Disclaimer: I own nothing from the "Labyrinth". Sorry, out of clever
disclaimer appendages today.
Chapter 10
Jareth stormed into his throne room in a full-blown rage. How dare she speak to him like that - as if he were some kind of .of.servant or goblin or something! He had provided her with everything she could possibly desire since she had arrived and had seen to her every comfort. He was even going to make that ungrateful girl his queen and all she could do was curse and shout at him! Throwing her into an oubliette was no more than she deserved. Maybe she would learn a few manners after a cold night spent with whatever was living down there these days. He expected a humble and obedient wife in the morning or he would show her a few places in his labyrinth that were far more frightening than a mere hole in the ground.
He had offered her everything - EVERYTHING - the first time she had entered his world and she had patently rejected him as if his offer were some consolation prize like a year's supply of oven cleaner. When she had wished brother away, he had considerately granted her every wish, reordered time, turned the world upside down, seen her safely through his labyrinth, and offered her his heart and soul, all to no avail. This time she had called on HIM specifically and he had answered her call, fetched her away and treated her like a princess - really almost as if she were his equal, and this was how she repaid him? He was sick and tired of wearing himself out in an effort to impress this.this.spoiled BRAT. Jareth stormed about his throne room kicking the goblins that had the misfortune to be in his path and shattering any number of crystals against the walls and floor as soon as he had spun them into existence.
After half an hour, the floor of his throne room was covered in broken crystal and Jareth was lying on the flagstones, drinking from a cask of mead and feeling like an ass. As his temper waned and he thought about his behavior toward Sarah he started to feel more and more like crawling into an oubliette of his own. Any dark place that would hide him from the light of day for the rest of his life would be just fine. She wasn't all that spoiled after all.really, she had even handled her suddenly changed circumstances rather well. Yes, she had been upset when he'd abducted her, but she had actually been very civil and polite to him the whole time. They may have been adversaries, but she had tried to reason with him to seek a way out of her situation and finding no escape, had risen to the occasion as best she could - no tantrums, no outbursts, no complaints about the unfairness of it all. And he supposed it was a little unfair. She hadn't exactly been fully awake when she had wished herself into his power. In retrospect, Jareth had to admit that she hadn't once lost her temper until he had pretty much attacked her in a fit of lust. Well, she HAD responded to his kiss, so it wasn't as if he hadn't been invited. But then, he grudgingly admitted, a single kiss didn't really give him license to toss her down, rip her clothes off and have his way with her either. Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP. With her kiss, she had started to respond to him in a promising way.
And now he'd thrown her into an oubliette.
Dear god, he had THROWN her into an OUBLIETTE. Some of them were rather a long way down. Some of them even had a few .native inhabitants. The sudden image of Sarah lying still and hurt at the bottom of some awful, dark, freezing hole almost stopped his heart. Instantly, he spun a crystal to look in on her. All he saw was darkness. He cursed himself under his breath and with the flick of a wrist, appeared in the oubliette himself. A few muttered words and bright light illuminated the entire cavern.
Sarah was nowhere to be seen. Jareth cast another spell that would locate her swiftly wherever she might be in his labyrinth. Nothing. Either Sarah was under a powerful cloaking spell or .well, the worst that could happen had just happened and she was dead. Sarah couldn't possibly know any cloaking spells.
Jareth had never prayed before. He had never taken the existence of any gods very seriously. Now he felt himself calling on the universe itself, pulling all the magic of the Underground to him and begging for Sarah's safe return. If he couldn't sense her anywhere the chances that she was actually alive and well were very slim. If anything had happened to her, he knew he didn't want to live anymore.
He took another long careful look around the oubliette in case he could spy any signs of blood or struggle, or any clues as to how Sarah might have escaped. He saw nothing but dank, stone walls without a door - a door? Had Sarah somehow figured out a way to use one of his doors? Jareth examined the walls even more carefully and then he found it, almost invisible against the uneven walls if stone. Yes, she had indeed found a portal. She probably remembered what to look for from the last time she had been trapped in an oubliette and he had sent Hoggle to help her out.
Jareth impatiently pulled at the door. It creaked open on rusty hinges and Jareth was shocked to be staring out at his own gardens. He didn't have any oubliettes that would lead to his royal gardens. How in the world had that happened? Then he remembered the spell he had woven on Sarah when he had first brought her to his palace. Of course! She would have opened the door with the intention of escaping and any paths she took would lead her straight back to his palace. Well, good, but then why couldn't he sense her? If she was still breathing he should be able to find her anywhere. He tried his location spell again and again came up with nothing.
Jareth was getting very worried indeed. Well, if she had been trying any doors, she would have ended up back in her room. He should check there first. In an instant, he appeared next to the bed, the sheets still rumpled from his encounter with Sarah earlier in the evening. She was nowhere to be found. He checked the bathroom, the balcony, even the wardrobe.
Jareth was convinced that something awful had happened to her. What made it worse was that whatever had happened was all his fault. Alive or dead she had to be in his palace somewhere and he WOULD find her. Without thinking he found himself running madly from room to room. Wait. If she hadn't ended up back in her room then she couldn't have tried any doors, so Sarah had to be either somewhere out in the open or somewhere that didn't exactly have a door. That left the grounds, the hallways and any room that one could enter without going through an actual door. Oh god. She might be in his staircase room. Without lights, the place could be deadly for anyone who did not know its dimensions by heart. In the blink of an eye, he was standing at the archway. He cast another spell for light and peered into the maze of seemingly infinite staircases and landings.
"Sarah?" he called. His voice echoing off the walls was the only response. "Oh god, what have I done?"
Chapter 10
Jareth stormed into his throne room in a full-blown rage. How dare she speak to him like that - as if he were some kind of .of.servant or goblin or something! He had provided her with everything she could possibly desire since she had arrived and had seen to her every comfort. He was even going to make that ungrateful girl his queen and all she could do was curse and shout at him! Throwing her into an oubliette was no more than she deserved. Maybe she would learn a few manners after a cold night spent with whatever was living down there these days. He expected a humble and obedient wife in the morning or he would show her a few places in his labyrinth that were far more frightening than a mere hole in the ground.
He had offered her everything - EVERYTHING - the first time she had entered his world and she had patently rejected him as if his offer were some consolation prize like a year's supply of oven cleaner. When she had wished brother away, he had considerately granted her every wish, reordered time, turned the world upside down, seen her safely through his labyrinth, and offered her his heart and soul, all to no avail. This time she had called on HIM specifically and he had answered her call, fetched her away and treated her like a princess - really almost as if she were his equal, and this was how she repaid him? He was sick and tired of wearing himself out in an effort to impress this.this.spoiled BRAT. Jareth stormed about his throne room kicking the goblins that had the misfortune to be in his path and shattering any number of crystals against the walls and floor as soon as he had spun them into existence.
After half an hour, the floor of his throne room was covered in broken crystal and Jareth was lying on the flagstones, drinking from a cask of mead and feeling like an ass. As his temper waned and he thought about his behavior toward Sarah he started to feel more and more like crawling into an oubliette of his own. Any dark place that would hide him from the light of day for the rest of his life would be just fine. She wasn't all that spoiled after all.really, she had even handled her suddenly changed circumstances rather well. Yes, she had been upset when he'd abducted her, but she had actually been very civil and polite to him the whole time. They may have been adversaries, but she had tried to reason with him to seek a way out of her situation and finding no escape, had risen to the occasion as best she could - no tantrums, no outbursts, no complaints about the unfairness of it all. And he supposed it was a little unfair. She hadn't exactly been fully awake when she had wished herself into his power. In retrospect, Jareth had to admit that she hadn't once lost her temper until he had pretty much attacked her in a fit of lust. Well, she HAD responded to his kiss, so it wasn't as if he hadn't been invited. But then, he grudgingly admitted, a single kiss didn't really give him license to toss her down, rip her clothes off and have his way with her either. Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP. With her kiss, she had started to respond to him in a promising way.
And now he'd thrown her into an oubliette.
Dear god, he had THROWN her into an OUBLIETTE. Some of them were rather a long way down. Some of them even had a few .native inhabitants. The sudden image of Sarah lying still and hurt at the bottom of some awful, dark, freezing hole almost stopped his heart. Instantly, he spun a crystal to look in on her. All he saw was darkness. He cursed himself under his breath and with the flick of a wrist, appeared in the oubliette himself. A few muttered words and bright light illuminated the entire cavern.
Sarah was nowhere to be seen. Jareth cast another spell that would locate her swiftly wherever she might be in his labyrinth. Nothing. Either Sarah was under a powerful cloaking spell or .well, the worst that could happen had just happened and she was dead. Sarah couldn't possibly know any cloaking spells.
Jareth had never prayed before. He had never taken the existence of any gods very seriously. Now he felt himself calling on the universe itself, pulling all the magic of the Underground to him and begging for Sarah's safe return. If he couldn't sense her anywhere the chances that she was actually alive and well were very slim. If anything had happened to her, he knew he didn't want to live anymore.
He took another long careful look around the oubliette in case he could spy any signs of blood or struggle, or any clues as to how Sarah might have escaped. He saw nothing but dank, stone walls without a door - a door? Had Sarah somehow figured out a way to use one of his doors? Jareth examined the walls even more carefully and then he found it, almost invisible against the uneven walls if stone. Yes, she had indeed found a portal. She probably remembered what to look for from the last time she had been trapped in an oubliette and he had sent Hoggle to help her out.
Jareth impatiently pulled at the door. It creaked open on rusty hinges and Jareth was shocked to be staring out at his own gardens. He didn't have any oubliettes that would lead to his royal gardens. How in the world had that happened? Then he remembered the spell he had woven on Sarah when he had first brought her to his palace. Of course! She would have opened the door with the intention of escaping and any paths she took would lead her straight back to his palace. Well, good, but then why couldn't he sense her? If she was still breathing he should be able to find her anywhere. He tried his location spell again and again came up with nothing.
Jareth was getting very worried indeed. Well, if she had been trying any doors, she would have ended up back in her room. He should check there first. In an instant, he appeared next to the bed, the sheets still rumpled from his encounter with Sarah earlier in the evening. She was nowhere to be found. He checked the bathroom, the balcony, even the wardrobe.
Jareth was convinced that something awful had happened to her. What made it worse was that whatever had happened was all his fault. Alive or dead she had to be in his palace somewhere and he WOULD find her. Without thinking he found himself running madly from room to room. Wait. If she hadn't ended up back in her room then she couldn't have tried any doors, so Sarah had to be either somewhere out in the open or somewhere that didn't exactly have a door. That left the grounds, the hallways and any room that one could enter without going through an actual door. Oh god. She might be in his staircase room. Without lights, the place could be deadly for anyone who did not know its dimensions by heart. In the blink of an eye, he was standing at the archway. He cast another spell for light and peered into the maze of seemingly infinite staircases and landings.
"Sarah?" he called. His voice echoing off the walls was the only response. "Oh god, what have I done?"