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The dreams started about a year after Sarah returned home.
Most were simple. Innocent. Even fun. Her friends realized that they could communicate with her in the world of dreams just as easily as through her mirror, and it made talking a lot easier, not to mention safer. Sarah was always paranoid that her father or, God forbid, Karen would one day hear them and demand to know who she was talking to.
Karen already treated her like she was crazy. There was no need to give her any more ideas.
In her dreams, Sarah could be as open and free as she wished. She and her friends played games and raced through what Hoggle assured her were “safe” areas of the Labyrinth. They told jokes and laughed together. She could be herself and know that no one would judge her. For the first time in her life, Sarah felt like she belonged somewhere. She felt…happy.
And then, around the time she turned eighteen, he came.
She fell asleep as usual, setting her mind in the proper place to slip into her dream world, but instead of seeing the smiling faces of her friends, he was there to greet her.
“Come now, Sarah,” he chided, “don’t act so surprised. Did you really think you could come in and out of my realm without my noticing?” He tsked softly. “Who do you suppose gave you the power to travel between worlds in the first place?”
Sarah’s jaw dropped. “You did this?”
“But of course.” He inclined his head regally. “Who else?”
“But…but why?” Her confusion was evident. “I beat you at your own game. Hoggle said I caused complete and utter chaos by temporarily breaking your control over the Labyrinth. Why would you do this? You must have known it would make me…happy. Why would you want that?”
“Sweet Sarah.” Reaching out with a gloved hand, the Goblin King gently caressed her cheek. “You make it sound as though I got nothing out of the bargain.”
She gazed up at him helplessly. “Didn’t you?”
“Goodness, no.” His eyes hardened ever so slightly. “I got exactly what I wanted.”
A trickle of fear ran down the back of her neck, and she closed her eyes, willing herself to return home, to her bed. To break the connection. To end the dream.
Nothing happened. Nothing at all.
Her eyes flew open, and Jareth smiled, his sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight.
“What have you done?” she whispered.
“Taken control of your dreams.”
**********
Sarah found herself returned to her world immediately following his statement, and she spent the rest of the night curled up in her bed, her eyes wide and unblinking. He must have been monitoring her travels over the past year, learning exactly how her mind worked and the form her dreams took. As soon as he understood them, he could control them, and now…
She shuddered. Would she ever be able to return again? Or worse, would she be forced to? Was she to be his prisoner, night after night, a slave to his whims? Was this to be his revenge for besting him?
She reluctantly went to sleep the following night, purposefully not preparing her mind to slip into her dreams, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself in the Labyrinth regardless. Her heart sank.
So this was to be the way of things now. Well then. She wouldn’t cower. She wouldn’t be afraid. She’d beaten him once. She could do it again.
“Not everything is a battle, precious.”
Whirling around, Sarah saw the Goblin King materialize before her, leaning gracefully against a wall of the maze.
“If it’s not a battle, then what is it?” she demanded, crossing her arms. “Why have you brought me here?”
“To make you a deal, of course.” He spread his arms, palms open. “I’ve always done what you’ve asked of me, my dear. I know what you want better than you do. Your hopes. Your dreams.” His mouth curved into a smile. “Your desires.”
Sarah swallowed. Surely he could only control these dreams. There was no way he could have seen...the others. Could he?
Clenching her hands into fists, Sarah raised her head. “What do you want?”
“Only what’s best for you,” he assured her, pushing away from the wall and walking forward, his boot heels clicking on the stone path.
“Unlikely,” Sarah retorted. “You only want what’s best for you.”
He placed a dramatic hand over his heart. “You wound me, my lady. Don’t you remember?” He waved his hand and a crystal appeared. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you. This is no different.” He gestured to the world around them. “You’ve been happy here, have you not? You felt like you belonged, like you finally found a world where you could fit in and live without fear of judgment.”
“You bastard!” Rage boiled in her blood. “You’ve been reading my thoughts, haven’t you?”
“There are no secrets from me in my realm,” he replied simply. “I know what you know. What everyone knows.”
“Stay out of my head, Jareth! I mean it!”
He swept her an elegant bow. “As you wish, my dear, of course.” He gave her a feral grin. “I have all I need to know, in any case.”
A hot flush crept across Sarah’s cheeks. Damn and blast, he had seen those dreams! She’d thought of them often enough while visiting here, even when she tried desperately to push him from her mind.
“What do you want?” she repeated lowly.
“Stay here. With your friends.” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “With me.”
Sarah shook her head immediately. “I refused once and I’ll do so again. You have no power over me, Jareth, and I’ll not give you any by remaining here.”
“This is not about power, Sarah.” His tone carried a hint of anger. “Your world has been unkind to you, and will continue to be so. You’ve felt out of place there for eighteen years, and yet after just a few nights spent in my realm, you found a contentment you’ve never known.” He reached out and framed her face with his hands, the soft leather smooth against her cheeks. “You belong here,” he whispered. “Why deny it?”
Sarah was lost. Lost in his eyes, in his voice, in his touch.
Lost in his words, which contained more raw truth than she could ever admit.
Her world held no wonders for her. What did she have to look forward to? College, surrounded by people who would never understand her. A job she despised while trying desperately to carry on with her dreams of becoming an actress. Attempts at dating men who would run at the first sign of her desire for a true fairytale romance.
She could give in to him…but at what cost? Her independence, her heart, her very soul? What price would a Goblin King require for her happiness?
~Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave!~
She’d never fear him. She might lust after him, but she honestly wasn’t sure if she could ever love him. No one would ever be allowed to command her. And the idea of Jareth as anyone’s slave, much less hers, was simply ludicrous.
Her life might not seem like it was worth much, but it was hers, and she’d not give it up for anything…or anyone.
Raising her head, Sarah looked him straight in the eye and whispered, “Release me.”
A flash of something – anger? disappointment? – crossed his eyes, but Jareth did as she asked, lowering his hands to his sides.
“Such a pity,” he murmured. “I suppose I expected nothing less from you.” Reaching out, he grasped her hand and lifted it to his lips for a gentle kiss. His eyes flicked up to hers, and she tried not to shudder at the brief contact, but his expression informed her that she failed, completely.
She swallowed tightly. “Send me home. Now.”
“Of course. I won’t keep you here against your will.” His eyes glittered brightly. “But your will shall change, my precious thing. Never doubt it. You belong here, and I will have you.”
Sarah tossed her hair. “Over my dead body,” she retorted.
***********
Over the next several years, a pattern developed. Sarah discovered that Jareth had given her back control over her dreams, so she could return to the Labyrinth to visit her friends. They were concerned over their king’s possessive streak, but Sarah insisted she could handle herself.
“I don’t think he can trap me here, at least.” She rested her chin on her hands. “He seemed adamant that I choose to stay. That’s something.”
“Sarah stay?” Ludo asked hopefully, misinterpreting her words.
She gave him a sad smile, scratching his head behind his hears in the way she knew he loved. “Not this time, I’m afraid,” she replied gently. “If only I could bring you to my world so we could be together…”
“Nay, my lady, it can never be so.” Sir Didymus drew himself up to his full two-foot height. “Even if the choice were ours to make, I for one could never leave. This is my home, and I must guard it with my life.”
“Of course, I understand perfectly.” Sarah sighed. “I don’t want to leave my home, either.”
“Even though he’s right, and you don’t really belong?” Hoggle asked, looking up at her shrewdly.
“Yes.” Sarah closed her eyes. “Even then.”
But exactly once a year, like clockwork, Sarah’s journey changed, and she’d find herself alone with Jareth.
It was always a different area of the Labyrinth. Once he took her to a forest glade, beside a babbling brook filled with sweet water…which she categorically refused to drink.
She still couldn’t eat peaches, even in her own world. She wasn’t about to give up water as well.
Another time they appeared in a wide-open meadow filled with thousands of flowers, none of which she’d ever seen before. Her favorite thus far was a snow-capped mountain-top overlooking the entire kingdom, causing her to catch her breath without meaning to.
It was so very, very lovely. And she was happy. She couldn’t deny it even if she wished to.
He never threatened her again, never claimed she was his or that she belong to him and his world. Instead, they spoke of her life as she did with her friends. She never offered many details, and he never asked, but she told him about her school, her jobs, her apartments…even her boyfriends, though his eyes darkened and his words became clipped and frosted.
In return, she learned more about his world than she ever thought possible. He told her of his past, his family, the Fae politics that allowed him to become king. He brought maps for her to study. She learned about the various creatures that lived in the Labyrinth, and how the stones themselves had, over time, become sentient.
She knew what he was doing. He was making her fall in love with the world, with his people…with him…so she would want to stay.
And it was working.
But every night, at the very end of their visit, when he asked if she was ready to accept her fate and join him, she refused.
She’d long since lost her fear of losing herself, of being controlled by his immense power. But it was still her life, and she was determined to live it.
“Still defying me, sweet Sarah?” he whispered, caressing her cheek gently.
“Would you want me any other way?” she replied, arching an eyebrow in a direct imitation of him.
The air filled with his laughter, and Sarah allowed herself to rest her head against his shoulder.
He need no longer try to gain her love. She’d fallen years before.
************
Time passed. Years blended together. Sarah lived, though her life was never exactly what she would have chosen. She never became a star, but she had enough theatre in her life to keep her content. She never married or had children, but Toby and his wife invited her to spend as much time with them as she wished, and she fell in love with their three daughters. She was, if not truly happy, at least content.
Sarah was in her early nineties when her health started to fail her. She’d always been strong, but eventually her body simply slowed down, and there was nothing she could do to change it. She made sure her affairs were in order and assured Toby she wanted no drastic measures taken to prolong her life.
When it was her time, she’d be ready.
When she closed her eyes that night, she found Jareth waiting for her, and he reached out to take her wrinkled hand in his.
“Stubborn to the last,” he murmured, caressing her fingers gently. “I suppose I should have known.”
“It was my life,” she reminded him, squeezing his hand with what little strength she still possessed. “It might not have been much, but it was mine, and I had to live it.”
“Yes.” He looked at her with something akin to wonder. “It is a human trait, I suppose. Your desire to live, and your ability to do it so…fiercely. You wouldn’t notice, but you all glow with such a strong inner light, it’s a wonder that you never burn up.”
“And you’re always so placid, so cool and in control.” She smiled. “Except when those tiny little humans with their fiery souls beat you at your own game.”
“Ah, my sweet Sarah.” He ran his hand through her hair, shining silver in the moonlight. “You melted my ice long ago.”
Slowly, he tilted her head up, his mismatched eyes gazing down at hers intently.
“Are you ready now, precious?”
Sarah shook her head in wonder. “How can you still want me?” she whispered. “I’m an old woman. It’s been years, decades, and still you ask?”
“We mark the passage of time so differently, sweeting.” His thumb touched her bottom lip. “Your years mean little to once such as me.” He leaned forward, ever so slightly, and repeated, “Are you ready, my Sarah?”
Closing her eyes, she tilted her head upward, feeling his long hair brush against her cheek and his warm breath ghosting across her lips.
“Yes.”