Sarah hugged her legs together, staring at the long, black gown, her university's logo sewed on the top left. The long, golden honor cords hung in front of the shiny stole that represented her time in the leadership clubs.
She had dreamed of graduating from the university for so long, a celebration and culmination of all her hard work as a scholar.
She should be brimming with excitement and pride.
She should be planning activities for her family for when they would visit her on that special day.
Now all she could feel was anger and betrayal from the phone call she had with her mother, not five minutes ago.
"You mean… you won't be there?"
The tone of her voice rose to a sharp, panicked pitch.
"But you promised you would! I told you this as soon as the dates were settled. You blocked off all other engagements, you said."
"Of course, I did! What kind of person did you take me for? Sweetie, you have to understand that this is a last-minute audition, I cannot miss it!"
"Mom, this is my university graduation! Please, no one else is going to be there but you," she sobbed. "Even if they could be here, you're my mom. This means the world to me. I worked so hard for this civil engineering degree."
"Apparently, not hard enough if you took five years instead of four, and you couldn't even get honors."
Linda's disappointed reply held a hint of smugness, supposedly for thinking up such a clever comeback. Had Sarah not been in such pain and craved Linda's love so much, she might have noticed it.
The comment stung Sarah, especially when Linda knew full well that Sarah had struggled with many of her courses and wanted to give up so many times.
On top of that, Sarah had been involved in extracurricular activities, including an internship, which made studying even harder.
"You know that it was hard for me, that's why it makes it an even greater accomplishment!" she tried to spin it positively. "Mom, I'm only going to graduate college once. I want you to be there with me."
"I can't believe you're being so selfish!" Linda screeched, finally shedding the mask of love and showing her true colors underneath her acting skills.
"This is one of the biggest auditions. You can graduate without me, I can't audition without actually being there."
The cages that formed from her parents' abandonment fortified around Sarah's heart.
Her mother never loved her.
It was something Sarah knew deep inside for years but refused to admit it.
Linda had effectively abandoned her years and years ago, pursuing her dreams of being a star. She often told Sarah that she was lucky that Linda made time for her when she didn't have to.
After her journey in the Labyrinth to win back her brother, Sarah finally understood that a good parent would never make their child feel second-class. And yet, she didn't let go of the idea that her mother loved her at least to some degree.
It was time to put aside these childish dreams and face reality.
Sarah summoned the wisdom and strength to finally let go of Linda.
She had outgrown the need for her mother for a long time.
"You know what?" Sarah let the angry tears flow freely, shaking slightly.
There was no going back.
"Forget it. I love you, Mom, but you don't love me. You've made that abundantly clear for years, and I never paid attention. I've finally listened. Don't come. In fact, don't come to anything else in my life ever again. Good-bye."
She hung up on a screaming Linda, unplugging the phone, so she wouldn't get bombarded by endless calls.
On top of that, her father, stepmother, and little brother also couldn't make it.
Karen had been in a car crash, staying in the hospital. She would fully recover but needed a lot of support. Her father was by her side, unable to take Toby to be with Sarah.
Sarah didn't fault them for that, of course, but inside, she knew that they would have tried to make up some excuse to not show up regardless. At least this way, they could be absolved with a good reason instead of a petty one.
She had half a mind to cut up the gown with a pair of scissors, but decided not to. At least not yet. She knew better than to make these rash decisions while emotions were running high.
Walking to the kitchen, Sarah, mindlessly, grabbed a bottle of fancy-looking wine she had won from an event that she had been saving for special occasions.
In fact, she had been saving it for her parents to drink with her.
Now that they weren't here, what the hell? Everyone else was getting wasted tonight and other nights of this week. She might as well do it too.
She sighed, pouring the liquid in the glass, watching the sparkling bubbles rise to the top.
Every time she thought of bubbles, she was mesmerized by them and thought of her adventure in the Labyrinth.
She thought of him.
"Woah, Sarah," she said to herself. "I haven't thought of him in a long time. Where did that come from?"
A strange emotion filled her heart. It was a feeling she never could fully name, one that always came when she thought of the enigmatic king.
It wasn't totally regret, as she had to take Toby back and so was left with no other choice.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't total sadness either.
Whatever it was, Sarah never allowed herself to truly process it out of fear.
Fear of what?
She wasn't sure herself.
Something soft smacked against her window, making her look up and stop in her mid-pour to see the cause of it.
An owl sat by the ledge of her window.
Not just any owl.
A beautiful, majestic barn owl.
It turned its head, observing her with its beady eyes.
Fortunately, she had the sense to lift the bottle up to prevent spilling it. She took a look at the label, laughing.
"Peach wine, of course."
She snickered. One snicker led to two. Pretty soon, she was laughing-crying hysterically.
She knew she must look like a complete, frenzied fool.
"I'm not even drunk yet, and I'm already like this, my god," she talked to herself out loud.
Walking over to the owl, she raised a glass to it.
"Hi there, little guy. You remind me of someone."
The bird ruffled its wings a little, acknowledging her. It didn't take a lot of stretch of imagination to pretend that it did actually understand her.
"Yeah," Sarah sighed, taking a couple large gulps. "It's been a long time since I've seen him. Seven years to the day, actually."
She hadn't seen any of them for years, no matter how many times she asked for them in front of her mirror.
The memory sent Sarah down another sobbing, hysterical-laughter, remembering that they never came.
Story of her life.
"I'm sure he would look at me the way you are right now."
She took another gulp.
The owl titled its head, as if bemused.
"Like how, you ask? Like you think I'm pathetic, and you know I look it," she argued.
She quickly drank the rest of the wine, feeling reckless.
"You know what?" She set the glass down as loudly as she could without breaking it. "I haven't made a wish since that fateful night. My life is going to shit, why not take a chance?"
The owl didn't move a muscle.
She folded her arms on the table, laying her head in it. "I wish I could be acknowledged and celebrated for all my hard work by someone who cares about me. I wish I could be truly treasured and loved."
She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them, staring at the window.
The owl was gone.
"Yeah, go ahead and disappear like everyone else in my life," she snarled.
"I have no intention to do such a thing," a deep, amused voice replied to her musings.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
She catapulted off her seat, holding her glass like a weapon.
In the chair next to hers sat the Goblin King, who was laughing at her.
Oh, god.
The Goblin King was here.
Her adolescent villain and fantasy was here in her apartment.
He was seated in her chair in her kitchen, donning all black. His shirt opened to reveal his muscular chest, the amulet gleaming in the center.
What stood out most to Sarah was the sound of his laughter.
Even while tipsy, she could tell the difference from this laugh and the ones she heard while running the Labyrinth. It was a true, amused laugh and not one marred with a mocking tone.
Damn. He was just as gorgeous as he was seven years ago. If anything, he was more attractive.
Her memory of him did not do him justice.
"Come now, Sarah," he drawled lazily. "You made a wish. You cannot be surprised that I would show."
"Why are you here now?" She didn't lower the glass. "Why not before?"
He froze, the smile slowly fading to disappointment. "You really can't fathom why?"
"Knock it off."
She finally lowered the glass, folding her arms in a deep frown.
"I know you're faerie, so you're used to skirting around questions you don't want to directly answer, but seriously, quit it. I asked for a reason."
His expression changed to one of melancholy.
"You, Sarah. You said those words."
You have no power over me.
"I could not appear in my faerie form to you unless you wished for it. It is also why your friends could not visit you, for I alone hold the power to allow them and could not have done so without you freeing my magic."
"Oh."
She hadn't exactly expected such a straightforward answer, but it made sense.
She rubbed the back of her neck in an attempt to alleviate how awkward she was feeling.
He pulled her chair out, gesturing to it.
"Why haven't you made a wish until now?"
Sarah stared at him for a long moment. Eventually, she sat back down in the chair.
"Well, Goblin King-"
"You know my name, Sarah," he quickly interrupted. "You are free to use it as you please."
The way he interrupted her, and the slight pleading in his voice, made Sarah surmise that, perhaps, there weren't a lot of people who called him by his given name, and she was one of the few special enough to use it.
"Um, okay, Jareth."
The name came out a little unsure, afraid she would get it wrong.
He nodded in approval, a slight smile coming back.
"I guess I'm stubborn," she continued. "And a little scared of what you would think or say. I wasn't sure how much of our interaction was from you playing a part and how much of it was just you."
He nodded, not responding. There was a faraway look in his eyes, an expression full of conflicting emotions with longing breaking out as the most prominent one.
Sarah leaned in closer, getting him to really look at her.
"Then, how come you never appeared in your owl form until now?"
He looked down in, shame?
Was that an expression the mighty Goblin King was capable of making?
"I am also stubborn. I have never lost to anyone before."
This was news to Sarah.
"Really?"
"Truly. You are the first and only Champion of the Labyrinth."
The title made Sarah smile. She quite liked that.
Amusement tugged on the corner of his mouth.
"You are quite red."
"Oooh," Sarah groaned, covering her cheeks in horror. "I get like this when I drink. Sorry."
"No need to apologize," he reassured her.
She raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"That's awfully nice of you. I would've thought that you would tell me how pitiful I am. How short-sighted about how I feel that my situation is unfair. Basis for comparison and whatnot."
She should have said it with more tact and elegance, rather than showing how resentful of herself she was.
"Or maybe that's just my alcohol-ridden brain talking," she spoke out loud, not realizing she had until Jareth chuckled, amused.
"Well, things are different now."
He carefully took the wine bottle from her, not finding resistance.
"You were younger then and not as wise as you are now. That said, you were always wise in your own way. You could not have defeated the Labyrinth if you were not. And," his voice grew softer.
"If I am completely honest, I have also grown wiser after my experience with you. You have influenced me for the better. Your journey, our journey," he corrected, "has made a mark on who I am and makes me want to be a better person. I was impressed by your strength, determination, and resolve to rectify your mistake."
Sarah removed her hands from her cheeks, amazed by his words.
"I guess I never thought of that as a possibility. Thank you. That's very kind of you to say."
He scooted a little closer.
"I mean it. As for you imbibing, it seems that you need someone to lend a friendly ear. I am freely offering it if you would like."
Sarah laid her cheek on the table, the cold surface soothing her warm face. It would be nice to have someone who was truly listening to her and not just vaguely pretending to do so.
"Well, okay. Why not?"
She sat up a little taller, noticing for the first time that Jareth was inspecting her wine.
"Can I get you anything to drink? Some water? Tea? There isn't a lot of that peach wine left, unfortunately.
"You needn't concern yourself, Sarah," he assured her.
She waved, trying to show that it wasn't a big deal.
"I would like to sober up a little and you're a guest. I'm gonna make some tea and drink water, regardless. Want some?"
He relented.
"Tea would be lovely."
After getting them both some tea and a large glass of water for herself, Sarah sat back down next to Jareth.
"I'm graduating university, majoring, or specializing, in civil engineering."
"Congratulations. It sounds like quite the accomplishment."
"Thanks. And it is. At least to me."
"What does that entail?" he inquired.
Sarah went through the details of the classes she took and why. She also explained the expectation of needing to have extracurricular activities to pursue a career afterwards, an added stress to her already busy schedule as a full-time student.
Even though he was as clueless as her parents and older relatives about how modern universities worked, Jareth paid close attention, asking for clarification and details that no one ever bothered to ask of her before. He was intrigued by a project she did on infrastructure projects for her internship and expressed his interest in how such a thing would be implemented in his kingdom.
Pretty soon, it felt like talking to an old friend. They fell into an easy rapport, immensely enjoying the company of the other person.
"I'm so frustrated with myself though," she sighed.
"Why?" He seemed befuddled by her answer. "You speak of your work with such pride; as you should."
"When all your classmates are brilliant and off doing amazing things, it's easy to feel stupid. Even worse when you didn't pass some of the classes the first time around, which led me to taking an extra year to finish school."
"But you are graduating. In the grand scheme of things, would it matter so much?"
"No, but all my classmates from the previous year are already done, so I feel alone. I know in my heart it doesn't matter, just that I worked hard to get to where I am and did my best. There are people who dropped out of the program entirely. I've mostly gotten over that, but it's hard to feel accomplished when your family isn't here to celebrate with you."
She sipped some more of her tea, taking the time to formulate her next sentence.
"Graduating from university is a huge deal. It's to celebrate being a scholar and the next phase in my career or education. Everyone will have family members there. Everyone, that is, but me. If people don't have loved ones who can go, they will graduate anyway, just without all the celebrations since that's just a formality. I guess… I'm just tired of being pushed aside. Of being abandoned."
Her voice shrank smaller and smaller.
"I was a huge brat when I wished Toby away, don't get me wrong. I don't want to complain too much because I know that I grew up privileged. Even my dad is helping me pay through school, though I'll pay him back. I adore Toby and would never hold anything against him now. He was only a baby. He just existed. But there's a reason I acted out. My mom left me to pursue fruitless dreams, my dad remarried, and they had a new kid. I was punished for simply existing since I'm a constant, painful reminder of a mistake of a marriage."
A moment of companionable silence fell between them. Jareth nodded slowly, understanding her frustration.
"I understand that feeling quite intimately."
His voice was unsteady, as if unused to saying such things.
Sarah smiled at him softly, wanting him to continue.
He quickly glanced at her before telling his story.
"I was made a king at a very young age for that reason. You see, the title of Goblin King or Queen is not hereditary. The ruling monarch must have a connection with the Labyrinth. It is a mystery as to how or why it happens. The Labyrinth is located within the Goblin Kingdom, a kingdom that resides both in the Faerie Realm and the Realm of Dreams. It also has ties to that of Destiny's Garden. As such, it is a powerful position but not enviable due to the distance from the majority of faerie nobility. There are many outcasts in my kingdom, along with goblins."
He paused. It was easy to talk of the history of his kingdom, not so much this next part.
"I think I can see where this is going," Sarah verbally nudged him but also gave him a way to stop if he wanted to.
Jareth liked having such a captive audience, who wanted to listen to him. Not because she had to out of obligation, like his castle employees, but because she wanted to.
"Yes, I'm sure you can. I am the grandson of the High King and Queen. I was one of many and easily expendable due to being so far down in the line of succession. I was a prideful, entitled prince of the court. I was not expected to ever rule, not that I wanted to at that time, so I could enjoy my endless days of amusement and admirers, which wasn't so hard to come by, considering my good looks."
Sarah giggled a little at that. Though he was vain, Jareth could at least poke fun at himself.
"I was sent away to be king, a role I had to carve out on my own through much trial and error. I never asked nor wanted it. My parents neglected me, letting me do whatever I pleased because they couldn't be bothered to actually look after me or even employ nannies to do so. It is not the worst fate possible, as I have an affluent background, but when it came down to it, I realized how empty and useless my life was. I realized my relationships with others were surface-level."
He had never spoken such words to someone before. They laid deep in his heart, buried, so he would never be hurt by anyone who would use such knowledge against him.
There was something about Sarah that made him want to tell her everything. He had been alive long enough to feel it in his heart that he could trust her with anything and she would respect it.
"In truth," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I was and still am lonely."
There, the most horrifying thing to admit out loud to anyone. He couldn't believe that he actually admitted to it, much less to someone he hadn't known for very long.
And yet, she seemed like the perfect person to tell.
Sarah's heart went out to him.
Both were born into wealth, left to their own devices, and then told to do something to serve their families without any real thought to how they would fare.
My will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great…
They were not so different, after all. The only difference was that Jareth's responsibilities were much more than hers.
In the gentle glow of the kitchen light, Jareth's hair seemed to drop, his sorrow evident.
She had never seen him quite like this. She had seen glimpses of it when she first met him, back in the Escher room and their final confrontation. Time had matured her into having the ability to notice him.
Carefully, she reached for a hug, wrapping her arms around his body, as she would have done to any friend.
"You shouldn't have had such an incredible responsibility placed on your shoulders, especially alone. You deserve so much better."
Jareth wasn't quite sure what to do at first. He hadn't been hugged in so long and certainly was not used to such open affection being bestowed. Usually, he would be the one to initiate physical contact as a king. The only exception being children.
Her touch anchored him.
He could feel the hurt of abandonment leeching out of his body with every moment that passed.
When he regained his senses, he hugged her back, careful to not get carried away and squeeze her too hard.
Oh, how he needed this.
How they both needed this.
His nose was right by her hair, the sweet smelling lavender shampoo forever imprinted on his mind the same way the feel of her body imprinted on his heart.
Sarah thought she would hug him for a second or so, but couldn't seem to let go when he hugged her back.
The last time she had a hug was Christmas, and even then they were quick side hugs except for Toby. Jareth even smelled nice too, like peaches and some exotic spice that she couldn't name.
Time stopped at that moment.
They could have been there for seconds or days.
They could even make out the feel of the heartbeats of the other person and their breathing patterns.
They might have hugged forever had Jareth not stiffened and reluctantly pulled away.
"I must go, someone is wishing a child away."
"I understand," she nodded. "Thank you again for being here. Thank you for listening. It means a lot to me."
He put a hand on the table, slowly rising to delay leaving for as long as possible. "When is your commencement?"
She handed him a flier. "In a couple days," she said.
He scanned through the bright colors of the school and the smiling stock photos of students in their gowns.
"You should go. I understand you will graduate anyway and your family won't be there, but you should absolutely go. It is a great accomplishment."
"Yeah, I guess," she replied, still unsure of going.
He bowed. "Thank you, my lady, for being a gracious host, even though you did not expect me. You may have thanked me for listening to you, but you have listened to my woes as well."
He held his hand out to her. Sarah placed her hand in his, feeling like a lady in fantasy novels when he kissed her knuckles.
"I echo what your companions said to you seven years ago: should you need me, call. I am a wish away."
"Will do."
She didn't trust herself to say more, lest she start crying.
She didn't want him to leave her. Not when she stopped feeling lonely the moment he came back into her life. Not when he healed parts of her heart that she didn't realize needed healing.
He stepped backwards, fading away into nothing.
Hello everyone! First of all, special thanks to my friend, RMBhiel, who beta'd this fic. She is a fantastic author and beta. Go check out her fics!
I had the idea for this fic, funny enough, when a family member graduated high school, and started to write it DURING the ceremony LOL. It's also a tiny bit inspired by jetredgirl's fic called "Meringue: Soul Mates Lost and Found" since it has a little scene of Sarah's graduation in it. On a personal note, like a lot of people, I didn't get to have my college graduation four years ago due to COVID (boo covid). I also took a year longer than expected to graduate which inspired that frustration in Sarah. I do have a supportive family but I can only imagine the pain if I didn't have them.
Thanks again for reading and I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the fic! Please leave reviews and kudos if you like it. Even if it's years from now, I would be delighted to see a review.