Three weeks had come and gone since Sarah's return. For the most part, things in her life had returned to normal.
Despite the importance of learning not to take anything for granted, she continued to find herself unable to bite her tongue whenever her stepmother made a request that Sarah found...vexatious. Just as her younger brother's tantrums and sporadic bouts of crying throughout the night continued to send her into fits of yelling how it "just isn't fair!"
Whenever the phrase would slip through her lips she'd instantly cover mouth, quickly retreat to her room and shut the door. Those words only made her think of him now, and she vowed to do whatever it took to wipe him clean from her memory no matter how difficult it might prove to be.
She had torn down all her posters and boxed up her figurines, even going so far as removing every book from her shelf that mentioned magical beings of any kind.
That ought to do it, Sarah had thought as she looked around her now, rather grown-up looking room feeling victorious.
As the days began to pass, it didn't take long for the Goblin King's handsome face to fade from the forefront of her mind as she busied herself with schoolwork, the occasional social event and most importantly, preparing for her sweet sixteen.
The big day was tomorrow, and as far as she was concerned it would be the second biggest event of her life. She couldn't help but consider her time in the labyrinth as the first and also best thing that had ever happened to her, or ever would, even if she was trying her hardest to forget its ruler.
Sarah sat alone at her dining room table, swirling her spoon through a bowl of milk and what was left of her cereal. It was Saturday morning and her father and Karen had taken Toby to visit with Karen's parents for the morning, leaving her to fend for herself at breakfast. Bravery and intelligence may have been among Sarah's strong suits, but a good cook...not so much.
She stared down absentmindedly at the soggy contents in her dish while simultaneously replaying the party's guest list in her mind, hoping she hadn't forgotten anyone seeing as it was far too late to mail out any new invitations.
Let's see...my parents and Toby of course, Rowan and Matt, Laura, Jade, Uncle Thomas and Aunt Lindy, Grandma Helen, Issac, Erik and Stacy, Victoria and...well I think that's it.
If only I could invite Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus as well, Sarah mused sadly.
She could just imagine the reactions she'd get from her family and friends if the odd trio made an appearance. Half of them would probably faint while the other half would spend the rest of their lives on a psychiatrist's sofa every other week.
And if they'd think that was crazy, I can only imagine how they'd respond to hi-
Her spoon fell from her hand, hitting the glass bowl with a loud clank. Her eyes went wide for just a second before snapping shut as she scolded herself aloud for her slip.
"Damn it! And I was doing so good. God that's so like him, just pop right up when the timings least convenient."
Well...he didn't exactly force you to imagine him, it's kind of your own fault.
"Oh nice! Who's side are you on?," she spat at her own unwelcome thought.
Wow...if anyone could see me now...
Suddenly deciding she was no longer hungry and determined to distract herself, she proceeded to bring her dish over to the sink and began rinsing it out. Her diversion was unsuccessful as a new, more critical thought crossed her mind.
What if I can't ever think about Hoggle, Sir Didymus or Ludo without thinking about him...then what? I can't, no I won't, forget them, too. But...but what if I have no choice?
The water continued to cascade down onto the now empty and forgotten bowl as Sarah stared numbly out the large kitchen window directly in front of her.
The window overlooked the Williams' relatively spacious backyard, a sea of lush freshly mowed green grass. To the far right lay Karen's garden, made up of pretty rows of sunflowers, geraniums and a different variety of vegetables. Standing tall in the center of the flowers was a bird house made of refurbished wood, painted white with a bright teal roof. The color scheme had been Sarah's idea. She had helped her dad make it just after her mom left. It didn't do much to ease her heartache at the time, but looking back on it now she realized it had been her father's way of trying to strengthen their bond, considering they had now had only each other.
On the other side of the yard sat the garage, a place her sheepdog Merlin was much too familiar with according to Sarah. Karen on the other hand felt she "worked too damn hard" cleaning and keeping the house together to allow even a few messy paw prints to ruin it all.
Still gazing out the window, Sarah stared straight ahead not really focusing on anything in particular, just trying her hardest to come up with a solution that involved her getting to keep her newest friends without the risk of ever being reminded of their infuriating monarch, and by affiliation, jeopardizing her sanity.
Just as she neared giving up all hope, a flash of white outside to the right snapped her back to attention. She curiously glanced over.
Sitting atop the vibrant roof of the bird house sat a large white and brown owl. It's head was cast down, casually combing its beak through its feathers.
How strange, an owl in the morning? That's a first.
Her skepticism was quickly replaced by curiosity and admiration as she continued to silently appreciate the beauty of the creature resting in her backyard. But when the owl turned it's head towards the house and stared in her direction, an uneasy feeling settled deep in Sarah's stomach. The moment its eyes locked with hers...it finally clicked.
"That sneaky bastard!," Sarah screamed as she shut off the faucet and raced towards the back door. "And here I was just ooglinghim like a fucking groupie!" She had completely forgotten that one of the Goblin King's many talents was his ability to shape-shift. Matter of fact, the first time she had ever laid eyes on him he had been in his animal form, right before dramatically poofing behind a cloud off glitter and emerging as the impressively enticing fae that he was.
When she reached the door she gripped the handle roughly and slammed it back into the wall in her fury, not caring at all what Karen might say about the mark it left.
She skipped over the two small steps that led down into the grass and made a beeline straight for the birdhouse. Her actions were abruptly halted however, when she noticed that the object of her frustrations was suddenly no where in sight.
For a split second Sarah wondered if she had just made the whole thing up, or perhaps it really had been nothing more than a strange coincidence.
Oh no...no I know it was him! The way he deliberately looked over at me...he was toying with me. I hate him, I hate him!
She spun around in a circle, desperately searching for any sight of him so that she could grab him by the neck and slowly rip his feathers out one by one.
How dare he spy on her? The whole point of forgetting him was to never think of his existence again, which would be impossible if he continued to make "special appearances" every now and again.
What if he's been watching me ever since I came back?
That thought alone made Sarah's blood boil. Her cheeks flushed red with her rage.
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she roared into the open air, fairly certain he was probably hiding somewhere close enough to hear. The urge to breakdown and cry had never been more prevalent. It seemed like no matter how strong she proved she could be, the Goblin King always knew just how to tear her down and make her feel her weakest. She could feel the tears start to build behind her eyes.
No! This is what he wants Sarah, to watch you break. He lost and he can't let it go. It's time to remind him who he's playing with.
She took one last look around the empty yard not entirely sure if she really wanted to find him or not.
With an exasperated sigh she stalked back to the house.
The doors to the castle at the center of the labyrinth flew open upon recognizing their master's return.
There was a pep in his step as the Goblin King strolled towards his throne room.
The heated look on Sarah's face when she had finally realized it was him, excited Jareth in the finest way. If anger truly blossomed from feelings of passion, then the intensity of her glare through the window revealed an ocean of hidden desires.
He had debated staying put, letting her confront him for the first time since their fateful last encounter, but had ultimately decided his plan would work best if he left her feeling anxious and bothered.
Bracing himself, he turned the final corner to his destination. The hoard of goblins immediately erupted into a chorus of cheers as he relaxed into the throne. He bared his fangs in a Cheshire like grin, feeling a swell of pride from all the admiration.
"Hooray the king is back!"
"Did you see the girl? Did you? DID YOU!?"
"We missed you!"
"Tirgon stole my chicken again!"
"Yay you're back, party party!"
Their voices blended together into one loud noise that would give any normal person a splitting headache, but the Goblin King was well accustomed to their frenzy.
"Yes, yes I've missed you all as well. Now settle down I need to think," his voice sounding sterner than he actually felt. It was unnecessary considering all of the goblins he allowed in his castle would faithfully jump headfirst into the bog of eternal stench themselves if he asked them to, all the while praising his good name. He simply enjoyed exercising his authority every now and again.
It took only a few minutes before complete silence arrived at last, and Jareth wasted no time in planning his next move.
I do believe it's Sarah's birthday tomorrow, perhaps I'll bring her another gift...he thought with a devilish smirk.
His daydreaming was cut short by sharp footsteps echoing out in the hall. He stared annoyingly at the two fae women who entered underneath the archway. The woman on the left was tall but shapely, her long purple gown hugging her curves in all the right places. Her dark hair was long as well, running all the way down to the small of her back in loose waves. Beside her stood a slimmer petite woman in a long burgundy gown with a plunging neckline. Her hair was done up in an intricate updo, the same golden shade as Jareth's. Her violet eyes lit up brightly when they landed on him.
"And just to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked with less than enthusiasm.
The two females looked at each other for just a moment, before turning their attention back towards Jareth with matching grins.
It was almost evening before Sarah's parents returned home.
Her father had come upstairs to check on her like he always did, not surprised in the least to find her sitting in the center of her bed, staring intently between several books laid out open in front of her. She barely looked up when he asked if she had eaten today, and calmly retreated when she replied that she had and was no longer hungry, her voice thick with annoyance.
She might have felt bad if she didn't believe that what she was doing was so much more important than engaging in pointless small talk.
After her brief encounter with the Goblin King that morning, she realized she had been going about the whole situation all wrong. In her efforts to forget him, all she was really doing was admitting that she wasn't strong enough to think about him without desiring him in some unnatural way. So, instead of running away, it was time to face it head on.
She had spent the entire afternoon researching through some of the fairytale books she had previously packed away, desperately looking for any key words such as "fae", "fairy," or even "goblin".
There had to be something somewhere in her books that could help her figure out how to stop the Goblin King from tormenting her, but in every story she read the hero/heroine's journey ended with either their victory or their defeat. That was how it was supposed to be.
I ran in the legendary labyrinth and I won. According to all these accounts my life should be filled with riches or never ending happiness, not full of stress and unwanted Goblin King imagery.
Feeling overworked and still no closer to a solution for her problem than she was weeks ago, Sarah closed her books discouragingly. She resolved that maybe she really was hungry after all, and climbed off her bed to head downstairs.
For the first time in a long time, dinner at the Williams' had been a rather pleasant occasion. Instead of brooding the whole time and copping an unwarranted attitude when Karen would politely ask Sarah how her day had been, she managed to maintain a civil conversation even going so far as to inquire about their trip to Karen's parent's.
Robert watched on in astonishment, half way convinced his daughter had somehow been abducted by aliens in his absence and that the Sarah look-a-like sitting to his right was a fraud. How else could he explain the friendly exchange that was taking place between her and his wife right in front of him? He gazed over to his left at Toby with a perplexed look on his face, as if to say "can you believe what's going on here?," but the babe was too young and too busy playing with his food to notice.
After dinner, Sarah continued to surprise by offering to clear the table and put away the leftovers. Normally she would fly off to her room straight away, never bothering to lend a hand. Robert just shook his head in amazement, not daring to speak and risk breaking Sarah from whatever trance that had clearly befallen her. Karen's face lit up in a genuine smile, and she thanked her for being so thoughtful.
Truth was, Sarah had secretly hoped her dramatic reversal of character was the answer she had been looking for. Maybe the reason the Goblin King still had the advantage of watching her whenever he pleased, was because despite being victorious in rescuing her brother, she had failed to incorporate the valuable lesson the labyrinth had taught her into her daily life. That was the whole point of it all wasn't it? So she could learn to appreciate her loved ones and not simply wish them away when things got rough? Yeah, it was a hell of a long shot, but by now she was willing to give anything a try.
Karen had made her homemade four-cheese lasagna, a family favorite, and served grilled asparagus and garlic bread on the side. All three of them had opted for seconds so there wasn't a whole lot of food left for Sarah to put away and it didn't take her much time at all.
Every time Sarah would carry a new dish into the kitchen she would detour around the table first and swipe her hand through Toby's hair messily causing his hands to flail up and giggle uncontrollably. She had to admit it was so much nicer hearing him laugh than cry.
When the last of the left overs were placed neatly in the fridge, she grabbed up the remaining dirty dishes on the counter and walked them over to the sink where Karen was already busy scrubbing away. She placed them in the dirty pile and started to retreat towards her room when Karen spoke up suddenly.
"Sarah, I'd like you to know I really appreciated you opening up tonight. I know these past few years have been anything but easy for you but...one day I just hope you realize you could have a friend here if you wanted to. Tonight was the first time I ever felt like we might be making some progress, so...thank you," she turned away from the plate she was washing to look her in the eye.
For a moment Sarah remained silent. Sure, she was making an effort to be more respectful and attentive with her family from now on, but she wasn't entirely certain she ever wanted to become "friends" with her stepmother. She still blamed Karen for taking all of her father's attention away from her, especially when she had still needed him the most.
Finally she found what she felt was an appropriate response.
"Well I am turning sixteen tomorrow after all, I guess it's finally time I matured a bit," she said, ending with a playful grin.
Karen laughed as she grabbed another dirty plate from the water. "Whatever it is that's got you in such an agreeable mood, it's nice. Don't let it go," she added before turning her attention back to her chore.
Sarah's smile faded first into a look of puzzlement followed by disgust.
Lucky for you I can't let it go...
No longer interested in trying to think of something proper to say, she simply dismissed herself from the kitchen and headed up the stairs to her bedroom. As soon as she shut the door she quickly changed out of her oversized sweater and dark blue jeans into a comfortable pair of pink and purple flannel pajamas.
On her way to throw her dirty clothes in a hamper in the hallway she paused to stare at the dress now hanging on the back of her door. She had picked it out with her best friend Rowan's help to wear for her birthday. It was made of a pretty pink fabric that reminded Sarah of a flamingo. The length was short but modest, hitting just past mid thigh, the bottom half flaring out from the waist. What had really made her love it though, was the bodice. A sheer overlay of lace covered the top and the sleeves poofed out just short of obnoxious. It was stylish enough to impress her friends, but whimsical enough for her own unique taste. She smiled to herself as she remembered how good it looked when she had tried it on. It was almost as pretty as...
Images of the ballroom flooded her mind. She threw her clothes down in a huff and turned away from the door.
I'll never get over this will I?
The bottom half of her bed was still covered in books. She knew the smart thing to do would be to go over all of her party preparations one final time before the big day tomorrow like she had planned. Instead she found herself shoving the books carelessly onto the floor and climbing into bed.
It was barely past 7pm, but after the events of the day Sarah felt drained. She laid back onto her pillow and closed her eyes, pictures of pink party dresses, birthday wishes and mismatched blue eyes danced through her head.
Thank you so SO much to everyone who left a review, I appreciate each and every one :) I'm sorry it took longer than I had hoped to get this chapter up, and hopefully it didn't disappoint, thanks again!