III.
Light was shining through an open window. Too bright to be her own bedroom, Sarah at first
thought she had awoken back at her parents' house.
Maybe it was all a dream …
But her window was not so deep; neither were her walls of solid stone. This was not her bedroom.
And this was not a dream …
It felt so real – the slight breeze, the heat of the sun against thick blankets; not like the games she
would play as a child. Those were not real; of course not, they had told her so. But they also told
her that if she would only agree, she would never be trapped in a dream again. She could be like
everybody else. And she had been. If not a dream - this then, was what? A nightmare?
* * *
Jareth held two crystal balls in the palm of his hand. Regarding one, he should have been on his way
to question Sarah. Regarding the other, he foresaw the resumption of hysterical screaming. He sighed.
Already Sarah's presence had begun to affect him; for the first time since he could remember, Jareth
felt shame. Shame – because his "worthy" opponent belonged in an asylum. Shame – because
everyone would know; due to her grandiose entrance, the entire Labyrinth had been alerted to her
presence. It was only a matter of time, until-
"Your Majesty?" Jareth dashed both spheres to the ground upon interruption by one of his goblin
minions. Questions would have to wait.
"What is it?" he snapped. The goblin took a hop backwards.
"The – the dwarf, and Sir Didymus-"
"Send them away." He conjured up another crystal. Sarah was sleeping again. "She's terribly ill, and
she can't leave the castle because she's wished herself here, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Yes, your Majesty." The goblin skipped away. Down the corridor came a rush of noise; Jareth hung
his head, knowing well what it was.
* * *
Sarah didn't notice when Jareth appeared besides her. She was hyperventilating wildly, eyes fixated
on the window. Sir Didymus and Hoggle were trying to signal her. Jareth frowned; a thick black
curtain materialized over the window.
"Sarah." He turned towards her unsympathetically. "I must ask you to-"
"Leave me alone, leave me alone, let me go home, go away." She continued to hyperventilate,
writhing in the sheets.
"I can't just send you home. You have to say-" Sarah began to sob, mixing long wails with her
heavy breathing.
"I don't want to stay, leave me alone, I want to go home, wake me up, wont' you wake-" a
succession of deep coughs interrupted her fit. Jareth let down his guard briefly, sitting on the edge
of the bed.
"Where's your mind, Sarah?" He asked coldly. She laughed. "You were never this agitated, before-"
"I don't know," Sarah replied lightly, "I've … lost it? Yes, that's what everyone said! They told me
to be good, and to stop pretending, or I would hurt myself. So I stopped, but now I'm back again …"
Sarah rolled onto her side, leaning her head against Jareth's thigh. And for a minute he cared.
"They – who are you talking about? What's happened?"
"Doesn't matter …" she giggled softly, sufficiently disturbing even The Goblin King. [note: not to be
confused with The Scorpion King.]
"Sarah…"
"Shhh ... I'm gonna go sleepy now, so just stay right there ..." she wrapped her arms around his leg,
causing him to jump – at least on the inside.
"Sarah-"
"Shhhh don' be mean …"
Jareth sighed, grabbing a book from thin air. At least she isn't screaming …