A/N: I'm really starting to doubt whether I should continue this or not. If there are people who are reading but not reviewing please, please, please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth. I do own all of Jessica's clothes though, seeing as how she is me.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenge is Sweet. Isn't It?
Sarah flopped down on her bed. She was waiting for her father, Karen and Toby to return. They had gone out shopping for presents; tonight was her birthday party. She was looking forward to it. It wouldn't be big, just family, but Sarah expected it to be fun. She had just graduated from high school a month ago and had gotten a scholarship to a fine arts college. She would be leaving in the fall. Karen wasn't too happy about it; the college was several states away and she didn't like the thought of Sarah being so far from home. Sarah didn't hate Karen anymore and while the two of them weren't always on the best of terms they were far from enemies.
Sarah heard the front door opening and then Toby's voice called out, "Sarah? Are you home?"
"Yes, Toby, I'm home!" she called as she sat up. She could hear Toby's feet pounding up the steps. Moments later he burst into her room, grinning from ear to ear.
"We got your presents and your cake!" he announced.
"Really?" She opened her arms and Toby ran over to her, hugging her enthusiastically before jumping up onto the bed beside her. In a conspiratorial whisper she asked, "What'd you get me?"
"I can't tell you," said Toby very seriously. "It's a secret."
"Oh, ok," Sarah said with a grin.
"Sarah, will you tell me a story tonight?"
"Sure, I will," Sarah said. "I always do."
Toby gave her another hug.
I can't believe I hated him, Sarah thought. I can't believe I wished him away.
Though it had been three years since the incident in the Labyrinth, Sarah still remembered the events clearly. Never once had she regretted saving Toby from the Goblin King.
The Goblin King… She'd been seeing glimpses of him off and on throughout the last three years. He had left her completely alone during the past two months though, which was odd. Normally she saw him (in owl form, he never transformed) at least once a month. Sarah hoped that Jareth's lack of appearances meant he had finally decided to leave her alone.
She pushed the thoughts away. She was not about to let Jareth's memory ruin her birthday.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jessica sat hunched over a book in Jareth's library. It had been four days since Jareth had saved her life. She was pretty much adapted to life in the castle. Not that she still didn't want to go home. She did. She just understood that Jareth couldn't send her back.
Jareth had told her that she was a telepath. She could read people's thoughts and she could communicate mentally. He had worked with her some but it turned out that she'd been unknowingly using them off and on for years. Now she was in almost complete control of them. She'd been using Jareth's library to read about all the different types of magic to see if she fit in to any other categories. So far she'd found nothing, but she had stumbled across some very interesting books talked about how telepathy related to other types of magic.
Hard at work I see, Jareth's voice echoed through her mind. Jessica sat up abruptly and saw that he was standing in the door to the library. She wondered how long he'd been there.
"Don't sneak up on me like that," Jessica said. Jareth could communicate mentally, but he couldn't read minds. Since she was the only telepath around Jessica was the only one who could have a conversation with him without speaking a single word. She closed the book, carefully marking her place. Standing up she asked, "What do you need?"
An odd sort of relationship had formed between the two of them. Jessica, who had thought she'd loved Jareth, had come to realize that it had only been infatuation. She also knew that Jareth didn't care for her in that manner. So now it was almost as though Jareth was her father or perhaps an older brother. And like with any family member she thought she knew him fairly well.
Jareth, though she hated to admit it, had a tendency to act superior. She saw it whenever he was around the goblins and sometimes even around her. And he had a very bad temper. Just yesterday she had seen him go ballistic with a particularly dense goblin that had done something wrong. Wisely she'd avoided him until he'd calmed down.
"I'm leaving for a bit," Jareth said. "I have some business to take care of."
Jessica nodded. She knew better than to ask what it was. Jareth didn't take it too kindly when she pried into his affairs. "When will you be back?"
"I should be here for dinner," he said. "If I'm not don't worry about me. I'll be back early tomorrow at the very latest."
"All right." Jessica sat back down with the book as Jareth left; wondering to herself why he'd bothered to tell her. He never told her his business and she never told him hers. It was just a subject they never approached. Shaking her head Jessica opened the book again. She skipped to the end of the chapter, not really caring if some telepaths could tap into rivers for energy because she couldn't. She started reading the beginning of the next chapter in an almost bored fashion. Soon, however, her attention was fully on the text.
Out of all the magic powers that exist, the book said, empathy is the one most commonly connected with telepathy. Empathy consists of being able to read a person's emotions rather than their mind. Most telepaths have a touch of empathy.
Jessica read though the chapter, realizing that she displayed many of the characteristics for a telepath with strong empathy. She had always been able to tell how someone felt. She'd always just assumed she had a sensitive nature.
As it turned out, empaths could also broadcast their emotions, something Jessica realized she'd been doing for years. Everyone had known when she was upset, despite all her efforts to hide it. Empaths also had a tendency to show their emotions clearly through their expressions as long as they were broadcasting.
By the end of the chapter Jessica was convinced that she had empathy. She closed the book shut and immediately began going through the library, looking for books on how to control her newly discovered talent.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sarah walked out of Toby's room quietly so as not to wake him. The boy had fallen asleep halfway through her story. She was almost glad because it was late, she was tired and she desperately needed a good night's sleep. For the last two nights she'd been sleeping fitfully. She wasn't having any dreams that she could remember but she was having trouble getting to sleep. And once she actually fell asleep she kept waking at odd hours.
Sarah stepped into her room. The light was off. She flicked it on as she closed the door behind her. She turned around. Her window was open.
That's odd, Sarah thought. I don't remember leaving it open. She started to walk across the room to close it. A white owl soared in through the open window. Sarah froze. It was Jareth; she was sure of it.
As if to confirm her thoughts the owl transformed. In seconds the Goblin King occupied the place where the owl had been. He smirked.
"What do you want?" Sarah asked, surprised to find that her voice wasn't trembling.
"I think you know," he answered. His eyes glittered maliciously.
He stepped towards her and she tried to back away.
"Go away," she ordered, with much more strength than she felt.
"But, Sarah, I've brought you a birthday present," he said, as though she'd actually hurt him.
"I don't want it," she said sharply. After Jareth's last "gift" she didn't trust anything from him.
"You haven't even seen it," he said, and he conjured a crystal out of what seemed to be mid-air.
"I don't want it," Sarah repeated.
"Too bad," Jareth said. He threw the crystal at her. It grew larger, and when it touched her it surrounded her. Sarah felt dizziness overcoming her and she tried to fight it. It was a losing battle though and she sunk to the ground, her vision fading.
"Happy Birthday, Sarah." The Goblin King's mocking voice was the last thing she heard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Well, there it is. Sarah has entered the story peoples. Can you guess what is going to happen next? Anyway, until I have more, tata and tootles!
