Chapter 7.
Sarah sped off in the direction of her house but at the last second decided to turn and head towards her old favorite hangout spot. The park. She decided it would be good to go and think about some things. How was she going to defeat Jareth this time? If she could even defeat Jareth this time. Also, how was she going to stay close to Toby while he away in Texas and she lived here. Maybe she would switch colleges and move to Texas? But then she would leave Sandra stuck with Jareth. That just wouldn't work! What could she do? She had to think about this situation more intently considering they were leaving in such a short time, but then there was Jareth who was back and who was promising to cause such chaos in her life. What could she do? In the labyrinth, she had no time to really think things through, so she just did them on a whim, maybe that was the key. Maybe dealing with Jareth on a whim was the key.
Once at the park, she jumped out of the car and ran to the middle of the bridge and sat down in the middle of it and began let loose the tears that she had wanted to cry but never did. Sarah placed her head in her hands and just let herself go. She didn't want anyone to see her cry. She cried long enough to let it all out, but not long enough to let anyone know what she was doing. She looked up, and noticed a squirrel looking at her. "What are you looking at?" She asked the squirrel as she wiped her eyes and stood up. The squirrel scampered away.
Sarah noticed that the park was completely empty, so she walked over to the swing set. She knew she should probably go home considering it was after nine and starting to get really dark, but she just wanted to be alone in her favorite place right now. She sat down on a swing and thought of the times before met Jareth, how miserable she was, but how much better life was. What if she had never made that stupid wish? Would she have met him someday anyways? Was it her destiny to meet him? She rested her head on the chain of the swing as she swung lightly and sighed.
Life was not going the way she wanted it to. College was harder than she imagined, although she was doing fairly well. At least she wasn't failing. Of course she was taking Drama classes in school and then taking some outside of school as well. She wasn't the best one in her class, but she was pretty good. Her teacher told her so. More tears swelled in her eyes. She didn't want to keep crying, but she couldn't help it. What was she going to do? She dragged her feet to stop the swing and stood up wiping her tears.
"Come now, why the tears? I told you I would leave young Tobias alone."
Sarah closed her eyes and started walking away. "He's not here right now. My mind is just playing tricks on me." She said aloud.
He snickered. "Of course I'm here you insolent mortal." He started following her. "You can hear me talking obviously." He caught up to her and grabbed her shoulder and turned her into him as he hugged her. "Now, tell me why you are crying. Maybe I could be of some assistance."
Sarah tried to push him away but it was no use, he was just to strong. "You can't help me! I can only help myself." Then she started crying even harder. "Maybe I can't even help myself."
He picked her up easily with grace. "Put me down! I can walk. I don't want to go anywhere with you!"
He laughed as he rolled his eyes. "Are you forgetting that I cannot make you do anything you don't want to here?" She shook her head. "Good. I'm only carrying you to your truck. Now relax. We're going to have a little chat."
"I can walk to my truck." She said while sniffling and wiping her eyes.
"Of course my dear, but with me carrying you, we'll get there faster." And it was true. They were already there. He set her down and she unlocked the door to her truck. Once she got inside, she saw him sitting down in the passenger seat.
"What are you doing?"
He grabbed her hand. "I'm here to talk to you. Now, why were you crying?"
She snatched her hand back and scoffed at him. She didn't like him being this close to her. It wasn't fair to her. While she was certain she wanted nothing to do with him, she couldn't deny that he wasn't extremely good looking and that he was making her body react in ways that it shouldn't be. "It's none of your concern. I am none of your concern."
He laughed. "I wish you would learn that you are my concern dear princess. May I be of some assistance to you and your problems?"
She looked up at him. Did he know what her problems were? He couldn't possibly know. She hadn't told anyone her problems. She hadn't planned on it either. She looked at him defiantly, "What problems are you talking about?" She said evenly. She hadn't even lost control of her voice. She was very proud of herself. Sarah almost smiled, but she decided against it.
"Problems?" Sarah nodded. "How about the problems at home Sarah. Well, not you're home per say, but you're old home. Where young Tobias and your father and step-mother are moving away, and then of course, you think of me as a menace. Even though I assure you I am not."
Now she was getting mad. How the hell did he know? "How?"
He moved his hand up and started playing with her hair. "How did I know about your family? Is that what you are wondering my precious thing?" She nodded. "I've been keeping an eye on you since you left the Labyrinth." Sarah's eyes opened wide in shock. All those times that she felt like she was being watched, she was! It was him. Of course it was him. "Yes my precious thing, I've been watching you since then. Did you really think I would let you leave and never come for you again?" She swallowed and he came closer. The cab of the truck was to small. She reached behind her to open the door but she heard it lock. "Not yet Darling. We are not done talking."
"Jareth, please. It's time for you to move on. There's nothing there between us. What you have is wishful thinking!" She turned around in her seat and tried to unlock the door but it wouldn't budge. She turned back to him. "Unlock the door Jareth!" He shook his head. "What do you want from me?" She screamed at him.
"I want you to return with me to my kingdom. As my queen of course. Nothing less than that will suit you. You were born to be my queen. Did you know that?"
She shook her head furiously. "No, I did not know that. I will never go back with you, do you understand that? Do you understand that I have a life here?"
He growled and dropped her hair. "Then you have just made this a game to me. Are you ready for this game? Are you sure you want to play this with me? It will be much more challenging then the Labyrinth ever was. This one will include your friends and possibly your family should I choose it."
"You can't do that! It's not fair!"
"Fair?" He drawled. "Didn't we talk about this the first night I came back to your house after the Labyrinth?" She nodded. "Life isn't fair! So stop with its not fair non-sense." He caressed her face. "I swear on all the gods, we will work on your attitude and your outlook on life once you are mine. You will seem like a different person to most, but I know that you will still be you." He sighed a breath of what sounded like excited relief. "I can't wait for that day. And until then," He looked at her with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Let the games begin." Then he snapped his fingers and disappeared leaving a bunch of glitter in the cab of the truck and Sarah to cry for what seemed like hours.