Sarah couldn't reply for a while. When she finally conjured enough air in her lungs to speak, she said, "You're not real." But she didn't sound nearly as convincing as she would have wanted.
The Goblin King walked across the room, seemingly ignoring her, his full attention fixed on the scattered illustrations. Finally, he crouched down and picked up one of the sheets from the floor.
"Although I might not have been real five minutes ago, and forgive me for disagreeing on that point at least, I believe you should be much happier and grateful for my presence now. After all, your wish has been granted," he said, sounding concerned. Then, with a touch of sarcasm, he added, "And may I assume this unfortunate depiction of a clown in tight leggings is meant to represent me?"
"I know it's not exactly realistic, but children shouldn't be able to see..." Sarah began to defend herself, aware that the conversation was taking even more surreal undertones than expected.
But she couldn't even finish her sentence, stunned by the impact of his formidable presence beside her after so many years. He still towered over her, but the latent threat emanated more from his inherent magnetism than his physical strength.
The fact that he seemed to read her every thought didn't help her regain composure. However, she had never shown fear in front of the Goblin King, and she wouldn't start now, especially knowing he was nothing more than a product of her imagination.
"You're not real," she repeated, this time with much more conviction.
Jareth dropped the sheet he had been holding. The drawing settled placidly on the carpet, but Sarah couldn't help but feel that there was something strange and fascinating about the way the paper had crossed the air, as if performing a melancholic dance. For her own safety, she must never forget that she was facing a great juggler. And hypnotist.
"I created you," she dared to continue.
The Goblin King calmly looked around to find a suitable place to sit. Eventually, he chose a sofa that had seen better days. Although it might sound incredible, the moment he sat down, the abused object acquired such real dignity that anyone would have mistaken it for a true throne.
"Someone seems particularly arrogant this evening. If my lady will indulge the question," he said, giving her a slight nod, "Did you also create my, sorry, your Labyrinth?"
He seemed genuinely curious, but it had always been difficult to discern what truly was going through his mind.
Sarah didn't know what to answer, and she also started to feel a bit foolish, standing ackwardly in the middle of her own living room.
"Yes... no, well, in a way. I don't know," she said, feeling obliged to respond and wondering if sitting back on the carpet would be considered a sign of weakness.
"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah... After... how many years have passed in your world? 30, 50?" Jareth dismissed her concept of time as irrelevant and started again. "After a long time without your adorable presence, I find myself finally summoned by your perhaps imprudent wish, and what do I find? Not a single passionate excuse about the immaturity that prompted you to reject my generous offer, not a single speech to convince me of the depth of your remorse and the pain of my absence. Not a tear, not a palpitating heart, nothing. No, what I receive from you, instead of the warm welcome we both know I deserve, is questioning the reality of my own existence," he said, resting his chin on his hand, disappointed and perplexed.
"I created you..." she insisted, holding her head high in case it added weight to her argument.
"Yes, I heard you the first time. But do you have any proof of this fascinating, although forgive me for the adjective, absurd theory?" There was still more curiosity than anger for the moment. However, Sarah knew all too well that his mood could abruptly change within a second if he became bored with the subject.
"In those days, I was going through a tough time with my stepmother, with Toby, with my father... and I needed an adventure. That's why I used my imagination to..."
"And how do you explain the book?" Jareth interrupted mercilessly.
"What book?" He had managed to destabilize her, just as he had intended. Anyway, the whole story made much more sense in her head than when she tried to explain it to someone who, according to her own words, wasn't even there.
"The Labyrinth, The Goblin King, the summoning verses, you must remember all that. Or maybe I'm putting too much faith in the reliability of the human memory," He patiently summarized.
"I just told you that I used it to create..." She started wondering if he was just trying to infuriate her by feigning ignorance.
"To create me? How could you create the Goblin King if he already existed in a book to begin with?"
He wasn't mocking her; the question was legitimate.
And she could answer calmly, confident for once, "There was a Goblin King in the book, but I created my own version according to my desires. Just as I created my own Labyrinth, Hoogle, and Sir Didymus. I constructed my own tale to be the heroine, and you were meant to play the role of the villain."
For a few minutes, neither of them said anything more. He seemed to be seriously considering her theory, and she thought wiser not to interrupt him.
"Am I the man you created to make your dreams come true, Sarah?" Jareth asked softly, startling her. "It's flattering, but those dreams must have been quite dark. After all, you asked me to kidnap your brother."
"I was too young back then; I didn't understand..." If there was an effective weapon against her, it was to use her remorse for her cruelty towards Toby when he was just a helpless baby. Although the entire adventure in the Labyrinth hadn't been real, the desire to get rid of him had truly existed in her heart.
"You didn't understand the implications of your own wishes? And now, do you think that has changed? Do you think you've learned anything since then?" The Goblin King allowed himself to smile finally, and there was something unsettling and predatory in that smile.
"I wish Jareth were real," Sarah remembered saying not so long ago.
"No, it can't be true..." For a moment, she didn't know if her knees would bear her weight for much longer.
The Goblin King stood up from the sofa and walked toward her, pointing at the sheets on the floor. "Look at all these beautiful illustrations. Your books make so many children happy, don't they? You must be extremely proud of yourself."
"You..." Sarah felt the blood drain from her face. The room's temperature seemed to drop ten degrees in a matter of seconds. The sunset approached.
"I can almost hear them. They're all so young, so innocent... Do you think they understand the implications of their wishes, Sarah? I'd be very interested to hear your opinion, you can be considered an expert on the matter. What do you think?" There was no need for him to come any closer; the weight of his words alone was enough to crush her.
"I've kept him alive with my stories! He lives in my heart, and in the minds of thousands of children. If Jareth were real..." She could recall with horrifying clarity each of the words she had spoken to the empty room earlier.
"You dare not..." She was angry, but she didn't know if she despised herself more at that moment than him.
In a split second, Jareth was behind her. Sarah felt the warmth of his breath on her neck. If she hadn't cut her hairt short, she would have felt a bit less exposed.
"I'll do as I please. Don't dare challenge me again, Sarah. This time, I won't have the patience to be merciful with you."
She turned to face him. "What do you want?" she said, her voice devoid of fear.
Jareth surprised her with a laugh, but there was no trace of amusement in it. "What importance could my requests have for you? I'm not real; you created me. Why should you grant me anything? Wouldn't it be simpler to make me disappear with a snap of your fingers?"
Sarah could only think of one reason that could explain the Goblin King's presence. "If you want me..."
He was surprised, but there was no hint of mockery in his voice when he asked, "You? What could you possibly be of use to me?"
Sarah couldn't believe what she had just heard. She had always believed deep down that Jareth, despite everything...
"But... You came back after all these years. And you told me that..." It was true that she didn't have much to hold onto, and his emotionless eyes weren't exactly helping her case.
"That I would be your slave if you loved and feared me?" There was no more curiosity, just hilarity. "Oh, Sarah, you can't still be so innocent. I was just playing my part in the game, as I always have."
"You said you had turned the world upside down just for me, and that..." She wasn't ready to accept defeat. Perhaps for him, that declaration meant nothing, but for her, it was of fundamental importance.
"I can't deny being proud of those specific lines; they exuded sincerity in every word, don't you think? But to believe that I could love you after everything you experienced in the Labyrinth... Do you really think I would risk the life of someone I loved? You could have died numerous times..."
Sarah had to admit that Jareth was not lying for once. Hoggle and her could have easily died or just disappeared during their adventure, like that time when the garbage woman had almost convinced her to forget her mission and stay forever in her fake bedroom. The Goblin King hadn't intervened in any of those instances to save her; on the contrary, he was directly responsible for all the traps and threats she had to face while crossing his dangerous maze. There was nothing he wouldn't have done to stop her.
All those years, she couldn't have been more wrong.