Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth or any of its characters. Any characters not in the film belong to me. Any places not in the film belong to me. So hands off :p
I dedicate this to all my friends and especially Miss Hollie and Miss Emma.
Chapter I
Sarah turned out the light in Toby's room after tucking him into bed. She lingered in the doorway and watched his peacefully slumbering form. It had become a habit, and she always feared that the sudden snap of that switch would banish him from the world once more.
Sighing, she wrenched her feet from the spot and crossed the landing into her bedroom. Textbooks and piles of paper lay strewn across her duvet for she was now back to school. A new year; twice the amount of homework. Karen had yet again dragged her father out for another Saturday night. Where, this time, she could never be sure. Bingo, dancing, restaurant, cabaret...name it, they had probably done it. But Sarah had been to places worth bragging about, and she had never told a soul. True, her parents had noticed a change in her. They took her appreciation as a sign of growing up; her fits of tears - they were convinced - were due to some childish crush and would fade away in time.
Sarah gave her dressing table a mournful glance then shook out whatever thought she had made. She jumped onto her bed, landing in the middle of the circle of books, resting on her front and bending her legs into the air. Her eyes scanned the title of her assignment whilst she nibbled on the end of a pen.
'Discuss the theories of the function of dreaming in sleep relating to both biological and psychological terms'
The psychology of the human mind often irritated her, especially since she had experienced a world with no rational explanations for anything. Science was of no interest to this young woman. She had memories that would prove Newton a nutcase.
Sarah's books were covered in doodles, ranging from strange creatures to stars with only three points (two curving downwards like rocket legs), even repeated names that reminded nosy classmates of board games. Anyone catching a glimpse of the inside cover of her maths book would instantly frown at the detailed sketch of a man wearing very strange clothing and bearing a rather undomesticated hairstyle. Yet the picture itself glared so distinctly that none had found the voice to laugh.
Barely having finished the first sentence, Sarah's head lolled onto her open textbook and her eyes began to close.
"I hope you're doing something productive, Sarah."
Her face muffled in the pages, Sarah groaned a sleepy reply of 'Yeah' to the intruding speaker. It took a few moments for the fact to process, her head snapping up.
The man who was the spitting image of the picture in her maths book regarded her from the mirror, eyes cold, lips callously distorted. Two symmetrical streaks of blue nestled in his wild blond hair, the longest strands scattering across familiar apparel. Sarah recognised the burgundy jacket with the stardust on its shoulders, the incongruous collar, its alluring combination of leather and metal and a buckle like a worn crescent. The delicate white shirt, unbuttoned to the breast to reveal his precious heirloom, was the only other garment visible within the frame.
Sarah was speechless. All her past hurt threatened to pour out, pinching her stomach and prickling the whites of her eyes. First this man had taken her brother, now he had stolen her heart. She was able to contain herself enough to swipe the entirety of her schoolwork to the floor, paranoid he would see the adolescent scribble of his face.
"There's no need to be impetuous, Sarah," Jareth said with a click of his tongue. "I thought since you were so kind as to construct my castle, you might want to be the first to try out my new Labyrinth."
"And why would I want to do that?" she replied spitefully.
"I have come to believe that I have something of interest to you."
Sarah folded her arms. "What could you possibly offer me?"
The Goblin King grinned wickedly.
"I can think of something." He leered at her, intentionally allowing his gaze to drift down her female body, but mysteriously lacking mortal perversity.
Sarah reacted to this by bunching up her knees to her chest. Even though she was well covered in her t-shirt and jeans, she could not help but doubt that material was enough to secure her privacy.
"You're wasting your time," she snapped. "My *love* is no more real than yours." Now she was getting him back for the pain he had caused after he had forced her home and left her in pieces. "It's only magic."
"If not for me, perhaps you would consider doing it for your friends?" Jareth said. Seeing her puzzled expression, he produced a crystal in the palm of his hand and held it up for her to see what was inside. Images flickered between the scenes of two creatures, one a large orange-furred monster, the other a small one-eyed fox. Both of them were shackled and being harassed by a company of ugly goblins. "If you should change your mind, I will see to it that they are not harmed. Much."
Sarah's eyes widened. "You're crazy."
"Only for you, my love," Jareth answered, a hissing laugh escaping his jagged teeth.
He watched her slip wearily off the side of her bed, only permitting himself a grin of victory for the seconds her back was turned.
"What do I have to do?" she asked, her frozen features begging to expose her despair.
"I've left you another gift," he said, tilting his head towards the small, round fruit that had materialised on her bedside table. "Your powers of observation really do let you down."
Ignoring the desire to retaliate, Sarah turned to take hold of the object and rotate it with her fingers.
"I don't like peaches," she said sullenly, the vision of a green maggot squirming in the back of her mind.
"People don't always get what they like, Sarah." Jareth shrugged. "But I am bound to this tiresome burden of generosity. Cherries, then."
Sarah hardly had time to transfer her concentration from his face to the bunch of three dark red fruits that replaced the peach in her palm. For a moment she dwelled on the thought that so many of his creations were circular. Bet he couldn't make a pineapple, she thought, though not too loudly. She did not want to grant him the satisfaction of seeing her struggle to eat one.
Sarah ate the cherries one by one, regardless of Jareth's provocative stare, removing the solid stones from their cores each time.
"Now what?" she said, but the response came as the cherry stones leapt from her hand of their own accord and formed a neat row on her carpet.
Bright streams of blue light burst out of their sides, linking the stones together in a beam of electricity, the individual shapes vanishing into the energy chain as it shone brighter. To complete the show, the blue light surged upwards to create a rectangular doorway directly in front of her.
Sarah turned to the mirror but only to find her own image reflected back at her, dark hair un-brushed but not quite as tangled as she feared. Unsure if the door would remain long enough for her to gather supplies, she pocketed some jewellery and opened a drawer to search for the little red book. She could no longer remember all the lines or challenges kept within the story of 'The Labyrinth' and hoped it would help her. But it was not there.
Uttering a frustrated growl at her misfortune, Sarah took a deep breath and ran through the glowing door.
I dedicate this to all my friends and especially Miss Hollie and Miss Emma.
Chapter I
Sarah turned out the light in Toby's room after tucking him into bed. She lingered in the doorway and watched his peacefully slumbering form. It had become a habit, and she always feared that the sudden snap of that switch would banish him from the world once more.
Sighing, she wrenched her feet from the spot and crossed the landing into her bedroom. Textbooks and piles of paper lay strewn across her duvet for she was now back to school. A new year; twice the amount of homework. Karen had yet again dragged her father out for another Saturday night. Where, this time, she could never be sure. Bingo, dancing, restaurant, cabaret...name it, they had probably done it. But Sarah had been to places worth bragging about, and she had never told a soul. True, her parents had noticed a change in her. They took her appreciation as a sign of growing up; her fits of tears - they were convinced - were due to some childish crush and would fade away in time.
Sarah gave her dressing table a mournful glance then shook out whatever thought she had made. She jumped onto her bed, landing in the middle of the circle of books, resting on her front and bending her legs into the air. Her eyes scanned the title of her assignment whilst she nibbled on the end of a pen.
'Discuss the theories of the function of dreaming in sleep relating to both biological and psychological terms'
The psychology of the human mind often irritated her, especially since she had experienced a world with no rational explanations for anything. Science was of no interest to this young woman. She had memories that would prove Newton a nutcase.
Sarah's books were covered in doodles, ranging from strange creatures to stars with only three points (two curving downwards like rocket legs), even repeated names that reminded nosy classmates of board games. Anyone catching a glimpse of the inside cover of her maths book would instantly frown at the detailed sketch of a man wearing very strange clothing and bearing a rather undomesticated hairstyle. Yet the picture itself glared so distinctly that none had found the voice to laugh.
Barely having finished the first sentence, Sarah's head lolled onto her open textbook and her eyes began to close.
"I hope you're doing something productive, Sarah."
Her face muffled in the pages, Sarah groaned a sleepy reply of 'Yeah' to the intruding speaker. It took a few moments for the fact to process, her head snapping up.
The man who was the spitting image of the picture in her maths book regarded her from the mirror, eyes cold, lips callously distorted. Two symmetrical streaks of blue nestled in his wild blond hair, the longest strands scattering across familiar apparel. Sarah recognised the burgundy jacket with the stardust on its shoulders, the incongruous collar, its alluring combination of leather and metal and a buckle like a worn crescent. The delicate white shirt, unbuttoned to the breast to reveal his precious heirloom, was the only other garment visible within the frame.
Sarah was speechless. All her past hurt threatened to pour out, pinching her stomach and prickling the whites of her eyes. First this man had taken her brother, now he had stolen her heart. She was able to contain herself enough to swipe the entirety of her schoolwork to the floor, paranoid he would see the adolescent scribble of his face.
"There's no need to be impetuous, Sarah," Jareth said with a click of his tongue. "I thought since you were so kind as to construct my castle, you might want to be the first to try out my new Labyrinth."
"And why would I want to do that?" she replied spitefully.
"I have come to believe that I have something of interest to you."
Sarah folded her arms. "What could you possibly offer me?"
The Goblin King grinned wickedly.
"I can think of something." He leered at her, intentionally allowing his gaze to drift down her female body, but mysteriously lacking mortal perversity.
Sarah reacted to this by bunching up her knees to her chest. Even though she was well covered in her t-shirt and jeans, she could not help but doubt that material was enough to secure her privacy.
"You're wasting your time," she snapped. "My *love* is no more real than yours." Now she was getting him back for the pain he had caused after he had forced her home and left her in pieces. "It's only magic."
"If not for me, perhaps you would consider doing it for your friends?" Jareth said. Seeing her puzzled expression, he produced a crystal in the palm of his hand and held it up for her to see what was inside. Images flickered between the scenes of two creatures, one a large orange-furred monster, the other a small one-eyed fox. Both of them were shackled and being harassed by a company of ugly goblins. "If you should change your mind, I will see to it that they are not harmed. Much."
Sarah's eyes widened. "You're crazy."
"Only for you, my love," Jareth answered, a hissing laugh escaping his jagged teeth.
He watched her slip wearily off the side of her bed, only permitting himself a grin of victory for the seconds her back was turned.
"What do I have to do?" she asked, her frozen features begging to expose her despair.
"I've left you another gift," he said, tilting his head towards the small, round fruit that had materialised on her bedside table. "Your powers of observation really do let you down."
Ignoring the desire to retaliate, Sarah turned to take hold of the object and rotate it with her fingers.
"I don't like peaches," she said sullenly, the vision of a green maggot squirming in the back of her mind.
"People don't always get what they like, Sarah." Jareth shrugged. "But I am bound to this tiresome burden of generosity. Cherries, then."
Sarah hardly had time to transfer her concentration from his face to the bunch of three dark red fruits that replaced the peach in her palm. For a moment she dwelled on the thought that so many of his creations were circular. Bet he couldn't make a pineapple, she thought, though not too loudly. She did not want to grant him the satisfaction of seeing her struggle to eat one.
Sarah ate the cherries one by one, regardless of Jareth's provocative stare, removing the solid stones from their cores each time.
"Now what?" she said, but the response came as the cherry stones leapt from her hand of their own accord and formed a neat row on her carpet.
Bright streams of blue light burst out of their sides, linking the stones together in a beam of electricity, the individual shapes vanishing into the energy chain as it shone brighter. To complete the show, the blue light surged upwards to create a rectangular doorway directly in front of her.
Sarah turned to the mirror but only to find her own image reflected back at her, dark hair un-brushed but not quite as tangled as she feared. Unsure if the door would remain long enough for her to gather supplies, she pocketed some jewellery and opened a drawer to search for the little red book. She could no longer remember all the lines or challenges kept within the story of 'The Labyrinth' and hoped it would help her. But it was not there.
Uttering a frustrated growl at her misfortune, Sarah took a deep breath and ran through the glowing door.