Summary: My response to A-M's Listian Xmas Laby Fic Challenge.
Sarah and Toby decide to make a snowman in the middle of a snowstorm, when
something interesting happens....
Rating: PG-13
A/N: This is my response to Anne-Marie's Challenge for a Xmas Laby fic posted on the Laby list. The next chapter will contain the challenge for those of you who are interested in making your own.
DISCLAIMER: Oh yeah, everything Labyrinth belongs to Henson Productions, Frosty Belongs to someone else that's not me, and Santa belongs to himself. Now that we have everything cleared up, enjoy this piece of craziness.
All I Want for Christmas is You
Sarah looked out the window once more and sighed. The snowstorm had no indication of relenting. The weatherman had announced a blizzard, 14-18 inches of snow, something unheard of in that part of New York. She hoped that her dad and Karen were enjoying their Christmas business trip in Las Vegas. That's how she came to be here, she had to take care of Toby while her parents were away.
It was good that her job as a drama teacher let her spend time with her little brother, well, not so little anymore. At fifteen he already towered over her, his long blond hair falling on his shoulders making his blue eyes sparkle, reminding her of someone she met a long time ago… no, better not think of him.
Toby looked at his older sister in silence. She seemed so sad at this time of the year. She hadn't had many dates and he had never known her to have a boyfriend. It was as she was waiting for something, better yet, for someone. He decided it was up to him to bring her out of her sadness, so he ran, stopping inches from where his sister was sitting.
"Come on Sarah, let's make a snowman!"
"But Toby, there's a blizzard out!"
"So? We are going to be at the front of the house, and we will beat the rest of the kids on the street. What do you say?"
Sarah smiled at her brother, his energy and enthusiasm contagious. Taking the hands that Toby offered to help her, she got up, looking for her warmest coat, snow boots, hat and scarf. She was putting her gloves on when she heard her brother calling from the door.
"Are you ready?"
Sarah just smiled.
"In a minute, oh impatient one!"
She went around the kitchen searching for things they could use for the snowman. She found an almost empty bag of charcoal from last summer. She opened the fridge to see if there were any carrots left. Nope, no carrots. What could she use for a nose? She rummaged through the junk drawer; there must be something there.
She found an old corncob pipe she used on her snowmen when she was little, and putting it to the side she kept looking, when her hand encountered a very big red button. She smiled as she remembered the button being from Toby's clown costume when he was six years old.
Taking an old scarf, she placed all the other things inside it, taking the bag of charcoal in her other hand. Realizing what she just selected for the snowman, she started skipping to the front door like a little girl, singing a merry tune in the process.
"Frosty the snowman, was a jolly happy soul…"
Sarah was happier than she had been in a long time. Between the two of them they had made a big snowman, taller than her or Toby. They took the coals and put them as shirt buttons and eyes, the red button she found as the nose and the pipe where the mouth should be. Toby was finishing putting the scarf around its neck, as he was taller, Sarah stepping back to look at their masterpiece.
Tilting her head to one side, then to the other, she appraised the snowman as if it was a piece of art from a gallery. She then looked at Toby.
"It needs something. Somehow it doesn't feel complete."
Toby nodded in agreement.
"It needs, I don't know… A hat, maybe?"
At that moment, a gush of wind enveloped them, a hat rolling along the street. Toby and Sarah looked at each other and shrugging, they went to pick it up.
"Where you think this came from?"
Sarah looked to both sides of the street. Everyone was waiting the storm inside their houses, they were the only ones crazy enough to venture outside in the middle of the storm. She dusted the snow off the hat as much as she could, noticing that it was an old silk top hat. She gave the hat to her brother.
"You do the honors. You are taller and besides, the snowman idea was yours."
Grinning in response, Toby put the hat on top of the snowman and walked next to Sarah to admire their creation. Suddenly, the snowman started shaking, arms and legs made out of snow protruding from the snowman, while a voice they never heard before spoke to them.
"Happy Birthday!"
Toby and Sarah looked dumbfounded at the snowman. Sarah's shock was caused more to the fact that the last time she experienced magic was not a very pleasant experience, she stood as if frozen. Toby was frozen as well, his expression as astounded as his sister's.
"What the…"
The snowman looked around, as if trying to get his bearings.
"Whoah! Where am I? This is SO NOT the North Pole!"
Toby's brain started working and yelling at the mouth to move its lazy bum and get to work.
"Um, Sarah?"
Sarah's brain reacted a bit slower, weary of who or what caused this to happen.
"Yeah?"
"How come the snowdude can talk?"
The snowman frowned at Toby, while resting his hands on his hips.
"The name is Frosty, the snowMAN, not dude. And for your information, I can talk because of magic. Excuse me for a moment…"
Frosty put his hand in a now existing pocket in his hip from where he pulled out a cell phone. Toby looked at Sarah for an explanation, her only respon\se being a shrug and turning to see what the snowdude, erm, snowman was up to.
"Yeah? Santa? It happened again. That's right. He took the hat again and now I'm in the middle of somewhere…"
Putting his hand on the phone, he turned to the two siblings.
"Erm, where are we?"
Sarah recovered enough to answer.
"New York."
Mouthing a thank you, Frosty returned to his conversation on his cell phone. Toby just took the scene with an amused look, summarizing it in one word.
"Cool!"
"Yeah, so I am here in the middle of a snow storm. I'm telling you, you better listen to him this year. I'm not looking forward to appear who knows where next time with no cell phone access. You picked up the position from the cell phone? How long? Half an hour? Great. I'll be waiting."
Toby's eyes grew big.
"Santa is coming HERE?!?"
The snowman (got it right this time!) nodded.
"That's right. You guys don't mind keeping me company while I wait for him to pick me up?"
Sarah nodded, she was more than a bit curious.
"Sure, you can tell us how you got here while we wait."
"Sounds like a fair trade. I suggest getting comfortable while we wait."
Walking to the front porch Sarah and Toby sat on one of the benches after dusting the snow off it, while Frosty sat on the front steps.
"Well, where should I begin? Oh, yes. There's this guy who has made Santa's and my life miserable for the past fifteen years. He keeps asking for the same thing every single year and when he doesn't get it, poof! My hat disappears and I reappear back somewhere else in the world. Is no fun either. Once, instead of a snowman, I woke up a sandman. Not pretty."
Toby, who was listening intently to the tale, leaned forward in interest.
"Why doesn't Santa just give him what he wants? Is he on the naughty list?"
Frosty winced a bit at the question.
"Well, is a bit complicated. You see, he keeps asking for a person, not a thing. A person has free will, so he can't do that."
He mumbled to himself then, "Not to mention that there should be millions of Sarahs in the world."
Sarah had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something told her there was more to his story than they were being told.
"So you see? Santa cannot grant his wish and he's all upset because he can't talk to that person. Frankly, if the guy hasn't seen this girl in fifteen years, how can he still hope she feels something for him? For all he knows the girl could be married with kids by now."
Toby piped in again, much to Sarah's growing dismay.
"Why can't he talk to her?"
"I'm not sure about the details, but they had a fight of some kind and now he's forbidden to go anywhere near her."
"A restraining order?"
"Something like that."
Sarah narrowed her eyes.
"And who this person might be?"
Frosty smiled apologetically to the brother and sister.
"Ah, can't say. Santa/Client confidentiality, you understand."
Sarah rolled her eyes. At that same moment, a wrecking sound could be heard at the house next door. When they hurried to look at what happened, they saw Santa's sleigh coming their way, pulling at the back a string of Christmas light tangled with what was once a lighted plastic Santa and the reindeer. Frosty took a hold of the leading reindeer, making the sleigh stop. Santa looked at Frosty.
"This snow storm is getting worse by the minute! We should go quickly frosty or there would be no visibility left, and I am not looking forward to get run over by a 747. Well, what have we here? If it isn't little Sarah Williams and her brother Toby! I haven't heard from any of you in years! How are you?"
Toby answered all bewildered.
"We are fine Santa. Wow, this is sooo cool! Are we still on time to ask for something?"
Getting a mischievous look and a twinkle in his eyes, Santa smiled.
"Of course! But only one for each of you, so choose wisely."
Toby looked at Sarah with a big grin across his face.
"All right! I want the cool stair room I keep dreaming of since I was little."
"WHAT?!?"
Santa just smiled at him.
"Certainly, but you will have to come with me, so you can give me the specs on how to make it. I will return you when I come back on Christmas eve."
Toby was ecstatic.
"Good thing mom and dad are in that business meeting and is only the two of us Sarah. I'm going."
Sarah opened her eyes wide. "Oh no you don't. You are not taking Toby anywhere without me. I'm not losing you again."
Toby looked confused at Sarah. "Huh?"
Santa nodded knowingly.
"I understand. Of course you were included on the invitation as well. I heard what you did last time and sincerely, I am not in the mood to cross you."
Sarah just raised an eyebrow to Santa. Toby looked confused going back and forth between Sarah and the jolly old man.
"Am I missing something?"
Santa just laughed and winked at the boy, while Sarah sighed in resignation.
"Just let me lock the house and we will go with you, Santa."
Sarah locked the house, making sure there was nothing left on. She turned to the group that was waiting for her. Frosty the snowman was conversing animatedly with Toby in the back while Santa was disentangling the broken lights and plastic Santa with reindeer that he dragged from the neighbor's house. She shook her head at the picture that motley crew made and with a slight chuckle she approached them.
"Ready to go?"
Santa just finished pulling the sleigh free of the Xmas ornaments, when putting his finger against his nose the ornaments went back to their original place, as if they had never been broken in the first place. As Santa took his place in front of the sleigh next to Sarah, he made a comment, making Sarah laugh.
"That little trick comes in handy when coming into so many houses during the night.",
Turning his face serious for a moment, Santa turned to his passengers.
"Everyone has their seatbelts on?"
As the unanimous "Yes" could be heard, Santa started talking like one of those rides recordings.
"Please remain seated and keep hands, arms, legs or any body parts inside the sleigh at all times for the duration of the ride."
Giving a tug to the reins, Santa shouted,
"Okay boys, let's go home!"
Sarah was surprised that the ride was so smooth, never feeling cold, the snowflakes diverting around them. Santa noticed that Sarah was looking all around and chuckling he said,
"You don't think I could pull this off if I didn't had some advantages now, would you?"
The ride back was surprisingly fast, Sarah felt that they were flying for about half an hour when they made it to the North Pole, her eyes opening wide in wonder at the beauty of the ice castle where the toy workshop resides.
As they arrived with a smooth landing, various elves were already approaching them, taking care of the sleigh and the reindeer. Frosty said goodbye to them, as he would melt if he went inside the workshop. As they were walking towards the workshop, Santa started resembling a tour guide, as his passengers stepped down of the sleigh.
"Follow me, please. This castle was constructed in 1245. To our right we have the dolls department, while at our left we have the ball room, where we make all kinds of balls.
"Now we are approaching the final inspection and gift wrapping sections."
Crossing through a set of doors, they approached what it looked like a very comfortable living room, with hot cocoa waiting for them in a small table with a plate filled with home made cookies. An elderly woman approached them, her appearance very motherly with a smile on her face.
"Welcome, my dears. Good thing Santa called ahead of time, I have some rooms prepared for you. Did you had a good flight?"
Sarah and Toby nodded while they drank their hot chocolate. With an apology, Mrs. Claus took Santa to the side, her voice almost a whisper,
"You better go to the office, he is here and says he won't leave until he sees you."
With a worried look in his face, Santa left the group with Mrs. Claus.
"I am sure you must be terribly tired. I will show you to your rooms. Follow me, please."
Sarah walked next to Mrs. Claus when curiosity got the best of her.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but who is with Santa?"
Mrs. Claus rolled her eyes and gave a gesture of dismissal.
"Don't worry dear, is just the Goblin King. He usually comes by this time of year because he knows Santa cannot give him what he wants."
Sarah had known somehow that it was Jareth that was in the office with Santa.
"Then why does he come at all?"
"He still hopes year after year that Santa will find a way to grant his fondest wish."
Sarah arched an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Sarah had stopped walking at that point.
"And what would his wish be?"
"Oh, something about the girl he loves and lost when she defeated him or something like that, I'm not too sure on the details. My husband is the one who knows the whole story."
Her heart was speeding up at this news. Sarah breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down.
"Gee Sarah, why are you all red?"
Toby asked, knowing he was irritating his sister. Sarah ignored him and continued to grill Mrs. Claus.
"So what you mean to say is that he is in love with the girl who defeated him in the labyrinth? But how many girls can there be that had solved it?"
Mrs. Claus gave a knowing smile.
"Just one. And by the way, I never mentioned the labyrinth at all."
She then gave Sarah a letter that she recognized, her eyes glued to it. She was sure she never sent it, just made it as hopeless wish. Toby looked at Sarah, curiosity taking the best of him.
"What's that letter, Sarah? What does it say?"
Mrs. Claus took Toby with her.
"Let's go to your rooms, I think Sarah needs to be alone for a while."
With trembling hands, Sarah opened her sealed letter and started reading out loud.
"Dear Santa, I know I'm not a child anymore and that I haven't asked anything of you in a long time. But I feel the need to ask for your help. You see, I fell in love when I was fifteen, and thought that it was just a childhood crush, well it wasn't. I'm thirty years old and I still love him as much or more than I did back then.
My wish is to know if he is happy, and just to ask him if he meant what he said to me before I said the words. I know he probably never forgave me, but I cannot live one more day without knowing. If you could grant me this, I will be eternally grateful to you.
Love,
Sarah Williams"
Closing her eyes as she finished the letter, she felt a tear rolling down her face. Her eyes opened suddenly as she heard a voice behind her.
"Sarah?"
The voice was very familiar, as it had hunted her dreams for years. Turning around slowly, she looked once more to the figure of the Goblin King. Feeling more tears course through her cheeks, she gave a half-smile.
"Jareth, you look the same."
He came closer to her in that silent, cat-like way he had. Lifting a hand to wipe the tears off her face, he tilted his head to a side.
"And you, my dear Sarah, have definitely grown up. Did you meant what you said in that letter?"
"You heard me reading it?"
"I'm afraid I did, but I would like for you to answer my question."
Sarah nodded and looked down, a blush spreading prettily across her face. With a smile, Jareth took her chin and lifted her head to face him.
"To answer your first question, yes, I meant what I said in the labyrinth. The answer to your second question is no."
A confused frown crossed her forehead.
"No?"
His gaze became softer, as his smiled died down, his voice a whisper. His hand leaned to the side of her face, his fingers caressing her cheek.
"How could I be happy when all I wanted was you?"
Sarah smiled and putting her arms around his neck, she pressed her cheek to his.
"Would you ever forgive me?"
"It was my fault, I should have known better than to woo you by taking your brother..."
Jareth just stopped talking and started chuckling. Sarah separated from him, taken aback by his sudden change in mood.
"What's wrong?"
Looking up, he pointed to the ceiling right on top of them.
"I think we better uphold the tradition."
Looking at the ceiling, Sarah noticed mistletoe right on top of where they were standing. Giving Jareth a saucy smile, she crooked her finger calling him to her. Smiling back at her, Jareth took Sarah in his arms, giving her the kiss he thought would never come true. After they separated for air, Sarah looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I think I'm changing my Christmas wish."
Jareth frowned at hearing this.
"Oh?"
Smiling at him, Sarah put her arms around his neck once more.
"Yes, I decided that all I want for Christmas is you."
The End?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(Well, the end was not really the end)
Looking from the top balcony, Toby and Mrs. Claus were looking down at the happy couple when Santa joined them.
"I think we should give them some privacy, yes?"
As they stepped outside the workshop, they saw Frosty, Toby waved at him to come closer to them.
"Well, how did it go?"
Toby just snorted.
"For the looks of things, we will soon have a new Goblin Queen."
Frosty just sighed in relief.
"Finally, I can stop loosing my hat."
Santa looked at Toby proudly.
"Well Toby, my lad, you did a great job. Thank you for sending me that letter as soon as you found out about it."
Toby smiled in return.
"It was nothing. Besides, I wonder what Sarah's reaction would be if she finds out she's not the only one who has met people who aren't supposed to exist. So, are we having Snow Wars with the elves again? Last year your team sucked Frosty..."
Now, for real,
The End
Folks, if you want to take a shot at creating Toby's story, please do so, but let me know so I can read your fic as well. Thanks to everyone who read so far, and please review!
Merry Christmas!
A/N: Well, This fic has gone full circle! A-M has decided to create the prequel, so you can find Toby's story here in ff.net at:
http:// www.fanfiction .net/read.php?storyid=1625465
Rating: PG-13
A/N: This is my response to Anne-Marie's Challenge for a Xmas Laby fic posted on the Laby list. The next chapter will contain the challenge for those of you who are interested in making your own.
DISCLAIMER: Oh yeah, everything Labyrinth belongs to Henson Productions, Frosty Belongs to someone else that's not me, and Santa belongs to himself. Now that we have everything cleared up, enjoy this piece of craziness.
All I Want for Christmas is You
Sarah looked out the window once more and sighed. The snowstorm had no indication of relenting. The weatherman had announced a blizzard, 14-18 inches of snow, something unheard of in that part of New York. She hoped that her dad and Karen were enjoying their Christmas business trip in Las Vegas. That's how she came to be here, she had to take care of Toby while her parents were away.
It was good that her job as a drama teacher let her spend time with her little brother, well, not so little anymore. At fifteen he already towered over her, his long blond hair falling on his shoulders making his blue eyes sparkle, reminding her of someone she met a long time ago… no, better not think of him.
Toby looked at his older sister in silence. She seemed so sad at this time of the year. She hadn't had many dates and he had never known her to have a boyfriend. It was as she was waiting for something, better yet, for someone. He decided it was up to him to bring her out of her sadness, so he ran, stopping inches from where his sister was sitting.
"Come on Sarah, let's make a snowman!"
"But Toby, there's a blizzard out!"
"So? We are going to be at the front of the house, and we will beat the rest of the kids on the street. What do you say?"
Sarah smiled at her brother, his energy and enthusiasm contagious. Taking the hands that Toby offered to help her, she got up, looking for her warmest coat, snow boots, hat and scarf. She was putting her gloves on when she heard her brother calling from the door.
"Are you ready?"
Sarah just smiled.
"In a minute, oh impatient one!"
She went around the kitchen searching for things they could use for the snowman. She found an almost empty bag of charcoal from last summer. She opened the fridge to see if there were any carrots left. Nope, no carrots. What could she use for a nose? She rummaged through the junk drawer; there must be something there.
She found an old corncob pipe she used on her snowmen when she was little, and putting it to the side she kept looking, when her hand encountered a very big red button. She smiled as she remembered the button being from Toby's clown costume when he was six years old.
Taking an old scarf, she placed all the other things inside it, taking the bag of charcoal in her other hand. Realizing what she just selected for the snowman, she started skipping to the front door like a little girl, singing a merry tune in the process.
"Frosty the snowman, was a jolly happy soul…"
Sarah was happier than she had been in a long time. Between the two of them they had made a big snowman, taller than her or Toby. They took the coals and put them as shirt buttons and eyes, the red button she found as the nose and the pipe where the mouth should be. Toby was finishing putting the scarf around its neck, as he was taller, Sarah stepping back to look at their masterpiece.
Tilting her head to one side, then to the other, she appraised the snowman as if it was a piece of art from a gallery. She then looked at Toby.
"It needs something. Somehow it doesn't feel complete."
Toby nodded in agreement.
"It needs, I don't know… A hat, maybe?"
At that moment, a gush of wind enveloped them, a hat rolling along the street. Toby and Sarah looked at each other and shrugging, they went to pick it up.
"Where you think this came from?"
Sarah looked to both sides of the street. Everyone was waiting the storm inside their houses, they were the only ones crazy enough to venture outside in the middle of the storm. She dusted the snow off the hat as much as she could, noticing that it was an old silk top hat. She gave the hat to her brother.
"You do the honors. You are taller and besides, the snowman idea was yours."
Grinning in response, Toby put the hat on top of the snowman and walked next to Sarah to admire their creation. Suddenly, the snowman started shaking, arms and legs made out of snow protruding from the snowman, while a voice they never heard before spoke to them.
"Happy Birthday!"
Toby and Sarah looked dumbfounded at the snowman. Sarah's shock was caused more to the fact that the last time she experienced magic was not a very pleasant experience, she stood as if frozen. Toby was frozen as well, his expression as astounded as his sister's.
"What the…"
The snowman looked around, as if trying to get his bearings.
"Whoah! Where am I? This is SO NOT the North Pole!"
Toby's brain started working and yelling at the mouth to move its lazy bum and get to work.
"Um, Sarah?"
Sarah's brain reacted a bit slower, weary of who or what caused this to happen.
"Yeah?"
"How come the snowdude can talk?"
The snowman frowned at Toby, while resting his hands on his hips.
"The name is Frosty, the snowMAN, not dude. And for your information, I can talk because of magic. Excuse me for a moment…"
Frosty put his hand in a now existing pocket in his hip from where he pulled out a cell phone. Toby looked at Sarah for an explanation, her only respon\se being a shrug and turning to see what the snowdude, erm, snowman was up to.
"Yeah? Santa? It happened again. That's right. He took the hat again and now I'm in the middle of somewhere…"
Putting his hand on the phone, he turned to the two siblings.
"Erm, where are we?"
Sarah recovered enough to answer.
"New York."
Mouthing a thank you, Frosty returned to his conversation on his cell phone. Toby just took the scene with an amused look, summarizing it in one word.
"Cool!"
"Yeah, so I am here in the middle of a snow storm. I'm telling you, you better listen to him this year. I'm not looking forward to appear who knows where next time with no cell phone access. You picked up the position from the cell phone? How long? Half an hour? Great. I'll be waiting."
Toby's eyes grew big.
"Santa is coming HERE?!?"
The snowman (got it right this time!) nodded.
"That's right. You guys don't mind keeping me company while I wait for him to pick me up?"
Sarah nodded, she was more than a bit curious.
"Sure, you can tell us how you got here while we wait."
"Sounds like a fair trade. I suggest getting comfortable while we wait."
Walking to the front porch Sarah and Toby sat on one of the benches after dusting the snow off it, while Frosty sat on the front steps.
"Well, where should I begin? Oh, yes. There's this guy who has made Santa's and my life miserable for the past fifteen years. He keeps asking for the same thing every single year and when he doesn't get it, poof! My hat disappears and I reappear back somewhere else in the world. Is no fun either. Once, instead of a snowman, I woke up a sandman. Not pretty."
Toby, who was listening intently to the tale, leaned forward in interest.
"Why doesn't Santa just give him what he wants? Is he on the naughty list?"
Frosty winced a bit at the question.
"Well, is a bit complicated. You see, he keeps asking for a person, not a thing. A person has free will, so he can't do that."
He mumbled to himself then, "Not to mention that there should be millions of Sarahs in the world."
Sarah had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something told her there was more to his story than they were being told.
"So you see? Santa cannot grant his wish and he's all upset because he can't talk to that person. Frankly, if the guy hasn't seen this girl in fifteen years, how can he still hope she feels something for him? For all he knows the girl could be married with kids by now."
Toby piped in again, much to Sarah's growing dismay.
"Why can't he talk to her?"
"I'm not sure about the details, but they had a fight of some kind and now he's forbidden to go anywhere near her."
"A restraining order?"
"Something like that."
Sarah narrowed her eyes.
"And who this person might be?"
Frosty smiled apologetically to the brother and sister.
"Ah, can't say. Santa/Client confidentiality, you understand."
Sarah rolled her eyes. At that same moment, a wrecking sound could be heard at the house next door. When they hurried to look at what happened, they saw Santa's sleigh coming their way, pulling at the back a string of Christmas light tangled with what was once a lighted plastic Santa and the reindeer. Frosty took a hold of the leading reindeer, making the sleigh stop. Santa looked at Frosty.
"This snow storm is getting worse by the minute! We should go quickly frosty or there would be no visibility left, and I am not looking forward to get run over by a 747. Well, what have we here? If it isn't little Sarah Williams and her brother Toby! I haven't heard from any of you in years! How are you?"
Toby answered all bewildered.
"We are fine Santa. Wow, this is sooo cool! Are we still on time to ask for something?"
Getting a mischievous look and a twinkle in his eyes, Santa smiled.
"Of course! But only one for each of you, so choose wisely."
Toby looked at Sarah with a big grin across his face.
"All right! I want the cool stair room I keep dreaming of since I was little."
"WHAT?!?"
Santa just smiled at him.
"Certainly, but you will have to come with me, so you can give me the specs on how to make it. I will return you when I come back on Christmas eve."
Toby was ecstatic.
"Good thing mom and dad are in that business meeting and is only the two of us Sarah. I'm going."
Sarah opened her eyes wide. "Oh no you don't. You are not taking Toby anywhere without me. I'm not losing you again."
Toby looked confused at Sarah. "Huh?"
Santa nodded knowingly.
"I understand. Of course you were included on the invitation as well. I heard what you did last time and sincerely, I am not in the mood to cross you."
Sarah just raised an eyebrow to Santa. Toby looked confused going back and forth between Sarah and the jolly old man.
"Am I missing something?"
Santa just laughed and winked at the boy, while Sarah sighed in resignation.
"Just let me lock the house and we will go with you, Santa."
Sarah locked the house, making sure there was nothing left on. She turned to the group that was waiting for her. Frosty the snowman was conversing animatedly with Toby in the back while Santa was disentangling the broken lights and plastic Santa with reindeer that he dragged from the neighbor's house. She shook her head at the picture that motley crew made and with a slight chuckle she approached them.
"Ready to go?"
Santa just finished pulling the sleigh free of the Xmas ornaments, when putting his finger against his nose the ornaments went back to their original place, as if they had never been broken in the first place. As Santa took his place in front of the sleigh next to Sarah, he made a comment, making Sarah laugh.
"That little trick comes in handy when coming into so many houses during the night.",
Turning his face serious for a moment, Santa turned to his passengers.
"Everyone has their seatbelts on?"
As the unanimous "Yes" could be heard, Santa started talking like one of those rides recordings.
"Please remain seated and keep hands, arms, legs or any body parts inside the sleigh at all times for the duration of the ride."
Giving a tug to the reins, Santa shouted,
"Okay boys, let's go home!"
Sarah was surprised that the ride was so smooth, never feeling cold, the snowflakes diverting around them. Santa noticed that Sarah was looking all around and chuckling he said,
"You don't think I could pull this off if I didn't had some advantages now, would you?"
The ride back was surprisingly fast, Sarah felt that they were flying for about half an hour when they made it to the North Pole, her eyes opening wide in wonder at the beauty of the ice castle where the toy workshop resides.
As they arrived with a smooth landing, various elves were already approaching them, taking care of the sleigh and the reindeer. Frosty said goodbye to them, as he would melt if he went inside the workshop. As they were walking towards the workshop, Santa started resembling a tour guide, as his passengers stepped down of the sleigh.
"Follow me, please. This castle was constructed in 1245. To our right we have the dolls department, while at our left we have the ball room, where we make all kinds of balls.
"Now we are approaching the final inspection and gift wrapping sections."
Crossing through a set of doors, they approached what it looked like a very comfortable living room, with hot cocoa waiting for them in a small table with a plate filled with home made cookies. An elderly woman approached them, her appearance very motherly with a smile on her face.
"Welcome, my dears. Good thing Santa called ahead of time, I have some rooms prepared for you. Did you had a good flight?"
Sarah and Toby nodded while they drank their hot chocolate. With an apology, Mrs. Claus took Santa to the side, her voice almost a whisper,
"You better go to the office, he is here and says he won't leave until he sees you."
With a worried look in his face, Santa left the group with Mrs. Claus.
"I am sure you must be terribly tired. I will show you to your rooms. Follow me, please."
Sarah walked next to Mrs. Claus when curiosity got the best of her.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but who is with Santa?"
Mrs. Claus rolled her eyes and gave a gesture of dismissal.
"Don't worry dear, is just the Goblin King. He usually comes by this time of year because he knows Santa cannot give him what he wants."
Sarah had known somehow that it was Jareth that was in the office with Santa.
"Then why does he come at all?"
"He still hopes year after year that Santa will find a way to grant his fondest wish."
Sarah arched an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Sarah had stopped walking at that point.
"And what would his wish be?"
"Oh, something about the girl he loves and lost when she defeated him or something like that, I'm not too sure on the details. My husband is the one who knows the whole story."
Her heart was speeding up at this news. Sarah breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down.
"Gee Sarah, why are you all red?"
Toby asked, knowing he was irritating his sister. Sarah ignored him and continued to grill Mrs. Claus.
"So what you mean to say is that he is in love with the girl who defeated him in the labyrinth? But how many girls can there be that had solved it?"
Mrs. Claus gave a knowing smile.
"Just one. And by the way, I never mentioned the labyrinth at all."
She then gave Sarah a letter that she recognized, her eyes glued to it. She was sure she never sent it, just made it as hopeless wish. Toby looked at Sarah, curiosity taking the best of him.
"What's that letter, Sarah? What does it say?"
Mrs. Claus took Toby with her.
"Let's go to your rooms, I think Sarah needs to be alone for a while."
With trembling hands, Sarah opened her sealed letter and started reading out loud.
"Dear Santa, I know I'm not a child anymore and that I haven't asked anything of you in a long time. But I feel the need to ask for your help. You see, I fell in love when I was fifteen, and thought that it was just a childhood crush, well it wasn't. I'm thirty years old and I still love him as much or more than I did back then.
My wish is to know if he is happy, and just to ask him if he meant what he said to me before I said the words. I know he probably never forgave me, but I cannot live one more day without knowing. If you could grant me this, I will be eternally grateful to you.
Love,
Sarah Williams"
Closing her eyes as she finished the letter, she felt a tear rolling down her face. Her eyes opened suddenly as she heard a voice behind her.
"Sarah?"
The voice was very familiar, as it had hunted her dreams for years. Turning around slowly, she looked once more to the figure of the Goblin King. Feeling more tears course through her cheeks, she gave a half-smile.
"Jareth, you look the same."
He came closer to her in that silent, cat-like way he had. Lifting a hand to wipe the tears off her face, he tilted his head to a side.
"And you, my dear Sarah, have definitely grown up. Did you meant what you said in that letter?"
"You heard me reading it?"
"I'm afraid I did, but I would like for you to answer my question."
Sarah nodded and looked down, a blush spreading prettily across her face. With a smile, Jareth took her chin and lifted her head to face him.
"To answer your first question, yes, I meant what I said in the labyrinth. The answer to your second question is no."
A confused frown crossed her forehead.
"No?"
His gaze became softer, as his smiled died down, his voice a whisper. His hand leaned to the side of her face, his fingers caressing her cheek.
"How could I be happy when all I wanted was you?"
Sarah smiled and putting her arms around his neck, she pressed her cheek to his.
"Would you ever forgive me?"
"It was my fault, I should have known better than to woo you by taking your brother..."
Jareth just stopped talking and started chuckling. Sarah separated from him, taken aback by his sudden change in mood.
"What's wrong?"
Looking up, he pointed to the ceiling right on top of them.
"I think we better uphold the tradition."
Looking at the ceiling, Sarah noticed mistletoe right on top of where they were standing. Giving Jareth a saucy smile, she crooked her finger calling him to her. Smiling back at her, Jareth took Sarah in his arms, giving her the kiss he thought would never come true. After they separated for air, Sarah looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I think I'm changing my Christmas wish."
Jareth frowned at hearing this.
"Oh?"
Smiling at him, Sarah put her arms around his neck once more.
"Yes, I decided that all I want for Christmas is you."
The End?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(Well, the end was not really the end)
Looking from the top balcony, Toby and Mrs. Claus were looking down at the happy couple when Santa joined them.
"I think we should give them some privacy, yes?"
As they stepped outside the workshop, they saw Frosty, Toby waved at him to come closer to them.
"Well, how did it go?"
Toby just snorted.
"For the looks of things, we will soon have a new Goblin Queen."
Frosty just sighed in relief.
"Finally, I can stop loosing my hat."
Santa looked at Toby proudly.
"Well Toby, my lad, you did a great job. Thank you for sending me that letter as soon as you found out about it."
Toby smiled in return.
"It was nothing. Besides, I wonder what Sarah's reaction would be if she finds out she's not the only one who has met people who aren't supposed to exist. So, are we having Snow Wars with the elves again? Last year your team sucked Frosty..."
Now, for real,
The End
Folks, if you want to take a shot at creating Toby's story, please do so, but let me know so I can read your fic as well. Thanks to everyone who read so far, and please review!
Merry Christmas!
A/N: Well, This fic has gone full circle! A-M has decided to create the prequel, so you can find Toby's story here in ff.net at:
http:// www.fanfiction .net/read.php?storyid=1625465