Part IV
Sarah staggered out into the cold darkness of the New York City streets with her heart pounding and her mind whirling. Nothing made sense. Everything was all wrong. Her father was dead, Toby despised her, and she was obviously a horrible person. What was it that Jeremy had called her? A shrew? He had said she was just like her mother. Just like her mother. The words stung.
Sarah looked around at the icy streets. She had to find Jareth. She had no doubt he was lurking nearby watching her reactions and having a jolly laugh at her expense. Her fists clenched in anger. How dare that pompous jerk put her through this!
"But you wished for this," a little voice whispered inside her head.
"Shut up," she hissed at the voice. She knew it was right, but she didn't want to think about that. She wanted to be angry at the infuriating Goblin King.
"You wished away your wish just like you wished away your brother," said the little voice.
Sarah sighed. "I unwished a horrible wish and instead got a worse one? What kind of fucked up wishing system is that Goblin King running?"
"Don't blame me," called the king himself. Sarah looked up and saw him leaned casually against a lamp post. "I just do the granting. You're the one making really terrible wishes." He smiled at her and pushed off the lamp post.
"Are you not enjoying your wish, Sarah?" he purred as he glided over to where she stood.
"You bastard, you know I'm not," Sarah spat. "I want you to fix this. I want things to go back to normal."
"But Precious, this is normal. You made a wish and this is how things are now."
Sarah stared at the solemn king, stunned. "But…but…" she stammered. "Before you gave me change to make things right. I solved the labyrinth and won Toby back. There has to be a way to fix all of this. Please, Jareth."
Jareth flinched at her use of his given name, but remained emotionless. "I had thought you had learned during your time in my labyrinth, Sarah," he told her calmly. "I saw what you did, how you grew. You were selfish and insolent when you went in, but you came out thoughtful and mature. At least I had thought so until I saw you here."
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
Jareth took a deep breath before continuing. "I saw you with your brother and I was pleased. The two of you looked very happy in each others' company. You looked happy, Sarah. Perhaps I'm a sentimental fool, but I wanted to be part of it, just for a moment. That's why I appeared on that street. I wanted to see you and relish how you'd changed for the better. I was so happy when you gave money to the man you thought was a beggar. You were selfless and kind."
Jareth's face twisted into a scowl. "But then you found out it was me and you turned so cruel, Sarah. More cruel than I ever would have imagined. You wished it all away. Everything. Your adventure, your lesson, your friends…me."
"My friends?" cried Sarah. "What about my friends? What happened to them?" She could feel tears stinging the corners of her eyes and she willed herself not to break down in front of the Goblin King.
Jareth folded his arms over his chest and glared coldly down at her. "As I've told you before, Sarah, things are no longer what they were. You have changed them."
"I need to know what happened to my friends," Sarah told him, unable to hold back a sob.
"Very well then, Precious. I'll tell you, but you won't like it."
"I don't care," cried Sarah. "What happened to Hoggle? Is he still alive?"
"Yes, if you can call it that," answered Jareth. He saw Sarah's confused expression and continued. "The little scab lives alone in the forest. He's a miserable creature, Sarah. Cowardly, bitter, friendless."
"What about Didymus?"
"That wretched bridge collapsed a few years ago. Took the poor devil and his dog down with it. He drowned trying to save his so-called noble steed."
Sarah couldn't hold back the moan that escaped her lips. She couldn't bear the thought of the brave little knight valiantly going under in an attempt to save his friend. It was horrible. She was afraid to ask what had happened to the gentle rock caller, but she simply had to know.
"Ludo?" Sarah asked weakly.
Jareth turned away, unable to look at the pained expression on her face. He knew he was breaking her heart, but it was important for her to understand the consequences of her actions and words. She obviously had not learned that lesson the first time.
"Ludo was tortured to death by the goblin guards," he told her.
Sarah fell to her knees and broke down into bitter sobs. It was too much. Too terrible.
"Why didn't you do something, Jareth?" she wept to him. "Why didn't you stop it from happening?" She looked up him with tears streaking her pale face. "Why?"
Jareth whirled around to face her. "What could I do?" he snarled. "I wasn't meant to do anything, Sarah dear, you were! But no, you would rather wish away any unpleasantness from your life rather than deal with reality."
"That's not true!" cried Sarah.
"Oh yes? Then why did you wish us all away?"
Sarah's shoulders slumped and she stared down at the ground as tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the frozen sidewalk. "I didn't want to wish them all away. Just…just you."
"Why?" Jareth asked. "Why would you wish that when I've only ever done as you've asked?" He knelt down before her on the icy cement. "I dislike being cruel to you, Sarah, but you keep asking cruel things of me and I must obey, even if it hurts both of us."
He placed his gloved hand under her chin and lifted her face until her eyes met his. "You weren't happy to see me. You were angry. Why?"
"I…I thought…" Sarah sniffed. "I thought you were going to try to get Toby or get revenge on me or something."
Jareth chuckled. "Sarah, why would I do that? You won rightfully, something few have done."
"Others have beaten the labyrinth?"
"Of course. Did you really think yourself so special?" He shook his head at her. "I must admit though, that there are far fewer than I'd like that actually succeed. Defeating the labyrinth takes more than brains or determination or even physical skill. One must learn and grow and change as the labyrinth itself changes. You are never the same person coming out that you were going in."
"So, you want people to win?" Sarah questioned.
"I want the challengers to learn," answered the Goblin King. "I want them to learn that actions have consequences and words have power. I want them to see the folly of their impulsive actions and words and learn to think before they act or speak. People so often take for granted that words are small things that make no difference whatsoever. In truth, words carry a great deal of weight and power. Words can wound, destroy, even kill. Words can break a heart."
He turned his face away from hers and looked out into the black night. Sarah could see the hint of pain in his eyes even though they were not focused on her. She had seen that look before, years ago in a crumbling tower, a broken king pleading for her love.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He turned again to face her, his eyes full of questions.
"I'm sorry I was cruel to you," Sarah told him gently. A large tear slid down her cheek. "I didn't understand. I was just so afraid when I saw you again. I don't want it all to go away. You were right; it did change me for the better. I see that very clearly now. I needed it. I needed the lesson, the challenge, the change. I needed you."
The king smiled and wiped away the tear on her cheek with his thumb.
"I know you think I'm an arrogant ass, but this really isn't about me, Sarah."
"It's not?"
"Of course not, you silly girl. Have you not been listening? You owe no gratitude to me. I only performed as I was asked. You accepted the challenge and triumphed. I can understand why you would bear resentment toward me, but don't wish away an important lesson learned, Sarah. Your words have power: power over your life, power over your circumstances, power over me. You must learn to use this power wisely."
Sarah nodded. She always had been impulsive. She couldn't count the number of times her wicked tongue had gotten her into trouble.
"What about this mess?" she asked the Goblin King. "Can you make things go back to how they were?"
"No," replied Jareth as he rose to his feet. "But you can. You must wish for it, but be careful of your words, Sarah. Think before you speak." He took Sarah's hands in his and lifted her to her feet.
Sarah was still and silent for several moments, trying to put into careful words a wish that would reverse her nightmare and set the world right again. Finally she smiled and looked up at Jareth with shining eyes.
"I wish to go back to the moment just before I saw you on the street earlier tonight. Before I made the wish."
Jareth smiled back at her and produced a crystal from thin air. He wove it back and forth and the air around them began to shimmer and spin. Sarah closed her eyes for a brief moment and opened them to find herself back on the busy street corner with Toby at her side. She saw no sign of the Goblin King.
"Sarah? Earth to Sarah!" called her brother. Sarah blinked and stared down at the boy.
"Toby!" she cried. "You're here!"
"Um…yeah," he answered. "Where else would I be? Where did you go when you spaced out just now?"
"I guess I was…daydreaming," Sarah told him.
"Wow. That must have been some daydream," said Toby.
"You have no idea, Tobes," Sarah replied with a laugh. She picked up her brother and joyfully whirled him around.
"Gross!" yelled Toby. "Cut it out!"
Sarah laughed at her brother and hugged him tight. This time he didn't protest. "I love you, Sis," he whispered.
"I love you too, Toby," Sarah told him.
She took him by the hand and led him to the street corner where they would cross to Rockefeller Center. They passed by a Salvation Army bell ringer and Sarah gave Toby handful of change to drop into the collection bucket. He put in the money and happily skipped back to his sister.
"Got some spare change for me, Kid?" called a voice from the shadows.
Toby and Sarah looked back and saw a ragged man crouched against the stone façade of a building. Sarah smiled down at her brother and then stepped toward the beggar.
"Sarah, don't!" cried Toby. "Remember what Mom says!"
"It's ok, Tobes," replied his sister. "I owe this one." She stepped into the shadows where the ragged man stood. "Hello, Your Majesty," she greeted him with a smile.
The beggar man's rags melted away into the flowing dark cloak of the Goblin King. He gazed at her in amusement.
"You surprise me, Sarah," he told her calmly. "No threats? No accusations?"
"None, Jareth," answered Sarah. "In fact, I'd like to thank you."
Sarah did her best not to laugh at his astonished expression. She had never seen the Goblin King rendered speechless before. His eyes darted back and forth as he searched for a reply.
"Thank me?" he asked finally.
"Yes," said Sarah. "You helped me see not only what a miserable brat I was, but also how my words have an effect. Words have power, do they not?"
"Yes, Sarah. Your words carry a great deal of power." Jareth continued to stare at her in wonder.
"Sarah, who are you talking to?" asked Toby as he moved to her side. Sarah grinned down at her brother and then back at Jareth.
"Toby, this is a friend of mine, Jareth. Jareth, you remember Toby," she said.
"Yes, of course," Jareth replied. He smiled down at the boy. "We had quite a lovely time together. You wore brilliant pyjamas."
"What?" asked Toby.
"Uh, nothing," Sarah chimed in. She turned to the Goblin King. "Jareth, Toby and I were on our way to see the tree at Rockefeller Center. Would you care to join us?"
He was silent for a moment, staring at her as if he wasn't quite sure he had heard her correctly. He shook his head, slowly.
"I don't wish to intrude on time spent with your brother, Sarah. I know how much he means to you…"
"Not at all," Sarah told him. "We'd be happy to have you come with us, right Tobes?"
Toby glanced uncertainly at the imposing Goblin King in his swirling black cloak and polished knee-high boots.
"Is he going to wear that?" he asked.
Sarah and Jareth laughed heartily and then with a snap of his fingers the Goblin King transformed his attire to much more modern and mundane clothing. Toby stared amazed.
"You're him, aren't you?" he asked. "I thought it was just a story or a dream, but you're really the king of the goblins, aren't you?"
"At your service," Jareth replied with a graceful bow. He smiled at Sarah and she smiled back at him, grateful to see that Toby had no bad memories of his time spent in the company of the goblins and their king.
Jareth offered Sarah his arm and she took it. Toby took her other hand and together they made their way to the biggest Christmas tree any of them had seen before. The lights danced over them in bright colors, chasing away the darkness and the ghosts of things that could have been. Sarah glanced over to where Jareth and Toby were examining the twinkling lights of the huge tree. She wasn't sure where things with Jareth would go from that moment, but she hoped that they could at least be friends.
"I wish…" she whispered before catching herself. "No," she told herself. "No more impulsive wishes."
She shook her head and joined Toby and Jareth at the enormous tree. Toby was chattering nonstop, but Jareth seemed genuinely amused rather than irritated.
"Sorry," Sarah told him. "He gets really excited."
Jareth chuckled. "Sarah dear, have you forgotten that I'm the king of the goblins? Your brother's behavior is mild by comparison."
They both laughed, but then an uneasy silence fell between them. Toby looked back and forth from Sarah to Jareth as they shifted uncomfortably and tried to think of something to say.
"I should be going," said Jareth at last. "You should be spending time with your brother."
"Well… thank you," Sarah told him. "Thank you for everything."
Jareth gave her a small smile. "You're welcome, and merry Christmas, Sarah."
"Merry Christmas, Jareth," Sarah answered.
Jareth gave a little bow and then turned to walk away.
"What?" called Toby. "You're not going to ask her out? I remember the story and I know you like her."
"Toby!" Sarah cried. Her face flushed deep red as Jareth turned around and smirked.
"The boy is clever," said Jareth. "Even if he's just as impulsive with his words as you are, Sarah."
Sarah shook her head and laughed. Leave it to Toby to try to set her up with her former nemesis. It struck her though that Toby did have a point. After all, what no one knew…
"Jareth," she said before she could talk herself out of it.
"Yes, Precious?"
"What are you doing New Year's Eve?"
The End
A/N:
Thank you to everyone who read and responded and reviewed! I hope you enjoyed this little Christmas fic! Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Fanny
