by Keelywolfe
Disclaimer: These charactors belong to someone else. I'm not trying to make any money off of them and I will put them back the same way that i found them
"2x+3y=4x+2y. Hmmmm." She mumbled, staring with glazed eyes at the thick algebra book. The numbers started to blur and move and with a sigh she slammed it shut and tossed it across the room. She shut her eyes and leaned back in her chair, not bothering to watch the abused book thud against the wall and clatter to the floor in a sprawl of pages.
Boring, boring, boring! And a complete waste of time! "Why does a theater major need algebra anyway?" She asked out loud. No answer from the book, or the four walls. Not like she expected one anyway.
* didn't your counselor tell you that a Bachelor's you to be well-rounded in all subjects? *
Gasping, Sarah flew to her feet, the chair tumbling backwards to the floor, its wheels spinning idly.
"Who said that!"
*It's only me * Ruffled, but more relaxed, Sarah righted the chair and sat back down. What am I doing anyway? I feel like my life is so...so... *Empty?*
"Stay out of this!" she snapped. She fidgeted with her pen, debating over homework or relaxing. "I need to get out of here," The walls of her dorm room were closing in on her like a trap.
*its all a trap you know that*
"Stop it." She turned and glared at the owner of the voice. "Why won't you leave me alone?"
Her reflection stared back at her, but it was not her reflection. She sat like her, twisted in the chair, hand gripping the back. Her clothes were the same, jeans, and socks. A T-shirt from a now defunct band. It was the eyes that were different. No annoyance glared from their depths, no life, no emotion. Only flat pools of color.
*You should have known that the labyrinth would not leave you unscathed*
"That was seven years ago! Don't you get bored?" The image followed her movements, stood on reflected feet, shook reflected hands in frustration, but the eyes never changed.
*why should time matter? You have never left the labyrinth behind*
"Yes, I have! I'm an adult now, I need to focus on real life!"
*you are no longer a child, so you have left behind your childish ways* The voice mocked now, gently. Sarah slumped down on her bed and flung an arm over her eyes, blocking out the mirror.
"Please go away." The only answer was silence. Relieved, she rolled over. Maybe a nap before she finished her homework.
*what makes you so sure the labyrinth is not real life?* A soft chuckle hung in the air. Sarah covered her head with a pillow and pretended not to hear.
Seven years. Seven years she had been haunted by that blasted reflection. It had started not long after her return. After an exhausting victory party with her friends, she had collapsed all but into bed.
*you're tired* Gasping, exhaustion forgotten, she sat up and scanned the room.
"Who's there?" Her toys gave no answer, only stared at her through glassy eyes. The window was dark. Silence.
"Is someone there?" He voice sounded timid to her ears and she cleared her throat. "Hello?" More silence. She lay back down, faintly embarrassed by her jumpiness. Mentally castigating herself she closed her eyes again.
*it's only me* Sarah jerked upward again, looking frantically around the room.
"Who's there!" She got up warily and started looking around the room. "All my friends left, so I know you're not a friend." Soft laughter shimmered through the room.
*of course I'm not your friend. I'm not your enemy. I'm you* Sarah turned, banging her shin on the desk in the darkness, but she hardly noticed the starburst of pain that flowed up. There was no mistaking the source of the voice, she stared at herself in the vanity mirror, and her twin stared back with flat eyes.
"Who...why..." Sarah stammered out. The laughter came again.
*no one escapes the labyrinth unscathed, you were there, you touched it, breathed in it.
"Yeah, and now I'm going to change into a kook." She muttered. She'd seen too much lately for a talking mirror to upset her. She slid between the cool sheets and tried to sleep.
*of course you won't become a kook* She groaned and rolled over. Obviously the mirror-maid didn't get tired. She started to talk, to tell it off really, but it spoke before she had a chance.
*go to sleep, you're exhausted, we'll talk again soon*
And they had. Snippets of conversation, little arguments. The mirror-her was made from sheer logic and it grated on Sarah's nerves. And yet, it wasn't always there, she disappeared for weeks, sometimes months at a time. In these absences, Sarah seemed to forget that the mirror-her existed. The memory seemed to sink into a for in her brain and only returned when the mirror-her did.
Enough. She was never going to sleep. She rolled to her feet with a sigh and grabbed her jacket. "Maybe a party is what I need," she muttered darkly as she slammed the door behind her.
************************************************************
The key scraped against the lock, once, twice, before it finally sliding home. Giggling, they stumbled into the room, both lost in an alcohol-fogged world.
"So this is your room? S'nice." Derrick peered around intently from his position on the floor. This struck Sarah as hilarious and she rolled on the floor herself, trying to stifle her shrieks of amusement for the sake of her neighbors . Derrick clambered over to her, his long dark hair fell forward and tickled her face. Handsome, sweet, he was another theater major and a good friend besides. Finding him at the bar had been a god-sent. He struggled to his knees and clasped his hands to his chest.
"Ah, milady, you wound me fair deep." He pressed the back of his hand against his forehead in mock despair. "I dost believe that we are both passing drunk. Or passing out drunk, whatever." He fell forward again leaning over her on his elbows. Sarah reached up, somber now in spite of her intoxication, and lightly touched his face. He closed his eyes and leaned against her hand.
"My lady Sarah, you are most beautiful." He bent down and pressed his lips to hers, gently, if a tad clumsily. He tasted of beer and salt and a unique flavor all his own. His hair was soft and cool where it fluttered against her cheek. Derrick, a sweet laughing charmer. It would be so easy to love him, to make love to him. Instead she pushed him away to look in his confused brown eyes. His taste, a good taste, but he wasn't, he didn't taste like...
*peaches*
Sarah jerked at the word, eyes darting around the room, then back to Derrick, who was watching her with concern.
"Sarah, are you all right?"
"Derrick, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lead you on or..."He pressed a surprisingly steady finger against her lips and she fell silent. He gently kissed her cheek before struggling to his feet.
"Milady, I always respect the right to say no." He flashed her a lopsided grin and a quick bow before he sauntered out of the room, carefully closing the door behind him. When the door clicked shut, Sarah collapsed back to the floor. "What's wrong with me!"
*it wasn't him* She glared up at her mirror self.
"I don't want him! I want a normal life!" The mirror-Sarah stared back, impassively.
*you can't lie to me/yourself* the word echoed within itself, making it one word. *I am you. Be honest* Sarah struggled to her feet and slammed her hands on the vanity top, ignoring the make-up and jewelry that scattered in protest of the abuse.
"I'm not lying! Why would I want him? He stole my brother!"
*you gave him your brother*
"Forced me to go through his labyrinth"
*he was following the rules*
"Nearly killed me..."
*he would never have hurt you*
"He was a sadistic bastard!"
*he was what you made him!*
The two Sarah's glared at each other, reflecting back antagonism. Then, to Sarah's astonishment, her mirror-self smiled then, slowly. Sarah stepped back in shock, but her reflection did not imitate the action. She leaned forward instead, resting her head on her hands.
*sarah, sarah. All grown up, Sarah. When will you stop blaming him? When will you take responsibility for your action?* Gone was the cold, emotionless image, this twin shimmered with life.
*you want to leave behind your childish ways? Then stop acting like a child! You know the truth, Sarah, accept it! Grow up, like you so desire.* The mirror Sarah backed away from the dresser and reassumed the real Sarah's posture. Hands hanging limply at her sides, lips parted, gasping for air.
*don't you realize that you never really left the labyrinth?*
She stood for a long moment, staring, then stepped backward. Her knees bumped the edge of the bed and she sat down hard upon it, but never looked away from her mirror image. Finally, exhaustion and alcohol pulling on her, she drifted down into fitful slumber, where she wandered the labyrinth searching for something she could not name.
************************************************************
The blare of the alarm clock dragged her from sleep and she reflexively picked it up and threw it across the room. It crashed against the wall before it fell to the floor in a tangle of broken plastic and wires.
Sarah stared for a moment at what she'd done. "Alarm clock number six, rest in pieces."
*what is the truth?*
Remembrance flooded back. Sarah clambered to her feet and looked warily at her mirror self. But the slight changes that indicated that she was there were missing.
She dressed somberly, rubbing her aching temples, and went in search of acetametaphen. When she stepped into the warmth of the sun, however, her headache seemed to fade. Maybe I'll just take a walk around campus. She walked slowly, following the red tiled paths, shuffling through the leaves like a child.
*what were you looking for*
"I don't know." Walking on, one foot in front of the other, the scenery and students seemed to fade away.
*he was what you made him*
What I made him? How could I make him anything? I was only a child.
You asked me to take the child and I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening.
I couldn't have done that, could I?
I have turned the world upside down and I have done it all for you!
I'm exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. You have no power over me. He had no power over me, but I had power over him.
I'm exhausted Your expectations
*he was what you made him* *there are rules*
"I made him that way." She murmured aloud. The sound of her voice pulled her back to reality and she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, not noticing the student who nearly ran her over or the dirty look he gave her as he veered around.
But why? Why would he let me do that? Why?
*Because you believed. And there are rules* She stood there for it seemed forever as realization came over her in a hot flood of knowledge.
I believed it. I made it happen, I made him that way because I needed him that way. And he did it because there are rules, and he had to do it the way I wanted. I needed an adventure, and I needed a villain. I needed his...his what? His love? No, impossible. And yet, and yet...
She opened her eyes and saw the mirror before her. She had no memory of returning to her room, but she wasn't surprised. She stared at herself, but it was the mirror, not her, who smiled.
*he became what you wanted him to be because he loved you. And you believed.*
"He came because I believed."
*He loved you because you believed* Sarah nodded. Yes, it made sense now. Her mirror image cocked its head slightly to the side.
*Sarah, you are no child, but a virgin still, why?* Because.
*because why?*
They didn't
*they couldn't*
They weren't
*him*
"Jareth."
She loved him. She could see that now, could see that she had always loved him. A child's love and belief had developed into a woman's, without her even noticing. Her mirror self watched, smiling.
"Who are you?"
*A strange question to ask yourself*
Sarah reached out and touched the smooth glass and felt the warmth of fingers as mirror-Sarah copied her actions.
*I am the piece you left behind* They touched for a moment, then clasped fingers. And they both smiled, as Sarah finally became whole once more.
************************************************************
"So who am I?" She muttered. Who do I want to be? I believe the labyrinth is real. It's more real than this; she gestured absently at the piles of paper and books. Regaining a part of herself that she had lost made her realize that she had not been living all these years, only existing.
*you never really leave the labyrinth. It's all a labyrinth, always a decision, left or right.*
Yes, left or right. Which way to go.
*why did you leave the underworld?*
I had to save my brother.
*Yes, but what is stopping you now?*
I'm afraid, I wish...
*Yes? You are afraid. Grow up, Sarah sweet*
I wish...
*be a woman, not a child*
I wish...
*left or right*
"I wish the King of Goblins would come and take me away. Right now."
End