Labyrinth More than meets the eye

"God damn it Toby! Be quiet!" Sarah cried, herself verging on tears as she rocked the screaming baby in her arms. Once again her step-mother and father had left her home alone to baby sit Toby, while they went off had had a nice night out. At first things were generally fine. She had gotten home a little late from the park, where she was rehearsing lines for her latest play—Romeo and Juliet, in which, of course, Sarah was playing Juliet. Her step-mother had been frustrated, and Sarah had complained. After that however, things were fine for a while. Toby was asleep, she ordered in some pizza, and got to watch her favorite movies. At about 9:00 that night, the horrors began. So now, here she was, half an hour later, still rocking the crying child while thunder and lightning crashed around them and rain pelted the windows. She had done everything—changed his diaper, gave him warm milk, sang to him even, but nothing seemed to help, and she was on her last nerve.

"Toby please, I'm about to cry!" She whimpered, alternating between rocking and bouncing the child.

"Would you like a story?" She cooed painfully.

"Hmm? I think you want a story. Hmm… let see. Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl," She began with a flourish. "She was a kind girl, and never asked for anything in return. One day however, the beautiful girl was tired of being pushed around, and frazzled that her baby brother won't stop crying!" She shouted angrily—Toby only cried louder. She groaned, placing the fussing child in his crib to wallow in his own sorrow.

"Ugh!" She cried stomping from the room and closing the door, leaving the child to mull in his own screams and tears. "And the girl wished that the baby would disappear—that someone would take the baby and take away all her problems!" Sarah continued, laughing at herself cynically. True, she never asked for anything in return, but that didn't mean she liked it. Quickly, almost unnoticeably so, the crying had stopped. Her face contorted for a moment and she opened the door and flicked the light switch.

"Great," She sighed when the lights didn't go on. "The power is out. This night just gets better and better." She said, wincing as a flash of lighting lit up the sky. She went to his crib, and her heart almost stopped. Toby wasn't there

"Toby! Toby where are you?" She called frantically. Sarah searched the room frantically. He couldn't have gotten out, the door was closed, better yet, how did he get out of his crib! Thunder clapped and the windows rattled, bursting open, the wind pushing at the curtains violently. Just before she could close the windows an owl flew in, taking the open window as an invitation to get out of the rain.

"Shoo! Get out" She swatted at the owl. It only hooted angrily and fluttered to the ground, staring at her intently. It was strange. It had the most mesmerizing miss matched eyes. All Sarah could do was stare, as if in a trance, only to be broken when the owl began to change. Right before her eyes the brown tipped barn owl transformed into the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on. His face was sharply angled, with high cheek bones, arched eye brows and strange glimmering eye markings accenting his mismatched eyes—one a firey brown, the other a steely ice blue. The man was strangely dressed, in tight black leggings, tall boots, a glimmering black chest plate with a fluttering midnight blue shirt covering his arms. Even the man's hands were covered—adorned by sleek leather gloves. The man stared at her with a cruel smirk and playful eyes and all around her she could hear snickers. She broke away from the man's intense stare and searched the room for the source of the snickers. All around the room in various places were small, odd looking creatures. They looked ragged and dirty, with large pointed feet, and mouths resembling something like a snout. They were oddly dressed as well, but not glamorously. They wore tattered tunics and pots and pans on their heads, and if Sarah weren't completely shocked she might have laughed at their strange appearance.

"I see you like the goblins," The man said with a hint of amusement bringing Sarah's attention back to him.

"Who are you?" She asked meekly, her voice barely above a whisper. The man smirked at her.

"Why, I'm the Goblin king Sarah, Ruler of the underground realm, keeper of dreams, and granter of wishes." He smiled cruelly at her.

"Why are you here?" She stammered. Most people might have screamed, called the police, hit the intruder with something heavy, or perhaps all of the above, but considering she had just seen an owl transform into a man in front of her eyes she was ready to believe just about anything.

"I think you know why," was his quick answer. She looked at him, a confused look crossing her face. She thought for a moment and her face lit up, quickly turning into a look of shock and horror.

"Toby! I didn't mean it! Please return him," She begged.

"What's said is said," He taunted. "Here, I have a gift for you." Sarah stopped suddenly. No one ever gave her things, with the exception of her birthday and Christmas.

"What is it?"

"It's a crystal, nothing more, but if you turn it this way, it'll show you your dreams. All you have to do is forget about the baby. Believe me, this isn't a gift for an ordinary girl." Sarah stared at the crystal in his hand. It seemed to glow with some unknown force, as if it were calling to her.

"Do you want it?" Sarah nodded slowly, reaching for it.

"Then forget about the baby," He said, pulling the crystal away. Sarah's gaze shot up to meet his, a determined look filling her eyes.

"No, no, I need to get Toby back, Please." She pleaded. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but I have to have my brother back." He sighed.

"Very well, if you want your baby brother back then you must transverse my Labyrinth. Look, through the window." He pulled her by the arm towards the window, his arm resting around her shoulder.

"It doesn't look that far, in fact it looks like a piece of cake," She said, trying to sound confidant. The Goblin King stood up straight looking down at the young girl with a harsh look on his forever young face.

"Fine, You'll have 13 hours to complete the Labyrinth, if you fail, your baby brother will be one of us forever. Believe me, it's harder than it looks. Turn back Sarah, turn back before it's too late."

* * *

Sarah shuddered, thinking back onto earlier events. She was now Inside the Castle beyond the Goblin City staring face to face with the goblin king. Since the events 13 hours ago she had met Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didimus, talked with a worm, bested the guards riddles, Fallen into an oubliette and made it out, escaped the cleaners, made it through the Firey Forest, danced with the Goblin King in crystal bubble dream, almost fallen into the Bog of Eternal Stench, beat the Goblin King's army while destroying the city In the process, and fought a metal giant. In the past 13 hours she had faced many dangers and hardships, each time surprising herself that she hadn't given up and that she had made it through each challenge alive.

"Goblin King, give me my brother, I've won your game." She said coolly. She was no longer afraid of him. She felt invincible.

"Sarah, just think of what I'm offering you. Your dreams. Everything you have ever wanted can be yours. All you have to do is ask. All I ask of you is to fear me, love me, and I will be your slave." His face was flat, but his eyes held so much sorrow and sadness. The goblin king both feared and loved the girl standing before him so confidently. He had always been drawn to her spirit. She was a creative imaginative girl, who's love of fantasy and things otherworldly drew him to her. He would watch her play make believe, playing the part of the heroin that slays the dragon and saves the kingdom and other various versions of her own fairytales. He found quickly that he was in love with her, or her soul at least, but as she got older he couldn't help but actually love her, Sarah Williams. He knew she was young, but he couldn't bear to lose her. She didn't know that, nor did she seem to understand what he had offered, what he had told her.

"No," She said, "I win, give him back," She said, swallowing a lump in her throat, trying her best to look menacing. Now it was her turn to smirk. "You have no power over me." The goblin king visibly winced, swallowing hard. He had to remind himself that kings don't cry.

"As you wish," Was his reply. The world crumbled and swirled and suddenly she was back in her living room.

* * *

Now it had been years since then. Sarah had grown up and so had Toby. Toby was blissfully unaware of the happenings. She was now 25 and living on her own. Soon after high school Sarah had published her first book. Quickly she became a well known author, publishing multiple books. However the more her fame grew, the more disconnected from society she felt. Sure, she would meet up with old high school and college friends, visit her family, and go to book signings. But it always seemed like there was something missing, or that the fast paced city life was getting in the way of her true happiness. She moved away into the mountains where she could be secluded from the busy city and nosy suburbs. She had sold a couple million copies of her latest book, and it had been made into a movie, so she had retired early, very early. She continued to write, but didn't publish.

Her last book had been about the labyrinth, and the happenings. Truly it was a memoire, but no one could know that. It was liked so much that they made it into a full blown movie, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. It was a wonderful rendition, but so far from the truth, but they stuck well to the book- minus the dancing and singing. The goblin king wasn't one for dancing and singing, jokes, pranks, and games yes—dancing and singing pop ballads, I think not. Writing the book was one of the most painful things she had ever done. As much as she tried for pass the Labyrinth off as a dream, she just couldn't. She would always find something that reminded her of her friends, the underground, and him. She always found herself comparing other men to him, and nothing was ever quite as good. Every owl she saw she expected to change into a handsome man and offer her her dreams and deepest desires. Her dreams and desires were him and him only. All she wanted was to see him once more. She hadn't been sure when she had fallen in love with the Goblin King, but it was obvious she was painfully head over heels.

"Sarah," Called a voice. She froze. She knew that voice. She turned around slowly to face the owner of the voice.

"Goblin King," She said, almost painfully. Now she knew the meaning of his offer, now she understood the pain in his eyes.

"Please, Jareth will do, I do believe we are beyond such formalities." He gave her a small sad smile.

"Why are you here? I didn't wish for anything." she asked him. She didn't want to play games.

"About this," He replied, holding up a book entitled "The Labyrinth".

"So you read it?"

"How could I not?" He laughed. "It's about me. It was very good. I can see why they made it into a movie. The detail and dialogue is masterful. You should be proud." Sarah smiled lightly.

"You're so conceited."

"I'm a King, how can I not be." Was his quick reply, his eyes dancing with laughter. She looked at him, examining him closely. His face was the same, ageless and smooth of any wrinkle, his lips thin but inviting, cheekbones high and prominent on his angled face. His eyes- oh god his eyes- pools of molten gold and sky swirling with emotion. She could still see the hurt and longing in his eyes, and she wondered if he could see the same in hers. His outfit wasn't quite as elaborate, but still he looked stunning. Tight black slacks with soft leather boots, and a white poet's shirt, open at the chest, with his triangular crescent pendant hanging on his pale muscular skin that seemed to glow. His hair glimmered in the pale light, feathery and flaxen in color. It looked so soft, and she desperately wanted to weave her fingers through his locks. She drew in a slow breath.

"So, how come I danced and sang in the movie, I mean really Sarah, do I seem like the type?" He smiled warmly at her, his sharp white fangs glittering.

"It was Jim Henson's Idea. The man is a genius in so many ways, and you have to admit it was pretty fun."

"But what about that Bowie fellow? My hair is NOT that poofy," He huffed. He was right, his hair was much more tame than portrayed in the movie. "Nor were you such a petulant brat for lack of proper words," Sarah smiled inwardly and giggled. It was Jareth's turn to examine the beauty in front of him. She hadn't changed a bit really. Sure, she was older and more developed, but her eyes were still the same, orbs of emeralds and moss that glittered with curiosity and creativity. How he loved her eyes.

"So, did you see the movie? I didn't know you take leisure in aboveground activities."

"Of course not, I was in the movie, I was the owl." He said with a grin. Sarah laughed.

"Why did you write the book Sarah?" He asked quietly. She looked at him for a moment and sighed.

"I missed the Labyrinth," She stated. "And you," She said bravely, her voice barely above a whisper. "When I returned from the Labyrinth initially, I convinced myself it was all an elaborate dream. That there was no underground, no Hoggle, Ludo, or Didimus, or you even. But it was as if the harder I tried to forget it, the more I would think about it. Everything around me reminded me of the Labyrinth in one way or another. I found that I was almost addicted to its prospect of existence. I longed for it. I thought that maybe, if I wrote the book I would feel better about it, but really it only made it worse. I relived it all, but through a different perspective." She sighed heavily. Jareth's breath caught in his throat. His angel, his Sarah had missed him. He thought his heart would jump out of his chest and begin to sing.

"Jareth?"

"Hmm?"

"I have to know something," She began slowly. "The ballroom, and the offer, everything you said, was it part of the game? Were you toying with my emotions and mind, hoping it would distract me from my goal? Or did you mean it?" She asked, her voice scratched with painful emotions. She looked away; she couldn't look at him. She expected him to laugh in her face, tell her that she was a silly girl with her head in the clouds. Of course it was part of the game! What would he have wanted with a silly 15 year old girl.

"I meant it Sarah, really I did," He said sadly, "But would it have made a difference if you knew?"

At that moment, something inside of her broke, and she began to cry. Small sobs wracking her slender frame.

"No, it wouldn't have," She sniffled. "I was 15 and Naive, I didn't know what it was you meant, what you were asking. Oh god what did I do! You probably hate me now," She cried curling into herself. Jareth stared at the crying girl, unable to move.

"Sarah, please, don't cry." He pleaded. "I don't hate you, I could never hate you." He stooped down to the girl lifting her chin up to face him. They stared into each other's eyes, Jareth's filled with hope and care, and Sarah's filled with worry and doubt.

"I could never hate you," he said again, wiping the tears from her emerald orbs. Sarah continued to gaze at him with disbelief.

"Look, I have a gift for you," He said, giving her a crooked silly smirk. "This is not a gift for anyone, or any girl. In fact, it's a gift only for the champion of the Labyrinth and the woman who holds the heart of the Goblin King." He brought his hand up procuring a crystal on his finger tips. "And if you turn it this way," He said, twirling it expertly from hand to hand. "It will tell you if I'm lying or not," he said, his eyes twinkling with laughter once again. Sarah laughed with happy disbelief. Jareth didn't hate her, in fact he seemed more than happy that she realized what he was offering.

"I don't need it, I can tell you're not lying," She said softly. "So what, you aren't going to offer me my dreams and deepest desires?"

"No, not this time Sarah." Sarah winced at this. "You have them all. Fame, fortune, success."

"No, those aren't my dreams. I just happen to be lucky. I don't have the one thing I want the most."

"What is it Sarah, just tell me and I'll give it to you. I'd do anything for you," He said a bit desperately. All he needed her to do was say the right words.

"I don't have you." She said sadly. "I may hold your heart, but I don't have you. " She looked into his eyes, searching for anything. She reached up a hand and brushed it along his jaw line, marveling at the smoothness and the softness of his skin. Jareth did the same, and brought his gloved hand up to cup her face. Sarah turned her head into his hand, her eyes fluttering closed at his touch.

"You can have me Sarah, you just have to say the right words. Words are powerful things love. Your words bound me once, and your book loosened those bonds, but I need you to free them—to undo them." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Say your right words Sarah." He pleaded. Sarah smiled lightly—he had used a line from her book. She opened her eyes, looking up at his beautiful face once again.

"I don't understand, Jareth." He gave a frustrated sigh.

"Sarah, Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave." He said, hoping it would help her figure out what it was that was needed to be said. "I'll even omit the fear me part if you will just say the right words." Sarah's mind went into action. She frantically searched every corner of her mind. He said her words had bound him, and her right words will unbind him, but what did that mean? When and how did she bind him? Suddenly it dawned on her.

"You have power over me," She said, fear staining her voice. If those weren't the right words then she thought she might cry. Jareth's stern and serious face lit up into a smile. He laughed sweeping Sarah quite literally off her feet, swinging her around with his arms tight around her. Sarah squealed and laughed as he swung her through the air.

"Thank you," He said softly as he placed her gently on the ground. He brushed away a few strands of misplaced mahogany hair from her face, studying her features. Before he could even stop himself he had captured her lips with his. Sarah didn't seem to mind. She immediately kissed back, snaking her arms around the Goblin King's neck. The kiss was soft, like that of two lovers reuniting.

"I love you," He whispered. Damn his irrational thinking. He had only just gotten the girl, and now he was going to scare her away. Sarah wasn't fazed. She smiled instead and returned the sentiments.

"It's funny, I barely know you. We're hardly said 2 words to each other, yet I feel so completely comfortable with you, so completely at ease and so confident that this was meant to be. There isn't anyone else or anything in the world, both above and underground that could make me feel differently. It's wonderful." She leaned her head on his shoulder. He gave a blissful sigh, wrapping his arms around her small frame.

"So, shall we go?"

"Hmm? Go where."

"Back to the Goblin City of course. I'm sure everyone wants to meet their new queen."

"Queen," She said with slight disbelief, as if the concept had never occurred to her.

"Yes, Sarah mine, Queen. I would hope that you would want to be my Queen, my wife."

"But, what about my family?"

"Sarah, you live by yourself on some godforsaken mountainside and rarely leave other than to get food. I doubt your family would notice your not being here for a couple of months."

"Yeah, but I can't just show up and be married, never mind the fact that you're a fairytale king that by their standards shouldn't exist."

"Well, we just won't tell them about that. And we can even have a second traditional above ground ceremony." Sarah seemed pleased with this and nuzzled into his chest.

"Now, back to the City. We need to plan your coronation, not to mention introduce you to my family." Sarah jolted back at this.

"Your family?" She asked bewilderedly.

"Yes, of course Sarah darling, my family. They're going to want to meet my wife to be." Sarah laughed crookedly. This was both everything she could have ever hoped for, and like something straight out of a fairytale fantasy. She couldn't have been happier.

"I never really thought of you having family. I thought you just spawned or something." She gave him a silly grin. He smirked at her, and kissed her again. God he loved to kiss her.

"Well you'll find that that is simply just not true, and that my family will be more than delighted to meet you!" She giggled and leaned into him, kissing him one last time before the two of them disappeared from sight, the only evidence that they had been there was the glittery remnants of magic covering the ground.

* * *

Wow, it's been forever since I wrote a fanfiction. A couple years in fact. I was bored and decided to hack one out. It's intended to be a cute/angsty/romantic one-shot but if you all ask nicely, perhaps I can be persuaded. 

Lune


End file.

Labyrinth, Romance