In Your Reality

I recently purchased a new laptop and was digging through old fanfiction drafts. I found what is now the first two pages of this. I'm about 90% sure it was started in 2016, though I don't know what my intentions were – this was a rare instance of me not writing an outline. But I found the start interesting enough I thought I would give it a go. This is the first chapter. I don't anticipate it to be longer than maybe 5 chapters.

Enjoy.

-XXX-

Seeing is believing. Or, at least, that's the philosophy Sarah's agnostic granny had always prescribed to. She had attempted to firmly instill this belief in a young and impressionable Sarah. But it had failed to land upon its mark, leaving the girl to her fantasies and fairy tales. But the elder Williams woman's philosophy was not entirely in vain. Somehow it had seeped through the stubbornness, laying in wait to pounce upon her adult years. Sarah Williams had possessed no trouble in believing in things unseen. This imagination was fed through a steady diet of fantasy novels and Disney movies.

But then she grew up – as people are wont to do – and suddenly seeing was how she built faith in the world around her. Education and adult-iness meant that she was firmly planted in reality. Or, at least, that's what Sarah hoped of herself. She'd had more than her fair measure of fantasy and it had not turned out to her liking.

And in this particular case, seeing meant nothing particularly good.

She blinked, rather dazed, across the table of summer squash she'd been examining. The figured winked rakishly. She set the vegetable down, taking one step forward, fully intent on confronting this person – thing – vision. The impish smile broadened to see her approach, the full mouth curving upwards as he tilted his head, challenging.

Sarah stumbled forward, mouth already open, ready to call out. A couple – one of those yuppie sorts that brought their entitled little Yorkies to farmer's markets – walked in her line of vision, blocking the view. By the time they'd passed, he was gone.

In the background, the Amish farmer was howling for Sarah to return the squash she'd failed to pay for.

-XXX-

They didn't really seem like hallucinations. Sure no one else seemed to see him. And they're quite unanticipated, occurring when she least expected it, when he and his blasted labyrinth is the furthest thing from her mind. Besides, he was so real, so authentic she wondered if perhaps he really was there.

But that's sort of the whole point of hallucinations, isn't it? To trick people into thinking what they saw was true and present.

Over the course of the month she saw him once at the farmer's market, twice lingering around the student union near the Panda Express, in the bus terminal, lounging on a boulder in the park, and perhaps in a lecture, she'd attended on Ahtna mythology. The room had been rather crowded, however, and she'd only caught a glimpse.

For the first few weeks, it frustrates her until she decides to just ignore it. Trying to talk to him would only serve to drive her more mad. If she acknowledged him, then he – and the problem – would be just a little more real.

So, she passed him in the grocery store without even a passing glance. Sarah opted to focus on the wine selection as he stood impatiently beside the display of Lay's, mildly irritated expression furrowing his kingly brow.

When he turned up at her laundry mat, she put all of her attention into measuring detergent. After he was spotted in the library, walking idly between shelves, Sarah was resolved to shove her nose in the most book – which was nearly impossible, considering the book in question was hardly enthralling. Despite Organic Chemistry's cool name, she was finding it anything but.

-XXX-

Her frequent and unexplained appearance was truly the least of his problems at the moment – when trying to manage diplomatic relations with the dwarves and squash the potential of a second Chicken Riot, the random appearance of a silent Sarah had to inevitably slip to the bottom of his "things-to-be-concerned-about" list. Still, when he was alone with his thoughts, it troubled him.

In the midst of strategic meetings, while he surveyed the labyrinth, once even while he was in the bath, she simply seemed to slip in – a shade, often frowning or glaring. There was no malice in her expression; indeed, she often seemed as confused at the Goblin King. He would often gaze back, startled, waiting. But nothing ever really happened.

That was perhaps the most bothersome factor in the whole ordeal. No words were exchanged, nothing more than glances, and even then Jareth did question whether she truly saw him.

One afternoon, when she appeared to linger, he summoned the dwarf she'd befriended on her journey through his kingdom. The tiny Hedgewart shuddered and shivered under the king's cool eye.

"I see nuthin, your highness!" he cried. "Nuthin', I swear it!"

It was true – the Hogwidge's buggy eyes passed over her without pause.

He had his theories – weariness being one of them. Fae do not rest often as a rule, but it had been several years since Jareth has a true sleep. There was a chance that this vision of Sarah was his mind's way of tormenting him into sleep. But even after taking a week off his duties to sleep (which was not terribly hard when one could simply stop time) he awoke to find her at his bedside, peering out the nearby window.

"Why are you here?" he asked tiredly, attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes.

She didn't answer. But she never did.

-XXX-

"You need to go away," Sarah groused at the corner of her room where the Goblin King was perched in her floral hand-me-down armchair. She could see him from the mirror over her desk. Dressed in a velvet jacket, his waistcoat shined with golden thread, which was reflected in the glitter that rested high on his cheekbones. A snort escaped Sarah upon observing this. He didn't look up, too preoccupied examining his nails. Infuriated, she turned to face him.

"I have a final in the morning and I really need to study." Her voice sounded slightly whiny even to her. She winced. "I'm just a few percentage points away from a B in International Policy. I know you don't particularly care, and Lord knows if you can ever hear me, but please, please, please, for the love of all that is sparkly, get out."

His expression did not alter in the least. Sarah exhaled loudly and turned back to her class notes.

When she looked up fifteen minutes later, he was gone.

-XXX-

"- and therefore, your highness, we believe it is to the best advantage of your liege to consider a new method of exporting. We have seen, in the numbers, a new trend of highs and lows in the wheat market..."

He was bored out of his mind, eyes glazing as the minister monologued on. So far in the course of the morning, he'd already suffered through a troll blathering on about some inconsequential problem with pixies near the westernmost wall. Now the minister of trade had the floor, and no one was escaping his thirty-minute presentation. Jareth wondered vaguely if he might cast a glamour to illusion himself into a more alert state.

From the corner of his sightline, he caught a sudden rustle. Eyes flickering, he glanced towards the curtains on the tall windows. Sarah was gripping the damask, body facing the window, though she was half-turned towards him. Expression less-than-pleased, she rolled her eyes.

He had to concur.

-XXX-

The labyrinth pulsed in greeting as her caretaker pressed a hand into her wall. Jareth smiled, patting her fondly before getting down to business. Closing his eyes, he sought to speak with the labyrinth. She reached back, brushing is mind gently.

Willing images of the young champion forth, he showed her image after image of Sarah in his realm, her scornful, confused gaze, her silence. On top of this is pushed his own confusion, his own annoyance, and despair.

"Have you done this to me?"

There was a pause before the labyrinth caressed him.

"No. It was not I."

A sharp flash of anger runs through him. It has lain in wait for nearly two months, but now it all bubbles forth.

"Then who?" he seethed. "Who seeks to torment me with these visions?"

She brushes against his mind, soothing. The labyrinth knows not what or who has struck him so, but she seeks to ease his mind until he is forced to step away and wander back to the castle at the center of the maze.

-XXX-

The transition from finding her in public places to slowly infiltrating her more personal life was so gradual she didn't really notice. Three months from the day she first encountered the Goblin King at the market, she woke somewhere around four in the morning to find him again in her room. Sitting beneath the window, his hair glowed in the moonlight.

Sarah let out a sleepy sigh, pushing back the duvet to prop herself up on her elbows. "I do hope this isn't evidence of a trend."

But Jareth didn't hear – as was the norm. He stared straight ahead, fingers steepled. Occasionally his brow would furrow, as though some troubling thought had encroached upon his musings. Sarah, bemused, watched for a good long while before her weariness claimed her again and her eyes keep slipping shut leadenly.

"Don't do anything weird," she murmured as she turned away, snuggling deep into the covers. "Well, weirder than sitting in my room uninvited."

-XXX-

No manner of spells, potions, or seers will give him any notion as to how these visions came to be. Sarah, in all of her haughtiness, is driving him utterly mad in her frequent an unexplained appearance. He's taken to talking to her when she arrives, first asking questions and demanding answers. She took no notice of him, as usual. Eventually, his one-sided interrogation turned into merely a one-sided conversation.

"The delegation from Oberon's court is planning to extend their stay out the week," he grumbled to her while they sat in his study. Sarah was curled in an armchair with a book. She paid him no mind. "And they will no doubt clean out my wine cellars. His court drinks like there will be no morrow, I swear."

He could have sworn a small smile graced her lips. But it was probably a result of her reading materials.

-XXX-

"Have you thought about going up to see her for yourself, my liege?" The small fox tilted his head curiously.

The King kicked out his feet, thinking that the bridge he sat upon was rather rickety. Perhaps he ought to commission someone to replace it...

"I see not what that might alter," he said coldly, though there was no true annoyance in his words. Beside him Ambrosius set his head upon his knee, panting in the midday heat. Jareth uneasily patted the creature's furry head.

"However did a fox come to own a sheepdog?" he wondered.

The fox in question passed his king the bottle of blackberry wine they'd been sharing. Jareth polished it off, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his linen shirt.

"Go see her, you say?" Jareth said aloud. "I don't know what that would accomplish."

Didymus shrugged. "Who can ever say? But worth a try, I should think."

-XXX-

"You again," Sarah sighed, glancing briefly up from her book. She lounged on the sofa, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie worn from too many washing. Her toes wiggled absently as she turned back to the tome. "Have you come to stare forebodingly again? Or is it forlorn? I can hardly tell."

He blinked. Straighten. Then glowered. "Insolent girl."

She froze. Promptly, with a small scream, Sarah fell from the sofa. Once righted she jumped up, rushing at him to stop a mere foot away. "You can talk now?" she demanded, glaring up at him.

"What do you mean now? I've always been gifted with the ability to speak," he sneered down at her.

"No, no, no." She pushed at his chest with one finger. "You've been sneaking up on me for a month, just staring without a word. Absolutely everywhere too, you prevent. I thought I was going mad!"

The Goblin King was aghast. "I've not seen you since you so cruelly turned me down, Miss Williams."

"Bullshit."

"Sarah," he warned. "I promise you, this is the first time I have made any effort to invade your life. You won – I leave my champions alone once they've chosen their path."

The phrase "my champion" makes her uncomfortable, but not nearly as much as his denial of his intrusion into her life. At a temporary loss for words, Sarah crossed her arms, ducking her head. She could feel his breath, warm and ticklish on the top of her head. He was too close for her liking – but she had been the one to determine the distance, Sarah remembered, cursing herself.

"If you weren't here, then who was? I saw someone. Nearly every day for the last six months." Her voice softened. "I thought I was crazy. Having visions."

There is a pause before Jareth spoke. "It is indeed odd. Curiouser," he drawled. "That I had a similar experience myself."

"What?"

Despite the circumstances, he appeared pleased to have surprised her. But he soon grew serious. "As of late, I have often found my privacy intruded upon by yourself. You would appear, sometimes aware of my presence, other times uncaring. You never uttered a word."

"I've never left...here!" She gestured wildly. "I've not been Underground since I was fifteen. How could I have even brought myself?"

"I had the very same question."

"It's preposterous."

"No madder than the idea that I'd voluntarily spend time in the presences of the girl who bested me at the mere age of 15."

"If this has been happening to you for months," Sarah asked slowly. "Then why are you only now coming here? Surely you would've thought to visit long before now to see that I've not...I don't know, learned magic or become a witch or something."

He barely restrained a snort. "Magic is given, not learned. It was highly improbable that you were actually in my bedroom."

Sarah colored at this thought, but Jareth continued.

"I, unlike you, concluded that what I was seeing was little more than an illusion. I only sought to find who or what sending them to me."

"So this isn't some trick of yours?"

The king gave her a long-suffering look. "I am as much of a victim as you in this."

Sarah had to restrain herself from a very dramatic eye roll. Moving back to her sofa, she sank down with some weight, expression fiercely concentrated. The Goblin King followed suit, eyeing the somewhat scuffed armchair at her left before gracefully sweeping into it. Crossing his legs elegantly, he peered around the room with interest. There were a few mugs scattered on the IKEA coffee table, but the room was otherwise clean and bright. Based on the books and computer that shared the couch with her, Jareth guessed that she was in the midst of a type of academic study.

"Wait," Sarah said abruptly. "You said you haven't seen me since I defeated you."

The monarch stiffened. "Yes."

She raised a brow. "But that's not true. I know it's not true. I've seen you. Not you-you, but I've seen a barn owl at least once a month since then."

He visibly froze. Seconds passed as he calculated all possible responses and their subsequent damage. The air seemed to stop moving as Jareth regarded the girl before him for a moment before replying curtly, "What of it?"

Scoffing loudly she threw up her hands. "Please, Goblin King. I know I was rather distracted as a child but I was not that distracted."

"Perhaps," he said delicately, "I may have checked upon you a few times. I was concerned, you see."

She crossed her arms. "Do elaborate?"

If it were under any other circumstances, Sarah might have been amused at the Goblin King's foul expression. He was rather cornered and he knew it.

With a heavy sigh, he summoned up a crystal, turning his wrist so that she may see the scene painted within. It was an image of her from three years ago – she was crossing the quad, shoulders hunched, a brand-new freshman in her first week of school. The younger Sarah was wearing a dark blue sundress and still had waist-length hair.

She remembered this day. She'd just gotten off the phone with her father in tears. Her Intro to Shakespeare instructor had been rather sharp with her when Sarah had answered a question incorrectly. It was the first time she'd really been struck with how this was not high school. Things were getting hard. She was struggling with her roommate, felt anxious every time she thought of eating alone in the dining hall and was still a little nervous to be in the library past 8 pm.

The picture shifted so that she could make out a cream-colored owl observing from above. As Sarah sank at the base of a tree, the owl hopped down a branch or two to edge close.

The Sarah in the present day sat back. "What is this? Are you stalking me?

Jareth scowled, flicking his hand so that the orb disappeared in a wink. "Hardly. I was concerned for you. Many under your circumstances have experienced difficulties adjusting to life once they'd experienced the Labyrinth. I felt ownership over your well-being, considering."

Skeptical, she shook her head. "You…checked up on me?"

"And up until recently, you'd been less-than-adjusted. It was only a few months ago that I felt as though you were truly settled."

In some ways, it was almost sweet. But mostly, his constant presence in her life was closer to the creepy end of the spectrum.

"Okay," Sarah said slowly. "So you've been visiting every so often. And you stopped do so…what, six months ago? And about six months ago we both started getting these vision thingies?"

"I suppose."

Mouth open, a new light of understanding shone in Sarah's eyes. "Oh. Oh."

Suspicious, he eyed her. "What?"

"Is it possible," she began. "That this is some kind of a – oh, I don't know, feedback loop? I don't know much about magic or whatever it you operate on, but we went over these in biology."

Picking up a notebook from her pile of study materials Sarah scribbled down a quick diagram. "You did something for a sustained period of time and suddenly stopped. Well, let's say your magic perhaps didn't know what to do with that. It's a cycle. You've established a sort of homeostasis and it was interrupted. Now, I don't know magic but I suspect based on my time in the Labyrinth parts of your magic are self-sustaining. Your magic was just trying to correct what it thought it was missing."

Jareth's eyes were bright. "You're suggesting that I was in such a pattern of seeing you that once I stopped my magic was, let's say, confused? And it attempted to rectify that confusion by draw in images of yourself?"

She nodded eagerly. "Maybe it was trying to nudge you to do it yourself but for the time being it's been showing you, I don't know, these broadcasts. But for whatever reason, I've been getting them too."

His knees brushed hers as he sat forward, picking up her hastily drawn diagram. Breath caught, Sarah put her hands in her lap. Five years had dimmed her brief memories of him. The illusion that had been a central feature in her life as of late had not been distant from the man (elf? fairy? goblin?) before her now. However, his physical presence carried with it something new entirely. Well, perhaps not new – the slight pull in her naval was familiar from her time in the Labyrinth. It was only a distant cousin to the feelings stirred by the few boys she'd encountered since starting undergraduate. Those had been ripples in a calm pond. This felt like someone had thrown a boulder into the otherwise zen-like pool.

Frowning, the Goblin King traced the images with one gloved finger. The sight caused Sarah to bite her lip unconsciously. When he glanced up and caught her eye she struggled to compose her expression.

"This is a theory," he said slowly. "But what shall we make of it? Magic is not like a computer program, I cannot code it to stop. It is much more organic. It might be trained…."

Sarah stared. "You know about coding?"

Jareth titled his head. "I'm hardly so removed from your world, Sarah, I'm familiar with the vernacular around modern technology."

"Sorry, it's just a little surprising."

"So what can be done?"

Sarah took back her notebook. "I hardly know. As you said, it's just a theory. You certainly have a better grasp on magic than me."

Jareth gave a heavy sigh, leaning into the armchair. "Well, then, I suppose our only way of combating it for the time being is to resume our visits."

She gaped. "I do not suppose that is the only way. Surely you can…I don't know, turn this off! Order it to stop!"

He gave her the sweetest smile. The tables had turned and Jareth was the one who was victorious. Perhaps it was that easy. Maybe he could find a simple off switch. But Sarah would never know.

"Dear Sarah," he said with a saccharine edge to his voice that made her both cringe and lean in. "I want only what is best for both of us. Have these illusion not been increasing in frequency as of late?"

He wasn't wrong. She'd seen him sulking about nearly every day in the last week. At this rate he'd been about constantly, with her own shade living full-time in the Underground. It was not an ideal situation.

"An experiment," he suggested. "Let us see if this assuages the powers that be for the time being. I'll return within the week and we'll go from there."

"I don't trust you," she told him bluntly.

"That's wise of you," he observed cheerfully. "I feel like you learned something worthwhile from your time in my Labyrinth, at the very least. Now, Sarah, I must be getting back."

She rose quickly as he stood, and he caught her wrist. Her heart rose to her throat as he leaned in.

"That was frightfully clever, Sarah," he said softly. "See you next week."

When he evaporated with a small pop and puff of glitter she sank back into the couch, dazed. With any luck, it will have all just have turned out to be a dream.

-XXX-

Please favorite, follow, and review. Chapters 2 and 3 should be posted soon, they just need some editing!

Thanks for reading!