I know, cray to do two stories side by side, especially two so different—yet here we are. Thank you for the favorites, follows, and reads! Thank you!
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Sarah wiped glistening droplets of sweat off her brow and rolled her yoga mat into a corner of the office. In the kitchen, she poured herself a tall glass of water, downed it, and couldn't be bothered to stick the dirty glass in the dishwasher.
"It is my birthday, after all," she joked with herself. "Almost."
The day had been fun. Gluten free pancakes (and syrup) with Toby, lunch with him and her parents, and a nice evening at home taking lots of well-wishing phone calls—including one from Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus.
Sarah loved her parents. She did…but, her birthday always left her feeling a bit empty. Unfulfilled. Plain and not magical. Her stepmother wanted to know why she was still single and why her friend circle was so small and ever-changing. Her father always hinted at her going back to acting.
"Back to," Sarah scoffed out loud. There wasn't anything to go back to. After the Labyrinth, she had faced the fact that acting was just something she did to try and impress her mother, who hadn't been around to see her act anyway. Childish magical thinking. Her mother didn't want her. Her mother neverwanted her. Sarah hadn't spoken to the woman in ten years now. So, it hurt extra when her father would ask her if she did any acting. She hadn't acted since high school, she didn't even want to act; it made her think of her mother, and she knew her father only wanted her to be a star just to spite and outshine her mother, Linda.
Not that he'd ever admit it.
After the Labyrinth, she had started calling Karen "mom," and made a greater effort to get along with her parents—despite their old-fashioned ideas.
Her guys from the Labyrinth had sung her a beautiful, off-key Happy Birthday. It was bitter sweet seeing them sometimes. As a kid, she'd talk to them two, three, four times a week. Then the weekly talks throughout college turned bi-weekly. Now she chatted monthly with them, and they didn't poof into her bedroom as often as they used to. (Rather, she didn't poof them over as often. Another less-than-ordinary miracle.) Truth be told, they were the best friends she had. And now, the oldest. Sarah hadn't kept up with anyone from high school. Heck, she hadn't wanted to. No one ever "got" her like Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus. She was imaginative, creative, spirited, and fiery.
In high school, than meant she was weird.
Sarah smiled to herself. Look at her getting all nostalgic. "You're such a sap," she said out loud as she poured herself a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
The day had been fun.
She'd never tell her parents she wished they still did cake and candles. The restaurant her parents (undoubtedly Karen) had chosen was way too upscale for that. Things like wishing for candles on cake and other such "childish" whims were what made her weird in college. Everyone wanted to smoke and drink and hook up. Vapid "past times," if you could call them that. Sarah wanted to have real conversations. Get to know people's souls. She could hardly get a date that didn't end in having someone try to shove their tongue down her throat. The only camaraderie she had found was in her college D n' D group. But, being the only girl…the nerds weren't exactly the best at keeping their cool when Sarah was around. They were always trying to impress her, but were too afraid to ask her out. Sarah sighed to herself. At least they had listened when she talked. And D n' D was super fun.
Weird in high school. Weird in college. And according to her parents, weird in adulthood.
She had always told her guys she'd visit again someday. Of course, they talked about how that might be dangerous, what with you-know-who and his magical crystal balls. Was he dangerous, Sarah asked herself…? If a guy kidnaps babies, it's kinda a red flag, she thought, scoffing again and taking a drink from her glass. Kidnapping babies, drugging and enchanting her, starting a war, nearly drowning them in the Bog of Eternal Stench…yes, he was dangerous—especially the whole drugging her (and attempting to kiss her!) part.
Sarah sighed. She couldn't believe she had, more than once, considered giving herself to the Goblin King just to escape her boring life. She thought about moving Underground more often as the years went by. Anything would be better than the torture of the mundane. Everyone who met Sarah said how special she was, how truly magical a girl she was. Magical a woman. But all Sarah could do was miss the Labyrinth. Truth be told, she hated her life. Her boring, mundane, totally-stable and comfortable life. If she was so special, why wasn't her life?
"Screw it," she said, practically ripping a kitchen cabinet open. She grabbed a box of matches and rummaged around in her junk drawer until she found some old, nearly spent birthday candles. She took out the brightest pink one she could find.
"I don't care if I'm childish. I'm going to find magic in my life. Wherever I am." She looked around for something to stick it in. A blueberry muffin, and a stale one at that, was hardly birthday cake.
"But it'll have to do," she said, picking off a little spot of penicillin. It looked a little silly, sitting alone in the middle of her kitchen island. Who needs a plate on their birthday? She stuck the candle in and lit it, throwing the spent match into the sink. The clock read 11:59. She closed her eyes.
"I wish…" She opened her eyes. The last time she said those words, it hadn't gone so well… Screw it. No harm in a little childish fun. She was sick and tired of her normal, "adult" life. Pink candles never hurt anybody.
"I wish for a magical birthday."
12:00
Sarah blew out her candle and opened her eyes.
Before her sat a slightly stale blueberry muffin with a pink candle burnt down dangerously close to its top.
Sarah didn't care. She was glad she had done something sweet and silly and totally her own and for herself alone. She smiled. "I can't wait to see what this birthday brings me." She turned around to dump the muffin and candle into the sink.
Inches from her stood the Goblin King.
"Was this what you were expecting?" he asked, smiling wide like a snake. The muffin dropped to the ground and rolled across the floor. Sarah backed into the island, ramming her lumbar on its edge. She fumbled around to the other side, hoping what little space the island put between them was enough. She wanted to scream. To shout. To chastise him for kidnapping and daring to show up.
"You," was all she managed to get out.
"Oh, Sarah, I thought you couldn't wait to see what this birthday brought you? Am I not what you wanted?"
The Goblin King wore a black cape that was connected to modest yet striking shoulder pads and lined with light blue silk. His loose, black shirt with puffy sleeves was layered under a skin-tight vest of black leather. Shining out from the wide and deep neckline of his shirt was that strange, crescent medallion he always wore. Midnight blue leggings that kept no secrets were tucked into knee-high, black leather boots. Sarah saw that midnight blue planets and brilliant gold stars were stitched into the leather; sheer adrenaline surged and she took in every detail of him. From his white-blond hair to his unignorable bulge, she took him and his entirety in. He was exactly as she remembered. He was as beautiful and terrifying as he was that night he appeared in her parents' room. He was minus the domineering collar and dragon-scaled breast plate, but he was just as imposing as ever.
"You can't be here. I defeated you," she said, the strength in her tone not faltering for one moment; she would not be intimidated.
"Oh pish." He rolled his eyes and slumped against the sink dramatically. "Running a Labyrinth and inciting old magic doesn't even have anything to do with me. Hardly. You ran the Labyrinth. You got that mewling quim of a brother back. You blocked me with your will…" He spoke slowly and deliberately. "But me? Iiiii?" He stood up straight and walked slowly forwards. "I am very much undefeated."
He lunged at her.
Sarah scrambled back around towards the sink. Jareth cackled from the position she had just occupied on the other side of the island. He toyed with her, faking to the left and to the right. He grinned with wild glee. Sarah made a dash for the door, her socks making her run more of a slippery scramble than a run. Jareth lunged and caught her by the arm. He jerked her around to face him, placing his body between her and the door. With her free hand Sarah gouged at the Goblin King's face. He let out a roar as her nails raked across his cheek. His grip loosened and Sarah broke free, running back towards the bedroom. She slammed the door shut and locked it. Her chest heaved and she stared at the blood under her nails. After a moment of disbelief, her mind snapped back into action. She kept a handgun in the nightstand, where there was also a pencil she could use as shiv for good measure. She turned to retrieve her weapons and found the Goblin King standing there.
"You know, Sarah, I was hoping to end up in the bedroom, but I didn't think you wanted it so soon. But if you insist…" He strode towards her.
"Stop!" she screamed, holding up an arm. To her surprise, he did. "Jareth…please, don't."
The king narrowed his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back. He took slow steps towards her, swinging his legs in front of him as if taking a stroll.
"Sarah," he said, his voice hushed and low. Sarah retreated until her back was flush up against the door. With each word he spoke, he took a step. "You…are…mine."
He was so close, Sarah could feel his warm breath on her face. She turned from him and closed her eyes, shuddering. She felt his fingertips wander down her cheek and snake back into her hair. Jareth traced a thumb around the edge of her ear, letting it find its way down to her collarbones. He drew a finger lazily back and forth along the beautiful ridge that protruded from her smooth skin. She was delectable. With his free hand he took her by the chin and turned her face towards him. With the other hand, he took her by the wrist.
"Sarah, look at me."
Gripped by fear, she opened her eyes.
"We're going home, pet."
With that, Sarah's bedroom faded away, and a new horizon began to emerge from the darkness.
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