Chapter Five

Lounging indolently on the settee in his bedchamber, Jareth was lost in a lengthy but interesting treatise on magic and engineering. Just as he was getting to a rather intriguing section on using magic to power steam engines, a soft knock sounded at his door. Frowning at the interruption, he called out, "Enter." To his bewilderment, it was Sir Didymus.

"Sir Didymus, this is a surprise," he said, as he motioned the creature to come in. Jareth knew it had to be a matter of relative importance for Sir Didymus to disturb him in his private chamber.

"I apologize for the late hour, Sire, but I knew that you would want this right away." He held out what looked like an envelope from Above.

Jareth raised a puzzled brow. "A missive from Above? At this hour? Who is it from?"

Sir Didymus gave him a sly little smile. "Why, from the Champion, of course."

Jareth froze. "The Champion. You mean…"

"Lady Sarah. She asked me to deliver this to you," said Sir Didymus with a bow, the sly smile having turned into a full grin.

Jareth reached out a hand that thankfully didn't tremble and took the envelope. Sir Didymus bowed again and smartly exited the chamber.

Jareth was left alone, staring at the missive in his hands, a mixture of joy and dread pooling in his stomach.

She'd written to him. She'd actually written to him.

Sitting back on the settee, the treatise on engineering and magic now forgotten, Jareth looked at the envelope and the writing scrawled upon it. It was very feminine, flowing but also somewhat stilted, as if it belonged to a creative personality who struggled with conformity.

He brought the envelope up to his nose to see if he could detect her scent. He could. It was faint, but it was there. Warm honey, jasmine, and nutmeg. The scent of his mate. He inhaled deeply, savoring it. It had been so long…

Unable to put it off for much longer, Jareth delicately opened the envelope and withdrew the folded papers inside. It was standard Aboveground paper, with blue lines that ostensibly helped the writer keep their lettering straight. There were several pages. Taking a deep breath, he unfolded the letter and began to read it.

To: Jareth, The King of the Goblins, Master of the Labyrinth

So, she does know my name.

Greetings, Your Highness. I hope this letter finds you well. I also hope that you will pardon my impertinence in writing to you after so many years. While it might be arrogance on my part to think that you remember me at all, I can't help but feel that there is something… unfinished regarding my time in the Underground.

Indeed, dear girl. There is the small matter of making you my queen that remains.

I admit to being a bit nervous at the thought of having made a powerful enemy in you, despite the assurances from almost all of my Underground friends that you don't hold any malice for me.

Almost all. He could well imagine which of her friends didn't share that opinion.

To be honest, for the first year or so after my Run, I was paranoid that you were angry at me and that I could expect some kind of retribution for solving the Labyrinth.

This startled him. He knew she feared him, not that he could blame her, really, but he didn't realize that some of what she feared was retribution from him.

As time went on, I realized that this kind of pettiness was beneath you and an unfair assumption on my part. That's what it all boils down to, assumptions. I made a lot of them, some turned out to be true and others that were really, really wrong. It's funny how time and distance can make things so much clearer.

Yes, yes it can. It certainly gave me a clearer view of all the mistakes I made regarding you.

Let's start with my first assumption… that you "stole" Toby. From the moment you appeared to me, through several years after my Run, I told myself that you had snatched him, unprovoked. I believed this so strongly that even after I won, I really thought you'd show up someday to steal Toby again. I used to get up in the middle of the night, just to check on him.

So, that was why she would get up every night. He felt an inexplicable sadness at this.

Believing this, I was able to keep myself in a state of… I guess you could say righteous anger. After all, I was a heroine, right? Going forth to save my brother from the man who tore him away from me. By painting you as an evil kidnapper, I avoided looking too closely at how we ended up in this situation to begin with.

The reality is that I am the one who asked for it to happen.

What was it you told me? "What's said, is said." The words that allowed you to take Toby in the first place came from my mouth. It wasn't you who put Toby in danger, it was me. Although I didn't really mean for him to be taken away, the fact remains that I made the wish. If I've learned anything in all these years, it's that actions have consequences. You made me face up to those consequences. In a way, I should be grateful that you even gave me a chance to make things right by running the Labyrinth and winning my brother back.

Jareth grinned. Well, at least she isn't holding the whole baby snatching thing against me anymore.

This leads me to my second assumption, that my life was in danger throughout my run. While my friends all agree that the Labyrinth can be lethal, it occurred to me that even with all the tricks and traps I suffered, I couldn't really point to a moment where I was in actual physical danger. The cleaners come to mind, and honestly, I was scared to death when they appeared in that tunnel. It wasn't until I remembered that even Hoggle was able to outrun them (not to mention that conveniently placed wall section that brought us to safety) that I realized that hurting me was never your intention at all. You could've hurt me in a thousand ways during my run, but you didn't. If anything, the tools for my escape were always put within my grasp. This led me to understand that at least on some level, you were trying to play fairly.

Well, maybe not fairly, to be precise. And while she was right, he didn't mean any harm to her and took active steps to prevent it, what she didn't realize was that the Labyrinth took a liking to her as well. Even if he'd wanted to harm her, the Labyrinth itself wouldn't have allowed it.

This brings me to my third assumption, or maybe more precisely, my third issue. The one part of my run that would leave me waking up with the shakes and drenched in a cold sweat. The Peach Incident.

At this, Jareth felt a flood of unease. Something about that whole interlude had never sat right with him, either. True, it was where he first tasted her emotional scent, the moment that her heart recognized him as her future mate (even if she was too young to understand it), But no matter how much he tried to avoid thinking about it… he knew exactly why she ran away from him and why she continued to fear allowing him anywhere near her. He just couldn't bear to face it or what it meant.

According to Sir Didymus, this is a standard practice to shave away time from a runner. He told me that I would've spent no more than an hour inside the Peach Dream before waking up anyway. That might be true, but trying to burn off some of my time isn't what turns my stomach. No, what makes me sick is that you sent me a piece of fruit (through my friend, no less) that had either a drug or a magical enchantment that sedated me in some way.

A Fae trick, to be sure. Jareth felt a wave of self-disgust at the thought.

In your world, it might just be a "standard practice" to intoxicate a runner by sending them a food or drink item that's been tampered with. I can tell you that in my world, it is a morally reprehensible act, one that we actually put people in prison for. In the Aboveground, there is only one reason a man would have to drug a female this way, and while I don't believe that this was your intention, you can imagine what it looked like from my point of view.

I can, indeed. He gave a soft groan, feeling a little nauseous at having his worst fears confirmed.

I'm not trying to tell you how to run your Labyrinth, I swear I'm not, but talking about it to Sir Didymus led me to think that you might not know how repulsive that whole episode had been for me (and would be for any other girl that followed). It's part of the reason I've been so afraid these last few years. I've been torn between wanting to thank you for an otherwise amazing experience and running away in terror at the thought of ever meeting you again. You can guess which option Hoggle voted for. It was Sir Didymus who convinced me to at least try to reach out and clear the air.

Hoggle again. While their relationship was always somewhat strained (although for the life of him, Jareth didn't know why) the incident with the peach turned Hoggle from a dutiful if resentful subject to practically an open enemy. Now that he had finally allowed himself to face up to it, he realized that he had not only perpetrated on Sarah what in her world was a crime but forced her friend to take part in it. It took every ounce of his willpower to keep from being overcome with despair.

At the very least, I did want to express my thanks for creating the mirror portal. You didn't have to keep a way open for my Underground friends to stay in contact with me, yet you did. You can't imagine how much I've come to depend on my relationships with my friends, especially while living in a world that is going insane around me. I thank you for the opportunity to meet them and more importantly, for letting me keep them.

She didn't know that they were there to keep their future queen safe, but Jareth would never disclose otherwise. That she developed such close relationships with them all only served to prove how eminently suited she was to rule at his side.

Besides… he knew how lonely she had been, and he was glad to have been able to do something nice for her, even if he couldn't interact with her himself.

Because of you, I was given an adventure that most people only dream of having. For so many years, I had dreamed of being the star of my own fairy tale, to face difficult challenges and overcome incredible odds only to shine through in the end. You gave me that. It's an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

As will I, my love. As will I.

I understand now what you meant when you said I exhausted you, trying to keep up with my expectations. You were right. Everything I wanted my story to be… you provided. You did all of this because I wished for you to, only to have me insult and resent you for it. For that, I sincerely apologize. I'm not sure if you'll ever forgive me for my assumptions about you. I don't know if I even deserve forgiveness. And, although I know you haven't asked for it, I forgive you too, for scaring the hell out of me and for sending that damned peach.

At this, Jareth expelled the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. Sir Didymus had been right, patience paid off in the end. Perhaps there was hope, after all.

For what it's worth, my run through the Labyrinth has taught me so much. I learned to think through what I say, to take responsibility for my own actions and that they have consequences. I learned never to take appearances for granted and appreciate the people (and creatures) around me. I honestly believe that my time there has given me the strength and confidence to face both the challenges that have come my way and those that lie ahead of me. I guess you could say that meeting you had the effect of making me a better person. Thank you for all of it.

Touched, Jareth smiled.

In conclusion, while I understand that you have a lot more on your plate than corresponding with a petulant former Runner, if you'd ever like to reminisce a bit on old times, I'd love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Sarah Williams

Oh, you will hear from me, Precious. You will definitely hear from me.