The frustration was still in her heart, even if the anger had been quenched, but she couldn't think of how to solve it. Surely she must have done something in the past when such situations would arise, but what? She was no musician, so playing music wouldn't help, and she didn't want to let Jareth win yet, so she wouldn't ask him to sing, either. What could she do?
She could tell a story. If it worked on Toby, maybe it would work on her. She picked herself back up, and held the biggest, fluffiest pillow as close to her as she could.
"Once upon a time," she said, as all the best stories started, "There was a young girl. She was not beautiful, to many. In fact, she was rather plain. She would spend her days locked away in her room of her own free will, telling herself stories, wanting them to be real. It was because of this love for stories that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with her. Her imagination was the most beautiful thing about her.
"One day, her family had become broken. Her mother, an actress, had fallen in love with a man that was not the young girl's father, and so they separated, and the young girl went with her birth father, even though she wanted to be with her mother, who always told the best, most imaginative stories. It was her mother who blessed the young girl with the gift of imagination in the first place.
"Her father also found new love, but the girl resented her new mother, not wanting to let her take the place of her real mother. In the young girl's mind, no step-mother could ever be nice. They all were wicked, just like the stories had said, and all siblings that she might gain from the new union would also be wicked. That is why she was so jealous of her new half-brother.
"One day, her jealousy had overcome her, and she had wished for her new brother to be taken far away. Of course, the Goblin King was all too happy to oblige, because all wishes wind up going to him, one way or another. When she came face to face with the King, she was frightened, not only because he was great and powerful, but because she had realized how her brother did not deserve her wrath, and how her jealousy and spite was childish and foolish.
"There was a way to get her brother back, but in order to do so, the young girl would have to solve the deadly Labyrinth. In thirteen hours, she had beaten every twist, turn, trick and trap that the Labyrinth had thrown at her, with the help of her friends that she made along the way. By saying her right words, she defeated the Goblin King, and won back her brother's freedom, and left the Labyrinth, hoping to never return again."
Sarah took a deep breath, and let it out as a single, relaxing sigh. Sometimes, stories didn't always help.
"Do you want to know what happened next?" asked a voice from her door.
"What happened next?" Sarah asked, not looking, still angry at the speaker from the events that morning.
"The young girl blossomed into an extraordinary young lady, and then into a very talented woman. Unfortunately, a few weeks after she left the Labyrinth, she cut off all contact with it, and without her presence, the King grew lonely and sad, and the Labyrinth fell into decay. Buildings crumbled, streets cracked, and the people grew hungry. The King was so unhappy that he felt the Labyrinth would never be fixed.
"But, one day, the King happened to look into a crystal, and saw the woman whom he remembered as the young girl, and he realized that only she could make him happy enough to fix the Labyrinth. He asked her to help him, but she was reluctant. It wasn't until she saw the devastation that the Labyrinth was in that she agreed to help."
"What happened next?" Sarah asked again, this time looking slightly up.
"I don't know," Jareth said. "It hasn't happened yet."
Sarah buried her face back into the pillow, this time feeling truly guilty for the Labyrinth's status. It was all her fault, she could feel it in her gut. She had to fix it, but how?
"What do I have to do?" Sarah asked. "I know the main answer is 'make you happy,' but I've been here for several weeks, and nothing has changed. What do I have to do?"
"I don't know, Sarah," Jareth said. "I just don't know."
"How do I make you happy?" Sarah asked, pleading, desperately wanting to fix the Labyrinth.
"I don't know, I told you, I don't know!"
Then, somewhere in the recesses of Sarah's mind, an idea struck. It was not a pleasant one, but it just might work. She got off the bed, slowly, still keeping the pillow between her and Jareth, the reason why, Sarah couldn't tell, but she felt it was right. She made her way to the door, and locked them both inside the room.
"What are you-"
Jareth was interrupted by Sarah suddenly kissing him. The Goblin King couldn't help but to blush. He hadn't expected that to happen, surely, but he wasn't complaining. The warmth of her lips on his was very pleasing indeed.
When they broke the kiss, there was a noticeable grin on Jareth's face. It wasn't so much of a beam, as Sarah had expected. It seemed more sly. That wasn't what was supposed to happen. He grabbed her wrists unexpectedly, and Sarah began to struggle in his grasp, making no progress.
"You have just made me a very happy King, Miss Williams."
She kept struggling as Jareth continued moving upon her, but she was powerless as he took it upon himself to please himself more, despite Sarah's shouting and protesting.
"And you will keep making me happy," he said. "Forever and ever."