Jareth looked at himself in the mirror for the seventh time. He was a mighty king of a vast kingdom and he was nervous about a girl coming. He felt centuries younger. Why should he try to fool himself, he thought, this wasn't just any girl.
"Your highness, the girl, Sarah!"
"Yes?"
"She's left her room and on her way!"
He suddenly started to sweat. Ok, this is it.
Sarah felt surprisingly fine when she walked out of her illusion door. She felt at home-almost more than she felt at her actual home. This feeling made her extremely unnerved. Why did she feel this way? Now that she knew that what she experienced when she was fifteen was in fact real, her world seemed to expand. There were so many possibilities that her family and theorpists deemed impossible. She could do and be so much more than she had expected these last few years. The world was amazing and full of magic.
She looked around the hallway that Hoggle led her down. The walls were not made of stone like she expected and saw from her last time in the castle. They were made of light brown wood that left the passage smell like a forest. Crown moldings of little goblins were placed all along the ceilings and under them were paintings of the labyrinth and portraits of many different creatures that she did not recognize. The ground beneath her feet was made of the same wood color but was covered in blue and purple rectangular rugs that went down as far as she could see. There was just a hint of glitter sparkled everywhere. Wow, she thought, this is defiantly his kingdom alright. She almost walked passed Hoggle deep in her own thoughts when he turned down a staircase.
"Now, Sarah. Try to behave now, will ya?" Hoggle commented after he saw her in a daze.
"Now why wouldn't I behave? Is something happening that I don't know about?" her pace starting to slow down and her voice barely above a whisper. "You have to tell me Hoggle. What is his plan with me?"
"Don't look at me! I don't know why you're here! His Majesty floated in one of his crystal ball bubbles and woke me up! He told me to go to yer room and get you ready for breakfast. That's it! That's all I know!"
"Ok, well….hopefully he'll just come out with it and not dance around why I'm here. I have another life that I have to get back to."
"Yes, well, hopefully so."
Sarah could hear the hurt in his voice and she immediately wished she could take back what she said. She didn't mean to sound ungrateful about his friendship. She had just been forced to try to forget him and her other friends by strangers who thought she was crazy. She didn't want to make a fool of herself if she called on them like they told her too and it just happened that they really were just a dream and nothing more. Oh how she wished she would have believed in herself. They would have made her life so much easier knowing she did have friends.
"Hoggle…I'm sorry…I…."
"We're here, Sarah. I'll announce ya."
Sarah stood in the doorway while Hoggle went in front of her. Her nerves were really on edge now, but deep down inside her she felt joy, which confused her even more. As if on cue, her stomach let out a fierce growl from the wonderful smells coming through the door.
"Jareth, your Majesty, Sarah is here per yer request," she heard Hoggle say. She guessed that was her cue to go in. He had to convince her feet to start walking forward. The room was massive. Chandeliers and giant windows covered in silk everywhere. In the center of the room was a colossal rectangular table that could easily fit over a hundred people. Right on the end facing her was the face that had not only haunted her past but had recently haunted her dreams. His mismatched eyes stared at her, seeming to look deep into her soul from so far away. His untamed, long blonde hair was the same as she remembered. He stood up from his seat a little less than gracefully, almost falling back at how quickly he rose.
"Sarah. Ummm...Good morning, Sarah. Come."
He gestured for her to take a seat next to him at the table. She gathered her courage and quickly made the long trip from the door to the table. She awkwardly stood aside as Jareth pulled her seat back for her and pushed it back in.
"Ummm…thanks," she said.
"You're welcome."
Sarah looked over to Hoggle who was still standing close to the door where he was when he declared that she was here. He was looking down at the floor, seeming like he did not know what to do.
"What about Hoggle? Can't he have some breakfast? " Sarah said, nodding over to the dwarf.
"Actually, Sarah, this was to be a private affair. Hogbrain, I mean, Hoggle, your breakfast will be served in your room as a thanks for doing my biding."
"Ummm…thank you your Majesty, but I promised the girl that I would stick around…"
"That won't be necessary. Sarah is more than safe with me."
"Uhhh…okay your Majesty. If you need me, I will be in my room," he said looking at Sarah with hurt in his eyes. He shuffled out of the doorway, turned one last look to her, and then ran out. Sarah was panicky now that her main form of comfort just left.
"Sarah," Jareth continued, "you are safe here. Nothing is going to happen to you. No hard feelings about the last time we met. I just thought I would invite you to breakfast and ask you why you are here."
"What do you mean 'why I am here?' you practically kidnapped me!"
"Sarah, early this morning I felt a change in the Labyrinth. I decided to investigate and walked around the castle. I found that the room next to me, a room that is not used, was occupied-with you in it."
"That's impossible. I was in my apartment last night-not the illusion you set up. You're telling me that you didn't bring me here? Then who did!?" she practically yelled.
"Please, Sarah! No need to raise your voice. I'm not sure who brought you here. I must confess though that I did visit you last night, but I did not bring you back with me."
"I knew you did this! Why did you visit me? Do you enjoy giving me horrible nightmares?!"
"I didn't do anything to you, Sarah. I merely wanted you to remember. I am not proud of myself for giving in, but I couldn't stop myself. I have longed for you since you left last."
"Oh my God!" she said as she quickly rose from her chair. "What is wrong with you?! I was like fifteen when I was last with you. Come to think of it, you kidnapped me then too! Right out of my parent's bedroom! Take me back, now!"
"For the last time, Sarah! I did not kidnap you!" His voice was deep and harsh now. "You found your way here, unbeknownst to me until this morning. I did not do anything to you last night. I just flew to your shared building and watched you sleep. The most I did was touch your cheek. I asked your soul, Sarah, to show you what it knows." Jareth's expression became calmer. "Do you think there is nothing between us? That the only time we have been near each other was when you were here for your little brother?"
"Of course it was the only time! You are from a completely different world! How in the fuck do you expect me…" Jareth cut her off.
"You were mine, Sarah! I was yours. Twice I found you before-this will be the third. You are mine. Our souls are connected." His voice began to catch, tears threatened to fall. "You were Isabelle, than Gwen, now you are my Sarah. Taken away too early each time. I need you to continue. You are the only thing that makes me happy."
