...Though We're Strangers Till Now

by Jacqui

Note - All the original characters do NOT belong to me, although the rest of them do. Last names of those characters who didn't or don't have them are entirely fictional. This is my first attempt at Labyrinth fan fiction, so reviews would be really nice and appreciated. This story is mostly based on the movie, but there's a few elements from the book thrown in here and there. I read Labyrinth analyses, various fan fiction, and also came up with my own conclusions and ideas. So, this entire story will entail all three of those sources of information. It may be weird, it may be good, either way, as I mentioned before...feedback is always appreciated and adored. :) Oh yeah, Jim Henson, Brian Froud, and everyone who had a hand in creating this movie are geniuses.

Chapter 2: The Intoxicated Wish

As Toby and Robert said their good byes, Sarah couldn't help but notice that her stepmother was staring at her watch almost the entire time. What the hell was she doing? How dare she do something like that? Toby is our family too, he isn't just hers. Sarah wanted so bad to walk right over to her and rip that watch from her wrist, but she knew better. Not in front of Toby, and not at this particular moment. Her father's voice jerked Sarah out of her thoughts.

"Sarah, come say goodbye to Toby, they have to get going," Robert said as he glanced in Sarah's direction. Snorting, Sarah glared at her stepmother as she began walking over to her father and Toby. When she reached them, she knelt down and turned her attention to Toby.

"You'll be okay," she whispered, pulling him into a tight embrace. After a few moments she pulled away and looked directly into Toby's eyes. "I love you, Toby. Never forget that," she said, brushing some feathery hair from his face.

"Toby, sweetheart, it's time to go," his mother called as she opened the front door. Toby sniffed, and turned to go. Sarah and Robert watched him walk slowly away from them. But just before he got to the front door, he turned around.

"I love you daddy, I love you Sarah..." he choked solemnly. With that, he turned and sprinted out the door after his mother, who had already gone out to her car. They had left the door open, and Sarah noticed for the first time that it had been raining outside. A heavy, depressing rain. Perfect, she though, something to match the moment. Robert quickly moved across the room and shut the front door, without looking outside. Sarah just stood there, trying to take in the moment.

"Toby's gone...I can't believe this..." Sarah whispered to herself, although Robert heard clearly.

"Sarah, this is all for the best. We just couldn't get along anymore, and Toby will be okay," her father whispered from across the room. He went back across the room with outstretched arms so that he could comfort Sarah. She folded her arms and backed away gently.

"Don't, dad...I just want to be alone right now," she whispered, hoping he would understand. As Robert let his arms fall to his sides, he failed to protest any further. This confirmed Sarah's thoughts of him before, he really had lost his tenacity. He just didn't look like he could fight anymore, at least not more than he had to. Sarah turned and slowly made her way upstairs. All her father could do was watch her go, knowing that maybe she really should just be alone for awhile. When she was out of view, Robert rustled in his pockets for his car keys. Finding them, he pulled them out and stared at them for a long moment before deciding to go for a drive. Maybe that would calm him down. He knew of a place where him and Linda would go when they were teenagers, just to forget about the world around them. That's what Robert needed, to forget things for awhile. Faintly smiling in the direction of Sarah's room, he hoped she would be alright tomorrow, then he took his leave from the house.

"Sarah let her back fall against her bedroom door, still open, although her weight upon it had made the door close. She closed her eyes at the soft clicking sound of the lock made as the door completely shut. When she opened her eyes again, she saw on her vanity, a stack of letters. She had only wanted one specific letter from anyone, recently. But she thought she should at least see what she got. Sighing heavily, she walked over to her vanity and picked up the various letters. She three aside three, two of which were asking her to apply for a credit card, and the other was for a college in Virginia. It was a light brown envelope that caught her eye. This was the letter. They finally answered her. She had submitted a script for her favorite play, "The Labyrinth," to a screen writers guild in San Francisco. She wanted to turn the play into a movie. She had researched copyright laws, planned the story line, plots, and characters all in her mind--until it was perfect. The moment she found that the door was open to her for movie plans, she remembered working non-stop at trying to make it the best script ever written. At least by a 17-year old girl. Frantically she ripped open the top of the envelope, she was hoping that they had liked her script. She hoped against all hope. She pulled the neatly folded paper out of the now mangled envelope. She skimmed the top headings and brief introductions of those who had written the letter. But, it was the first paragraph that she really wanted to read.

"We have read over your script for 'The Labyrinth', and we appreciate your interest in wanting to be a screen writer.' Sarah smiled at the thought of them simply reading it. No one had read her scripts before. "Although we thoroughly enjoyed reading your creation, we regret to inform you that we are not currently accepting scripts of this nature." Sarah's heart sank. "We hope you will keep us in mind for future submissions, we thank you for your interest..." She stopped reading. Sarah's chest began to hurt, and that pain carried through to every other nerve of her body. She had been rejected. All of her hard work for nothing. She had spent all those countless days and nights gathering information, doing research, and compiling notes and plots--to receive a rejection letter. She had no idea what to think. The letter had since slipped from her hands and fallen to the floor. She hadn't noticed. Whirling around in her chair, she slowly pulled her heavy body to an upright position. She wasn't sure she could stand up much longer than a few minutes. Her legs were weak and her heart was pounding not only in her chest but in her throat as well. She wearily walked to the side of her bed, feeling her legs get weaker and weaker as she grabbed onto the side of the bed.

Sarah collapsed a few seconds later and buried her face in the blankets. As she did this, she let herself cry for the first time in years. It felt so good to get the tears out, but the more she kept thinking about Toby and her newly found rejection, her pain wasn't going away any faster. She cried for several minutes before she couldn't cry anymore. She moved forward a little and her knee hit something solid underneath her bed. She recognized the "clank" sound immediately, it was her bottle of vodka left over from last month's drinking spree. Her mind automatically started telling her to do things she knew she shouldn't. Toby is gone, Sarah. He doesn't have to know you had a little drink, no one has to know. It'll help you forget everything. She couldn't do it, even if she wanted to. What would a little drink hurt, Sarah? You shouldn't waste good alcohol. Sarah pulled her face from the blankets, rubbing away old tears and blinking back the new ones. Her eyes were red and dry, her face was also sticky from the tears, but she had passed the point of whether or not she cared. Her world was falling apart all around her, and there was nothing she could do to protest against it. So, again, she found the sub-conscience part of her mind correct once again. She sniffed lightly, and leaned down a little to reach under her bed and search for the only thing that would calm her nerves.

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Two hours later, Sarah was stumbling around her room, reciting lines from her never-to-be-famous script. Page after page, she recited with almost the same feeling she wanted if the script had ever reached a production studio. She still remembered what made her want to become an actress. It was her mother, the ever beautiful Linda Williams. When she saw her mother on screen, her heart pounded. She wanted to be the actress that her mother was. But as she remembered her mother, her mind flashed back to the night she left Sarah's life forever.

"Sarah, I can't be bothered with silly questions right now, I have to go." Linda was almost cruel in her manner toward Sarah, pulling away from her and shaking her off when Sarah would grab at her clothing.

"But mommy, what did I do? Why are you leaving?" Sarah cried.

"It isn't you, Sarah. Now let me pack my things so I can go," Linda replied, the coldness in her voice felt like a slap in the face to Sarah.

"But daddy said you were so happy," Sarah said, trying to convince her mother to stay.

"Well daddy wasn't completely honest with you honey, you're pulling my dress..."

"What do you mean? You're not happy, mommy? I can make you happy again, I promise!" Sarah cried more, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Sarah, let go....I don't have much time to get ready..."

"Where are you going? I'll go with you, you can teach me how to be a movie star," Sarah pleaded, not wanting her mother to go.

"I've taught you enough, Sarah. Now I have to do this, I can't risk my career on a marriage that isn't....Sarah please let go of my dress, you're stretching the material!"

"Mommy! No...don't leave...I can change, I can!"

"Oh god, I can get this stuff later, I'll take what I have now. Sarah, be a good girl for daddy, and do as he says. He's going to take care of you now, mommy's going to make a life for herself....the one she never had." Linda blew a kiss to her daughter, almost like she did in the movies, with so much feeling and emotion behind it, but Sarah knew it was only an act. As she watched her mother go, she knew she would never see her again. Linda stepped out of the apartment and closed the door behind her, and Sarah broke down into tears.

She just didn't understand. But how could she? She was so young then. How was she to know that her mother gave her and her husband up for life in the limelight? She had been noticing for the last couple of weeks that her mother had been alienating her. She would only spend time with Sarah when Jeremy had a photo shoot or an autograph signing and Linda was left with nothing else to occupy her time. It wasn't just Sarah that was being pushed away, it was Robert as well. They were both feeling the heat of Linda's success. Sarah's father was very supportive and he was always there for the both of them, but the only one who felt that they wasn't getting enough was Linda. Her lifelong dream was to be a star, and nothing was going to get in the way of that. Since her first appearance on the movie screen, she had acted her way through life, and Sarah knew that now. But she knew that was the way that things had to be done if you were to make it in show business. She understood her mother's intentions and dreams, she just didn't approve of the way she handled them.

Regardless, since the day her mother left, she vowed to become the actress her mother never could be. Just to show her that she didn't have to leave behind her family to get what she wanted. Her script for "The Labyrinth" was a key factor in making that happen. Coincidentally, her mother and Jeremy had a short fling, which didn't last for too long when she eventually left him for someone more famous and renowned. Linda was out for herself, she may have loved her family, but she didn't love them enough to stick around and try to work things out.

Sarah shook her mind free of the awful flashback. She had reached page 25, one of the most important lines in the play. Where the child is wished away to the goblins. She held the script tightly and blinked a few times to get a good focus on the script in general, as her vision was becoming blurry. She couldn't concentrate on things for an extended length of time without them going distorted. She saw the word 'Goblin King' somewhere in the lines after the baby had been taken, and she remembered her encounter with the Goblin King. He was attractive, yet he had a certain aura about him that was frightening. Sarah almost couldn't say the last line to defeat him before...Where was the Goblin King now? What had happened to him? Sarah thought as she walked over to her vanity and dropped heavily into the seat which sat before it. She turned to look at her reflection in the mirror, then began speaking to herself as if she were holding a real conversation.

"I'll tell you one hic one thing," Sarah said to her reflection in the mirror as it stared back at her, "I'm too old to worry about a Goblin King anymore. None of that happened. None of it." She tried to refocus on her next line as she took another drink. She read it over and over again with her eyes, "I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now." She kept thinking of different ways to say it, when finally she had the perfect voice and demeanor with which the line should be said. Although, reading that line made her go back to the time when she herself had said it 8 years ago. But she had wished her brother away, and to goblins. Could it be possible to change the lines? Sarah thought. If I called on the Goblin King instead of the goblins, and wished myself away instead of....No. It couldn't be possible, that was just a play I created in my mind. Sarah tried to reason with herself, trying to convince herself that she had simply imagined everything she encountered on the day she wished Toby away. She knew it was all an imaginative trip, wasn't it? What if I....called on the Goblin King to come for me, would that prove that I'm finally dillusional? That my dreams were all make believe? Sarah wanted so much to believe in dreams and fantasies, but she also wanted to be free of them. To be normal. But she knew, that if she said that line again and nothing happened, she could go on with her life and have no further doubts or 'ifs' floating around in her mind. She decided that she had to see what would happen.

"I'll just hic try this line out an' prove to myself that I'm not crazy, because nothing is gonna happen..." Sarah reassured herself. Conjuring up her actress skills, she took a deep breath and read the line out loud. She added gestures and hand movements to make it seem more authentic.

"I wish..." she inhaled deeply, then exhaled and continued, "I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away." Sarah looked around her room, searching for any changes, when she found none, she finished her line. "Right now." Within seconds of her last words, a slight wind blew around her room. It wasn't long before the doors to her balcony swung open, bringing in a powerful gust of wind that blew the script she still held completely out her hand. Sarah raised her arms to protect herself from anything that might hit her, but as the wind died down, she lowered her arms. She didn't notice right away, until a familiar voice spoke her name. That's when she looked up, and saw him. The Goblin King.

"Well, well, well...Sarah Williams. We meet again." Jareth said, a light smirk crossing his lips as he folded his arms in front of him.

"I..didn't--" Sarah couldn't find the words to speak. She was at a loss for words.

"You didn't mean it? Of course you didn't. What's your excuse this time?" Jareth questioned.

"It's--" She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She wanted desperately to say something that would make it go away, prove to her she was only dreaming.

"Oh, yes. Because you didn't mean it, and since I intend to fulfill my duties as Goblin King along with fulfilling your wish, it's unfair, right?" he interrupted, his smirk growing wider.

"I don't know...what..." Sarah's head was whirling, by this point. She was ready to collapse, and her knees were beginning to buckle. She knew it would be any moment now before she completely gave way and passed out. Her heart was pounding and her vision blurry.

"Such a pity," Jareth said, shaking his head.

"You're the...." Sarah whispered her last words as her legs gave way beneath her. Jareth had premeditated her actions and he knew what would happen. Darting across the room, he caught her as she fell. She landed hard into his arms, with almost enough force to knock him down as well. He saw the empty vodka bottle on the floor close to where she had been standing.

"So...that was it," he whispered as he looked from the bottle back to Sarah. He watched her for a few moments, making sure she was completely unconscious. Then, slipping one arm behind her shoulders, and the other under her legs, he slowly lifted her up. But just before he transported them back to his castle, he closed his eyes. Jareth focused intently on one thought for several minutes. Appearing on her bed was a note, addressed to her father. He took one last glance at Sarah, then turned and walked out onto the balcony. Sighing heavily, he then disappeared from sight.