Chapter Seven: The Way Forward

Underground. The Castle Beyond the Goblin City.
Five days after the fall of the Red King.

Sarah was getting used to waking in unexpected situations. This time she opened her eyes to what she recognized as the royal suite of the castle. As she let herself drift slowly to wakefulness, her gaze wandered across the room. It felt different, somehow more right. As did she.

There, it was that man in the window. The room that she hadn't even realized felt empty was completed by that man who belonged so perfectly in it. He was dressed from head to toe in glittering black, his wild blonde hair standing out in vividly. He looked, she realized with surprise, exactly as he had when they first met.

Her soft gasp made him stiffen where he sat on the window sill. He turned but did not approach her, which brought an odd pain to her heart. "You're awake."

She nodded slowly. "Yes."

"How are you feeling?"

She struggled to sit up and he moved to help her, seating himself stiffly on the edge of the bed, half turned away from her. "I thought I was dying."

"You were dead." He refused to look at her. "Hoggle revived you. Some Aboveground practice called CPR."

"Oh." She stared at him, perplexed by his coldness. "The Red King, is he-"

"I killed him." The same clipped speech, emotions carefully hidden.

"And that creature he had?" She frowned, trying to recall the name. "Ezzedryx."

"A fire elemental he had captured. It," his lip curled in a sneer, "consumed him upon his death, and then vanished."

"Oh..."

Something had changed. He was throwing up barriers, blocking her out in a way he hadn't done in years.

Impulsively, she threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his back and ignoring the tension that rippled through his shoulders. "I thought I was going to lose you." She bit back a sob. "He thought the magic I gave you was permanent and he was going to kill you to get it back. I'm almost positive I lost the baby..." An ugly wail escaped her lips.

Jareth turned instantly, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Sarah, shh, the child is fine. I had a healer check while you recovered."

She looked up at him, desperate to believe. "Really?"

He nodded and stepped out of her embrace. He conjured a crystal, balancing it on his fingertips. "And now it's time for you to return home."

"Return home?" She stared at the crystal, a realization slowly coming to her. "Jareth, why don't I have any power?"

"The Red King defeated you, Sarah," he replied almost gently.

"And you defeated the Red King," she whispered. The puzzle pieces clicked into place.

His apparent magical power and her lack, his illegitimate coldness, even the way he was dressed, it was all to remind her.

"You're the Goblin King."

He chuckled arrogantly. "You say that so accusingly. Could I be anything else?"

She glared at him. "And you're sending me home? Just like that? After everything we've been through, after everything..."

"There is nothing between us." His gloved hand cut through the air angrily. "It was a convenient relationship and now that order is restored, you may return to your life as it was." He held the crystal out to her. "How many times have I offered you your dreams? This time there is nothing to stop you."

Her fingers splayed over her abdomen. "Don't. Tell. Me. To forget about the baby," she ground out through gritted teeth. "I can't and I know you won't either."

He didn't move. He was staring directly at her, but she had the impression he wasn't seeing her at all. "I won't offer again," he warned. "If you do not go now, you will never be able to leave."

Click. Another puzzle piece. Her eyes softened with unshed tears. Of course he had seen how she fought to maintain her life Aboveground through all these years. Now that she no longer had the power to travel between realms, he would not force her to give up a life she could finally live.

She eyed the crystal skeptically. "Will that really give me my dreams?"

She could see the tension ripple across his body. He hated to be mocked.

"Yes," he all but growled.

"Fine," Sarah snapped back, snatching the crystal from his outstretched hand.

She looked into it. It dissolved. Nothing happened.

Jareth stared at her uncomprehending, and then sighed tiredly. "All right, what did you wish?"

The faintest glint of humor twinkled in Sarah's eyes. "Why, Jareth," she teased, "That's not exactly the proposal I had in mind. I think your crystal needs some work in the romance department."

He gaped at her and then stumbled forward, all but falling into her arms and burying his face in her hair. "What are you saying?" he breathed. She felt a fine trembling in his body. "You worked so hard...for ten years..."

"Yes I did," she smiled. "We've built a wonderful kingdom together, haven't we?"

He pulled back to study her face. "There's more to it than that, isn't there?" She lowered her gaze but he cupped her chin so that their faces were only inches apart. "Tell me."

"I...I had a dream, or a vision...or something," she stuttered. He looked at her questioningly and she frowned as she tried to remember. "I saw my entire life, how it would be Aboveground, and then how it would be here. And I was happy in both, but Aboveground I was just sharing everyone else's happiness. I wasn't really happy for myself. But here, there was...so much more."

She touched his cheek gently and he cradled her hand against his face wonderingly. "I thought you would grow to hate me if I asked you to stay," he murmured.

"Put away your 'scary Goblin King' act, Jareth. That game ended a long time ago." She smiled at him impishly. "So do I get my wish or not?"

Chuckling, he leaned forward to claim her lips.

"Let the dream begin..."

Completed June 24 2005

Final Author's Notes:

I envisioned a world where Sarah and Jareth were mature enough to put aside their stubbornness and pride, and all the barbs they traded throughout the movie, for the good of the Underground, where they acted more like responsible adults and less like spoiled children. I love the movie (obviously, since I'm writing fanfiction), and if you've read my other stories you know that I quote lines from it like crazy, but it is definitely melodramatic enough to appeal to children. What if The Labyrinth hadn't been a children's movie? Maybe it would have been darker, but maybe they would have sat down over tea and come to the conclusion that Sarah was perfectly happy to give Jareth a chance without him stealing babies or feeding her drugged peaches to get her attention.

What happened to the whole stealing babies and granting wishes thing anyway? Well, I have a theory. At no point in the movie are we told that Jareth does that on a regular basis. In fact, we're told that Sarah got her wish granted only because Jareth loved her and had given her power. Surely he didn't love every girl that read that book. So my theory is that he is just the ruler of some magical realm and fell in love with Sarah, created the book for her in the hopes that it would not only solve one of the major concerns in her life (caring for a whiny baby) but also lead her to him.

Where did the idea of power passing to victors come from? It only makes sense, once you consider that Jareth doesn't HAVE to keep being the Goblin King because he must keep stealing babies and granting wishes. What usually happens when a ruler is defeated? Someone else takes the throne. And it makes his gamble with Sarah even more dangerous, since he was risking everything by giving her a chance to defeat him if he didn't win his love. They were playing two very different games there: Sarah thinking it was about her brother and Jareth thinking it was about Sarah. It also made the ending of my story work out rather well, and believe it or not I didn't have that ending planned until midway through. I had something completely different in mind initially!

What's with the butterfly wings? I don't know, that's just how the picture was. Perhaps you could say that Sarah wanted to make herself look more fantastic (that is to say, fantasy-like) so that she would fit in better with the creatures of the Underground.

I usually respond to reviews with each new chapter, but since this is completed...when you review (if you do) just leave your email if you want a response and I will drop you a line. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!