Chapter 2

"You have got to be kidding."

Sarah's stomach dropped in compunction. She felt horrendous for telling him now, like this, as he stared at her from the rims of his black glasses, his grey-blue eyes wide in shock at her confession.

"My nightmares are getting worse Rhys." At least that was the truth, she told herself as she wrung her hands, not able to meet his gaze as she spoke. They were sitting in her apartment at the eat-in kitchen, she had invited him over for a cup of tea and talk. "I just need some time to myself, to unwind and relax before the wedding." And to figure out if this is really what I want, is what she didn't tell him.

Rhys ran his hands through his blonde hair in frustration but when he took her hands in his, there was a gentleness and thrumming confidence she couldn't match. "Sarah. You must understand my point of view and that of my family at this sudden turn of events. I understand you are stressed about the wedding and may even be feeling a bride's normal hesitation but…you do love me, don't you?"

"Yes." She said, but it came out softer than it should have.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

Ah, the dreaded question. She nearly squirmed under his watchful gaze. Truthfully, she was but she didn't have the decency or drive of compulsion to tell him that now. She knew she cared for this man deeply. She loved the way his nose would itch, and he would rub at it when he was excited about a certain rare book find or prospect within the archives. She loved the feel of his strong, sure hands in her own, confident and secure in their extent. But something seemed to be missing. A longing deep within her ached for something more. She wanted adventure, romance and excitement. Rhys was none of those.

"I don't know." She answered honestly, "I don't think so. I just need time…"

He nodded. "Okay. I respect your decision." He dropped her hands and smiled lightly.

Sarah wanted to scream at him. Why did he always act like the good guy, the hero? He always gave in, did what was best. Couldn't he be passionate? Daring? Why wouldn't he fight for her?

She growled in frustration and dug her palms into her eyes nearly bruising the sockets with the pressure. "Why do you have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Always agree with everything I say."

"I don't get it. Isn't that what you want?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." She growled again and looked at him finally, the confusion plain on his face.

"I don't get the softer sex."

She hugged her arms and sighed. "I guess I don't get myself either sometimes."

Why was she feeling like this? She was nearly thirty, she should know what she wanted out of life and have all her ducks in a row. Instead she was acting like a wishy-washy teen that didn't know which way to turn. Her thoughts turned to Him again. Why could she never get him out of her head? She was not senseless enough to think she was in love with him, it was pure seduction, that much she was sure of.

Even at fifteen when she had first seen him something deep in her belly had warmed and turned inside out at his mere presence. He exuded sex, those pants, the tall brown boots that climbed up his lean legs to narrow hips and an expanse of open, smooth chest exposed from his loose shirt. That spiked, ethereal hair, those eyes, the mercurial mismatched eyes that branded him as something unearthly, something incredibly other. Still, after all this time, he plagued her thoughts, her dreams, like a beautiful banshee, promising her dark desires that made her shiver in pleasure at the idea.

He was a narcissist after all, she nearly sneered at the notion that she should be attracted to someone like him. What is it about dark personalities that are so appealing? The Goblin King certainly has a flashier appearance than Rhys and she couldn't imagine the things he wore in the Underground on Rhys's body, it just didn't seem right. The type of clothing he wore suited him best alone, giving him a confident body language, even when in the end he had lost to her.

In the end, he had ruined her. He had ruined her for anyone else but himself.

"Shit." She swore so quietly, Rhys tilted his head to try to hear what she was saying.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. Rhys…I…"

"Don't. Just don't, Sarah. Look." He closed his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose before continuing his thought. "I know what you are."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you are broken."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. Her eyes nearly welling in tears, but she didn't let them spill over, she wouldn't. She told herself she wouldn't cry anymore, not since she smashed her mirror all those years ago. "What are you talking about?"

"I understand what you have been through with other men in the past. I know you have a dark side. I know you crave it sometimes and that I can't fulfill that part of you. I recognize that. But I would like the chance to prove I can be just as much of a good thing as you sometimes think I am and sometimes wish I wasn't. Come out with me to the fair tonight for one last date and go to your Gran's in Ireland. Take some time to yourself and think about what I've said. Mull it around your head while you drink a good glass of wine. Go to the Trinity Library in Dublin and pour over some old manuscripts." She smiled at the thought. "Have a beer in a pub and walk the Irish moors." He took her hands in his again and stroked the tops with his thumbs. "Just please give me that chance."

After a moment, she nodded.

He smiled, his eyes radiant, and kissed her cheek. "You won't regret it. I promise."

Rubbing his brows together, he stared into the cold fireplace, his gaze so intense he could have willed a fire to burst into flame before him. Fifteen years. It had been so long since he had felt her presence, not since the day she had cracked the mirror all those years ago. She had been so close that day and yet so far…

The Goblin King roared into the silence of his room and shoved away the chair he had been sitting in leaving it skidding across the room where it stopped just short of hitting the wall. A knock came at the door. It opened before he bade enter.

"Sire." The man that walked through had a crystal explode in a shower of glass next to his head. A slice of red appeared on his cheek as he pursed his lips and looked at his King in displeasure. He took out a handkerchief and wiped away the blood. "I have some new information on the Aboveground link."

Jareth snapped his head up. "Well!"

"She is weakening. You may be able to make contact soon, probably in another…" He began counting on his hand absentmindedly.

"Let me guess," Jareth sneered, "A week."

"Why….yes. How did you know?"

"Call it a hunch."

"Sire, is this really wise? After all, you already lost to her once which cost you everything. If she gets her hands on the Champion, there is no telling what she will do to her. We have no idea where the Champion is in the Aboveground, mortals' lives are so short, she could be married with children right now."

He flashed sharp teeth. "Sarah is MINE! The Aboveground link may be severed for the moment but mark my words, Aengus, Sarah is connected to me from her time in the Labyrinth. I will find her."

"Yes, sire. Of that I have no doubt." He could tell his liege was in a foul mood and now was the time to be chastising him on timing, Aengus turned on his heel and left.

Jareth moved to the window of his bedroom and looked out over his lands below. The Labyrinth stretched out before him, quiet and waiting. There was a dullness to it lately, the trees no longer sparkled, the fairies were hibernating or had moved on to the neighboring kingdom, even the bog of eternal stench didn't smell as bad as it once had. Deep in the pit of his belly he knew what it had meant, the Labyrinth had slowly been dying since the Champion had left. His own magic would only hold it at bay so long, he needed a Queen's fiery spirit to hold the heart of the Labyrinth.

Somewhere out there in the Aboveground was a girl grown into a woman now. He wondered what she looked like now, if her green eyes still shone like emeralds when she was angry, if her cheeks still blushed the instant, she became embarrassed. An ache settled deep in his loins and muscles. He wanted to take her and make her his own, yes, but he also craved to hold her close.

He sighed, his thoughts resting on the last day he had felt her so close.

"You have no power over me." Ah, how those words had stung. How true they were. He despised that fact.

He had no power over her, she had always secretly held all the power. If only she had let it go, gave in just once. If she had, she would have been his long ago. This time, yes, this time she would give in. She would give him everything. In the end, she would be his.

The last day he had felt her presence in the Aboveground was the day she had smashed the mirror. That day…It would forever be etched in his memory as his heart rent in two. He pushed it from his thoughts. It would not happen again, this time he would make her pay. She would have no hold on him or the Labyrinth.

Sarah would belong to him.

Sarah smiled as she and Rhys walked through the dirt covered paths of the fair, the smell of popcorn, dripping fat of sizzling corn dogs, and spun sugar wafted around her. A seven-year-old's dream, and it was all she could do to keep the smile from faltering on her face. Something had seemed off, ever since the elevator incident the day before. It was there, like a shadow, like a bad taste in her mouth that she couldn't rid herself of. She felt as if she was being watched by something, like something was waiting for her to make the first move. It was there, when she looked over her shoulder chasing at shadows, when she was brushing her hair in the mirror before she left for the night and something caught her eye, but missed.

Sarah jumped at the touch on her elbow and nearly squealed.

Rhys, who had gently took hold of her elbow looked at her in worry. "Are you okay?"

She nodded too quickly. "Yes, I am just nervous of the crowd." A half-lie. She had always had anxiety in crowds so it was a good excuse. Being touched and jostled from people all night should have made her indifferent to the touch of strangers brushing past, but any time Rhys had touched her tonight it was different. It sent a jolt down her spine all the way to her toes and she didn't know why. Was she imagining it? It was not a pleasant jolt either, it pricked her, like needles. She rubbed her elbow absentmindedly, which did not go unnoticed to him. She plastered on another smile, "Do you want to share an elephant ear? The smell of fried dough is making me hungry."

He nodded and pointed, "Sure, I'll go get one. Why don't you grab a table under the food tent over there for us?"

"Okay." Sarah walked off in the opposite direction, and snagged the two of them a table in the far corner of the food tent next to the Tears for Fears cover band that was playing all of the old eighties favorites from when she was a child. They were playing 'Head Over Heels' and Sarah started nodding to the rhythm and tapping her foot to the beat, getting lost in the music. She sighed, taking a deep breath in, feeling more at ease like the shadow over her had begun to lift a little.

She looked around her for Rhys but he had gone off in the direction of the food trucks and she had lost sight of him in the crowd. A bunch of young boys sat down on the other end of the table, talking in a huddle and listening to the music. Sarah tried to ignore how close they were to her, and stayed lost in the music, telling herself they were just normal fair-goers. The events of the past few days had her on edge and she was beginning to question everyone and everything. One of the boys turned and pointed behind her. "Look at that, Harry. There's a crystal ball rolling on the ground. How about that little slice?"

Sarah blinked and didn't even stop to think and look at the boy. Instead she followed his line of sight to where he was pointing and as sure as she knew it would be there, a clear, shimmering crystal was rolling along the ground away from her and into the crowd. No one but the boy and herself seemed to see it, everyone walked around it and almost stepped on it as if it were not there. She turned in her seat and ran off into the crowd after the crystal, not caring what she might find. Forgetting her earlier fear of crowds, she pushed through the throng people, which now felt as if there were twice as many as before. Her movement slowed as she was caught now and again by people's elbows and shoved by rougher ones. Her eyes nearly lost it a few times between people's legs and sweating bodies. It went under the metal carousel base and she had to jump through the line and onto the moving base. She could hear the Carnie screaming at her about paying a ticket for the ride but she had moved over the base on the other side and jumped the metal fence before he could stop her. It weaved in and out of the yard where the Fair animals were penned and through a small patch of grass past the craft vendors.

Sarah was breathing heavily now as she ran to keep up with it. She had no idea why she was following it. Part of her wanted to run as far away as she could and forget the Labyrinth and everything that happened there and part of her wanted to see everyone again. Hoggle, Sir Didymus and the others…and Him.

The crystal finally stopped in front of the door of a large dark building.

Sarah skidded to a halt and looked up at the building, slowly walking up to the door. The House of Mirrors.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Of course it is. You know Jareth, I think you need some new material. You are so predictable."

Sarah knelt and picked up the crystal in her hand, it was light and airy, much like a glass bubble. She peered into it, trying to find the visions she used to see in them when she had run the Labyrinth. There were no dresses and no ball this time. Nothing stared back at her, it was just a plain crystal. She almost doubted whether it was one of His, but she looked up again at where the crystal had stopped like a bad omen in front of the House of Mirrors, she knew there was no mistake as to who the owner was. There were no people on this side of the fair and the lights here, where there were lights were yellow and eerie and cast long, dark shadows on the ground that looked ominous. No Carnie guarded the entrance gate either. It was like a horror movie, right before the main character was hacked by the monster hidden in the shadows. Sarah slapped her face. She knew why the crystal had stopped at this particular place. The question was, did she dare to go in, to see what was in store for her. She could just walk away now and it might all be over. Somehow, she doubted it, he was not the type of person to take 'no' for an answer and lie their quietly. If she turned away now, she would always be left wondering what could have been if she had stayed.

A slight wind rustled her hair and she almost caught the scent of clean winter and spice again.

Sarah sighed, the crystal popped with the sound of tinkling glass and disappeared into the dark as she stepped up onto the front porch area of the Hall of Mirrors. She slid her hand along the rough walls of the Halls as she vanished into the dark Labyrinth of mirrors, reminding her of a past dream long ago, of running feet, of little blue worms, and sparkling trees.

Here though, there were no sparkles, only sharp jagged edges of glass in the strange shapes of different angled mirrors. Wasn't there supposed to be bright lights in places like these so you didn't bang your body into the glass? She could barely see in the dim light, making the shadows stand out all the more and the dark objects in the corner of her eyes always keeping her guessing if he were right around the corner. She made her way through the mirrored maze by feel, reaching her arms out in front of her to keep from running into her reflection. For a moment it felts like a normal Hall of Mirror Maze but Sarah knew better, the clean smell of magic was in the air.

Without a moment's notice, as if her thoughts betrayed her, the lights went out and she was completely in the pitch-black darkness. She did not scream this time, she didn't make a sound. Her breath quickened in her breast and she could feel the pulsating sensation of her heart in her ears. There was no sound, all of the noise of the fair had died, it was as if this place was in a completely different space. Then she heard a sound. So faint at first she could barely make it out. Was it bells? Tinkling? It was getting louder now and nearer. No, it was soft laughter. It started as a whisper and gradually rose in crescendo. It was not the nice kind of laughter that you hear when friends are sharing a joke, but the cruel, torturous kind when someone is basking in your pain. It was a woman's voice, it almost sounded like her own and Sarah wanted to get as far away from it as she could. She began feeling along her way in the dark, the blackness was so complete, she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. Was this some trick he was playing? Throwing her own laughter back at her? Was she laughing? Had she finally gone insane? Sarah felt her mouth in the dark with her hand, it was closed. No, it was not her. Was it in her head? She could hear it audibly all around her. It was getting so loud now she had to cover her ears. It swelled to a high pitch that is almost sounded like a scream.

"Stop it! Stop it! Jareth come out right now and face me like a man!" Sarah screamed, trying to get her voice heard above the din.

The laughing ceased. After a moment of making sure it wouldn't start again, Sarah lowered her hands from her ears.

"Jareth?"

A pinpoint of light began shining right in front of her. It was so bright at first, Sarah had to wait for her eyes to adjust to see that the light was still dim, it was slowly spreading in an outward direction, filling the room. The odd thing was the light was coming from inside the mirror. It kept spreading itself, until it went through the mirrors next to it and began scattering to the other mirrors in the room. It was not a bright light, like a flashlight pointing outward but more of a diffused light, like sunlight through the window. It allowed Sarah, to see her reflection clearly again, but this time she saw something else there with her, out of the corner of her eye was long blonde hair, it moved from mirror corner to mirror corner and she took off after it without thinking, trying to move as quickly as she could without running into glass.

"Jareth. Jareth, wait!" More than a few times she hit her face on a mirror and had to turn around, right herself and took off again when a flash of blonde caught her eye. It was always just one step ahead of her, not the full image of him, but a shadow. Just like him to play mirror tricks with her. An image of herself staring into a cracked mirror years ago flashed before her eyes and she nearly stopped short. When she looked around, she found herself surrounded in a circle of mirrors, not remembering how she had gotten to it, the very center of the mirror labyrinth. She clutched her pounding head, trying to drown out the memory of that night.

"Jareth! You coward! Come out here!"

Her shoulders were shaking. Sarah clenched her fists so tightly to keep herself from crying in humiliation that her knuckles turned white. If this was his idea of a game, he was sorely mistaken if he thought she would play along. She was not fifteen anymore. Sara was done with games.

"If you aren't going to come out, then I'm leaving. I'm done with your games." She shouted to the silence. "Do you hear me? I'm done!"

The room began to get noticeably colder and Sarah shivered, clutching her arms. The mirrors fogged over from the other side, as if a mist were collecting water droplets on the glass. Through the glass she could see tall moving shadows, and though they did not get darker or appear as a full image, it was as if she could see through them to another world. She almost wondered if it were the Labyrinth she was looking into and then thoughts of him filled her mind and she wondered if he would appear. Instead, someone else stepped forward out of the mist.

"Hoggle!" Sarah nearly squealed in delight and had to stop herself from rushing forward to the mirror and hugging him. She settled for putting her arms down at her sides.

"'Ello Sarah."

"Where have you been? I tried calling you. All of you. So many times. So many I lost count. I cracked the mirror…I thought I messed everything up. I thought I'd never see you again. But you're here now. I've missed you, Hoggle."

"I have missed you too, Sarah. Sarah…" His voiced faded out, but it was obvious as she watched him, he was still speaking like he was unaware of this fact. Sarah moved to the mirror and put her hands against the glass.

"Hoggle, I can't hear what you're saying."

"don't trust him…" His eyes were wide as his voice faded in and out like a bad tv signal. "he's coming for you…"

"Who is coming for me? Jareth? Let him come. He has no power over me." She hoped he could hear her. She was unsure if the signal was the same on her end. His image began to fade in the mirror and Sarah nearly cried out, tapping on the glass in frustration. "Hoggle, don't go! Please, don't leave me again!"

"out to get you…Sarah, beware the quicksilver gaze…"

"Hoggle, wait!"

And he was gone. Sarah screamed, her body aching for something, for someone to grab her and tell her it was going to be all right. For the world to make sense again. She screamed until her lungs burned, the mirrors cracked. She didn't care, she kept screaming, the screams were turning into a wail. The cracks spread and just as Sarah reached her pitch and couldn't scream any more they all shattered. Glass tinkled softly like crystal to the ground all around her. She looked around and the room was a lot smaller then she had first thought. There was no way she could have moved around as much as she did in such a small space, it was the size of her apartment bedroom back home. She put her hand to her forehead, now aching from screaming as the tears started to come down her cheeks for the first time in years.

Arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her in close to a warm embrace. For a moment she could smell clean winter snow and spice and then it was gone. She thought he was holding her for a moment, but another voice came through the haze.

"Sarah…Sarah, are you all right? What happened? What is all this glass? Sarah, love, what's wrong?" Rhys cuddled her face into his neck. He smelled so different, of warm sunshine and grass, and it made her sick, which made the tears come all the more. Damn you, Jareth.

Thank you everyone! Labyrinth characters do not belong to me. I promise to start updating more often. Please review!