AN: Before you ask, let me tell you: I did fall off the face of the Earth. I spent some time on Mars, but I didn't find any life. I am terribly, terribly sorry both for the delay in the posting of this chapter and for not responding to all of my lovely, wonderful, kind, sweet, thoughtful, charitable, helpful reviewers. I'm very sorry. If you can forgive me, maybe you can accept a chapter that's three times the length of the previous one, and maybe, just maybe, you might feel the urge to review it..?
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"I think I've figured out what the problem with the Labyrinth is."
Sarah watched as Jareth waited in silence for her to explain. He looked much the same as ever; a night out in the wilderness hadn't affected his usual, perfect appearance. Not one single hair was out of place on his head, and the only thing marring his face was an utterly perplexed and yet expectant expression, which Sarah had to admit only added to his aesthetic appeal. Damn him, she thought ruefully. Here I am looking as bedraggled as possible, and in he strolls, perfectly groomed, prince charming to a flipping tee. Suddenly Sarah remembered her prior anger at Jareth, and it resurfaced in a quiet, simmering manner as she asked slowly, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Jareth racked his brains. What is she talking about? Tell her what? He was still trying to get it through his head that Sarah had finally figured out that she had magic, and that the Labyrinth was actually letting her use that magic. He felt that he should be markedly grateful to Sarah for saving his neck from being crushed by those giant stones, but her low, quietly menacing tone of voice and her subtly-threatening posture stilled him with a measure of warning. In his confused state, Jareth said the only thing he could think of: "Tell you what?"
It was the wrong thing. Sarah swelled like an enraged mother hen, but she didn't yet raise her voice as she elaborated. "Why didn't you tell me that I'd been here before? Why didn't you tell me that I was wished away?"
Oh, Jareth thought. That. He swore silently to himself. Trust his luck to have her remember that now. But she didn't remember it, he reminded himself. Why does she remember it now? She can't have had the same dream I had – that would be…improbable…to say the least. Jareth sighed softly. I knew this day would come; I knew she'd eventually remember. What was it I was going to tell her when she did? Oh, yes, I remember. Jareth opened his mouth and asked as neutrally as possible, "Would you have wanted to know?"
Would I have wanted to know, Sarah thought to herself. Would I have wanted to know?! "Yes!" she yelled. Jareth visibly flinched at her raised voice. "Yes, I would have wanted to know! If had known, so many things would have been easier in my life; so many things would have been less painful, less hurtful to me. It would have explained so much – so many things would have made much more sense if I had known. Why I was obsessed with the Labyrinth, for one. Why I dreamed of it constantly; why my imagination was so grotesquely overgrown…" Sarah turned away from him and began pacing, visibly agitated.
As Sarah paced angrily, Jareth could see the years of confusion, suffering, and anger she had actively repressed starting to surface. He had known that she would be angry with him for hiding this part of her past, but he also knew that the emotion preparing to erupt from her owed its origin more to her abandonment by her mother than to his actions. Jareth braced himself to endure it, to aid her in getting all of it out, and if she would let him, to help her pick up the pieces afterward.
Abruptly she stopped pacing and turned to Jareth, shock on her face. "My god! You knew me when I was a child, when I was four years old! You saw me then – you met my mother – you gave me magic –why didn't you tell me? Why didn't anyone tell me? That's why my mother didn't want me – that's why she never wanted to see me – that's why all I ever got from her was cheap playbills and empty photos – she didn't want me – and no one told me! No one could take five seconds to simply tell me that my mother didn't want anything to do with me! All those years I spent waiting for her, hoping that she'd come and rescue me from my evil stepmother and the slave's existence I thought I lived – all that time I spent hoping – all in vain!"
Jareth said nothing, watching silently as Sarah tore at her clothing in frustration, resuming her pacing. "If I'd have known – it would have been so different! I would have had a normal childhood. I wouldn't have gotten obsessed with anything, least of all you and this Labyrinth! I never would have wished Toby away, I never would have come back here. If I had known, none of this would ever have happened. All the problems with the Labyrinth, the darkness, and all the lives lost to it – none of that would ever have happened. But you didn't tell me – and now this has happened! What else haven't you told me? What else is hidden?" She advanced on him, her face red and her breathing heavy. "What other secrets about my past are there?" she asked accusingly.
Jareth held his ground as she advanced, keeping his eyes on her incensed face. She's so close to getting at the heart of why she's so angry; to placate her now would be a gross disservice, but goodness knows I can't bear seeing her like this. With a few, carefully-chosen words, Jareth decided to penetrate the cloak of anger Sarah was shielding herself with. "I hardly think not telling you that you spent several hours here as a child warrants this treatment. I wasn't the one who wished you away."
Sarah stared at him in wide-eyed incredulity, unable to believe the crassness of his last statement. When she regained her voice she told him acerbically "You're right; you don't deserve this. After all, all you did was lie to me."
"I lied to you?" he asked, feeling a small edge of his own anger creep into his voice against his will. "How?"
"By keeping this a secret – by hiding my past, my memories-"
"By wanting to protect you?"
Sarah fell silent. Jareth continued in his cathartic vein. "Let me get this straight: wanting to protect you from the knowledge that your own mother didn't want you, that she gave you up, and told me to keep you for all she cared constitutes lying to you? Fine. Then I lied to you. And I'd do it again too if it meant sparing you some measure of pain, no matter how small." He faced her, his expression softening as he saw his words penetrate her fiery mask and hit their mark. "Honestly Sarah, would you really have wanted to know?"
Sarah let his words sink in, and suddenly realized that she wouldn't have wanted to know. After what Jareth had just told her, she didn't want to know now. She shuddered to think that had she known, she never would have come back to the Labyrinth. Sarah couldn't imagine a life without the Labyrinth, or a life without Jareth. Sarah's eyes turned to Jareth, to the man who could look at her with such concern and care after she'd just railed so fiercely at him. She felt rotten inside, and as Jareth felt her mood shift, he was just in time to catch her as she blindly sought the shelter of his arms. Jareth wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest. "No," she sobbed, "I wouldn't have wanted to know. I'm so sorry, Jareth."
"Shhh," Jareth said, tightening his embrace, rubbing her back to comfort her. He didn't tell her not to fret, he didn't tell her not to cry; he knew she needed to cry, that she needed to let everything out. He simply held her while she did so. Eventually, Sarah's tears and sobs subsided, and she leaned back, using her slightly shaking hands to wipe her soggy face. Jareth didn't let go of her, and she didn't move out of his embrace.
Jareth studied Sarah's swollen face, her red-rimmed eyes and still-leaky nose, and felt a crushing wave of emotion sweep over him. Even in this state, she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
Sarah lifted her head up and met Jareth's concerned eyes, and held them. There was a connection in their locked gazes; something passed between them, and Jareth had never wanted to kiss her as badly as he did now. He felt an electric jolt as he realized that she wasn't looking away, that she wasn't backing down, that she was still holding on to him. His throat went dry and he licked his lips, thrilled even more when Sarah mirrored him, her eyes on his lips. Could it be…he wondered, half-elated, half-desperately hoping he wasn't mistaken as he began to close the distance between them...
A branch fell on the other side of the wall with a resounding thud, and its noise jarred Sarah out of Jareth's arms. She seemed to come to herself, and she shook her head slightly as if to clear it while she looked away from him, at anything but him. Jareth hid how crestfallen he was by looking away as well. Idiot, he told himself. How could you be so stupid, so foolish? You should have given up that dream long ago.
I know, he told himself with a depressing finality. He took a short moment to compose his features before he looked back at her, and was just in time to catch Sarah as she fell.
Sarah registered the feeling of Jareth's strong arms coming around her again, supporting her as her legs gave out. His frightened voice surrounded her as her gaze narrowed to his beautiful, worried eyes before they too faded to blackness.
"Sarah? Sarah! Sarah!" As Sarah's eyes closed and her body went slack, Jareth scooped up her lifeless form into his arms, cradling her to his chest. He should have seen this coming; she'd used a lot of magic this morning just to save him, and to one as new to magic as she was, at least to its use, it was too much for her body to handle. Magic came from within; it was an energy of sorts, and Sarah had used so much of it that she'd depleted the very energy she needed for maintaining consciousness.
Jareth shifted Sarah in his arms, weighing his options. In his current magic-less state, the only way he could get the both of them back to the castle would be for him to carry Sarah the entire way. Despite his slight frame, Jareth was strong enough to do so, but the efforts involved would leave him nearly as exhausted as Sarah was now. On the other hand, he could set Sarah down and wait for her to recover, but that could take hours and he didn't want to wait that long. He couldn't bide the idea of doing nothing while waiting for Sarah to wake up; he had to do something. Jareth knew that Sarah was essentially well; all she needed was to recover her strength, but it didn't stop a great knot of anxiety for her from forming in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't wait. And, with the most recent changes in the Labyrinth – how everything seemed to be returned to normal – his attentions would be needed as soon as possible to address those changes. Jareth looked down at Sarah's now-serene face. The sooner I get her to the castle and into a proper bed the better, he told himself. That decided him; tightening his grip on the precious bundle he carried, Jareth began the long trek back to the Goblin City.
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The sun beat down on Jareth's back as the gates of the Goblin City came into view. Finally, thought Jareth. As the sweat beaded on his brow and pooled down his back, he covered the last few steps of his journey, ignoring the barbs of pain his weary arms kept sending. Once he was inside the city's gates, he felt the magic the Labyrinth denied him pour back into him, and he seized it before his exhaustion could take over, using it to transport both him and Sarah to the first place he could think of: his room.
Once inside his chamber, Jareth staggered the three steps it took him to make it to his bed and laid Sarah atop the covers. The second she was free of his arms, he immediately sank into the chair beside his bed and held a shaking hand up to his forehead. Sarah didn't weigh much, but after several hours, even her light weight had exhausted him. Still, Jareth felt a sense of accomplishment. He was no nearer to finding out about what Sarah had discovered this morning, and Sarah still hadn't stirred from her almost death-like sleep, but at least the knot of worry in his belly had been eased by his ability to exert himself on her behalf. After taking a moment to recover the strength to stand, Jareth made it to his feet and strode to his wardrobe. He opened one of the doors, searching for something Mrs. Chartha could change Sarah into. Having had years of experience with magic, Jareth knew that all Sarah really needed was rest, so there was no need to call a healer, not even for the bruises she bore for there was nothing immediate that needed to be done about them. After grabbing a plain white night shirt, Jareth turned and caught sight of himself in the mirror. He paused, noting his pale complexion, his wilted hair, and his thoroughly disheveled appearance. Jareth raised a sore arm and discreetly sniffed his armpit. Wrinkling his nose, he decided that a few moments spent on personal hygiene might be in order.
Several moments later Jareth emerged from his bathroom, attired in crisp, fresh clothing; tired but clean. He set the nightshirt for Sarah on the bed and left to quickly find Mrs. Chartha, hating to leave Sarah alone for long. He supposed he could undress and then dress Sarah himself, but he had several reasons for not doing so, one of the primary ones being that he didn't think Sarah would take kindly to him seeing her in the buff.
Mrs. Chartha was in the scullery, and Jareth drew her aside quietly and explained to her what she was to do, his final instruction to her to "not, under any circumstances, leave Sarah's side until I return." Jareth waited to see that Mrs. Chartha understood him, and then left the scullery, turning his feet towards the great hall. He had to appraise his advisors about this latest change in the Labyrinth, although a quick glance out the window showed Jareth an almost idyllic Labyrinth that few could fail to notice. Despite the life fairly flowing from the Labyrinth, the darkness still sat firmly entrenched in the eastern sector, a blight on the otherwise beautiful landscape. That too would have to be addressed.
But Jareth could not leave Sarah alone for the time it took him to meet with his advisors; Jareth felt extremely protective of her, as he always had, and the thought of her awakening alone and confused did not sit right with him. But he certainly didn't want Mrs. Chartha to be the first person Sarah met; Mrs. Chartha was an excellent housekeeper, but her personality took a long time to become accustomed to, and Sarah had already expressed her uneasiness in Mrs. Chartha's company. No, Mrs. Chartha wouldn't do, and since Jareth couldn't be there himself, that left one viable option.
He found Hoggle where Hoggle was usually to be found these days: with Clara. Jareth schooled his features to exude a calm nonchalance he didn't feel and said, "Good day, Clara, Hoggle." He nodded at their greetings and went straight to the point. "I wondered if I might steal Hoggle for a few hours, Clara?"
Clara hid her initial reluctance quickly and then nodded. "Of course, your majesty."
"And what might yeh need to steal me for, Jareth?" came Hoggle's grouchy query.
Jareth ignored Hoggle's question and said to Clara, "Thank you, Clara. I'll send him back to you as soon as I can. Come along, Hogwart." Jareth raised his hand to his brow in a parting salute to Clara, and then strode away without a backwards glance at Hoggle. Jareth couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face as he heard Hoggle's reluctant, grumbling steps behind him. Once they cleared the great hall, and reached a secluded area, Jareth slowed his steps to allow Hoggle to walk beside him. As soon as Hoggle was near enough to speak to, Jareth dropped his façade of nonchalance.
Looking straight ahead, Jareth said, "I need you to look after Sarah for a few hours."
"Why does Sarah need looking after? She's not still ill, is she?"
Jareth stopped walking and turned to face Hoggle, not wishing to alarm the dwarf but still letting Hoggle see how serious he was. "No, she isn't ill. Sarah's resting right now. There was a … an accident in the darkness yesterday. Sarah came out of it markedly the worse for wear. She-"
"Worse for wear!? What's that supposed to mean? And what was she doing in the darkness?!" Hoggle looked up at Jareth, his face equal parts anger and worry.
Jareth suppressed the wave of weariness that passed over him to explain briefly, "Sarah went to the darkness yesterday; why is unimportant. She escaped, but she was injured – not seriously, but enough to leave quite a few marks. This morning she used magic, and Sarah overexerted herself and collapsed. Now, as I said, she's resting now, and I want you to be there in case she awakes in the next few hours."
Jareth resumed walking, hearing Hoggle fall into step beside him. Eventually Hoggle asked, his voice slightly throaty, "Is she all right?"
Jareth gave Hoggle a reassuring smile. "She's fine. All she needs is rest, but I think she'll feel better when she awakes if she has a friend there at her side."
Hoggle breathed an audible sigh of relief, but then puzzlement creased his face. "Why'd you pick me?" he asked, looking at his feet.
"Because you're Sarah's friend," Jareth said simply.
"Oh," was all Hoggle had to add.
They arrived at Jareth's door, and Jareth pushed it open, holding the door open for Hoggle. Mrs. Chartha had just finished putting Sarah into the nightshirt Jareth had set aside, and was clearing away Sarah's dirty clothes. Sarah lay on the midnight blue coverlet, silent and still, her breathing even. Hoggle took one look at the bruises marring Sarah's exposed flesh and turned a pair of narrowed, heated eyes to Jareth.
"Yeh said she was fine! You call that fine?"
Jareth silenced Hoggle with a fierce look. "She will mend," he whispered. Jareth squared his shoulders and then said matter of factly, "Help me get her under the covers." Jareth slid his protesting arms under her still form and gently lifted her up while Hoggle pulled the covers out from under her. Laying her back down, Jareth pulled the coverlet up to her chin, unable to resist tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. If Hoggle noticed how Jareth's fingers lingered on Sarah's face, he said nothing.
Eventually Jareth stood back and composed himself. "Thank you, Mrs. Chartha. You may go." He waited as Mrs. Chartha bundled up Sarah's and his soiled clothing and left the room, and then he addressed Hoggle. "I want you to sit here until she wakes up, or until I return, whichever happens first. Don't leave her side for any reason. If she does wake up, she's going to be weak, very weak. Don't let Sarah leave the room; don't let her leave the bed if you can help it. I will return as soon as I can."
Hoggle nodded, and climbed into the chair beside Jareth's bed, his feet dangling inches above the ground. Jareth suppressed an involuntary spasm of laughter at the sight, and nodded solemnly at Hoggle before leaving the room. Once outside the door, he paused for a moment, leaning against the wall as another wave of weariness swept over him. Get a grip on yourself, he chastised himself. Jareth shook his head, stood up straight and prepared to address his advisory council.
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Sarah stretched silently as she opened her eyes. Amber light from the setting sun filtered in through the large windows beside the bed, and the room it illuminated, Sarah realized, was not her own. She tried to sit up, but the effort involved was too great at present; all she could manage was a meager flop.
"'Bout time yeh woke up," came Hoggle's gruff voice. Sarah turned her head so she could see him, and gave him a weak smile. Hoggle dropped his gruff demeanor temporarily to ask, "How do you feel, Sarah?"
"I'm fine, Hoggle," she said hoarsely. "Where am I? This isn't my room."
"It's Jareth's room. He brung yeh here, then went and fetched me to look after yeh. Said yeh was in the darkness. Mind explainin' that to me?"
Sarah had the grace to look sheepish, and she pulled herself slowly into a sitting-up position. "I snuck out there yesterday; I wanted to see what the darkness was all about. It turned out badly, which was my own fault. Jareth came and saved me. Hoggle…how long have I been asleep?"
"Yeh was asleep when Jareth brung me here, an' I've been here since midday."
"Did he carry me all the way from the Labyrinth?" Sarah looked incredulously at Hoggle and saw that he didn't know, but what other answer was there? Oh my God! This is where he sleeps! I'm in Jareth's bed! Sarah couldn't stop the wry voice in her mind that added: you've been here before plenty of times in your dreams; I don't see what the big fuss is about.
Sarah ignored the thought, and asked instead, "Where is Jareth, Hoggle? I need to tell him what happened in the Labyrinth."
"I dunno. All's he told me is to stay here until yeh woke up."
"Well, I'm awake now." Sarah summoned her strength and slid out of the bed, gripping the bed post until her legs were strong enough to support her. Hoggle made to stop her, but Sarah shrugged off his protests, determined to prove that she was fine. She took one step, and then another, before the spinning sensation in her head took over and she swayed where she stood. Sarah would have fallen over if strong arms hadn't chosen that very moment to appear and steady her. Sarah looked up to see Jareth's concerned face.
"Hedgewart, I thought I told you that Sarah wasn't to exert herself."
"Yeh try tellin' her that yourself."
Sarah saw Jareth's lips twitch ever-so-slightly as she accepted his help back into his bed. She tried not to let her disappointment show, but her mind's voice was all too astute: this isn't exactly how you dreamed of him taking you to his bed, hmm?
No, Sarah told the voice, it wasn't like this at all. Hoping none of what she thought showed on her face, Sarah thanked Jareth with a weary smile.
Jareth looked at her for a moment, appearing to assess something and then asked, "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine," she repeated. Jareth raised his eyebrows in apparent disbelief. "I'm just a little tired," Sarah conceded.
"That's to be expected. I didn't have a chance to warn you, but because you have never used magic before today, your use of magic this morning completely exhausted your energy reserves. A few days of rest and I suspect that you'll be as good as new." The matter-of-factness of his own words surprised Jareth, but not as much as Sarah's next words did.
Sarah eyed his coverlet briefly as she asked, "Would you mind teaching me to use my magic, so this doesn't happen again?"
Somewhat taken aback, Jareth bowed his head quickly and said, "I'd be honored." He flashed Sarah a quick smile, which she instantly returned, and then turned and sat in the seat facing Hoggle. The light from the sunset was fading, and the orbs hovering near the ceiling were steadily brightening, but the way in which they shone cast Jareth into shadow, for which Jareth was grateful: he didn't want anyone to see how exhausted he was.
The silence that descended upon the trio of them was broken suddenly by the simultaneous rumblings of Sarah's, Jareth's, and Hoggle's bellies. Sarah made to laugh, but then a knock sounded on the door and Mrs. Chartha entered bearing a tray of something that smelled positively delightful. She strode in purposefully and placed the tray on a side table, before giving a small curtsy to Jareth.
"Thank you, Mrs. Chartha; your perception and acuity have amazed me once more," said Jareth, a small smile brightening his face.
Mrs. Chartha nodded at Jareth. "Best eat it while it's 'ot." And without another word, she turned and exited the room, closing the door with an almost inaudible thump. Jareth stood up to investigate the tray and found a large tureen of a rich, hearty chicken soup, and three bowls and spoons. That woman doesn't miss a thing, Jareth thought to himself, before ladling soup into the three bowls and handing one each to Sarah and Hoggle before returning to his seat with his own bowl of steaming, savory soup.
The three ate in companionable silence, the sound of spoons scraping the bottoms of their bowls the only noise in the room. When all three had finished their meal, and the silence had gone on long enough, Hoggle set his bowl aside and bluntly demanded, "Will one of you two tell me what the devil happened to mire us in this state? And why does Sarah have magic?"
Sarah had to admire Hoggle's bravado; she looked at Jareth, seeing if he would answer, and Jareth looked at Sarah, seeing if she would answer. They both began speaking at the same time, and then both stopped out of courtesy to the other. Jareth gestured for Sarah to continue and she explained, "I was wished away to the goblins as a little girl. I spent time in the Labyrinth then, and Jareth gave me magic during that time before sending me home. I didn't remember it until last night, when I had a particularly vivid dream about it. In the morning, I found out that it wasn't just a dream and that I did have magic, and I wanted to know why the Labyrinth let me use my magic when it didn't let Jareth use his."
Jareth leaned forward in his chair, ready to hear the solution Sarah had discovered.
"Jareth was the last person to solve the Labyrinth before me, and Jareth was the last person to rule the Labyrinth…before me."
"What?" Hoggle asked, confusion wrinkling his gnarled face.
"The Labyrinth let me solve it, just like it let Jareth solve it all those years ago. It chose him then to rule over it, just as it has chosen me now. The Labyrinth obeys me."
Silence greeted Sarah's declaration; Jareth sat back in his chair, a pensive look on his face. I can't believe it was that simple, and yet it makes perfect sense, Jareth thought. Sarah waited for Jareth to say something, to either confirm or reject her conclusion, but it was Hoggle who spoke first.
"Sometimes the way forward is also the way back."
It took Sarah a few moments to remember, to realize what he was talking about, but then understanding dawned. "Yes," she said. "If I hadn't had that dream about my childhood, if I hadn't remembered it, I never would have figured it out. The Labyrinth has interfered with my thoughts before; perhaps it sent me that dream to help me realize what it wanted."
Jareth nodded his head lightly, agreeing with Sarah's postulation, all the while wondering: why did I have the same dream? What purpose did it serve? Why would the Labyrinth wish to communicate with me at all? He was startled out of his reverie as Sarah gasped and put a hand to her mouth.
"That's why I dreamt of the Labyrinth while I was in Paraguay! The Labyrinth was calling to me, making me pine for it as it pined for me." She shook her head in disbelief. "Every night I dreamed of this place, wanting more than anything to be able to come here again, even if only for a moment. I lost interest in so many things; the Labyrinth consumed my thoughts. It consumed me. And now I know why."
Jareth repressed a revelatory gasp such as the one Sarah just let out as he realized that Sarah's prior emaciated appearance probably stemmed from what she had just described. He knew a thing or two about being consumed by dreams; why hadn't he recognized the signs then?
"Para-what?" asked a confused Hoggle.
Sarah gave him a small smile. "Paraguay. It's a country in the Aboveground." She turned to face Jareth. "Say something, Jareth, please."
Jareth cleared his throat. "It makes perfect sense. That's why the Labyrinth wouldn't obey me – it chose to only listen to you. That's why the Labyrinth didn't want to let you go on our first foray – the Labyrinth chose you, it wanted you, and it fought to keep you. You were right," he added, "the Labyrinth did want you."
A pensive expression wrinkled Sarah's forehead. "It chose to only listen to me," she repeated. "Yes. That's why when I told it that I would come back to it, that I wouldn't abandon it, it listened, and let me go. That's all I did that second day, and every day after; I simply spoke to the Labyrinth in my mind. I thought I was being daft at the time, but it worked, and now I see why."
"And now that you've figured out what the Labyrinth wants, the Labyrinth is happy; it has returned to its former state, excepting the darkness which still persists in the east. The Labyrinth has been improving ever since you came; you've been helping all along simply by being here." Jareth tried to speak brightly, but he couldn't help feeling rejected. Rejected by a pile of stones and moss. That's one of the most depressing things I've ever heard of. Jareth brushed the melancholy aside and tried to think of something positive. It didn't take him long. If the Labyrinth chose Sarah to rule it, and she accepts, she'll stay here in the Underground. She'll stay here; I'll see her every day, for as long as she chooses to rule. If she does choose to rule, there are ways of seeking immortality. But could I bear it, to see her every day, to speak with her, to have her so near, but to be so far from her heart? Could my heart bear it?
Something in Jareth's face told Sarah that he was saddened somehow, and she immediately found a reason why. I've just dethroned him. He's given the Labyrinth a thousand years' good and loyal service, and it suddenly casts him out one day in favor of me, the one person who's ever beaten him at his game. That would depress me as well.
"Of course," Jareth said, matter of factly, "You needn't decide this very moment to accept or decline the Labyrinth's offer. Take as much time as you need."
Hoggle snorted. "A ruddy lot of time that will be too; choosin' to rule a country or not."
Rule a country? Sarah's thoughts came dangerously close to panic. I can't rule a country! I'm just a girl, from a different world. How can I rule a country in a world I know nothing about? It's absurd! But then the voice of reason kicked in, or perhaps it was simply her heart telling her what she wanted. If you accepted, you could stay here, for as long as you like. You love it here. If you missed your family, you could go home for a visit anytime you liked – Jareth can venture Aboveground, why not you? If you accept, you get to stay with Jareth. But as happy as that thought made her, its joy was shadowed by her following one: but if I accept, I will dethrone Jareth. Surely he will still be the Goblin King, and he'll still rule the Goblin City, but I would rule around him, completely encircling him, cutting him off from his lands and his subjects. If I decline, maybe I can convince the Labyrinth to let him rule again – surely I could do that. But then I would have to leave. How could I leave this place? But how can I stay?
Hoggle looked from Jareth to Sarah, and then from Sarah to Jareth, a confused frown wrinkling his brow. "So yeh've fixed the Labyrinth. Isn't that a good thing?"
Both Sarah and Jareth were startled out of their melancholic reveries and hastily replied in the affirmative. Sarah nodded her head vigorously, a tad too vigorously to be convincing, before asking "Is it really fixed? Is the Labyrinth back to normal?" Sarah hadn't seen the Labyrinth since she'd made her discovery earlier that day.
"It is," Jareth answered. "All but the darkness has returned to normal. Better than normal, truth be told."
"I want to see it." Sarah set her bowl on the bedside table and slid off of Jareth's bed. Instead of trying to prevent her from moving, Jareth leant her his arm for support and guided her to the window. Suddenly, the whole of the Labyrinth came into view, lit by a faint, rosy light as the sun dipped below the horizon. In this light, the darkness was nearly impossible to see, and it was easy to pretend that it didn't exist at all. The highest part of the sky was turning a deep, midnight blue, and Sarah could just see the barest hint of the stars that would soon shine brightly down upon them. It was the first time she'd seen the stars in the Underground, and Sarah's breath caught in her throat as she whispered, "It's beautiful."
"It is," Jareth said, his eyes firmly fixed on Sarah. Jareth would never have taken his eyes off of her had not the sound of Hoggle's footsteps startled him out of his daze. Searching for something innocuous to say, Jareth settled on, "I've drafted orders to allow all citizens to return to their homes within the Labyrinth, excepting those who resided in the eastern sector. Now that I know what caused this positive change in the Labyrinth, I think it is safe put those orders to immediate effect."
Sarah nodded, still gazing at what she could see of the Labyrinth in the fading light. Never had she felt more at home, never had she felt more wanted, and loved than she did now. The Labyrinth wants me; I am wanted. The happiness that thought brought her was almost dizzying, and Sarah gripped Jareth's arm tighter for support.
Jareth felt her hands tighten around his arm, and felt a corresponding tightness in his chest. Oh, you precious thing, he thought, you have no idea what you do to me. Ever so casually, Jareth removed his arm from her grasp and instead placed it around her waist, drawing her lightly against him. The tightness in his chest intensified and spread to an area just below his waist as Sarah shifted and the full softness of her body pressed against him.
Neither Sarah nor Jareth moved from that position when Hoggle cleared his throat and bid them a goodnight, a strangely determined expression on his face. Sarah barely had the time to wish him a goodnight before he was gone, leaving Sarah and Jareth completely alone, together. Sarah looked behind her at the door through which Hoggle had just disappeared before returning her gaze to the night sky before her.
"I haven't thanked you yet," Sarah said, still looking forward.
Jareth looked down at her, scrutinizing her profile in the moonlight. "Thanked me? For what?"
"For carrying me all the way here. For taking care of me. For not getting angry at me, especially after how I treated you-" Jareth shook his head and made to cut her off, but Sarah kept talking. "No, let me get this out. I was so angry before; I just wanted to lash out, but you were the only one that was there." Sarah turned to look at him, meeting his eyes. "I wasn't angry at you, Jareth." Sarah swallowed the lump forming in her throat as she turned forward once more and said, "I was angry at my mother." Jareth's arm tightened around her waist, but he said nothing, and Sarah continued, glad of his silent support. "I was angry at my mother; it just took me a while to figure it out. I think I've been angry at her all my life, only I never realized it, and I lashed out at everyone around me. I threw tantrums, I fought constantly with my stepmother, I wished Toby away…I wasn't angry at any of them. I just felt so hurt, so alone, so…abandoned…and I dealt with those emotions the only way I knew how – by getting mad, like I did this morning. I'm sorry for what I said to you, for how I yelled at you – I'm just…sorry."
"Don't be," Jareth said. "Don't be sorry, Sarah. You've nothing to be sorry about."
Sarah leaned into Jareth again and tilted her head up towards him. "Thank you for being you, Jareth."
He didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything at all. He simply held Sarah close to him and together they watched the moon rise and the stars come out. Jareth risked a glance down at Sarah's face and saw her thoughtful, pensive expression. "What are you thinking about?"
"The Labyrinth," was Sarah's straightforward response. "And me. The first time I went into the Labyrinth, and especially when I tried to leave it that first time, it reacted so violently, like it was throwing a tantrum. And then there were all those emotions that came over me – anger, depression, that sense of abandonment – it's exactly how I felt growing up. Alone. I rebelled when I felt that way; maybe that's what the Labyrinth was doing. Maybe that's what the problem was." Sarah turned to look at Jareth. "It felt abandoned because I wasn't here, just like I felt abandoned by my mother, and it rebelled against the one person left to take care of it – you." Despite herself, a smile tugged at Sarah's lips as she concluded, "It wasn't fair to you, Jareth."
Despite the truth, the sad truth of her observation, Jareth smiled as well. "You say that so often, I-"
"Wonder what my basis for comparison is?" Sarah supplied with a grin, before her face split open into a gaping yawn. She covered it quickly with an apologetic hand.
"It's late; you should probably rest now; you must still be exhausted." Jareth started to steer her back inside, but Sarah protested.
"You must be more exhausted than I am – you carried me for hours, and then you've been going non-stop since then. If anyone needs rest, it's you Jareth." They arrived at his bed, and he tried to help her back into it, but she again protested. "No. I'm not going to lie down until you do."
"I'll be sitting right here; that will be rest enough-"
"No," Sarah interrupted. "You need to lie down. This bed I gigantic; I see no reason why you can't sleep on the opposite side." Sarah saw his hesitation and leapt upon it, "I promise, I'll stay on my side; your virtue will remain intact."
Jareth couldn't help but grin at that, but then asked seriously, "You are sure you wouldn't mind?"
Sarah shook her head, and Jareth finally nodded. "Very well then; you have persuaded me." This time, Sarah accepted Jareth's help back into his bed, and lay back under the coverlet as he walked around to the other side of the bed and slid under the covers, taking care to remove his boots first. A companionable silence fell over the both of them.
Sarah's thoughts returned to what she said earlier, about the Labyrinth feeling abandoned. It made sense – it explained why the Labyrinth wouldn't obey Jareth, and why it became dull and dark and lifeless. It felt the same way I felt. Who'd have ever thought I'd have so much in common with an inanimate, magical being? Sarah felt a deep kinship with the Labyrinth, and it only made her desire to remain in the Underground stronger. How can I abandon it again? I can't leave the Underground. But I don't want to dethrone Jareth; he's suffered enough as it is. So what do I do?! Wanting to forget that dilemma, Sarah turned to Jareth. She could just make out the profile of his face in the moonlight, but she couldn't tell if he was still awake.
"Jareth?" she called out softly.
"Hmm?" He asked, not asleep in the slightest.
Sarah extended her hand across the bed, and Jareth took it. She tried not to jump as a jolt of electricity struck her: Jareth had removed his gloves. The touch of his hand was both soothing and exciting, and Sarah tried not to stammer as she made her request. "Would you sing to me?"
Jareth squeezed her hand, reveling in the feel of her skin on his, and nodded. Leaning back against his pillows, he sang the only song he could think of at that moment. "There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel, open and close within your eyes…"
Sarah let his voice sweep over her, bringing her back to a swaying, floating world high in the air. Then she had found his voice alluring and sensual, and now, she felt the same, but she added beautiful to her list of descriptors. Jareth's voice was beautiful.
As Jareth neared the end of his song, he felt Sarah's grip slacken in his, and realized that she was almost asleep. He lowered his voice to the level of a lullaby and ended the song. Silence descended upon them, broken only by the sound of Sarah's even breathing.
Sarah was nearing sleep, but as she spiraled down the path to her dreams, one nagging question surfaced and she stayed awake long enough to ask Jareth, "Why did you let me go when I was a child? Why did you bend the rules for me?"
Jareth took his time in formulating a response, and by the time he had one, he knew she'd long since succumbed to sleep. Although she couldn't hear him, he answered anyway. "I had to. I had to let you go then, so I could have you now. I had to because I loved you. Because I love you."