"Fear me, Love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."
.,.,.,.,.,.,.
Sarah awoke with a start and looked around blinking. She was at her desk, text books and notebooks strewn all over. The strands of yet another dream clung to her mind. She rubbed her eyes and sighed in frustration. Couldn't she even close her eyes for two minutes while studying without seeing his face?
This had been going on for over three years!
When she first dreamed of the labyrinth the night after her run she though it was a fluke. After a week of dreams she had packed up anything that reminded her of the labyrinth in a box and shoved it in the attic. A week later she brought the box to Goodwill.
But it didn't stop. She revisited the labyrinth nightly, reliving parts of her run. The tree on the hill, the tunnels, the ballroom, the room of stairs.
It was as if she had never escaped.
His face haunted her dreams, sleeping or otherwise. The scene that replayed the most was the room of stairs. She always awoke before the moment that she said the words that shattered his world.
So many times she had thought of calling on him, confronting him. Fear had always held her back. What if it gave him power over her?
Frazzled from studying for her midterms she finally snapped, she could take it no longer. She glanced in the mirror to make sure she was presentable, stood in her dorm room and called out. "I wish for the King of the Goblins to answer my questions"
Almost immediately she felt his presence, the tingling of her skin as if the very air was charged. She resisted the urge to look at him, instead intently staring at her books.
His voice was wry.. "And what questions could you have for me...Sarah?"
The way he said her name was both an accusation and a caress. Her confidence wavered. "I..."
"Come come now, I haven't got all day."
He was mocking her! All this time dreaming of him and his crazy world and he was mocking her!
She spun and glared at him. Or rather meant to glare, the sight of him knocked the breath out of her. He was a vision in midnight black silk and leather, his wild hair pale as moonlight. Sharp features and mismatched eyes exactly as she remembered, yet somehow more. Alluring, intimidating, beautiful.
It took her a moment to find her voice and when she did she was dismayed to find it more breathy than accusing. "Why are you haunting my dreams?"
He seemed taken aback by her question. "I have not meddled in your dreams Sarah." His eyes grew cold. "I seem to specifically remember you telling me that I have no power over you."
Sarah scoffed. "It has to be you, how else could you explain it?"
"It is you who intrude on my dreams Sarah."
"What?" She gasped in shock.
He scowled. "Every night you force me to relive our interactions. Force me to relive my defeat."
She shook her head, dazed. "It's not possible! I don't have that power!"
"You do..." He began to circle her. "You stole it from me!"
Sarah paled. "No..."
"I can be cruel Sarah but I do not lie."
She put a hand on her desk to steady herself. "I... I didn't know! I didn't realize."
He stopped circling and smirked. "So... ask yourself why you dream of me."
Sarah's face turned a brilliant shade of crimson. This was not how this was supposed to go!
She tried to remember some of her questions. "Was any of it real?"
He raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Real? Of course it was real! I still have not completed the repairs from the destruction you wreaked."
Her voice quavered. "The... dance...was that real too?"
He loomed over her, leaning close to her ear, almost but not quite touching her. He whispered. "Do you want it to be?"
Shivers ran over Sarah from his voice and his proximity. He was centimetres from her face, his eyes peered into hers, searching, waiting.
The answer slipped out unbidden. "Yes." Sarah flinched.
He smirked. His breath was hot against her lips. "It was a dream... but it was also real. I presented you my song... and my heart."
Sarah sucked in her breath, gathering her courage. "And the words you said, at the end... Did you mean them?"
"Oh yes." His lips brushed hers and it took every fiber of her being not to melt into him. She managed to back up one step.
He seemed amused by her tactic. He stepped forward. She took another step back. This continued until Sarah felt the wall at her back. Jareth smirked and placed an arm on either side of her.
"Now, I have some questions for you...do you want me to kiss you?"
Sarah bit her lip in lieu of answer. She averted her gaze, heart pounding.
He lifted her chin, she had no choice but to look at him. The intensity of his gaze was almost painful. His voice was soft but cold. "Answer me!"
She glared at him. "Yes." she hissed.
His mouth took hers so swiftly it stole her breath. He was hungry, forcing his way into her mouth, devouring her. His body pressed her against the wall, she could barely breathe but she didn't care. Sliding her hands down his back she reveled in the touch of silk and lean muscle. Just when she thought she would burst from lack of air he pulled away, leaving Sarah bereft.
Panting and torn between wanting to yell at him or grab him to kiss him again she noticed a twinkle in his eyes. Something was about to happen.
He smirked and the world spun.
She was once again in the shattered room of stairs. The King of the Goblins stood before her, but he was not pale and exhausted.
His high collared cape flitted in the breeze. His eyes were blue fire and they were boring into her, he licked his lips.
Something about the way he was looking at her caused her to look down. She was startled to see a shimmering deep green gown with a plunging neckline, the floor length skirt slit to the hip.
Jareth smirked at her blush. "Am I not generous?"
She tried to flip her hair to cover up and spat. "Generous to yourself!"
"Really? So, you don't want me to repeat my offer? To give you the chance to change how it ends? Is that not the reason that you keep dreaming of this moment?"
She warred between desire and common sense. "Not if it means risking Toby."
He shook his head at her stubbornness. "Your brother was only ever a bargaining chip."
"Then what do you want?"
"You." His eyes wandered over her form. "All of you... for eternity."
Sarah froze. That was quite a proclamation. One that both thrilled and terrified her.
He took her hand, his face was solemn. "Sarah Williams. I ask you again, and for the last time. Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."
How to understand such a contradictory phrase? "Do you fear me?"
He traced his gloved fingertips over her bare ones, she shivered at the contact. He looked back up at her. "I fear your power over my heart"
Searching his face for clues she asked. "Do you love me?"
"Love, lust, loath, take your pick." His eyes twinkled mischievously.
The corner of her mouth twitched. "You are not helping your case."
He gave her a sly smile. "I am certain that you understand that after the debacle that was your run, my feelings for you are complicated."
"If I agree, will I be trapped in the Underground?"
He looked at her and down at their entwined hands."Yes... Much as I am."
Sarah faltered. Jareth tightened his grip in her hand. When he finally looked back into her eyes, there was a vulnerability there.
She stared at their joined hands. "I am once again forced to choose between my family and my dreams."
"I am your dream?" There was a flash of hope in his eyes, but it clouded quickly.
She took his other hand in hers and gazed into his eyes. "Jareth, King of the Goblins. Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."
At her words a strand of glitter appeared. It wound several times around them both before spreading around the room. The floating chunks of stairs and archways pulled back together, the thread interwove among them. When it finally dissipated the room was whole and Sarah sported a new pendant, a twin to his.
Jareth gazed upon Sarah with a triumphant smile. "You found your right words."
She raised her hand and caressed his cheek. "I realized that I fear being in either world without you... and that love doesn't need to be perfect to be true."
He clasped her pendant from between her breasts and used it to pull her closer. With a warm chuckle he purred. "And now my Queen, let us celebrate our union properly."
Her lips were on his. She whispered. "Yes, let's"
.,.,.,.,.,.,.
He was her slave. And she was his.
Theirs was a infinite struggle for the upper hand.
And they both usually won.
.,.,.,.,.,.,.
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Just a little scene that popped into my head a couple of days ago.
Please let me know what you think.
Labyrinth and it's characters belong to Jim Henson. Not mine, not making money.