Chapter 2 Reconnecting
"All right. Since you insist.but I promise you, I'll turn the tables once I'm done." Sarah managed to joke. What am I doing?! I'm joking with the Goblin King; The same man that tried to sidetrack me into leaving Toby behind in the Labyrinth. He was also the man that offered you your every dream. A small, traitorous voice inside her head reminded her. Sarah forced a smile that belied her inner turmoil as she took a breath and began her story.
"Well, starting from the beginning; As soon as I woke up the next morning after paling around with Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus, I ran to check on Toby. Toby was sitting in his highchair at the breakfast table being fed by my Stepmother. When I ran up to him and gave him a hug, my stepmother looked at me as though I lost my mind. Then we fought. She accused me of trying to 'suck up' to her and my father by being the perfect sister to Toby. The fight ended with me being grounded for the weekend up in my room.
After that, slowly my stepmother and I began what could only be described as an amicable relationship. As long as she left my pictures of my mother alone, and stayed out of my room, I wouldn't mention how mom was better than she. Then, as I started going on dates and hanging out with friends, she would honor the times I needed a free night or weekend as long as I respected my father's and her need to go out alone from time to time.
It went both ways like that for a long time. It wasn't always easy though. We still fought and there were times that dinner was held in silence, with my father trying his hardest to find some common ground for us all to converse about."
Sarah paused, looking up from her hands which she'd be fidgeting with during her story. Jareth raised his eyebrows, silently urging Sarah to continue, and at his nod to go ahead, she did.
"During my senior year, I put in all kinds of applications for colleges and received a good number of acceptances considering I hadn't been the most focused student." Sarah blushed a little as she knew Jareth understood that she meant she'd daydreamed through most of her classes in school up until she tackled the Labyrinth.
Sarah cleared her throat a little self-consciously and then continued on. "I never let my friends, father or stepmother know that I'd secretly wanted to get into Julliard. I'd figured that getting into Julliard would take nothing short of a miracle.
I went home one night, feeling pretty blue about it. Most of my friends were going to the colleges of their dreams-even if the college of their dreams was the college where their 'already-off-at-college' significant other was attending. I wanted that chance, too. Anyway, I walked home from school feeling pretty blue and when I walked through the door, the house was in complete darkness and lacking noise. I walked through the hall and into the kitchen and just as I turned on the light, everyone yelled 'CONGRADULATIONS SARAH!' I blinked and slowly took in the whole picture. Around the table, upon which had a gigantic cake in the middle, were my friends and family.
All I could do was stand there in disbelief until my father and stepmother came up to hug me. 'What's going on?' I asked them and that's when Toby came up to me. He through his arms around my legs and beamed up at me. 'Sarah go 'lee-yard'. Was what he said. I looked at my father and stepmother in astonishment. 'Julliard?!' I managed to croak, my voice almost nothing.
My father nodded and gave me another big bear hug. "You've done it Sarah, we're so proud of you!" I was still so shocked, I couldn't even wrap my arms around him to hug him back. Not only was I accepted to Julliard, but he approved. My father, who'd never even liked the idea I wanted to follow in my mother's footsteps, approved."
Sarah drew a deep breath as the emotions that swept over her now were very much the same as they'd swept over her then. "I still shake my head to think after all that time, all the lectures, in the end he believed in me and my talents more than I did."
She shifted in her seat, leaning back peacefully as she relaxed around the Goblin King and started to tell the even happier and more recent parts to the story. "I went off to Julliard that fall, I had even gotten in touch with my mother who, though she was away filming for the next 14 months, sublet the apartment to me. While I was staying there, I got talked into auditioning by one of the girls who worked with me in the mail room of the law firm where I worked part time to pay my bills.
There I was, this freshman at Julliard, not even close to being a sophomore, and I was auditioning for a theatrical production of-who'd have guessed it---Richard the Third. I knew I'd done fairly well when I'd auditioned, but I never dreamed I'd be cast. And I was. I was cast in the role of the Duchess of York. To this day I can still remember the first line in the scene in which I got the best reviews: 'So many miseries have crazed my voice, that my woe-wearied tongue is still and mute. Edward Plantagenet why are thou dead?' The director was stunned with my performance that first night. He'd taken my aside, and I'll never forget what he told me. He said 'never in my life have I seen someone take a role such as this and turn it in to being so vital a piece in a production. Miss Williams, you may have just won yourself a chance at some more roles within this theatre.' With that, he'd patted me on the shoulder and walked off to be photographed with the most elemental characters.
And he was right. I auditioned time and again, and every time I auditioned, I was in that production. Small parts, large parts, speaking and non-speaking parts, it was as though the production was two dimensional and had no spirit up until the point I walked on stage. It was almost like it had been in that dream when Hoggle had given me the enchanted-"
Sarah trailed off staring at Jareth in incredulity. She looked down at his hands upon the table and then into his face. It was almost as though he'd been counting off on his fingers every success she'd made. She stared in horror. Her mouth falling open to a soft 'o', her lips pale, her face gone ashen as her very perfect world crumbled around her.
"No. You didn't. You couldn't have. Tell me you didn't. Tell me you didn't do this for me, Jareth!" As Sarah's voice rose in pitch and volume, she'd backed up her chair and stood up.
Jareth had enough humility to look slightly embarrassed-well as embarrassed as a King would allow, especially considering who this king was. "Now, Sarah, you triumphed over me. I had to give you your dreams. It was required of me." Jareth held up his hands, as if he could use his magic to calm her.
"Don't you dare!" Sarah fumed. "If you use any more magic on me, I'll see to it you land in the Bog!" By this point Sarah was yelling, headless of the stares from the onlookers, she continued.
"By all that's holy Jareth, you'd better fix this!"
"Sarah you know I can't, there's just no way.." Sarah slammed her palm flat on the table, the crackling echo could be heard above the interested silence from around them.
"You either fix this or I'll-" Sarah was cut off as Toby tugged on her arm.
"Sarah, people are watching.Sis? Sis!" Toby got Sarah's attention finally by yelling her name and tugging on her arm at the same time.
Sarah blinked and looked first down at Toby, and then slowly around at the interested crowd that had gathered at a safe distance around them. Sarah scowled a bit, her face flaming.
"There's nothing more to see here. Show's over. Go back to your.your swimming and sun bathing." Sarah waved her arms in a shooing motion and once satisfied everyone was turning away, she returned her attention to Jareth.
"We will continue this discussion at my place. Pronto." Sarah demanded, as she shot daggers at Jareth. "Come on, Toby. I'm sorry to cut your day at the pool short today, but I promise I'll make it up to you." Sarah said as she started to gather up their gear.
"Very well, Sarah, I shall meet up with you later at your-" Jareth was once again cut off.
"Over my dead body!" Sarah vowed through clenched teeth, causing Jareth to raise his eyebrows. "You will ride in my car with Toby and I to my place, because I'll be damned if I let you out of my sight!" Sarah emphasized her points as she angrily stuffed flip-flops, suntan lotion, towels and other things into a mesh bag.
Jareth opened and closed his mouth once in disbelief. No one had ever spoken to him like that since his parents had passed on. Jareth cleared his throat, bent on assuming superiority once more. "Very well then, I shall accompany you to your place."
Letting out a breath that made her bangs fly up and then fall rearranged back upon her forehead, Sarah kept her head lowered as she rolled her eyes. Let him just think he had control here. He had another thing coming. She was a force to be reckoned with even when she wasn't fuming mad. It was the latter that most people preferred to run from. Let him learn, Sarah thought with a wicked smile.
"Are we ready?" Sarah asked with false sweetness once she was finished gathering everything together and had taken Toby's hand. Sarah peeked over her shoulder as the trio walked over to her car just to make sure Jareth was indeed behind her.
Once they were all strapped in, Sarah started the car and backing out of the parking space, she headed out of the parking lot and down the road for home.
(Author's Note: I've gone through various sources and I haven't been able to find just what Sarah's stepmother's name is actually supposed to be, so I omitted it and just kept repeating "stepmother" throughout the story. Also, I hope this is indeed longer than the last few chapters. I'm trying :-) Thanks. Oh! And a warning. I don't know much about Shakespeare. I was once cast as the Duchess of York in a production of-you've guessed it Richard III. So that's where I got the idea of the play from. I apologize if there were perhaps "better" plays out there to choose from, but I stick to the belief that an author does best when they write what they know. (If you don't believe me, just watch Anne of Avonlea when she's trying to write her books. *giggles*) PS: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed of late. Rakshasa, if-666, cherokeelady, Stallion Of The Stars, dawn1, and Labyris. Your reviews are most welcomed, appreciated, and motivating. Thank you from the bottom of my heart-sincerely! Thanks again! Xi )
"All right. Since you insist.but I promise you, I'll turn the tables once I'm done." Sarah managed to joke. What am I doing?! I'm joking with the Goblin King; The same man that tried to sidetrack me into leaving Toby behind in the Labyrinth. He was also the man that offered you your every dream. A small, traitorous voice inside her head reminded her. Sarah forced a smile that belied her inner turmoil as she took a breath and began her story.
"Well, starting from the beginning; As soon as I woke up the next morning after paling around with Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus, I ran to check on Toby. Toby was sitting in his highchair at the breakfast table being fed by my Stepmother. When I ran up to him and gave him a hug, my stepmother looked at me as though I lost my mind. Then we fought. She accused me of trying to 'suck up' to her and my father by being the perfect sister to Toby. The fight ended with me being grounded for the weekend up in my room.
After that, slowly my stepmother and I began what could only be described as an amicable relationship. As long as she left my pictures of my mother alone, and stayed out of my room, I wouldn't mention how mom was better than she. Then, as I started going on dates and hanging out with friends, she would honor the times I needed a free night or weekend as long as I respected my father's and her need to go out alone from time to time.
It went both ways like that for a long time. It wasn't always easy though. We still fought and there were times that dinner was held in silence, with my father trying his hardest to find some common ground for us all to converse about."
Sarah paused, looking up from her hands which she'd be fidgeting with during her story. Jareth raised his eyebrows, silently urging Sarah to continue, and at his nod to go ahead, she did.
"During my senior year, I put in all kinds of applications for colleges and received a good number of acceptances considering I hadn't been the most focused student." Sarah blushed a little as she knew Jareth understood that she meant she'd daydreamed through most of her classes in school up until she tackled the Labyrinth.
Sarah cleared her throat a little self-consciously and then continued on. "I never let my friends, father or stepmother know that I'd secretly wanted to get into Julliard. I'd figured that getting into Julliard would take nothing short of a miracle.
I went home one night, feeling pretty blue about it. Most of my friends were going to the colleges of their dreams-even if the college of their dreams was the college where their 'already-off-at-college' significant other was attending. I wanted that chance, too. Anyway, I walked home from school feeling pretty blue and when I walked through the door, the house was in complete darkness and lacking noise. I walked through the hall and into the kitchen and just as I turned on the light, everyone yelled 'CONGRADULATIONS SARAH!' I blinked and slowly took in the whole picture. Around the table, upon which had a gigantic cake in the middle, were my friends and family.
All I could do was stand there in disbelief until my father and stepmother came up to hug me. 'What's going on?' I asked them and that's when Toby came up to me. He through his arms around my legs and beamed up at me. 'Sarah go 'lee-yard'. Was what he said. I looked at my father and stepmother in astonishment. 'Julliard?!' I managed to croak, my voice almost nothing.
My father nodded and gave me another big bear hug. "You've done it Sarah, we're so proud of you!" I was still so shocked, I couldn't even wrap my arms around him to hug him back. Not only was I accepted to Julliard, but he approved. My father, who'd never even liked the idea I wanted to follow in my mother's footsteps, approved."
Sarah drew a deep breath as the emotions that swept over her now were very much the same as they'd swept over her then. "I still shake my head to think after all that time, all the lectures, in the end he believed in me and my talents more than I did."
She shifted in her seat, leaning back peacefully as she relaxed around the Goblin King and started to tell the even happier and more recent parts to the story. "I went off to Julliard that fall, I had even gotten in touch with my mother who, though she was away filming for the next 14 months, sublet the apartment to me. While I was staying there, I got talked into auditioning by one of the girls who worked with me in the mail room of the law firm where I worked part time to pay my bills.
There I was, this freshman at Julliard, not even close to being a sophomore, and I was auditioning for a theatrical production of-who'd have guessed it---Richard the Third. I knew I'd done fairly well when I'd auditioned, but I never dreamed I'd be cast. And I was. I was cast in the role of the Duchess of York. To this day I can still remember the first line in the scene in which I got the best reviews: 'So many miseries have crazed my voice, that my woe-wearied tongue is still and mute. Edward Plantagenet why are thou dead?' The director was stunned with my performance that first night. He'd taken my aside, and I'll never forget what he told me. He said 'never in my life have I seen someone take a role such as this and turn it in to being so vital a piece in a production. Miss Williams, you may have just won yourself a chance at some more roles within this theatre.' With that, he'd patted me on the shoulder and walked off to be photographed with the most elemental characters.
And he was right. I auditioned time and again, and every time I auditioned, I was in that production. Small parts, large parts, speaking and non-speaking parts, it was as though the production was two dimensional and had no spirit up until the point I walked on stage. It was almost like it had been in that dream when Hoggle had given me the enchanted-"
Sarah trailed off staring at Jareth in incredulity. She looked down at his hands upon the table and then into his face. It was almost as though he'd been counting off on his fingers every success she'd made. She stared in horror. Her mouth falling open to a soft 'o', her lips pale, her face gone ashen as her very perfect world crumbled around her.
"No. You didn't. You couldn't have. Tell me you didn't. Tell me you didn't do this for me, Jareth!" As Sarah's voice rose in pitch and volume, she'd backed up her chair and stood up.
Jareth had enough humility to look slightly embarrassed-well as embarrassed as a King would allow, especially considering who this king was. "Now, Sarah, you triumphed over me. I had to give you your dreams. It was required of me." Jareth held up his hands, as if he could use his magic to calm her.
"Don't you dare!" Sarah fumed. "If you use any more magic on me, I'll see to it you land in the Bog!" By this point Sarah was yelling, headless of the stares from the onlookers, she continued.
"By all that's holy Jareth, you'd better fix this!"
"Sarah you know I can't, there's just no way.." Sarah slammed her palm flat on the table, the crackling echo could be heard above the interested silence from around them.
"You either fix this or I'll-" Sarah was cut off as Toby tugged on her arm.
"Sarah, people are watching.Sis? Sis!" Toby got Sarah's attention finally by yelling her name and tugging on her arm at the same time.
Sarah blinked and looked first down at Toby, and then slowly around at the interested crowd that had gathered at a safe distance around them. Sarah scowled a bit, her face flaming.
"There's nothing more to see here. Show's over. Go back to your.your swimming and sun bathing." Sarah waved her arms in a shooing motion and once satisfied everyone was turning away, she returned her attention to Jareth.
"We will continue this discussion at my place. Pronto." Sarah demanded, as she shot daggers at Jareth. "Come on, Toby. I'm sorry to cut your day at the pool short today, but I promise I'll make it up to you." Sarah said as she started to gather up their gear.
"Very well, Sarah, I shall meet up with you later at your-" Jareth was once again cut off.
"Over my dead body!" Sarah vowed through clenched teeth, causing Jareth to raise his eyebrows. "You will ride in my car with Toby and I to my place, because I'll be damned if I let you out of my sight!" Sarah emphasized her points as she angrily stuffed flip-flops, suntan lotion, towels and other things into a mesh bag.
Jareth opened and closed his mouth once in disbelief. No one had ever spoken to him like that since his parents had passed on. Jareth cleared his throat, bent on assuming superiority once more. "Very well then, I shall accompany you to your place."
Letting out a breath that made her bangs fly up and then fall rearranged back upon her forehead, Sarah kept her head lowered as she rolled her eyes. Let him just think he had control here. He had another thing coming. She was a force to be reckoned with even when she wasn't fuming mad. It was the latter that most people preferred to run from. Let him learn, Sarah thought with a wicked smile.
"Are we ready?" Sarah asked with false sweetness once she was finished gathering everything together and had taken Toby's hand. Sarah peeked over her shoulder as the trio walked over to her car just to make sure Jareth was indeed behind her.
Once they were all strapped in, Sarah started the car and backing out of the parking space, she headed out of the parking lot and down the road for home.
(Author's Note: I've gone through various sources and I haven't been able to find just what Sarah's stepmother's name is actually supposed to be, so I omitted it and just kept repeating "stepmother" throughout the story. Also, I hope this is indeed longer than the last few chapters. I'm trying :-) Thanks. Oh! And a warning. I don't know much about Shakespeare. I was once cast as the Duchess of York in a production of-you've guessed it Richard III. So that's where I got the idea of the play from. I apologize if there were perhaps "better" plays out there to choose from, but I stick to the belief that an author does best when they write what they know. (If you don't believe me, just watch Anne of Avonlea when she's trying to write her books. *giggles*) PS: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed of late. Rakshasa, if-666, cherokeelady, Stallion Of The Stars, dawn1, and Labyris. Your reviews are most welcomed, appreciated, and motivating. Thank you from the bottom of my heart-sincerely! Thanks again! Xi )