A/N: Well, Jareth can't invade Sarah's dreams anymore... What will he try now?
you know the drill. I don't own Labyrinth. It belongs to the Henson Company.
HAUNTED
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"Sarah, are you sure you don't want me to take Toby to daycare? I really don't mind!"
"Karen, there isn't any reason to waste money on daycare if I'm going to be home all day! Just go to work."
Karen sighed, and grabbed her purse off the counter. "All right then. Emergency numbers are..."
"Karen, I know. I've babysat for Toby before. I'd never let anything happen to him. Please, just go. We'll be fine."
"Okay, okay," Karen sighed, bending down and scooping Toby up into her arms. "Bye, bye, sweetie. Mummy will be back later. Be good for Sarah."
Sarah gently took Toby from her stepmother. "Now Sarah, please be careful. Don't let anyone in, and keep a very close eye on Toby. Check on him often when you put him down for his nap."
"Okay, Karen! Why are you freaking out like this?" Sarah snapped.
"I just worry, all right? Please promise me that you'll be careful."
"Yes, I promise. You'd better get going, or your going to be late."
"All right, all right. See you later. I should be home around four," she said backing out of the door, "have a good day, you two." She gently shut the door behind her. Sarah listened closely for her car to drive away.
Sarah couldn't figure out what was wrong with her stepmother. A week ago, she would have left her and Toby alone without a second thought. Why had she suddenly become so concerned for their welfare? If she didn't know any better, she would think that Karen knew what was going on.
She pondered that for a moment. Could Karen know more than she let on? Did she know about the Labyrinth, and the Goblin King? Perhaps she had wished one of her siblings away at some point. No, that was impossible. Karen hated fantasy, hated anything that she didn't deem normal. She would never believe that such a place existed.
"Saya!" Toby whined, squirming in her arms. She gently set the baby down on the floor. He crawled into the living room, with Sarah on his tail. Toby sat in front of the t.v., and grabbed his little stuffed dog. Sarah turned on the t.v., flipping for a cartoon for Toby to watch. She couldn't find any, but found a channel with her current favorite movie, The Phantom of the Opera. She cast a look at Toby. He didn't seem to notice the t.v., too preoccupied with his toy. He wouldn't mind if she watched this for a little while. She settled down on the couch, and let the enchanting music steal her away.
Stranger
than you dreamt it -
can you even
dare to look
or bear to
think of me:
this loathsome
gargoyle, who
burns in hell, but secretly
yearns for heaven,
secretly . . .
secretly . . .
But, Sarah . . .
Fear can
Turn to love - you'll
learn to see...
She sat up and stared at the screen. Had she just heard what she thought she heard? She listened closely...
to
find the man
behind the
monster: this . . .
repulsive
carcass, who
seems a beast, but secretly
dreams of beauty,
secretly . . .
secretly . . .
Oh, Christine . . .
No. It must have simply been her imagination. Stupid Goblin King had her nerves completely frazzled. Karen's goo had done it's job. She hadn't had any dreams last night, but she knew that he was watching her. She had caught him last night, and the day before. There was no telling what he might do next.
She turned the set off, and watched Toby for a moment. He was playing happily with his toy, slamming it around, cooing and trilling loudly. She smiled at him fondly. How on earth could she have ever resented her adorable brother? As much as she resented the Goblin King, she was thankful to him for helping her change from the selfish, spoiled brat she had been.
A loud thump upstairs brought her to her senses. "What on earth was that?" she muttered. There was another thump from above. It sounded as though it was coming from her parent's room. Curious, she snuck upstairs to investigate.
The hallway was completely empty. She snuck into her parents room, peering around for the source of the sounds. She checked under the bed, and in the closet, but found nothing. She went over to the window, and made sure that it was locked. She couldn't see what had made the noise, but she had been sure that it had come from this room.
Suddenly, the hair on her neck stood on end. The air filled with that awful vibe, and she caught whiff of a familiar, musky scent. She looked up to see her reflection in the window. She saw someone reflected behind her, someone tall, with wild, long blond hair. Someone who was reaching to grab her...
She whirled around to, putting up her fists to fight him off, but to her surprise, he was not there. She looked at the reflection again, but his was gone. She panicked. She had left Toby all alone downstairs, and the Goblin King was in her house.
She ran downstairs, and to her relief, found Toby safe and sound, just as she left him. She looked around, searching for the intruder, but could not find any sign of him. That almost electric vibe had dissipated.
She was about to brush it off as her paranoia, until she noticed that Toby was no longer playing with his toy. The dog lay a few feet away forgotten, and the baby boy was playing with a crystal ball.
"Toby, no!" she screamed, rushing at him. She snatched the crystal away from him. Toby screwed up his face and wailed. Sarah set the crystal down on the coffee table, and picked up her brother and the toy dog.
"I'm sorry, Toby," she said gently, bouncing him and rubbing his back, "But that's very bad. You can't play with that."
Toby looked at her, his big blue eyes filled with tears, his lower lip trembling. She handed him the toy, and carried him over to his playpen. She sat him down and ran into the kitchen. She grabbed a cup of juice from the fridge, and gave it to Toby.
He sucked on it for a few moments, and then lay down, clutching the toy to his little chest. He closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
When she was certain that Toby was fast asleep, she went back into the kitchen, and took a metal mallet from a drawer. She weighed it in her palm, then proceeded into the living room. She picked up the crystal and went down to the basement. She set it down on her father's tool bench, and raised the mallet over her head. She brought it down with as much force as she could muster.
The next thing she felt was considerable pain. The crystal, instead of shattering, had sent a surge of electricity through her body. She dropped the mallet, and dropped to the ground, writhing in agony.
She slowly got to her feet, wincing in pain. She stumbled to the bench, and grabbed the crystal. If she couldn't smash the thing, she would have to hide it. But where? It would have to be somewhere that Karen and her father wouldn't find it. In her room, perhaps. Yes. She had the perfect place.
She ran upstairs and into her room. She reached up on top of her dresser, and found the small key to the drawer in her vanity. She opened it, and set the crystal down inside, among the things she had recently packed away, pictures of her mother, that damned book, and the music box that played the Goblin King's song. She shut the drawer, locked it, set the key back up, and went back downstairs.
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Jareth laughed cruelly. His plan had worked perfectly. He knew that she would bring the crystal to her room. And when she was alone that evening, he would make his new offer.
He hadn't anticipated her trying to destroy the crystal, but that had worked to his advantage. He was still tight from the sight of her rolling about on the ground. Soon she would be wriggling like that in his bed, beneath him, not in pain, but in ecstasy. He would have her screaming his name, kissing his body with those perfect pink lips.
Soon he would have her. She would finally be his, and no one, especially not his mother or sister, was going to take her away from him.
All he had to do was wait a few more hours...
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A/N: Uh-oh, Jareth's got a new plan up his sleeve...
What, will it be? You really want to know? All you have to do is review, and I'll update quickly! More Jareth/Sarah next chapter. Yayness!
So remember, review.