Author's Note: Ok, I want to apologize to everyone for my prolonged absence. I can explain. So I went to bed after posting last time, and it was around 5 AM. Not exactly a normal bedtime, but I figured since my trip was cancelled I had all the time in the world to sleep. However my mom wakes me up at 9 Am, says to me "Yaz? Do you think you could convince your father to drive us to Pittsburgh today? As in within an hour?" (I am amazed at the stock she places in my persuasion skills) I wanted to roll over and tell her I was sleeping. But instead, I rolled over, got up, and said "maybe. Let me go see." And to make a long story short, we were on the road exactly an hour later. I toured colleges, drove over 18 hours from Saturday morning till Tuesday evening, and went bungee jumping. Greatest 4 day vacation I've ever taken. When I got back, my play was in shambles. The music director took off to college with all the music, and I had to start from scratch in that area again. Anyways, now that I apologized, I shall start writing again.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth or any of its characters.
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Sarah fumed at Jareth. After finally 'dressing' herself, which involved changing into a dress that seemed to have a built in corset, she had summoned him and told him she wished to leave the room. The actual summoning had almost been as hard as doing up the back of a corset by herself. Had she not worn one for several of her plays, she probably would have been totally lost, but as it was she had figured out a trick to tying it that included a bed post and a lot of grunting.
She had stared at the crystal for a long time, unsure of what to do with it. After Jareth had so kindly left her to her privacy, she had placed it upon the bed, and left it there. After finishing her struggle with the dress she stared at it.
He never told me how to summon him with it…
She glared at it and thought his name.
Nothing.
Do I hold it? Rub it? Call out his name? hmm, rubbing and calling his name… definitely something I never want to hear myself think again…
Sarah shook herself out of her reverie with that twisted thought, and snatched the crystal from her bed. She glared at it embedded in her hand and said "Jareth."
Nothing.
Sarah sighed, and growled to herself "Stupid arrogant bastard"
"I resent that."
She jumped and whirled to find him once again behind her. "God damn it Jareth! Stop doing that!"
Jareth smirked. "But you look so very amusing when you're surprised, Sarah" He stepped forward, and Sarah took a step away, backing into the bed.
"We're going to have to work on your concept of personal space, Goblin King" she said dryly "It obviously needs work."
"Oh Sarah… does my presence bother you?"
"Bother... disturb… annoy… you name it, it does it, Goblin King." She sat down on the bed, and glared up at him. "I want out of here now, please. And then I'd like an explanation of what's going on. I'm sick of games, and just want to get on with this."
Jareth's amused mask dropped for a moment, and she caught a glimpse of another fleeting emotion before it slammed back into place.
"Oh Sarah, but that is exactly what you're here for. A game. Such a pity, you used to enjoy games."
"I grew up, Goblin King." She sighed. Looking up, Sarah realized Jareth was no longer in front of her.
"I've noticed."
This time she did not jump, but merely flinched as she felt his breath on the back of her neck. She turned to meet his mischievous mismatched eyes.
"And what exactly do you mean by that, Goblin King?" she demanded, confusion creeping unwillingly into her voice.
"Merely that I have noticed you have lost your childlike innocence and life. What happened to you Sarah? When did you become so… dull?"
"When I realized that you can't live in a fantasy." She snapped, and flounced off the bed, whirling away from him. Jareth smirked, and gestured around them to the room.
"Says whom? Dear Sarah, that is precisely where I live" his eyes glinted mischievously, "and if you lose, then that is precisely where you will live too."
Her eyes widened in shock, and then anger. "What? I don't think so Goblin King. I have a life to get back to. I have a family and a home. I have an entire world up there, and it doesn't include you!" she snarled at him in frustration.
Jareth's eyes flashed with anger, before they cooled into iciness. "You forgot to say It's not fair, Sarah. Did you forget that part?" he sneered.
For a moment he thought Sarah would burst into tears. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, but when she spoke her voice was cool and detached. "No Goblin King. I didn't forget. I learned a long time ago life isn't fair. It never turns out the way you want it to. You just have to accept it. Hate it, loath it, fight it. But accept it without complaint. Life isn't fair, Goblin King, but that's the way it is."
He was surprised at this answer, and it reflected in his voice. "I never expected that from you dearest Sarah. You have grown."
"May we leave now?" she muttered, folding her arms and hunching her shoulders, "Please? I'm tired of this room."
Jareth stared at her for a moment, then held out his hand towards her. She stared at it distrustfully.
"It won't bite, Sarah." He said softly. She rolled her eyes, and took his large leather clad hand with her much smaller one. The world gave a shuddering jolt around her, and the room evaporated into a gorgeous green garden. After a moment Jareth released her hand and gestured for her to turn around. She did, and gasped.
It was the labyrinth.
Stretched out in all its magnificence before her, the labyrinth was awe inspiring. She was shocked at what she saw. The labyrinth was no longer the dark orange and grey she remembered it as. Now it was a lush green, a vicious black, and the sky above loomed red instead of orange.
"What happened to it?" she asked, unable to tear her eyes from the sight before her.
His breath was on her neck again, and his gloved hands fell upon her shoulders. "You did"
She turned, and stared at him questioningly. He answered the question burning within her eyes. "Dearest Sarah, you tore my labyrinth apart. You were the only one worthy enough to beat it, and so it had to change. If it could be defeated then it obviously was not strong enough. So it changed itself in order to beat someone with such a strong will as yours."
Sarah turned back to the labyrinth spread out before her. "Do I have to run it again?"
He didn't respond, but merely enveloped her in his arms. The world gave a shuddering jolt and she found herself in the throne room, surrounded by crazed goblins, wild chickens, and a dwarf, who cowered at the King standing at her back.
"Hoggle!" Sarah cried, and rushed forward. Hoggle stepped away from her and raised his hands in defense. Sarah stopped, and stared painfully at him. "Hoggle? It's me. Sarah."
"I knows that!" he retorted angrily. "But the last time you gots all excited to see me I ended up hanging over the bog of Eternal Stench! I have no wish to repeat that encounter again"
Sarah whirled to face the Goblin King. "Do you feel like explaining yet?" she asked exasperatedly. "Or do you feel like running in circles around the subject again?"
He smirked at her. "It depends. What do you wish to know?"
"Okay… so, I'm here because…"
"Because I wished it."
"Okay. And Hoggle is here because…"
"Because I wished it."
"uh-huh… I see. And the other goblins are here because…"
"Because it'd damned impossible to get rid of them. You know that as well as I."
"Oh. Right. Gotcha…" Sarah rolled her eyes in frustration. She could tell this was going to be a long day.
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Ok. I sincerely apologize again for the long delay and the shortness of this chapter. Again I will try and update a lot more often, however with my play in the state it is right now, and school ready to start up as soon as this strike is over I don't know how often I can get back to this story. I will do my best to write one chapter a night, but if not you should get 2 chapters a week from now on.
~Yass