HOME | DD

Description
Seven days had gone by. Seven nights came and went without dreams, or nightmares. Seven times she awoke when the grandfather clock in the hall struck twelve to a dark room that offered little comfort. It was on that seventh night that Sarah lay awake in her bed, thoughts whirling around inside of her head at a breakneck pace. She wondered if Jareth had somehow stolen her dreams. This was quickly dismissed. The Goblin King would no more do that than kiss the feet of one of his subordinates.

Which brought her around once more to her lack of dreams. She had never gone so long without dreaming. Her friends even noticed that she didn’t daydream during class anymore. She was very careful about saying “I wish”, and the word “fair” was all but stripped from her vocabulary. Her parents were beginning to worry about her. She seemed to have grown up overnight, but the change was not entirely positive. The young girl still had a look of longing in her eyes, but fairy tales and make believe weren’t the triggers as far as they could see.

So there she lay in the still of the night, hands behind her head, trying to puzzle out what had happened to her dreams. What had changed? Without warning, a memory burst inside of her mind, carrying with it the last thing he had said to her. “Let me rule over you. Fear me, love me, do as I say…and I will be your slave.”

And with the last chime of the clock, the answer she was looking for came to her.
She tumbled out of bed, throwing the window open so that the moonlight washed her room in shifting silvery light. It took her a minute to find the words she wanted, but she believed, and that gave her the courage.

"I wish you were here with me, right now," she spoke clearly into the night air, barely shivering when a crisp breeze toyed with the edges of her nightgown. Seven heartbeats later, and he was there, standing on her windowsill much in the same way he did when she first saw him.

Unlike the first time she saw him, there was an electric charge in the air. The arrogance pose was at odd with the unreadable expression in his mismatched eyes. This time, he came alone. Just as she had wished.

"This is unexpected," he almost spat as he stepped down, bringing himself closer to Sarah. Her stomach flip-flopped wildly, but none of it showed in her expression. "And just what would you have of me now, Sarah? You have your brother back. You can see your 'friends' whenever you like. You defeated me." ~You spurned my offer~ hung heavy and unspoken in the air. "What more could a heroine ask for?"

"That's just it, Jareth," she replied, her voice lacking the cruel bite and sarcastic venom that Jareth layered on his. "You always thought you knew what I wanted, what I dreamed of. And perhaps you did." She looked him in the eyes, the feelings she had carried and mulled over for the last week finally falling into order."

"But what neither of us realized is that I was growing in that Labyrinth. Sure, I used to long to be a fairy princess in a land far away, with a handsome prince who would rescue me from some terrible place. The Labyrinth changed me. You changed me, too. That's why you couldn't keep a hold on me," she continued as she walked a little closer, bringing surprise to the Goblin King's face.

"You didn't really want some silly little girl, did you? By the end, what you really wanted was someone who could stand by your side, as an equal. If I had given in...it would have been over. You wouldn't let yourself win, because...because you loved me." She peered up at him. "I'm right, aren't I?"

The world itself seemed to freeze. She had laid everything on the line in this one moment. If she was wrong...she didn't know what she would do if she were wrong. Her entire world narrowed down to a pair of eyes that flickered and flared with magic beyond her comprehension now focused singularly on her.

"Even if it were true," he finally replied, a softness in his voice that she had never heard before, "it makes no difference now. The dream is over, choices were made. I knew after the ball that I could not keep you. You shattered my heart when you shattered my dream." Without thinking about what she was doing, Sarah reached out to him, stroking the side of his face.

"It was a beautiful dream Jareth! It just wasn't the right one...but we can create a new one, together. Come with me, and with my words and your power, we could create something wonderful. I want to be with you, Jareth," she admitted half-breathlessly. "If...if you'll still have me."

At seven a.m. the next day, Toby's parents awoke to the sunshine through their window. Their beautiful tow-headed son slept peacefully in his crib, and they began to prepare for another day. There was no trace of a slip of a girl with dreams in her eyes. To them, she was no more than a passing fancy.

The End.

Description
Seven days had gone by. Seven nights came and went without dreams, or nightmares. Seven times she awoke when the grandfather clock in the hall struck twelve to a dark room that offered little comfort. It was on that seventh night that Sarah lay awake in her bed, thoughts whirling around inside of her head at a breakneck pace. She wondered if Jareth had somehow stolen her dreams. This was quickly dismissed. The Goblin King would no more do that than kiss the feet of one of his subordinates.

Which brought her around once more to her lack of dreams. She had never gone so long without dreaming. Her friends even noticed that she didn’t daydream during class anymore. She was very careful about saying “I wish”, and the word “fair” was all but stripped from her vocabulary. Her parents were beginning to worry about her. She seemed to have grown up overnight, but the change was not entirely positive. The young girl still had a look of longing in her eyes, but fairy tales and make believe weren’t the triggers as far as they could see.

So there she lay in the still of the night, hands behind her head, trying to puzzle out what had happened to her dreams. What had changed? Without warning, a memory burst inside of her mind, carrying with it the last thing he had said to her. “Let me rule over you. Fear me, love me, do as I say…and I will be your slave.”

And with the last chime of the clock, the answer she was looking for came to her.
She tumbled out of bed, throwing the window open so that the moonlight washed her room in shifting silvery light. It took her a minute to find the words she wanted, but she believed, and that gave her the courage.

"I wish you were here with me, right now," she spoke clearly into the night air, barely shivering when a crisp breeze toyed with the edges of her nightgown. Seven heartbeats later, and he was there, standing on her windowsill much in the same way he did when she first saw him.

Unlike the first time she saw him, there was an electric charge in the air. The arrogance pose was at odd with the unreadable expression in his mismatched eyes. This time, he came alone. Just as she had wished.

"This is unexpected," he almost spat as he stepped down, bringing himself closer to Sarah. Her stomach flip-flopped wildly, but none of it showed in her expression. "And just what would you have of me now, Sarah? You have your brother back. You can see your 'friends' whenever you like. You defeated me." ~You spurned my offer~ hung heavy and unspoken in the air. "What more could a heroine ask for?"

"That's just it, Jareth," she replied, her voice lacking the cruel bite and sarcastic venom that Jareth layered on his. "You always thought you knew what I wanted, what I dreamed of. And perhaps you did." She looked him in the eyes, the feelings she had carried and mulled over for the last week finally falling into order."

"But what neither of us realized is that I was growing in that Labyrinth. Sure, I used to long to be a fairy princess in a land far away, with a handsome prince who would rescue me from some terrible place. The Labyrinth changed me. You changed me, too. That's why you couldn't keep a hold on me," she continued as she walked a little closer, bringing surprise to the Goblin King's face.

"You didn't really want some silly little girl, did you? By the end, what you really wanted was someone who could stand by your side, as an equal. If I had given in...it would have been over. You wouldn't let yourself win, because...because you loved me." She peered up at him. "I'm right, aren't I?"

The world itself seemed to freeze. She had laid everything on the line in this one moment. If she was wrong...she didn't know what she would do if she were wrong. Her entire world narrowed down to a pair of eyes that flickered and flared with magic beyond her comprehension now focused singularly on her.

"Even if it were true," he finally replied, a softness in his voice that she had never heard before, "it makes no difference now. The dream is over, choices were made. I knew after the ball that I could not keep you. You shattered my heart when you shattered my dream." Without thinking about what she was doing, Sarah reached out to him, stroking the side of his face.

"It was a beautiful dream Jareth! It just wasn't the right one...but we can create a new one, together. Come with me, and with my words and your power, we could create something wonderful. I want to be with you, Jareth," she admitted half-breathlessly. "If...if you'll still have me."

At seven a.m. the next day, Toby's parents awoke to the sunshine through their window. Their beautiful tow-headed son slept peacefully in his crib, and they began to prepare for another day. There was no trace of a slip of a girl with dreams in her eyes. To them, she was no more than a passing fancy.

The End.