Title: Chances Born
Part Three: Explanations
Author: Kayson
Disclaimer: Everyone should know who owns 'Labyrinth'. Everyone should also know that it isn't me. That's just common sense. I wish they'd come out with a sequel. They need a sequel.
Summary: Sarah gets the explanation out of Riley.
A/N: Heidi-ho. Sorry it took so long to update but I'm trying to keep the word count up (along with my grades) and I just haven't had a whole lot of time. So, this section just focuses around Riley's house and her explanation. It's not too detailed but... oh well. So read, review and don't forget to enjoy. On with the story.
***************
" Hi, is Riley home?" Sarah asked politely when she rang the doorbell. An older man, with thinning blonde hair, answered the door in a workout suit.
" Yep. Up the stairs, third door on the left."
" Honey!" A voice called out from in the back of the house.
" Coming! My wife. Close the door behind you, would you?" He asked, power walking away. Smiling at the image he presented, Sarah closed the door quietly behind her and started up the dark wooden stairs.
A light shined from a partially opened door in the hallway, the door that Riley's dad had indicated.
" Come in Sarah. Don't act like a stranger." Sarah had paused outside the door, trying to decide if this was as good a decision as it had seemed.
" Hi Riley." Sarah ignored the man sprawled across the surface of the bed.
" Really Sarah. Manners." He chided from his position, the usual smirk present on his finely chiseled features. Sarah had forgotten how handsome he was.
" Hello Jareth." She said coldly, angry at his treatment of her as if she was a spoiled child.
" Both of you stop it right this instant." Riley spoke from the corner of her room where she was standing. " Sarah needs to hear this and I want Jareth here. Now, truce. Right this instant or I'll throw both of you head first into the Bog of Stench." The threat that Jareth usually used coming from Riley was funny for some reason to Sarah.
" Okay," She said in between laughs. " I promise." Jareth simply nodded, sitting up so Sarah could sit next to him.
" As you know my name is Riley. But I am not the Riley you think I am. Three years ago Riley Smith was in an accident, a very deadly car accident. I traded, for lack of a better word, places with her. She suffered a concussion and was placed instantly in a coma. If I hadn't traded places, she would have died and her parents would have suffered.
" Three years ago I was in an accident. A dangerous magic accident that involved my very delusional older brother. My brother had wanted to gain power by taking mine. It was a very painful process and one I would not have survived. Jareth intervened in the nick of time. I regained my full powers and ran to Aboveground. I haven't been home since you defeated the Labyrinth.
" Jareth and I grew up together, along with my brother Jacob, in the Labyrinth, the Goblin City and the Castle grounds. After two centuries, Jareth and I are the best of friends. He was able to tell when I was in trouble which is how he knew to come looking for me when Jacob tried to kill me. Once he was unconscious, Jareth locked him in a cell in his dungeons and I ran before the council could come and detain me for another two centuries.
" That's how I know Jareth, that's how I know about your time in the Underground, and that's how I was able to survive the car crash when no one else did. Because I wasn't in the car crash." Riley stopped speaking for a breath of air, admiration on Jareth's face at how long she had gone without one.
" So, you're fae?" When Riley nodded, Sarah continued, " and you and Jareth grew up together. Your own brother tried to kill you to gain power and instead of allowing one family to suffer and grieve the way they should have three years ago, you prolong the torture? How do you plan to be able to leave? You can't just disappear from the face of the planet." Sarah was angry at Riley's deception, but as soon as the rage had come it had gone.
" My magic still has some uses. It won't do you any good to get mad Sarah. I had been watching Riley and her family for some time. Even if the car crash hadn't occurred, they would have lost her. She had a brain tumor no one knew about. If she hadn't had the tumor, she would have been able to survive the concussion. I didn't want to see these people suffer. They had become my family. I didn't want to see them hurt." Riley stopped speaking, waiting for Sarah's reaction.
" So Riley would have died anyway?" Sarah asked quietly.
" Yes."
" So you did these people a favor by 'replacing' her?"
" Yes."
" How will you go back to the Underground?" The one question Riley didn't want to answer with Jareth listening.
" I'm not sure I'm going to. I can hide my immortality for as long as I have to, but I don't want to hurt the Smith's. They are my parents now."
" Not going to?" Jareth shut up before he could say something he would regret later.
" No, I'm not planning on it. I might but not as long as the council is thinking of letting Jacob go. They'll limit his power for a few centuries so he can't travel between the realms and I'll be safe for a while. But after that I'm fair game and Aboveground is the one place I'm even remotely safe." Jareth had stopped listening to the flow of conversation at Riley's first sentence.
' How can she not? But... we need to... correction. I need to tell her.' Sarah had asked a couple more questions while Jareth was musing. He caught the tail end of an answer.
" Nine." Sarah nodded, seeming to understand the answer.
" Nine what?" Riley shook her head as Sarah rolled her eyes.
" Nothing. Sarah. Have you called any of your friends since that party after you got through the Labyrinth?"
" Twice. Not all of them but it was nice to see the ones I did." Sarah made a face as she remembered the fieries. " I definitely do *not* miss some of the Labyrinth's inhabitants."
" I take it you met the stupid orange creatures called fieries." Sarah made a face. " Thought so. I remember when Jareth and I first met them."
" Ohhh. Do tell." Sarah and Riley had slipped into best friend tell all mode. Jareth really did not want to hear this.
" Well, we were walking through the forest when all of a sudden we heard this clapping sound. Jareth started spinning around trying to find out where the sound was coming from. In mid-leap/spin, this orange thing connected with him, knocking him flat on his back." Sarah snorted at the image that popped into her head, thanks to Riley. " So we started fighting them, trying to run away when Jareth finally remembered something." Riley stopped, just hoping Sarah would take the bait. She did.
" What did he remember?" Riley worked hard not to start laughing.
" That they were his subjects and he was the prince!" The girls practically fell over howling at that. The idea that Jareth could forget that he was the ruler was just flat out funny. " He was so dirty when they got down, his clothes were torn and his long hair was knotted. Then his face turned red as he stopped and all of a sudden this crystal appeared. The were scattered throughout the Underground for months."
" It's not funny." Jareth tried, as the girls burst out laughing again. Riley was keeping Sarah informed with images of what Jareth had looked like.
" I wish I had been there."
" It wasn't funny when we got back. Jareth's father grounded us for two months." Sarah winced at the punishment.
" Listen, I have to get going. Karen wants me home before noon and I have chores to do."
" Can I come by later?" The two girls were completely ignoring Jareth.
" Sure." Sarah smiled at Riley once more, then showed herself out.
Riley waited until she was positive Sarah was gone before she spoke.
" Well, that went well, didn't it?" Jareth was silent for so long, Riley turned to look at him.
He was gone.
" Dammit Jareth. I wanted to talk to you." Jareth watched her mutter and stomp around.
" I need to tell you, but I can't put it in words. When I can, I'll come back." He whispered into the crystal, not paying a single lick of attention to the goblins who were watching.
After a few more moments he looked up. Seeing them silently watching his every move made him angry. Those that could see his face clearly started scattering, causing the others to panic and run. Few made it out the door.
Part Three: Explanations
Author: Kayson
Disclaimer: Everyone should know who owns 'Labyrinth'. Everyone should also know that it isn't me. That's just common sense. I wish they'd come out with a sequel. They need a sequel.
Summary: Sarah gets the explanation out of Riley.
A/N: Heidi-ho. Sorry it took so long to update but I'm trying to keep the word count up (along with my grades) and I just haven't had a whole lot of time. So, this section just focuses around Riley's house and her explanation. It's not too detailed but... oh well. So read, review and don't forget to enjoy. On with the story.
***************
" Hi, is Riley home?" Sarah asked politely when she rang the doorbell. An older man, with thinning blonde hair, answered the door in a workout suit.
" Yep. Up the stairs, third door on the left."
" Honey!" A voice called out from in the back of the house.
" Coming! My wife. Close the door behind you, would you?" He asked, power walking away. Smiling at the image he presented, Sarah closed the door quietly behind her and started up the dark wooden stairs.
A light shined from a partially opened door in the hallway, the door that Riley's dad had indicated.
" Come in Sarah. Don't act like a stranger." Sarah had paused outside the door, trying to decide if this was as good a decision as it had seemed.
" Hi Riley." Sarah ignored the man sprawled across the surface of the bed.
" Really Sarah. Manners." He chided from his position, the usual smirk present on his finely chiseled features. Sarah had forgotten how handsome he was.
" Hello Jareth." She said coldly, angry at his treatment of her as if she was a spoiled child.
" Both of you stop it right this instant." Riley spoke from the corner of her room where she was standing. " Sarah needs to hear this and I want Jareth here. Now, truce. Right this instant or I'll throw both of you head first into the Bog of Stench." The threat that Jareth usually used coming from Riley was funny for some reason to Sarah.
" Okay," She said in between laughs. " I promise." Jareth simply nodded, sitting up so Sarah could sit next to him.
" As you know my name is Riley. But I am not the Riley you think I am. Three years ago Riley Smith was in an accident, a very deadly car accident. I traded, for lack of a better word, places with her. She suffered a concussion and was placed instantly in a coma. If I hadn't traded places, she would have died and her parents would have suffered.
" Three years ago I was in an accident. A dangerous magic accident that involved my very delusional older brother. My brother had wanted to gain power by taking mine. It was a very painful process and one I would not have survived. Jareth intervened in the nick of time. I regained my full powers and ran to Aboveground. I haven't been home since you defeated the Labyrinth.
" Jareth and I grew up together, along with my brother Jacob, in the Labyrinth, the Goblin City and the Castle grounds. After two centuries, Jareth and I are the best of friends. He was able to tell when I was in trouble which is how he knew to come looking for me when Jacob tried to kill me. Once he was unconscious, Jareth locked him in a cell in his dungeons and I ran before the council could come and detain me for another two centuries.
" That's how I know Jareth, that's how I know about your time in the Underground, and that's how I was able to survive the car crash when no one else did. Because I wasn't in the car crash." Riley stopped speaking for a breath of air, admiration on Jareth's face at how long she had gone without one.
" So, you're fae?" When Riley nodded, Sarah continued, " and you and Jareth grew up together. Your own brother tried to kill you to gain power and instead of allowing one family to suffer and grieve the way they should have three years ago, you prolong the torture? How do you plan to be able to leave? You can't just disappear from the face of the planet." Sarah was angry at Riley's deception, but as soon as the rage had come it had gone.
" My magic still has some uses. It won't do you any good to get mad Sarah. I had been watching Riley and her family for some time. Even if the car crash hadn't occurred, they would have lost her. She had a brain tumor no one knew about. If she hadn't had the tumor, she would have been able to survive the concussion. I didn't want to see these people suffer. They had become my family. I didn't want to see them hurt." Riley stopped speaking, waiting for Sarah's reaction.
" So Riley would have died anyway?" Sarah asked quietly.
" Yes."
" So you did these people a favor by 'replacing' her?"
" Yes."
" How will you go back to the Underground?" The one question Riley didn't want to answer with Jareth listening.
" I'm not sure I'm going to. I can hide my immortality for as long as I have to, but I don't want to hurt the Smith's. They are my parents now."
" Not going to?" Jareth shut up before he could say something he would regret later.
" No, I'm not planning on it. I might but not as long as the council is thinking of letting Jacob go. They'll limit his power for a few centuries so he can't travel between the realms and I'll be safe for a while. But after that I'm fair game and Aboveground is the one place I'm even remotely safe." Jareth had stopped listening to the flow of conversation at Riley's first sentence.
' How can she not? But... we need to... correction. I need to tell her.' Sarah had asked a couple more questions while Jareth was musing. He caught the tail end of an answer.
" Nine." Sarah nodded, seeming to understand the answer.
" Nine what?" Riley shook her head as Sarah rolled her eyes.
" Nothing. Sarah. Have you called any of your friends since that party after you got through the Labyrinth?"
" Twice. Not all of them but it was nice to see the ones I did." Sarah made a face as she remembered the fieries. " I definitely do *not* miss some of the Labyrinth's inhabitants."
" I take it you met the stupid orange creatures called fieries." Sarah made a face. " Thought so. I remember when Jareth and I first met them."
" Ohhh. Do tell." Sarah and Riley had slipped into best friend tell all mode. Jareth really did not want to hear this.
" Well, we were walking through the forest when all of a sudden we heard this clapping sound. Jareth started spinning around trying to find out where the sound was coming from. In mid-leap/spin, this orange thing connected with him, knocking him flat on his back." Sarah snorted at the image that popped into her head, thanks to Riley. " So we started fighting them, trying to run away when Jareth finally remembered something." Riley stopped, just hoping Sarah would take the bait. She did.
" What did he remember?" Riley worked hard not to start laughing.
" That they were his subjects and he was the prince!" The girls practically fell over howling at that. The idea that Jareth could forget that he was the ruler was just flat out funny. " He was so dirty when they got down, his clothes were torn and his long hair was knotted. Then his face turned red as he stopped and all of a sudden this crystal appeared. The were scattered throughout the Underground for months."
" It's not funny." Jareth tried, as the girls burst out laughing again. Riley was keeping Sarah informed with images of what Jareth had looked like.
" I wish I had been there."
" It wasn't funny when we got back. Jareth's father grounded us for two months." Sarah winced at the punishment.
" Listen, I have to get going. Karen wants me home before noon and I have chores to do."
" Can I come by later?" The two girls were completely ignoring Jareth.
" Sure." Sarah smiled at Riley once more, then showed herself out.
Riley waited until she was positive Sarah was gone before she spoke.
" Well, that went well, didn't it?" Jareth was silent for so long, Riley turned to look at him.
He was gone.
" Dammit Jareth. I wanted to talk to you." Jareth watched her mutter and stomp around.
" I need to tell you, but I can't put it in words. When I can, I'll come back." He whispered into the crystal, not paying a single lick of attention to the goblins who were watching.
After a few more moments he looked up. Seeing them silently watching his every move made him angry. Those that could see his face clearly started scattering, causing the others to panic and run. Few made it out the door.