A/N: Alright, I know the fae
court descriptions probably got a little carried away, but I got really
involved. Sorry!
Disclaimer: Hey, we all know I
don't own Labyrinth, so I might as well make this space useful and say that
yes, I do own the fae court and Elysian Palace, not that anyone else would want
them, but I am rather attached to them J
For You
Part Twelve
"Brian. No, Brian…"
"Sarah? Sarah,
wake up love." Sarah tried to ignore
Jareth's voice, tried to keep her eyes closed and her mind focused on her
dreams, but the way he was moving his hands across her was making it a little
difficult to fall back to sleep.
"Mmmm?" Sarah mumbled,
stretching lazily, her hands quickly being captured by Jareth's ungloved ones. She looked up to find his face not too far
from hers, with a familiar smirk creeping across it.
"Sleep well?"
Jareth asked. That wasn't
actually the question he wanted to ask.
What he wanted to ask was something along the lines of 'who the hell is
Brian and why are you talking about him in your sleep?' but somehow he thought
this wasn't quite the right time for such interrogation.
"We've
almost reached the Elysian Palace."
When Sarah gave him a blank look, he added, "That's my mother and
father's castle. It's the center of the
entire Underground. For the first few
days we're here, mostly likely will be spending our time with social nonsense. You have to understand, most of the
"respectable" fae would rather dance and gossip then actually do anything. Then there will be a meeting of sorts, while
my father and the rest of his council decide whether or not to spare some of
their valuable time to give us unsolicited help."
"I take it
you're not to thrilled to be here."
Sarah said seriously.
"Sarah, I
–" It was a good thing for Jareth that
the carriage stopped at that moment, and the door was swung open by an Elvin
footman, for he had absolutely no idea how to avoid the truth without lying to
her.
"Milord." Stated the footman, extending one elongated hand to assist Jareth
out of the carriage, who shortly after turned around and placed his hands
around Sarah's waist and lifted her out, spinning her in a few tiny circles
before setting her down on the ground.
Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that he was showing off for
someone. No matter. If it keeps him romantic, then what do I…
Oh my lord! What is this place?
Sarah
looked around her, stunned. "Deja
vou." She whispered under her
breath. The fae court reminded her
extremely of her dream ball with Jareth.
Everything had an ethereal, silvery glow; even the air seemed to
shimmer. Shinning, metallically tinted
flowers and trees flourished everywhere, quite unlike the near dead condition
of the Labyrinth plant life. All sorts
of creatures dawdled across the grounds, most prominent being the elegantly
dressed fae. Though none of them wore
masks, Sarah still felt like she was being stared at, surrounded by all these
strangers.
Towering above it all was the Elysian
Palace. Seemingly spun of glass, Sarah
guessed that Jareth's crystals were something of a family tradition. Glittering more than any other building,
Sarah could see huge, sweeping balconies and winding towers, all of which were
very brightly lit.
"Why -
?" Sarah started to ask, but the
question died on her lips as she suddenly noticed the look in Jareth's eyes as
he took her arm and started leading her up the grand stairs that stood before
the palace. It was a look of regret.
***
Jareth
tried to ignore the stares. He tried to
ignore the gasps, and the general confusion that ensued because of his return
after more than a few centuries. He
focused his every thought on Sarah, on how he must save his kingdom first,
savagely murder everyone who had ever hurt her (and it seemed like the list was
growing every day) second, and thirdly, well, there was a little white box in
his coat pocket, that was waiting for just the right moment…
"Is that Prince Jareth?"
"Could he
really be back?"
"Who's
that girl that's with him?"
"Could she
be - ?"
It had
been a long time since Jareth had last heard himself referred to as
"Prince." For ages he had only been
King, King of the Goblins. The title
bit at him, reminding him of the way his life used to be, and of the future he
was supposed to have. He looked down at
Sarah, her eyes wide, most likely trying to take in all the sights and sounds
that were battering her senses at once.
The fae court was something of an overwhelming place to a newcomer,
Jareth supposed.
"Are you
all right?" He asked, and Sarah jumped,
suddenly remembering he was there.
"This
place, it's positively breathtaking."
Sarah breathed softly.
"That is
the opinion of most creatures here."
Jareth said off-handedly.
"And
you?" Sarah asked, giving him a
piercing look.
"Sarah,
trust me when I say, you don't want to know."
"I do so
want to know. That's why I'm
asking." Sarah stopped walking and
stood at the top of the stairs, just before the huge sweeping doorway that lead
to the palace.
"Is that
you, Jareth?" Demanded a high, female
voice.
"Kira." Jareth spat, saying her name as if it were a curse. Sarah turned, and was faced with who she
supposed was Kira. A tall and thin fae,
she wore a highly ornamental dress of deep, velvety maroon. Her strawberry blonde hair was cut short, and
the mass of ringlets shined beautifully in the setting sun.
"Your
mother sent me to welcome you. She did
not mention your guest." She said,
smiling and batting her eyes.
"I'll bet
she didn't." Jareth growled. He did not look nearly as pleased to see
Kira as Kira did to see him.
"This way,
please." Kira beckoned. Jareth pointedly took Sarah's arm up in his,
and Kira frowned at this, but quickly regained her composure and began chatting
amicably on how excited the kingdom was on account of his return.
***
They
walked through a grand entrance hall, with sparkling chandeliers and entrancing
tapestries depicting weddings and battles.
Kira walked ahead of them, into what Jareth said was the dining hall, to
announce their arrival.
Sarah
tightly gripped Jareth's warm, smooth hand.
She was more than a little nervous, anticipating stares and whispers
similar to what had followed them outside the palace. Anxiously, she smoothed the folds in her soft yellow silk dress
and tucked a few loose tendrils behind her ear. This made Jareth smile; he thanked the gods that he was not going
through this alone.
The doors
to the dining hall swung open, and Sarah was met with the curious stares of
fifty some members of the fae court.
Most likely she would have stood there gawking all day if Jareth had not
gently pulled her to the two empty seats at the High Table. Jareth sat on her left, next to the fae she
recognized as King Dantriven. On her
right was some lord or another, who looked about the same age as Jareth, and
gave him a wink and a knowing smile upon their arrival.
"Jareth!" Exclaimed a wiry fae
seated on the other side of Dantriven.
"We've missed you so!" She said,
in a soft yet somewhat whiny voice. Her
long, white blond hair seemed to have a tendency to fall into her eyes, as did
Jareth's.
"I'm sure
you did." Jareth answered dryly. "This is Sarah. Sarah, this is my mother, Clarisse." At this, Clarisse shot her son a look of intrigue, while smiling
warmly at Sarah.
"Nice to
meet you." Sarah said, blushing. Jareth reached for her hand again under the
table, running his thumb lightly over her fingers. Kira, who had taken a seat at one of the lower tables, was
staring at Jareth intensely, eyes burning.
"Why
Jareth!" Clarisse exclaimed again. She seemed to be in the habit of exclaiming
things. "Whatever happened to your
gloves? Were they soiled in your
travels?" Jareth glanced briefly at his
free hand, which was midway to his mouth with a fork and a bit of food.
"What?" He asked blankly.
"You're
not wearing any gloves." Stated
Clarisse, as though this was as disturbing as Jareth not wearing pants at the
dinner table.
Jareth
flashed a slight smile at Sarah and then answered, "No, I'm not."
"Well,
I'll have some brought to you."
"No, thank
you mother. I don't wear gloves
anymore." This produced an audible gasp
from several of the nearby, eavesdropping fae.
Sarah fought back giggles, and Jareth resumed his meal, rather pleased
that he could still create a stir.
***
The rest
of the meal past without much excitement.
Sarah got a little more comfortable with her unfamiliar surroundings,
although Jareth was a bit of a distraction as he kept running his hand up her
leg. Sarah would scoot her chair away a
little bit, trying to give him a hint, but Jareth would only give her a wolfish
grin and drag it back. He's only
teasing, Sarah told herself, trying to ignore the nagging memories tugging
at the back of her mind.
After
dinner, everyone traipsed into a parlour-type room, chatting and milling
about. Jareth was certainly the topic
of conversation, though no matter how much Sarah pleaded, he wouldn't tell her
anything about the previous circumstances.
"Hey,
Jareth!" Called the fae who had been
sitting next to Sarah at dinner.
"Jen?" Jareth asked.
"What the
bloody hell have you been doing these past centuries?" Demanded Jen, smiling and shaking Jareth's
hand.
"You know,
kicking goblins, building castles, the usual."
Jareth bantered back.
"This,"
Jen said, taking Sarah's hand, and bestowing a light kiss upon it, "does not
look like anything of the usual. Lord
Jen, at your service."
"Sarah." Sarah replied, assuming
that this must be some old friend of Jareth's.
"The
Lady Sarah? Defeater of Jareth's
infamous Labyrinth?" Jen inquired,
eyebrows raised.
"Don't
speak of that infernal maze." Jareth
spat. Jen obviously didn't want to end
the conversation there, but knew his friend well enough to drop the subject.
"I suppose
Kira's already found you." Jen said,
jokingly.
"Of
course. That girl never gives up." Jareth sighed.
"Well
don't look now, but she's coming." Jen
said in a mock whisper.
"Damn. Excuse me a moment, will
you my sweet?" Jareth said, directing
this at Sarah.
Sarah
wanted to demand an explanation, that someone tell her right here and right now
who exactly this Kira person is and why Jareth despised her so. Jareth, however, gave her no opportunity to
do so. Instead, he swiftly swooped down
upon her, kissing her soundly and somewhat reassuringly on the lips, and
disappeared in a cloud of glitter.
Jen tapped
her on the shoulder, with smiling eyes.
"Perhaps you'd like a tour of the grounds. It's getting rather late, but the stars are magnificent."
"I'd like
that very much." Sarah replied, as Kira
pushed her way through the crowds toward them.
"This
way," Jen said quickly, "before she asks where your loverboy has gone." Sarah followed him, blushing.
"Who is
she anyway?" Sarah asked, after she and
Jen had escaped from the crowd and out into a magnificent garden.
"Who,
Kira?" Jen asked, laughing. He seemed to be laughing all the time. Sarah wondered if Jareth used to be like
that too, always laughing, before, well, whatever it was that had
happened.
"Is she
his ex-girlfriend?"
"Something
like that. More like his
ex-betrothed." Sarah stopped staring at
the gorgeous silver stars in the purple sky, and stared at Jen.
"Jareth
was engaged?"
"It's not
what you're thinking. When Jareth was
very young, King Dantriven arranged a marriage between him and Kira, daughter
of a prestigious ambassador." Jen
looked quite grave at this point, but it only encouraged Sarah.
"Well? What happened?"
"Jareth
refused, and, wait… Hasn't he told you the history of the Labyrinth?" Jen asked, with a surprised look in his
eyes.
"The
Labyrinth has a history? I just thought
it was always there." Sarah said, lying
back against the silvery-tinted grass, absorbed with the night sky. Jen ran his hands through his hair, and
sighed.
"Perhaps I
should leave it up to Jareth to tell you."
"What?" Sarah cried, rolling over onto her side to
look at Jen. "You can't just stop in
the middle of a story like that!"
"I'm
sorry, Sarah." Jen said sincerely. "Honestly.
Bring it up with Jareth. It's
his story to tell. Ask me anything
else, and I promise I'll answer."
Sarah toyed
with the idea of asking him why Jareth had left the fae court in the first
place, but she had the feeling she would only get another 'no comment' speech,
so she decided to change to a safe subject.
"How long have you known Jareth?"
"Forever, it feels like. My
parents died when I was but a child, and I came to work at the palace as a
kitchen boy. I was the only one here at
the time that was Jareth's age, and we were always sneaking off together. Queen Clarisse didn't much approve, she
follows the social class rules to a 't', but King Dantriven, he was like a
father to me. He is the kindest soul
you'll ever meet."
"What was
Jareth like?" This question made Jen
frown.
"When we were younger, he was quite the
mischievous one, always playing tricks.
He would always bend the rules in his favor, so he would win every
game."
"That
sounds a lot like him now." Sarah said,
reminded of her first meeting with Jareth.
"He was
very caring though. Always made sure
the servants were comfortable and such.
And prideful. If anyone said a
bad word against his family or friends, he would send them sprawling with one
of his crystals. Of course, he was rather
popular with the young women, if you don't mind me saying. I was always helping him sneak girls up to
his room." Jen ended with a chuckle.
"Of
course," he added, "that much has changed."
"It seems a
lot of him has changed." Sarah said
softly.
***
A/N: Hey, anyone who
picks up on the refrences to another Jim Henson movie gets fifty bonus points!
