labyrinth-sarah-williams:
No sooner had Barbara asked the question of whether or not Jareth was there, than did he make a grand appearance. It was so utterly like him to sweep in dramatically like that, and Sarah’s face lit up with a bright smile. She stepped forward, her arms started to raise to embrace him; not realizing just how much she had missed him until seeing him once more. However, the smile and her movements were quickly replaced by concern when she saw the look on his face. And then his harsh words made her pause even more as her mouth opened in surprise. And yet, even though he was acting so callous and angry, she knew him well enough to see past those walls of his. To see why he was acting this way, and she felt a pang of guilt over doing something she had said she never wanted to do again; hurt him. Cause him to worry over her.
And even though she understood this outburst from him, Sarah started to get angry, herself. His last statement was just icing on the cake. She took it like a punch to the gut; her breath escaping her. Now he had done it. Her temper was in full flare mode and her pulse skyrocketed, little tremors causing her to shake with anger. Placing her hands sternly on her hips she raised her face defiantly, not backing away even an inch. “Playtime?! I wasn’t off playing. I figured you were busy and didn’t want to bother you, so I went for a walk in the labyrinth. When I found a portal, I just wanted to step through it to see if it went to Underland. But instead it transported me to an awful sand-covered land full of monsters. I was lucky enough to find help from someone, but we ended up back in the Aboveground. I didn’t know how to get back to you, other than go through my mirror again. So, I had to go all the way back to my house, get my mirror, and then go back to Barbara’s house so that we could travel through it and I could get back here. It, of course, didn’t bring me right to the castle. I had to solve the maze once more.”
She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves somewhat. Her cold stare never left his eyes. “It wasn’t my intention to be gone for so long, and of course you can trust me.” Her eyes narrowed as she cocked her head to the side. “But I can see just how quickly you put those walls back up. Such a pity.”
Sarah became acutely aware of Barbara standing next to her. Oh dear lord, whatever could she be thinking?! What an absolutely dreadful first impression Jareth must have given her, what with his little temper tantrum. Eyes still holding his, she blindly reached out and grasped the ghost’s cold shoulder. Sarah’s tone was flat and unwavering. “This is Barbara. She rescued me.” Sarah didn’t want to tell him just how close she was to being a Sandworm’s meal. She didn’t need him to get any more upset.
When the king entered, Barbara’s face was bright with welcoming, but the man was already barking at Sarah, paying no attention to the poor, slightly confused woman that was standing just outside of the two. This is what Barbara feared—not for her, but for Sarah. Yes, Jareth was over-protective, but he seemed too over-protective. He was already getting angry after she didn’t seem to be gone for too long—or at least to Barbara. With her mother-like nature getting the best of her, the ghost was finally going to speak up and say something about Jareth’s rude welcoming to his bride, but Sarah had cut her off, yelling at him in return.
The brunette remained quiet while the two of them went back and forth, narrowing her eyebrows in disapproval. No, it wasn’t in her name to be the one to actually speak up and say something about their behavior towards one another, seeing how Barbara had just met Jareth and he didn’t seem to be in a good mood; but now Sarah was already telling Jareth about the ghost that had saved her and before she knew it, she was being introduced to the enraged king, but he seemed to view her as the one that was taking time away from being with Sarah. Her pupils shrunk as he acknowledged her before her hand tensed up and rose, moving back and forth in an awkward wave.
"Y-Your Highness, I didn’t mean to take Sarah away, but—" She stopped mid-sentence, realizing how strange that sounded. It only implied that she did take Sarah, which was the complete opposite of what she wanted to imply. In all honesty, however, Barbara wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, however. Yes, she did spend time with Sarah, but did Sarah need to be here? Maybe she just didn’t want to be rude? Barbara didn’t know what to think. All she knew was that there was both an angry king and his future queen standing before her— oh! She could say something about that!
Working up the nerve to speak again, she did. “And, pardon my words, but I don’t think that arguing with one another is going to help this situation at all—especially if you two are to be wed in the future.” Nervously, at first, Barbara glanced towards the king. “I wasn’t trying to “steal” her or anything that you might be thinking. She’s telling the truth; she was in a sticky situation, so I saved her. I couldn’t let her remain injured so I patched her up. Afterwards, she insisted that I should meet you, and now we’re here.” In her mind, she stated that she slightly regretting meeting this king, but she wasn’t going to say that aloud. And then, the ghost pivoted on her heel, looking towards Sarah. “And just yelling back at him isn’t going to help, either.” Her tone wasn’t harsh, but it was enough to give the both of them a warning. “You wouldn’t want to start a marriage off like this, would you?
"… That’s all I have to say on the matter."
