As The World Falls Down
Chapter Two
1989
Sarah was a medical miracle, at least that's what the doctors believed. For a minute and a half she had been dead, and yet somehow she had survived and had lain in a coma for three weeks. When she awoke the doctor's were positive she would have brain damage, yet within a few minutes she was almost fully coherent and showed little signs of trauma.
Her right arm had been badly broken in the accident yet when X-rayed again it had been fully healed and there was no sign of damage.
Sarah herself was chatty and didn't seem very disturbed by her accident, when asked why she thought had had such a miraculous recovery she merely smiled mysteriously and said, "Maybe the Goblin King saved me?" Her father had looked confused, her step-mother amused whilst her baby brother had chortled with glee.
Eventually the doctors with no real reason to keep her in had let her go home, something which pleased Sarah greatly.
For the first time in months Sarah looked forward to the simple pleasure of sleeping in her own bed, eating Karen's cooking and playing with Toby. Finals were still a month away so Sarah spent her week of rest surrounded by books reviewing the work she had missed, it didn't take her long as she was intelligent and capable and really quite enjoyed studying and learning new things.
It was at night though when her mind allowed her to dwell on the emotions and memories she had forced herself to forget. Night after night she found herself in the ballroom dancing with Jareth, around her the goblins and Fae would watch her in a way she no longer found threatening and he would sing as he twirled her around and around. He had a beautiful voice, even when she had hated him she had admitted his voice was beautiful, it was like silk or chocolate, warm and smooth. She might even go as far as to say sexy though that thought had made her blush so she no longer thought that anymore.
"This could all be yours, you only have to say." Jareth murmured as he spun her around the ballroom.
Sarah smiled and shook her head gently and the decorations in her hair swayed. "This isn't my world."
"You're my world, let me be yours."
As they danced Sarah allowed herself to forget her ordinary life but would never give in to Jareth's persuasions, "No, it wouldn't be right."
Then she would wake up.
1990
Sarah was back home for Christmas break, she had applied and been accepted into U.C.L.A and was coming home for the first time in months.
The house was done up in fairy lights and tinsel and Sarah smile as she looked at it from the back seat of the taxi. At the front door her father and Karen stood with beaming smiles on their faces, Karen was pregnant and Sarah found herself anticipating the birth more so than she had with Toby.
"Hey I'm home!" Instantly she was smothered in kisses and she revelled in the warmth of their love, it was always nice to be loved.
"Sarah!" Toby burst through the door on the back of Merlin, Sarah's Old English Sheepdog, skidding to a halt he dived off and caught Sarah around the legs, hugging her fiercely.
"He's not stopped talking about your homecoming for days now, he's been fidgety all day and we haven't been able to keep him still for a minute, we eventually set him to drawing and it kept him busy for a little while but only just." Karen explained as Sarah's father collected her bags and paid the taxi fare. Still chattering loudly Toby pulled Sarah into the gaily decorated living room showing her ornaments he'd made in school and explaining about his prize role as a wise man in the Christmas production.
"The house looks great!" Sarah said as she removed her heavy coat and laughed when Toby in an attempt to help became tangled with her long scarf.
"Come see my picture!" With a laugh Sarah allowed herself to be dragged into the kitchen where his paper and crayons were set up on the counter alongside a half filled glass of milk and a pile of cookie crumbs.
"So what have you been drawing?" Sarah asked sliding onto a stool and propping her chin on her hand.
Lifting up the drawing Toby scooped a handful of cookie segments into his mouth and said with the seriousness of a child, "The King."
Raising an eyebrow Sarah stared at the picture and her draw dropped, in rough crayon was a drawing of Jareth. It couldn't be mistaken, the wild hair, breeches, even the eyes it was Jareth, her brother had drawn somebody he hadn't seen in four years, somebody she thought he wouldn't even remember.
"Interesting isn't it, we think it's somebody Toby saw on TV?"
Looking up at her father Sarah wondered if she should correct him and then decided against it, what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. "Wild," she agreed, Toby looked up and smiled and Sarah felt her stomach flip. "His eyes..."
"Isn't it amazing," Karen gushed as she bent down to cuddle Toby, "not many children have one blue and one amber eye, he's already a special little boy."
Sickened Sarah wondered what else had changed about her baby brother, would he appear in tight pants and start singing or would he just turn into an owl and fly away? When he showed no signs of doing either she relaxed and managed a smile though it felt tight and fake. "Yeah he's pretty special."
SOSOSOSOSOSOSOS
For the next few hours Sarah relaxed and enjoyed spending time with her family. Toby behaved like a normal five year old boy and Sarah inwardly laughed at how worried she'd been. During dinner Sarah talked about college life and awkwardly answered questions about her social life, "I don't really have one college keeps me so busy, I go to the occasional party but other than that I'm too tired after classes to do anything but homework and sleep."
"No boys?"
Sarah laughed, "None really, I have a few who bug me for dates but they just don't appeal."
Karen chuckled knowingly, she knew Sarah had high standards, only royalty, she mused, would ever be good enough for her.
She didn't know how right she was really.
SOSOSOSOSOSOSOS
After dinner Karen and Richard walked to the local corner shop for ice cream leaving Sarah to play with Toby. The two were bouncing a ball to each other and when Toby missed and it bounced into the kitchen he ran after it. He returned seconds later carrying a round crystal ornament and Sarah frowned when she saw it, "Toby, where did you get that?"
"Made it."
Looking at it Sarah felt a tugging at her memory, a hazy feeling that she had seen the ornament before, "What do you mean?"
Toby held the ornament up it was roughly the size of an orange, with a expression of concentration on his chubby face Toby looked at the ornament sitting in his hand and it disappeared, falling backwards Sarah let out a scream and the apparently unconcerned Toby merely focused on his hand then grinned when another appeared in its place. "Oh no, what have you done Jareth?" Standing she scooped up Toby and ran upstairs, crossing the landing into her bedroom she placed Toby on the bed and closed her door. Standing in the middle of her room she placed her hands on her hips, "I wish the Goblin King would get down here right now!" Her tone permitted no arguments and within half a minute the curtains were blowing in and the double windows slammed open. His entrance was eerily familiar, so much so that Sarah found herself moving instinctively between Toby and the snowy owl that was flying into the room.
The owl landed and transformed into Jareth, with a florid bow he asked, "You called my love?" For a second Sarah felt her stomach flip and she realised why none of the guys at college had ever appealed to her. None could ever compare with Jareth for that combination of good looks and sex appeal.
"You came."
Jareth smirked and with cat like grace lowered himself into the window chair. "How could I resist a command like that?"
With burning cheeks Sarah turned to Toby who was watching with wide eyed curiosity, "It's about him!"
"What of the little fellow, surely you don't want me to take him away again?"
Aghast Sarah hugged Toby close and glared at Jareth who smirked, "No, I want to know what you've done to him?"
Jareth looked affronted, "I? I have done nothing to the tyke."
"Then what's happening to him?" Shrugging Jareth watched as casually made crystals appear and disappear, "The same thing that happens to everyone who eats the food of the Fae. He becomes one himself."
"So you did do this!"
Jareth smirked again and Sarah was given the distinct impression he was playing with her like one would a puppet, pulling the strings this way and that watching the reaction and finding it all infinitely amusing. Standing he crossed the room in a few steps and standing directly in front of Sarah placed a finger under her chin drawing her face up so she was looking straight at him. "Not I, I left him in the charge of a few courtiers when I had business to attend to, they obviously fed him to keep him from starving, quite sensible of them really."
"Can't you do anything about this?"
"I can't change him back if that's what you mean. I can halt his flow of power until he is old enough to be trained to use it safely and adjust his memories so he has no recollection of this meeting, after all we don't want to confuse the little chap." Weakly Sarah nodded and watched as Jareth put Toby to sleep, "When he wakes up he'll be a normal little boy, the powers will reawaken on his eighteenth birthday though, I will come for him then."
"What, why?"
"He has to be taught or he will be a danger to all of you. An untrained Fae can be irritatingly destructive. He'll be returned before you know it Sarah no need to fear but one day he will have to make a decision, my world or yours, a Fae cannot live in your world forever."
"That's not fair!" Sarah cried burying her face in her hands, Jareth smirked and stroked her cheek, Sarah felt her stomach flutter.
"Whoever said life was fair?"
Sulkily Sarah slid down onto the floor and Jareth sat gracefully in front of her. "You knew this would happen didn't you, you knew you'd get him back eventually, dammit Jareth you won didn't you?"
"I always do love."
"Not always Jareth, you have no power over me, I didn't eat your damn fairy food!" Triumphantly Sarah smirked at Jareth who raised a platinum eyebrow.
"Didn't you? Well isn't this positively diverting because I clearly recall you eating something." Sarah frowned in recollection and running her fingers through her long dark hair began to braid it without thinking, "No, I only ate the peach Hoggle gave me as unappetising as that was."
"Who do you think gave Hoggle the peach?"
Sarah stared at him blankly for a few minutes before realisation hit, "Oh no."
"Oh yes." Jareth was openly grinning now he knew she would be upset, heck he'd have been just as upset, but looking on the bright side he'd won!
"No, no, no! I don't have any stupid powers, I can't make those damn crystals appear, I can't do anything special I'm not special! I'm just ordinary Sarah Williams living in my ordinary world I'm not a Fae, not a creature of myth!"
Jareth looked hurt, "Do I look like a creature of myth to you?" Sarah refused to look at him and he fought to capture her gaze.
"You're obviously a delusion brought on from lack of sleep, you can't be real, this can't be real!"
Cupping her cheek in his hand Jareth looked into her eyes and she stared back unable to look anywhere else, her eyes darkened from fear of what was to become of her so when Jareth leaned forwards capturing her mouth with his it was a few minutes before she was able to think. Pulling back Jareth rested his forehead against her own and said softly, "Am I not real?" Her façade crumbling Sarah slumped forwards to rest in his arms sobbing, cradling her in his arms Jareth said soothingly, "Is it really such a terrible thing spending all eternity with me?" Shaking Sarah could only sob and Jareth felt his gut wrench, "I didn't want to cause you any pain, I would have avoided it at any cost."
"You knew when you gave Hoggle that peach what it would do to me."
It wasn't a question and Jareth couldn't deny the truth of her words, it was disconcerting to realise it hurt to admit she was right, he had deceived her. He had known what would happen but at the time his reasoning had not included the possibility she would be hurt, nobody ever defeated him he had assumed she would accept her dreams and it wouldn't have mattered in the end. "In my arrogance I assumed you would want to be a Fae, you spent your days dreaming of being something other than what you are."
"What good did it do you? I live here, my life is here." Jareth simply shrugged and continued to cradle her in his arms, Sarah made no attempt to break free and for a time was simply content to stay put.
"I said before love, a Fae cannot live in this world forever, you shall have to come to my kingdom eventually. My kingdom awaits its Queen."
"I'm no Queen I'm just a little girl." Looking up at him Sarah raised a hand to trace his jaw line and they shared a sigh, "I have to go, my parents will be home soon."
Standing Jareth placed one last kiss on her forehead and moved to stand in front of the window, "Come with me?" Shaking her head Sarah could only watch as he sighed once more and turning into an owl flew away.
Closing the window she pulled the curtains closed and went downstairs, Toby was still asleep and she had no intention of waking him.
SOSOSOSOSOSOSOS
"I guess all of the excitement wore him out." Karen commented when Sarah had explained where Toby was.
"I guess so."
"You seem quiet, are you all right?"
Nodding Sarah forced a smile on her face and as eagerly as she could dug into her ice cream, "I'm fine, I'm just a little tired myself after my trip. I think I'll head to bed soon."
"Okay sweetie you do look tired, you're pale." Her father commented ruffling her hair, finishing her ice cream Sarah said goodnight and headed upstairs. Mechanically preparing for bed it wasn't long before she was under the duvet and hugging a pillow close to her chest she cried herself to sleep.
End of Chapter Two
A/N: I can't apologise for how long this chapter has been waiting, over two years is pretty awful even for me, I had it written by hand and just needed to type it up and then I moved back into my mums house and started college and two years passed in a flash and now I'm waiting to go to Liverpool Hope University at the end of September so I finally remembered to type it up.
Labyrinth does not belong to me, neither does David Bowie sigh I am just a humble fan.
Chapter three will be up sometime next week.