A Prophecy Speaks
Author's Note:I don't own anything to do with Labyrinth.
Chapter 7 –or- A Place for the Queen
Sarah looked around at her almost empty apartment. Toby had received everything she had sent him so far. There were only a few things she was bringing with her: some casual clothing, papers, pens, pictures, and her painting of the Goblin King. The manager of her building had cash and strict instructions on how and where to send her vanity. She knew the manager would take care of it.
So she sat in front of the mirror for the last time as just plain old Sarah Williams and said only one word.
"Jareth," Sarah spoke. She turned around and the goblin King was lounging against a blank wall. She could not help but laugh at the fact that he was dressed exactly as she had painted him. He gave her a flat stare and looked at her small collection of possessions. She nodded, and he negligently tossed a crystal sphere at the pile. With a pop her things disappeared.
"Come here please, Sarah." She did as she was told. He grabbed her hand with his own gloved one. He tossed a crystal in the air. Sarah blinked, and they were standing in the throne room of the castle beyond the Goblin City.
"Sarah, would you like to see your rooms?" Jareth asked her, almost kindly
Sarah nodded blankly and he led her down a set of hallways. Right, left, and right again, but Sarah was not paying much attention. At the end of this hallway was a set of double doors made of black wood. An insignia of a white owl was emblazoned on the doors. She knew those must be Jareth's rooms. Halfway down the hallway, on the left, was another set of dark double doors, without an owl. With a small gesture Jareth opened the doors.
Sarah gasped at the opulent and beautiful room she had been given. The cold stone floor was covered in rugs, dyed a rich shade of green, like the forest floor. The bed was made of the same blackened wood as the doors and, it seemed, all the furniture. The bed coverings were snow white. Sheer white curtains encircled the bed, hanging from a large fixture attached to the high ceiling. The bed and a small, elegant nightstand took up one entire wall. Beautiful plants and two sets of black French doors took up the next wall. They were open, and the balcony looked over a lovely garden. Another wall had just the main door and a new vanity. A far corner had a raised platform and a floor length mirror for the dressmakers. There were two other doors in the room besides the main one, and a giant wardrobe to hold her dresses and such. Flanking the wardrobe were exquisitely done tapestries, depicting dragons and other such creatures of the Underworld.Candles burned brightly from sconces on the wall, and from candelabras burning next to her bed. The fresh flowers filled her room with a sweet fragrance.
"Do you like it?" Jareth asked her, his voice only barely showing his nervousness and desire for her approval.
"Oh, I love it!" Sarah said excitedly. She went to one of the doors and opened it. She saw a bathroom, luxuriously appointed, with a huge bathtub sculpted from glittering black glass. The other door was locked. She looked quizzically at Jareth.
"My rooms. The door will not be unlocked unless you call me. That is, until we are married. But we can discuss that later. These are your rooms for now." Jareth told her.
"Thank you," Sarah murmured. "It almost seems like too much..."
"I have some presents for you", Jareth told her as he led her to the vanity. Apparently he hadn't heard the end of her statement, or was ignoring her.On the vanity was a silver brush and comb. There was also a small crystal sphere. Sarah picked it up.
"The brush, comb, and sphere are gifts from me to you. The sphere is the one you may appreciate the most. It is, of course, enchanted. All you have to do is say your brother's name and it will show him to you, wherever he is."
"Thank you very much." Sarah smiled, and the room was all the brighter for it.
"Look in the wardrobe." Jareth suggested, and she made her way to the large piece. She opened the doors and looked inside. A royal robe stared back at her, along with two different crowns sitting on a shelf. One was a small circlet. It was so small and delicate. Next to it was a large crown, delicate as the circlet, but very formal indeed.
Some things started to hit Sarah at that point. She was going to be a Queen. She was going to co-rule a kingdom. Her life was not her own anymore, it belonged to the people and creatures within that kingdom. Her everyday decisions would affect thousands of lives. She was not bred for this, not trained for this. She turned to Jareth and saw his kingly face before it all went black.
Jareth caught his future Queen before she hit the ground. He tossed a new sphere in the air and thought of a beautiful white nightgown. Her Aboveground clothes disappeared and reappeared, folded and clean, in her wardrobe. Wearing his concoction he laid her down on the sumptuous bed and covered her. He shut the doors, extinguished the candles, and left his love to dream.