I don't own anything in the Labyrinth.
'Hello, door. Are you me?' Sarah asked the great wooden doors of the Goblin Library.
In a way.
'...Why?'
What no one knew was that the Goblin King loved the girl, and had given her certain powers...
'I don't understand,' Sarah said. Why was the door reciting the Book to her?
For a while, Sarah, every crystal had your face in it. Every song was your song. He could not make a simple illusion without you in it, green eyes teasing him, dark hair haunting him.
'After I beat the Labyrinth... I see.'
Do you, Sarah? A simple renewal of a spell that was timeless, as old as the castle itself, was beyond him without your memory's interference. I am simply the reflection of what he held dearest. I puzzle people, should they come knocking without a key. I drive them mad. I deny them their dreams. I am what you are, Sarah: a temptress.
'I never meant to tempt him! I was fifteen, for Pete's sake! I never meant to do anything but win back my brother...'
The door opened wide, and Sarah stepped inside.
Once you make it to the Center of the Labyrinth, you'll never make it back out again, Sarah. You should have seen that.
'I see now, door. No worries, I see it now.'
The door slammed shut, leaving Sarah standing in the library. She told herself as she wiped her tears away that it was the dust, but she knew she was lying.
'I still don't see the value you place on Kine Woods, Arduinna. The trees aren't anything respectable, there is no game to be found, and it borders on dwarven territory,' Bebhionn said decisively. She was pointing at an area on the map that lay stretched out over the massive desk, while the other 7 or 8 people in the room looked on. Jareth sat back in his chair, idly fingering the pendant on his chest. It was a rather masculine symbol, he thought, and more fitting as a symbol of office than a crown or a scepter.
'My lord, the Seelie King has requested this small area in the treaty so he may build a better friendship with the dwarves. He believes he can set up a better trade route using these woods.' Arduinna smiled vapidly. She had kept the air of a vacant girl-child all throughout the morning, but no one was fooled any more. The Seelie had not sent an idiot to negotiate the treaty.
'A trade route, cousin? Did I hear you properly?' one of the Unseelie lords blurted. Jareth grinned ferally at the reactions to the Seelie Ambassador's words. There was no way that the Unseelie court would allow their stranglehold on dwarven goods to loosen.
'In exchange, of course, we've been instructed to allow access to the Dragon Wastes to the north of the Seelie palaces. For trade, teaching, or whatever the Unseelie court has need of.'
Jareth rolled his eyes. This treat had been dangled before his father's court before, and yet had never made it into any of the final forms of the countless treaties signed. Not that any of the treaties lasted for more than a decade.
Bebhiann opened her mouth, thought for a second, and then shut it. Jareth raised an eyebrow at her, and was about to question her when a gentle tap on the door interrupted them. Jareth summoned a crystal to check who it was, and then instructed the door to open silently.
A tiny, pink-haired servant stood in the hall, staring at the door as it grumbled and swung open.
'Your Majesty, lunch is ready. It will be served in the Great Hall,' she said with a squeak, and curtseyed. As she did, she revealed delicate dragonfly wings drooping from her shoulder blades.
More of his stepmother's half pixie servants.
'Well, Ladies, Lords. I believe it's time to put aside half-truths and empty promises and make our way towards the Great Hall. Unless you think you can subsist on words alone?' Jareth sighed. Bebhionn inclined her head in respect to him, but Arduinna merely raised an eyebrow.
'A moment of your time, Goblin King. How long do you expect negotiations to continue?'
'Knowing the stakes, Lady Arduinna, I expect them to be endless.' Jareth sighed.
'You mean the part about the marriage contract.' The vacant-looking woman smiled as she spoke. The other occupants of the room froze, unable to believe the directness of her words and waiting for the temperamental Goblin King's reaction.
'Yes, the infernal marriage contract, and the endless bickering over 20 square meters of wooded land that no one sets foot in anyway, and the endless interruptions, and the fact that half of the Sidhe in my castle have less intelligence than the lowliest goblin in my kingdom, and any number of things that could drive a sane man to murder,' Jareth growled, suddenly and ridiculously angry. 'I dislike the idea that my life will be dictated by those who think they control it, and I plan on doing as much as possible to dissuade them from the notion.' He turned on his heel and stalked out of his office.
Sarah was lost in the stacks of books, albeit willingly so. She had yet to figure out what system they were organized by, or even the language that half of them were in, but the smell and the feel of the leather-bound volumes had her nearly intoxicated. She traced her fingers along rows and rows of books, stooping occasionally to look at a volume below her line of sight. From time to time, she would stop, gently release a book from the shelf, and flip through it. She found books that talked, books that answered questions, books that asked questions, books in languages no man had ever understood, books that made her head spin wildly. She was in heaven!
Finally, Sarah found a section of books that felt innately familiar to her. Standing in front of them made her feel warm and shivery, and charged up full of some feeling she could not name. She grabbed the first book in the section and cracked it open.
A Treatise on Weather Magicks, or How to Ride the Lightning Instead of It Riding You
Sarah giggled. 'Whoever wrote this one had to be crazy, to title it like that!'
A sound behind her startled her into dropping the book, and she spun around.
To no one's surprise but her own, Jareth was walking up the aisle of books with a peculiar expression on his face- half frustration, half anticipation. As if he'd had a very bad day, but was still looking forward to whatever was next.
'Mistreating my books, Precious?' he grinned, and leaned down to scoop up the book. 'And this one is so important. I imagine Callieach Beara will give it to you as homework.'
'It, ah... it seemed right, to pick up.' Sarah stammered, on edge by Jareth's presence.
Jareth set the book on a waiting pedestal and swept Sarah into his arms. 'I have been looking forward to this all day, Sarah,' he said, and buried his face in the nape of her neck.
'Bad day, eh?' Sarah joked, as she tentatively ran her fingers through his messy hair.
'You have no idea,' Jareth mumbled into her neck. He sounded for all the world like a petulant child.
'Poor thing,' she murmured. Jareth pulled back from her and stared at her for a moment with those haunting, bi-colored eyes, and then caught up her lips in a kiss. It was a kiss so full of need and hidden meaning that Sarah cried out against his mouth- a sound of passion, of understanding, of confusion, of need. She returned his kiss with a savage joy that she did not know she was capable of.
A moment passed, and then several. He finally relinquished his hold on her lips and sighed. 'Are you hungry? Lunch has been announced in the Great Hall and I imagined you'd be interested in seeing the horde of Seelie and Unseelie idiots that have descended upon the castle.'
'Oh, wow... I don't know, don't you need manners or something?' Sarah joked. 'I was raised in the backwoods after all...'
'Sarah, no manners are needed. Half of these people spend more time watching TV than your brother does.'
'I still don't understand how that works, you know. Did Time Warner set up a branch in the Underground or something?'
'Ask me again some other time, when we have several hours to waste.'
'I think I'd rather waste my time on other things,' Sarah said wickedly.
Jareth grinned in response. 'Touche, Precious. Shall we go?'
'I'd love to.'
Jareth took her arm in his, and escorted her down towards the end of the row. 'This castle hasn't held more than 10 beings in centuries, goblins not included of course. So suddenly having nearly a hundred petty servants- not to mention the petty Lords and Ladies- is rather unnerving.'
'Why are they here, Jareth?' Sarah asked.
'With the death of the Seelie King, the heir-apparent has decided he'd like to negotiate some peace, however long it shall last. A great number of things have been asked for, most specifically the marriage of the Unseelie heir to one of the Seelie princesses.' Jareth said, sounding rather irritated.
Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. 'Aren't you the Unseelie heir, though?'
'Yes, unfortunately. ' Jareth sighed, and turned to face her.
'So, I shouldn't be here then. You might have to get married to someone else.'
'The day I let someone else decide whom I shall spend eternity with is the day I secede from any court and live in solitude with my goblins. And that, Precious, will never happen,' he said seriously.
'But, Jareth, the goblins are such thrilling conversationalists...' Sarah smiled.
'If you consider "Wheel of Fortune", where the winning word is always chicken, thrilling,' he said as they started walking again.
'As long as my presence here won't complicate things, I suppose I'll be ok.'
'I think once they realize who you are, Precious, I imagine the Seelie will start trying to curry your favor. They have no weather-witches in the whole of their courts right now, so even a poorly-trained one will be a great boon.'
'So you're dragging me into a pissing match between two angry wolf-packs, then. And all I get to be is another bone to fight over?'
'Sad, but true. You and I are just haunches of meat torn between two angry pack leaders.' Jareth smiled, and motioned to the door in front of them.
'Off we go, then, into the den of the wolves.' Sarah grinned.
A/N Wow, three chapters in one night! Woot!