Jareth sat perched on the wide ledge of a tall arched window in the Goblin Castle, his gaze distant as he looked out over the winding paths of the Labyrinth. The fading light of day bathed the twisted landscape in shades of amber and shadow, the maze sprawling endlessly into the horizon.
In his hand, he conjured a dreaming crystal. It shimmered faintly, its surface swirling with soft, hypnotic hues. The crystal felt light, almost fragile, as if it contained the very essence of possibility.
He held it between his fingers for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a small flick of his wrist, he sent it floating into the air. It bobbed lazily for a moment before drifting out the window, carried by an unseen current. Jareth watched it go, his eyes following its graceful trajectory as it disappeared into the distance, heading toward Sarah.
For a fleeting moment, something in his chest tightened… a feeling he couldn't quite place. But he dismissed it quickly, his lips curling into a faint smirk. The crystal would do its work. It always did.
He stood, the trailing edges of his cloak sweeping across the stone floor as he turned and strode back to his rooms.
The solar was warm, filled with golden light from a crackling hearth and the low hum of conversation. Garthan was seated with Randel and Lily at a small table laden with goblets and half-eaten platters, glancing up as Jareth entered the room.
Everyone at the table froze.
Jareth was dressed in a flowing shirt of sheer black fabric that seemed more decorative than practical, tucked into high-waisted, black tights that clung with scandalous precision. His boots were polished to a mirror shine, and another sparkling cloak flowed behind him, this one with a more reasonable collar.
Garthan, mid-sip of his drink, promptly spewed the contents across the table, his eyes wide with incredulous disbelief. "Oh—by the Fates!" he sputtered, coughing violently as he tried to compose himself.
Randel, on the other hand, was less composed. He burst into raucous laughter, doubling over and clutching his sides. "What… what the hell are you wearing?" he choked out between guffaws.
"Stop it," Lily hissed, elbowing Garthan sharply in the ribs.
"He looks like…" Garthan started, then winced as Lily's elbow found its mark again. "Fine! Fine!"
Jareth, oblivious to the spectacle, continued his purposeful stride, his thoughts elsewhere. He didn't so much as glance at them as he passed, his focus entirely on reaching his chamber. Randel continued to laugh, tears streaming from his eyes as Jareth left the room.
And once the doors closed behind him, even Lily lost the battle and gave out a smothered giggle.
The heavy doors of Jareth's chamber closed behind him with a soft thud, sealing him away from the rest of the castle. The room was dim, illuminated only by the flickering light of a few candles.
He crossed the room to his settee, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly as he sank onto the plush cushions. The day's events, the machinations of the Labyrinth, and the delicate balance of its magic all pressed on him, a constant weight that only seemed to grow heavier with time.
But tonight, something felt different.
As he leaned back, propping one arm over the settee's curved backrest, a strange foreboding settled over him. It wasn't the usual anticipation that came with a Runner nearing the dreaming crystal's influence. This was something else… something darker, quieter, a faint but persistent whisper in the recesses of his mind.
Jareth frowned, his eyes narrowing as he tried to identify the source of the feeling. He couldn't. It was intangible, like a shadow just out of reach.
With a soft sigh, he closed his eyes, willing the unease to dissipate. "It's nothing," he murmured to himself, though the words felt hollow. "The crystal will do its work, as it always has."
He shifted slightly, letting the cushions cradle him as sleep began to creep in. But as his breathing slowed and his mind drifted, the sense of foreboding lingered, curling in the corners of his consciousness like a warning he couldn't yet understand.
And though he couldn't have said why, he had the feeling that he had just made a terrible mistake.
Sarah leaned against the rough bark of the tree, her body limp and unresponsive, as though the forest itself was cradling her. The peach's magic coursed through her, wrapping her mind in a fog of shimmering colors and dreamlike melodies. The world around her seemed distant, blurred at the edges, her awareness fading in and out like a flickering candle.
Her head lolled to the side, and she noticed something floating just above her. A crystal. It hovered gently, its surface smooth and perfect, glowing faintly with an ethereal light. It turned slowly in the air, catching fragments of the forest's dim light and refracting them into soft rainbows.
She stared at it, her expression bemused, the fog in her mind dulling her usual sharpness. The crystal's surface rippled, and for a moment, she thought she saw movement within it… a flicker of motion, a figure spinning gracefully.
As Sarah's gaze fixed on the crystal, the image inside grew clearer. A female shape twirled within the depths of the sphere, her figure luminous and impossibly elegant. She was clad in a flowing ball gown, its fabric shimmering like moonlight. With each pirouette, the gown flared, and the figure's movements were both fluid and mechanical, like the delicate dancer on Sarah's music box.
Sarah's lips parted slightly in recognition. The dancer...she thought hazily. She had seen this figure before, countless times, atop her music box, twirling endlessly to the tune it played.
As if summoned by her memory, the haunting melody began to drift on the air. It wasn't coming from the forest, but from somewhere deep within her own mind. The soft, tinkling notes wove through the haze of the enchantment, wrapping around her heart like a lullaby.
The crystal floated closer, spinning slowly, its light growing brighter. Sarah couldn't tear her eyes away. The melody in her mind swelled, and the vision inside the crystal became more vivid. The dancer turned, her movements impossibly graceful, and Sarah felt herself being drawn toward it, as though invisible threads were pulling her soul forward.
Her body remained slumped against the tree, but her mind—her very essence—drifted toward the crystal.
The world around her faded further, the forest dissolving into shadows. The crystal was her only anchor now, its brilliance consuming everything else. She felt weightless, suspended in the moment, the pull of the crystal both gentle and irresistible.
Just before she was fully drawn into the crystal's dream, a fleeting thought surfaced in Sarah's mind, as soft and fragile as a whisper.
Jareth…
His name echoed faintly in the haze, a flicker of memory that made her heart ache. She wasn't sure why, but the thought of him felt like… safety, like an anchor she couldn't quite grasp.
Jareth… save me… please…
The thought faded as the crystal pulled her in completely. The haunting tune swelled one last time, and then everything went silent.
Jareth lay stretched across the settee in his chamber, one arm draped over his eyes to shield them from the faint glow of the candles burning in the room overhead. Sleep rarely came easily to him, and even now, his thoughts were restless, drifting in a haze of half-dreams and memories.
His mind wandered to Sarah. The girl had defied him, challenged him, and… if he were honest with himself… captivated him. Even now, he could feel the echoes of her presence within the Labyrinth, her determination an almost physical force threading through its magic.
There was something about her, something that unsettled him. She was no ordinary Runner; that much was clear. Her defiance, her courage, even her vulnerability… it was as though she had been crafted from contradictions, each one drawing him further into her orbit.
*She is calling for you*a voice whispered in the back of his mind. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but unmistakable. His heart felt it, an invisible thread tugging at his very core. For a fleeting moment, he thought he heard her voice, soft and pleading.
Jareth… save me… please…
The plea was so faint he wasn't sure if it was real, but it sent a shiver through him nonetheless. His chest tightened, his usual composure wavering. "Sarah," he murmured, his voice barely audible in the quiet chamber.
Before he could grasp the meaning of her call, something changed. The air around him thickened, charged with an unseen force. A presence, unsettling and unfamiliar, creeping into the edges of his consciousness.
Tendrils of power slithered toward him, invisible but unmistakable. They wrapped around him like silken cords, tightening with every passing second. He tried to move, to shake them off, but his limbs felt heavy, as though the magic was rooting him to the spot.
What is this? his mind hissed, its voice sharp with both anger and unease.
The tendrils coiled tighter, pulling at him with an unrelenting force. He summoned his will, pushing back with the full strength of his own magic. Sparks of energy crackled around him as he fought, his defiance radiating in waves. But the tendrils only grew stronger, their pull impossible to resist.
Let go of me! he snarled silently, the words reverberating through his mind. He reached out with his raw power as he tried to sever the invisible bonds. But they slipped through his grasp like smoke, their grip tightening as they dragged him toward some unseen destination.
Jareth's breathing quickened as the force began to consume him, pulling not just his body but his very essence. He could feel himself being unraveled, drawn away from the safety of his chamber and into something unknown.
The room around him dissolved into shadows, the familiar walls and furnishings melting away like sand in the wind. He was suspended now, weightless and powerless, the tendrils of magic dragging him through a void of shifting light and darkness.
He tried to call out, to demand answers, but his voice was swallowed by the oppressive silence. The only sound was the distant, haunting melody of a tune he didn't recognize but somehow felt he should.
And then, as abruptly as it had started, the pull shifted. He was no longer fighting against it. Instead, it carried him forward with a terrifying inevitability, drawing him toward something he couldn't yet see but instinctively feared.
Jareth clenched his fists. Whatever this was, whoever had dared to ensnare him in such a way, they would pay.
But beneath his anger, a single thought flickered, persistent and unbidden:
Sarah.
Author's Notes:
Yeah, this is the point where Sarah drags Jareth's consciousness into the dream crystal. He doesn't know it's her, yet. Imagine how scary that would be for him at this moment.