Title: Say The Words (Part One)
Author: Amber
Distribution: Email me first ([email protected]), but other than that, all I ask is that my name and email addy be left attached!
Disclaimer: Oh yeah, we all know this one! Labyrinth and all its characters belong to Jim Henson and Lucasfilm(s?).. I own nothing, and I'm not looking to get any profit from this story! Heh...like anyone would wanna pay to read this!
Summary: Yeah, another one of those 'alternate ending' type fics, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! More conflict between Jareth and Sarah...gotta love that. ;)
A/N: Other than the poem I wrote a little while ago, this is my first real attempt at a Labyrinth fanfic. I've done plenty of other types of fanfiction, but this is my first Laby one, so I hope all of you like it!!!
"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave…"
Sarah was beginning to panic. Why couldn't she ever remember that last line? It was so simple; just a few little words. But yet whenever she tried to remember the line, it slipped through her grasp like grains of sand. And now was when she needed the most to remember it, for without it, she was defenseless against the Goblin King…and her baby brother Toby had no chance of being saved. Where was that book when she needed it?
Jareth sensed her weakening reserve and smiled to himself. Her time was almost up, and as soon as the clock chimed its thirteenth hour, the baby would be his…and so would she.
"For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great…" Sarah murmured to herself for the third time. Jareth watched it all calmly, his earlier worry vanished. Come come now, Sarah, he thought in amusement, 'You have no power over me'…that's what you want to say, isn't it? Well, my dear, it appears I certainly do have power over you.
As though putting some finality to his thoughts, the sound of a clock suddenly chimed through the air. Sarah's panic was fully set in, now; it glittered in her eyes like shards of ice, and drained the blood from her face to leave her skin a rather sickly shade of white. "No!" she cried. "I won't let you take Toby!"
"It's too late now, Sarah," Jareth replied smoothly, his smiled widening into a self-satisfied smirk. "Such a pity."
"Damn you!" she shrieked, angry tears streaming down her face. "You can't do this! You can't!"
"Oh, really? And why not? You're the one who asked that the child be taken, after all. And now look." With an elegant sweep of his arm, Jareth gestured to a small figure several feet away. Sarah gasped when she saw the form of her half brother swiftly shapeshifting into the hunched figure of a goblin baby. "Your brother is part of my kingdom, now."
"No! No, it's not true! It can't be!" Sarah rushed over to Toby, but drew back swiftly when the tiny creature hissed at her, its glowing red eyes watching her ferally. Sarah sank to her knees and stared at the goblin with an inscrutable expression on her delicate features. Jareth walked over beside her.
"You asked only that I take your brother," he said. "You may go back now."
"I can't go back," she said quietly, refusing to look at the man standing beside her. "I won't leave Toby. He needs me."
"You were not a part of the bargain," Jareth replied coolly. "Go home. Your memories of your brother will be erased, and you will never think of him again." He knew she wouldn't do as told, and she didn't disappoint him.
"No." Sarah's voice was firmer this time, and she forced herself to stand. "What happened to the words you spoke just a few moments ago? Don't hold true now that you've taken my brother and turned him into a goblin?"
"You want to stay here with me forever?" An eyebrow quirked up skeptically. "You were so eager to defeat me before; what has brought this sudden change?"
"I'll do whatever I have to to stay near Toby. Do you accept, or do I have to find another way? I think you know by now not to underestimate me."
Before she could say another word, the air around them shimmered and swirled dizzyingly. When the world steadied again, she found herself standing in the middle of an extravagent ballroom, like the one she'd been trapped in after eating that peach. She found herself wondering if this was real or only a dream. So many things had happened to her since entering the Labyrinth, and she was no longer sure about what was reality and what was only fantasy. Nothing is what it seems in this place….
It took her a few moments, but she finally realized that there were hundreds of other people—and goblins—in the room as well. And her garb was no longer the simple blouse and blue jeans she'd been wearing before; she was now clothed in a delicate white dress, elegant in its simple straight lines and lack of embellishments. Jareth was standing beside her, still clad in the ethereal robes he'd been wearing during their confrontation just moments ago. He cast her barely a glance before turning his gaze to the room.
"Meet your new queen!" he announced, his voice carrying across the room with crystalline clarity. Sarah could have sworn her heart stopped for a second. She was the…queen?
Of course, she thought, hiding a grimace. What else do you think he meant when he asked you to stay? Did you think he meant you to be just an honored guest? Still, that realization did nothing to calm her. She had no intentions of chickening out and begging to go home—not without Toby—but it didn't mean she had to like her new situation. What did being the Queen of the Goblins entail? Most likely, it meant spending quite a bit of time with the King…
"This wasn't a part of the deal," she muttered just loudly enough for him to hear. Jareth smiled smugly down at her.
"Are you still preaching about fairness, Sarah?" he murmured. "I assure you, this 'deal' is nothing but fair. I asked you to stay, and you did."
"'Fear me, love me, do as I say' doesn't exactly describe the situation you've put me in." Sarah's tone became louder, as all the guests began talking and laughing amongst themselves. "It sounds more like a law you'd give your subjects, not to a queen!"
"On the contrary. Don't the women of your world give similar vows when they are married? Perhaps not in the same words, but the meaning is the same. Are you having second thoughts about our arrangement now?"
"Of course not." Sarah lifted her chin defiantly. "I told you, I'm only here to be near Toby. I'm not leaving unless he comes with me."
"And that won't be happening," Jareth replied, "so it looks as though you're going to be here for quite some time." He reached down and took her hand, leading her into the crowd. She tried to pull out of his grasp, to no avail.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded. He gave another of his infamous smirks.
"To meet your subjects," he said lightly. "They are all eager to meet their new queen." Sarah nearly groaned aloud in dismay.
"Poor Sarah," Hoggle said quietly, after Ludo had set him back on the ground. He, Ludo, and Sir Didymus were among those assembled in the great hall, but they remained at the edge of the crowd, close to the doorway. With Hoggle's short stature, Ludo had had to sit the dwarf upon his massive shoulders in order to see what was going on. And when Jareth announced that there was a new queen—and gestured to Sarah—Hoggle nearly toppled off his lofty perch.
She obviously wasn't happy with her new station (that much could be seen by looking at her face), but Hoggle had a feeling he knew why she was there. She must not have reached her baby brother in time, causing him to turn into a goblin, and her unwavering sense of loyalty refused to let her abandon him. So she's given in to Jareth, he thought sadly. Maybe now she understands my position…
"We must save Lady Sarah!" Sir Didymus exclaimed, ever the valiant one. Hoggle hissed at him to be quiet.
"Help Sarah," Ludo rumbled in agreement. Hoggle turned around and hit the giant beast.
"Both of you be quiet!" he whispered loudly. When both friends looked at him in questioning bewilderment, he gestured for them all to leave the room. Once in the relative safety of an empty hallway, he began to explain his actions. "Sarah might be out of danger, but we aren't," he stated. Ludo drew back in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Didymus asked.
"We helped Sarah get here! And Jareth knows that…if he catches us, he'll put us in the Bog of Eternal Stench!!!"
"Smell bad!" Ludo whined, remembering his less-than-pleasant experience there. Hoggle nodded.
"So you see why we can't let him know where we are?"
"But Sir Hoggle," Didymus protested, "We must save the Lady Sarah! How can we do that if we must hide?" The little fox wasn't fond of hiding in shadows; the trait was one of the things that almost had the group caught at the front gates to the Goblin City…though thankfully, the guard had been a heavy sleeper.
"We have to wait for her to ask us," the dwarf replied regretfully. "She's gotta do this alone, remember? But if she needs us, she'll call." At least, he hoped she would.
"Yer quarters, Queen Sarah," a goblin muttered, gesturing to a large set of doors that were bedecked with jewels. As Sarah reached out to open the doors, she looked around and realized that she was now the only person in the cavernous hallway. Where had that goblin gone?
Well, it didn't matter. At least she was finally alone. She needed some time to herself so she could think…something she hadn't really been able to do since finding herself in this mess. She pushed open the doors—which, despite their size, swung open easily on oiled hinges—and walked into what was now her room. The size of it was absolutely amazing, and was decorated so differently from the rest of the castle that she knew it could have been done only by magic. There were none of the stark angles and bleak colors that casted a gloomy air about all the other rooms of the castle. This room had a high, vaulted ceiling that was made of smooth stones, and the walls and floor were made of the same material. An enormous bed was set against one wall, and curtains of a filmy white material were tied against each of the four bedposts, with a canopy veiling across all four posts. Against the other wall was set a bureau with a silver-framed mirror, and on the smoothly varnished top of the bureau were laid various items from silver-backed brushes to small bottles of perfume. Despite the situation she was in, Sarah found herself overcome with curiosity as she stepped lightly about the room, looking out the large window, under the bed, and even inside the wardrobe placed in a corner. She gasped when she saw dresses in a plethora of colors filling the large wardrobe.
"But how did he…?" she began in shock, fingering the sleeve of a blue silk dress. Suddenly, she jerked her hand away and glared at the garment. "He knew he would win. That horrible, arrogant—"
"I'm glad you think so highly of me, Sarah," came a silky voice from the open doorway. Sarah spun around to see Jareth leaning lazily against the doorjamb, one corner of his mouth tilted up in a mocking smile.
"You knew you were going to win, didn't you?" she accused, taking a threatening step toward him. He didn't seem affected by her anger. "You just bided your time, waiting for me to get here, so you could somehow make me stay! I don't want to be your queen, Jareth! And I don't want to be here! It's—"
In a matter of seconds, Jareth was there, placing his hand lightly across her mouth. "Don't say those words, Sarah," he warned. "You have no idea how irritating they sound. How many times have I heard you say 'it's not fair'? And when will you learn that things are not always going to go the way you want them to?"
She took a step back, continuing to glare icily at him. "And when will you learn that you can't win everything?"
Jareth shrugged carelessly. "When I lose," he replied. "Which has never happened." He leaned closer to her and murmured close to her ear, "I always win, Sarah. This is my labyrinth, my kingdom…you really didn't think you could beat me, did you?" Straightening, he continued in a normal tone. "You should get ready now; dinner will be served shortly."
"I'm not hungry."
"As you wish." His tone again held that biting mockery. Sarah tried not to let herself cry before he left the room, but when he was at last gone, she ran to her bed and threw herself on it, burying her face in the pillows.
"It's not fair!" she screamed over and over again into the muffling softness of the satiny cushions, letting her tears fall. Her chest heaved with the sobs that suddenly overwhelmed her, and she cried until finally she fell into a fitful slumber.
Outside her room, a deep frown curved Jareth's lips as he pushed himself off the wall and continued down the hallway.
And there you have it! This is just part one...part two will be coming up shortly! ;)
Author: Amber
Distribution: Email me first ([email protected]), but other than that, all I ask is that my name and email addy be left attached!
Disclaimer: Oh yeah, we all know this one! Labyrinth and all its characters belong to Jim Henson and Lucasfilm(s?).. I own nothing, and I'm not looking to get any profit from this story! Heh...like anyone would wanna pay to read this!
Summary: Yeah, another one of those 'alternate ending' type fics, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! More conflict between Jareth and Sarah...gotta love that. ;)
A/N: Other than the poem I wrote a little while ago, this is my first real attempt at a Labyrinth fanfic. I've done plenty of other types of fanfiction, but this is my first Laby one, so I hope all of you like it!!!
Say The Words
"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave…"
Sarah was beginning to panic. Why couldn't she ever remember that last line? It was so simple; just a few little words. But yet whenever she tried to remember the line, it slipped through her grasp like grains of sand. And now was when she needed the most to remember it, for without it, she was defenseless against the Goblin King…and her baby brother Toby had no chance of being saved. Where was that book when she needed it?
Jareth sensed her weakening reserve and smiled to himself. Her time was almost up, and as soon as the clock chimed its thirteenth hour, the baby would be his…and so would she.
"For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great…" Sarah murmured to herself for the third time. Jareth watched it all calmly, his earlier worry vanished. Come come now, Sarah, he thought in amusement, 'You have no power over me'…that's what you want to say, isn't it? Well, my dear, it appears I certainly do have power over you.
As though putting some finality to his thoughts, the sound of a clock suddenly chimed through the air. Sarah's panic was fully set in, now; it glittered in her eyes like shards of ice, and drained the blood from her face to leave her skin a rather sickly shade of white. "No!" she cried. "I won't let you take Toby!"
"It's too late now, Sarah," Jareth replied smoothly, his smiled widening into a self-satisfied smirk. "Such a pity."
"Damn you!" she shrieked, angry tears streaming down her face. "You can't do this! You can't!"
"Oh, really? And why not? You're the one who asked that the child be taken, after all. And now look." With an elegant sweep of his arm, Jareth gestured to a small figure several feet away. Sarah gasped when she saw the form of her half brother swiftly shapeshifting into the hunched figure of a goblin baby. "Your brother is part of my kingdom, now."
"No! No, it's not true! It can't be!" Sarah rushed over to Toby, but drew back swiftly when the tiny creature hissed at her, its glowing red eyes watching her ferally. Sarah sank to her knees and stared at the goblin with an inscrutable expression on her delicate features. Jareth walked over beside her.
"You asked only that I take your brother," he said. "You may go back now."
"I can't go back," she said quietly, refusing to look at the man standing beside her. "I won't leave Toby. He needs me."
"You were not a part of the bargain," Jareth replied coolly. "Go home. Your memories of your brother will be erased, and you will never think of him again." He knew she wouldn't do as told, and she didn't disappoint him.
"No." Sarah's voice was firmer this time, and she forced herself to stand. "What happened to the words you spoke just a few moments ago? Don't hold true now that you've taken my brother and turned him into a goblin?"
"You want to stay here with me forever?" An eyebrow quirked up skeptically. "You were so eager to defeat me before; what has brought this sudden change?"
"I'll do whatever I have to to stay near Toby. Do you accept, or do I have to find another way? I think you know by now not to underestimate me."
Before she could say another word, the air around them shimmered and swirled dizzyingly. When the world steadied again, she found herself standing in the middle of an extravagent ballroom, like the one she'd been trapped in after eating that peach. She found herself wondering if this was real or only a dream. So many things had happened to her since entering the Labyrinth, and she was no longer sure about what was reality and what was only fantasy. Nothing is what it seems in this place….
It took her a few moments, but she finally realized that there were hundreds of other people—and goblins—in the room as well. And her garb was no longer the simple blouse and blue jeans she'd been wearing before; she was now clothed in a delicate white dress, elegant in its simple straight lines and lack of embellishments. Jareth was standing beside her, still clad in the ethereal robes he'd been wearing during their confrontation just moments ago. He cast her barely a glance before turning his gaze to the room.
"Meet your new queen!" he announced, his voice carrying across the room with crystalline clarity. Sarah could have sworn her heart stopped for a second. She was the…queen?
Of course, she thought, hiding a grimace. What else do you think he meant when he asked you to stay? Did you think he meant you to be just an honored guest? Still, that realization did nothing to calm her. She had no intentions of chickening out and begging to go home—not without Toby—but it didn't mean she had to like her new situation. What did being the Queen of the Goblins entail? Most likely, it meant spending quite a bit of time with the King…
"This wasn't a part of the deal," she muttered just loudly enough for him to hear. Jareth smiled smugly down at her.
"Are you still preaching about fairness, Sarah?" he murmured. "I assure you, this 'deal' is nothing but fair. I asked you to stay, and you did."
"'Fear me, love me, do as I say' doesn't exactly describe the situation you've put me in." Sarah's tone became louder, as all the guests began talking and laughing amongst themselves. "It sounds more like a law you'd give your subjects, not to a queen!"
"On the contrary. Don't the women of your world give similar vows when they are married? Perhaps not in the same words, but the meaning is the same. Are you having second thoughts about our arrangement now?"
"Of course not." Sarah lifted her chin defiantly. "I told you, I'm only here to be near Toby. I'm not leaving unless he comes with me."
"And that won't be happening," Jareth replied, "so it looks as though you're going to be here for quite some time." He reached down and took her hand, leading her into the crowd. She tried to pull out of his grasp, to no avail.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded. He gave another of his infamous smirks.
"To meet your subjects," he said lightly. "They are all eager to meet their new queen." Sarah nearly groaned aloud in dismay.
"Poor Sarah," Hoggle said quietly, after Ludo had set him back on the ground. He, Ludo, and Sir Didymus were among those assembled in the great hall, but they remained at the edge of the crowd, close to the doorway. With Hoggle's short stature, Ludo had had to sit the dwarf upon his massive shoulders in order to see what was going on. And when Jareth announced that there was a new queen—and gestured to Sarah—Hoggle nearly toppled off his lofty perch.
She obviously wasn't happy with her new station (that much could be seen by looking at her face), but Hoggle had a feeling he knew why she was there. She must not have reached her baby brother in time, causing him to turn into a goblin, and her unwavering sense of loyalty refused to let her abandon him. So she's given in to Jareth, he thought sadly. Maybe now she understands my position…
"We must save Lady Sarah!" Sir Didymus exclaimed, ever the valiant one. Hoggle hissed at him to be quiet.
"Help Sarah," Ludo rumbled in agreement. Hoggle turned around and hit the giant beast.
"Both of you be quiet!" he whispered loudly. When both friends looked at him in questioning bewilderment, he gestured for them all to leave the room. Once in the relative safety of an empty hallway, he began to explain his actions. "Sarah might be out of danger, but we aren't," he stated. Ludo drew back in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Didymus asked.
"We helped Sarah get here! And Jareth knows that…if he catches us, he'll put us in the Bog of Eternal Stench!!!"
"Smell bad!" Ludo whined, remembering his less-than-pleasant experience there. Hoggle nodded.
"So you see why we can't let him know where we are?"
"But Sir Hoggle," Didymus protested, "We must save the Lady Sarah! How can we do that if we must hide?" The little fox wasn't fond of hiding in shadows; the trait was one of the things that almost had the group caught at the front gates to the Goblin City…though thankfully, the guard had been a heavy sleeper.
"We have to wait for her to ask us," the dwarf replied regretfully. "She's gotta do this alone, remember? But if she needs us, she'll call." At least, he hoped she would.
"Yer quarters, Queen Sarah," a goblin muttered, gesturing to a large set of doors that were bedecked with jewels. As Sarah reached out to open the doors, she looked around and realized that she was now the only person in the cavernous hallway. Where had that goblin gone?
Well, it didn't matter. At least she was finally alone. She needed some time to herself so she could think…something she hadn't really been able to do since finding herself in this mess. She pushed open the doors—which, despite their size, swung open easily on oiled hinges—and walked into what was now her room. The size of it was absolutely amazing, and was decorated so differently from the rest of the castle that she knew it could have been done only by magic. There were none of the stark angles and bleak colors that casted a gloomy air about all the other rooms of the castle. This room had a high, vaulted ceiling that was made of smooth stones, and the walls and floor were made of the same material. An enormous bed was set against one wall, and curtains of a filmy white material were tied against each of the four bedposts, with a canopy veiling across all four posts. Against the other wall was set a bureau with a silver-framed mirror, and on the smoothly varnished top of the bureau were laid various items from silver-backed brushes to small bottles of perfume. Despite the situation she was in, Sarah found herself overcome with curiosity as she stepped lightly about the room, looking out the large window, under the bed, and even inside the wardrobe placed in a corner. She gasped when she saw dresses in a plethora of colors filling the large wardrobe.
"But how did he…?" she began in shock, fingering the sleeve of a blue silk dress. Suddenly, she jerked her hand away and glared at the garment. "He knew he would win. That horrible, arrogant—"
"I'm glad you think so highly of me, Sarah," came a silky voice from the open doorway. Sarah spun around to see Jareth leaning lazily against the doorjamb, one corner of his mouth tilted up in a mocking smile.
"You knew you were going to win, didn't you?" she accused, taking a threatening step toward him. He didn't seem affected by her anger. "You just bided your time, waiting for me to get here, so you could somehow make me stay! I don't want to be your queen, Jareth! And I don't want to be here! It's—"
In a matter of seconds, Jareth was there, placing his hand lightly across her mouth. "Don't say those words, Sarah," he warned. "You have no idea how irritating they sound. How many times have I heard you say 'it's not fair'? And when will you learn that things are not always going to go the way you want them to?"
She took a step back, continuing to glare icily at him. "And when will you learn that you can't win everything?"
Jareth shrugged carelessly. "When I lose," he replied. "Which has never happened." He leaned closer to her and murmured close to her ear, "I always win, Sarah. This is my labyrinth, my kingdom…you really didn't think you could beat me, did you?" Straightening, he continued in a normal tone. "You should get ready now; dinner will be served shortly."
"I'm not hungry."
"As you wish." His tone again held that biting mockery. Sarah tried not to let herself cry before he left the room, but when he was at last gone, she ran to her bed and threw herself on it, burying her face in the pillows.
"It's not fair!" she screamed over and over again into the muffling softness of the satiny cushions, letting her tears fall. Her chest heaved with the sobs that suddenly overwhelmed her, and she cried until finally she fell into a fitful slumber.
Outside her room, a deep frown curved Jareth's lips as he pushed himself off the wall and continued down the hallway.
And there you have it! This is just part one...part two will be coming up shortly! ;)
