"Jareth," Sarah hissed, "do I even want to know what you're doing here?" Thankfully she was still wearing shoes so the glass shards and pool of milk on the floor weren't bothering her, but it didn't make her feel better about the situation. On top of the annoyance and frustration, Sarah was simply embarrassed. The fact she'd let out a scream at the sight of him still caused her cheeks to burn. It wasn't her fault, she reminded herself, anyone would have been startled to turn around and see him suddenly standing there. It was his fault for being so silent about it. Jareth, for his part, looked unperturbed by the situation, facing them with a casual smirk that seemed to imply he alone was in full control of the situation.
"You already know the answer to that, pet," came Jareth's smirking reply. The familiarity of their tones and the pet name brought another growl from Edward's throat, finally reminding Sarah that he was there. Alice, too, was right behind her and Sarah was certain all the others were listening. She sighed. Somehow she had the feeling she'd be doing that a lot in the days to come.
"Bella, you know him?" Edward asked, though he never once took his eyes off of Jareth. Apparently the vampires could also sense that he was dangerous.
"Bella?" Jareth repeated, his expression legitimately quizzical to start with—something Sarah so rarely had the privilege of seeing—before devolving back into an actual grin. His gaze was settled unerringly on her, the look in his eyes saying more than any mocking words could have. "Yes, Bella," he purred, getting far more enjoyment out of her alias than she'd anticipated. "Where are your manners? I think introductions are in order." Sarah supposed this was it then, all cats were out of all bags. Now that Jareth had found her and with the Cullens on her case was well, Sarah doubted she'd be making any kind of subtle escape any time soon. Nor was it likely Jareth was going anywhere. A light throbbing started in her temple, not enough to hurt, but enough to make her regret ever getting out of bed.
"Shut it," she hissed at Jareth, glaring. Her annoyance only seemed to further his amusement, though the longer she looked the more she thought she saw something else in his gaze. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but something was different about Jareth. Sarah stared long and hard, trying to figure out what the strange feeling was, not realizing how much time was passing. It wasn't until Edward cleared his throat that Sarah remembered she and Jareth were not alone. Jareth's smirk grew more pronounced. Sarah ignored it. She stepped carefully around Edward's protective crouch, avoiding the larger shards of glass.
"Bella," Edward said, his hand suddenly on her arm, holding her in place. He was still eyeing Jareth carefully, and tensed like a compressed spring, ready to leap into action at the slightest provocation. She patted his shoulder comfortingly.
"It's okay, Edward," she said, though his grip didn't loosen. "Trust me." Finally, with great reluctance, his hand dropped from her arm and he let Sarah take one more step out. Standing between Edward and Jareth seemed, to her, to be the best way to keep the situation from devolving any more than it already had.
"This," Sarah said, gesturing behind her towards the Goblin King, "is Jareth, the… well, his name's Jareth." Sarah had enough complications with the damn play already today, she wasn't going to let it be known that the antagonist of that story was standing right there before them. The Cullens—Edward especially—would have more than enough questions already without her adding fuel to the fire. Turning her head around to glance back at Jareth, she switched her gesture to point at Edward this time. "Jareth, this is Edward."
This had to be to be a dream or, rather, a nightmare. While she'd gotten used to them, dealing with the Cullens was at times a challenge, so adding the biggest glittery pain in the neck she'd ever encountered in on top of that could only be the kind of torture thought up by her subconscious. Jareth's appearance had been bound to happen eventually, Sarah knew, but she had wanted to put it as far out of her mind as possible. She definitely had never considered he'd spring up in Edward's house of all places. Sarah could see Emmett edging in the doorway now too; backup, Sarah assumed, though even with three vampires in the room, Sarah still would have bet on Jareth.
The whole scene was too farcical to be real, but she had no clue what to say to dispel the tension in the air. With Edward and the rest of the Cullens obviously desperate to know more about Jareth and her relationship to him, and Jareth probably itching to bring up her disappearing act, Sarah realized any questions to come out of this situation were ones she didn't want to answer. Only the goblin—who was still sitting on the counter and making its way though the box of cookies—seemed safe to talk to and it had likely sold her out in the first place. It felt like she was being ambushed. Maybe this was karma, the result of trying so hard to keep things hidden that didn't want to stay that way. Or, maybe, it had all been inevitable and Sarah ought to have known better. Either way, the entire room was holding its breath for her to offer an explanation—any explanation. Sarah looked between Jareth and the Cullens.
"It's a long story," she hedged at last, relying on a cliché to buy her what little time it could. She didn't know if she was talking to Edward about Jareth or Jareth about Edward. In the end, she supposed it could have been either. Maybe it was time to admit she had too many long and complicated stories, though it was hardly her own fault. She hadn't asked for goblins and vampires in her life. Well, she hadn't asked for vampires.
"Then perhaps you ought to start, precious," Jareth said, ignoring her desperate attempts to mime at him to stop talking. "I do have a kingdom to run after all." At first Sarah had only nodded in response to this comment. It was what she usually said to him. Only when she noticed the looks of surprise on Edward and Alice's faces had she realized—while it was old news to her—Jareth had plenty of ways to shock their other companions.
"A kingdom?" asked Emmett, looking the most bewildered of them all, though the most amused and disbelieving. Sarah had the impression he found Jareth the least threatening of them all. Emmett's gaze flickered to Sarah as he waited for her to correct Jareth or explain. Meeting his gaze, Sarah was forced to shrug. What could she say? Jareth did run a kingdom, and an impressive one at that. "Wouldn't that make you a…." Emmett ran out of steam there and trailed off, but Jareth wasted no time in picking up his train of thought.
"A king?" Jareth supplied cheerfully, taking a moment to place a finger on his chin in faux contemplation as though the idea was occurring to him for the first time. "Why… yes. Yes, I believe that would." The fake surprise that littered his tone made Sarah roll her eyes and caused a palpable increase in hostility through the room. Afraid that tensions would only increase if she didn't intervene in some way, there was only one thing Sarah could think to say to guarantee a segue, but it was the last thing she wanted to.
"Jareth is the King of Goblins," she admitted with defeat. Lifting a hand to slowly run through her hair, Sarah's mind began to race for an escape: from Jareth, from Edward, from the Cullens, from everyone. While she'd been through a lot of dangerous and unpleasant situations, this one had to be the worst. Her shoulders slumped as she found herself grimly accepting her fate.
"The Goblin King?" repeated Alice with confusion. "Like in the story?" Jareth perked up at that, sending a glance Sarah's way. It was yet another thing she wished she could have stopped from being said. Pointedly not looking at Jareth, Sarah tried for an air of nonchalance. She was certain it failed, but at least she tried.
"Something like that," she mumbled under her breath, though clearly heard by everyone. Jareth looked progressively more smug the longer it went on, already knowing which book she'd let slip, though not knowing the extent of it. If he knew that they were doing a full production of the play…. His ego was inflated enough already, the last thing Sarah wanted to do was add into that. The room went deadly silent again, but this time Sarah didn't think she had it in her to be the one to break it.
"Explain." The word was cold and serious, and Sarah's gaze locked onto Edward's face. His eyes had gone dark again, swirling with the same menacing look that always made her want to cower in fear. The glare was directed at Jareth, but it was still enough to make Sarah realize she was shaking. The longer this all went on, the weaker she felt. Sarah stumbled a few steps to the kitchen island, hands shifting behind her to grab hold of the counter. She didn't trust her legs to keep her upright. The milk at her feet had soaked into her shoes, but Sarah didn't notice. She barely noticed anything other than the Goblin King, but it was hard for her to let him out of her sight, not sure what he'd do. As well as she thought she knew him, Sarah still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something deeper to him today that she'd never seen before. Jareth's eyes were locked on Sarah, only taking brief and bored excursions when they had to.
"Well," Sarah began, drawing the word out to stall for whatever time she could. No matter what she said, nothing in this conversation was going to go her way. With a deep breath, she made herself say it. "Like Alice said, the story is… a bit truer than it seems, I guess." That was putting it mildly. Even if most of the play's plot was different than her personal experiences, the setting and set up were entirely the same. As was the antagonist, unfortunately.
"How true?" Edward asked, eyes narrowing. Sarah sighed.
"He kidnapped my brother," was where she figured it was right to begin. There were no more half-truths or cagey answers. No matter how insane she sounded, Sarah knew that now was the time for the full truth. At least with Jareth here, she might be believed.
"Took him, precious," Jareth cut in, arching an eyebrow. "By your request, need I remind you?"
"I didn't mean it!" For a moment Sarah forgot about Edward and the Cullens as she stepped forward to shout back at Jareth. He'd baited her like this before—she ought to have been used to it—but indignation flashed up all the same. The Goblin King only tilted his head a little to the side as he looked at her. It infuriated her how he could—even still two years later—make her feel like an errant child with no more than a look.
"Didn't you?" came the all too calm reply. Much though Sarah wanted to argue that she hadn't wanted Toby gone, the words stuck in her throat. When she'd made the wish, they both knew that she'd meant every syllable.
"I didn't," Sarah insisted, though more petulant and childish than certain and she sunk back against the counter again. Sarah eyed the ground, starting to wish she had opened up to Edward sooner. Telling the story would always have been difficult, no matter what time, but with Jareth here to chime in and argue every little point, it was maddening.
"And then?" prompted Alice, a little hesitant.
"And then," Sarah continued, "he gave me eleven hours to solve the Labyrinth in order to get my brother back." Beyond that, Sarah didn't know what there was left to explain. She could have gone on for hours about Hoggle and Ludo, the Bog of Eternal Stench, helping hands or any of it, but that wasn't what the Cullens wanted to hear from her. Perhaps Carlisle would have been fascinated, but Edward looked poised to snap at any given moment and the way he glared at Jareth made it clear what his priorities were. Jareth was the one part of the Labyrinth that Sarah didn't want to talk about.
"Thirteen hours, pet," Jareth broke in again, as Sarah knew he would. That was the other problem in trying to tell the story with any more detail: Jareth's running commentary of corrections would cost them hours without getting anywhere. And yet Sarah allowed herself to get sucked into the argument anyway, despite knowing better.
"You took two of them away," she retorted, shaking her head at him. "Just before you set the cleaners after me." Another glare was leveled at him, but Jareth showed not the least bit of remorse for either of his actions, even shrugging it away like it was no big deal.
"You did say that the Labyrinth was too easy. It's no fun if it's easy," stated Jareth casually, shifting his body to an even more relaxed position.
"You still owe me two hours." As Sarah said that, Edward's attention finally shifted to her as he allowed Jareth out of his sight. Only after a little more squabbling did Sarah notice Edward's eyes on her. She met his gaze. "What?"
"Nothing," he said, though she could see wheels in his head churning away at something. After searching his face to see if he'd give anything more away—though he did not—Sarah turned back to the room at large, knowing the story had to be finished. Preferably as quickly and succinctly as possible.
"He gave me eleven hours, and I won," was what she settled on, considering that case closed. Of course there would still be questions and plenty more details would have to be brought to light, but as tired as she was, wasn't that enough for today?
"This is ridiculous," broke in Rosalie, derision lacing her tone. Sarah hadn't even noticed her joining Emmett in the doorway of the kitchen. Her tone implied she'd been holding back for some time and couldn't keep it in any more. "Goblin King? Goblins don't exist." Sarah found herself rolling her eyes at that comment. Even before the Labyrinth Sarah had never had that kind of dismissive certainty; she couldn't imagine how Rosalie could still sound sure now.
"But vampires do?" asked Jareth, following Sarah's own thoughts. She didn't wonder how he knew about vampires, Jareth was bound to know more about the mystical world than she did. In fact, if he wasn't such a pain, Sarah imagined that she would have been delighted to sit down with him and learn all there was to know about magic and magical creatures. Had she ever suggested it, however, Sarah knew it would be a one-way ticket back to the Labyrinth. Even as more vampires appeared in the kitchen, Jareth never once looked worried. The atmosphere was hostile, but he held the kind of confidence that made him seem like the most powerful one in the room. Sarah wasn't sure if she hoped that was true or not.
"That's a goblin," Sarah explained dully, gesturing to the counter where it was picking out the last few cookie crumbs from the box. Having attention suddenly turned on it did not seem to please the goblin, but it no longer looked frightened. With Jareth as backup, Sarah supposed, there was little to fear. With him as an enemy, however….
"Cute?" she heard Edward mumble to himself, causing her to turn her attention from the small creature to the man beside her. Sarah raised an eyebrow, not sure what he meant until she remembered her errant words of less than an hour ago. Had it really only been an hour? If one hour could exhaust her this much, would it even be possible to last a week? A month? A year? What about the rest of her life?
A sudden and chilling thought crossed Sarah's mind: of the three of them, who was going to back down first? Edward, as she'd noted a few times, had not only a keen memory but a stubborn patience that never wavered. What were a few decades of struggle in the life of an immortal? And Sarah knew very well that Jareth did not give in until the very end. Suddenly Sarah found herself facing a picture of the rest of her life in the exact same awkward situation she was in now. Even if she was to run away again, with her luck she'd only pick up another magical companion—perhaps werewolves.
Lost as she was in thought, Sarah hadn't realized she shivered until she felt a hand coming to rest comforting on her shoulder. Edward's eyes were filled with concern at her discomfort, though Sarah doubted he knew he was part of the cause. It wasn't as though he could read her mind. It was then that Sarah remembered the conversation from earlier in the day and an unwelcome thought occurred to her. Could Edward read Jareth's mind? Sarah didn't know which answer would be better. Her eyes flickered between the two of them.
"What is it?" Edward asked her. Sarah shook her head.
"Nothing." Edward didn't look convinced. "It's really nothing." Jareth raised a thoughtful hand to his chin as he let out a contemplative hum.
"Interesting," he said. Edward's eyes flashed back to Jareth, darkening again. Over his intense gaze, Edward's brow furrowed in concentration. Jareth's smirk grew more pronounced.
"I meant to say this before, but I would give it up before you injure yourself." Jareth's comment was addressed to the very frustrated Edward.
"Give what up?" Edward demanded. Jareth let out a long-suffering sigh as though dealing with a simpleton. It only aggravated the situation further, but Sarah imagined that was the point.
"Whatever mind trick you are attempting," remarked Jareth as though it was obvious. Edward started and an uneasy haze settled over the room. As always, Sarah didn't wonder how Jareth had known. Her gaze shot over to him and she shook her head, hoping to make him stop.
"Why should I?" There was a kind of petulance to Edward's question that had Sarah's lips twitching at the corners. At least it wasn't just her that felt like a bratty child in the face of Jareth. He was something none of the Cullens had ever encountered before; Edward couldn't handle him.
"It won't work." Having been waiting for something more complicated or cryptic, Sarah wanted to laugh at the simple answer. Though, just as quickly, she realized simple comments could have complicated connotations.
"Why not?" Edward spat out, tone awash with hostility. A careless shrug was Jareth's response.
"Try," he said flippantly. A crease appeared in Edward's brow as he redoubled his efforts, but the frustration on his face proved that Jareth was telling the truth. After letting Edward struggle for a bit, Jareth broke out into light, mocking chuckles. "You can think of it as a fae privilege of sorts." Sarah, who had been expecting more mocking, perked up at an actual explanation.
"And," Jareth continued, "as the Labyrinth is a fae construct, the same privilege is awarded to its citizens." Edward immediately turned his efforts toward the goblin who jumped at the ferocity of the gaze, cowering on the counter behind Jareth. It was right about then that a worrying thought began to dawn on Sarah. If she had been paying more attention, she might have scolded Edward for frightening the little goblin, but her mind was cluttered up with other matters. She looked up at Jareth who caught her eye and smirked ever more deviously. Though knowing it was a bad decision, she had to get an answer.
"Why can't Edward read my mind?" she asked Jareth. The expression the question invoked from him was interesting. There was something genuine and unguarded in his face, but the expression wavered between triumph and… something else. It looked a little like their last encounter before she'd left the Labyrinth: his smug superiority stripped away and replaced with something desperate. But it wasn't long before he settled back into his same smirk, annoyingly pleased with himself. The twinkling in Jareth's eyes proved the fear she had already been holding. Jareth's answer would be something that neither she nor Edward wanted to hear.
"Because of your position, of course." It was a less disturbing and more ambiguous answer than she'd been expecting, thankfully. Still, she could see in Jareth's eyes that he was goading her, trying to get her to ask the next question. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. And, she didn't have to. Sarah wasn't the only one who thought of the next question, she just knew better than to ask it.
"What position?" No matter how tightly she squeezed his arm, nothing could have stopped Edward from asking. Jareth's grin spread wide across his face. Clearly he'd only given his ambiguous answer for the pleasure of drawing the matter out. Instantly Sarah let go of Edward's arm, overwhelmed with the desire to bury her face in her hands and pretend she couldn't hear a thing. Maybe if she dug her head deep enough in the sand it would all be okay.
"Why, the future Queen of Goblins, of course," Jareth said smugly. Sarah had the feeling he'd been waiting to drop that bombshell from the moment he'd arrived and her only response had been a long-suffering sigh. She turned to Edward with the intention of explaining, but he was gone before she'd opened her mouth.
It all happened in a flash, much too fast for Sarah's eyes. One second Edward had been standing at her side and the next he'd slammed into the kitchen counter in an explosion of wood and marble. The goblin cried out as it was flung across the room by the force of the impact. Edward's body had lost none of its tension as she watched his hands ball into tight fists. And Jareth… Jareth was nowhere to be seen. Sarah's head turned on a swivel and she could see Emmett doing the same. Whatever Jareth had done, magic was certainly involved and the kind the Cullens hadn't ever seen.
Slowly Sarah peeled herself from where she'd been clutching at the counter and took a small step towards Edward. His head snapped towards her, making Sarah flinch, but she was worried about him. She went to take another step when a firm hand on her shoulder kept her in place. Sarah turned to see Alice shaking her head. Edward's anger radiated off of him in waves, Sarah understood that it was best to stay away. She retreated back to her spot by the kitchen island.
"Ignore him," Sarah said hesitantly. "He just wants to make you angry." Of that, Sarah was sure, though she neglected to mention this was not the first time the topic had come up. It was nearing the seven hundredth. "You don't have to listen to him." Sarah couldn't tell if her words were working, though she thought she saw Edward's fists begin to relax. Or, at least, she hoped.
"Abominably rude," came Jareth's voice directly behind Sarah and setting her eyes rolling. She turned to face him. From the corner of her eye, Sarah saw Edward's expression and felt goosebumps crawl down her skin. She wanted to flee, but she also wondered if her proximity to Jareth was the only thing keeping Edward from attacking again.
"Jareth," Sarah said coolly. It was a warning, realizing with a small trill of fear that she didn't know for certain who would win if it came down to a fight. Jareth might know about vampires, but did he know how much they were capable of? Jareth met her gaze and glanced over to Edward and then to the other vampires who were watching the scene just as closely. As he turned back toward Sarah, she thought she saw something strange in his eyes again. Before she could say anything more, it was gone.
"Your kingdom is great indeed," said Jareth, a note of flippantness in his voice. Again the words floated up to Sarah's mind, but she hesitated. Just like in the meadow, she found something embarrassing about saying the words in front of an audience. There was something… intimate about them. To say them now felt wrong. But, they had to be said.
"You have no power over me." Yet, even as Sarah said it, she could feel that it was her own words lacking power. They'd come out bland and dry; no conviction.
"Are you so sure about that?" Jareth whispered, voice quiet and dangerous, and the smirk that accompanied it even more so. Sarah swallowed. This was why she'd run: this dangerous feeling of helplessness. He had power over her, much more than she liked to admit. Instead, she changed the subject.
"Don't you have a kingdom to worry about?" she asked, trying to be as dismissive as possible. Not for a second did Sarah believe it would work, but it always made her feel better to try. Sometimes it was enough to believe she was going forward, regardless of the outcome.
"As much as I would love to stay and chat, I do." Despite her expectation—which was so often the case with Jareth—he agreed. Her thoughts must have been clear on her face, but Sarah was too dumbstruck to do anything about that now.
"But," he continued, "before I go…." With a flourish, he spawned one of his favored crystal balls, turning it mesmerizingly in his hand. Sarah heard Edward's growl, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the crystal's movement. She was scared—she'd seen their power many times—but she was also spellbound. Jareth's eyes were focused on her and her alone as he finally caught the crystal firmly and tossed it to Sarah. In her confusion, she only barely caught it, holding it like it might explode at any moment. "A gift." Sarah was torn between watching the crystal and looking up at him. Jareth chuckled.
"W-what is it?" It was a great regret to Sarah that she couldn't keep the tremor out of her voice.
"It's a crystal, nothing more. But, if you turn it this way…."
"It will show me my dreams?" Sarah supplied, remembering their first encounter with clarity. The fact that she could quote him brought an almost genuine looking smile to Jareth's face, but it was gone just as quickly.
"Or, perhaps, the things you've forgotten to dream about," he responded, cryptic as ever. And then, with another crystal and a large puff of glitter, Jareth was gone.
"Show off," Sarah muttered to herself as she watched the exorbitant amount of glitter sink onto the kitchen floor. Today she'd stood face to face with her greatest antagonist and the person she'd been running from and it had mostly turned out okay. Even if she didn't notice at the time, Edward and the other Cullens certainly did: Sarah looked at the spot where Jareth had been, and smiled.