(Sequel to Regrets)
I own nothing from the Labyrinth. I did however create Kyra, and she is all mine.
Toby walked into the house, slamming the door behind him and setting the briefcase he carried down before shrugging out of the suit coat he wore. He hung it on the coat rack just beside the doorway, rolling his shoulders as he tried to ease the tension a daylong meeting and rush hour traffic had caused. He hated meetings, and had hoped to unwind with a brisk drive home only to be snagged in a line of cars that were trying to do the same thing he was…get home. He walked down the hall to the kitchen, the first place he usually checked when he got home, for food and for company.
"Sarah?" He called wondering if for once he had beaten her home when he got no reply. He walked to the refrigerator; opening the door and pulling out the carton of juice he favored tipping it back for a drink without benefit of a glass.
"Toby." Sarah said in warning as she exited the laundry room with a basket laden with clothing.
Toby set the carton down immediately, reaching for a glass with an exaggerated sigh and pouring the juice obediently, replacing the carton in the refrigerator as he raise the glass for a drink.
"How was your day?" Sarah asked cheerfully as she began to fold the laundry into neat piles on the kitchen table.
"Meetings." Toby said with a shudder of disgust.
"They're a necessary part of running a business, Toby."
"Why did I let you talk me into expanding your bookstore into a chain?" Toby asked, flinging himself into a chair as he nibbled on a cookie.
"If I remember correctly it was your idea." Sarah corrected with a grin. "You came out of college all fired up with ideas. I don't know where they came from."
"Sure you do. Hoggle was full of ideas that he passed onto me."
"Sure, blame Hoggle when he's not here to defend himself."
"You can tell him what I said tomorrow." Toby said with a grin, imaging the debate he'd get into with the elderly man. Dwarf.
"I'll be sure to do so." Sarah promised as she placed the folded laundry into the basket.
Sarah and Toby while brother and sister did not look much alike. Sarah was of average height with waist length brown hair, green eyes and delicate pale features. Toby was tall, golden blonde and tan, nicely built with stunning blue eyes and a ready smile. Sarah smiled just as often but the smiles did not often reach her eyes, it was as if something were missing from her life. Those who were closest to her knew what it was.
15 years ago she had lost the chance to be with the love of her life through no fault of her own…magic and a mistake had stolen the chance from her. 10 years ago their parents had been lost in a tragic auto accident, leaving her with the care of a then 15-year-old Toby. She had taken the responsibility of raising him without question, and while she had not taken the place of his mother she had filled the void left by her death. They'd been brought even closer together by the tragedy, and Toby knew that he loved her more than any person in his life.
She was now 40, unmarried and childless, living with her 25-year-old brother and running a home and a business without any apparent effort. Only Toby and Hoggle knew that she took so much on so she wouldn't have time to think about what she'd lost, though Toby sometimes heard sobs coming from her bedroom late at night. He'd done all he could to try to make her life easy, causing little trouble his teenage years and coming out of college with a degree in business that he used to help run the store…stores now that they'd expanded across the country. He also spent time learning the bits of magic she taught him, for they'd found he too had a small amount of power given him by the Labyrinth, the place she'd wished him away to when he'd been a baby, and had fought to get him back from. The same place she had met the Goblin King…the love of her life.
He knew what had happened when the Queen of Dreams, Kyra, had granted a wish to his sister as well as one for the Goblin King. While his sister had come to grips with the things she'd done in the past Jareth had not, and had become trapped in the spell Kyra had wrought, making it impossible for Sarah to return to his side. He still ruled his kingdom and lived his life, but he was alone, and hopefully just as miserable as his sister had been all these years.
Toby knew Sarah and Kyra had searched for a way to counter the spell and had been unsuccessful in that task, much to the frustration of both women. He knew the day that Sarah had given up all hope, that was the day her smiles stopped reaching her eyes, and the joy had gone out of her soul. He'd fix it for her if he could, but knew that the small amount of power he held would do no good in this situation. So he made it his mission to make Sarah's life easy…in the last 3 years the expanded business had made more money than they'd ever dreamed…she'd never have to worry about money again. Nor would he for that matter.
"I'm gonna go change." Toby said, stretching as he rose to his feet before walking over to drop a kiss on the top of her head. "When I come back down I'll start dinner."
"I've got a lasagna in." Sarah said absently, her gaze focused on a distant point as Toby walked toward the door.
"I'll start dessert then." Toby amended.
As he made his way toward the stairwell the doorbell rang and he answered it, smiling at the large man who stood on the other side.
"Hey, Ludo." Toby said with a smile as the man stepped inside.
Another friend Sarah had brought home from the Labyrinth. He was a big man, built like a wrestler and blessed with a perpetual smile that never failed to lift one's spirits.
"Got another painting done." Ludo said simply, leaning a paper wrapped canvas against the wall.
"Good, the new store needs one of your masterpieces hanging in its entrance." Toby said eagerly. "I'll have the papers drawn up in the morning. Meanwhile, why don't you go back and see if you can cheer Sarah while I run up to change?"
"Sarah's sad?"
"She's hiding it, but I can tell." Toby confirmed. "Join us for dinner. We could both use the company. She's got a lasagna in."
Ludo's expression brightened even more at the idea of food as he walked back. Toby ran up the stairs, reaching his room and stripping down to boxers with lightening speed, revealing a well-muscled body that showed an obvious love for exercise before he covered it up with more comfortable clothes. He was back downstairs in a flash, and was soon sitting to dinner with his sister and her friend. He was glad to see that Ludo had not failed to make her smile…he rarely did. It was hard to stay sad in the face of Ludo's good humor.
All too soon he was taking his leave and Toby found himself up to his elbows in hot soapy water as he washed the dishes they'd messed.
"I bought a dish washer for a reason." Toby grumbled as he scrubbed at the pan that had held the lasagna.
"Not everything can go in that machine, Toby." Sarah said with a raised eyebrow as she dried what he placed in the drain board. "Not everything can be fixed with the wave of your hand."
"Oh yeah?"
He proceeded to do just that…waved his hand…leaving the dishes stacked neatly in the drain board, sparkling as if they were brand new.
"Done." He said smugly, tossing the sponge back into the water. It made a satisfying plop before it sank beneath the suds.
"Cheat." Sarah said, snapping his butt with the towel as he walked out the door.
Underground…
Kyra sat before the old man, a smile quirking her lips as the bird that lived as his hat squawked an interruption that had the man's eyes rolling up in anger. When he again turned his gaze upon her that smile faded, replaced with a serious expression as she saw he was prepared to answer her question.
"What you seek will demand a serious price."
"I know."
"Do you?" He asked, shifting in his seat as he leaned toward her. "Magic always extracts its due. If there is something to be gained, then something must also be lost. Are you prepared to lose?"
Kyra swallowed as his gaze pinned her, willing an honest answer.
"Yes." Kyra said faintly, then more firmly as she straightened her back. "Yes. I am. Jareth deserves to be with Sarah, and she with him. I caused their separation…I tried to play with their lives, seeking the outcome I wanted."
"Your reasons are unselfish, which will enhance to possibility that the spell you seek to cast will work." He told her, stroking his chin with his hand as his gaze warmed. "You've power, my girl, but you've never attempted a spell of this magnitude. It's outside of your realm of power. The price will be high indeed."
"I don't care." Kyra said fiercely as she leaned forward. "Will you help me?"
After a moment he nodded…
Kyra, alone now, sat before her mirror and slumped in the chair, a worried frown marring her beautiful face. She ran her hand over the mirror's glass surface, showing no surprise when the solid glass rippled, and the scenery it reflected began to change….
…Sarah sat poised before her own vanity, her expression brightening as the smooth surface began to change, when it was done rippling she saw Kyra staring back her with a frown on her face.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked with a frown of her own. The Queen of Dreams rarely frowned, and when she did Sarah worried that something was wrong with Jareth.
"Nothing." Kyra replied, mentally adding a 'yet' onto the end of that word as she schooled her face into a smile. She leaned forward, reaching out to take Sarah's hand through the portal.
Kyra could reach between the worlds, while the spell she'd cast so long before ensured that Sarah could not. That would change soon.
"How are you?" Kyra asked now, squeezing Sarah's hand in her own as she studied the mortal woman's face.
"I'm well." Sarah said with a wan smile. "It's getting harder though."
"Harder?"
"To pretend I'm happy." Sarah replied in a whisper as unwelcome tears welled in her eyes. "To keep up this façade. I don't know why I bother, Toby can see right through me."
"He's an intelligent boy." Kyra commented.
"Man." Sarah corrected with a mirthless laugh. "He's grown…he doesn't need me anymore."
Kyra tried not to let the alarm that Sarah's words caused to show on her face. Sarah sounded as if she had given up all hope, and any interest in living. She wished she hadn't promised so long ago never to read the woman's mind…she'd dearly love to know what she's thinking right now.
"Toby will always need you." Kyra corrected softly. "He loves you. You're the most important person in his world."
"For now." Sarah said just as softly, and then straightened. "How is Jareth?"
Kyra smiled, for she had been expecting this question.
"He kicked me out of the castle yesterday." Kyra told her with a laugh. "All I did was command the goblins to clean the place. He refuses to change anything until you come back. He said you'd be upset when you returned and found I'd meddled in your business."
"He's crazy. I'm not coming back." Sarah said, smiling the first real smile Kyra had seen on her in a long time. "He'll always be a stubborn fool, won't he?"
"I'm afraid so." Kyra said ruefully. "Sarah, I need you to do something for me."
"Anything." Sarah answered promptly.
"Be here tomorrow, at your mirror, at midnight."
"Of course." Sarah said as confusion flickered across her face. "What's going on?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow." Kyra promised, giving Sarah's hand a final squeeze before pulling her hand back into her world. "Just be here…and bring your power."