Window of Opportunity
By WhiteInfinity21
Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth.
And with one last triumphant flourish, Sarah spoke the line that ended it all.
"You have no power over me."
Before her eyes, the Goblin King transformed into a white barn owl and suddenly Sarah found herself back in her parent's bedroom, the place where this whole crazy adventure started. With a loud scream, the transformed Goblin King furiously flapped around, gaining momentum and height and flew outside through the open balcony doors-
SMACK!!!!
Or rather into the closed balcony doors. A soft thump followed seconds later as the stunned bird hit the carpet and lay motionless.
The expression on Jareth the owl's feathery face would have been hilarious if Karen's call hadn't interrupted the moment.
"Sarah what was that noise?" Karen yelled from downstairs.
"It was nothing! Just some dumb bird flying into the window," Sarah called back down.
A soft moan interrupted Sarah's thankfully short conversation with Karen. Looking back over her shoulder Sarah was less than surprised to see Jareth curled up into a ball, clutching his ribs. Sarah let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes.
This just keeps getting better doesn't it? She thought, well I just can't leave him there, Karen is bound to come up in a few moments to stick her nose into my personal life, again. She'd freak if she saw some strangely dressed man in her room.
"Come on," Sarah sighed, swinging one of Jareth's arms over her shoulders, "I have to at least get you where Karen isn't likely to find you right away. She'd have a hissy fit if she saw you"
A painful whimper was her only answer.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sarah muttered as she hauled Jareth's less than feather weight form out of her parent's room.
Finally after a bit of tricky maneuvering and a few bumps and bangs along the way, Sarah kicked her door closed and unceremoniously dumped the Goblin King on her bed. Really, she wanted to dump him on the floor, but she wasn't that cruel.
"Well isn't this a lovely mess," Sarah commented as she watched Jareth curl up in a ball again.
Sarah sighed again. She had already hauled him to her room, she might as well see what was wrong with him. Squaring her shoulders, Sarah marched the few steps between her and the Goblin King on her bed and after a bit of a struggle managed to make him lay straight as he lay there unconscious.
"Okay then, since he was holding his ribs, that should be the first thing I check," Sarah mumbled to herself.
She eyed the prone form of the Goblin King. A blush spread across her face when she realized that she had to strip off his top to be able to determine what damage his one-way flight into the balcony door had caused.
Steady girl, you can do this, Sarah thought, just imagine that this is Grandpa that you are checking for injuries.
That seemed to do it as her blush rapidly faded at the unwelcome mental image. Grasping the bottom of Jareth's shirt, Sarah gently pulled the feather-lined poet's shirt off him. The sight of Jareth's very impressive pale, toned chest even underneath a mass of ugly bruises brought Sarah's blush back in full force.
Think of Grandpa. Remember that this is supposed to be Grandpa, Sarah mentally recited to herself.
It didn't work and her blush only grew deeper. Frowning Sarah gently prodded the bruising which brought a whimper from Jareth as he stirred. He feebly tried to swat her hand away, but Sarah ignored him and continued her examination. The bruising aside, she had a feeling that his ribs were in less than stellar condition.
A low moan brought her attention back to the awakening Goblin King. Sarah stared at him as he opened pain-fogged, unfocused eyes. The fog disappeared the next moment as his eyes cleared and he pinned Sarah with his gaze. An accusation formed in those bi-colored orbs as he continued to stare at her unblinkingly in a rather owl-like manner.
"What?" Sarah defended, "it's not my fault that you decided not to notice that the balcony door was closed. You earned yourself a couple of cracked if not broken ribs with that action."
"Now I remember," Jareth groaned, "and that stupid bird comment was not appreciated if I may add."
"Hey, if the shoe fits," Sarah retorted.
A scowl settled over his features and he tried to get up; only to collapse back on the bed again as the pain overwhelmed him.
"That must really hurt," Sarah observed.
"Thank you for pointing out the obvious," Jareth hissed between clenched teeth.
"Duh!" Sarah smacked herself on the forehead.
"Hold on, I'll be right back," she called out as she raced out of the room.
A minute later Sarah returned with a white bottle and a cup of water. Jareth watched slightly curious as she struggled with the lid of the plastic bottle for a bit, swearing at "stupid granny-proof lids", before popping the top off and pouring four tablets from the container. Sarah shoved the cup of water in Jareth's left hand and dropped the pills in the other.
She stared at him expectantly. He looked back blankly.
"Well come one and take them already," Sarah impatiently barked.
"How do I know that you are not trying to poison me?" Jareth asked, "I refuse to ingest something that I have no idea what it is."
"It's aspirin," Sarah informed him, "and if I recall it was you who poisoned me, not the other way around."
"It was just an enchanted peach," Jareth waved off Sarah's accusation, "but that still doesn't tell me what this medicine you are trying to shove down my throat is."
"Oh," Sarah realized, "you really don't know what aspirin is?"
"Again with pointing out the obvious," Jareth responded.
Sarah scowled at him but continued.
"Aspirin is a pain-killer," she explained, "you know? Its made out of the same stuff willow bark tea is made out of."
Understanding flashed into Jareth's eyes. Without any more complaints, he popped the pills into his mouth, grimacing at the bad taste and quickly drank down the cup of water as he swallowed them.
"Now how am I supposed to treat your injuries?" Sarah asked, "I sure can't check a mythological Goblin King into the hospital. Plus I don't think that this house is stocked with the right materials to treat damaged ribs. I just can't-"
"Stop babbling, you're giving me a headache," Jareth interrupted, "I'll be fine in about a day or two, my body will repair itself perfectly fine on its own."
Sarah looked at him in surprise.
"-provided I get some decent rest and food," Jareth added.
"Uhhh..., right. Food, got it," Sarah mumbled as she walked out of the room.
A second later she poked her head back in.
"Any particular requests?" she distractedly asked.
"Anything hot and filling will do," he answered her with a dismissive wave.
"Chicken noodle soup, got it," Sarah decided as she closed the door and went downstairs.
Ten minutes later Sarah was climbing back up the stairs, a tightly closed thermos in held in her hand. She shot a glance at her parent's room and was satisfied to find that they had gone to sleep already. That certainly made things easier. Quietly Sarah opened the door, set the thermos down on her dresser and turned around to shut the door soundlessly.
Things have gone smoothly so far, Sarah thought, no need to wake up the parental units after all this.
"So tell me Sarah, did you enjoy yourself when I was unconscious?" Jareth drawled.
At Sarah's indignant squawk he continued, "I noticed that you took the liberty of undressing me."
"Or at least partially," he corrected looking down at his still-clothed legs.
"You! You!" Sarah spluttered.
"You what? Charming king, lovely conversationalist, perfect male specimen?" Jareth suggested.
"You arrogant prick!" Sarah hissed, "I go to all this trouble, sneaking behind my parent's backs, hauling you out of their room, letting you have my bed-"
"You're perfectly welcome to join," Jareth interrupted with a smirk.
Sarah ignored him, "-making sure that you haven't managed get yourself killed, and trying my best to make you comfortable."
At that point Sarah ran out of breath and had to stop for a moment to regain it.
"Not to mention the fact that I would be grounded for three months at the least if Dad caught you," Sarah continued, "and all I get in thanks is your ridicule. You ungrateful ass!"
"I would prefer to think of it as being sexy rather than ungrateful," Jareth teased.
Sarah had to stifle the urge to scream, or even better yet, pull all the hair out of Jareth's head.
"That's it," Sarah decided, "you're sleeping on the floor."
"But Sarah," Jareth pleaded, "how could you be so cruel? I am injured after all."
"Injured or not, that cocky attitude of yours has earned yourself a place on the floor tonight," Sarah told him, her tone booking no argument.
"Now eat your soup and get off my bed," she commanded, thrusting the thermos at him.
The look he gave her as he took the thermos and wincing, reluctantly climbed off her bed and onto the floor beside was close to a pout. Privately Sarah thought that it was, but the proud Goblin King was above such expressions.
Spoiled is more like it, Sarah thought as she went out into the hallway and pulled out a pillow and some blankets from the closet in the guest room. Entering her room again, Sarah noticed that Jareth had apparently finished his meal and dumped the blankets and pillow on his lap. He glanced up at her with big, pleading eyes.
"Forget it," Sarah commanded as she slipped in between the covers on her bed.
Sarah heard Jareth sigh and settle down. She soon fell asleep, the day's events finally catching up with her.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-crash!
"Stupid alarm clock," Sarah grumbled groggily as she buried her face in her pillow after sending to annoying thing crashing to the floor, "just a few more minutes….zzzzzz."
Just as Sarah was entering a dream-
"SARAH! Get your lazy body out of bed! It's Monday and you have to get to school in an hour. Now get down here in ten minutes no excuses!" Karen yelled.
"Stupid Karen," Sarah growled, "she's ten times worse than the alarm clock. At least I can turn the clock off."
"SARAH!" Karen yelled again.
"I'm up already, quit nagging!" Sarah shouted.
"You're grounded for the rest of the week young lady!" Karen shot back.
"Lovely, just what I needed, to be stuck in this house all week with her royal pain-in-the-arse. This will do wonders for my already nonexistent social life," Sarah grumbled, "geeze, what crawled up her ass and died this morning?"
Sarah dramatically sighed. She could never win. It was Sarah do this, Sarah do that. Get a boyfriend, watch the baby when we go out. She could never get a break. Life just wasn't fair!
Scratch that, Sarah though sourly, life with Karen is more than unfair, it is misery incarnate.
Sarah yawned and stretched her arms and back, popping a few vertebrae as she did so. Walking over to her closet she pulled out a pale-lavender silk blouse, a dark red tunic and a dark blue full-bodied skirt. Dropping her clothing on her bed, she proceeded to pull the clothes she had fallen asleep last night in (why did she forget to take them off anyway?), starting with her poet shirt that had the sewn-on vest on it. She was in the process of wiggling out of her blue jeans when she caught the image of a most unwelcome reminder in her vanity's mirror.
"Don't stop what you are doing on my account," Jareth commented with a suggestive smirk.
Sarah didn't think, she reacted.
"Pervert!!!" she screeched, "filthy-minded pervert! How dare you watch me undress without warning me that you were awake!"
While she was yelling at Jareth she was flinging everything she could get her hands on, forcing him to make a dive to the other side of her bed.
"Sarah! What on earth is going on up there?" Karen yelled as she stormed upstairs.
Sarah bolted over to the door and locked it just in time. The next second the doorknob furiously rattled as Karen tried to get into her room.
"Sarah open this door right now!" Karen yelled.
"Go away Karen, I'm getting dressed and I don't appreciate you barging in here while I am indecent," Sarah yelled back.
Karen huffed.
"Fine, be down in three minutes or you will miss breakfast," Karen told Sarah as she went back downstairs.
"So I can come out now?" Jareth asked.
"No!" Sarah hissed, "stay there until I'm finished changing or else. And if you so much as take a single peek, I will be having roast owl for dinner tonight!"
"Such a vindictive girl you are Sarah," Jareth teased, staying where he was nonetheless.
With the presence of a half-naked Goblin King sitting on the opposite side of her room, Sarah got dressed in record time.
"Stay there and don't make any noise," Sarah commanded as she tossed her dirty clothing into the hamper, "I'll be back later with something for you to eat."
And before Jareth had the chance to respond she was out the door and flying down the stairs.
"I'm recovering nicely," Jareth told the closed door, "thanks for the concern."
Breakfast at the William's household tended to be a noisy affair (though Karen often wished that it was the opposite) due to the fact that Toby was an energetic one and a half year old who just loved to make funny noises and throw his food everywhere. His favorite targets seemed to be the floor (much to Merlin's delight) and Karen's shirt as she tried to feed him.
It was only ten minutes into breakfast when a horrible thought came to Sarah. She would be going to school in about thirty minutes, and while that usually was no big problem, her unexpected guest/patient was. While Sarah was spending another normal day at high school, she would be leaving Jareth all on his own in the house. In a house full of modern technology which he probably had no idea how to operate. That was a recipe for disaster in Sarah's mind.
If Jareth got bored and decided to explore her parents would kill her if he somehow ended up causing the toaster to melt or the microwave to explode. No leaving Jareth all alone while she went to school definitely wasn't a good idea in Sarah's mind. So that left her with only viable option; she had to stay with him till he was fully recovered and she would be able to throw him out without any guilt on her part.
There was only one problem, convincing her parents to allow her to stay home. Not a pleasant prospect or an easy one either. Well there was another option, she could skip school.
Yeah, that would go over well with Dad, Sarah thought, I'm grounded for the rest of the week for giving Karen the 'tude when I got up. Skipping school today would be like painting a sign on my face saying "ground me till my next birthday". Not happening.
So that left her with trying to convince the parental units to let her stay home from school. The best way to do that would to fake being sick. Normally that would be no problem but in middle school she pulled that trick too many times to get away with it now. Oh well, she could still pull it off. She didn't have a famous actress of a mother for nothing, something like this should be a piece of cake for her (now that she had become a much more believable actress since she hit high school).
So step one in operation Play Sick to Prevent the Goblin King from Blowing Anything Up: don't finish breakfast.
Robert watched Sarah slightly worried as she seemed to pick at her breakfast. She was pushing her food around her plate more than she was eating the food. Usually, Sarah was a hearty eater at the breakfast table. She was a firm believer of one Linda's mottos: "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Now instead of cleaning her plate within minutes, she sat there listlessly staring and poking at it.
Robert took a closer look at his teenaged daughter. She really did seem rather tired, as if she had not gotten enough sleep the previous night.
"Sarah, why don't you go upstairs and lie down for a few minutes," Robert suggested.
"Don't coddle the girl, Robert," Karen scolded, "she looks perfectly healthy to me, if her behavior earlier this morning was any indication."
"Still honey, but I've heard of that nasty stomach bug that has been going around lately, she could have caught something at school," Robert insisted.
Karen sighed, "fine, go upstairs. But you had better be ready to go by the time the school bus comes."
Score! Sarah mentally cheered.
Seeing her chance, Sarah asked if she could bring her plate up to her room if she got hungry later. Her father was more than happy to give permission while Karen scowled as she didn't like Sarah eating up in her room. Said it make her unsocialable.
Sarah had to hide her glee at being to pull off part one of her master plan. Carefully she schooled her face to make her look tired and as she walked upstairs, she deliberately made her movements slower as if she was low on energy. The more believable she made this, the more likely she could pull this stunt off.
Closing her door, Sarah was greeted with the sight of many of her possessions scattered about her room. And there, right in the middle of the mess sat Jareth lounging on her bed with her copy of The Hobbit in his hands.
"Can't I leave you alone for even fifteen minutes without you making a mess out of my room?" she demanded.
Jareth gave her a shrug as if to say, "I was bored. What did you expect me to do?"
This is the exact reason why leaving him on his own is a baaaaad idea, Sarah thought.
The smell of Sarah's still warm breakfast wafted past Jareth's nose. His stomach growled loudly. He looked hopefully at Sarah.
"Why should you get any after this mess you made?" Sarah asked.
"Because you want to make a strong recovery?" Jareth helpfully pointed out.
"Grrrr," Sarah growled as she restrained herself from shoving the plate in the smug Goblin King's face.
Scrambled egg in that hair would probably be an improvement anyway, Sarah wickedly thought, an evil grin spreading across her features.
"First I want to see how far along the healing has come," Sarah commanded.
Jareth seemed all too happy to take off his shirt and display his bare chest for Sarah. Sure enough the bruising had gone down, but she was unsure of how well his ribs were doing. So Sarah did the first thing that came to mind. She poked his ribs.
Jareth yelped and shot her a nasty glare.
"Looks like they're still broken," Sarah observed, feeling satisfaction at being to pay back the mighty Goblin King for the current condition of her room, no matter how immature it was.
"That hurt," Jareth whined.
"Poor baby," Sarah snorted.
"Can I get a kiss to make it better?" Jareth asked hopefully.
Sarah didn't bother to give that suggestion an answer. Instead she just put the plate on the nightstand right next to the bed and left the room. Time to implement part two of operation Play Sick to Prevent the Goblin King from Blowing Anything Up: make herself look like she really was sick.
Sarah took a comb and made an absolute rat's nest of her hair and used a bit of make up to make the slight circles under her eyes darker and to give her skin a washed out pallor. Then Sarah spent a few seconds viciously rubbing her eyes, making them appear bloodshot. Sarah took another look at herself in the mirror. Perfect, she looked to be in rather bad shape and all she had to do to pull this off was to use body language to back up the impression she was trying to make. Like drooping her shoulders, letting her head hang low, her arms hang limply at her sides and scuffing her footsteps as she walked.
Too bad I couldn't throw up, Sarah thought, that would really make this whole charade flawless.
"Sarah, honey, I'm coming up to see how you are doing," Robert called up.
Sarah hurried to put the make-up and comb away.
"Hey Sarah," Robert said, "are you feeling any better?"
"I don't think so," Sarah replied in a weak and slightly hoarse voice as she turned around to face her father.
A look of alarm came across her father's face.
"Sarah, I don't think that you should go to school today, you look awful," Robert announced.
'But Daddy, I'm fine, really," Sarah defended, inwardly pleased at how well this was going.
"Daddy?" Robert echoed, "that's it. Now I know you are not well. You only call me that when you are feeling sad, depressed or are sick."
"But Dad….," Sarah tried again weakly.
"No buts about it, off to bed with you," Robert sternly told her as he placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her out of the bathroom and back to her bedroom door.
"Now get some sleep honey," Robert told her.
"Okay Daddy," Sarah meekly responded, inwardly cheering.
I almost feel bad about pulling the wool over Dad's eyes, Sarah thought as she closed her door, then again it isn't everyday that one has an injured Goblin King with too much curiosity for his own good stuck in one's room.
"You look awful," Jareth observed.
"That's the point," Sarah shot back, unable to hide her victorious grin.
"Now you look like a deranged harpy," Jareth teased.
"Well, since you seem to be up to taunting me, you should be recovered enough to go back," Sarah declared, "so why don't you poof yourself back and save both of us a lot of grief?"
"For one I don't 'poof'," Jareth pointed out, "and secondly the only way for me to return to my kingdom is to fly back. I can only cross the border between the Aboveground and the Underground while in owl form. Finally, I'm no where healed enough to be able to fly back yet. So I guess that you will just have to put up with me for a bit longer."
Sarah's annoyance at Jareth's announcement was quite apparent on her face and Jareth chuckled. He quickly stopped as the action brought a fresh wave of pain from his mending ribs.
"Idiot," Sarah spoke under her breath, "he just had to fly into the stupid window didn't he? Stupid bird, stupid Goblin King."
"I take offense to that," Jareth spoke.
"Good," Sarah replied.
"Humph," Jareth snorted and went back to his book.
Well since I'm staying home today, I might as well as get all my homework for this week done, Sarah thought as she pulled out her school notebooks and sat down at her desk, there is also that History test on Wednesday that I need to study for. At least I won't be bored today.
Bored, bored, bored. Sarah Williams was bored out of her mind. She had completed her English and Math homework in about an hour and had spent the next two hours studying for her test on Wednesday. After two hours of studying her history notes, Sarah couldn't stand to read another word of her scrawled handwriting and put the notebook down with a snarl of disgust.
Jareth by the looks of it was getting restless as well. He had apparently finished The Hobbit in about an hour after she started on her homework and was currently halfway through the first book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Though he attentively kept on turning the pages of the paperback, the occasional glances he sent her way along with the occasional twitch told Sarah plainly that he wanted to do something else.
Sarah's stomach rumbled. Jareth heard it and looked up at her.
"I guess that it is lunch time," Sarah observed, "think you are up to going downstairs and eating at the kitchen table?"
Jareth shrugged and made to stand up. Sarah watched as he got to his feet cautiously and managed to take a few tentative steps without any apparent signs of pain.
"Good enough," Sarah replied, "take your time going down the stairs. I don't need you to get a concession by falling down the stairs if you try to go too fast and end up stressing your ribs."
"I'm not that incompetent," Jareth grumbled.
"Says the featherbrain that flew into the balcony door," Sarah replied.
Jareth growled at her.
Looks like someone can't take their own medicine, Sarah smugly thought.
"I'll meet you downstairs," Sarah announced, "I have to prepare something for the both of us and I don't trust you with anything in the kitchen."
"Especially the microwave," she added as an afterthought.
"A what?" Jareth asked puzzled.
"My point exactly," Sarah replied.
Sarah ended up making three grilled cheese sandwiches (two for her since she skipped breakfast and one for Jareth) along with a bowl of tomato soup each to dunk the grilled cheeses in. While looking at the beverage options in the fridge, Sarah decided on some fruit punch, as she wasn't too sure what Jareth's reaction to the sugar and caffeine in the soda would be.
Jareth had sat down at the table by the time she served all the food and started eating as soon as she set down the last of it. Sarah honestly had no idea what the Goblin King normally ate so she decided to keep the meals simple. No need to put in a lot of work if her efforts would not be appreciated. Jareth seemed to like what she served for lunch well enough as he cleared his plate without any complaints. Sarah consumed her portion in record speed since she had skipped breakfast that morning, sacrificing it for a quicker recovery on Jareth's behalf.
As soon as both of them finished, Sarah gathered up their plates and dumped them in the dishwasher as is. Karen would probably complain about it when she got back, but Sarah could claim that she was too sick to properly wash them.
Looking towards the living room, Sarah got an idea. Perhaps it was time to introduce the Goblin King to one of the finer aspects of modern technology, the television.
"Movie time!" Sarah announced as she ran into the living room.
Sarah scanned the titles of the different tapes for a few minutes before settling on a childhood favorite, The Wizard of Oz. The similarities between Dorothy's adventure over the rainbow and Sarah's journey through the Labyrinth didn't escape her. By now Jareth had wandered in after her and stood in the middle of the room watching her. Sarah motioned to Jareth to take a seat on the sofa as she popped the tape into the VCR.
"Okay, this is how it will go," Sarah announced as she whirled around to stare Jareth straight in the eye, "this is called a television. It projects pictures onto its screen and tells a story, sort of like a play. The television isn't dangerous in anyway, so when I turn it on, no attacking it."
Sarah pushed the power button, turning on the TV. The screen abruptly came to life, the sound of a coke jingle coming from the speakers. Sarah watched Jareth carefully for any reaction. After a slight flicker of surprise that crossed his face, he seemed to get the main idea of what was going on.
Sarah saw Jareth open his mouth to ask something but she cut him off.
"No, it is not magic, it is just a form of technology, and runs off of electricity," Sarah told him, "and don't ask how it works since I really don't know and don't ask what electricity is either. I don't have the knowledge or patience to explain either to you."
Sarah turned around and pressed the play button on the VCR before walking over and plopping down on the other side of the couch. The opening music and the black and white image of the beginning of the movie came out of the TV and soon both of them were too engrossed in the movie to make any more conversation.
An hour and a half later, Dorothy and had awoken in her room, surrounded by her friends and family, having successfully returned home from Oz after clicking her red shoes and saying "There's no place like home" three times. They watched the last few minutes of the black and white real world and then the credits rolled.
A few minutes later, Jareth made the offhand comment that Dorothy form the movie reminded him of Sarah. Jareth's comparison between Sarah's journey through the Labyrinth and Dorothy's adventure in the Land of Oz sparked a lively conversation between the two of them that lasted almost half an hour. As he observed, both Dorothy and Sarah had had an adventure in a world of fantasy and magic. Both girls had faced dangers and went through many trials, collecting a group of unlikely companions along the way. And in the end, both Dorothy and Sarah ended going back home.
The conversation soon turned into what character form the movie reminded them of some of the beings that dwelled in the Labyrinth. Sarah had jokingly pointed out that the Munchkins reminded her of the goblins. To which Jareth replied that if his goblins were munchkins, than Toby was Toto. Then Sarah had countered that if Toby was Toto, than his goblin army was the flying monkeys. Jareth got a laugh out of that, since the flying monkeys had actually been more effective fighters than his goblin guard.
It was mutually decided that Hoggle had an uncanny resemblance to the Cowardly Loin (to which Jareth was more than happy to agree to), that Ludo was the Scarecrow and that Sir Didymus was the Tin Man. They had a hard time choosing who the Good Witch of the North resembled, eventually, out of lack of a better choice, settling on the Wiseman with the bird hat.
Sarah gleefully announced that Karen was the Wicked Witch of the West and spent several minutes listing all the character traits that both women shared. After Sarah had decided that Karen was the Wicked Witch, Jareth realized that left him with being the wizard of Emerald City. Needless to say that he was less than thrilled with getting stuck with that role. Sarah pointed out that underneath the flashy power displays and intimidating language, both Jareth and the wizard were just normal, decent people. She also teased that both of them made awful villains.
Jareth scowled at that remark.
Sarah to placate him, allowed Jareth to choose the next movie. He choose The Terminator out of all things.
Sometimes there is just no accounting for taste, Sarah thought.
Reluctantly Sarah took the tape from Jareth and popped it into the VCR. Soon the previews that came before movie opening rolled and Sarah sat back down on the couch and got comfortable, preparing for a long nap while the movie ran.
Sure enough, fifteen minutes into the movie proper, Sarah was deep into dreamland. Jareth didn't seem to notice, being enraptured with the movie.
Sarah felt so warm and comfortable that she didn't want to wake up. Her sleep last night hadn't been the greatest and she felt so comfortable right now that she just wanted to stay where she was, unmoving. Unfortunately at that moment Sarah's nose decided to itch fiercely. Grumbling, Sarah reached up to make the distraction go away only to have her hand tangle in something that was not a normal part of the couch.
What on earth? Sarah sleepily thought.
Itch now forgotten, Sarah explored what she had snagged her hand on with her finger tips. Soft, silky material greeted her fingers. As her fingers traveled upwards, she encountered some wrinkles in the cloth which she absentmindedly smoothed as she went on.
This is obviously high quality cloth, Sarah mused, who would just leave it here on my parent's couch?
Sarah's hand went up even farther. More of the cloth passed under her fingertips until they came across something sewn into the material that was of an entirely different feel and texture. Soft, a bit bristly, and had a broken line along each object that seemed to cling to her fingers as she ran the tips over the object. It seemed almost downy…?
Sort of like feathers, Sarah mused.
Something was nagging at the back of her mind.
What object has this type of material with feathers sewn into it? Sarah tried to recall, the only thing that I can think of is… Jareth's shirt! What is his shirt doing under me?
It was then that Sarah finally realized that the warmth she felt surrounding her had a definite source; one that was coming from under her. And the source was most certainly not the couch. As she puzzled over this with her sleep fogged mind, another thing became apparent to her. What she was laying on was not stationary, for even as the thought crossed her mind, the object beneath her rose and fell slowly, almost like a person breathing.
Suddenly everything clicked in Sarah's mind, driving the rest of the fog from her mind. The silk shirt with the feather lined collar, the warm breathing object, or person, that she was lying on… she had been sleeping on Jareth!!!
How did that happen?! Sarah thought, I fell asleep on the opposite side of the couch from Jareth. How did I end up in this position?
A voice interrupted her thoughts, Jareth's voice to be more correct.
"Would you stop moving around?" he groggily asked, "you woke me up from a most pleasant dream."
"Jareth…" Sarah growled, "what am I doing on your chest?"
"Well it looked that you were rather uncomfortable in your position sitting up, so I thought that you would appreciate me moving you to a better position," Jareth answered, fully awake, "I guess that sometime during the movie I fell asleep with you on top of me. It wasn't that hard really, you make a nice blanket."
"You're pushing your luck buster," Sarah warned.
"I do believe that that was the first time you actually used my name," Jareth observed, "I think I liked the way you pronounced it as you growled at me. You sounded like you wanted to eat me alive, very arousing."
"Pervert," Sarah grumbled as she climbed off Jareth's chest, a small part of her missing the close contact with him as she pulled away.
Jareth only chuckled.
"You must be close to fully recovered if you could sleep like that with me on your chset without your ribs hurting," Sarah pointed out, poking him.
The poke failed to elicit any pain from the Goblin King.
"Well, I believe that you are correct," Jareth realized.
"Then it means that you can go back now," Sarah announced.
"Are you so eager to get rid of me?" Jareth pouted, "I thought that we were having a good time together."
Sarah realized that Jareth was right. She had been enjoying her time with him as he stayed in her house recovering form his flight into the balcony door. She was almost sad to know that he was about to leave. Sometime during their time together, Sarah had started considering him as a friend, not as the menacing Goblin King.
"Yeah, I guess that we did," Sarah admitted, "but you still can't stay here. For one my parents would kill me if they found you and secondly, you have responsibilities that you need to get back to."
"True," Jareth agreed, "but I still can't go back."
"Why?" Sarah asked.
"You took me into your home and took care of me while I was healing (however grudgingly). You did your best to make that I was fed and entertained, and comfortable as well," Jareth explained, "you did this without expecting any reward, at your own personal expense and discomfort. I now owe you a debt and I'm unable to return to the Labyrinth without repaying you in equal measure for your efforts on my behalf."
"So what you are telling me is that you are physically able to return, but the magic and protocol will not let you until you do something for me as well?" Sarah asked.
"As you so succulently put it, yes," Jareth replied.
"Lovely," Sarah sighed, "looks like you will be here a bit longer. I have no idea what you can do to repay your debt.
Which I think that you really don't have to do anyway, Sarah thought.
Just then the grandfather clock upstairs staring tolling, telling her that it was 5pm. Sarah had to get Jareth out of sight fast, her parents would be home within minutes. She told him this and Jareth agreed. The sound of Karen's car pulling into the garage made them beat a hasty retreat to the safety of Sarah's bedroom.
"Sarah? Are you up in your room?" Karen called as she slammed the garage door closed behind her, "I need some help unloading the groceries and Toby's stuff."
"Well she didn't miss a beat," Sarah remarked, "already assigning me chores even when I'm supposedly sick."
"Which you technically aren't," Jareth pointed out.
"Well I should go down, if I don't Karen is likely to come up and investigate," Sarah sighed, "and Jareth until I come back-"
"Stay put and don't make any noise," Jareth interrupted her, "I know."
'And don't make a mess either," Sarah added as she exited the room, closing the door behind her.
Sarah hurried down the stairs and towards the kitchen to confront the dragon in her den.
"Oh there you are," Karen spoke as Sarah came into the kitchen, "it took you long enough. Unload the rest of the bags from the trunk while I get Toby out."
"Yes mam," Sarah dutifully replied, inwardly thinking, yes you evil tyrant, your slave is at your beck and call, ready to do your bidding.
Karen had already gone back into the garage and was unbuckling Toby from the baby seat as Sarah grabbed several heavy bags from the trunk. Stumbling, Sarah followed Karen back into the kitchen, dumped the bags on the table and went back for the rest. Once she had deposited the second round of bags onto the counter, Sarah started automatically putting the groceries away, long used to this ritual.
Sarah finally put the last can away into the pantry and let out a sigh, wiping her forehead to get rid of the sweat. Now that was done, if Sarah got out quickly enough, Karen couldn't give her another chore. Seeing Karen's back turned, Sarah made good her escape. Or would have at least if Karen hadn't turned around just as she took the first step up the stairs.
"Sarah, wait a moment," Karen called.
Sarah stifled a groan. Great, now Karen was sure to pile her with chores to keep her busy until dinner.
"I just wanted to tell you that your father is having some of his colleagues over for dinner tonight," Karen informed her, "I hope that I don't need to remind you to make yourself presentable and be on your best behavior while they are over. Robert trying to secure an important business deal and he won't appreciate any trouble from you."
Sarah really groaned this time.
"Now don't give me any of that young lady," Karen lectured, "you know how important business dinners are to your father. And you know that you can't hide up in your room the entire night, you have a duty to be with your family."
"But what if I already had something planned?" Sarah asked.
"You never seem to do and so I just assumed that this was the case tonight," Karen responded, "besides we already went over this last Sunday, I don't feel like repeating myself. Now go get ready, the guests will be here by 6:30."
Sarah didn't hesitate at all. She practically flew up the stairs, not wanting to be in her step-mother's presence any longer.
"There has to be a way to get out of this, there just has to be," Sarah talked to herself.
Then it hit her. She did have a way to get out of this. Sarah's conversation on Sunday afternoon after she had arrived home soaking wet came back to her. So Karen wanted Sarah to date did she? Well she shouldn't disappoint her any longer.
Not only did she have an excuse to get out of a stuffy and boring business dinner, but she also had an answer to the "Stuck Goblin King Problem". It was so simple when she thought about it, she would be killing two birds with one stone.
Sarah opened her bedroom door with a big grin on her face. Jareth noticed and raised an eyebrow.
"You have good news I take it?" he inquired.
"Good and bad news," Sarah answered as she dropped down on her bed next to Jareth, "my dad is having his work buddies over for a business dinner."
"That is not a good thing I gather," Jareth queried.
"Yup," Sarah responded, "those dinners are always so deadly boring and Dad's business partners are always so stuffy. All they ever do is talk about work and the stock market."
"I'm guessing that you want me to stay up here for the duration of the evening?" Jareth asked.
Sarah's grin only grew wider.
"Nope," Sarah announced, "in fact neither of us are going to be in the house tonight."
"How so?" Jareth asked, "I'm assuming that you are being forced to attend this business dinner."
"Yes, but I have a sure fire excuse to get out of it," Sarah replied, "and you get to discharge your debt as well."
"Oh?" Jareth asked intrigued.
"You're going to treat me to dinner and a movie," Sarah declared, "we're going on a date. Now turn around, I have to get ready."
At six o'clock sharp the doorbell rang. At the same time, Sarah rushed down the stairs, dressed in a dove-grey tank top with a sweet-heart neckline and a knee-length baby blue skirt. On her feet she wore white sandals that had many criss-crossing straps and a green scarf was tied around her neck.
Karen who had left the kitchen to answer the door, gave Sarah a critical look-over.
"You certainly look dressed up," Karen commented, "but I don't think that it is appropriate for a business dinner."
"Oh, I'm not eating with the family tonight," Sarah told Karen, "I have a date tonight, you never gave me the chance to tell you."
"A date! Oh how wonderful!" Karen exclaimed, her attitude doing a 180, "well we certainly don't want to keep your young man waiting. I'll tell Robert that you are unavailable, now off with you."
The doorbell rang again as Sarah hurried to greet her date.
The man Sarah greeted at the door was not what Karen had been expecting. She had expected to see some bumbling high school boy, but what she saw was a drop-dead gorgeous man who looked like he had just entered college. Not only was prime material for every female's erotic fantasies, but the way he dressed showed off his perfectly sculpted body.
Sarah's date was wearing from fitting black pants that left nothing to the imagination, and had on a scarlet red, button down long-sleeve shirt that had several of the top buttons undone, giving a tantalizing view of his sexy, toned chest. Over the shirt he was wearing the oddest pendant on a long leather string that hung down half-way down his torso. Slung over one shoulder was an expensive, black leather coat. To complete the image, he had wild blond hair that went everywhere but was soft and light to the touch. He also had the oddest eyes Karen had ever seen on a person.
Karen had to wonder where Sarah had managed to score such hot piece of man-flesh. She normally would have been worried about the age gap, but the strong look of tenderness and adoration the man had on his face as he looked at Sarah dispelled any worries Karen might have had.
"So ready to go?" Sarah's date asked, a hint of humor in his voice.
Karen was about to melt. Not only did was he too gorgeous to be real, but he had a voice to match. His voice was low and rich and the very sound of it sent shivers up any female's spine that heard it.
"Well if you are done showing off in front of my step-mother," Sarah responded, "I'm more than ready to blow this joint."
"Ah, excellent," the man replied, "your transportation awaits my lady."
Sarah mock-curtsied to him and took his offered arm as they strode out the door.
"Sarah, you had better not return until after midnight or I'm grounding you for another week," Karen cheerfully called as they left the house, shutting the door behind them.
"So that was your step-mother," Jareth commented, "she wasn't as bad as you described her."
"That's only because she had someone to show off to," Sarah responded, "when it is just us, she turns into a slave-driver."
"So where to?" Jareth asked, "this was your idea after all."
"Do you like Italian?" Sarah asked, "I know of this great place that is really close to here."
Dinner had gone more smoothly that Sarah had thought. The atmosphere of the small, family run Italian restaurant made them both relax the moment they stepped inside. The waitress had greeted Sarah by name and happily showed them to small table for two tucked away in a corner, giving the place an intimate setting.
Many young men had dinned at this table, while romancing their love interests on a special date. To date, fifteen men had proposed to their girlfriends at this table and all of them had ended up happily married. Though matrimony was far from the purpose of tonight's excursion with a certain Goblin King. This was her first date with him after all and Sarah wanted it to be special. If she never saw again after he returned home, at least Sarah would have this special night to remember him by.
Jareth had let Sarah order for him, letting her knowledge of the dishes the restaurant served guide her selection. Sarah had ordered a plate of bowtie pasta with chicken breast covered in a light pesto sauce for herself and chose lamb stuffed with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese topped with marinara sauce with a side of vegetables for Jareth. Both had enjoyed their meals and shared a slice of tiramisu for dessert.
Sarah paid the bill above Jareth's protests (even though he had no way to pay for the meal himself) and they both left the restaurant just in time to be able to catch the 8:30 reshowing of the first Star Wars movie at the nearby one-dollar theater. By 8:55pm Jareth and Sarah were seated in the back of the Cineplex watching the opening credits roll.
It was near midnight after the movie ended and Sarah and Jareth exited the movie theater engaged in an animated discussion about the movie. Sarah was right in the middle of trying to tell Jareth why light sabers were impossible to make when his sudden imitation of the wookie made Sarah double over in laughter.
All in all, Sarah had thoroughly enjoyed her date with Jareth. During dinner he was a charming conversationalist and a fierce debater and while giving off an air of superiority most of the time (Sarah supposed that it came from being the Goblin King) he had been pleasant and respectful with her the entire time. Jareth, Sarah also discovered, had a wicked sense of humor and they spent quite a bit of time trying to make the other breathless with laughter.
On the way back, Sarah took them on a detour to the park, wanting to make this night last as long as she make it. It was only when they had crossed the bridge that Sarah recited the lines from her little red book with gold lettering that the memories from last Sunday finally overwhelmed her. The park was when this whole adventure began in Sarah's mind and it seemed the park was where it would ultimately end. A few silent tears trickled down her face as the thought of this being their last meeting came to her.
Jareth had noticed and tenderly wiped her tears away.
"What is the matter Sarah?" Jareth asked concerned.
"I know that it is selfish," Sarah sobbed, "but I don't want to let you return, I don't want to let you go. I have the horrible feeling that when you leave tonight that I will never see you again."
"So that is what is causing you sorrow?" Jareth asked, "that's it? Such a simple solution exists for that problem."
"Really?" Sarah replied.
Jareth flicked his fingers and a crystal appeared in his hand. He twirled it around a bit before offering it to Sarah.
"What does it do?" Sarah asked slightly suspicious.
"It's a crystal, nothing more," Jareth teased, "but if you hold it this way and wish with all your being, it will grant you your heart's desire. Consider it a gift freely given."
"If I take that, it will be me who owes you something," Sarah pointed out.
"It's just a gift, no strings attached," Jareth reassured her.
"I still feel like that you deserve something in return for this," Sarah murmured as she took the crystal, "what did I ever do to deserve something this special?"
"For no other reason than you are special to me," Jareth answered her whispered question, "for you I would bring the moon and the stars down from the heavens and give them to you. You really are a special girl Sarah Williams. Never forget that."
Sarah was unable to give a response to that confession. Now she really felt like dirt. She had selfishly took everything that Jareth had offered back when she had ran the Labyrinth only to throw it in his face when she reached the Escher room. Now she had been given a second chance in the form of Jareth's self-inflicted injury due to sheer clumsiness and she had nothing to offer him in return.
"Oh Sarah, there is no need for those self-defeating thoughts," Jareth murmured, "your care for me this past two days tells me more than words ever could. That is all I could ever ask for."
"Jareth…" Sarah started.
"Shhh…" he told her, placing a finger on her lips, "everything will turn out all right in the end. Just enjoy the rest of the night with me."
And that was just what they did. The walk home from the park was spent in silence, enjoying the other's company. Sarah had drew close to Jareth and he in return put an arm around her waist and pulled her even closer.
They finally arrived at the back door of Sarah's house practically attached at the hip. The lights were out in the house and everyone was fast asleep inside. Sarah gathered her courage and before she could chicken out, placed a shy kiss on his lips.
Jareth's response was immediate. His arms came up around her neck and pulled Sarah closer and the shy, innocent kiss quickly turned into something deeper and much more passionate. When Jareth finally let Sarah up for air, she was beet red.
"Think that of a promise for things to come," he teased.
All Sarah could do was let out a squeak as she went limp in his arms from being so lightheaded. That if nothing else made Jareth's smirk grow to twice its previous size.
"Thank you for the lovely evening," Sarah breathlessly whispered.
"I have another gift that I want to give to you before I go," Jareth announced.
He produced another crystal and playfully lobbed at Sarah. Right as it was about to hit her, it exploded in a glitter of light and Sarah felt a weight settle around her neck. Curious, she lifted the object up and saw with surprise that it was an owl in flight behind a full moon, with a tiny, glittering crystal grasped in its claws.
Sarah gasped. It was absolutely lovely. Her fingers eagerly explored the finely detailed surface of the pendant before traveling up to run the delicate silver chain through her fingers.
Something was off about the chain. Sarah pulled the chain through the owl pendant for almost a minute before realizing that the chain had no clasp. Jareth of course noticed her discovery and a mischievous grin played at the corner of his lips.
"That pendant has a powerful protection charm woven into it," Jareth explained, "no sense I you having such a trinket if it could be so easily separated form you."
"I guess that makes sense…" Sarah replied, trailing off, "but I have a feeling that there is a deeper reason for this."
"Observant girl," Jareth chuckled, "it also has another spell laced into it. But I won't be the one to tell you what it is. I'll let you discover it for yourself."
'I knew that your generosity was too good to be true," Sarah grumbled.
"My dear, I'm the Goblin King. I don't give something without expecting it to benefit me sometime in the future," Jareth declared.
"I believe that you have just outlived your welcome Goblin King," Sarah tartly announced.
Jareth only laughed.
"Yes, it is high time that I returned to my castle to prevent my goblins from wrecking the place," the Goblin King stated, "oh and Sarah, don't think that you haven't seen the last of me. I can assure that we will meet again."
"Forever won't be too soon," Sarah grumbled, her heart not really in it.
And for the third time in her life Sarah watched the Goblin King change from man to owl. It really was an impressive sight when one took the time look at it and appreciate the beauty in the transformation. The owl flapped its wings silently a few times before rising in the air.
Jareth gave Sarah a parting hoot before flying up into the star filled sky. Sarah sighed and turned around to go back inside. She certainly wouldn't forget this night anytime soon. And to think, it all started with Jareth flying into the closed balcony door. Fate sure worked in funny ways...
SMACK!!!
… as Jareth flew straight into the tree above her window.
"Oh gods! Not again!!!"
Well this was sure unexpected. I never had planned on writing this, but the idea of what would have happened if the balcony door ahdn't opened for Jareth as he made his screeching exit from Sarah's parents' bedroom wouldn't leave me alone. And after many hours of writing anf proof-reading, this is the final result.
Hope you liked it. Leave a review and tell me what you think.