#labyrinth fandom

[mx888gem]

[fablesoffantasy]

I kind of like the idea of associating a chapter with a song, which I've done a couple times with other fics.

I've been listening to my Playlist for Two Worlds Two Hearts, and See who I am by Within Temptation is SCREAMING chapter 10. Even though I haven't gotten there yet.

No spoilers, all I'll say about chapter 10 is it's going to be a heavy Sarah and Jareth centered chapter. I'll link the song below, and If anyone feels up to it, I'd love to hear your interpretation of how the song and the chapter go together!

[escher-room-with-a-view]

“Even if you reach the center, you’ll never get out again…”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

‘ello, friends! this is a fan blog for the 1986 film labyrinth, which has been an obsession of mine for the longest time. i mostly share fan content like fanworks, analysis, art, OCs, headcanons and whatnot; i’m very much a transformative fan, but i still love the source material and everything it has to offer. i learned recently that there is quite a bit to explore within the labyrinth universe, so i’m on a journey to learn as much as i can. if you’re along for the ride, i cherish you and i thank you!!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

call me bee, beatrix, penny, b, bea, omen, or v!

she/her preferred, but they/them is fine

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Should you ever need us…”

[lolly-dolli]

If anyone has a copy of Return to Labyrinth Volume 4 they're willing to part with would you be willing to sell it to me I'd be willing to pay a bit of markup from the original price? I'm trying to collect them but for some reason that's the only volume that's harder to find (probably because it's got the prettiest cover ngl). Highest I'm willing to pay is my sister.

FOR JARETH-RELATED REASONS THIS POST IS A JOKE.

[fablesoffantasy]

Two Worlds, Two Hearts: Chapter Seven

Summary: Jareth appears before Sarah, with unresolved tension, and both their worlds on the brink of breaking. Will The Goblin King and his Champion be able to work together?

Warning(s): Other than an arugment, I don't think there's anything this chapter! Impending doom, maybe? If I miss anything, please let me know <3

-------------------------------

An eternity must have gone by before she tore her gaze from him. Could it really be Jareth? Why would he be in her apartment if he was supposed to be missing? Sarah shook her head, it had to be a hallucination, some cruel trick of her mind.

“No,” she rejected, shaking her head again with her hands thrown up as if in surrender, “no. You’re not real, I’m just hallucinating again.”

“I am no such thing,” he scoffed in an air of offense.

Sarah’s dog took a step forward, her red fur bristled, and each pointed tooth bared as she wedged herself between them. Gwendolyn shot a warning glare at him, though Jareth didn’t seem the least bit impressed by the canine’s display of protection, and in a single wave of his gloved hand the dog vanished.

Sarah opened her mouth in protest but he cut her off before a single word could leave her tongue.

“There is no need to fuss, I simply transported your three legged friend outside,” he interjected. “So that we may discuss our business in private.”

“I don’t want anything to do with you,” She hissed.

A vile grin pulled his sharp features even tighter, “what’s said is said. Oh, how the tables have certainly turned, dear Sarah. To be wished away by the very child you fought so hard to save.”

Her eyes widened, “...Toby,” of course that meant Jareth would come and collect her. She hadn’t championed the Labyrinth just to fall prey to it again, regardless of his intent, Sarah wouldn’t go with Jareth, and absolutely wouldn’t let Toby fall back into his clutches.

Her hands balled into fists, even if it was all real, Sarah had the upper hand. He’d been defeated once so he could be beaten again. Something inside her said ignoring him wouldn’t get her far, but if she claimed power over the situation it might yield a different result. If she regarded a hallucination in the same way as a dream, she could control it, couldn’t she?

Sarah’s chest swelled with triumph as she said the words, “you have no power over me.”

“Don't I?” Jareth challenged with a Cheshire grin curled on his lips as he sauntered about the room. A leather clad finger guided her gaze to the other side of the room, where the painting of his likeness laid half hidden beneath a sheet.

The color started to drain from her face. 

He wore an expression like the cat that got the canary, “I think we both know that to be untrue.” 

Sarah sucked in a shaky breath, “you’re not real.” She pinched her arm in a desperate attempt to wake herself from this nightmare. “You’re not real. You’re not real you're-”

Jareth advanced towards her. Four long strides brought him to her, to a rough yet gentle touch that pried her hands apart at the wrists. Each one pinned on either side of her head, caging her between the wall, and the Goblin King.

“Let go of me,” she demanded as she fought to break his hold.

“Must you continue to try my patience?” He seethed, anger lacing his every word, “have you not done enough already?”

The anger caught her off guard. In that moment, she realized she’d never seen Jareth truly angry. Agitated and disgruntled, desperate even, but never angry. The darkness rising in the back of his eyes almost lit a small flame of fear in her, till she remembered his words. Sarah refused to relent to him. She would not fear him.

So she challenged him instead, “I. Said. Let. Go.” 

“I will not,” he growled.

She trashed again despite his hold, eyes screwed shut, hopeful that when she opened them he would be gone.

Except he wasn’t.

“Sarah.” 

A wince contorted her features, yet that familiar, warm yet domineering voice compelled her to open her eyes. An air of silence danced around them as they regarded each other, not quite as adversaries. More so like the last pieces of a puzzle coming together. A sort of challenge started between them, the first to look away would succumb to the other’s will. Nestled so close their noses almost touched, Sarah studied his face, and could see the weight of exhaustion carried in his every pore. Heavy bags under his eyes, worse than the ones he had just before she bested him.

Confusion wound its way into her chest, because in honesty Sarah didn’t know how to feel about the entity in her home. Their history hadn’t exactly been puppy-dogs and rainbows. What lay even deeper under the confusion was an emotion Sarah couldn’t name. Her heart longed to lean into him, to pull him into an embrace because at her core- she had missed Jareth. Even if she didn’t dare admit it aloud.

“You’re...you’re really here. Aren’t you?” The question sounded silly after it left her tongue, but she needed the confirmation.

Jareth’s expression carried a hint of amusement before he nodded, “I am real, Sarah. You feel me, just as well as you can hear and see me, I am real and I am here.”

She found herself giving into her heart’s desire, losing herself in him if only for a moment. Sarah laid her forehead against his shoulder and caught the scent of leather, lilac, and magic. Whatever that smelled like. Her act must have stunned the Goblin King, because he let go of her wrists, and went stiff as a board. Her arms came around his torso, clutching at the back of his tattered cape like a lifeline.

A light-hearted chuckle rang in her ear, Sarah felt him pull her closer. His cheek rested against the crown of her hair while one hand pressed against the small of her back.

Sarah didn’t know how long they stayed in each other’s embrace, she half expected him to push her away, and make some witty comment about her affection being disgusting. When her senses came flooding back to her, she still couldn’t quite part from him, “you’re supposed to be missing. What are you...how are you here?”

“Missing?” The confusion in his voice told her it was genuine, he hadn’t played some trick on her afterall, “this is news to me, where did you hear that rubbish?” 

“Toby found a Fiery a few days ago, before that we found a Spriggan, both said you were missing, and something about the Underground breaking?” Sarah looked up at him as he pulled away from her.

Jareth rolled his eyes, clearly agitated with the rumor, “on the contrary. I was actually conducting business. As you’ve come to notice, what you claim to be hallucinations- are actually the start of a convergence. The Underground and Aboveground trying to become one. A number of my subjects escaped into your world. I’ve been away from the Kingdom, yes, only because I came to collect the runaways myself.”

Sarah perked a brow when she noticed him studying her, “What?”

“You truly don’t know about the cause of the convergence,” he seemed to be thinking aloud rather than asking a direct question.

She shook her head, “even if I did know about it, what would I gain by hiding it from you?”

Rather than return with some witty remark, the Goblin King turned his back to her. He moved to the window, half his face sunken into the shadows of the room, and the other bathed in the light of the full moon. He ran a hand through the wild mane of blond spilling a little past his shoulders. Sarah noticed a stiffness in the motion, which reminded her of the nightmare she’d had of him.

Sarah found herself stepping towards him, she sensed something foreign in him. He both was and wasn’t the same person she’d known fifteen years ago. The Jareth from her youth wouldn’t have handled their reunion the way it went, what anger he’d initially shown wouldn’t have simmered, “what is it?”

“The Underground is in danger, Sarah. As is your world. The human world was not designed to harbor magic in the same way mine does, should the two merge, well. Not even I could predict the outcome. My earlier claim to have followed a trail to you was no simple jest. There is a portal somewhere Aboveground that is connected to you. One not properly sealed,” he told her.

She perked a brow at him, “I have a portal? I don’t know a thing about magic, how could I have a portal tied to me?”

“In any case,” he elected to ignore her question. “Via this portal, magic from the Underground is not able to leave, however-”

“Magic from Aboveground is still getting in,” she assumed.

Jareth nodded, “correct.”

“Is it…” Sarah scratched her head, trying to make sense of it all, “I don’t know? Is magic from up here not supposed to mix with magic down there? What’s so bad about it?”

With the flick of a wrist a crystal appeared in his hand, the moonlight captured in its sleek surface for a moment. The little orb struck a chord with Sarah, reminding her of the countless offers Jareth made her. Along with the ballroom. Pale-green eyes drifted from the crystal up to thin lips, and for a single second the urge to kiss him screamed from every fiber of her being. She wanted to before. In the ballroom after she ate the peach, when he danced with her like there was no one else in the room. Where he promised her mornings of gold and valentine evenings.

Sarah beat the thought away with a stick.

“Take this crystal for example, it has magic of its own, yes?” He began to spin it in his hand. “If I were to amplify the magic already contained within. It would start to crack, and eventually.”

As he spoke cracks from the sides of the crystal charged for the center, when the thick lines started to collide, the crystal shattered in his hand. Flecks and chunks falling onto the carpet like starlight.

“And that will happen to the Underground if we don’t find the portal?” She gathered.

“It will happen to both worlds, yours, and mine,” Jareth confirmed. “By the state of things we have little time as is. The only way to stop the two worlds colliding is to find the portal, and properly seal it.”

Sarah knew what he was asking without him voicing it. If he could find the portal by now he’d have done it already, Jareth came to her apartment because he needed her. She was his key to finding the portal and effectively saving both their worlds from utter destruction. Sarah felt her heart ache, not only for Layla and Toby, but also for Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus. She couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to them.

“I’ll do it,” she said to the shimmering carpet before meeting the eyes of the Goblin King. “I’ll help you find the portal.”

She swore a proud glimmer appeared in his eye for a moment, but a wide smile chased it away, “Bold of you to assume I came here in need of your help. Perhaps I came here to frighten you into giving me the portal’s location.”

“Please,” Sarah rolled her eyes with a triumphant smirk, “I think we both know that to be untrue.”

Jareth seemed pleased to have his words thrown back at him, “oh how I’ve not missed that sarcastic attitude of yours.”

Sarah waved a dismissive hand, “well I haven’t exactly missed you getting glitter everywhere either. But focusing back on the portal, how long do we have to find it?”

The Goblin King shifted his gaze out the window, both eyes locked on the night sky, as if the answer was written somewhere in the stars for him to find. “Twenty-three hours and nine minutes.”

Less than a day, that wouldn’t be difficult at all. Sarah took a deep breath, “I take it you can’t manipulate the clock to give us some more time?”

“Asking me to reorder time for you again, are we pet?” Jareth sighed and pulled the hem of his gloves. “I make no promises, but I can certainly try.”

“I greatly appreciate it,” she told him wholeheartedly.

It felt strange, the notion of working with Jareth instead of against him. While he worked on buying them time, Sarah took to researching Fae portals. That way she’d at least have an idea of where to start looking.

------------------

Previous | Next

------------------

Taglist:

@faeriexqueen

@tangentasilem

@withinthecrystal

@purplesigebert

[fablesoffantasy]

Two Worlds, Two Hearts: Chapter Six

Summary: Sarah returns to the family home at the request of her brother, where she learns more about the circumstances revolving around the Spriggan and the Fiery.

Warning(s): Themes of Insomnia, hallucinations, and yelling/arguing towards the end. I think thats all, as usual please point something out if I missed it!

---------------------------------

Sarah neglected sleep in favor of painting. Despite her best efforts she couldn’t close her eyes and drift off to the land of dreams, her mind was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. As she dipped her brush in orange and dabbed specs to light the ballroom candles, remnants of her nightmare came back to haunt her, and stir the nausea churning in her belly.

Dreams always had meaning, she just needed to find hers. There had to be a detail she overlooked. There had to be a clue in the rickety way Jareth had moved towards her, or in the vacant, almost dead look in his eyes. She shuddered at the cold chill down her spine. She chewed her lip, leaned back to look the canvas over from a different perspective, “I have to be missing something.”

 If only Hoggle would answer her…

Gwendolyn whimpered as Sarah’s phone sprang to life on the counter, the chime familiar- a message from Toby. Had it been anyone else Sarah would have ignored it. She reassured her concerned canine before slowly rising from her stool. Picking her phone up off the counter she swiped up to view the message:

Come over. Mom & Dad @ Dinner.

Another followed shortly after:

Bring the Fairy.

Sarah felt her stomach sink, she’d completely forgotten about the Spriggan with all the news about Jareth. Abandoning her phone, she stepped towards the closet where the little faerie had been tucked away. Gwendolyn followed close at her heel but kept her distance, eyes flickering from Sarah’s hand to the knob and back again.

“I can do this.” Sarah took hold of the knob with a deep breath, taking one final look at Gwendolyn as if looking for reassurance. She gave the pitbull a small nod, “I can do this.”

Cracking the door open she peered into the bundle of blankets, dark brows pulled together at the unmoving fur-ball. Sarah knelt down to ensure the Spriggan was still breathing. Sarah extended a careful hand, just barely brushing her fingertips against the coarse fur. The Spriggan reacted with a small noise and curled further into itself.

She gathered the first blanket from the pile and tucked it under her arm. Sarah grabbed her keys from the hook, “Alright Gwen, I’ll be back in a little while.” 

Dr. Zakar’s words rang like a bell in the back of her mind, how he’d told her she already had everything she needed to conquer her fears. Even if Sarah didn’t have all the answers now, she’d gain them in time. The Labyrinth only had power over her if she let it. She returned Toby’s message with a promise that she’d be on her way soon. 

A strange sort of confidence took hold of her because Sarah did have options to turn to. The Fiery and the Spriggan both came from the Underground, so it stood to reason at least one of them could answer her. 

Climbing into her car, she set the Spriggan in the passenger floorboard. Not wanting to put it in the seat out of worry the sunlight may irritate it. While driving Sarah’s thoughts started to wander again, a twinge of anxiety set in at the thought of returning to her childhood home. Her departure from it at eighteen hadn’t exactly happened on good terms, Irene had begged her to stay, and Toby did nothing but cry in her father’s arms. When Sarah put her focus back in reality her breath caught in her throat.

All of the buildings vanished, as did the cars, and people on the sidewalks. For a split second the road had transformed into a narrow passage of the Labyrinth. Stone walls closed her in, even the pavement spawned dirt clouds the further she drove. A loud horn tore at her eardrums and Sarah shut her eyes. Her foot slammed on the brake as tires screeching mixed with the horn.

When Sarah opened her eyes again the passage was gone, her car sat a little over the line white line of a traffic light. The car she would have collided into continued its turn while the driver spewed some profanity out the window. Sarah diverged from her original route to pull over into a gas station parking lot. She put the car in park and slammed her back into the driver seat, trying to calm her panicked breathing as she hid her face in her hands.

Sarah wanted to blame...whatever just happened. On lack of sleep but she knew better. She’d felt the change from smooth pavement to dirt road, confident that if she got out to check her car, she’d find residue on her wheels. Not feeling safe to drive the rest of the way, Sarah called an uber. Keeping the Spriggan bundled in the blanket to masquerade it like a baby. Hoping it wouldn’t draw too much of the driver’s attention.

The usual, calm sense of coming home didn’t resonate with Sarah as the familiar white paint and tan roof came into view. Instead she had to swallow her nerves and prepare herself all over again. 

“You and the little one have a good night, miss,” he nodded as she exited the car.

She managed a kind smile, “thanks, you too.”

Sarah just reached the second step when Toby opened the door, an elated expression lit up around half a pastry stuffed in his mouth. The pastry an indication that Layla was also in the house.

“Is that the fairy? Can I see can I see-” He eagerly bounced on his feet.

“Careful, Toby. There’s a wound on its side,” she gently pushed past him to get to the kitchen. “Let me get it settled first.”

He followed at her heel like a lost puppy, trying to catch a glimpse of the fairy.

Layla looked up from the kitchen table, math books, papers, and other school supplies littered the table. The redhead wasn’t an uncommon visitor in the Williams house. She often tutored Toby in school, and sometimes even babysat Toby when Sarah was unable.

“Sarah- I know I slipped up. I’m so, so sorry Toby found out about th-”

“It’s alright Layla,” She waved it off and set the blanket bundle down. “It was bound to happen.”

Toby wedged between the two women, “Guys listen! I was talking to Daegmund, to see if he knew this fairy, and he does. He didn’t come here to find the Goblin King, YOUR fairy did Sarah.”

“Daegmund...is that the Fiery?” Sarah looked around for the creature in question.

Her brother nodded while rummaging through the pastry box Layla brought.

“He’s upstairs,” Layla pointed up towards Toby’s room. “We uh, kind of managed to keep him docile with music.”

Sarah put her hands on her hips, “so they know each other. Think he can figure out why this little guy hasn’t woken up yet?” 

Not wanting to move the Spriggan again, the trio made their way upstairs. Toby had taken up residence in Sarah’s old room shortly after she’d moved away. Irene had done away with the wallpaper and painted the room a dark blue, a chestnut bed with a grey comforter sat where her vanity used to be. A matching dresser to the left of the window with hanging shelves over it. 

“Where’s the Fiery?” Sarah inquired over the jazz playing from a speaker.

“Here here, watch this,” Toby knelt down and held out a pastry he’d taken from the box, shaking it a bit as he called to the creature, “Daeg I brought food.”

First a rainbow tail swished out from the right side of the bed, wagging side to side in a blur. Next a beak from the foot of the bed. Slowly, the full head of the Fiery. Bright eyes blinked twice as the bushy head tilted left. One pointed ear slipped past the cover.

Sarah found it odd just how docile this Fiery seemed to be compared to the ones she’d encountered. All the creature seemed to care for was food and music. Even more curious, he listened to Toby. He crawled out from under the bed and crouched in front of Toby, taking the offered treat gleefully.

“See? He’s harmless,” Toby searched for praise as he beamed up at Sarah.

“Great job keeping him in check with mom and dad in the house,” She gave him an encouraging smile, then she addressed the Fiery directly. “Can you come with us?”

“Aye, startin’ ta get little tired a dis room,” Daegmund chattered, taking off his head to throw it between his hands.

“Oh my g-” Layla gasped and sharply blocked her sight from the Fiery. 

Unlike the Williams siblings, she wasn’t used to that kind of behavior.

Daegmund followed the trio downstairs, while not so gracefully descending the stairs, since he tripped over his tail halfway down. In the kitchen, his first target was the pastry box. After he’d eaten his fill, Sarah managed to get him to focus. Layla took to holding the Spriggan- who they learned was named Girven, while the three talked about the Labyrinth.

“So let me get this straight,” Sarah ran a hand through her hair. “The labyrinth is breaking, and because of that creatures from the Underground are slipping through the cracks. So Girven came here to round up everyone who escaped?”

The Fiery did a gesture mixed between a nod and a shoulder roll, “Eh sometin like dat.”

“What about the goblin king?” Layla inquired from the table. “Where is he in all of this?”

“Kingsy went poof-” Daegmund mimed an explosion. “Ain’t nobody seen ‘em since da first crack in tha walls.”

Toby was next to ask a question, “is it breaking because he’s gone?”

The line of questioning seemed to lose the Fiery’s interest, since he went to raid the cupboards in search of more food. Sarah looked at the Spriggan, wondering if there was a way to wake it up. Something told her she’d get more concrete answers from it opposed to Daegmund. 

“We have to figure out how to wake up Girven,” Toby declared. “If it came here to find the goblin king, then he can fix everything!”

Sarah groaned.

“What do we do?”

A sick feeling rose in the back of her throat.

“Daeg, can you do something to help? There has to be something we can do!”

“Toby stop it!” 

Sarah couldn’t take the pressure building up in her chest, “I don’t want to do this anymore! I’m done, I don’t want to hear about the Labyrinth anymore! I don’t care that it’s broken, I don’t care that Jareth is missing. I. Don’t. Care. I wanted out of this damn house to get away from the Labyrinth! If it’s broken let the stupid thing break, it’s not our responsibility to fix it!”

Heavy tension hung in the air as stunned silence took hold of her brother. Who she hadn’t raised her voice to since he was a baby, those same never-ending tear filled eyes looked at her now. Even Layla couldn’t have predicted such a reaction from her friend.

Instant regret soured her tongue, because the words hadn't meant to come out so harsh. It wasn't right to take her frustration, stress, and lack of sleep out on Toby. Whatever passion Sarah had for the Labyrinth had morphed to resentment, something she didn't want her brother to experience. Because he didn't know the true horrors of what the rest of the world regarded as just a story.

“Sarah,” Layla looked between the siblings, unsure of what to do. “Toby- hey-” 

Tears stung Toby’s eyes, hurt, and heartbreak in them. They screamed an ever burning question of how could she yell at him?

He screwed his eyes shut, screaming at the top of his lungs, “I wish the Goblins would take you away right now!” 

Without another word, too wounded to lash out again, he grabbed Daegmund's forearm and rushed upstairs. His bedroom door slammed hard enough to rattle the house.

The heavy weight in the room remained long after Toby left. Nothing changed. No goblins emerged from every crevice of the room. No barn owl barging at the window. 

For some reason that stung more.

“Sarah,” Layla's calm voice broke through the quiet. “Honey listen, you haven't been sleeping. Toby doesn’t...he knows you didn’t mean any of it. Let me take you home, I can look after Toby and Girven. It’s gonna be okay, let's just get you home, okay?” 

Ashamed of her outburst, Sarah wanted to go upstairs and apologize. Except she knew Toby wouldn’t accept it nor listen to her with the wounds she dealt still fresh. Layla was right. The best thing Sarah could do for Toby now was give him space. Though reluctant, she agreed to return home.

Rather than trouble Layla with having to drive Sarah home, she decided to get an uber to the gas station where she left her car. Sarah needed the isolation period to collect herself and stave off the wave of oncoming self-loathing. Sarah dried her eyes in between red lights, ready to be home buried in her bed, and everything that transpired in the Williams house completely forgotten.

Sarah shoved her apartment key into the lock, swallowing the last of her tears so she could at least greet Gwendolyn with some enthusiasm.

Except when she opened the door, her dog wasn’t there waiting.

“Gwen?” Sarah called for her, whistling as she crouched down, patting her knees. “Here girl, I’m home.”

A growl drew her attention to the living room. The pitbull was stiff as a board, her head lowered, like she was ready to pounce on something. Her full focus on the half open curtains over the windows. Quiet but quick steps pulled her to the kitchen to arm herself before approaching whatever Gwendolyn had cornered. The first thing she could get to was a rolling pin.

Gwen growled again, lower, and more aggressive. 

A gloved hand slipped out from behind the curtain, curling around the edge before jerking it aside. All the color drained from her face, the rolling pin fell from her hand as the mismatched eyes of the Goblin King stared her down.

A smirk curled on his lips, “Hello, Sarah.”

------------------

Previous | Next

------------------

Taglist:

@faeriexqueen

@tangentasilem

@withinthecrystal

@purplesigebert

[fablesoffantasy]

Two Worlds, Two Hearts: Chapter Five

Summary: News of Jareth's disappearance affects Sarah in ways she didn't expect, and brings on a new wave of conflicting emotion.

Warning(s): complicated relationships, creepy nightmare (which is all italicized so it'll be easy for anyone to skip over), and Ludo tears! If I missed anything please let me know!

-------------------

The Labyrinth was crumbling.

Jareth was missing.

And now Ludo was crying with such an intensity the ground started to shake.

Hoggle didn’t know how much more of this he could take. The dwarf wove his way through withered hedges till he came upon Ludo, the great beast brought to his knees, thick tears streamed down his face, and a pitiful cry lurched from his throat. Sir Didymus stood before him with tiny paws rested on Ludo’s forearm. Uncharacteristically quiet in the face of his brother’s pain.

“Sarwah,” Ludo’s lower lip wobbled and he tried desperately to pull a string of snot back up his nose, when such an attempt failed, he instead wiped his face on his left forearm.

Hoggle grumbled to himself but still decided to ask, “whats tha matter with'em?”

Sir Didymus perked his ears, looking to Hoggle with a defeated express, “Sir Ludo claims to have seen young maiden over that way.”

The dwarf glanced in the indicated direction, just as he'd thought, no one was there. Hoggle even approached the area and walked around it. Like he was trying to prove to Ludo that his eyes had played a cruel trick on him. Hoggle understood it though, to a degree. Ludo claiming to see Sarah became a common occurrence over the years. Each time, it was harder and harder to explain to Ludo it wasn't real.

“If she ain't been back already then she ain't never comin' b-”

A whisper carried in the breeze and cut him off, “Ludo...” 

Curved horns raised from the ground as brown eyes widened, and basset-hound shaped ears desperately searched for the sound.

Sir Didymus behaved in a similar manner, his bushy tail swishing side to side in a blonde blur, “My lady!” 

Hoggle whirled around, eyes wide as dinner plates. He stumbled back and fell into the dirt. Gazing up at the translucent image of a woman standing over him. Tall, with long black hair, and pale-green eyes. Hoggle rubbed his eyes but still, the haunting presence lingered like a ghost in a graveyard.

If he’d been by himself he would have discredited it easier. With Ludo and Sir Didymus in his company, not even he could deny the sight of the specter before him.

“S...S'it really you?” desperation clung to his words, along with a loneliness he'd kept buried deep.

The image of Sarah looked around, confused at first, and then she saw him. 

Hoggle tried to swallow the knot in his throat as he extended a shaky hand towards her. The thin image of her flickered, and upon contact, Sarah disappeared again.

-----

“Sarah?”

She didn’t look up from the floor, focused on the arguably-ugly patterned carpet like it offended her. Sarah was at her wits end. First she had a Spriggan to deal with and now a Fiery of all things! She didn't even want to think about Jareth, Toby's claim of him missing affected her in ways she didn't understand.

Her name was called again, “Sarah.”

The tick of a clock brought her senses back one by one, slowly, she raised her head. Tired eyes shifted to the old fashioned clock nestled on the corner of the wooden desk. Sarah set her sights on the coffee table next where a teacup sat in front of her. It's contents long abandoned, the liquid just as cold as the blood in her veins. 

“You drifted off,” a melodic scratch of pencil against paper mixed with the question, “where did you go just then?”

Sarah studied him for a moment, Dr. Zakar looked more like an Oxford Professor than a therapist. His brown suit was freshly pressed and his shoes polished. Red hair slicked back save for the few strands hanging just about his brow. Black, thick framed glasses obscured his eyes so she couldn't look directly into them.

A lie would do little for her, yet Sarah couldn't find it in herself to give him the truth. Not the whole truth anyway. He would call the whole incident a wild hallucination.

“I don’t know,” She admitted. Leaning forward to drop her head in her hands with a sigh, “I’m sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

He set aside the notepad, giving her his full attention, “Another nightmare?”

“No,” Sarah managed to compose herself. Without realizing it, she started to gnaw on her thumb nail.

“Remember that my job is not to judge you, Sarah. I am here to help encourage you through your struggles. You already have everything you need to conquer them,” Zakar explained calmly, recognizing the anxious habit. “That being said, I cannot give you any guidance if I don’t know the root of the problem.”

He had a point, she couldn’t deny that. As the events of the previous night played in her head like a broken record Sarah wondered where to even begin. It all spiraled out of control in a way she could barely process.

“Last night I found out someone I knew was…” the words trailed off into tense silence. Did she mention the Spriggan and the Fiery or leave it at that? “Missing. He went missing and honestly? I don’t know how I feel.”

“It sounds as though this person left quite an impact on you, I take it you were close?” His inquiry was laced both with concern and caution, showing his condolences but not wanting to further upset her.

“It was complicated, and it was a long time ago. We were different people then. I knew him without really knowing him,” Sarah clenched her hands tight in her lap, “some part of me feels like I should be worried, like I should run through every worst case scenario. What if something bad happened? What if he’s hurt? But...”

Zakar tilted his head, “another part says otherwise?” 

“It’s been fifteen years since we last saw each other. I wouldn’t even know what to say if I saw him again,” Sarah rubbed her temples and groaned, dark brows pulling together.

The clock on his desk chimed twice.

A frown pulled his features, “It seems we’ve reached the end of our session. Though I want you to know, Sarah. You will overcome this grief. Nothing has to be resolved tomorrow, there is a lot to process, and even more to work through. Go home and paint your frustrations, or write them down. Anything to get them out.”

As Sarah left the office she noticed the air felt significantly lighter than it had before she went in, Dr. Zakar’s parting advice stuck with her. She hated how much she thought of Jareth. Even before the news of him missing, the Goblin King often dwelled in a dark corner of her mind. If Jareth wasn’t in the Underground then where else could he possibly be? Sarah started her car and focused on the road ahead.

Upon return to her apartment, the last bits of anxiety washed away as the sound of whimpers and nails against hardwoods echoed behind the door. Sarah didn’t realize how much she missed having a dog till Gwendolyn came into her life. “Hey pretty girl,” Sarah cooed once the door opened Kneeling down to greet her three legged companion. Gwendolyn was a five year old pitbull with a coat the color of caramel and big brown eyes. Sarah’s heart went out to the pup, who came from a hard life on the streets. She felt like she couldn’t leave the shelter without her.

Sarah scratched behind her ears and paused as she set her keys down on the kitchen counter. She stepped towards the half finished painting, the one she’d done the instant she woke from her dream. At first she’d been in the forest with Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus in her company. Then the forest fell into a sea of white and silver. Sarah shuddered as the details haunted her:

She descended into a broken ballroom. Once pristine chairs and tables were thrown to various parts of the room, scuffed, bent, and broken. Shattered glass and glitter covered the floor, save for a bare circle where Sarah stood in the center of the room. Dawning the white princess dress she’d worn fifteen years ago. Frantic eyes took everything in as her head whipped around. Dancers laid sprawled over one another like puppets with their strings cut. 

Except for him.

His name left her tongue barely above a whisper, “Jareth.”

Rather than address her, the Goblin King stood frozen. The dark mask with twisted horns remained against his face, hiding his eyes from her. In an unusual motion he reached a hand out for her. Though he didn’t move in the same fluid, captivating way he had before. Instead Jareth moved like an old toy being wound up for the first time in forever. A crystal appeared in his hand, and his last words echoed around her.

“I ask for so little.”

He stepped towards her.

“Just fear me,”

Another step.

“Love me,”

Sarah retreated with each advancement, eyes wide, and skin white as a sheet. Whatever defiant remark she had ready to shout at him died on her tongue. Jareth loomed over her now, her back flat against the wall. She had nowhere to run.

Forced to look into vacant eyes as he sounded so defeated.

“Do as I say and I-”

Gwendolyn whimpered beside her, gently butting her head against Sarah’s leg.

Black curtains cascaded down her back as she turned to look at her companion, Sarah gave her a sad smile and smoothed a hand down her neck, “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

Sarah looked back at the expression she’d been so desperate to capture. Why should she be worried about Jareth? Why did her heart absolutely ache at the thought of him cold, alone, and hurt? Her hand started to reach for his half painted cheek but something stopped her. Sarah bit her lip in wonder as the idea of calling him raised to the surface.

With a small shake of the head, Sarah covered it, and tried to bury any other thoughts of him away for the time being. She had other things to focus on. The Spriggan, the Fiery, and Toby’s growing obsession with the Labyrinth. She took one final glance at the painting, “Where are you Jareth?”

———————

Previous | Next

———————

Taglist:

@faeriexqueen​

@tangentasilem​​

@withinthecrystal​​

@purplesigebert​​

[fablesoffantasy]

Two Worlds, Two Hearts Masterlist

Summary: Something starts to affect the veil between the fae and human world, creatures of the Labyrinth start to appear in the human world. Which inevitably means Sarah will once again come face to face with the Goblin King.

--------------------

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

--------------------

🎶Series Playlist🎶