days and worst moments, not understanding why his King had grown so harsh and so cruel.
He owed his trusted right hand man an explanation.
"I cannot." Jareth's jaw was set. "I cannot interfere with the Labyrinth."
"What?" Theoden watched as Sarah narrowly missed death with one of the cannon-goblins. "Is she a Runner?"
"Yes." Jareth answered him. "But she did not wish anyone away. Theoden." He turned to his friend. "She is running to be a Champion."
"Champion?" He clearly did not understand. "Is she trying to take over your crown?"
Jareth forced his eyes to tear away from Sarah. He had to, or else he would interfere and make disqualify her whole Run. "No, Theoden. I plan to marry her."
He told him of how Sarah was a governess for Adelaide. How he had fallen for her so deeply that he could not bear to think of being with anyone else. How he had deceived her, that she found out his true secret on their wedding day. How he had risked his life for her.
"So the Estellan soldier that you saved, it was Sarah? And it was because you knew her?" Theoden could hardly comprehend this. He had never known Jareth to be so selfless towards anyone.
"Yes." Jareth nodded. "I would do anything for her, Theoden. And here, she is proving that she would do anything for me. You know that I never chose to be king, never wanted the crown. I have learned to love and accept it because I am able to take care of the people who live here. It has given my life meaning. Still, I would not want it forced upon Adelaide, a mere child, nor do I want to give it up to rule beside Sarah."
"So she is trying to give you a third alternative."
"Yes. And I pray the Labyrinth will allow her to come out unscathed, no matter its verdict."
Sarah finally got to the castle. Once inside, she looked around, unsure of where to go.
"Sarah!" Jareth called after her, his head once again disappearing.
"Slow down!" She called after him.
He did not slow down, but snaked around the throne room and up some stairs.
Now she was getting upset. Was he evading her?
She climbed up the stairs, grateful for her training during basic training, and not for the first time.
She was just about to yell at him when she reached the top.
The room she was in (if you could even call it a room) had stairs upside down and all over. There was no way of telling whether someone was upside down or right side up. There were entrances and exits, the light emanating from these walkways confusing her even more.
Taking a careful step, she held the feather necklace on her throat for comfort. Daring to look over the edge, she gasped when she saw Jareth looking back at her, standing upside down as easily as a bat.
"How you turned my world, you precious thing." He sang, jumping off and somehow reappearing in an entrance. "You starve and near-exhaust me!"
He scared her. The deep resentment in his eyes made her shrink back. She had to get out of here, but she didn't even know where the exit was anymore.
"Everything I've done, I've done for you!" He appeared behind her.
Sarah froze in place as he moved closer to her. The trust in her heart was chipping away by the moment as he approached her, anger in his eyes.
Just as she expected him to stop, he didn't. In fact, he went right through her. She looked down, her hands feeling around her chest in bewilderment.
"I move the stars for no one!" He pointed at her, loathing in his eyes. He stood at the edge, rotating down.
She sat down, pain in her heart. It was true. He put himself in pain for her. Even when he deceived her, he wanted to marry her, to protect her, all because he loved her. It was wrong and she would never excuse that behavior, but she did understand him.
She heard footsteps from under her as she tried to find another escape. "You've run so long, you've run so far!"
He reappeared at the end of the steps, striding towards her. She stopped walking backwards, closing her eyes in defeat.
"Your eyes can be so cruel." He lifted his hand to wrap his fingers around the necklace that he had given her.
His eyes widened in fury, yanking the necklace from her, breaking the chain. Sarah cried out, putting her hands to her neck where the token of his love had been.
"Jareth." She whimpered. "Why?"
"Just as I can be so cruel!" He took the chain away, holding the little crystal with his feather in it.
He threw it as far as he could, each hit on the stone bricks made the crystal bounce in an angry echo.
"Though I do believe in you. Yes, I do." He watched as it slowed from its bounce.
Suddenly, as if the clouds parted to reveal the sun after a day of heavy rain, it made sense. How could she have not seen it before?
The Jareth that she had seen offering her the peach and the Jareth who was here now, it wasn't Jareth at all.
It was the Labyrinth taking on Jareth's form.
That's why she was able to see him when the rules said that he wasn't supposed to interfere. That's why he went through her and tore the symbol of his love so cruelly from her.
The real Jareth would never, ever do that to her.
Sarah's tears of sadness transitioned to tears of anger. She wiped the angry tears from her face. "You have no right to make me guilty for the sins that he has committed. I am not perfect, but I owe Jareth nothing for his betrayal. My forgiveness, my love, those are not things that I owe anyone. They are things that I freely give!"
She moved away from him, running after the crystal.
"Live without the sunlight." His singing voice cut through the air as betrayal would cut through a broken heart. "Love without your heartbeat."
Sarah almost reached the crystal. She was so close.
"I, I can't live… within you." He sobbed, crumbling to the floor.
Wait a minute. What if she was wrong?
What if this really was Jareth?
Standing in between the figure of her beloved and the crystal.
She had a choice to make. To comfort the figure, to go after the crystal, or to forfeit.
Sarah closed her eyes, hoping that she was choosing the right thing, placing her faith in her mind and her decision.
She jumped after the crystal.
The room fell around her. Each stone block disintegrated as she fell.
This time, she was not afraid. Sarah felt herself floating gently to the bottom, ready to face anything.
A low rumbling sound cracked more rocks as a grey figure appeared from the shadows.
Jareth's figure appeared, dressed in a grey-lavender outfit that was reminiscent of his owl form, his cape almost seemed like wings. His amulet was silver on the inside and gold on the outside, inverted to how it normally was.
His eyes were ashen and he looked sickly. His hair moved as if there was wind even if there wasn't one.
She stood tall and proud. And why shouldn't she? She was to prove that she was their equal. "Give me the crystal."
"Sarah, beware." He stalked towards her. "I have been generous, up until now. But I can be cruel."
Damn it, not that fucking word again.
She looked at the figure with disbelief. "Generous? What have you done that's generous?"
"Everything!" He circled around her like a vulture, just waiting for the opportunity to strike. "Everything that you wanted, I have done! You asked to run my Labyrinth - I let you. You cowered before me and my trials for you, I was frightening. I gave you a dream, a dream of you in your beautiful wedding dress while dancing with the love of your life, admired by all and instead, you ran from it! You let your fears seep into the dream, the dancers all goading at you instead of worshiping your feet because of your stubbornness. I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you! I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?"
"No, it isn't." She stopped trying to look at him, stopped trying to keep her eye in contact with him as he wanted, for it was another way of giving the Labyrinth control. "You have pushed my mind to the limit. You made me wonder what was real, and what wasn't."
"You want to know what's real?" Fake Jareth snarled at her. "Tell me, does this feel real to you?"
He slapped her across the face.
Jareth felt something pierce him. Nothing physical, but emotional. It was the same feeling he had right before he dreamed of Sarah in the grand ballroom, adorned in what was supposed to be her wedding dress.
The feeling told him to go to the Escher room, so he went, not wasting any time. He had designed it for Runners to come to terms with their true desires on the winding stairs.
Except, the Escher room was in shambles.
Assessing the damage, his eyes landed on two figures in the middle of the once majestic room.
And there was Sarah, with someone else.
He looked at his watch. She still had ten more minutes. However, if he was allowed to be here, then he was allowed to watch.
After settling, he gaped, realizing that she was talking to a figure that looked exactly like him.
The figure slapped her, and Sarah fell in shock.
"You scorned me!" He bound her hands to the floor, Sarah crying out in pain. "I asked for so little. Just to let me rule you, and you can have everything you want!"
He slammed her wrists in the ground, eyes deep in a sardonic grin, enjoying her pain. He laid on top of her, pushing down so that he was suffocating her.
"Sarah!" Real Jareth called out to her, but she didn't respond to him. He screamed for her name over and over, trying to go to her but was stopped by some invisible barrier. "NO!"
Fake Jareth looked up to see Real Jareth, his teeth revealed in an ominous smile.
Making sure that they still held eye contact, he wrapped his hands around her neck, squeezing her as she struggled for air.
"Let her go you bastard!" Real Jareth pounded his fist at the barrier. Moving back, he threw some spells at it, but nothing worked.
He no longer gave a fuck that this was the Labyrinth. It forced him to not only watch Sarah's torture, but to use his likeness to make her cry out in such pain. The line had been crossed.
"You're hurting me!" She was full on sobbing now. She knew in her heart that this wasn't Jareth, but it still hurt when he was crushing her underneath him. "Stop!"
"Just fear me," He let her go. "Love me," He stood up. "Do as I say, and I will be your slave!"
Jareth knew in his heart that his efforts were going to waste but it felt better to pound and scream continually than to sit there. "How dare you use my words against her?!"
Fake Jareth stood up. He gave Sarah a rather hard kick that made her curl up into a fetal position.
"LET HER GO!" Real Jareth kept smashing his shoulder into the barrier. He made crystals, throwing them one by one at the damn thing, but all of his crystals dissipated into nothing.
"Do you accept my offer?" Fake Jareth held the crystal out to Sarah. "Just take this, and I promise, I will never hurt you again."
Real Jareth slid his hands down the barrier, his knuckles bloody from repeatedly smashing into it. Waiting for her. Hoping that she would see that this creature was not him.
But, in a way, it was.
Maybe that was why it hurt him so deeply, because his dark side was presented to her in this monster. That deep, deep inside, he had that sliver of temptation to hurt her in retaliation for his broken heart, that every single time he saw an abused child along with the unfairness of the world, he could easily slip into the kind of man who would destroy those he loved without understanding how wrong it was to do so.
He feared and hated that man.
But he would fear no more. Because he was stronger than that. Because Sarah made him want to be a better man in every way.
"I won't be that man." He whispered. "I will never hurt you, Sarah. Never again."
Sarah slowly got up, coughing, her neck angry red from the marks of Fake Jareth's fingers.
With great difficulty, she stood up, her hands to her sides, her gaze determined.
"You, Labyrinth," She glared at Fake Jareth. "Through dangers untold," She took a brave step forward. "And hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City..."
Fake Jareth took a step back, unease in the eyes.
She collapsed on the floor, her body shaking.
Real Jareth went to his knees, unable to touch her.
"For my will is as strong as yours." She coughed up blood. "And my kingdom as great."
Fake Jareth walked forward. He rubbed salt in the wound by kicking her in chest back to the ground. Her face hit the floor, blood coming out of her mouth.
"Sarah!" Real Jareth called out for he again when she stumbled.
Sarah stopped. Turning, she saw Real Jareth, his hands on the barrier. "Jareth." She breathed.
Real Jareth breathed. She could see him!
After another punch to the barrier, he had to just accept that he was still trapped. "Sarah, you're hurt." He peered into her eyes. Though he was unable to see the green shade, he could still see the fire in them. "Please, don't torture yourself. If you have to surrender, I am here. Please." He begged her.
She continued, her lungs giving out. She had to say her piece, say the words.
Facing Fake Jareth, she said the words that sealed her fate. "Neither of you have no power over me, as I am your equal."
She turned back to Real Jareth. "But you. You do have all of my love. Always had. Always will, even if fate were to tear me from you forever."
Fake Jareth threw the crystal in defeat, fading away.
Thirteen bells rung in the Escher room, signaling the thirteenth hour.
Real Jareth gathered Sarah's frail body into his arms. He touched her head, whispering a protection spell that would drastically strengthen her and weaken himself for their transportation.
Arriving in the infirmary, he set her down on the bed and called for a healer. He cried into her, not wanting to lose her again. "You stupid, stupid woman! I saved you, you didn't need to prove your love for me back. You were and always will be my equal. I should never have let you be a Runner. I should have bound you to your room and kept you safe."
"I love you." She smiled, a glassy look over her eyes. "I would do anything for you. Will you take care of Toby?"
"Do not talk like that." He said furiously. "You will take care of him yourself, Love."
Jareth pressed another kiss to her forehead, his hand brushing against her neck.
He expected to see the necklace that he had given her yesterday, but it was not there. It was actually tightly gripped in her hand.
No, on her neck rested a horned amulet.
Identical to his.
The Labyrinth had declared Sarah as its Champion and its choice for the new Goblin Queen.
Whew, that was another really, really difficult chapter to write. How to rewrite the events of the movie, but also make it original?
Sarah floating in the beginning was inspired by my very real fear of heights and falling. And being air/seasick. I also may have been inspired by some movie scene but I can't even remember what movie it was, because I have this image in my head but nothing else. No actors or anything, so if it sounds familiar to anyone, feel free to tell me in the reviews!
Sarah drowning is also another huge fear of mine. I HATE HATE HATE it when water gets in my nose because I freak out and drowning would be a terrifying way for me to die.
The Labyrinth showing a Dark Jareth was a thought based on the dark sides of all of us and what we may be tempted to do, especially if we have been raised in a heartless environment and maybe neglected but spoiled at the same time like Jareth. I don't say it directly in the story but I believe that his parents abused him and his sister, Adeline. Adeline would have been one of those rare people who would always be kind and sweet, tempering Jareth. Jareth being the older sibling would have guided to love Adeline and then his niece, Adelaide. Dark Jareth was also heavily inspired by Within You, as you saw in either the last chapter or the chapter before, when he was being irrational and playing piano.
Thank you again for reading this story! I hope you liked this chapter. Love you all!