Chapter 4:

Believer

Sarah had no words.

And trust her, for an English major having no words was a rare moment.

She could remember being in college on the first day of one of her writing classes and meeting an odd girl that would soon become one of her best friends. They were supposed to take stories that they loved or knew very well and rewrite them with a twist. She wrote about her experience in the Labyrinth and the only person that didn't think it was ridiculous was that girl.

Sarah had given herself a better purpose in that story, trying to make a reason for it.

"Sarah, dear."

She was awakened from her day-dream by the soft words of Sir Avian.

"Sarah, we need you to stay with us." He reiterated. "If you care about this land at all, about the Labyrinth and the lessons it teaches, the home it provides to so many creatures and lost children, will you please try to be the Believer?"

"You said that the last Believers were fae and… I'm not certain. How am I supposed to fill that sort of a position? I'm just a twenty three year old girl." Sarah said taking her hand back from Sir Avians and setting down the cup of tea. "I am so incredibly not special, don't you realize?"

"That isn't true Sarah." Came that soft voice of Jareth, speaking up for the first time in what seemed like forever. "If my father thought you were special then you are. You have always been connected to the Labyrinth. Why do you think you've always known the story, you've been here three times in one life, when most only come here once. You agreed to come even without knowing why. You are special to this land."

Sarah shook her head at his words, wanting- needing to get air, to get away from here for even just a few moments, and they didn't stop her as she fled the cottage just as she used to flee the room as a teenager, to cry and angst about how unfair her life was, but this time it was because she needed to make a choice.

She wasn't ready to make that sort of decision- to become a caretaker and savior for a land that through all the ups and downs she had loved and dreamt about ever since she was just a child. She did not know where she was running to but she did not care, and her feet took her further into the spring forest and away from all her problems. After what felt like years she let herself stop and sit next to a large lake of clear water and she took a moment to look at her reflection. She still looked like herself, long brown hair and brown eyes, an expression like she was deep in thought at all time. The water was soothing to her, and she dropped a hand to the water to create small waves traveling outward and uncovering a scene in the depths of the water.

She was acting onstage- actually, no, she wasn't. That was her mother. The theater was small but the audience was joyous and excited, and she looked so happy to be doing what she loved. The scene changed to her father and Karen reading a story to Toby, and she recognized the love that they held for their family. She really didn't mind Karen and she was part of her family, even if they didn't get along all the time. She felt bad for blaming Karen for her mother leaving, which wasn't true at all, but that was something they had to deal with as with all things- some days were better than others.

The scene shifted again, this time to a familiar head of light brown hair and glasses hanging on the tip of her nose. It was her friend Bailee, working hard on the set of a new play she had been able to help design. She was the one who had given her the David Bowie tape, that tape that had put everything into motion here. Scenes moved through faster now, showing her Ludo, Hoggle, Ambrosius, Sir Didymus- she saw Sir Avian as well, and finally Jareth.

It wasn't difficult for her to understand that those who she saw she cared about.

All the information coming at her at once was making her confused, but now she was sorting things out in her head a bit, and from the words Sir Avian had spoken she understood so much more than she would ever have thought to. Eight years ago Ezequiel had died, and eight years ago she had run the Labyrinth, and it wasn't surprising that Jareth would've been in deep pain at that time, pain he could not show her so instead he embodied the Goblin King even more so, being condescending and just wanting to be alone. And she had seen him as nothing more than a - a monster.

Your eyes can be so cruel.

The guilt of her own actions weighed on her shoulders, and though she knew it wasn't her fault she still felt so terrible about it. She decided that she would clear the slate, and approach Jareth in a new way- like meeting a stranger. The scene on the water blurred and was replaced by her own reflection with Jareth behind her, and when she turned he was there, not speaking but watching.

"I'm sorry." Sarah said, "I can't ima-"

"There's no time for that." Jareth said sparking her confusion.

"What do you mean no time?"

He pointed to the far edge of the lake where a darkness had crept in, poisoning the life around it and killing the trees. When she turned to look she realized that it was moving and many dark creatures with deep red eyes were traveling, surprising her enough that she recoiled from the water and standing. At her movement the dark creatures made a horrible sound she could only imagine to be that of nightmares, and it started moving towards them faster.

"Take my hand." Jareth commanded, Goblin King showing himself and she didn't question it. In an instance they were back at the castle.

"What was that?" Sarah demanded, moving back from him as she tried to catch her balance.

"That is what is destroying the Labyrinth." Jareth said.

"That is what's destroying the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked in disbelief. Those things, those creatures that looked like shadows with red eyes spreading darkness over the beauty of the Labyrinth, taking its very essence- that was what they were preparing to fight? It didn't seem possible for something like that to have taken over so easily, the Labyrinth had always put up a fight, even when she was trying to cheat while walking through it.

"I've just said that." Jareth said in slight annoyance.

"It hides in shadows and under beds. It is within the pages of the books we forget to read, underneath the objects that lay forgotten." Jareth said, quoting his father's' words from so many years before. "The runners help the Labyrinth gain strength, but not so much as a true Believer."

She was still a bit unbalanced from the sudden transport back to the castle, and she let herself sit down a moment to realize what had just happened. The doors at the side opened and in came Sir Didymus and Sir Avian, as well as Ambrosius which surprised her, but nevertheless she was happy to see him.

"We've sent the message to Hoggle and he has said he is coming." Sir Didymus said to Jareth, and for a moment Sarah wondered how long she had been sitting at that lake.

"Will we see Ludo?" She asked out of the blue as she stood once more, curious about her larger, rock loving friend. A silence fell across the room and she looked between them in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Ludo was taken by the Darkness." Sir Avian said. "As well as many creatures in the Labyrinth. The Fierys were the first we noticed, as well as a few goblins disappearing on the outer edges." Before she could ask what she could do he continued.

"We do not know what is happening to the creatures taken." He stated, taking her hand gently as he had before. "The only thing we can do is fight, fight and try to help restore the Labyrinth to its full power."

"I don't know if I can." Sarah looked to Jareth again. She was angry with him once again, angry he had used her dreams against her, to get her to come here, and angry he had let this go so far. "You couldn't have explained?"

"I hoped that your own wishes to see the Labyrinth again, that it was calling to you and you to it would've been enough for you to want to come. But no, you always have to presume it is my fault." Jareth replied, throwing up a hand. "You would not have those dreams, the capability to use the powers of the crystal as I do, if you did not have at least some power. You know your own story."

"What story?" Sarah asked, trying to figure out what he meant.

"The story about a girl and a King of the Goblins. The story about a poor girl who was overworked and hadn't figured life out quite yet, a fifteen year old girl with special powers. The girl the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with. And why shouldn't he? She was made up to be so much more than meets the eye. And then all he found was someone who took and took and took, gifts given, time spent, magic lived, and then threw it back in his face because she had made a mistake."

Oh.

The story she had told Toby eight years ago, with slight alteration.

"You don't love me." Sarah retaliated after a beat. She could feel the uncomfortable chill of words unspoken hang between them, the stares of the goblins and Sir Didymus and Avian on them as she spoke. It was something that neither of them had discussed, with each other or with others. "It was supposed to be a fairy tale. Goblins were not supposed to show and take away that child. You were cruel."

Your eyes can be so cruel… Just as I can be so cruel.

She turned to Sir Avian. "Is there a way I can give my power to the Labyrinth without having to stay here? I have a life at home, a family and friends and a future."

"I am afraid not Sarah. Not a way that we know of. We need you." Sir Avian spoke thoughtfully, trying to bring back a calm into the tenseness of the situation that had seeped in like cold. "You are still influenced from the Darkness, emotions run high as always with it, it feeds off of your anger and resentment. We don't have much time but I believe that it is necessary that you think this over after calming down."

Sarah nodded, not really wanting to secede to that. She knew what her choice would be, but any way to get out of this room and away from those that made her so angry and confused she would take.

"At dinner then, we will discuss this again. And we will be prepared for whatever you so choose. The fate of our land may very well depend on you." Sir Avian spoke calmly.

No pressure.

She returned to the room she had woken up in that morning, pleased to see a version of her walkman had survived the trip. Putting headphones on she drowned out her thoughts with music, and even though he bore a distinct resemblance to Jareth, she did not mind the songs of David Bowie, and let the lyrics carry her through the hours.

"And you, you can be mean

And I, I'll drink all the time

'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact

Yes we're lovers, and that is that

Though nothing, will keep us together

We could steal time, just for one day

We can be heroes, forever and ever

What'd you say?"

Sometimes a person just has to be alone for a while to become their truest self.

As humans we become hundreds of different people our lives depending on who we're with and where we go. With our best friend we are one, a group of friends another, our family yet another. We are different people at home, work, school, at concerts, in coffee shops, under stress, going shopping, watching a play, meeting new people, and it's all these people combined that is 'me'. But when there's no one else around, when you're alone at home or in this case a nice room that has been prepared for you, you can start to discover your truest self.

Sometimes we don't know who that is, or have lost that self. It scared Sarah that she had been so affected by something in the Labyrinth- Jareth or that Darkness or all the information being thrown at her- so much that when she sat down to just be alone she was left trying to figure out why she had gotten that way.

Yes, Sir Avian had been right about needing some alone time, some time to process about everything she had just learnt and let it settle in her mind. It had been about an hour since the batteries in her walkman had run out, and she had plenty of time to mull over everything she had said earlier. It wasn't fair of her to say those things, to call out that which she hadn't ever attempted to discuss with Jareth, especially after she had just promised herself to give him a clean slate now that she understood the Labyrinth better than she had before, but something in her had made her so angry that he didn't tell her why he wanted her to come here. Angry and… sad.

Smad?

She needed to apologize, maybe even have an actual discussion like grownups with them. And make that decision. She hoped that in the very least she would be able to visit her family, her friends… even if she had to give up her life. The only thing that Sarah knew for sure was that she wasn't going to become the reason why the Labyrinth fell into the wrong hands.

A little while ago a goblin had brought her some spare clothes for dinner, something a little dressier than she was used to but she supposed that considering this was still the castle in the goblin city and she was still having dinner with a king and other knights- it wouldn't hurt her to wear a simple skirt and blouse, and she was trying not to worry too much about everything she would have to discuss.

A quiet knock on the door drew her attention away from her thoughts. She got up and went to open up the door to see who was there. Before she had even had the chance to open the door she heard the familiar, half croak half croon voice of her dear friend Hoggle. "Sarah? I heard about earlier and wanted to check on ya."

She opened up the door and offered a hug which he received willingly and she couldn't help but smile. It's sort of funny how great hugs can feel sometimes and how much you just miss them. Living alone had been fine for the most part but there gets to be a certain coldness that creeps into your shoulders and arms, the type of cold that no matter how many blankets you curl up in you just can't seem to warm up, that can only be rectified by a hug. Pulling back Sarah took a moment to look at Hoggle, and noted how he had changed since the last time she had seen him and their friends, reminding her again just how much she really didn't know about all of them.

"How are you, Hoggle?" Sarah asked after a moment of searching for the right words.

"Everyone's been focused on trying to keep the Labyrinth safe, which isn't as easy as ya' would think." Hoggle said shifting a bit on his feet. "I go around and make sure tha' no new darkness is showing up where we have beings living."

So it had been going on for a while then, and worse than she thought. She nodded a bit.

"Can I ask you something? About the last time we were in the Labyrinth." Sarah asked him, wanting to know a few things about their friendship.

"We have a spot of time." Hoggle said going to sit down for a moment. "They said you would likely have questions." That didn't make her feel any better about this.

"You kept going back and forth between being trustworthy in the Labyrinth? Why?" She asked first after thinking things over.

"I was supposed to help you but I was also supposed to, in my thoughts, be sort of an idea of what happens when ya let yourself get pushed around by everyone." Hoggle explained thoughtfully, looking to her with what she hoped was encouragement.

"I was trying to thank you for saving me- and when I kissed your cheek, you kept asking me not to and then we were in the bog of eternal stench. I never thought about why you wouldn't want me to thank you." Sarah continued, wondering if her suspicions had any actual basis of meaning. Arguably that could've been a consent issue… but with the peach later…

"That has always been a bit confusing fer me as well." Hoggle said getting up. "Because Jareth said that he would send me into the bog of eternal stench if ya did, even though it would've been of his own will. Honestly, Sarah, I think he was just a bit jealous of the possibility."

Oh.

"Anyway Sarah if ya don't have any more questions I really think we oughta get going to see the others. Have you made your decision whether to help us?" Hoggle asked, offering a hand. "No one will judge you if ya don't want to give up your life Sarah."

"No, I know that." Sarah said taking his hand and heading from the room.

"I've decided that I'm going to do it."

Entering into the grand dining room Sarah was reminded that she was in a castle in the underground, taking in the beauty of the hall that they had all gathered into sit and marveling at all the food that was set upon the table. Although she had expected to see only Jareth, Sir Avian, and Sir Didymus this was very much not the case. Goblins, fairies, elves, humanoids, and creatures she had no name to connect to sat at the table, all chatting and sipping beverages from mugs and glasses of all shape and size. They were dressed in assorted styles varying from old renaissance lace and muslin to more modern cotton and silk, and to coverings like she had never seen before with beautiful colors and glistening crystals. She made a mental note to thank Jareth and his goblins for sending her a change of clothes, because she realized now that in her jeans and sweater she would've been terribly underdressed for this dinner.

Escorted by Hoggle she made her way towards the head of the long table to their seats, seeing Jareth and Sir Didymus chatting among the others at the table as old friends, discussing something with a serious expression. She had vaguely wondered before what it was like to live in old times of war, and in a world of magic like this she knew that it could be much, much worse than what she had seen people go through. They all seemed so connected, so deep in thought and the murmur of all their conversations mixed to one until she realized she had lost track of where Jareth had gone.

"Allow me to help you to your seat."

Speak of the devil.

Jareth took her arm gently from Hoggle and led her to a chair near the head of the table, and she wondered what she would've done to deserve sitting there, forgetting their beliefs and her role in them. She realized she hadn't heard about what happened to the child and his father who was running. Taking her arm away from Jareth she sat down as he did, looking around for any signs of where that child may have gone.

"They are gone Sarah, you need not worry." Jareth spoke again, as if to read her mind. Looking to him she was caught by those mismatched eyes and she wondered how much she looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, eyes wide and trying to take in everything. "I trust you have made your decision?"

She didn't realize that the hall had fallen quiet at their conversation, and felt somewhat embarrassed to realize it was so. She nodded slightly in assertion, giving the final and most important "I will do it."

Jareth stood again to address the hall. "Ladies and Gentleman, goblins, fairies, elves, fae, birds and so much more. Over the past months we have all been dealing with the increased threat of the darkness as it encroaches upon our home and takes our friends. As you know that since my father, King Ezequiel passed away we have been searching for the Believer to help restore the Labyrinth's power." Murmurs ran through the crowd and suddenly Sarah felt eyes on her, "I, and I am sure you are as well, am pleased to inform you that we believe we have found The Believer." Cheers rang out and people smiled, approaching her to shake her hand and give encouraging words. She had done nothing and yet they treated her like someone famous and she felt off about it, undeserving. After a few moments things had settled down and food had been served, causing the spotlight to move off of her once more and she hadn't felt so relieved in a very long time. Dinner went on rather uneventfully after that, discussing with Sir Avian just exactly how they would go through the process of her becoming the Believer, fully and truly. A few people still came up to hug her, shake her hand, kiss her hand occasionally but she got a little more comfortable to it. The only thing that she felt uncomfortable with during the meal was knowing- feeling that Jareth was watching over her, especially in interactions with more unusual and strange meetings with people.

The five of them exited to a small office type room, full of books and trinkets just as Sir Avian and Sir Didymus's home was.

"Now you just wait here while we get the book and the pendant." Hoggle said to Sarah, leaving with Sir Didymus and Sir Avian into an adjoining room, all too conveniently leaving her alone with Jareth. The tenseness from earlier was still apparent between them and she wondered who would dare to break the silence, or if they even would. She couldn't stand it really, standing in the awkward silence with nothing but unease to fill the space between them.

"I'm sorry. About earlier. For over reacting." She said after a beat, all rushed out words and nervousness that seemed to make him smile so smugly, even for just a brief moment at her own flustered appearance.

"I am not one to judge you for past actions." Jareth said calmly, looking at one of the shelves of trinkets on the wall. "Especially given the fact that I over reacted to that as well. I had no right to talk about your story."

Sarah nodded a bit to his response. "You know, it seems like all we ever do is fight and apologize." She said gently. "I- I just want to try to give things a clean slate." He chuckled slightly at this and she wondered if she had said something wrong.

"A clean slate then. No more petty arguments about the past then?" Jareth questioned. Sarah nodded.

"Like meeting for the first time in a very long time." Sarah agreed. She offered a hand to shake with a small smile. She really hoped this would improve thing, even though she knew better than to hope that everything would be fixed. "Hello, I'm Sarah. I've been told I may be the next Believer."

"I am Jareth, the Caretaker. It seems we will be working together for a long time if things go smoothly." Jareth replied taking her hand gently.

"It's only forever." Sarah said, unable to help the reference.

"Let's just hope it's not long at all." Jareth replied, glancing towards the doorway. The other three had been standing there patiently watching.

"Sarah my dear, are you ready?" Sir Avian asked, book in hand. She nodded and Sir Didymus put an amulet into her hand, a beautiful sapphire cut into the shape of a butterfly, carved with symbols she didn't have the knowledge to decipher.

"Let us begin then."