Hey! Thanks for all the great reviews; they really
galvanized me to write again. Ha! You have not seen the
last of me! Need I say I do not own the Labyrinth? Then I
shall, for I don't. I know it's not the prettiest thing, but I
can't figure out how to make my story look normal, so
you'll all have to deal! Hope you like it…
" I have lost? Lost what? Myself? Himself?!" Sarah
muttered as she paced back and forth in her room. Jareth's
words still echoed in her head, though the party was over.
He had said she had lost? Lost what? The question's
repeated in her mind, over and over, never coming to an
end. Surely she had beaten the labyrinth, what has she lost
at?
Surely not herself, right? After the Labyrinth her
popularity had skyrocketed, leaving her happier than ever?
How could she have lost?
Jareth watched her fretful pacing, and smiled to
himself at the predicament He had put her in. She would
never be happy not knowing, she was far too stubborn for
that. She would need him to fill in the answers, to help her
complete the puzzle he had left her with. She would have to
know about her power, meager as it was compared to his.
He lounged gracefully across the dark stone throne, and
though seemingly informal, in any shape, the King of
goblins wore power like a cloak. But was he ready to
encounter Sarah's anger again? Perhaps, Perhaps he was.
Sarah was going over traits she had before the
Labyrinth and after words, sifting through the time of sand
to find a clue, a hint, anything. Reaching the end of her
pacing space, Sarah turned, and walked straight into the
Goblin King. She stood there, frozen for a moment by the
feeling of power that came being so close to him, but
quickly snapped out of it. He stared at her expectantly.
"So?" He said finally, after a few tense moments of
glaring at her.
" So what?" Sarah murmured, almost too quiet to hear.
" Not like you to be shy, stick with your strengths,
Sarah." He observed. Realizing the silence was filling the
void between them again, he sighed, "You wish to know of
your powers."
This was an obvious statement, not like the mocking
questions Sarah had grown so accustom to. His assuredness
unnerved her. "Yes, but what have I…"
"Good then," Jareth interrupted, seemingly oblivious
to the latter half of her comment. "You have, since your
sixteenth birthday, gained the power to alter time and space
on your own, and enter the Labyrinth. Once within, you'll
have unlimited access to every nook and cranny there." He
paused, watching her expressions closely. "To venture to
the Underground, all you need to do is think of any part of
your memories there."
"Then I have to kiss you, and you'll turn into a frog."
Sarah laughed sarcastically, not that she was, totally against
the idea.
Jareth continued, ignoring her unlikely remark, "Then
you look into this." He produced another flawless crystal
from his endless batch of supplies. "And say, I wish I was
in the Labyrinth."
Sarah's eyes shot daggers. "Not funny, O kingly one.
If you have nothing to say, other than this practical joke,"
She spit out the word." Then I again must insist that you,
perhaps, should leave."
Jareth shrugged and bowed, looking at her the whole
time, "Then you shall always be the one to lose." And with
that, he disappeared with a flutter of feathers.
"Hey! Wait, what about my question." But it was too
late. Sarah knew he was gone.
She sank to the floor, again feeling the tears in her
eyes. "Now I'll never solve his damn riddle!" She felt the
stress boiling up again. It was all she could do to not
scream, and flip out on her family. It wasn't their fault,
though. If only she had another way to talk to Jareth. She
wasn't about to give him the pleasure of seeing her stoop to
performing the mindless nonsense, 'her powers'.
The days dripped by, leaving Sarah a senseless,
unperceiving zombie. Answering the riddle took up most of
her free time. Her friends, even those who remembered the
party and steered clear of her wrath inquired about her
health. Karen, usually cheerfully ignoring Sarah asked if
she wanted to see a doctor. Sarah knew she either had to
find an answer to the riddle, or live forever like an obsessed
hobbit.
Finally, after tortuous hours of pondering, Sarah
decided she might as well try Jareth's 'powers' then.
Nothing to lose but her pride in trying, but her sanity if she
didn't. All she needed was a crystal. Jareth hadn't left his,
but she did have a store bought one her father had given her
for Yule. She went to her vanity to search for it, but instead
she saw the King's gift. It was perfect, as usual, and resting
in a jewel-encrusted holder. It even came with an elaborate
tag on which was written in calligrapher's letters "To:
Sarah, Form: Your beloved Goblin King." Beloved? What
had he meant by that? The jewels, too, Jareth was surely
rolling out the red carpet for her.
She decided he was simply fueling her anger, so she
began the spell. She held up the crystal, as Hamlet had the
skull, gazing into her vanity mirror. "O Jareth, we knew
him well…" her acting classes getting the best of her. She
went on more seriously; "I wish I could be in the Labyrinth,
Right Now!" She added just for good measure. The world
danced, her room twirling around and around. Then
everything went black.
Knowing Jareth, Sarah was not surprised to wake up
in the Crystal Ballroom. The dancers masqueraded again,
ever more beautiful than the last, yet unattractive all the
same. Only this time they didn't sneer at her and stare, they
simply ignored her altogether. She found herself dressed
not in her pristine dress from the months before, but in her
street cloths she had on Aboveground.
She looked around her, trying to find that familiar
glimpse of he who had so confused her. She also tangled
through the dancers, searching for the way out. Suddenly,
she was confronted with a sight that took her breath away.
It was not the king that haunted her, but it was herself, as
she had stood less than a year ago. She thought about
interfering, telling Younger Sarah the way to escape, but
was afraid to shout out in this faceless crowd. Young Sarah
passed through the grotesque masqueraders, fear ever
present on her face.
Sarah could sense her past fears stirring up at this
unheard reunion. Why had Jareth brought her here again, to
this painful and frightening place? Why was she here?!
"To relive it, Sarah. The one thing you never have,
never wondered about. The answer lies here." A voice said,
shudderingly close to her ear. Her skin tingled at Jareth's
breath on her face. She whipped around to face him, as
much unnerved as unhappy. But her anger melted away
when she saw the unmasked look on his face. The anger,
and mocking sarcasm was gone, and the Goblin King, of all
things looked sad. Lonely even.
"Jareth…" Sarah began, cursing herself for feeling
pity for he who had caused her so much pain. She couldn't
allow herself to feel sorry for him. She brought the strength
back into her voice, "Jareth, Why have you brought me
here?"
"You said you wanted to know what you have lost.
How you had lost. Watch now, then." He said simply,
gesturing to the younger pair of themselves, now dancing
warmly in each other's arms. Sarah was caught up in a rush
of withheld memories.
Oh, she had wanted to remember, but she couldn't.
She couldn't show weakness to Jareth, who had so closely
defeated her. Now Sarah found the strength to watch, she
couldn't have looked away. So she watched the younger
Sarah, who stood transfixed by the gaze of the past Goblin
King. Strains of the familiar tune drifted to her ears,
reinforcing this mix of memory and reality.
The feelings came back to her last. She remembered
the fear, and confusion, and a warm feeling of longing
warming her towards him. Longing? No, she must be
mistaken; it must've been the spell of the peach. She knew,
though, it was true. The king, so powerful and dark, was
this what she had lost?
Jareth watched her in fascination. He knew she
had been hiding something, perhaps even from herself. This
had been his riddle to solve. Now was the time to make the
final move to solving his half.
Sarah was startled at the hand on her shoulder.
The glove felt warm through her, as if warming her soul
itself. She turned towards Jareth, turning away from the
other couple. She was again startled as Jareth pulled her
close to him, and they began dancing. A cry of protest
escaped her lips, but was ignored as Jareth tightened his
grasp on her was, drawing her closer to his warm body.
They swayed, vaguely in time to the music, staring
again into each other's eyes. They world was lost to the, as
they both sought out answers. If they could not find them
there, tonight, they knew the answers would never come.
"What have I lsot, Jareth," Asked Sarah, dreamily
remember her purpose for being there. The song was
drawing to a close.
Jareth closed his eyes and sighed, wanted to remain
forever with unspoken words. "Sarah, what did you want
before Labyrinth, your dreams, you hopes for the rest of
life."
Sarah's brow furrowed as she pondered this, "Well, to
become a fairy tale queen, I suppose…"Her voice drifted
off, and her eyes starred at something far away, something
lost. She had wanted to be a queen, but after her adventure,
she wanted more mundane things, never wanting to be
original, or special.
How had she become so engulfed in friends, and boys,
and being cool? She had completely been ignoring
everything that she had wanted before, and all the magic
seeped out of her life. She had gone from vivid to dull on
either side of those thirteen hours. Her currant life was like
nothing but an oubliette in and of itself.
This epiphany shocked Sarah so; she began to weep
for one of the many times that week. Jareth pulled her
close, shielding her from the cruel eyes of the dancers. She
ignored the tears felt wetting his shirt.
So it was true. Jareth had been right in what he had
said. He had saved her from becoming the dull, ignorant
mortal he had helped her to become, just as she had saved
him from letting his pride override his good judgement, less
than a turn ago. A favor repaid, but something left undone.
"Jareth?" His shirt muffled Sarah's voice. "Can I stay
here with you?"
Jareth's eyes went wide, and he all but pushed her
away to see if this was some kind of trick. Surely she did
not feel the same, was not willing to spend her life with
him who loved her so deeply. She had managed to shock
him, something not done since she had beat his Labyrinth.
How shocking this girl was, this woman who now cried at
his chest.
"Yes, Sarah. The Labyrinth is as much yours as mine,
since you have once defeated me." He said softly into her
dark hair. His feelings finally showing, he felt sincere relief
at shedding once and forever the cruel mocking mask he
had so often shown her.
Sarah took a deep breath, tickling his chest at the
flapping of his shirt. "What about my family." She said at
last.
"You have the power to see them, pr have you
forgotten that already?" Jareth's sarcasm was warm and
happy now, and it brought a feeling of sincere love to all
that heard it. He chuckled softly to his new Queen.
Sarah looked at him, laughter I her tear free eyes, at
this abrupt change of events. She had finally fond what she
had lost. She had the feeling that a compromise was in the
future. Sarah marveled at the look of contentedness and
longing in the Goblin King's eyes as he leaned forward and
softly pressed his lips to her own.