Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Labyrinth. They are property of Jim Henson. The title is taken from the Celine Dion song of the same name. (That song is also included later.) Also, the song "I Will Always Love You" belongs to the incredible Whitney Houston. I don't own Beth because she's my real life best friend and so she owns herself. However, her name is not used with permission, but she'll get over it. Actually, I doubt she'll ever even know because she doesn't read this stuff… I don't even think she's seen the movie. I need to have a talk with her about that… All that just to say that the only thing I own is Audrey and her mother (but she doesn't come in until later)… Enjoy!
To Love You More
Chapter One
"Too late for love?"
Sarah sighed as she turned from the window in her dorm room. Her roommate, Beth, looked up from her desk.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know," Sarah said.
"Yes, you do," Beth said. "You can't hide it from me."
It was true. Beth and Sarah had been best friends for the past five years. Beth moved to Sarah's town right after Sarah returned from the Labyrinth. Both of them shared a love for fantasy and magic, and Sarah had eventually told Beth about her adventure in the Labyrinth. Beth couldn't believe that such a place actually existed, and wanted desperately to see the Underground.
"I honestly don't know," Sarah said walking over and lying down on her bed. "Maybe it's just the weather."
"You get like this every time it rains," Beth pointed out. "So I know it's not the weather."
Sarah sighed again and sat up and looked at Beth.
"Fine," she said. "I miss it."
"Miss what?" Beth asked, clearly not following what Sarah was saying.
"The Labyrinth," Sarah said. "I just feel so awful sometimes. I haven't talked to Hoggle or any of the others since I left for college."
"Would you also happen to miss a certain Goblin King?" Beth asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
"Not hardly," Sarah said, but she knew that she didn't sound very convincing.
"Yeah, sure," Beth said, turning back to her homework.
Sarah knew Beth was right. And Beth knew that she was right. Most of the times Sarah had talked with Beth about the Labyrinth, they would end up arguing about Jareth. At first, Sarah couldn't believe that Beth was taking his side. But as Sarah matured, she realized that maybe Beth was right about him after all. But never would she admit that. Sarah lay down and went to sleep. That night, she dreamt of dancing in the arms of a King.
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Sarah lay staring at the ceiling. It was the middle of the night and she could not get back to sleep. Actually, it was more that she didn't want to go back to sleep. For the first time in four years, she had dreamed about the Labyrinth and its King. The feelings Sarah had when she first came back were hitting her full force again. Sarah glanced at her clock and saw that it was only three o'clock in the morning. She didn't care. She had to talk to Beth.
Sarah crept quietly over to the other side of the room where Beth's bed was.
"Beth," Sarah said quietly. "Beth, are you awake?"
"Now I am," Beth said as she rolled over onto her back and glared at Sarah. "It's three in the morning. What do you want?"
"I want to go back," Sarah said.
"Then go. What's stopping you?"
"What if he hates me?" Sarah asked.
"If who hates you? Hoggle?" Beth asked.
"Not him. Jareth," Sarah said.
"I thought you didn't care," Beth asked.
"Neither did I," Sarah said. "But I dreamed about him tonight. I… I think I love him."
Beth looked at Sarah. It had taken her long enough to admit it, that's for sure.
"You? In love with the Goblin King?" Beth said sarcastically. "I never would have guessed."
"Oh, shut up," Sarah said. "I know you've thought that all along, but it just took me longer to figure it out."
"I'd say," Beth said. "It's been four years."
"I know," Sarah said as she fingered the pattern on Beth's quilt. "That's why I'm afraid. What if he hates me?"
"I highly doubt he hates you, Sarah," Beth stated matter-of-factly. "You told me every detail of that story and I can promise you that he doesn't hate you."
"But it's been four years. He could've changed."
"There's only one way to find out you know. Go back."
"How?" Sarah asked. "I'm not about to wish myself there because if for some reason he does hate me now, I don't even want to think about it."
"Don't look at me," Beth said. "I don't know how to get you there. Maybe you should try asking Hoggle."
~Why didn't I think of that?~ Sarah asked herself. ~Maybe because you haven't talked to him since you left for college.~
"I haven't talked to Hoggle since we came here, Beth. What if he doesn't want to talk to me?"
"Would you stop it with the dramatics? I swear you have got to be the biggest drama queen I've ever seen in my life," Beth said, exasperation clearly showing on her face. "You told him that you were leaving for school and that it wouldn't be wise to contact him from here. Just go talk to him and find out how to get back before I wish you there myself!"
Sarah's eyes widened as she stood up from her position at the end of Beth's bed. She didn't think Beth would actually go through with her threat, but Sarah wasn't taking any chances. Sarah crossed to the mirror and looked into it.
"Hoggle? Hoggle, are you there? I need you Hoggle!" Sarah turned to glance at Beth, but she had already fallen back asleep. Sarah saw the mirror shimmer out of the corner of her eye and turned back around as Hoggle appeared.
"Sarah? What in the Underground are you doing?" Hoggle asked. "I thought yous said it wasn't safe to calls us from there?"
"It's three in the morning here," Sarah said. "And besides, Beth said if I didn't call you, she'd wish me away."
"Do ya think she'd go through with it?" Hoggle asked.
"I don't think so, but I wasn't about to take any chances," Sarah said. "But anyway, I have a question for you."
"Go on," Hoggle said. "I'm listening."
"How do I get back? I just have to come back, Hoggle. I can't explain why, but just trust me."
"You wants to get back? Here? Have you gone and knocked your head on something?"
"No. I promise you I'm fine. But I told you, I can't explain it. I really want to, Hoggle, believe me. I'm just afraid that maybe you wouldn't understand."
"Understand what? That you've been in love with Jareth since you left here? Any idiot can see that," Hoggle said.
Sarah was too stunned to speak. So Hoggle knew. How he knew, Sarah wasn't sure. But she felt some comfort knowing that he knew.
"So how do I get back?" she asked impatiently. "I have to talk to him."
"I can't bring you back," Hoggle said. "And if you wanted to talk to him, why didn't you just call him? He's the only one that can brings ya back anyway. I may live here, but I ain't made of magic."
"So I have to ask Jareth to bring me back?" Sarah asked. "You're sure that's the only way?"
"Yeah, but Sarah, I have to tell you something first," Hoggle said.
"What's that?"
"Well, I won't deny that Jareth loved ya, 'cause he did," Hoggle said. Sarah knew this wasn't going to take a very happy turn.
"But…" Sarah said.
"But even though I don't think he ever stopped lovin' ya, he kinda gave up hope that you was ever gonna come back," Hoggle said.
"But if I come back, surely he'll realize that…"
"Sarah!" Hoggle said. "Stop yer blubbering and let me finish talking. No, you coming back won't do a thing. He's engaged."
"What?" Sarah asked. "Engaged? He… he can't be! Hoggle, I love him!"
"I know you do. But he moved on with his life. And yer gonna have to do the same," Hoggle said. "I have to go now, Sarah."
Sarah only nodded her head. The mirror shimmered once again and Hoggle was gone. Sarah walked over to her bed. Lying down, Sarah buried her face in her pillow and cried herself to sleep.
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Sarah slept through her first class the following morning. Beth's first class wasn't until after lunch, and Sarah wanted to talk to her. She looked at her clock and saw that it was nine o'clock. She glanced over at Beth's bed, but she wasn't there. Sarah stood up and heard the water running and sat down at her desk to wait for Beth to emerge.
It wasn't long before Beth came out of the bathroom rubbing her wet hair with a towel.
"Morning," she said as she crossed to the closet. "I was sort of surprised when I saw you this morning. It's not like you to sleep through your classes."
"Yeah, well, I just didn't feel like going," Sarah said.
"Uh-oh," Beth said. "I know that tone in your voice. What happened, Sarah?"
"Well, I talked to Hoggle like you told me," Sarah began. "And he said that the only way to get back was to talk to Jareth."
"What's bad about that? He's the reason you wanted to go back anyway," Beth said as she pulled on a pair of jeans.
"Well, Hoggle said that before I talked to Jareth, there was something I might need to know. So he proceeded to tell me that Jareth gave up waiting for me to realize how I felt and he moved on. Beth, he's engaged!"
"That's all?" Beth asked. Sarah stared at her in disbelief.
"What do you mean 'that's all'? He's getting married!" Sarah practically yelled.
"Is he married yet?" Beth asked.
"No," Sarah stated.
"Then you still have a chance. Sarah, did Hoggle tell you if Jareth loved this other girl?"
"No," Sarah said.
"Then who's to say he's not just settling for second best?"
"Well, Hoggle did say that he didn't think Jareth ever stopped loving me…" Sarah trailed off.
"There you go," Beth said. "There's still hope. Until he says 'I do', then there's still a chance to change his mind."
"But how? Beth, I could really use your help to pull this off."
"Pull what off?" Beth asked, not really wanting to know where Sarah was going with this.
"The greatest performance of my life," Sarah said as she turned toward the mirror. "Jareth? Are you there? I need you!"
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Jareth glanced around the throne room as he heard someone calling his name. The room was empty, but he could have sworn he heard someone saying his name. He formed a crystal in his hand and searched for whomever was calling his name. He almost dropped the crystal when Sarah's image appeared in the crystal.
Jareth quickly transported himself to his chambers. Crossing to the mirror, he waved his hand and Sarah's image appeared. She had her back to the mirror and was talking to a young blonde who appeared to be the same age. He saw the blondes mouth drop open as she noticed that he had appeared in Sarah's mirror. Slowly, Sarah turned around to face the mirror.
"Hello, Sarah," Jareth said.
----------
Sarah could only stare at her mirror. A moment ago, Sarah was certain that she could pull this off, but now she wasn't so sure. For the first time in four years, she was staring into the face of the Goblin King.
"Um, hi," Sarah said, trying to calm her nerves. "I have a small favor to ask, and Hoggle said that you were the only one who could pull this off."
"Go on," Jareth said, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Well you see, my friend Beth really wants to see the Labyrinth and I thought that maybe you could arrange for her and I to come visit for awhile. Thanksgiving break starts tomorrow and so I figured that would be a good time to go since it wouldn't involve missing any school."
"The Labyrinth is not a tourist attraction," Jareth stated. "And why do you think I would want you back here anyway?"
Sarah stared at him, hurt by the harshness of his words. Hoggle had said that Jareth still loved her, but it appeared that Hoggle must have been mistaken.
"Well, I… I miss it," Sarah said. "I want to see everyone again. It's not the same talking to them through my mirror. I want to be there with them. Please?"
Jareth sighed as he heard Sarah's request. He knew it would be risky bringing her here. He didn't even want to think of what would happen if his fiancé found out that Sarah was there. But he also knew that he could not deny Sarah anything, fiancé or not. He formed a crystal in hand, glanced at it, then tossed it through the mirror to Sarah.
"Sarah, take Beth's hand in yours and visualize where you want to go. The crystal will take you there," Jareth said as his image disappeared from the mirror.
Sarah grabbed Beth's hand and smiled at her.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"I cannot believe you are making me do this," Beth said. "Do you realize how ridiculous this is?"
"I don't care," Sarah said. "I'm getting back what I should have had in the first place. Now let's go."
Holding the crystal in her left hand and Beth's hand in her right, Sarah's mind began forming an image of Jareth's throne room. The room about them began to spin and the two girls clung to each other to keep from falling. When the spinning stopped, Sarah slowly opened her eyes. They were in the throne room.
Jareth materialized in the throne room just as Sarah and Beth appeared. He watched as Sarah slowly opened her eyes and looked around.
"Welcome," Jareth said as he approached the two.
Beth stood there, her mouth open in shock. Even if it was only the throne room, it was still incredible.
"This place is amazing!" Beth said quietly. She moved over to a window and caught her breath at the sight below. "It's gorgeous!"
"It is," Sarah said as she went and stood beside Beth. "I can't believe I ever wanted to leave this place."
Their thoughts were interrupted at the sound of trumpets going off. Both girls turned to Jareth. His head jerked up as he heard the trumpets. It couldn't be. She wasn't supposed to be here for another two days.
"What are the trumpets for?" Sarah asked, already knowing the answer to the question before she asked it.
"They're announcing the arrival of Audrey," Jareth said. "She is my fiancé."
"So that's her name," Sarah said. Jareth turned and looked at her.
"You knew?" he asked.
"Hoggle told me," Sarah said, trying to hide the pain in her eyes. She couldn't let him know how much it hurt. "But he didn't tell me her name. All he said was that you were engaged."
"How'd you meet her?" Beth asked. Sarah rolled her eyes and walked over and plopped down in Jareth's throne.
"Her father is a member of the royal court," Jareth said as he pulled Sarah up from his throne and sat down. Sarah narrowed her eyes then walked back over to the window. "I've known her for many years, but we only recently became engaged. I'm not sure why she's here now though."
All three heads in the room turned as the doors to the throne room were opened. A goblin came through the door.
"Your majesty, Princess Audrey is here."
"Show her in," Jareth said from his throne.
A moment later, Audrey appeared in the doorway. Jareth stood from his throne and walked towards her. Sarah turned her head when she saw Jareth embrace the blonde woman. She couldn't watch.
"And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Jareth inquired.
"I had a simply wonderful idea earlier and I just couldn't wait to share it with you," Audrey gushed, making Sarah want to gag. Sarah turned to Beth and rolled her eyes. Beth leaned over towards Sarah.
"Do you think she could lay it on anymore?" Beth whispered. "I think this is one girl we would classify as an airhead."
Sarah covered her mouth, trying to hide the giggle that bubbled up. But it was no use. Audrey turned her head and noticed the two girls standing beside the window. She looked over at them.
"Hello there," Audrey said to the two. She turned her head to look back at Jareth. "You didn't mention anything about visitors coming. But you know, this could work. They could help with the idea I had."
"What exactly is this idea of yours?" Jareth asked, finally removing his arms from around Audrey's waist.
"I think we should have an engagement party," Audrey said. "It would be a grand event. Every royal from the Underground would be invited. It will be the event of a lifetime!"
"That does sound like a grand idea, but I'm not sure my guests should have to help," Jareth said. "They won't be here long."
Sarah got a mischievous looking smile on her face. Beth noticed it and her eyes grew wide, realizing what Sarah was about to do.
"We would love to help," Sarah said. "In fact, with us helping, it could be a party that mixes your world and ours. I think it would be a lot of fun."
"You're not from here then?" Audrey asked.
"No, they're from Aboveground," Jareth said. "Audrey, this is Sarah and her friend, Beth."
"You're Sarah?" Audrey asked. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. You're practically a legend in this place, having been the only person to ever make it through the Labyrinth."
Sarah looked at Jareth, her eyes wide. She had been the only one to ever make it through?
"Yes, well we don't need to dwell on that subject," Jareth said. He turned to look at Sarah. "Are you absolutely certain you want to help with this?"
"Of course. I wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything," Sarah said with a smile on her face. "But I do have a question. Can we use music from our world as well? That way Beth and I at least know some of the music."
"I think that would be marvelous," Audrey said. "I did so hope you would stay for the engagement party. Now come, we have much planning ahead of us. Jareth, be a dear and send out the invitations. It shouldn't be that difficult. I think with enough magic, this thing could be ready for tomorrow night!"