Title: A Faded Memory

Author: Devlyne (Originally published as BelleAngeli)

Published: 11/30/2015

Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, Jareth or Sarah. Nor do I in any way resemble Jim Henson, The Jim Henson Company, Henson Creature Shop or Disney. Any recognizable quotes belong to the aforementioned.

A/N: Any non-story updates will be posted in my Author's profile by date. So if you want to know why I haven't updated in a few weeks, or where I am with certain stories, check there. As I said in my last update, I've been very busy so I apologize for the late update.

Remember that this is Jareth's chapter, so it takes place at the same time as the last chapter; it will end with Sarah coming home as the last chapter did and Chapter 12 will pick up the forward motion of the timeline again.

Chapter 11: Distraction by Realization

Jareth felt relief that it had taken so little coaxing to get Sarah to leave. He had seen the side looks she'd given him as he'd fiddled with the television in the living room. She thought that he had little to no experience with the modern world. It was an understandable thought but one clouded by ignorance. He had spent the last hundred years or more coming and going in short hops to see how the world was evolving. Humans evolved in such a different way than his people and in a much shorter span of time. This might have had to do with how short human lives were but Jareth could not say that for certain.

He was of a long-lived people and would live on some centuries still. It bothered Jareth that he might outlive his beloved Sarah, but that was the way of the mortal races. Their lives were the quickest flicker of a candle and those left behind mourned the loss. He'd heard rumors over the years of ways to extend life expectancy but had never thought to look himself. His life was long enough without help. Perhaps it would be something to consider once he had convinced Sarah to stay. After all, he could not finally conquer her only to lose her in just a few short decades.

Conquer; now there was a peculiar word. Did he see bringing her in to his home and fold as a conquest? Try as Jareth might to justify his reactions with concern, he had to admit it might be revenge as well. He had reflected on her conquest of him these past few years with a certain amount of bitterness. After all, a mere slip of the girl defeating the Goblin King; it was unheard of. It was not only the defeat that bothered him but that she had rejected his advances. No one liked rejection and some people did not handle it well. Jareth was one of those people.

When he had first latched on to the idea of watching Sarah through her mirrors, it had been a passing amusement. Jareth thought that after her trip in to his realm she would never be satisfied with mortal live again. What better way to watch her dissatisfaction with life than through the mirrors? They were easy enough portals to open between worlds and he had used them to pass through at times. In this way, the mirrors of Sarah's apartments had become a sort of television for him. He could see what she was doing and watch her activities. And when the opportunity arose, Jareth would take full advantage so that he could rejoin her.

"Act now and you will receive not one, but two…"

The channel changed before the man in the advertisement could finish his spiel. Jareth shook his head and wondered exactly why someone would want two ceramic flat irons. His fingers played through his hair a moment before a smirk touched his lips. He could call and order one then inform the operator that no, he only needed one. This could turn in to a twenty minute argument which Jareth heard in his head.

But…I only need one. Surely you have something else to send me. I know, could you send me one of those chia pets? What do you mean you're not the same company? You're all As Seen on Television.

The idea was beyond amusing and Jareth considered it and then cancelling his order just to annoy the operator. It was not the vicious sort of mischief that he had done in the dark ages of this world, but it would do. One had to be willing to evolve one's style to keep up, or so Jareth told himself. In the end, he swept the idea aside in favor of exploring Sarah's apartment. The television left droning on in the living room in a dull sort of murmur while he inspected the kitchen.

The cupboards and drawers opened and inspected before Jareth moved on to the next. He found her favorite coffee cup in one and her favorite kitchen towel in another. All these items had little pieces of Sarah imprinted on them and as Jareth held them he could feel her. With eyes closed, he could picture Sarah leaning over the kitchen bar staring off in to the distance. Her coffee cup clasped between slender fingers while something bubbled on the stove. The image caused him heartache for some reason he did not understand. His hand pressed to that region of his chest to still it.

No, taking Sarah back to Underground, in particular to the Labyrinth, would not be a conquest. It was a rescue and he could not continue to lie to himself. There was nothing gained or won by taking her like this. No one would hail Jareth a hero for conquering a woman that the world had beaten down. As it was, the other Kingdoms were likely all laughing at him for losing to her in the first place. He had tried hard to keep that news from spreading far and wide, but goblins did like their gossip.

It had come up once at a court event Jareth attended in another kingdom. A lady made a passing comment to her lord whom Jareth overheard laughing at his expense. He had had the last laugh when the lord and lady returned home and found their children turned in to goblins. The hysterics the woman had fallen in to kept him laughing for years afterward. He could still hear her shrill screams echoing through their manor. In retrospect, that might be one of those stories that Jareth shouldn't tell Sarah. He might have overreacted a little bit. The woman had gotten her children back no worse for wear after a few weeks of groveling. That was a happy ending, right? No, it was definitely not a story to tell Sarah.

Jareth was by no means reformed from his wicked ways. There was no reforming him because mischief and magic were part of who he was. It was not an identity that he had picked up. No, he had been born this way. His used his magic for tricks and taunts. Wasn't that why he'd built the Labyrinth around his castle? It had been a boring kingdom before that. Now the lords and ladies had to conquer the Labyrinth just to come visit; it did keep out unwanted visitors. Of course, it also kept what few friends he had from visiting as well.

"It's not like the labyrinth is that hard to solve. I mean, really." Jareth murmured to no one in particular. His eyes rolled in an un-kingly gesture of exasperation. It didn't matter; there was no one here to see him do it.

He had moved on from the kitchen in to Sarah's bedroom to explore. The drawers opened in her vanity which only revealed more of those pills. It was an orange bottle with a white lid and a prescription written across the front of it. He gave the bottle a shake before dropping the pills back in to the drawer and closing it. "Useless. All the modern marvels in the world and they resort to herbal witch doctor-y to fix problems. They might as well have stayed in the dark ages."

Sarah had become conservative and boring in her twenties. Her clothes were all gone through and looked over. There were a few pieces that were lovely but most were drab school marm outfits in his opinion. He would dress her in bright colors and fill her world with light. Jareth's heart beat fast at the thought of Sarah surrounded by golden light and dressed in royal fare. Yes, he would dress her well when they returned to Underground and then show her off to his friends. No, that was wrong. That thinking was what had led him to calling this a conquest when it wasn't. He would offer her the option to dress well and be shown off to his friends. Yes, that would be much better.

Time passed in a different way here than in Underground. He had been gone many days from the Labyrinth already and should check in. If the goblins were left to their own devices for too long, he might not have a kingdom to go back to. There were a few among them trusted to carry out the tasks needed to keep the kingdom running. The door to Sarah's bedroom was closed and Jareth moved on to the other room in the hallway. It had a mirror in it that he used on occasion to watch her laying on the floor reading. The mirror was a small gilt hand mirror which would serve his purpose. His advisor would not be able to see where Jareth was in so small a surface.

The small surface would explain why Jareth had never noticed the contents of this room before. He had never stopped to look around at the pieces arranged on the shelves. There was no bed in the room which meant that Sarah expected no guests. Instead, arranged along the wall, were shelves of fairy tale books and dolls. Lancelot was not there because the bear was still with Toby, but he saw Didymus and Ludo. His fingers moved over the soft fur of the little knight before pulling at his cloth vest and feathered hat.

A music box caught Jareth's eye, tucked away in a corner though it began to tinkle its tune as he touched it. Slender fingers touched the gown the doll was wearing and he watched as she spun a quarter inch then stopped. He had not forgotten about that night at the masquerade ball and how he had used this music box to create it. Ludo and Didymus left forgotten as the music box was lifted and its key wound. Music drifted through the room while Jareth watched the doll turn her slow circle in the gazebo she stood on. It was not like him to drift so far in to his memories but for a moment he was dancing with her again.

The moment passed when the music stopped and Jareth returned the box to its shelf before moving on to the next. He touched items as he passed; Hoggle's book end, the wooden labyrinth game and the fiery doll just a few. Jareth found his world documented in the world of the mortals. It had always been this way because the mortals took bits and pieces and spun tales and stories for their young. When the young grew older, they cast off these tales and stories for fictions that their elders told. Some passed the stories on to their children while others forgot. Sarah had no children and a few hours ago Jareth would have said she'd forgotten. He could not say that now.

Everything was here just as he remembered it. All Sarah's dolls and toys preserving those little touches of innocence that she'd had. He could feel her here the same way he'd felt her on the coffee mug. These were Sarah's hopes and dreams; despite what he'd thought, Sarah had not let go of them. For the first time in many years, the Goblin King began to hope. If Sarah could hold fast to her dreams even as the world was draining them then Jareth could help her realize them. He just had to remind Sarah that her dreams were right here. Hope swelled in his chest and Jareth clung to it.

Jareth had no idea how long he had been in the little second bedroom. Time moved at its own pace and he was no slave to it. He took his time exploring this room and looking each shelf in detail. While there were some knick-knacks and pieces missing from the shelves, most of it was still there. He understood now why Sarah chose to read in this room rather than on the comfortable couch in the living room. If he spent much more time in the apartment, this is where Sarah would find him. This room with its hopes and dreams felt like home.

"Jareth? I'm home…"

Sarah's voice drew him out of his reverie. Had so many hours passed already? The books returned neatly to their shelves and the games put away. Jareth straightened the mess that he'd made and then stood and straightened his appearance. It would not do to let Sarah see him flustered. She was looking to him to be her guide and he understood now how important that was. She needed him to show her that dreams could be real. It was not about conquest or conquering; it was about truth. The truth, in this case, would set her free.

Jareth stood in the doorway of the little room and watched Sarah move about. She thought he was gone or had never been there. This saddened him as it was a reminder of the hardship he was now fighting against with her. With her, not against her, that was what was important. Jareth and Sarah were no longer fighting each other but would be fighting together.

He watched as her hands began to shake and shoulders to slump, before murmuring. "You kept it all."

And for once, he took no pleasure from the slight jump Sarah gave at his voice. It was not a conquest. It was a war. And they were on the same side now. He would not need to remind himself of this again. The last few hours of doubt on the subject swept away as Jareth came forward to take her hands. "Come, we have much to talk about."