Chapter 10

An Understanding

Sarah sat on the couch in the guest room while she watched the fire crackle in the fireplace. Her thoughts were flooded with worry and pleads that Maggie would be alright and make it to the castle in time.

Just then a soft knocking came at the door. "Come in." Sarah said as Jareth walked in. "Where's Mark?" he asked as he took a seat in the chair next to the couch. "He needed some air from all the excitement. It's a lot to take in." Sarah said.

Silence swept through the room as the two watched the fire crackle. "Sarah, do you still believe that I'm the villain?" Jareth asked, breaking the silence. Sarah sighed. "Well, I used to. I mean, you did steal my brother and make me go through hardships unnumbered…"

"Technically you wished your brother away and I simply did just that."

"Well, now that I'm older I see that. I was the one that wished Toby away…"

"Besides, I did it all so that I could live up to your expectations."

"Yeah, but you sent cleaners after me and drugged me with a peach!"

"Well you wanted an adventure and I gave you one. You wanted to get rid of Toby and I took him. And you can't deny the fact that you looked like a princess in the ballroom, just like you wanted."

Sarah opened her mouth but then quickly closed it. He was right. "And you know", Jareth continued, "I would have been more than happy to send Toby back Aboveground and put him safely in his crib if you agreed to stay here with me."

Sarah turned to look at him. "But I couldn't. I was only fifteen and the only thing that I could think about was saving Toby. Besides, I had friends that I would miss. And what about my parents? Don't you think they would be suspicious about my whereabouts?" This time, Jareth quickly closed his mouth and looked back at the fireplace instead. "I couldn't stay here", Sarah continued, "I had my whole life ahead of me and I wanted to live it. But don't get me wrong, there were times when I wondered what it would be like to live here."

Jareth looked back at her. "I would have given you everything you wanted and wished for. I would have even let you see your family and friends whenever you wanted. But instead, you practically ripped my heart out, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it." Jareth closed his eyes as that simple phrase came back to mind.

You have no power over me….

Did she really cause that much pain? "I know that after I left, Hoggle said that the Underground seemed like it was a cold, saddened place." Sarah said after a moment. Jareth opened his eyes. "It was. It felt like it rained almost every day. I just couldn't understand why I was the villain in your eyes and how you could befriend that dwarf."

"Were you jealous of that? Is that why you don't like Hoggle and why you made him give me the peach? So he would seem like the bad guy?"

"Yes. Yet, you forgave him. What about me? After everything?"

Sarah sighed. "A part of me couldn't for the longest time. But as I turned the memories of this place in my mind, I started to understand that you weren't all that bad. I mean, you did more than give me an adventure and my brother back."

Jareth gave her a confused look. "How so?"

"Well after I got back, Toby and I became very close. He even requested to make me a bridesmaid at his wedding! Before I ran the labyrinth, my step mother and I always argued and I just hated how my father married her. But now I see that she always cared, in her own way, and just wanted the best for me. And she still does now.

"Besides that, I also learned that I myself had to mature. I couldn't be that whiny, spoiled teenager that escaped into fairy tales anymore. I had to learn to face the music and see that life really wasn't fair and not everyone plays by the rules. And even though I had to learn to let go of childish things, I never completely let go. I still have the book in my closet, you know. That's how Maggie found it…" Sarah trailed off.

Jareth looked at her. "You really learned that much from this place?" Sarah nodded. "I also learned to think outside of the box if I wanted to get anywhere in life and that it's important to make the right decisions. After I learned those lessons, I found that my life was, well, a happier place. Once I was happy with myself, I was ready to be happy with others."

"And that's when you got a boyfriend."

"Yeah. Of course it didn't last that long. Looking back I guess it was part of me growing up and slowly losing touch with this place."

"Forgetting your friends and enemies?"

"Yes, I forgot my friends. Even you."

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Sarah, are you saying….?" Sarah smiled. "Yes, Jareth, I don't see you as an enemy anymore. If anything, coming back to this place has taught me that some friends refuse to be forgotten and I promised to never lose them again. And, I want to start over Jareth. I don't want you to still see me as that bratty teenager and you as the villain."

They both smiled at their understanding; after all, they both wanted the same thing.

"Have you tried to stop Maggie from coming here?" Jareth asked curiously after a few moments.

"I did, but failed. I didn't want her to experience the dangers here. I also didn't want you trying to take her. But I suppose it was inevitable. She kept finding that book no matter how hard I hid it. There were countless times I caught her red handed reading it when she was supposed to be in bed."

"I would have never harmed her, you know. I could never do anything to hurt you. But tell me, where is the book now?" Jareth asked.

Sarah sighed and continued looking into the fireplace. "It's back in the box in my closet. Maggie hasn't looked for it since she started middle school. That's around the time when she had memorized practically the whole story. She'd spend most of her free time trying to recite it."

"There were no friends she could be with?"

"Not really. She never really clicked with the kids there. And she ditches class anyway."

"No kidding", Jareth said with a smile, "Hunter ditches all the time too."

"Hunter? Really? Well, I'm sure when you and your friends all have magic there's all sorts of trouble you'd rather be getting into."

Jareth shook his head. "No, actually, he doesn't have any. There aren't many children his age at court."

Sarah felt bad for him. "Were you like that too?"

"No, my teen years were different from his. I had mischievous friends. And I certainly didn't dress like Hunter either…."

"How did that whole outfit thing happen?" Sarah asked, a little smile on her face.

"Well, it started when Hunter started to come Aboveground under my watch. He would sometimes wander off- and it was a pain in the ass to find him- but he usually went to the same spots. Like the movie theaters or malls; really any place kids his age were. I could see in his eyes that he longed to be with them.

"After some time, he started to dress like them too. He even started to dye his hair black. Now about 90% of his wardrobe is dark clothing." Sarah gave a chuckle; she could imagine owl Jareth looking for his little owl son. "And what about that lip ring, how did that happen?"

Jareth rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm almost too ashamed to say this, but he learned how to do the piercing himself. Let's just say he was grounded for a long time after that."

"Ouch. That sounds painful."

"I know. Avalyn was angry with him for some time."

Sarah looked at Jareth. "And how did you meet Avalyn?"

Jareth sighed. "Well after you went to college I started to see that my attempts of wooing you back were pointless. So I just stayed here and decided to go to the annual Fae ball one year. That's when she bumped into me; no, literally, she bumped into me. She spilled her drink all over my jacket and was very apologetic and tried wiping it with a handkerchief. Finally I agreed to her offer of getting a drink. Now here we are."

Sarah gave a warm smile. "Well I'm really happy for you Jareth. It looks like she really loves you."

Jareth returned the smile. "And what about you, Sarah? How did you meet Mark?"

"It was senior year of college. I was in this play; he was in props, I was the lead. I'd see him painting sets on my way to rehearsals. We went on several dates and I knew that I fallen head over heels for him. Next thing you know, we're already happily married and started a family…." Sarah's smile vanished into a worried look.

"You're still worried about Maggie, aren't you?"

"How can I not worry. Besides, I don't think I want to become a goblin."

Jareth and Sarah both gave light hearted laughs at the thought of Sarah the Goblin running around the castle.

The door clicked open. Mark entered, seeing the two laughing and smiling as if they were two old friends who were reminiscing about the good old days. "Hey James." Mark said with a smile.

Jareth rubbed the bridge of his nose. Hopes of this mortal ever get his name right were quickly diminishing….