Disclaimer: The only things I own are Juliana, Audrey, and Audrey's mother. The song "To Love You More" belongs to the amazing Celine Dion and that's also where I got the title for the story.
To Love You More
Chapter Four
"Love found a way"
Sarah stared at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. She didn't even recognize herself! The gown she had on was made from a shiny silver material. It was to the floor and had a slit on her left side that went clear to her thigh. Her hair was curled and fell down around her shoulders. A silver mask hid her eyes.
"This is incredible," Sarah said as she turned to Juliana.
"I've known you for four years, and I barely recognize you!" Beth said. They had decided that Beth would stay with Juliana so that nobody would realize who Sarah was.
"I feel like Cinderella," Sarah said. "I just hope this all doesn't fade at midnight."
"Don't worry," Juliana said. "This magic won't wear off. Do you have any questions?"
"Just one, but I don't want to sound like an idiot," Sarah asked. "I heard that with masked balls, the masks usually symbolize something. What does mine symbolize?"
"I was hoping you would ask that," Juliana said. "Your mask symbolizes purity. A purity that is rare among the maidens who will be in attendance tonight. However, it symbolizes more than that. I took the liberty of finding out what kind of mask each person would be wearing tonight. As you probably also know, the masks are also used to be able to determine which person you came with. Couples tend to wear masks that complement each other. However, I discovered that Audrey and my son were not going to be wearing matching masks. You, dear Sarah, also symbolize a white owl."
"So you're saying that my mask is going to match Jareth's?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. Now, you must be on your way. The party is most likely already under way," Juliana said as she led Sarah to the door.
"How am I going to get there?"
"How did you get back here in the first place?" Juliana asked as she formed a crystal in her palm. "Use this."
Sarah took the crystal in her hand. She glanced over at Juliana and at Beth.
"Wish me luck," she said right before she disappeared in a cloud of glitter.
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Jareth smiled down at Audrey as they danced together. If someone had told him a couple days ago that he was going to be happy with Audrey, he would never have believed them. But now, he knew that he was happy. Slowly but surely, his love for Audrey had taken over him instead of his love for Sarah. He knew that there would always be a part of him that loved Sarah, but he also knew that he loved Audrey.
"Isn't this just perfect?" Audrey asked, breaking the silence. "Tomorrow, you and I will be married and nothing will ever be able to tear us apart."
"It is perfect," Jareth said. He leaned down and kissed Audrey. "Nothing will ever come between us."
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Sarah slowly made her way down the hallway towards the ballroom. As she reached the doors, she paused to gain her composure. The guard at the door nodded his head in her direction before opening the door. Sarah hadn't heard music, so she figured they were between dances. The doors opened and she walked in. The sight that greeted her was almost enough to make her turn around and bolt out the door.
"I want to thank everyone for coming tonight," Jareth said to the crowd. "Tomorrow I will have the honor of marrying the most beautiful person to ever be born to this great land. It is to her and her alone that I pledge my love."
Sarah froze in her spot. So, Juliana had been right. Getting Jareth to listen to her and believe her was going to take some work. She turned her gaze away as she saw Jareth lean in to kiss Audrey. She was determined now more than ever to confront Jareth about what Beth had overheard.
Sarah slowly made her way through the people, trying to force her way to where Jareth was. A few heads turned to look at her and she heard a couple people saying something about the mask she had on, but she wasn't paying much attention. Finally, Sarah found herself standing off to the side of the small rise that Jareth and Audrey were standing on. She stopped then to take in her surroundings and noticed that things were decorated the same as they had been for the party that she had helped with. She also noticed that the CD player and all of Beth's CD's were still sitting over by the orchestra.
Sarah was so busy gazing around the room that she didn't notice Jareth had come up beside her. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and turned.
"Hello, Sarah."
"You knew it was me?" Sarah asked. "I was told that nobody would recognize me."
"Nobody except me," Jareth said. "Did you think I wouldn't recognize my own mother's magic?"
"I don't know," Sarah said as she looked up at him.
"I'm sure she sent you on some great mission since she can't interfere with any of my decisions. So what is it? Am I not running the kingdom right? Is my kingdom about to go under attack and I don't…"
"She doesn't want you to marry Audrey," Sarah said, cutting him off.
"And I'm sure she's not the only one," Jareth said, looking at Sarah.
"Will you please just let me explain?" Sarah said as music started up again. Sarah recognized the song as one from her world.
"Explain all you want, but it's not going to change my mind," Jareth said, taking Sarah's hand and leading her onto the dance floor.
"Are you sure dancing with me is a good idea? We both know how big a mess I made of the last party."
"It's my duty to dance with the ladies in attendance," Jareth explained. "After tomorrow, the only person I will ever be allowed to dance with again is Audrey. I'm sure you can explain while we're dancing."
"You're right when you said your mother sent me," Sarah explained. "And you're right when you said that she's not the only one who wanted to stop you from marrying Audrey."
Sarah paused as the words to the song started, and she almost groaned at the irony of it all. But she also had to admit that if any song needed to be played right now, it was this one.
Take me, back into the arms I love
Need me, like you did before
Touch me once again
And remember when
There was no one that you wanted more
"I was going to confront you before tonight about Audrey," Sarah said. "But when Beth and I came back, Audrey was in the throne room. She got angry and sent us to an oubliette."
Don't go, you know you'll break my heart
She won't, love you like I will
I'm the one who'll stay
When she walks away
And you know I'll be standing here still
"Well," Sarah continued, "something happened and the oubliette wasn't sealed up completely. Beth fell through a wall and we found ourselves in the forest. One of the fiery's led us to the city gate, but your mother stopped us from going in."
I'll be waiting for you
Here inside my heart
I'm the one who wants to love you more
You will see I can give you
Everything you need
Let me be the one to love you more
"However, before the fiery left, he told us that he was glad that I came back to stop you," Sarah said. "He said that Audrey was a witch. A fact which your mother confirmed. I know you probably don't believe me, and that's fine. But your mother said for me to send her to you if you didn't believe me. She said she would explain everything to you if only you would ask her. That's the only way she can help you, and you know it."
"Why should I believe you?" Jareth asked. "Audrey has never shown any sign of being a witch." But even as he said that, he could think of numerous instances where Audrey had done something out of pure anger and it had backfired. Anger was the greatest weakness of the witches of the Underground.
"She dropped us into an oubliette that wasn't completely sealed. Your mother told me that witches are weakened by their anger. How else would Beth and I have gotten out if not for the fact that in her anger, she didn't completely seal up the oubliette?"
Jareth was silent as he pondered what Sarah had said.
"Look at me, Jareth," Sarah said. "Look me in the eye. I'm not lying to you. I would never lie to you."
See me, as if you never knew
Hold me, so you can't let go
Just believe in me
I will make you see
All the things that your heart needs to know
"I'm not lying to you," Sarah said. "But I'm also not finished. Beth also has evidence. She overheard Audrey and her mother plotting to kill you after the wedding so that they could take over your kingdom. If you won't talk to your mother at least talk to Beth."
"I won't talk to either," Jareth said. "I believe you, Sarah."
And some way, all the love that we had
Can be saved
Whatever it takes, we'll find a way
Believe in me
I will make you see
All the things that your heart needs to know.
"You know, it's kind of ironic that this song would play while you're telling me all this," Jareth said.
"That's kind of what I thought," Sarah said.
I'll be waiting for you
Here inside my heart
I'm the one who wants to love you more
Can't you see I can give you
Everything you need
Let me the one to love you more
The song ended and Sarah stood there looking at Jareth. She saw Audrey approaching out of the corner of her eye.
"She's coming this way, Jareth. It's all up to you now," Sarah said. "I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you."
Jareth looked at Sarah and noticed the tears forming in her eyes.
"Go out to the hallway," he said quietly. "Use the crystal my mother gave you and wish for Beth and my mother to appear by your side. Then quietly bring them into the room. This ends tonight."
Sarah turned and shoved her way through the crowd just as Audrey arrived at Jareth's side.
"Who was that?" Audrey asked.
"I'll explain in a moment," Jareth said. "Right now, I have an announcement to make. Follow me."
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Sarah rushed into the hallway and picked up the crystal. She had left it lying just down from the doors so that she could get to it. Beth and Juliana's images appeared within the crystal.
"I wish for Beth and Juliana to be here," Sarah said. She opened her eyes and saw Beth and Juliana standing before her, both in ball gowns.
"We were watching," Beth said. "We knew you were going to bring us here, so we decided we better dress the part."
"Come on," Sarah said, leading the two ladies back to the ballroom.
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"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for allowing me to interrupt you once again," Jareth said as he addressed the crowd. He glanced at the back of the room and noticed Sarah, Beth, and his mother slipping in quietly. "However, I feel this is an announcement that cannot wait any longer. I'm sure many of you noticed the lady I was just dancing with. Well, it turns out that this lady was an answer to my prayers."
A murmur went through the crowd as the people wondered what Jareth was talking about.
"Allow me to explain," Jareth said. "As most of you know, four days ago, a party was held here that also celebrated my engagement and upcoming marriage. During this party, a startling revelation was made by one of the guests. This revelation almost caused me to go against the court and call off the engagement."
A shocked silence fell over the crowd and Audrey stood looking at the floor. He had promised that he would never speak of what happened again, and she was fighting to contain her rage. Jareth looked at Sarah and saw her cover her face with her hands, trying to hide the blush that was creeping into her face.
"Tonight, that same woman has made me finalize my decision. Sarah, would you please escort yourself and your two guests to the front of the room?"
A murmur went through the crowd as Sarah made her way to the front of the room with Beth and Juliana in tow. She glanced at Audrey and could tell that Audrey was barely containing her anger. Sarah stood next to Jareth and glanced over in the direction of Audrey's parents. Audrey's mother was fuming and her father looked confused.
"It has been brought to my attention that Audrey had less than good intentions when she accepted my marriage proposal. If Sarah had not shown up here tonight, tomorrow would have been the worst day of my life. I am hereby calling off my engagement to Audrey Kingston, Princess of Gelder."
Jareth turned to face Audrey.
"Audrey, I think you should be the one to tell everyone why I'm calling off this engagement."
"I can't do that," Audrey said. "I have no idea what you're talking about. It's obvious that Sarah has lied to you to get you to call of our engagement. Everyone here knows that she's in love with you."
"Very well," Jareth said. "Mother, would you please help me?"
A gasp went through the crowd. In order for him to ask his mother for help, it had to be because of a situation where his life was in danger.
Juliana stepped forward and a crystal appeared in the palm of her hand. It grew larger until everyone in the room could clearly see a picture of Audrey within the depths of the crystal.
"Please, pay close attention," Juliana announced. "Two people that you thought were your own have in fact been deceiving you."
Silence fell across the room as the scene unfolded within the depths of the crystal.
"I'm aware of that Mother, that's why I insisted she help. I wanted her where I could see her."
"So help me Audrey, if you screw this up, I'll… I don't know what I'll do, but it won't be pretty," Audrey's mother said. "This kingdom will be ours by the end of next month and I'm not going to let anything ruin that."
"I know the kingdom will be ours, Mother," Audrey said. "I just want to know how we're going to pull this off without anyone finding out that I was the one who killed him."
"That's the easiest part of all dear. Iron is deadly to fae. Since they think we are one of them, they won't suspect you because they'll think iron is deadly to you as well. But since you are half witch and half fae, iron is not deadly to you."
Sarah glanced up at Jareth and saw that his face had gone white. This was the first time any of them other than Juliana had heard the entire conversation. Sarah took Jareth's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as she smiled up at him.
"Everything will be okay," Sarah said. "She won't be able to hurt you."
A scream went up from the side of the room. Sarah knew before she even looked that it was Audrey.
"No! You can't do this to me!" Audrey screamed as she ran up onto the small rise where Sarah and Jareth were standing. "You have no right to do this! You've ruined everything!"
"I didn't ruin anything," Sarah stated, giving Audrey an icy glare. "You ruined it for yourself when you plotted to kill him. You ruined it even further when you tossed me in that oubliette and forgot to completely seal it off."
"I won't let you get away with this. You will pay for this."
"Yes, she will pay," a voice said from beside her. Sarah turned and found herself face to face with Audrey's mother. "Watch your back, Sarah. It's not good to have witches as enemies."
Audrey and her mother vanished after that. Sarah turned towards Jareth, her face pale. She noticed Audrey's father out of the corner of her eye.
"I'll be right back," Sarah said. She stepped down off of the platform and walked over to Audrey's father. He turned towards her and gave her a half smile.
"Hello, Sarah," he said. "I am truly sorry for what has happened here tonight. Please believe me when I say that I knew nothing about this. I didn't even know that my wife was a witch. She hid it so well. I commend you for standing up to my daughter though. Not even I have been able to find the courage to stand up to her."
"I don't blame you for any of this," Sarah said. "I actually came over to apologize to you. I hate that you had to find out about your wife and daughter this way, but I didn't see any other way. I hope you can forgive me."
"I do, my dear. I do. I'm not sure what I can do to stop the rampage they are sure to be on. I doubt they will even set foot back in my kingdom now that I know the truth. I wish there were something I could do to protect you and Jareth from them, but I am powerless to stop them. The magic of the witches is not pure, like ours. It is very difficult for us to fight it."
"I understand," Sarah said as she put her hand on the shoulder of the King. "But please, don't travel home tonight. Stay here and rest. I'm sure you need it now more than ever."
"Thank you, Sarah. I shall think about it."
Sarah smiled and headed back over to where Jareth and the others were standing. People had slowly begun filing out of the ballroom sensing that the ball had come to an end.
"I think that went over rather well, don't you?" Beth asked.
Sarah rolled her eyes and Jareth shot her a look that could've frozen hell. Then he turned his gaze to his mother.
"Thank you mother," he said. "You have helped me more than you know."
Sarah and Beth quietly walked out of the room to give mother and son time to talk.
"There is no need to thank me," Juliana said. "I only did what any mother would do for a child. But don't think I'm done helping you. I still have until the thirteenth hour to offer my advice without breaking any laws."
"And what, pray tell, are you going to advise me on this time?" Jareth asked.
"I think you already know the answer to that question," Juliana said with a twinkle in her eye. "Just be sure that this time, you don't let her get away. Good-bye my son."
Juliana disappeared in a cloud of glitter. Jareth stood there for a moment longer before heading off in search of Sarah. It didn't take long to find her. She and Beth were on the throne room floor. Sarah was leaning against the throne and Beth was lying down. Neither of them were in their ball gowns any longer. He cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Pardon Beth, but I would like to have a word with Sarah," he said.
"Go ahead," Beth said. "Talk all you want."
"Alone," Jareth said.
"Oh. I was just leaving anyway. If you could just point me in the direction of the room I occupied last time I was here, I would be…"
Beth's sentence was cut short as Jareth transported her out of the room. Sarah stood up and faced Jareth.
"So," she said, not knowing what to say.
"So you really love me?" Jareth asked.
"Would I have gone to all that trouble if I hadn't?" Sarah asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. Jareth walked over to her and tilted her head up.
"Look at me, Sarah," Jareth said. "Do you love me?"
"Yes," Sarah answered. "Yes, I do love you. I've loved you since the moment I first met you."
"Well then," Jareth said as he lowered his head and brushed his lips lightly across Sarah's. Sarah blinked her eyes and looked up at him.
"Jareth, do you love me?" Sarah asked.
"I do, Sarah. Even before I met you, I loved you," Jareth said as he claimed Sarah's lips with his own. Neither of them noticed that Beth had come back into the room until she cleared her throat. They broke apart and looked at the intruder.
"Pardon me for interrupting," Beth said grinning, "but where's the restroom? This place is too big."
"If you don't get out of this room right now, you're going to find yourself in the bog," Jareth said.
"I'm going, I'm going!" Beth said as she turned around and walked back out the door. Jareth turned back to Sarah.
"This has turned into a pretty interesting day, hasn't it?" Jareth asked.
"Very interesting," Sarah said.
"Well, why don't we add just one more event and then call it a day," Jareth said. A crystal formed in his hand and Sarah soon found herself on a hill overlooking the Labyrinth.
"This is where I first saw the Labyrinth," Sarah said.
"No, this is the other side," Jareth said.
Sarah looked around and noticed that this hill, unlike the other, was covered with grass and wildflowers.
"Sarah, I want to share this with you," Jareth said, wrapping his arms around Sarah. Sarah leaned back against him.
"Share what?" Sarah asked.
"The Labyrinth."
"You want to share the Labyrinth with me? What do you mean?" Sarah asked, turning to face Jareth.
"I want you to rule by my side, as Queen," Jareth said. Slowly, he got down on one knee and formed a crystal that turned into the most beautiful diamond ring that Sarah had ever seen. "Sarah Williams, I was lost when you left me four years ago. I was almost lost again until you walked back into my life. Please, say you'll marry me and be my Queen."
Sarah stood there as tears fell down her face. Jareth slowly slipped the ring onto her finger and stood up.
"Well?" he asked.
"Yes," Sarah said as she threw her arms around his neck. "Yes I'll marry you."
Jareth put his hands on Sarah's face and once again kissed her. Neither of them noticed the figure behind the tree that quickly disappeared into the night.