Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth.

The Daydreamer and the King

By Danika Lareyna

Chapter One - A Conversation

A young woman sat at her vanity, brushing the tangles from her long hair. Cursed Fireys could not keep their hands off of her head, giving it the occasional tug, which had resulted in a mass of chestnut brown knots. She worked patiently, restoring her long locks to their previous lustrous glory. An odd sense of peace and contentment surrounded the girl, a feeling that was almost foreign to her. As she worked, she hummed a melancholy love song.

When she finished her grooming, the last lines of the song escaped her lips. "But I'll be there for you, as the world falls down…" Her voice was soft and sweet though obviously untrained. She did not mind, she only sang for herself anyway.

Sarah tucked her hairbrush back into the vanity and gave her possessions a loving glance. Her eyes lingered on each item, precious treasures of her childhood. Tomorrow she would get rid of them, most of them anyway. They were all junk, after all. But for the moment she would enjoy them, revel in the memories they brought forth.

Finally, tiring of being stared at, she turned to her window. A white barn owl watched her from the branches of a tree outside her room. She had been aware of its presence since halfway through the victory party with her friends, celebrating her defeat of the Labyrinth. It had not moved since then, just sat and watched her, glowing in the moonlight.

Pushing open the window, Sarah leaned against the frame with her head in her hands and regarded the owl back. With an amused smile, she told it, "You know, I don't feel like being glared at all night, Jareth. I would appreciate it if you would either come in and tell me what is on your mind or go back to your realm and torment your own subjects." That said, Sarah turned back to her room and began tidying up the mess left by a few of said subjects, as if she did not care at all which option the bird chose.

A moment later the room went dark, a strong breeze swirled through the window, carrying a sprinkle of silver glitter, and a menacing shadow stretched across the floor towards Sarah. Without looking up, she murmured, "Is all the drama really necessary?"

Jareth, cruel and wicked King of the Goblins, leaned casually against the windowframe and crossed his arms. "Old habits," he drawled.

Nodding absently, Sarah began reassembling the Scrabble board. She had to retrieve letter tiles from every corner of the room. In her mind, she made it a sort of treasure hunt. She was a dashing and beautiful adventurer in search of ancient, mystical runes…

Working herself into a nice daydream, Sarah paid the Goblin King very little mind. He watched her go about her business with boredom in his mismatched eyes. Sarah squealed in delight, her bottom half sticking out from under her bed, when she found an "O" tile. Rolling his eyes, Jareth waved a hand and the little pieces of wood immediately rose up from their hiding places around the room and zoomed into the box with a soft clatter. One of the pieces just happened to bounce off Sarah's backside as she emerged from beneath the bed, but that was most certainly an unfortunate accident. Most certainly.

The young woman gave the box a frown and tossed her treasure atop the rest. She turned to the Goblin King, resplendent in midnight blue and black, and put her hands on her hips. "Ok Jareth, you have my full attention," she said to him, "What do you want?"

His pointed brows drew down and Jareth glared at Sarah until she began to wonder what she had done wrong this time. With a flash of intuition, she realized exactly what the problem was. The Goblin King had no more idea than she why he was here. Sarah swallowed an amused grin, no point provoking a man who could doubtless call lightning down on her house with a thought.

Turning back to her vanity, Sarah began to put her hair into two braids, one on either side of her head, for sleep. She worked slowly, carefully, and watched Jareth in the mirror. "I'm glad you are here, actually. I wanted to thank you," she said, "For today."

Jareth frowned, looking suspicious. "Thank me?"

Sarah nodded, "You gave me exactly the adventure I always dreamed of. I got to play the heroine, overcome all sorts of dangers and make lots of magical friends. It was kind of scary at times, but really fun." She turned and grinned at him, fingers still tangled in her hair, "You make a wonderful villian."

He crossed his arms, "Lots of practice."

With a chuckle, Sarah faced the mirror once more and began her second braid. Sobering, she said in a low voice, "Well, thank you anway. I'm sorry I had to go and refuse your offer."

He picked up a book from her bedside table. She could not remember what she had been reading but she was certain it was silly and childish. He stared at it with blatant disinterest, his demeanor stating that he was only slightly more amused by the book than by the conversation. "I would have given you everything, you know."

Her reply was so soft, he almost did not hear it. "I know."

Jareth's voice betrayed restrained anger as he said, "Then why?"

Sarah stood and turned to face the Goblin King. She studied his face, taking her time to forumlate her answer. He was terrible and beautiful, exactly as he should be. The confusion and pain, unsuccessfully hidden in those mismatched eyes, had no place there. At last, she said, "What you offered… was not something that could be sold or traded for."

He obviously did not understand. She gave a small, exhasperated sigh, accompanied by a tiny smile. Raising up to her tiptoes, she gave Jareth a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "Some things need to be given freely or they have no meaning."

Before the nonplussed king could reply, Sarah slipped into bed and whispered, "Goodnight, Jareth."

Author's Note:

I am at work. I am bored. I do not have the first half of Magic Eyes Chpt 6. So this kinda... popped out. I don't know. If the boredom continues so will the story. I have another 7 hours before I go home so chances are good.

By the way, I have no spellcheck here at work so I would appreciate it if you would point out any errors you come across.