I wasn't going to post anymore and planned on going to bed, but I was
inspired to write more. I've been listening to the Labyrinth soundtrack
while I've worked on this story and it's been a wonderful inspiration.
Chapter 6: I am who I am
The tour of the castle took slightly longer then Jareth had anticipated. Samantha was in awe of everything she saw.
"When I was younger I never took the time to stop and appreciate what was in front of me. I was just so determined to get Josh back that I never noticed the architecture or the furnishings. I never realized how different the light of the Underground is from aboveground."
"The sunlight here has more of an orange hue to it. It's easier on the eyes and makes for some spectacular sunsets." Jareth was walking just behind her, his gloved hands clasped together behind his back. He watched how she let her hands graze the stones bathed in the light of the sun to feel their warmth.
'I've never seen the sunset here. It was still in the sky before I left."
* Yes it burned in the sky while you were here and set leaving me in darkness after you were gone..* "You didn't stay long enough to see it. Besides would you have even noticed it, if it had set?"
She shook her head. "No, again I was preoccupied with other things." An odd silence descended over them. "Jareth, why do you steal babies?" She pulled her hands away from the stones and for a moment looked as she had asked a terrible question.
He gave her a warm reassuring smile and he saw her relax under his gaze. "I don't steal them. I merely bring them here since I have been commanded to."
"You mean when people wish you to take them."
"Yes. I don't take children away from their parents or families just because I feel like it. I'm not heartless despite how many tales portray me. I take those that are unwanted and the one that wished the child away is given a chance to win the child back. Only those who truly love and care for the child will succeed in defeating the Labyrinth."
'So I won, because I cared about what would happen to Josh?"
"Precisely. Your love for him was always within you. You just needed to find it."
"How many people have braved the Labyrinth?"
"I've lost count, but many."
"What did you do with the children if the person who wished them here lost?"
Jareth raised a brow at her. "Why do I feel as if I'm being interrogated?"
"I don't know. Do you have a guilty conscience?"
"No I don't. I am who I am."
"Ok then. You won't mind fur-filling my curiosity then."
"I just don't want the truth of how things are done here to make you pass early judgement on me." He offered, realizing that he was making himself vulnerable. He was making it very obvious that her feelings mattered to him.
'I haven't passed any judgment yet, so chill out. I just want to know. After all, my book didn't tell me what happened after the Goblin King was defeated or if he wasn't defeated. This is all new to me."
He nodded. "Very well. The children who are deemed as unwanted are transformed into goblins."
"What?"
"How would you tell an unwanted child that he's not loved and that he was wished here by those who claimed they loved him? Would you return him to that home and have him live out his life feeling miserable? The children left here are transformed and with their new appearance they forget who they were aboveground. They live their life out as a goblin, feeling wanted by their village and complete in the knowledge that they have family, friends and a King who appreciate them."
"If things had been different, Josh might have been a goblin." She swallowed.
'It's possible, but your love for him was true. He was never in real danger of becoming a goblin. Your love alone saved him."
She nodded and they continued on through the castle courtyard in silence. Jareth watched her out of the corner of his eyes. She was contemplating things and most likely thanking whatever god she believed in for not turning her cousin into a goblin.
'Well I'm not unwanted and I'm not a child. Why am I here?" She had stopped walking behind him. Jareth stopped and turned to face her.
"No you are neither." He said painfully soft.
"Then why did you bring me here?" She asked again. Jareth looked into her eyes, watching as different emotions swirled within their blue- green depths.
He pulled his eyes from hers and turned to gaze at the sun lowering in the sky. 'Some things are best left unanswered until the correct time to reveal them arrives. That time has not arrived yet."
She said nothing to this but watched him. Jareth was definitely uneasy about something and that bothered her. But she had asked him to be himself and if he was being honest by showing her his true feelings then she had to accept that. No matter how much she wanted to challenge those feelings.
'The sun will be setting soon. There is a wonderful view from the north tower. You can see the entire Labyrinth as well as have an unobstructed view of the sky." She nodded and let him lead the way. Their journey to the tower was made in silence as nothing had been accomplished with their prior conversation but uneasiness between them. Samantha leaned over the window-sill in awe of the sunset as Jareth stood behind her watching her. He couldn't keep the truth from her forever. He couldn't keep it from himself much longer.
Chapter 6: I am who I am
The tour of the castle took slightly longer then Jareth had anticipated. Samantha was in awe of everything she saw.
"When I was younger I never took the time to stop and appreciate what was in front of me. I was just so determined to get Josh back that I never noticed the architecture or the furnishings. I never realized how different the light of the Underground is from aboveground."
"The sunlight here has more of an orange hue to it. It's easier on the eyes and makes for some spectacular sunsets." Jareth was walking just behind her, his gloved hands clasped together behind his back. He watched how she let her hands graze the stones bathed in the light of the sun to feel their warmth.
'I've never seen the sunset here. It was still in the sky before I left."
* Yes it burned in the sky while you were here and set leaving me in darkness after you were gone..* "You didn't stay long enough to see it. Besides would you have even noticed it, if it had set?"
She shook her head. "No, again I was preoccupied with other things." An odd silence descended over them. "Jareth, why do you steal babies?" She pulled her hands away from the stones and for a moment looked as she had asked a terrible question.
He gave her a warm reassuring smile and he saw her relax under his gaze. "I don't steal them. I merely bring them here since I have been commanded to."
"You mean when people wish you to take them."
"Yes. I don't take children away from their parents or families just because I feel like it. I'm not heartless despite how many tales portray me. I take those that are unwanted and the one that wished the child away is given a chance to win the child back. Only those who truly love and care for the child will succeed in defeating the Labyrinth."
'So I won, because I cared about what would happen to Josh?"
"Precisely. Your love for him was always within you. You just needed to find it."
"How many people have braved the Labyrinth?"
"I've lost count, but many."
"What did you do with the children if the person who wished them here lost?"
Jareth raised a brow at her. "Why do I feel as if I'm being interrogated?"
"I don't know. Do you have a guilty conscience?"
"No I don't. I am who I am."
"Ok then. You won't mind fur-filling my curiosity then."
"I just don't want the truth of how things are done here to make you pass early judgement on me." He offered, realizing that he was making himself vulnerable. He was making it very obvious that her feelings mattered to him.
'I haven't passed any judgment yet, so chill out. I just want to know. After all, my book didn't tell me what happened after the Goblin King was defeated or if he wasn't defeated. This is all new to me."
He nodded. "Very well. The children who are deemed as unwanted are transformed into goblins."
"What?"
"How would you tell an unwanted child that he's not loved and that he was wished here by those who claimed they loved him? Would you return him to that home and have him live out his life feeling miserable? The children left here are transformed and with their new appearance they forget who they were aboveground. They live their life out as a goblin, feeling wanted by their village and complete in the knowledge that they have family, friends and a King who appreciate them."
"If things had been different, Josh might have been a goblin." She swallowed.
'It's possible, but your love for him was true. He was never in real danger of becoming a goblin. Your love alone saved him."
She nodded and they continued on through the castle courtyard in silence. Jareth watched her out of the corner of his eyes. She was contemplating things and most likely thanking whatever god she believed in for not turning her cousin into a goblin.
'Well I'm not unwanted and I'm not a child. Why am I here?" She had stopped walking behind him. Jareth stopped and turned to face her.
"No you are neither." He said painfully soft.
"Then why did you bring me here?" She asked again. Jareth looked into her eyes, watching as different emotions swirled within their blue- green depths.
He pulled his eyes from hers and turned to gaze at the sun lowering in the sky. 'Some things are best left unanswered until the correct time to reveal them arrives. That time has not arrived yet."
She said nothing to this but watched him. Jareth was definitely uneasy about something and that bothered her. But she had asked him to be himself and if he was being honest by showing her his true feelings then she had to accept that. No matter how much she wanted to challenge those feelings.
'The sun will be setting soon. There is a wonderful view from the north tower. You can see the entire Labyrinth as well as have an unobstructed view of the sky." She nodded and let him lead the way. Their journey to the tower was made in silence as nothing had been accomplished with their prior conversation but uneasiness between them. Samantha leaned over the window-sill in awe of the sunset as Jareth stood behind her watching her. He couldn't keep the truth from her forever. He couldn't keep it from himself much longer.
