A Prophecy Speaks
Author's Note: I do not own Labyrinth.
Chapter 12 –or- The Grand Tour
Jareth showed Sarah into the entry hall she had already been through many times now, where they found a sleeping guard. Jareth nudged him rudely, and the goblin woke with a start. Jareth wagged finger at him.
"Jareth? Where are all the goblins?" Sarah asked him.
"They live in the Goblin City for the most part. The ones that work here have their own quarters," Jareth explained.
The audience room was in the front part of the castle; Sarah had mistaken it for the throne room when she first came here. It was empty of goblins and their assorted junk now. Sarah thought it could use a drastic makeover.
"What's wrong?" Jareth asked her.
"You are going to let me redecorate this place when we are married, right?" Sarah asked him. Jareth laughed.
"All except the throne room. That stays as is. It has looked the same way since it was built. It is the way it is for a reason. We only use it for formal occasions though. The audience room does well enough for everyday duties," he told her. Sarah got a little glazed look in her eyes, and Jareth placed his hands on her waist to steady her. In the quest of trying to take her mind off the prospect of ruling, he got an idea.
"Want to redecorate it now, Sarah?" Jareth inquired.
Sarah looked at him, "How?" she asked him.
"Tell me what you want and I will make it so," Jareth shrugged.
Sarah shook her head.
"No. When I get my powers I will do it when you are not looking," Sarah teased him.
Jareth laughed that rare laugh.
He showed her the armory. They saw various other functional rooms. In the wine cellar they kidnapped a chilled bottle of sparkling wine. It was sweet and very bubbly. Sarah had already had her fair share of wine, but she felt it was okay to indulge.
Jareth was not as affected by the alcohol, as he had a different composition than a mortal. Sarah would too, when she made the change to fae. He wondered, not for the first time, how Sarah would handle immortality. When she became immortal she would cease to age at what age she wanted. He assumed that she would choose to remain at the age of twenty-five. She would look the same as she did now until her spirit faded. Jareth himself was older than he could remember. He had stopped counting long ago.
They came to the formal throne room doors, and Jareth turned to Sarah.
"I cannot show you the throne room. You cannot enter until the appointed time. It is the law. I can tell you that there is a balcony behind the thrones. After you are crowned and I have proposed, we will go to the balcony with the High Lord to proclaim our joint rule and upcoming union," Jareth explained.
Sarah nodded, lost in thought.
They made their way down and started to stroll through the gardens in the silvery moonlight. They held hands like they had been doing it forever. Sarah sat next to a fountain and removed her slippers. Jareth arched an eyebrow at her.
"I like to feel solid ground beneath my feet," Sarah explained as she wiggled her toes.
"You should have been a forest nymph!" Jareth joked.
Sarah reached above her head then, and started to take out the pins that had held her hair carefully in place. She took out the ribbons too. Thick curl fell beside thick curl as her hair was let loose.
Jareth lost his breath as Sarah dipped her hair down and shook her head. When she tossed her head back her hair was like a wild mane, and so dark in the moonlight. She smiled at him, and he felt like he was going to melt. He licked his lips and realized they were very dry. They looked each other in the eye, and for the very first time it was the King of the Goblins who was forced to look away before he lost his self control.
"Vanish these to my room, please?" Sarah said as she placed the pins and ribbons in his hand. He did as she wished. She grabbed his hand and held her slippers in the other. They continued to walk until they came upon a wing of the building that had two very big doors. Jareth vanished the now-empty wine bottle.
"Sarah, do you trust me?" Jareth asked her.
"In a way. Why?" Sarah replied.
"Close your eyes," Jareth told her.
Sarah closed her eyes in bemusement as she felt the slight breeze of the giant doors opening. Jareth took her hand again and led her in.
Jareth gestured, and a tune began to play. It was only a tinkling tune at first, but he saw a tiny crystalline tear begin to form in one corner of Sarah's eye almost immediately. This time there was no clock, and no court. They had this time just for them.
"Open your eyes my love," Jareth told her, and she did.
It was just as beautiful as she remembered it. But now there were no others blocking her way to the Goblin King. The same tune played. Jareth was just waiting for her on the opposite side of the room.
Sarah decided that if formal was what he wanted, formal was what he was not going to get.
"Hey, Goblin King! Care to give me a twirl?" Sarah yelled at him. Jareth laughed that laugh that made her soul smile. A moment later he was next to her. A gloved hand snaked around her waist and onto the small of her back, pulling her close to him. The waltz they began made her head spin. It was so intimate. She saw nothing but him, just as she had all those years ago.
They danced until her eyes had etched every line and plane of his face into her brain, and her head started to continuously rest on his chest. They had slowed down considerably. He smelled good, and felt better.
Jareth finally spoke the first words in hours.
"There will be a ball here for your birthday party, and then again, after our wedding," he told her.
Sarah nodded as she looked around her.
Jared threw a sphere into the air above them that transported them to the hallway outside their bedrooms.
Sarah knew there was one room she could see that she had not, and she walked towards the doors with the white owl. She placed her hand on the door.
"I want to see your rooms," she told him.
Jareth did not know if he was ready to take her anywhere near his bed, but since he promised her a tour he opened the doors with a flick of his wrist.
Jareth's rooms were larger than hers, as was expected. One day she would share them with him.
Jareth had French doors on the same wall she did, which meant his balcony was right next to hers. He had a wardrobe that matched hers. His bed was almost identical in build, but larger and covered in red bed coverings and red curtains. The various pieces scattered throughout were tasteful and practical.
"So these are the rooms I will share with the Goblin King once we are married then," Sarah said as she spun around.
"If you wish it. Technically the rooms you are in now are the quarters of the Princess Consort. My mother and father rarely slept in the same room," Jareth explained.
"That would explain the common door," Sarah murmured.
"Now Sarah, you have seen my rooms. It's time for us to rest up. Good night," and Jareth turned away from her.
"Aren't you even curious?" Sarah asked him, her tone slightly accusing.
"About what, Sarah?" Jareth replied.
"Tell me you have not wondered what it would feel like to kiss me. Tell me that all these years you have not wondered what it would be like to hold me. We are going to be married, Jareth! Aren't you even curious?" Sarah spoke as she walked to Jareth, trailing a finger over his shoulder until she was once again standing in front of him. His breath had quickened and his skin was a little flush.
Sarah traced a finger along his jaw, across his soft lips, and down the hollow of his throat. Jareth did not move, like he was locked in place.
"Jareth, are you going to wait until we are married to touch me like that? I have waited so long for you to kiss me," Sarah whispered in his ear. There was no response from Jareth, only a slight wetness to his eyes.
Sarah sighed and walked towards the door that would lead to her room. All she could think was that he did not want her. She had tried her best, and the anger rose up in her as she reached the door. As she opened it she knew she would slam it, and slam it she did.