Chapter 3: Reach for your Dreams and They are Yours


"What are we going to do, Toby?" Sarah groaned, as she watched her younger brother pace the room.

Toby shook his head, "You said, you can't get Hoggle or any of the others to come?"

Sarah nodded, dabbing her eyes and nose with a tissue. "Yea, Jareth took my powers away. I'm completely cut off from the Underground."

Toby stopped dead in his tracks and his lips pulled up into a grin. "He took your powers away, but not mine." He said.

Sarah leapt up from the bed and hugged Toby tightly, "Of course! Of course! You can call my friends here! Once I tell them what Jareth has done, they'll be sure to help us!"

After their meal, Jareth walked with Katie back through the winding halls of his castle. "Where are we going now?" she asked. She had no idea. All the halls looked the same to her.

"To my chamber." He replied, patting her hand reassuringly.

Katie's eyes widened, "Y-your room?" She stuttered. He certainly moved fast. She hadn't even agreed to stay yet.

"You wanted that tonic for your headache didn't you?" Jareth asked, seeing the "deer in the headlights" look on her face.

Katie let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, yea. The tonic."

When they came to the giant doors that led to Jareth's chamber, they swung open on their own. "Magic." Jareth whispered, before Katie could ask if they were automated. The room, much like her own, was beautifully decorated. However, it had a much darker ambiance about it, what with the gargoyles posted at each corner of the room and the enormous bed with the curvy head board and ram's horn decorations.

"Wow," Katie said, "Your room's not as nice as mine."

Jareth's brow twitched with irritation at her remark, "Well, no one has ever slept in your room. I however, have lived in mine for the last thousand years. You should have seen it in its former glory."

"A thousand years?" Katie gasped, "You can't possibly be that old."

Jareth smirked at her, "I'll be a thousand and one in two months." He chuckled at her shocked look. "Power has a strange ability to still the sands of time. For as long as my power holds, I will not grow old. Therefore, my life span is infinite."

Katie walked out onto the veranda, which she hadn't seen when she first entered the room, and gazed down upon the goblin city and the labyrinth that surrounded it. Jareth went out as well and stood beside her, gazing not at the Labyrinth, but at the girl's serene face. "I've never seen anything so beautiful." She whispered, perhaps only to herself, but loud enough that he heard it.

He was taken aback for a moment. No one had ever described the labyrinth as beautiful before. Horrible and impossible, yes, but never beautiful. "You like it here?" He asked, moving closer to her.

"This place is so strange and confusing and the goblins are filthy, vile little creatures, but…I don't know why…but I like it here, and the goblins too. I guess I like weird." She laughed lightly. She sighed and leaned against the railing, "I think I'm going to miss it later." she added.

Still planning on leaving, is she? I'll fix that. Jareth thought to himself. He leaned in even closer. His mouth was at her ear. "You don't have to leave, you know. Just stay, marry me, let me rule you, and I and my power will be at your beck and call." He held a crystal before her. It's insides swirled with rainbow colors. "Your dreams, everything you've ever wanted, is here in my hand. Reach for your dreams and they are yours, Katherine."

Katie's eyes glassed over as she stared into the colorful orb. Her hand reached out to take it, but stalled midway there. "If I marry you, will I live as long as you can?" She asked, her green eyes starting to clear.

Jareth leaned in still further, so that he lips almost touched the soft flesh of her ear. "Marry me and I will not only give you immortality, but the world, I'll move the stars for you, Katherine. Anything you want, is yours. All I ask for in return is that you fear, love, and obey me. That is not too much to ask for is it, for all that I will give you."

Her hand began to reach for the orb again. She could almost make out the image of an eternally youthful version of herself, dressed in the most beautiful gown one could imagine, a star clutched in her hand, a Katherine with unthinkable power. The lust she had for that life was intoxicating. Her head swirled with possibilities. All she had to do was marry him and she would have it all. Then just as her fingertips were about to graze the orb's glassy surface, and Jareth could practically taste his factory on his tongue, his last words to her echoed through her mind. Anything you want, is yours. All I ask for in return is that you fear, love, and obey me. She stopped. In a burst, her will came shining through and fought back the cloud of lust that his sweet words had made to creep inside her mind. Her hand dropped to hang by her side. "No." She whispered, shaking away the gloom.

"What? What else could I possibly give you?" asked the goblin king, infuriated that she would reject his gifts.

She looked up at him with clear eyes, "I don't think fear and obedience has anything to do with love, Jareth. Like your world it makes no sense. If someone has to fear and obey you in order to love you, then they don't really love you at all."

Her words fell like daggers in his heart. He stumbled backwards on unsteady legs. She rushed to him and grabbed his arm, in order to steady him. " I don't mean to hurt you, Jareth. I am thankful for everything you've done for me, and the gifts are flattering. However, if I choose to marry you, I want it to be because I love you, not for the things you can give me, and it's much too soon for any of that. I mean for heaven's sake, I just met you a few hours ago."

"So you're still going to stay?" He asked, wearily.

"For a while, until I make up my mind on whether or not I want to stay." She replied, helping him over to a chair.

"Good." He sighed, "I thought I had scared you off. That you'd rather face the labyrinth than stay here."

Katie smirked, "Promise me that you won't try anymore mind games and we're good."

He nodded, "Very well, you have a deal." He said. She smiled and pat his shoulder.

Toby and Sarah stood together at the mirror, their hands linked securely. "My friends, Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymous, I need you!" Sarah called out.

Toby concentrated on her request. Toby always had this strange ability to make anything he wanted to happen, happen. Sarah had told him about their adventures in the Labyrinth long ago and they marked his power up to the human to goblin changing process that had already begun, before he was rescued, but was never completed. He usually used it for selfish reasons, like a new bike, or getting into his dream college, or convincing the hottest girl in school to go to the prom with him his senior year. This was the first time he'd ever used it to help someone other than himself. It made him feel really good inside. "Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymous, my sister needs you. Come now!" Rays of light beamed from the mirror and a strange wind began to blow from nowhere. Their hair and clothing waved about in the strong gust of wind. Hoggle and the others came flying out of the mirror and landed in a tangled heap on the floor.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Sarah as she helped Ludo off of Sir Didymous and Hoggle.

"Sawah?" asked Ludo, looking her over carefully and sniffing at her hair.

"Hi, Ludo. I missed you too."

"Hi Sarah." Greeted Hoggle with a bright smile.

Sir Didymous bowed before her. "My Lady."

"Sarah, you look, uh, different." Said Hoggle, wringing his fingers.

The other two tilted there heads, "Yes, I see it now. She does look a tad different." said Didymous.

Sarah brushed a stray hair away from her forehead, "Yes well, I've gotten older now, twenty years have gone by in my world."

Toby stepped foreword and extended his hand to Hoggle, "Sorry about the, um, less than graceful entry. I'm not too good at the magic thing." He said with a chuckle.

"Who be this lad, Lady Sarah?" asked Sir Didymous.

"Oh, this is Toby. You know, my brother. The one I was trying to rescue."

They all made "ah ha!" noises and patted the young man on the back.

The introductions finished, Sarah pulled her old friends aside. "I am sorry for not calling on you for so long, but I really need your help now." She said, her face stern.

"What's wrong, Sarah?" Asked Hoggle.

"Sawah sad." Ludo moaned.

"Why beith thou so blue?" Asked Sir Didymous.

Sarah's eyes narrowed, "Jareth stole my daughter." She said in an angry voice.

Her friends gasped.

"Damn that Jareth." Hoggle cursed.

"And he's taken away my powers so I couldn't call you guys here or get to the labyrinth. If Toby didn't still have his powers, I don't know what I would have done." She added, her hand shot up to her mouth to stifle a sob.

"No worries, my lady, we shall rescue your fair maiden and bring her home!" Bellowed Sir Didymous.

"Yea." replied Hoggle and Ludo.

Sarah grabbed Hoggle's hand, "No, I don't want you to do that."

"Huh? Why not? You want her back, don't ya?" asked, Hoggle.

"Of course I do, but I can't risk Jareth finding out that I've spoken to you guys. If he realizes that Toby has powers, he may take them away from him too. Besides, he told me that Katie has chosen to stay there." she said.

"And you believed that lying rat?" Hoggle shot at her.

"I…I don't doubt it. Katie and I had a fight. She was really mad at me. Look, don't do anything rash. I just want you guys to check on her, make sure that she's really there on her own accord and that she's okay. That's all I'm asking. Can you do that?"

"Sure." sighed Hoggle.

"Of course. It would be my pleasure." said Sir Didymous, charmingly.

Ludo nodded his big head.

"Thank you." Sarah said with a smile. She knew she could count on her friends.

Once Jareth had recuperated from her backlash of inner strength, He stood shakily from his seat. "Let me get your elixir." He said smoothly, walking calmly over to the pantry where he kept all his potions. Yes, he has a potion pantry, what suitable goblin king wouldn't?

He took a blue healing potion then checked to see if she was looking his way. He watched her as she stood and walked around the room, looking at all the strange decorations that adorned everything. With a wave of his hand, a dark purple vile , flew into his other hand. Her will will account for nothing, with this little brew. She cannot miss something she cannot remember. He thought, pleasantly, to himself. He uncorked the vials and poured three drops of the purple liquid into the blue healing potion. He shook the mixed concoction and the potion turned black. He held the vile before him, gazing into its inky blackness. One sip and all she will know is me, just one taste and she will be mine forever. His eyes shifted over to where the girl stood on the terrace, gazing out at the labyrinth, her eyes misty with untold dreams. He took the horrible concoction and poured it out of a window. He couldn't do it. He could not cast his spell of forgetfulness. Not on her. He didn't understand why, he just couldn't. What in the world was happening to him? He hadn't hesitated twenty years ago when he had Hoggle feed a poisoned peach to Sarah. He quickly made another healing potion and dripped a white liquid into the blue, turning it red.

"Here we are." He said, taking the elixir to her.

She looked at the vile and sniffed at the opening. She pinched her nose and made a face of disgust, "What is that? It smells like sweaty feet." She coughed.

"Just drink it. You'll feel much better."

She gulped down the liquid. At once her head began to swirl and her legs went weak. "W-what is this?" Sarah slurred.

Jareth caught her in her arms as she fainted. He carried her over to his bed and covered her with a blanket. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her cheek, "Sweet dreams." He whispered. It was not a forgetfulness spell that he had cast on her, but one of remembrance. She would have pleasant dreams tonight, ones filled with the one person she missed most. It was the least he could do for the girl who's memories he had almost stolen.

"Okay, Sarah, I've got the portal open again. Say goodbye." Said Toby, holding his hands out towards the mirror, to strengthen his magic.

"Good bye, everyone and thank you." She said, hugging them all.

"Bye Bye, Sawah." Ludo waved and stepped through the mirror portal.

"Farewell," said Sir Didymous and stepped through as well.

"Hoggle." Sarah said, as Hoggle was about to enter the portal.

"Yea?" he asked.

"If you should find her, tell her…tell her that I love her very much and that I'm sorry. Tell her that I miss her." She said, her eyes starting to tear up again.

"Will do, Sarah." Said Hoggle. Then he wobbled through the portal.

Toby dropped his arms with an exhausted sigh. "I hope they can find her." He huffed.

"Me too. They're our only hope." Sarah whispered, looking sadly at the discarded little red book on the floor.

Where am I? Katie thought, looking around. She was no longer in Jareth's castle, but on a beach. The white sand shifted beneath her feet and the crashing of the waves reverberated in her ears. It was all so familiar. As she looked around, her eyes fell on a little family who was enjoying the beach. There was a dark haired mom, a blond dad, and blond little girl in a Mickey Mouse bathing suit. She moved closer to them. Something about their faces, drew her attention. The man looked up and smiled at his daughter, who was carrying a big bucket of sea water for the moat they were making for their sand castle. His face! It couldn't be! "Dad?" She gasped. She began to run. She ran up to them, and threw her arms around the man's neck, but her arms passed right through, as if he wasn't there at all. She staggered over them and looked back. They were going about their business. Could they not see her? As she looked at them, she remembered this day. These people were her family. That child was her at the age of five. The woman was her mom. The man was…her dad. How could this be? He'd been dead for ten years. How? She felt tears spill over her cheeks. However this happened. She was glad it did. She sat down in the sand and watched her old memory play out before her crying eyes.