A Simple Wish

Chapter 2: Everything I've Done, I've Done For You

Sam flipped on her light so she could see where the pencils had fallen. As she put the last one back into the purple jar, she started at a sudden crack of thunder.
**It was supposed to be a sunny, clear weekend,** she thought, and then shrugged it off, **the weather men strike again.**
She got up from her metal chair and shuffled along her rug to shut the back door as small drops of rain began to patter on the ground outside and on the roof. She stepped carefully over a half-finished jigsaw puzzle of King Arthur's Castle when the electricity snapped off. Not expecting this sudden darkness, her left foot landed in the center of the puzzle, scattering cardboard pieces all over the rug.
"Oh no!" she growled under her breath, "What else could go wrong." Sam bent down to pick up the stray pieces that had stuck themselves like burrs to her cotton socks. The rain began to fall harder and her bedroom was lit up brightly by flashes of white light. After pushing what she could see of the puzzle into a small pile, she inched forward, hands slightly outstretched, and shoved the door closed with a bang. Wiping her hands together and feeling as though she had finally accomplished something, she quipped, "That's the most excitement I'll have all week."
"Oh, come now, I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Sam's entire body tensed at the sound of a familiar voice from behind her. She had been alone in the room before the lights had gone out...right? Breathing rapidly, she moved not a muscle and in a less than convincing way told herself she was daydreaming again.
"Well? Is this always how you greet your guests? I took time out of my busy schedule for your wishes, Samantha," the voice said in a thick British accent.
Sam brought both hands up to her face quickly and cupped them over her mouth to hold back a scream.
**It's him....oh Gods, it's really him...and he knows my name. This has to be a dream. It's not real. Oh, please. This goes against everything realistic.** Summoning up all the courage she had, Sam turned slowly around keeping her eyes tightly shut. When she opened them and released the breath she has been holding, it was no longer as dark as before and there he stood, The Goblin King.
Pictures, in no way, did him justice.
He stood there, majestic and frightening, gloved hands on his hips and the full moon blazing behind him. The storm seemed to have calmed with his arrival. Perhaps, Sam wondered, he was the storm. His black cape and stray pieces of silk fabric ruffled in the breeze, as did his wild, blondish hair. He wore a feather-like shirt, low cut to reveal a necklace with some sort of strange amulet. Tall, black boots extended over his light blue tights. Glitter flitted about the air surrounding him and the tinted blueness of his hair set off those piercing eyes of different colors. The corners of his mouth curled up in wry amusement as he watched Sam stare in disbelief. In fact, Sam had never been more afraid in her life, yet she could not help thinking how gorgeous he was.....and he looked very similar to what he was portrayed as being, yet much more striking.
Jareth took a step toward her and crossed his arms at his chest. Raising an eyebrow slightly, he waited. Sam blushed beneath his stare and tried to think of something clever to say, feeling the need to make a good impression.
"You're real," she stammered, not exactly the clever quip of wit she had hoped for. Jareth laughed softly.
"Of course I'm real. You would not have called upon me if you did not believe it so." Sam picked up a hint of sarcasm in that statement.
"No, I'm not sure if I really believed or not. I just wanted to believe....I never thought it would come true," she admitted.
"Yes, well, it is essentially the same idea," he stopped as Sam's expression changed and asked somewhat curiously, "is there something troubling you Samantha?"
Sam's brow had shifted inward as that old question that she had thought of earlier popped back into her head.
"No, I mean yes...well...how is it that you look exactly like him," she pointed to the poster of David Bowie, "but you're not him. And how did the people here know about you to make the film?"
"Ahhhh," Jareth said with a smile, "curious, are we? My dear girl, everyone has a twin in another world; another realm. It just so happens that mine and his paths crossed in some way. I sent the humans of your world dreams and glimpses of the Underground in order that more would know of it. Things were....to be blunt...getting slow and my supply of goblin subjects was waning." He pulled out a crystal from his cloak and began weaving it through his fingers as he continued. Sam could not help but follow the gleam with her eyes. "And, my plan has worked. Many younger, as well as elder, siblings were sent to me, and few chose to take the chance to retrieve them from my castle. The ones who did, of course, failed. It's not very often I get someone wishing themselves into the Labyrinth. However, back to the main question. I had no intention of having my "twin" play the part. That was mere coincidence. Does that sufficiently answer your question Samantha?"
**There is something creepy about someone constantly using your name,** Sam thought, then said aloud, "That's certainly a lot to think about, but yes, I suppose it does."
"Good, then we can get right to the point at hand," Jareth said as if it were a business deal. "You asked, or begged rather, to be taken away from this world and into mine. I have an obligation as King to do so for you, therefore Samantha, you belong to me according to my rules."
Sam's eyes shot open and she momentarily forgot her awe and fear. "What!?" she exclaimed, "but you're not supposed to be real. I didn't know!"
"Well, you should have considered that before then shouldn't you?" he grinned.
"But I can't leave. I have responsibilities here...family...college...I couldn't go even if I wanted to," she stated.
"As you know, what's said, is said. Maybe now you realize you didn't have it so bad here," he said as he placed the crystal back beneath the folds of his garments.
"How is it that you never came before. I've called hundreds of times. You must have heard then if you did tonight," Sam inquired.
Jareth's grin spread as he answered, "Yes, I seem to recall hearing you before, on many occasions in fact," he stepped closer, only inches away from her now, "but I was tied up at the time and decided to save you for another time....when you could prove beneficial to me. I've been watching you for a long while, Samantha. Your reality is slipping slowly away and I plan to erase it completely to suit my present needs."
Sam began to shake her head in disagreement. His voice was chilling and his vague plans for her made her hair stand on end. What could he possibly want with her? Not another goblin....he must have plenty of those by now. Maybe he was in some sort of trouble.
"I won't go...that's not fair. You can't save those calls until you're ready. If you follow your own rules like you say you do, and they absolutely can not be broken, then you would have answered me the first time," she argued.
Jareth began to lose his patience with all this stalling and took Sam's chin securely in his gloved hand.
"I," he said warningly, his eyes blazing with blue fire, "am The Goblin King. I can do as I please, when I please. I say when the rules are to be broken. I have come to you when you called and have done you a favor, whether you still want it or not. Now, you owe me and my price will be high. A word of caution: Be careful what you wish for, Samantha, you must may receive it. Now," he said more calmly, enjoying the frightened look within her dark eyes, "are you going to make this hard on yourself? Obey me Samantha, and you can have everything you want. Defy me, and discover how cruel I can become. The representation of me is nothing compared to the real thing."
Sam was trembling beyond belief at his words and the feel of his breath and power so close to her being. For a moment however, she thought she saw in his eyes, a flash of doubt at his statement. But in her present condition, she couldn't be sure.
In a way, Sam really did want to see the Labyrinth and if she was forced to go anyway, why not humor him for the time being. She just had to make sure she received the same chance to come back as Sarah had. If she lost the game, the price could not be worse than her present situation. Either way, she was doomed to stay Underground. Putting on a face of bravado, which wasn't entirely false, she said to the King, "I wish to ask something of you again....and I'm willing to pay the price."
Jareth concealed his surprise at her request and change in demeanor. Maybe he had underestimated her. "Go on, but remember the price increases each time," he warned.
"I understand," Sam said, "I want a chance to win back my freedom, like Sarah was given."
Jareth grinned again, teeth and eyes sparkling. "Yes, I thought as much. You're in luck," he said more cheerfully, his eyes still hiding something from view, "I do love a good challenge and you strike me as being an admirable adversary. I will, as you seem to be so used to, give you 13 hours to solve my Labyrinth and reach the outside...starting at my castle. Mind you," he raised his finger to her, "things are not as tame there as you may be used to seeing. And, mere words will NOT defeat me. You cannot win, but you may have a "fair" chance to try--" Sam interrupted, "You're idea of fair I suppose."
"Yes," he smiled and continued, "don't use what you know of a fictitious movie to guide you through. That would be your first mistake. Second, don't underestimate me. I will stop at nothing to win. I try to be reasonable, however." His eyes took on a sarcastically compassionate air. "I had so hoped you would allow me to rule you." Sam laughed quietly, which surprised herself. Was she enjoying this adventure? Well, after all, it was what she had asked for all these years.
"Why would you tell me these things, to be careful and so forth. It can only help me solve the Labyrinth," she asked suspiciously.
"Every thing I do, I do for a well thought out reason, Samantha. When someone is paranoid of their surroundings, especially when it's a new and confusing place, I gain the advantage. They miss things they may have seen before for the simple fact it was looked at too hard. Think of it as a trap set in your subconscious. You must decide, Samantha, whether to heed my advice or disregard it. You may never know my true intents."
Sam stood before him, trying to let all of this new information sink in. These facts had to be locked away for future use. She couldn't be sure, but Sam believed everything Jareth said was going to be important in some way.
"Shall we go, Samantha? I'd hate to waste anymore time with talk," The Goblin King asked.
"Yes, I don't have much of a choice do I, since you seem to be making all those for me. Let me warn you," Sam said, suddenly feeling brave, "I won't make things easy for you. I won't obey every command you give me. After all, what have I got to lose."
Jareth stared into her eyes, knowing her words to be true. "That will make it all the more interesting, now won't it," he smiled graciously at her, "and when we arrive at the castle, you just may change your mind at that." He pulled the same crystal as before from his robes and tossed it in the air toward Sam. On impulse, she reached up to catch it and it popped like a bubble, spilling glitter all about her face. The last thing she remembered was falling into Jareth's strong arms and hearing his soft laughter.