Enter the Labyrinth

When she opened her eyes to take in the sights of where he had taken her, she gasped. It was just like she was Dorothy Gale opening a door to the colorful land of Oz. His beloved hiding spot was breathtakingly enchanted, and she instantly understood why he loved it so. “You designed this, didn’t you? It’s gorgeous.” Before he could answer, Sarah already made up her mind that he had to have created this place as well. There was a familiar feeling there. Different than the castle and maze, yet reminiscent of those. And she wondered, yet again, if the Labyrinth was a representation of its creator. Perhaps this was its heart. Sarah turned in a complete circle, instantly loving and revering the little oasis.

"You are correct. I did design it, but it took many months. I wanted it to be perfect, and the land wasn't hard to tweak anyways. My main concern was the type of stone to use for the fountain and fencing, but altogether I am glad I settled on marble," the King explained as he dragged his fingers across the framework of the bench, turned, and sat comfortably close to Sarah.

Yet a questioning look burned within her eyes and Jareth became a bit concerned. Alas, the building of his labyrinth was brought up. Jareth knew the longing question would come in time, but didn't predict it would be so soon. Only he knew what the maze represented and Sarah was onto him. He signed casually and looked up at the hazy, orange-tinted sunset; he seemed to have drifted off to a distant world. 

No sooner had Barbara asked the question of whether or not Jareth was there, than did he make a grand appearance. It was so utterly like him to sweep in dramatically like that, and Sarah’s face lit up with a bright smile. She stepped forward, her arms started to raise to embrace him; not realizing just how much she had missed him until seeing him once more. However, the smile and her movements were quickly replaced by concern when she saw the look on his face. And then his harsh words made her pause even more as her mouth opened in surprise. And yet, even though he was acting so callous and angry, she knew him well enough to see past those walls of his. To see why he was acting this way, and she felt a pang of guilt over doing something she had said she never wanted to do again; hurt him. Cause him to worry over her. 

And even though she understood this outburst from him, Sarah started to get angry, herself. His last statement was just icing on the cake. She took it like a punch to the gut; her breath escaping her. Now he had done it. Her temper was in full flare mode and her pulse skyrocketed, little tremors causing her to shake with anger. Placing her hands sternly on her hips she raised her face defiantly, not backing away even an inch. “Playtime?! I wasn’t off playing. I figured you were busy and didn’t want to bother you, so I went for a walk in the labyrinth. When I found a portal, I just wanted to step through it to see if it went to Underland. But instead it transported me to an awful sand-covered land full of monsters. I was lucky enough to find help from someone, but we ended up back in the Aboveground. I didn’t know how to get back to you, other than go through my mirror again. So, I had to go all the way back to my house, get my mirror, and then go back to Barbara’s house so that we could travel through it and I could get back here. It, of course, didn’t bring me right to the castle. I had to solve the maze once more.” 

She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves somewhat. Her cold stare never left his eyes. “It wasn’t my intention to be gone for so long, and of course you can trust me.” Her eyes narrowed as she cocked her head to the side. “But I can see just how quickly you put those walls back up. Such a pity.” 

Sarah became acutely aware of Barbara standing next to her. Oh dear lord, whatever could she be thinking?! What an absolutely dreadful first impression Jareth must have given her, what with his little temper tantrum. Eyes still holding his, she blindly reached out and grasped the ghost’s cold shoulder. Sarah’s tone was flat and unwavering. “This is Barbara. She rescued me.” Sarah didn’t want to tell him just how close she was to being a Sandworm’s meal. She didn’t need him to get any more upset.

When the king entered, Barbara’s face was bright with welcoming, but the man was already barking at Sarah, paying no attention to the poor, slightly confused woman that was standing just outside of the two. This is what Barbara feared—not for her, but for Sarah. Yes, Jareth was over-protective, but he seemed too over-protective. He was already getting angry after she didn’t seem to be gone for too long—or at least to Barbara. With her mother-like nature getting the best of her, the ghost was finally going to speak up and say something about Jareth’s rude welcoming to his bride, but Sarah had cut her off, yelling at him in return.

The brunette remained quiet while the two of them went back and forth, narrowing her eyebrows in disapproval. No, it wasn’t in her name to be the one to actually speak up and say something about their behavior towards one another, seeing how Barbara had just met Jareth and he didn’t seem to be in a good mood; but now Sarah was already telling Jareth about the ghost that had saved her and before she knew it, she was being introduced to the enraged king, but he seemed to view her as the one that was taking time away from being with Sarah. Her pupils shrunk as he acknowledged her before her hand tensed up and rose, moving back and forth in an awkward wave.

"Y-Your Highness, I didn’t mean to take Sarah away, but—" She stopped mid-sentence, realizing how strange that sounded. It only implied that she did take Sarah, which was the complete opposite of what she wanted to imply. In all honesty, however, Barbara wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, however. Yes, she did spend time with Sarah, but did Sarah need to be here? Maybe she just didn’t want to be rude? Barbara didn’t know what to think. All she knew was that there was both an angry king and his future queen standing before her— oh! She could say something about that!

Working up the nerve to speak again, she did. “And, pardon my words, but I don’t think that arguing with one another is going to help this situation at all—especially if you two are to be wed in the future.” Nervously, at first, Barbara glanced towards the king. “I wasn’t trying to “steal” her or anything that you might be thinking. She’s telling the truth; she was in a sticky situation, so I saved her. I couldn’t let her remain injured so I patched her up. Afterwards, she insisted that I should meet you, and now we’re here.” In her mind, she stated that she slightly regretting meeting this king, but she wasn’t going to say that aloud. And then, the ghost pivoted on her heel, looking towards Sarah. “And just yelling back at him isn’t going to help, either.” Her tone wasn’t harsh, but it was enough to give the both of them a warning. “You wouldn’t want to start a marriage off like this, would you?

"… That’s all I have to say on the matter."

The Goblin King let out a little sigh which ultimately declared his defeat. Snapping his stare back over to his fiance, he smirked. "My apologies, darling. I was just so..." the King trailed off, then smoothly gestured into the air, "Worried. You know how I can get."  He left Sarah at that, then turned to the woman at her side.

Flickering his eyes open, they revealed a large garden filled with vines, shrubs, and vegetation of all sorts. In the center of the huge garden, there was a pool filled to the brim with crystal clear water. The pool was bordered with magnificent fountains that sprayed rainbows of colors that changed back to the original clean state once it hit the water once more. A single bench sat before this sight, which was cushioned with baby blue silk. 

Barbara was mentally slapped when Sarah mentioned that she was to marry the king. Although some thoughts still warned her of his power overcoming the poor girl, the ghost couldn’t help but to be overall happy for Sarah. “Oh, you’re getting married! How exciting." Her hands held one another atop her bosom, her expression flashing a smile. “Well, I do have to wish you two the best of luck, but it seems as though you’ll be fine after everything that I’e heard." Perhaps meeting this king really wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe Barbara was just overreacting.

The hours passed slowly and dreadfully, the king paced outside the window of the throne room. The goblins who usually celebrated in the very room sat solemnly against the wall. Jareth, their all-powerful leader, was thrown to his weakest yet again. Every half-an-hour or so, he glanced eagerly out the window, some blind hope rising so slightly from the eternal pain within him.

Jareth sat at his throne, face buried in his clammy palms. One last time, he thought, I'll check once more. He was going to assume she found some way to escape not from his clutches, but his soft, loving arms. Begrudgingly he stood and dragged himself to the window that overlooked the Goblin City. Jareth's off-balanced eyes danced about, detecting her at last! He leaned past the windowsill, and confirmed his suspicion to be true: Sarah was back. Yet something was different, there was a woman at her side and she seemed to be gliding. They seemed to be having a friendly conversation, but Jareth wasn't a fool. Sarah must've been stolen away by this woman or her kind. She looked as if she was human, but it was obvious that she wasn't. Jareth stormed from the room, and he was feeling quite healthy once again. Sure, he was angry as hell, but his powers were rekindled and he teleported himself to the corner just feet away from the entrance, and slyly watched as the two girls intruded into the castle.

Jareth folded his arms across his chest before stepping away from his waiting post, rounded the corner, and stood tall in front of Sarah and this mysterious woman. He smiled at the ground and even chuckled a bit; his eyes could have burned whatever they were locked on. Looking up, he met Sarah's gaze, making sure his mask didn't falter. He wasn't going to show how happy he was she returned somewhat safely (he spotted few injuries on her body) or how hurt he was that she left; Jareth was only going to display how angry he was that she didn't notify him whatsoever.

"I love when the Goblin King RP’s with anyone… It’s always amusing!"

The truth was, that she had no idea what type of event she wanted for their wedding. Sure, she had fantasized of her wedding day plenty of times as a girl. The dream that Jareth had given her when she took a bite of that peach. That was it. How she had envisioned herself as a bride. Dancing with her husband. Twirling in circles as he held her, mesmerized by him. And that dream had come crashing down the second she decided it was all a trick, and had pulled away from him. To literally smash the crystal bubble they were in. It wasn’t fitting anymore. Now, she wondered what the traditions were like here, in the Underground. Her new home. Wouldn’t the wedding of the king have certain traditions and standards of its own? The wedding of the king. Sarah gasped. She just agreed to be his queen. Queen. She had no idea what that would even mean.

"Sarah... You make me so delighted!" said Jareth as he scooped her into his arms and twirled her around him. He chuckled and set her back onto her feet, giving her a light kiss on her plump lips.

"I'm presuming you want a wedding? An extraordinary event? Anything for you, darling. Just tell me when, where, the theme, the food; Your wish is my command!" 

As he nuzzled her ear and hair, almost all thought stopped completely. What was that question again? Desire. What did she desire. There were several things to consider… However, at the moment all she could think of was Jareth. Taking advantage of how their cheeks were rubbing up against each others. And of how close his ear was to her, she traced it with her fingertips. Sarah then plunged her fingers into his hair, pulling his ear closer to her mouth to trail kisses along his earlobe and down to the sensitive area just below it. Her other arm was still wrapped around his waist to hold him tightly against her.

Sarah watched Jareth drift closer to kiss her, his face closing the gap between them as his eyelids fell. Her eyes pinched closed as well, spilling a couple of rogue tears in the process. Her trembling fingers tightly enclosed the pendant as his hand moved away from it to hold onto her hip. It sent chills sweeping through her body like an electric current coming from his fingertips. She had never been with any other man that had this affect on her, and she gladly surrendered herself over to the sensations invading her. Turning her mind off and just enjoying it, Sarah welcomed the intimacy between them.