Okay, just a warning to all of you�this is going to be a long, drawn-out explanation to my story, so you can skip it if you want, but don�t come bawling to me if you can�t figure out what�s going on, especially if any of you aren�t familiar with the movie "Labyrinth", okay? Okay.
First, some disclaimers�Everything pertaining to Labyrinth isn�t mine. Everything pertaining to Beauty and the Beast isn�t mine. Everything else (including Wreath and the story) is. Got it? Good.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author(s) imagination(s) and are not real. Any resemblance to actual persons and/or events, either living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Okay, now that that�s out of the way� This story is set eight years after Sarah�s first trip into the Labyrinth (Which will take forever to explain about. If you want to know about it, watch the movie. I promise you won�t be sorry. ;-). She is now 23, lives on her own in New York (her family is in California, and they are pretty much out of the picture), and is a not-so-well-known actress. Okay. Good. You�ll be able to figure that out on your own, no doubt. Anyway, she ends up meeting Vincent and all those Below with the help of the Golden Lady.
**Note** I�ve tried to keep the Golden Lady kind of mysterious and all that up �till the end, to add a bit of dramatic flair. I don�t know how well I actually did that though. If you don�t figure out who she is on your own, great! If you did�oh well. I tried. <g>
Anyway, pertaining to B&B, "Twists" takes place during the years after Catherine has died and Vincent�s son, Jacob, is stolen and then recovered. Um�I cannot remember exactly what season that happened. Was it the 3rd? Maybe the 4th�Well, it doesn�t really matter, as I have never actually had the pleasure of viewing anything that happened from the time Catherine died <and I�m sorry to whoever I just ruined the plot of the show for�> up until whatever the last episode was. I know there was a woman named Diana who got involved with Vincent helping to get his son back or whatever (this info being gathered from all the fanfic I�ve read�) but she and everything that may or may not have happened after Vincent gets his son back is now obsolete. It has no part in my story.
This is where my character, Wreath, comes in. She was found as a baby by Vincent and raised in the tunnels of Below, and she considers Vincent to be her best friend�and a heck of a lot more than that!�even though he�s ten years older than her. She�s twenty three, that would make him thirty-three�I don�t know what his real age is. I�m guessing. Sue me. Jacob in my story is six years old, as six is a far more interesting age than two (which I think he may have been when B&B stopped airing�but not sure what year that was, or how many years had actually passed within the story itself), since he can speak more, or at least actually make sense in what he says.
Everything else regarding Labyrinth is still the same. Sorry, but no Hoggle or Ludo or Sir Didymus in this one, except for mentioning them briefly. Um�I mention Hoggle, anyhow. But I do have the Fierys make a guest appearance. =)
Um�I think I covered everything. I hope I did. Now, did anybody actually make sense of all that, or have you all died of boredom? <Scanning crowd for signs of glazed eyes�> Oh, by the way, this story is more about Sarah and Jareth than it is about Wreath and Vincent, as it IS a Labyrinth tale. But don�t worry, Vincent and Wreath have their parts (very large parts, I might add) as well. It was an experiment to see if I could actually succeed in writing a crossover, so comments, praise, flames, will be much appreciated. =)
Well, enough with my jabbering. Read the story, already!
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Twists of Fate
by
Stormlight
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Prologue
A Golden Lady stood surrounded by mist; soft, white mist that parted like a veil before her as she passed through, and closed softly again. Images swirled within that whiteness, reflections of the world beyond the one which she inhabited. A world full of color, and pleasure, and pain, and joy, and sorrow, hate, friendship, love�all mixing together and existing together, the good with the bad, in the type of existence only Life could give.
The Lady had been part of that mortal world once, not so long ago. She could still remember what it was like to run in the wind, or to taste food, or to feel the hand of a lover caressing her hair. But that was all gone now. Her life had ended, and now she lived in a higher plane, where there was still love and joy, with none of the darker emotions and feelings hidden beneath.
It was peaceful in her new world, and yet she still found herself drawn toward the old one, to watch those that she had left behind live their lives, and to wonder what might have been had she stayed. She didn�t regret her passing, little choice though she had of it. It would have happened anyhow, she knew, as it would happen to everyone. For now, she was content to watch over those who needed her, and it was a task that she quite enjoyed, and took very seriously.
There were two in particular to whom she gave her utmost attention. Those two were those she had loved the most, and she guarded them as carefully as a mother cat guarded her kittens. He was sad, she sensed. She could see it in his eyes, and she felt sad for him. She was the one he loved most in the world, but now she was gone. He was alone, but for the other little one, his son. The son she had never had a chance to know. Their Life-threads were woven together, shining gold and silver, and there was also the glimmer of a third Thread woven among them. This Thread was as green as the spring grass. It belonged to her, a friend that the Lady had known. This Thread was full of life and laughter, and with the crystal blue that traced from her thread to his, it was clear that she loved him, as well.
The Lady smiled, pleased with her discovery. Oh, she had suspected during her time in that world, though she was never certain. Perhaps the loneliness and pain that laced his Thread would ease, once he realized�She was going to have to help this along, in her own, subtle way, of course.
But here, now�what was this? She paused and looked closely at the three woven Threads. A glimmer�no, two�there were two other Threads woven within this braid! One was a fiery red color, like a brilliant ruby, or a drop of mortal blood, filled with spirit and strength and imagination. How lovely, the Lady thought, tracing the delicate strand to a beautiful young woman. She didn�t recognize the woman. How was it that her Thread was linked to the others? She traced the Thread yet again, but she was not mistaken. Yes, this woman was linked. Somehow, she would be united with the others. Though it had not yet happened, as he and his son were not aware of the woman as of yet, Fate would soon play its role. This, indeed, would be interesting. Especially with the second Thread that was woven so closely with this one.
This Thread was clear and shining, like crystal, and it pulsed with light. A very otherworldly light that, nevertheless, was not the light that came from the Lady�s world. Fascinated, she traced the Thread to its source. To her astonishment, it did not stop at the edge of that mortal world, but continued on into another one. To one that was old; far, far older than the mortal realm. One in which Time had no place or meaning, and where Death had little hold over that world�s inhabitants. This place was filled with power, and creatures that were formed of that power. Magic, it was called. The Lady remembered magic. She remembered hearing stories of magic, and of those formed of that magic.
The Thread she held in delicate hands was joined with one such creature. A creature of great beauty, and who held great power. The light that pulsed in his Thread, he called upon with ease. It was a part of him, of his own unique life. But his Thread was intertwined so firmly with the crimson Thread of the girl that the Lady could barely begin to distinguish one from the other. The crystal-blue of love was woven between these two, as well, she saw, but she frowned, for also woven there were the grays of mistrust and fear, and even a glimmer of black hate.
"This is not good," she whispered. "These two are bonded as closely together as two can possibly be, and yet they are torn apart." Indeed, the two Threads were frayed in many places, where it appeared as though something had attempted to yank them apart. A deep, festering green clung to the frayed edges, like an ugly wound that refused to be healed. The woman�s Thread was darkened with hate in many places, and yet in others the crystal-blue was so bright and pure that the Threads of both were completely whole. The crystal Thread of the otherworldly being, on the other hand, was nearly covered with the blue, laced with the reds of desire, and only a glimmer of black for hate, and brilliant yellow for some pain he had suffered by her hand.
Here, indeed, was a pair most in need of her help, the Lady thought sadly. She smiled as she gathered all the Threads together in her hands and began to weave them subtly, carefully. Sometimes one could do irreparable damage if one wasn�t careful. "You will all be bound together, as Fate would have it," she whispered. "Together, you will overcome your differences, and you will all find the happiness you seek. I will help you."
She finished with her weaving and released the Threads, and they floated free, twined together in a single, strong chord. "Five strands joined together are stronger than five strands standing alone," she added. "Friendship will help you to stand strong." She smiled again, and looked to the world of magic. Ah! Such life that pulsed there! So fresh, and yet so completely different from that of the mortal world. She knew that a great part in the Fates of those lives would be played there, and so she brought herself into it with merely a thought.
The one who ruled here sensed her presence, the Lady realized, and smiled at his confusion. "Even you cannot keep one such as me from coming into your realm," she murmured. "But fear not. I come to help, not to harm. I am a visitor only." The ruler relaxed, although he was still cautious, having never felt the presence of one such as she before. So mistrustful. That, there, was part of his problem. Well, no matter. Fate would soon play its part, and then all would be right in both worlds again.
Chapter One
Life sucked. That was the best way Sarah Williams knew how to describe it. It seriously, irrevocably sucked, and she was being sucked right along with it�right down the Universal Toilet. Oh, sure, she was well off for being only twenty three years old. She had a nice studio apartment in downtown New York City, possibly one of the most thrilling cities in the world to live in, and a career that most others her age could only dream about.
She was an actress. Oh, not a well-known movie star actress. Not even a well-known Broadway actress. She was more like a not-so-well-known understudy to the understudy of the woman who starred as Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera, and a chorus girl on the side. As yet, she had not made any use of her role as understudy, since the first understudy was in a disgustingly perfect state of health and had as yet to fall ill with any serious diseases, such as the common cold, since Sarah had started on, near three years ago now.
So, she was as content as was possible with going onstage, performing her little dance numbers with the other not-so-well-known chorus girls, and spending the rest of her time contemplating on throwing herself off a high roof�such as the Empire State Building�and putting and end to her not-so-perfect life.
Where had the thrill gone, she often wondered. How had she become so bitter in the five years since she�d graduated high school? She remembered when she was fifteen, way back�Oh! Centuries ago, it seemed. Was it only eight years? It felt like so much longer. She had been so full of her dreams and ambitions, and then�that had happened. That night when she�d had to baby-sit her baby brother, and had lost her temper and�and�had that really awful dream!
That�s how she thought of it. As a dream. It was much safer to think of it as a dream, because she knew that as soon as she admitted to herself that Jareth and the Labyrinth and everything in it was real�she�d be headed for a nervous breakdown and possibly a trip to a rubber-padded room. It was much safer to put away all that, to lock it away in her mind and forget about it except as some figment of her childish imagination. That�s what Karyn would have said. Karyn, her stepmother-the- psychologist who was filled with nothing but logic and cold, hard facts.
Magic wasn�t real, she�d say. Therefore, neither was anything that had to do with magic, such as shape-changing Labyrinths, and shape-changing, absolutely gorgeous Goblin Kings with a bad personality complex. Or goblins. Or crystal balls. Or noble fox hybrids with knightly duties. Or giant shaggy beasts who could talk to rocks. Neither were grumpy, endearing dwarves who sprayed pretty, vicious fairies as a hobby. Or wild, flame-colored creatures who played kickball with their own heads�and yours, if you�d give �em half a chance at it�Or swamps that smelled like every garbage heap and dead carcass in the world piled out in a hot, desert sun and left to rot.
And yet, Sarah had seen these things, had lived them in her dreams, could still hear the words spoken by those not-real creatures, could still remember the smell of that non-existent Bog�Could still feel his eyes burning into her own, pleading and cruel�that mocking smile on his lips that nevertheless held a certain hint of tenderness in them when he�d held her in his arms and danced with her�She could still see the devastation of his gaze when she�d repeated those six little words in the final confrontation�
"It was a dream!" Sarah reminded herself, quite forcefully, as she changed from her costume into her street clothes. It was Friday night, another show was over, and she was preparing to go home, exhausted as always after two separate performances a day, seven days a week. It used to be that she�d been exhausted and exhilarated after each performance. When she�d first started at this job, and had performed each day, and had heard the cheers and claps of the audience, a thrill of delight would pass through her, and she'd tell herself, one day, that audience would be clapping for her!
One day�
That one day wasn�t going to happen until she was sixty years old, at the rate it was going, she thought despondently. How long was she going to be stuck in the sidelines, watching as everyone moved on without her? It didn�t help, she knew, that she felt so�tired all the time. It felt like her life was slowly being drained, day after day, by some invisible vampire. The city life was not what it was cracked up to be, she now knew. Her real mother, whom she�d not heard from in nearly ten years, had used to tell her all sorts of stories about the glamorous life of living in the big city, of meeting famous people, hobnobbing with the elite of society�
The closest Sarah had ever come to hobnobbing with society was the occasional cast party that she was once in awhile invited to�mostly when the more famous actors, occasionally after a show, got themselves drunk enough to forget that she was a Nobody Important, and would extend her an invite in a gesture of drunken good will. But those cast parties were not what one would think them to be, and besides, the only famous people there were the cast, which she saw every day anyhow, and so it wasn�t any big deal. The closest she had ever come to meeting a Big Star was bumping into Jerry Springer on the street one day when she was late for a performance. She didn�t even like Jerry Springer.
Sarah sighed and pulled on her shoes. Time to go home and relax. Most others her age would be doing the party scene at the underground clubs about now, what with it being close to midnight and all. Not Sarah. She was going home to her comfortable apartment, just like every other Friday evening, pour herself a glass of champagne like she always did to help her relax, and watch the Late Show on her small television, just like normal.
She knew it was pathetic, her life. She should be dating guys, maybe even be married by now. She was only twenty three, but her real mother had been nineteen when she�d married Sarah�s dad. But Sarah just wasn�t interested in dating. She�d been asked out plenty of times, and she knew that most guys considered her to be pretty, if not downright beautiful. She�d grown as she�d gotten older. She was thin and willowy with a dancer�s build, thanks to her years of training in her dance classes, and then the dancing she did every day at the theater.
She was taller now, too, standing just at six feet. Her thick dark hair hung to her waist in soft curls, due to a perm that another girl she worked with had recommended, had even paid for as a birthday gift for Sarah. As pretty as it looked, Sarah swore to herself never again. It had taken them six hours to get that perm done, with four of those hours spent in wrapping it, and the chemicals had burned her eyes until she could hardly see, and the smell had made her sick for days afterward. Not only that, but her scalp had been burned by the harsh chemicals, because her hair wouldn�t "take" right, as the hairdresser claimed. So it had taken a half hour more before they finally were satisfied, never mind the little holes that now resided permanently on her scalp. She was afraid for days that she�d end up losing all her hair! Definitely, never again!
Her eyes, perhaps, were her most attractive, if not her most unusual, feature. Those dark, hazel eyes with long lashes that had never felt the touch of a mascara brush held a mysterious, haunted look about them that attracted men as much as it repelled them. It was as if she were looking into worlds that couldn�t be seen by the mortal eye. Worlds that existed only in one�s imagination�
If only they knew�
Shaking her head, Sarah slung her gym bag over her shoulder and, with a forced cheery goodnight to the few other girls lingering in the dressing room, she headed out the door, portable electric shocker gripped firmly in hand. This was the part she hated. The long walk home. So far, in the five years she�d lived in this city, she had never been mugged, but there was a first time for everything. She wasn�t willing to take a cab (as she always managed to get the ones with the drivers who looked like escaped convicts from Alcatraz), and she didn�t relish the thought of waiting for the odd bus to show up. She lived too close to the theater to warrant taking the subway, not that she would at this time of night, unless she had a serious deathwish. With her apartment, she couldn�t afford a car, and she wasn�t too keen on driving with all the crazies in New York traffic, anyway. So, her only option was to walk the five blocks home.
Taking a deep breath and making sure her shocker was ready for use, she stepped out of the theater and began to walk swiftly down the street, her heels clicking loudly on the sidewalk. She cringed, wishing that she�d worn running shoes instead. High-heels were not the best to run in should she need to do so. "Don�t think about that," she muttered. "Happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts�"
And what was she? Peter Pan?
She made herself think of the birthday gift she�d just bought and sent to her little brother, who was turning nine. Toby was a sweet kid, a miniature replica of his dad, only with more hair. Sarah grinned at that thought. Toby was a fantasy lover, just like she was�had been�at his age, up until she was fifteen and�everything changed. She�d been shopping and had seen a beautiful print of a white wolf in a display window. Its head was thrown back in a full-throated howl and it stood proud and strong against a background of deep, midnight blue with a full, glowing moon circling its head like a halo, casting glimmers of silver light across its back, giving it an unearthly glow. She had been entranced at the sight of it, set in a wooden frame of deep mahogany. It was expensive, but she knew Toby would love it. So she bought it.
She�d also bought one for herself. At least, she�d wanted one for herself. But the print they�d given her had ended up being something altogether different. When she�d opened it, she had discovered, rather than a wolf, a print of a large, snowy-white owl cast against the backdrop of a silver moon, its claws extended forward as though ready to snatch its prey, with its wings outstretched and glowing with unearthly light as its golden eyes glared defiantly straight into Sarah�s own. She�d immediately shoved the painting back into the box and had sat there, breathing erratically, with her heart pounding in her chest and her eyes staring at the floor, wide with shock. It was only a print, she knew. Just a glorified poster set in a gilt frame of silver, and yet the shock of seeing it had done something to her that confused and frightened her. It was if her past was coming back to haunt her�
She�d taken the print and shoved it in the back of her closet, and that�s where it had stayed for the past week.
Tomorrow was Toby�s birthday. His gift should be arriving soon, if it hadn�t already. She�d shipped it express mail to make sure it arrived in California in time for his birthday. She�d wanted to bring it home to him herself, but her career wouldn�t allow for it. Just like last year. And the year before. In fact, ever since moving to New York to start her new life, she�d not been home once in all that time, even before she�d gotten her job. She�d invited her family here many times, but they always found some excuse not to come.
She knew it was because she and Karyn didn�t get along. Although, after that�dream she�d had, she had started to realize how much she really loved her brother, she and her stepmother still fought like cats and dogs. Sarah was too old to really accept another mother, and Karyn was too set in her ways to let Sarah live her own life. At eighteen, Sarah had graduated high school, and she�d packed up her things, taken the substantial amount of money she�d hoarded over the years, and had moved to New York in search of her dreams.
And she�d found them. It helped, she knew, to have a mother who was a famous actress as a reference, even though she�d not heard from said mother in a very long time. But apparently that reference was enough to go on, even though she�d never had any real training as an actress other than the classes she took in high school and in the two year acting course she�d taken at the community college on weekends. After nearly two years of worry and part-time work at various fast-food joints, with auditions in between, she�d been accepted for her current position as the understudy-to-the-understudy-and-a-chorus-girl-on-the-side.
So, why wasn�t she thrilled?
Because she knew, deep down inside, that ever since that�dream�had been visited upon her, she�d never felt fulfilled. It was as if a big chunk of her soul had been ripped out of her body, and she had as yet to find the missing piece, or some replacement for it. Acting, at first, had filled it. She was finally what she always wanted to be, even though it was only a bit part, but after awhile that thrill just�drained out of her, like sand through a sieve. She had as yet to find a way to reclaim it again.
She�d once thought to ask one of her closer friends (not that she had any really close friends) at the theater if she�d ever felt the same way. The girl, Jessica was her name, and given Sarah a "look" and had asked, quite firmly, who the guy was. Sarah, of course, had been properly confused, stating that she didn�t know any "guy", and that all she wanted to know was that if it ever felt like life sucked.
Jessica, being the wise soul that she was, not to mention a vintage matchmaker, had firmly told Sarah that what she was feeling was most likely a case of unrequited love, and she�d probably continue to feel that way until she found the creep who�d broken her heart and either had one last fling in which she�d break his heart for once, or she�d have to shoot him on sight. Sarah had walked away determined never to ask Jessica for advice again.
But the woman�s words had haunted Sarah�s mind for weeks now. Unrequited love? Her condition certainly seemed to fit the description Jessica had given her, and she�d read enough cheesy romance novels for lack of anything better to do. But�she�d never had a lover to have unrequited love with! So how could it possibly be that? The closest she�d ever come was with�
Well, that hadn�t really happened, and so there was no point in even thinking about it! Besides, he was the Bad Guy. She couldn�t be in love with a Bad Guy, even if he was real. That wasn�t the way things were supposed to work.
Finally, Sarah made it home, and she eagerly sprinted the flight of stairs to her cozy studio apartment, locking the three locks on her door securely behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief and tossed her bag onto the couch, heading into the bedroom to change. A brown paper package caught her eye. Oh yeah. That. She frowned and walked over to the bed and picked up the bag, pulling out its contents.
It was a book. Rather, two of them. A small, red, leather-bound book with gold embossed on the cover. Its title was "Labyrinth". Also was a paperback version of that same novel, with a picture of a snowy owl on the cover and the hint of burning eyes in the background. She shivered and shoved the paperback into the bag. She then proceeded to run the bag through the paper shredder on her desk. It made a strange grinding noise as it fought to devour the thick package its owner had so mercilessly shoved down its gullet. It made it about halfway through before finally giving up the ghost, and died with a grinding cough and a shudder as the smell of burning oil filled the air. Sarah scowled at the ruined shredder. "Quitter," she muttered, before yanking the book out and finishing the job with her non-dulling steak knife.
Okay, so maybe she was a little obsessive. She didn�t know why she was obsessive. Just that�that book gave her the creeps! Ever since the�the dream, she�d never been able to look at that novel again without feeling the chills creep up and down her spine. She was convinced that it was evil. That all copies of the book were evil. They were rare, thank goodness, being out of print, but she�d begun a tradition, starting with her own leather-bound copy, of destroying any that she came across. Such as the two that she�d found on a dusty shelf in an antique bookstore that morning. The paperback had cost her fifteen bucks, and the leather-bound even more, but she�d hurriedly bought both copies, ignoring the look the shopkeeper gave her; she�d already purchased two more copies from that store alone just a month or two ago. He probably wondered if she wasn�t a little obsessed with it�
He had no idea! He could not possibly know the hell she�d gone through because of that book, the dreams she�d had since that first one! That one dream in particular�of her and the Goblin King dancing over and over and over again�all night long, his sad, cruel, haunted eyes piercing her own and that sensuous mouth whispering her name before bending to kiss her�right before she woke up. He never did kiss her, and to her fury some part of her was extremely disappointed about that.
"I have to get a grip," she muttered, clutching the leather book tightly in her hands. "This is starting to drive me crazy." She stared at the book; the exact replica of the one she�d used to own. She knew she should destroy it, burn it in her sink, no matter how much it might stink or smoke, or how much her landlord would yell. She had to burn it. It was the only way to assure�to assure what? That no other unsuspecting girl would wish their baby brother to the Labyrinth? That the Goblin King wouldn�t have another victim to play his little games with? She shut her eyes and concentrated on breathing in and out, in and out�
"Yoga�s a stupid exercise, anyway," she growled, and opened her eyes again. She looked at the book, and a strange, overwhelming impulse came upon her, telling her to Open the book! Read the words again! Remember how much you loved the story? How much you loved to act out the part�? The voice had the strangest hint of a British accent�
"No!" she snapped, tossing it down. "I�m never opening this thing again! I�m not going to let a stupid book run my life!"
The voice laughed at her�a very mocking laugh.
It infuriated her, and she picked up the book and hurled it out the open window. "So there!" she hissed as she watched it land in the dumpster three stories down. "Let�s see what happens to it at the bottom of a garbage heap!"
The voice laughed harder, and she could have sworn she heard it whisper, "Such a pity�"
She growled deep in her throat, slammed the window shut, and prepared to go to bed for another night of restless dreams�
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The Lady watched as the book sailed ungracefully into the dumpster, and shook her head, smiling at the girl�s impulsiveness. She, too, had heard that voice, as the magic one called Jareth called out to the girl�Sarah was her name?� through his power. She traced a pale finger over the cover of the book, and turned to a young man who crouched nearby, having seen the book fall. The window above slammed shut, and the unkempt man scurried forward toward the dumpster, unaware of the Golden Lady that stood there.
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Shaking his shaggy head, the scruffy boy leaned over the dumpster and picked up the book, whispering, "Perfectly good book! Thrown out and away. Mouse finds! Mouse keeps!" He paused as a thought crossed his mind, remembering that he couldn�t read. Hmmm�what use had he for a book if he couldn�t read? But he was a packrat by nature, and was not inclined to let a treasure like this pass him by. The book�s cover was shiny and new, and the golden word seemed to glow. He liked gold. Made for good wire. He shrugged. "Mouse find. Mouse keep," he repeated. "Good for the kids. Father likes to read. Maybe read to Mouse." Never mind that Mouse�s attention span was worse than that of a five-year-old. He tucked his treasure into his cloak and silently crept away.
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She smiled as she watched him leave, this odd young man. She knew him, knew his Life-thread, a pale yellow full of curiosity, was woven in with the others that she had known. His part, small though it was, was still no less important to the play. She nodded, her lovely face filled with satisfaction. This was good.
Chapter Two
Another day gone by, Sarah thought as she once stepped out of the theater and cautiously headed for home. The shows had been especially exhausting today, probably because she�d not slept well the night before. But she�d managed to hold out until the end. She was weary and was exceedingly glad that she was, starting tomorrow, taking her well-earned vacation. Now she had a whole two weeks to vegetate in her apartment rather than a few hours each night. Too bad she didn�t have the money to fly home and see her family. Tickets were expensive, and most of her money went into her apartment and into little, unimportant things like food and electric, something neither of her parents seemed to understand.
Well, if they wanted to see her so much they could at least send her some money, or pitch in with the purchase of a ticket. It wasn�t like they couldn�t afford it. She�d called Toby that morning to wish him a happy birthday, and he�d gushed over his "awesome present" and how much he missed her and when was she coming home to visit again? She�d managed to distract him by asking him about what else he�d gotten, and by the time he�d hung up he�d forgotten his questions.
Sarah sighed, feeling a familiar ache well up. It wasn�t homesickness, although she did miss home (although not Karyn�s constant nagging). It was something more. That dull ache that never went away, that was now as much a part of her as her own head. It was usually not noticeable when she was working, kind of like the way breathing wasn�t noticeable�until you stopped breathing. It had been coming more often as of late, even while she was working, flaring up at the most annoyingly inopportune times�
Sarah was abruptly pulled out of her musings by the pounding of footsteps behind her. A lot of them, by the sound of it. Her heart immediately kicked into overdrive, and she wondered if she had her heart medicine with her. It was something she�d recently started having to take, because the stress of her job�not to mention everyday life�was becoming too much for her to bear. It was possible her heart might give out on her one day without the pills to help calm her. Even though she was in excellent condition healthwise, her doctor had prescribed the pills for her, just in case a situation of extreme stress came up.
Sarah snuck a quick glance over her shoulder, then turned around again with wide eyes. Three men were following her. Oh, yeah. This definitely counted as a situation of extreme stress.
Okay. Stay calm, she reminded herself. Don�t let them know you�ve seen them. Don�t panic. Whatever you do, don�t panic! She frantically glanced around to see if there was a building to duck into. There was a bar at the corner, a block down. If she could make it, she could phone for a taxi, or maybe the police. Dratted cops, she thought darkly. When you need them the most, they�re never around. The police station was a few blocks away, and she knew she�d never make it trying to run there. If her heart didn�t give out, her lungs probably would.
The footsteps were closer, and she gripped her bag tighter, wishing there was anything heavier in it than her practice leotard and her ballet slippers. Maybe a thick book�or a brick. She gripped the shocker tightly, ready to swing it around and jab her pursuers right in the throat, where it might do the most damage. They were gaining; she could hear them breathing, the creak of leather clothes and the clink of chains and what were probably various hidden weapons.
I can�t believe this! she thought with wry disbelief. Five years living here, and not a hint of trouble, and now this! Well, I guess I must be overdue�
Still, she wasn�t about to go without a fight. She heard the footsteps come faster, and unconsciously quickened her own. This did not look good. It felt like she�d been walking for hours, and yet the theater was probably still in sight behind her. It was going to be a long walk home�
She saw something move in the shadows ahead. Oh no! she thought. Another one! An ambush! Well, if this wasn�t a fine kettle of fish! There was no way she was going to get out of this in one piece if she didn�t do something right now. So she did the only logical thing she could think of.
She ran.
It really was hard to run in the pair of high-heeled boots she�d foolishly worn (even after all those little self-reminders to not wear heels to work after dark!), but she was gonna do her damnedest. The figure emerged from the shadows ahead, looking for all the world like the spawn of Freddie Krueger. He sneered at her as she came closer, ready to grab her. She narrowed her eyes at him. Okay, big shot! If that�s the way you�re gonna be about it!
She rammed him. Tackled him, like a football quarterback. Even though she was hardly a match for him in the weight department, her speed was enough to send them both flying off their feet, and when they landed, he was the one that hit the cement, his head slamming against it with a sickening crack. For good measure, she jabbed the shocker into him and felt him twitch as a seventy-some volts of electricity hit him.
Take that! she thought savagely, rolling to her feet quickly and whirling to face the other attackers, grateful for the years of training that had given her her cat-like reflexes. Unfortunately, her boot heel caught in a crack in the sidewalk, causing her to stumble and twist her ankle, and she went down with a hiss of pain.
The other three gang members chuckled evilly at this turn of events. "So, pussycat. Think yer so smart," one of them drawled. "Pretty little thing like you, its a shame you had to go and do that to our pal. Now we gonna have to do somthin� about it." There was a click, and a switchblade appeared in the speaker�s hand.
"I don�t know, boys," he said to the other two, with a leering grin. "She sure is a pretty thing, ain�t she. Say, baby, you ever been wit� a real man? I bet we could teach you some things or two, ey? C�mere an� play wit� us lonely boys." He made a crude gesture, and Sarah glared at them defiantly.
"Bite me!" she snapped.
He smirked. "If you say so, baby." He started toward her and reached out to grab her, and she savagely pushed the shocker into the exposed flesh between his sleeve and his gloved hand. He howled and fell back, clutching his burned arm and cursing. "Get �er!" he howled. "Slice her up, boys! She�s gonna be sorry she messed with the Street Demons!"
Sarah stumbled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her ankle. "Leave me alone!" she screamed. "I don�t have any money!"
"That�s okay, baby. You got somthin� we want a lot more," one of them growled. With a sudden lunge, he grabbed the arm that held her shocker and knocked it from her grasp. It clattered away into the darkness and was lost. So Sarah took the only option that was left to her.
She screamed bloody murder. They tried to shush her by covering her mouth, but as the one holding her wore no gloves, she bit savagely down on the grimy hand until she tasted blood. The thug cursed and landed a blow on her face that made her head snap around and slam into a wall, and she gasped as pain flooded through her head and white light filled her vision. They grabbed her and began to force her into the alley, with her kicking and screaming even though they held her legs. The pain in her ankle was severe, and she was afraid it was broken. The pain in her head wasn�t quite as sharp, but she felt herself losing consciousness. I can�t believe it�s going to end this way! she thought. It just can�t! I still have too much to do in life�
The thugs had pinned her against the wall and were now working on tearing her clothes off her body, but they had no sooner torn open her shirt when a sudden, loud, furious roar filled the darkened ally, and the thugs abruptly let her go with cries of "What the hell�?" and "It�s a monster, man!"
Sarah slumped to the ground, watching through dim eyes as a�figure in a dark cloak leaped from out of nowhere and began to attack her attackers. The roaring was coming from him, she realized, and it sounded for all the world like a furious lion. She stared, wide eyed, as the cloaked figure lifted one of the thugs by his throat and hurled him against the wall, where he slumped down, stunned.
One of the thugs tried to attack the stranger, who simply swatted him away like a fly. He landed beside Sarah, three long, ugly gashes torn into his face, and then he scrambled up with a scream and took off running for his life. The other one followed, grabbing his half-conscious companion and dragging him away.
Sarah watched them go in stunned amazement before turning eyes back to the cloaked stranger. He was standing there, his breathing deep, sounding almost like a purr as he caught his breath. The hood that had covered his head had fallen back, and Sarah saw a mass of long, tangled, reddish-blond hair falling around his shoulders and down his back, like a mane. Who is he? she wondered dazedly, shifting slightly. Her head began to pound anew, forcing a small moan to escape from her lips. That caught the stranger�s attention, and he turned to her suddenly.
What Sarah saw made her gasp with shock and attempt to scramble further back into the wall. The stranger was�not human! At least�not wholly human. He stood upright on two legs like a man, and he wore clothes like a man, but his face�his face was unlike any man�s face. It looked more like the face of some great cat. A lion, what with that golden mane falling across his deep-set, blue eyes, which held a feral light that was slowly fading. His upper lip was clefted, and she could see the hint of sharp teeth. A tawny layering of short, silky fur covered broad, flat cheekbones and a cat-like nose. His voice, when he spoke, was deep and whisper-soft and velvety-rich, like the purr of a lion. "Are you hurt?" he asked, and Sarah blinked. It could talk?
"Don�t be afraid," he told her gently, soothingly. "You�re safe now. I won�t hurt you. Nobody will hurt you again." He held out his hand, and she noted that it, too, was covered with fur, and his fingernails were long and sharp, like claws. But she wasn�t afraid. Strangely, she was not afraid of this cat-man. She didn�t know why. Maybe it was his voice, so gentle and soothing. Or maybe his eyes. They were human, his eyes, and they regarded her with gentle compassion.
"Wh-what are you?" she asked timidly. "Are�are you from�the Underground?"
Now where had that come from? she wondered with some surprise. The Underground? For the last time, that wasn�t real! But still, he did have the look of one of the creatures that would live there. Certainly he wasn�t human, and the way he was dressed, with the cloak and the flowing linen shirt that was tucked into a pair of suede breeches, which were, in turn, tucked into a pair of thigh-high suede boots wrapped with leather chords�it was exactly that kind of dress that a creature of the Underground would wear.
Besides, the near-startled look that briefly crossed his face let her know that maybe she�d hit closer to home than she�d realized. "What do you know of the Underground?" he asked in a guarded voice.
Sarah winced as she tried to sit up straighter. "More than I want to," she muttered softly, but he heard her anyway.
"What do you mean?" he asked sharply, and she gave him a nervous glance. He tempered his voice to a more appropriate tone. "How did you learn of my world?" he asked.
She frowned. "Um�I was there once, long ago." She could hardly believe she was admitting this. She�d tried so hard to not admit it, but this strange creature was throwing a jumbo-sized monkey wrench in the clockwork of her sanity. Clearly, if somebody like him could be here and talking to her, then that must mean the Underground was a real place. Which also meant that the Labyrinth was most likely real�which in turn meant that a certain king�
"Ohhhh�I don�t feel very well," she whimpered. "I�m in a nightmare. Why now? Why after eight years is it coming back to haunt me now?"
Immediately concerned, the creature dropped gracefully onto his haunches and regarded Sarah carefully. "No matter about that now," he said. "You�re hurt. We must get you to a doctor. Can you walk?"
"Don�t know," she muttered. "I think my ankle�s broken, or pretty much twisted. My head�s killing me. I feel like I�m about to pass out."
He frowned. "What�s your name?" he asked.
"Sarah Williams," she replied faintly. "Who are you?"
She thought he smiled. "My name is Vincent." He reached out to her cautiously. "Come. Let me carry you. I�m going to take you to my home. Since you claim to have been there once already�"
"What?!" Sarah was instantly alert, her fogginess replaced by fear. "Oh, no you don�t! I�m never going back there again! You�you�re not here to help me! You�re here to bring me to Jareth! Well, he can�t have me! You can�t have me! You have no power over me! Do you understand? No power!"
Vincent was thoroughly confused by this sudden mood swing. But she�d been dealt with quite a blow�maybe it was the affect of the concussion she probably had. At her temple he could see an ugly gash seeping bright red blood through her dark hair. "Calmly, Sarah," he told her. "I�m here to help you. There�s no Jareth where I live. I�ve never heard of him."
Sarah ceased her struggles, slowly, as her strength ebbed, and he used the opportunity to scoop her into his arms. She was light as a feather, and his great strength was more than a match for her weak protests. It seemed that the concussion was fast catching up to her as she slowly slipped into sleep.
He sighed softly as he gazed at her, then began to make his way to the sewers below where he and his family made their home. Father was not going to be happy about his only son bringing in another "stray", he knew, but something about this girl cried out to him. There was something in her haunted eyes that tugged at his soul. She was a lost soul who needed somebody to care for her.
And then there was the little matter of her knowing about the Underground. Well, his people called it "Below", but it was close enough to warrant some alarm. He did not recognize her, but there were so many that came and went in his world. Perhaps she had once been a part of it, and had left for the world Above? But why the fear? Why the terror she�d emanated when he�d mentioned taking her there? And who was this Jareth?
A growl caught in Vincent�s throat at the remembrance of that name. The very sound of it sent his hackles to raising, and his senses alert. It was�sinister somehow, although it was unfamiliar. But his telepathic powers, that sixth-sense that he�d been born with, instinctively knew that the owner of this name was not one to call a friend. Whoever he was, whatever he had done to Sarah Williams, he�d better hope that he never met up with Vincent if he didn�t want to live to regret it�
Chapter Three
Sarah woke up slowly and painfully, her head feeling like somebody had mistaken it for a football and had used it to score the winning touchdown and a victory dance at the Superbowl. Her twisted ankle was only slightly less painful. The low murmur of voices reached her ears through the fog in her head, and she slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was in�some sort of odd room. The walls were made of stone, as was the floor, and way up, nearly hidden in shadows, the ceiling was stone, as well. A cave, she realized with surprise. A cave in New York City?
At her head two lanterns burned, casting ruddy light across the expanse of the cave. She appeared to be in an infirmary of some sort. There was a tray of surgical instruments beside her, and a row of cots, most of which were empty, but for the one she lay on. There was also a crude operating room set up at the far end of the cavern.
The voices drew her attention to her left, where three people huddled together discussing something in not-so-quiet whispers. One of them she recognized as her strange rescuer. Vincent was his name? He was soothing an elderly gentleman with a gruff expression on his face and silver-graying beard and hair. He was dressed in a doctor�s scrubs and leaned on a cane. "I don�t know what you�re thinking," he was saying in a harsh whisper. "How could you bring this�this�stranger into our home?! You don�t know who she is!"
"I had to bring her, Father," Vincent replied. "She was attacked, and was hurt, and she said she already knew of us. I wanted to find out more. It was the only choice. Was I supposed to abandon her?"
"You could have taken her to a hospital," "Father" pointed out. "Besides, you said she was terrified to be brought down here, and she kept mentioning a name�Jareth, was it? I�ve never seen that girl in my life, and I�ve never known anyone named Jareth!"
Vincent gave a growl of frustration. "She hit her head. She was confused!"
"You know, boys," a third voice suddenly piped up, and Sarah turned her head further to see that the third speaker was a slender young woman of perhaps Sarah�s own age, with a mop of curling red hair, cut short on the bottom and long on the top, fair skin, and a pair of brilliant green eyes that sparkled with mischief, giving her an elf-like quality. She, too, was dressed in the clothes of the old style, in a pair of linen breeches, boots, and soft peasant�s shirt. She sat perched on a table, feet swinging idly in the air as she regarded her companions. Sarah instantly decided that she liked her.
"There�s more than one Underground, or Below, or whatever you care to call it," the girl was saying in a lilting voice. "What of the Underground of organized crime? What if she should be a mistress of some crime boss, perhaps one named Jareth, and she�s afraid of going back for fear he�d kill her? Could very well happen, you know."
"All the more reason not to have brought her here!" Father protested. "Should anyone discover our little world�"
"Father," Vincent murmured, his voice soothing, "I assure you the girl is not part of any crime circle. Her name is Sarah Williams, and she�s a lost soul who is in need of our help. Let her stay, at least until she�s healed, and then I�ll take her home. I�m sure she�ll not tell anyone of our secret. I want to learn more about her. There�s something special about her, and this Jareth person, he has some hold over her. If I can help her break his hold, I�ll do so."
"And I�ll help!" the red-head piped up cheerfully.
Vincent turned to her. "Wreath, I don�t think�"
"Oh, don�t be a spoil sport!" Wreath cut in with a pout, then grinned. "Sarah�s a woman, and no matter how persuasive you are with people, you�re still a man, and there are some things that a woman just cannot tell a man. Best let me do the talkin�. She seems a shy sort�kind of like another one I know." She shot Vincent a teasing glance, and the big man turned away in embarrassment, much to Sarah�s surprise. Vincent-the-shy-one was a very different man from the one she�d seen in the alley.
Sarah listened to this exchange with a frown. A new perplexity. Clearly, judging by their talk, this "Below" was not the Underground she knew. In ways, of course, she was greatly relieved. It meant that she was still safe to consider the Labyrinth as nothing more than a dream. In a much bigger way, of course, she was also alarmed. If she wasn�t in the city, and wasn�t in some magic dream-land�then where in the world was she?
Just then, Wreath glanced Sarah�s way, and a smile lit her face. "Ah, and speaking of the devil, I believe our guest�s woken up! Perhaps a bit of food would do her good now, aye?" she exclaimed, hopping down from her perch and stepping lightly to Sarah�s side. "My name�s Wreath. I�m a Tunnel Dweller, and these two uncouth brutes you see are Father and Vincent. Of course, you�ve already met Vincent, I believe."
Sarah winced as she tried to sit up. "Yeah. Um, we met," she replied with a slightly pained smile. "Um�where am I exactly?"
Father cocked an eyebrow. "Don�t you know? According to Vincent, you�ve been here before," he replied, his tone slightly accusing.
Sarah shook her head. "I�I think there�s been a misunderstanding," she replied.
Father�s eyebrow arched higher. "Indeed?" he stated. He didn�t appear to be pleased about this, and she felt nervous.
"Father, give the girl a break!" Wreath scolded. "The poor girl�s probably confused, and no doubt in pain. Might you at least wait until she�s feeling better before giving her the third degree?" She turned to Sarah. "You�re in the infirmary in a place we call Below," she explained. "This place is hidden underneath the city. It�s a vast maze of tunnels and caverns in which many, many people make their homes. It�s a haven for those who have no place else to go. Father is our wise, if not sometimes gruff, leader, though he�d be the last to admit it. He was one of the original founders of this place, and Vincent is his son."
Father cleared his throat and gave a pointed look to Wreath and Vincent. "If you�ll excuse me, I�ve matters to attend. Sarah," and he turned to her stiffly, "I hope you�ll be feeling better soon. I�ll return later to check up on you." Without waiting for her reply, he turned and hobbled out of the room.
Sarah looked after him. "I must say, I don�t see much of a family resemblance," she said dryly, and was rewarded with Wreath�s giggle and a smile from Vincent.
"I was found," he replied in his soft voice. "As a newborn, I�d been abandoned outside St. Vincent�s hospital, left to die. A woman found me and brought me to Father, and together they saved my life, and raised me as their own."
Sarah hesitated. "How�" She paused, uncertain how to ask her next question without offending anyone. But Vincent anticipated it, and smiled at her. "How was I born this way?" he asked for her, and gave a graceful shrug of wide shoulders. "I don�t know. Nobody does. We have our theories and ideas, but no proof of the fact."
Sarah frowned. "Some sort of�experiment?" she asked softly.
Vincent shrugged again, not seeming at all put out by her questions. He was probably used to them. "Perhaps. But I�m not sure, and we�ll probably never know. But I was born, and I survived, and that�s all that matters," he replied matter-of-factly. "It doesn�t matter where I come from. I�ve a home here, and a family, and I�m happy."
Sarah nodded silently. Wreath suddenly excused herself and left the room, leaving Sarah and Vincent in a slightly uncomfortable silence. After a few minutes she returned, bearing a tray with a bowl of hot soup, a thick slice of homemade bread, and a cup of fragrant tea. "I thought some broth would do you good," she told her cheerfully, setting the tray over Sarah�s lap. "Drink up. Sorry I don�t have any medicine to give you for the pain, but this herbal tea Narcissa makes ought to help. Antibiotics are precious rare down here, and only used in cases of emergency," she explained.
"Thank you," Sarah replied. She wasn�t very hungry, but she sipped at her broth, feeling it warm her stomach, and she realized that she did feel a little better. "So�I take it Father doesn�t like that you�ve brought me down here," she said cautiously. "He seemed�upset."
"Oh, don�t mind the old fart," Wreath replied with a cheeky grin. "He�s grouchy as a bear waking up in the middle of February, but he means well."
"Wreath!" Vincent sounded shocked at her disrespect toward Father. But she merely grinned at him.
"Well, it�s true," she defended herself. "He was unaccountably rude towards our guest. But I�m sure she understands."
Sarah nodded. "I suppose. I guess if I were the king of some underground world, I�d be pretty protective of its people." She felt a little odd after she said that. There was one king she�d once known, who was anything but protective toward anybody!
Wreath gave a shout of laughter. "King! Did you hear that, Vincent! Oh, I like that! Aye, Father�s our king, and that�d make you the crown prince!" She laughed again. "I�ll have to tell that one to Jamie! She�ll love it!"
Vincent smiled his amusement, though he didn�t agree. "I must go pick up Jacob. I�m sure Mary�s had enough by now," he said. "I�ll come back, then, and you can meet him." He smiled at Sarah, who returned it shyly, then turned and strode silently out of the room.
Sarah turned questioningly to Wreath, who sat cross-legged on another bed. "Jacob is Vincent�s son," Wreath explained with a grin. "He was named after Father, by the way. He�s got to be the most spoiled kid in the world." At Sarah�s obvious surprise, she laughed. "Yes, I know. Who�s the mother, right?" Her expression turned sad. "Jacob�s mother was a woman named Catherine. She was a District Attorney from Above."
"Was?" Sarah questioned softly.
Wreath smiled sadly. "She died. She was killed by this maniac, on the same day Jacob was born. She�d been kidnapped and was missing for months. Vincent never even knew she was pregnant. Not until he found her, and she told him that the man�Gabriel was his name, I think�had their son. She died in his arms, and he�s never been the same since. He searched for Jacob and finally found him and saved him. I don�t know what happened, really. He doesn�t like to talk about it."
"That�that�s terrible!" Sarah cried in shock. "How could anyone do that?"
"The world is full of crazies like that. Why they had to touch Vincent with their hate is something I�ll never understand. He�s so gentle, and he�s innocent. He�s lived his entire life sheltered in these caverns, not knowing the real world. Not until he met Catherine did he truly begin to long for more."
"How did they meet?" Sarah asked.
Wreath smiled. "Now that�s a story," she replied teasingly. "Do you like love stories? That�s what it is."
Sarah grinned. "I adore a good story," she replied. "Tell me about it."
Wreath sat up straighter. "Well, they met when Vincent saved Catherine�s life," she related in a confidential tone. "I was fourteen or so, and I remember seeing Vincent come in one night, carrying a body. Me an� the others, we all followed him to his chambers, and he laid that body on his bed and sent me to fetch Father. So I did, and then we were all sent out of the room. Vincent and Father worked on stitching up her face, which had been slashed open by some men in a van, I was later told. She�d been mistaken for someone else, you see.
"Anyway, she was down here for two weeks healing up, and in that time Vincent and she formed a bond. A psychic link that allowed Vincent to know what she was thinking and feeling. He fell in love with her. She couldn�t see him at first, you know, because her head was wrapped up, but when she did, once she got over her initial reaction, she quite fell in love with him, as well. They�d loved each other more than life itself, but because of who he was and who she was, they�d never married, although they apparently got past their�uh��physical� differences." Wreath gave Sarah a wicked grin, and she smiled back.
"I think if Catherine hadn�t been killed she would have moved Below to stay with Vincent for good after Jacob was born. She was a beautiful woman, and the gentlest soul you could imagine. It wasn�t any wonder Vincent fell in love with her. He still does love her. Probably always will." Wreath looked suspiciously gloomy about that last sentence, and Sarah gave her a curious look.
"That bothers you, doesn�t it?" she asked quietly.
Wreath looked at her, surprised, and then gave a self-incriminating smile. "I suppose it does, at that," she admitted. "I love Vincent, you see. I can�t remember ever not loving Vincent. He saved me, you know. I was a mere babe, no more than one or two, when he found me, abandoned on the streets, half dead. He brought me down here, and gave me to a family who had no children of their own. I used to follow Vincent everywhere. He�s about�oh, thirty three or so. I�m twenty three. I must have made quite a pest out of myself, but he never complained. He called me his shadow. He�s my best friend, you know. Always has been. At least, to me he is."
"Did it bother you when he found Catherine?" Sarah asked. "Were you jealous?"
Wreath snorted. "Do birds have wings?" she replied dryly. "Oh, aye, I was jealous all right. But I couldn�t help but like Catherine, even if she was stealing away my Vincent. She seemed to understand how I felt, though she never said anything. She made it a point to befriend me, and did her best not to make me feel awkward whenever she and myself and Vincent were together. Which, frankly, wasn�t that often. I�d be sure to hide myself whenever possible when she came visiting, because I didn�t want to like her, but she was that type that you just had to like, and it made me mad. I�m afraid I was a bit of a shrew during those days."
"Well, I�d be the same, so don�t feel bad," Sarah said confidentially. "I was kind of a brat myself back then." She grinned. "Did Vincent ever suspect how you felt?"
"No, and thank goodness for that," Wreath snorted. "He was too enamored with Cathy to give me a second�s notice anymore, and that was good. I think if he ever knew what sort of pain he was causing me, he�d have gone and broken the friendship completely. He�s a gentle soul, but he doesn�t know how to handle women. Probably because he�d never had anyone before Cathy, and I was, after all, only a child to him. Having his friendship is quite enough for me. If I�d lost that, as well, it would�ve killed me."
"What about now?" Sarah asked quietly. "Does he know yet?"
Wreath paused. "I don�t know," she admitted. "Sometimes, I see him watching me, when he doesn�t think I�m looking. Usually when I�m playing with Jacob. I love that boy like he was my own, and I�m the closest thing he�s got to an actual mother. Everyone loves him, but he and I are �buddies�. That�s what he called me once. He even called me mom one time, but I quick put a stop to that. Don�t know how Vincent would�ve reacted had he heard! I�ve done my best to help Vincent raise the boy, especially in the early days when the pain Catherine�s death was still fresh. I think perhaps Father had words with him, though, because one day he comes to me when I�m feeding Jacob and asks if he could take over. Of course I let him. Since then, he�s been better. Jacob helps ease his pain, but he also reminds Vincent of what he�s lost."
"Why don�t you tell Vincent how you feel?" Sarah asked. "Maybe he�d wake up and realize he loves you."
"No. He won�t. He�s still too much in love with his Cathy. If he ever decides to love me, he�ll be coming to me of his own will. Not because of any persuasion on my part. I couldn�t live with it if I thought that he�d be thinking of Catherine while holding me in his arms."
Wreath smiled suddenly. "But that�s enough about me. What of you? What�s your life up there like?" she asked curiously. "I don�t often go Above, but the place fascinates me. I�ve thought of moving up there, but this place is my home. I�d never be able to leave it. At least, not yet. I couldn�t stand to leave my Vincent."
Sarah shifted, uncomfortable. She didn�t really like talking about herself to strangers, but she figured that since Wreath was trusting enough to open up to her, she may as well return the favor. "Well," she began slowly, "I live alone in the city. My dad and my step-mom live in California, and I haven�t seen them in a long time. I have a half-brother who just turned nine, and I sent him a print of a wolf howling at the moon. He loves it." She smiled, remembering Toby�s enthusiasm.
"A picture! You gave a boy a picture instead of a toy, and he loves it?" Wreath laughed. "An odd brother, that."
Sarah grinned. "Well, he loves fantasy, just like I do�did. A long time ago. I knew he�d like it. He�s a lot like I used to be. He reads every fairy tale he comes across. His favorite is Peter Pan. That�s followed closely by the Never-ending Story."
"Aye! I read both those myself," Wreath said with a grin. "Always wanted to be Wendy. Always wanted to teach that little Tinkerbell a lesson in manners, too, the nasty little sprite." She laughed. "Why say you don�t like these fairy tales and fantasy anymore?"
Sarah bit her lip. "Um�no reason. I guess I just�outgrew them," she replied.
"Oh, you can never outgrow fairy tales," Wreath said with a laugh. "I�ll still be reading fairy tales when I�m sixty! That is, if I haven�t gone blind by then. Then I�ll just get someone else to read them to me!"
Sarah gave her a weak smile. "Well, everyone has their own tastes," she replied. "Anyway, I have a job on Broadway. Ugh. I�m glad this accident happened now, since I�m starting vacation for two weeks. Not really how I planned on spending it, but at least I won�t get fired for not showing up at work."
"You�re an actress?" Wreath asked. "How wonderful! It must be an awfully exciting life to be an actress and be famous and all." She sounded wistful, but Sarah hurriedly burst her bubble.
"I�m not famous," she told her quickly. "I�m what you might call the Understudy-to-the-understudy-and-a-chorus-girl-on-the-side. A Nobody Important, in other words."
Wreath laughed. "An Understudy-to-the-understudy�My, that�s a long title! Hope you don�t need to pass out those little business cards! I doubt it would fit on them!" she teased, and Sarah laughed as well.
"Well, it�s a job," she replied with a shrug, "and it really isn�t all that great. Not like I thought it would be, anyway. There�s not much excitement. It�s mostly work, and exhausting work at that. Sometimes I wonder why I�d ever dreamed of becoming an actress."
"Sometimes the glamour of a job like that outweighs the hard reality of it," Wreath said wisely. "What play do you do?"
"The Phantom of the Opera," Sarah replied. "My mother�s an actress, and a famous one. She once played the lead, Christine Daae, in that play, and I think that�s why they hired me on."
"Is your mother why you became an actress?" Wreath asked.
Sarah nodded. "Yeah. She was so beautiful and glamorous, and I admired her so much. I wanted to be just like her. But now that I�m on my way to being just like her, I find that maybe it isn�t really what I want to do at all. I feel�lost. I mean, this is my dream here! It�s finally coming true for me, and I�m not satisfied." She squirmed, suddenly feeling stupid for having poured out her heart to this girl.
But Wreath looked thoughtful as she pondered Sarah�s dilemma. "Perhaps," she said after awhile, "it�s because you aren�t following the right dream. Maybe you�re following your mother�s dream instead of your own."
"But�it�s always been my dream to be an actress. I know it was! I used to study this play I used to love and repeat the lines over and over�I was obsessed with that thing!" Sarah gave a shaky laugh. "That play was the reason I decided I was going to give up fantasy," she reluctantly admitted. "I was losing my sense of reality to it. So I destroyed the book and never looked at another fantasy or fairy tale since."
"Which book was it?" Wreath asked.
"It was called�Labyrinth. It�s funny�I don�t recall ever seeing the name of the author. I�m not even sure it had one." She took a deep breath and gave Wreath a serious look. "If I tell you something�will you promise not to think I�m crazy? And to take what I tell you to the grave?"
Wreath raised her eyebrows. "This sounds serious," she teased gently. "Something tells me some dark secret is about to come to light."
Sarah laughed shakily. "Yeah, well, I don�t know why I�m telling you. I mean, it�s absolutely absurd, but I just have to finally tell someone, or I may burst! It seems a semi-stranger would listen better than a close friend, not that I�ve got many of those. At least, if a stranger thinks I�m crazy it won�t matter so much. Besides�something tells me that you might actually believe me."
Wreath shrugged. "So, what be this dark tale you have?" she asked.
Sarah took a deep breath, and began to tell Wreath all about the Labyrinth, and her dream, and her life ever since that first dream, and the dreams she�d had afterwards about her dancing in Jareth�s arms, and mostly about the Goblin King, himself, and what he was doing to Sarah�s sanity. Wreath listened quietly, fascinated by the tale despite herself, though she couldn�t help but wonder if Sarah really was crazy.
"I�ve tried my hardest to convince myself that the whole thing was only some crazy hallucination," Sarah finished, hugging her knees to her chest, mindful of her twisted ankle. "I mean, like a punishment for me being so mean to Toby. A place like that cannot possibly exist! But�I just have this feeling, way down in my heart, that maybe it wasn�t a dream. I mean, who says there aren�t other realms like that out there? The myths of the fae and magic and stuff had to come out of somewhere didn�t they? But if the Labyrinth is real, then that means Jareth�s real, and that thought terrifies me. If he�s alive, he�s had eight years to plan the perfect revenge for me, and he probably does not take to losing kindly." She shivered. "It just makes me wonder why all of a sudden the Labyrinth is coming back into my life. It makes me think that maybe he�s planning something."
Wreath frowned, not quite knowing how to reply to this. Sarah noticed, and gave a wry smile. "Go ahead. You can say it," she told her. "Tell me how crazy I am. Believe you me, I�ve heard it before. My step-mom�s a psychiatrist. She specializes in basket cases. Fitting that her daughter is one." She laughed dryly.
"I�m not thinking you�re crazy," Wreath replied carefully, "but I�m not sure you�re quite thinking all this clearly. Perhaps the blow to your head was more than we all thought. But, for the sake of argument�if you defeated him, what makes you think he�d be able to come back again to haunt you? Didn�t your words banish him for good?"
"That�s what�s got me worried," Sarah replied. "They should have. That�s how the play ended�but Jareth is so much more than a character in a play. I can�t help but think that, if he�d chose, he could have kept me there despite my words. I have a feeling that he just let me go because he wanted to, and that makes the least sense of all."
"Hmmm�so you think maybe he�s biding his time waiting for you to crack, is that it? Slowly driving you crazy?"
Sarah laughed. "He very well could be! I don�t know. That�s why he excited me so much, even though I hate him. I never knew what he was going to do next." She wrinkled her nose. "I admit to being somewhat infatuated with him as a teenager," she added disgustedly. "He was beautiful, Wreath. You never saw anyone more beautiful. It makes me wonder how my imagination came up with such a character if it was only a dream. Even my imagination isn�t that good! But, he was also sinister, and cruel, and evil, and he was the villain. A very seductive villain, but a villain nonetheless."
Wreath smiled. "Well, what�s the fun of creating a villain if ye cannae have any fun with him?" she asked mischievously. "Would you have rather he been some wrinkled, old, wart-covered goblin creature, like those he ruled?
Sarah almost choked on her laughter at that image. "I suppose not," she replied through her giggles. "Ugh! Can you imagine dancing with something like that?" She laughed some more. "It would sort of counteract the effect of the peach, wouldn�t it?"
Wreath grinned and was about to add something when a small child came barreling into the room, squealing with delight. "Wreath!" he cried eagerly, lifting small arms in a demand for her to pick him up. She grinned.
"Well, it looks like the prisoner has escaped," she teased, lifting the boy up onto her lap. "Jacob, I would like you to meet Sarah. She�s a friend."
The boy regarded Sarah silently, and she studied him in return. He was definitely Vincent�s son, though his cat-like features were softer than Vincent�s own. His eyes were green, and his hair was blond that hung to his shoulders in soft strands. He smiled suddenly, revealing a pair of slightly-pointed canines. "Sarah," he repeated. "Did you get hurt?" He couldn�t have been more than six years old, but his grasp on the language was excellent. His voice was soft and raspy, just like his father�s. He was beautiful in his own, unique way, like Vincent was beautiful.
"I was hurt, but I�m feeling better now that you�ve come to see me, Jacob," she replied, and he squirmed and giggled in delight.
"Oh, you�re a charmer, you are," Wreath told her with a twinkle in her eyes. "Keep that up, and he�ll love you for life!"
"Well, Jacob�s pretty charming, himself. I bet he�s already got little girls following him around," Sarah replied with a grin.
Jacob made a face. "Do not!" he protested, squirming to get down. "Girls got cooties!"
Sarah burst into laughter. "Well, I see that�s universal!" she replied with a wry grin. "I remember that�s what Toby claimed, too, when he was your age."
"Who�s Toby?"
"My little brother. He lives in California," she told him. "He�s nine years old, and he likes girls now." She grinned at Wreath as Jacob made another face, then had to cover a huge yawn that pushed its way to the surface. "Oh, excuse me. Guess I�m worn out," she added sheepishly.
"We�ll let you sleep then," Wreath replied, hoisting a squealing Jacob up over her shoulder like a sack of sand. "I�d better bring Houdini here back to his daddy before he has a stroke looking for him." She grinned. "We�ll talk more about this later, right? And for the record, I think you�re one of the more down-to-earth people I�ve met. Don�t worry about it. Your story�s safe with me."
"Thanks," Sarah said as Wreath left the room. "Bye, Jacob!"
"G�bye-ye-ye-ye," he replied, his voice jerking as he was bounced over Wreath�s shoulder, giggling all the way out the door.
Chapter Four
A week passed, and Sarah healed quickly. Father eventually warmed up to her, enough so that she didn�t feel like crawling under a table whenever he came into the room. Her wounds felt worse than they were, and soon they were nearly healed, though she was forced to walk with a cane until her ankle healed properly. She came to know some of the other Tunnel Dwellers, and even began to sort of learn her way around the maze of tunnels. She was given a spare room with a bed, and some extra clothes to wear. Wreath had somehow convinced everyone to let her stay, since she was alone for two weeks, and so she ended up spending a rather nice vacation after all. It was a shame she�d have to leave soon, she reflected sadly. But at least she could always visit again. And she promised to invite Wreath to dinner in her apartment, and Vincent and Jacob, too, if they could make it.
She spent evenings in the small library, which housed a collection of old books, as Vincent or Father or Wreath read from a story to the children, or sang them a song. One night, Wreath managed to convince Sarah to read from a book, as well, and she put all her acting skill into making the characters come alive. After that, she was begged to read at least once a night, which she gladly did. The children, at least, appreciated her efforts, as did the adults who listened in as well.
Another night, Jacob begged Wreath to sing a song. She refused, actually looking embarrassed about it, but Sarah, caught in the mood, teased her into singing. Wreath made a face at her, then reluctantly agreed. "Very well," she said in an over-exasperated tone. "I�ll sing for you, but only one song, got it?"
The children eagerly agreed, and Wreath took her place in the Reading Chair as Jacob crawled into her lap. She thought for a moment, then nodded her head. "All right. I�ve got one." She began to sing, her voice rising clear and lovely, but from the very first word, Sarah felt a chill creep down her spine. She knew this song, as well as her own name.
"Alas, my love, you do me wrong
To cast me off discourteously;
And I have loved you, oh so long,
Delighting in your company.
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold.
Greensleeves was my heart of joy,
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.
I have been ready at your hand
To grant whatever thou would�st crave;
I have waged both life and land,
Your love and goodwill for to have.
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold.
Greensleeves was my heart of joy,
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.
Thy petticoat of sendle white
With gold embroidered gorgeously;
Thy petticoat of silk and white,
And these I bought thee, gladly.
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold.
Greensleeves was my heart of joy,
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.
The song ended, and everyone clapped and cheered, while Wreath looked extremely uncomfortable with the attention. She noticed Sarah�s expression, and her embarrassment gave way to alarm. "Sarah, girl, what on earth�s the matter with you?" she asked, taking in her white face and huge dark eyes. "My singing�s not that bad, is it?" She laughed nervously. Sarah looked about ready to faint.
Sarah gave her a thin-lipped smile. "No, your singing is beautiful," she replied in a small voice. "It�s just�that song brought back some memories, is all. I had a music box, once, that played that melody. It had been a gift�from my real mother."
"Oh, I�m sorry. I wish I�d known, I�d have sung something else instead," Wreath said apologetically.
"No, it�s okay. Wasn�t your fault," Sarah replied. She gave everyone a weak smile. "If it�s all right, I think I�ll turn in now. I�m feeling a little worn out." She rose and made her way out of the library, returning everyone�s goodnights in a distracted manner. Out of all the songs to be sung, why had it been that one? she wondered as she walked slowly to her room. Somebody out there was definitely playing a mind game with her. She�d not heard that song in eight years, for every time she wound up the music box, she�d ended up hearing the haunting melody Jareth had sung to her at the Crystal Ball, instead. It was playing in her head right now, quite persistently, and she knew she wasn�t liable to get any sleep that night.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
One night, a few nights later, as Wreath was reading to Jacob in the library, he suddenly pulled the book out of her hands and tossed it across the floor. "Jacob!" Wreath exclaimed with an astonished laugh. "What�s the matter with you?"
"Don�t want to hear that story," Jacob pouted. "Want to hear another story. Want to hear something new."
"Well, all we have is in here," Wreath replied sternly. "Whatever we have is what we can read. Would you like to hear Peter Pan again?"
"No!" he proclaimed stubbornly. "Something new!"
Vincent came into the room in time to hear his son�s statement. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked the boy gently.
"Daddy, I want to read a new story," Jacob replied. "I heard all these before. Don�t we have nothin� new?"
Wreath shrugged. "He just up and tossed Cinderella across the room," she explained with a wry grin. An impish gleam lit her eye. "Really, Vincent, what are you teaching your son?"
Vincent let out a small laugh. "Not how to throw books. He learned that one on his own," he replied. "Jacob, you know better than that." He fondly ruffled the boy�s hair, and Jacob grinned unrepentantly up at his dad.
"Have a new book to read?" he asked hopefully.
Wreath laughed. "The boy has a one-track mind," she teased. "Well, �Daddy�? I don�t guess you have a new story stashed away anywhere, do you? Help me out here!"
Vincent smiled. "As a matter of fact, Mouse gave me a book last week. Just a day or two before Sarah came to us," he replied. "Said somebody tossed it into a dumpster, though I don�t know why anyone would do that. It�s a play of sorts, I believe, but it ought to make a decent story. I�d forgotten about it, but it appears now is a good time to bring it out." Jacob clapped his hands in delight as Vincent went to the bookshelves and pulled out a thin book bound in red leather. He handed it to Wreath, who looked at the cover.
"Labyrinth," she read, and suddenly she gasped and her eyes went wide. "I don�t believe it! This is the book Sarah was telling me about!"
"Really? What was she saying about it?" Vincent asked curiously, taking it back again and paging through it.
Wreath frowned. "That�s between me and her, on my oath, but let me just say, she isn�t very fond of it. It�s a nasty book, she says. I would listen to her, and put that thing right back wherever it was found. At least for her sake. If she should happen to discover it, I don�t like to think how she�d react."
"It�s just a story," Vincent replied. "There�s no harm in a book."
Wreath snorted. "She didn�t seem to think so. Had some pretty strange experiences after reading it, she did. Trust me, Vincent. Put the book away, and don�t look at it again."
"No!" Jacob suddenly shouted. "I want to read the story! Please, Daddy? Will you read it to me?" He looked up at his father through puppy eyes, and Wreath could see that Vincent was relenting.
"Oh! You spoil the child!" she snapped. "I�m telling you, don�t read that story! Have some respect for Sarah�s feelings, if nothing else!"
Vincent looked at her, his expression annoyed. "I see no harm in reading this to my son," he replied sternly. "If you don�t like it, you may leave the room." He pulled up a chair and Jacob eagerly crawled into his lap.
Wreath threw up her hands. "Very well! But I�m staying, though, so I can get you out of any trouble you get yourselves into!" she huffed, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Vincent eyed her curiously, wondering what had gotten into her, then opened the book to the first page and began to read.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
The Lady stood close by as Vincent began to read. She smiled to herself. Ah! Now things were coming together! Fate was coming to pass�She tilted her head suddenly. Yes. He was stirring, sensing that the Words of Power were to be spoken soon; gathering his magic about him.
The Lady frowned. Sarah was not with the readers, and she needed to be there, for this to come to pass. She took herself to Sarah�s room. The girl lay on her bed, reading, unaware of the turn her life was about to take. The Lady smiled gently. "Be prepared, child. Your path will soon turn toward that which you have fought so hard to ignore. Time to accept it with open arms."
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Sarah was deeply absorbed in the book she�d borrowed from the library. It was called "Watership Down", and she was finding it to be a rather a good story. She�d just gotten to the fourth chapter when she felt a sudden chill creep down her spine, as though someone were watching her. Her head snapped up, and she looked around sharply, but there was nobody there. Shaking her head and muttering to herself about ghosts and spooky caves, she went back to her reading, but a moment later the chill came again, and with a sharp gasp she leaped to her feet and looked all about the cave. She knew she was being watched, and yet nobody was there�
She walked slowly toward the doorway of her chamber, thinking to go down to the mess hall to beg for some scraps, and a movement caught out of the corner of her eye caused her to nearly leap out of her own skin in fright. She whirled with a muffled shriek, and immediately relaxed when she saw her own reflection staring back at her through the mirror. "Girl, you�re gonna give yourself heart failure for sure if you keep this up," she muttered.
Her heart was skipping a little, and she opened her bottle of pills, which she thankfully had with her, and downed one, just to be on the safe side. She automatically tucked them into the pocket of her breeches, then started to leave the room. Something odd caught her eye again, and she paused and glanced to her left, toward the mirror again. Her heart stopped completely for a moment, and her face turned white as a sheet. The mirror was�glowing. "What is this?" she whispered. "Some sort of trick?" She stepped closer to it, looking for the source of the light, suspecting that maybe some of the older children had decided to play her a nasty trick, as it was nearing Halloween. The mirror in the Phantom of the Opera had glowed like that, and it was a pretty cool special effect. But it was also a trick mirror. This one, as far as she could tell, wasn�t.
The mirror seemed to ripple suddenly. At least, her reflection did, like the surface of a lake, and when it stilled, ever so briefly, it no longer was her own reflection staring at her, but that of�
"Jareth!"
The name was spoken in a hiss, even as the image vanished, and Sarah felt her strength give out as she fell on her knees to the floor. It had been Jareth! She was sure of it! She could never forget that face, that arrogant grin or those diamond-hard, mismatched eyes. But what was he doing in her mirror? "Something�s wrong," she muttered. She closed her eyes to get her bearings. "Something is seriously wrong." An image suddenly pushed itself into her mind. Vincent, sitting in the Reading Chair in the library, Jacob sitting curled up at his feet, listening with a rapt expression as Vincent read from a book�a book with a red cover�
Her head snapped up. "No! Oh, no!" she gasped. "They�re reading the book!"
She didn�t know how she knew that, but she did. She didn�t think. She just acted, leaping to her feet and racing out of the room, slamming her shoulder painfully against the edge of the doorway in the process. She ignored the pain, and that in her newly-healed ankle, as she raced as fast as she could toward the library. Don�t let me be too late, she prayed silently. Please don�t let me be too late�
The room was right ahead. Just a little way yet�She could hear Vincent�s deep voice. "And she said, �I wish the goblins�"
"Stop!" Sarah shouted.
"�would come and take you away�"
"Don�t say it!" she screamed. "Vincent, you don�t know what you�re saying!"
"�Right now!"
"Nooooo!"
She reached the room and skidded to a halt just inside as Vincent, Wreath, and Jacob looked up at her in astonishment. "Did you say something?" Vincent asked curiously.
Sarah didn�t pause. She grabbed the book from Vincent�s hands and threw it into the fireplace. "Hide Jacob, right now!" she cried. "Do it!"
Vincent was clearly astonished, but before he could asked what in the world had gotten into her, every candle and lantern in the room suddenly guttered and flickered out, leaving them all in complete blackness.
Chapter Five
"What the devil�s goin� on?" Wreath cried. "Vincent! Where are you?"
"Where�s Jacob?" Sarah cried. "Somebody grab Jacob!"
"I can�t find him!" Vincent cried, his voice alarmed. "Jacob, where are you?"
"He�s perfectly fine," a new voice suddenly proclaimed, rather calmly amidst the chaos.
Immediate silence ensued, all but for Sarah, who whimpered in recognition of that clipped, British accent. The lights flared up again, suddenly and brilliantly, causing everyone to cringe and cover their eyes, and when the glare had faded, a man stood there beside the fireplace, dressed in the garb of the old style, with a glittering black, high-collared cloak draped about his shoulders. The glow of the flames playing across his beautiful features in blood-red light, giving him the appearance of some demented angel. A sleeping Jacob was cradled in his arms.
"Jareth, let him go," Sarah whispered, her face very pale and her eyes nearly swallowing her face. "They were only reading the story."
"This is Jareth?" Wreath gasped, giving Sarah a sharp glance. Sarah nodded, her eyes never leaving the Goblin King�s face. Wreath shook her head, looking back to the silent king. "I guess that dream wasn�t a dream after all," she whispered, trying to find some humor in the situation.
Nobody was laughing, least of all Sarah. "I guess not," she whispered back, her hand coming up to cover her pounding heart. She refused to pass out now. She might be the only one who could talk her their way out of this mess. Not that Jareth would listen to her�He didn�t seem particularly glad to see her�
"Give me my son!" Vincent suddenly snarled, and launched himself at the stranger, who merely waved a graceful, black-gloved hand, and the giant cat-man was suddenly frozen where he stood. He stared at Jareth in astonishment, as did Wreath.
Jareth cocked his head, a wry smile playing about his lips. "Well, well. What have we here?" he murmured. He strode across the room, toward Sarah, who stood straight as a sentinel, refusing to give in to panic. "Hello, Sarah. It�s been a long time," he said softly, a hand reaching up to caress her face in an almost tender gesture.
She flinched back. "Not long enough," she hissed. "Give Vincent his son, and go away. You have no power over me, remember?"
He glared. "Of course I remember!" he snapped. "I�ve never been able to forget. But I�m not here for you. Not this time. I�m here for this little one, instead." He regarded the sleeping child. "Quite an unusual child," he noted with a touch of amusement. "If I didn�t know better, I�d almost think he was a changeling. Of course, I can clearly see who his father is." He circled a livid Vincent, who was straining against his invisible bonds, teeth bared in a snarl. "A most unusual creature. A human? Perhaps you�re the changeling," he added thoughtfully. "You look the part."
"A changeling?" Wreath asked, confused.
"It�s a faerie trick," Sarah explained in a low voice. "A changeling is what a fae leaves behind after stealing a child from its human parents. It could be anything from another fae child, to a common beast, like a wolf cub or a pig�That�s why I thought Vincent was from the Underground, at first. He has the look of a creature from there." She shot Jareth an evil glare. "I should have known better. Anybody with as much courage and honor as Vincent holds cannot possibly be from a place like the Labyrinth!"
Jareth returned her glare, then turned to Vincent. "I suppose I should go through that part about offering you your dreams, but as I can see, I doubt you�d be interested in accepting them. So, I suppose I�ll simply wish you all a good day and be on my way�"
Wreath and Vincent�s cries of protest were drowned out by Sarah�s sharp, "Wait!"
Jareth turned to regard her.
She took a deep breath. "Let Jacob go, and I�ll return in his place," she said quickly, before she could think about what she was doing. She ignored Wreath�s cry, and continued, "I know I�m what you�re really after. Think of it, Jareth. After eight long years, you�d finally have a chance to get your revenge on me for defeating you. You don�t want Jacob, you want me. Take me, instead. I�m offering myself to you."
Jareth narrowed his eyes further and came closer until he was only inches away, staring into her eyes. "Are you sure you know what you�re saying?" he murmured. "If I take you, I could do to you whatever I wished, and you would have no power to stop me. I could torture you�kill you�ravish you anytime I pleased�"
"I know," she whispered. "But at least you won�t get your hands on Vincent�s son."
His face was expressionless. "Why would you offer yourself in his place?"
"Because it�s my fault. I�m the one that threw out that book, instead of destroying it, and now it�s found its way down here where it has caused harm to people I care about. If I�d destroyed it properly, you wouldn�t be here. This is the least I can do for them after everything they�ve done for me," she replied bravely. "Well? What say you? Do you accept my offer?"
He searched her face, looking for any sign that she might be lying. But for once, her face was as expressionless as his own, and her haunted eyes were cold. His own eyes, however, held something she�d never expected to see. Was it�hope? "Do you truly wish to be taken into my Labyrinth for the rest of your life?" he whispered. "Truly?"
Sarah hesitated. She sensed, suddenly, that there was more to this question than what was spoken. This was something that would determine his decision. She�d best be honest. "Of course I don�t want to go!" she snapped. "But if it will save Jacob then I have to!"
The hope faded from Jareth�s eyes like water from a broken bottle, and his usual stoic mask took its place. She knew that it had been the wrong answer. "Your offer is refused," he stated in a flat, emotionless voice. "Jacob comes with me. However, as the rules follow, Vincent, you have thirteen hours to transverse my Labyrinth in order to get your son back. If you fail, he will remain, and you will be returned to your home."
"I�m going along!" Sarah suddenly cried.
He looked at her with open astonishment on his face. "I beg your pardon," he huffed.
"You heard me," she replied stubbornly, crossing her arms.
"I�m going, too!" Wreath pitched in. At everyone�s astonished looks, she grinned. "Well, you didn�t think I�d let you go and have all the fun, did you?" she added cheekily. "I�d fancy a trip to Fairy Land, myself, and somebody�s got to watch Jacob."
"But you have no idea how dangerous it can be," Sarah protested, and Vincent agreed.
Wreath merely waved the protests aside. "You and Vincent are my friends, and I�m not about to let either of you take on this person alone," she replied firmly, "and that�s that."
Jareth, for his part, was looking from one to the other in open astonishment. In all of his millennium of existence, never had three separate people argued over who was going to get to go into his Labyrinth! It was�unorthodox! "Just wait one moment!" he roared, causing everyone to fall silent and look at him in surprise. He glared at them. "Are you all completely insane?!" he cried. "This is not a picnic in the park, it is a test for your very survival, and the survival of this child! What are you trying to prove here? There are rules to be followed, you know!"
"Well, what do you suggest we do then?" Wreath asked stubbornly.
Jareth blinked, and Sarah almost laughed aloud at the uncharacteristic disbelief that crossed his face. He must have been completely shocked by this! "�Do�?" he repeated in disbelief. "What do you think I do?! I take the child, and Vincent must transverse the Labyrinth to get him back. It really isn�t a hard concept to understand, you know."
"So you aren�t allowing us to go with him?" Wreath pouted. "That isn�t�"
"Don�t even say it!" Jareth roared, and this time Sarah couldn�t stop the sharp laugh that slipped past. She bit her lip as Jareth turned his glare to her, but she was still grinning, and her shoulders shook slightly as she fought for control. "I suppose this is amusing you," he purred.
"It�s not at all like I remember," she replied sweetly. Which was the truth. With two other people there, she didn�t feel half as terrified as she had the first time around. Of course, it also helped that she knew a little of what to expect this time. Not only that but�now that she was facing Jareth again, she realized that, not only was she not afraid, she was�exhilarated! It was that exact same feeling she�d had when she first had started acting, but had lost soon afterwards. That empty space within her was filling up, but she refused to ponder what that meant at the moment, concentrating instead on enjoying watching Jareth getting his face rubbed in the dirt.
His eyes were dangerously narrow as he regarded her. Apparently he wasn�t used to being laughed at. He looked as though he was considering doing something unspeakably nasty to her, but Jacob suddenly stirred in his arms, bringing him back to the present. "Enough of this nonsense," he growled. He gestured toward the doorway of the library, and instead of darkened tunnels there appeared a familiar landscape. "You have thirteen hours to reach the castle at the soul of the Labyrinth before your�son becomes one of us forever. Such a pity," he intoned boredly, and began to walk through the portal.
"I wish the goblins would come and take Wreath away right now!" Sarah cried suddenly. She didn�t know why she said that. It just slipped out without her even thinking about it. Almost as though somebody else had spoken through her. But it got the desired effect. Jareth stopped dead in his tracks, and she could almost see the stunned expression on his face. Wreath could see it, and she began to laugh.
"Sarah, you sneaky little imp!" she exclaimed, not at all put out by having just been wished into the Labyrinth. "That was a rather nasty trick!"
Sarah grinned. "Well, you wanted to go, and I wanted to go, and this was the best way to get there," she replied. She looked at Jareth, who had not turned around. He seemed a little upset. "Well?" she asked him. "Shall we go?"
Jareth�s shoulders slumped in defeat, and with a slight nod of his head and a heavy sigh, he continued on into the portal and promptly vanished. Vincent followed him hurriedly, having been released at Jareth�s departure. Sarah and Wreath looked at each other, then grinned and slapped each other a high five. "See you at the castle!" Wreath exclaimed with another wicked laugh, and stepped through the portal, where she, too, vanished. Sarah took a deep breath and released it. "Well," she said softly, "I did ask for it!" With a grin and a shake of her head, she, too entered the portal, which closed behind her with a flash of light.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
The Lady smiled as the last of them vanished through the portal. It had been a bit of genius on her part, she thought rather smugly, to have caused Sarah to wish Wreath into the Labyrinth. Or perhaps it was more desperation. Jareth was much more stubborn than she�d first anticipated. It was going to be more difficult than she�d realized to help Fate bring this to pass. It would be a challenge. She smiled. It was a very good thing that she had always loved a challenge.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
They stood on that same hill, with the sun just rising over the Labyrinth, casting everything in golden light. Vincent looked on, amazed at the forbidding beauty of it. "I�ve seen a sunrise once," he murmured. "It was the most beautiful thing I�d ever seen, but this is even more beautiful."
"Yes. Beautiful as a viper, and twice as deadly," Sarah replied quietly. "Vincent, you know this is going to be one of the most difficult challenges you�ve ever had to face, don�t you?"
He looked at her. "Yes. Why did you do that?" he asked. "Why did you wish Wreath away? If you should fail�"
"I�m not going to fail," Sarah replied shortly. "I�ve done this before, when I was just a scared kid half in love with a dream. I certainly can take care of myself now. Now look, we�re both going to have to reach the castle within thirteen hours, or we lose and they�well, Jacob will be turned into a goblin. I don�t know what will happen to Wreath."
"She�ll be tossed into an Oubliette," came a voice from behind, and a rather peeved-looking Jareth appeared. "She�s too old to be turned into a goblin, and I have no use for her, really. She�ll be tossed in there and be forgotten." He noticed Sarah�s pale face and smiled. "Having second thoughts, sweet Sarah?" he asked sweetly. "You really didn�t think this through when you wished her away, did you? Ah, but that�s how I�ve always remembered you. Someone who never looks before she leaps, follows her impulses rather than her common sense. You haven�t changed a bit."
"Unfortunately, neither have you," she replied bitterly.
Jareth gave a dark laugh. "Oh, but I have," he said dangerously. "I�ve had eight years to change my ways, and I don�t think you�ll find they�re for the better. For instance�" He paused and began to circle Sarah like a vulture. "This time, I am going to raise the stakes," he purred in her ear. "Remember this?" He held out his hand, and a crystal appeared in his palm. Sarah flinched away from it as though it had bitten her. "Yes. I see that you do." His voice was highly amused. "Your dreams, Sarah. Your true dreams, not those that you thought you knew. Did those come true? Have they filled your life the way you expected them to? No? That�s because they aren�t real! These I offer you are real. If you take them and forget this, you�ll have everything your heart desires." He moved closer until his lips were nearly brushing her ear. "Everything," he whispered seductively.
Sarah jerked away with a sharp, "No!" Her heart was pounding furiously, and she wondered if she needed to take another pill. "I�ll not fall for your trickery, Jareth!" she cried. "I didn�t accept them before, why do you think I�d accept them now? I know what my dreams are, and if they�re going to come true, they�ll do so on their own! Not by faerie glamour!"
His face went hard. "Very well," he bit out. "But know this. When you transverse the Labyrinth this time, you have more than one to save. You have two! Both of you! If either of you fail to reach the castle within the thirteen hours, both the girl and the babe will be trapped here�forever! Now, how do you like those stakes?"
"You can�t do that!" Sarah cried. "That�s not how the rules work!"
"Well, this evening has just been full of surprises then, hasn�t it?" he snapped, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It isn�t every day that I�ve two at once who willingly wish themselves into the Labyrinth! There are no rules to deal with that! So I suppose I just have to make some up!"
Sarah fell silent, and Jareth sighed and pointed to the clock that appeared in mid-air. "Thirteen hours. Fail, and two innocents who depend on you are doomed. Such a pity." He, and the clock, faded away, leaving Vincent and Sarah alone.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
The Lady watched as Jareth left, frowning. He really was very stubborn. Had she misjudged him? His raising the stakes�She had not expected that. This faerie creature was much more complicated than she�d given him credit for. But, it was her own fault, she supposed, that she hadn�t remembered the tales of the faerie peoples� contrary natures. When any one of them wanted something, they always went about getting it in the wrong manner. In the most indirect route, using trickery and games to succeed, rather than open honesty. Well, she was a bit of a trickster herself, and she knew that even one such as Jareth could not stop her should she choose to help his "guests" along�
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
"This is completely unbelievable," Vincent said to Sarah in an awed voice. They had started down toward the outer wall of the Labyrinth, picking their way carefully along the rock-strewn hillside. "Every instinct is screaming at me that this place cannot possibly be real! Faerie lands are not real!"
Sarah gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, it�s real, all right, and so is everything that lives in it. Listen up, okay? I don�t know when I�ll be able to tell you this again. I know Jareth, and I know he�ll do everything in his power to separate us and make it more difficult for us both to reach the castle. The stakes have never been this high, and I have a feeling it�s going to be a lot more difficult this time around. There are things you have to know if you�re going to make it through the Labyrinth in one piece."
She held up a finger as Vincent waited silently. "The most important rule is this: Never, ever take anything for granted in the Labyrinth. Things are never what they seem, so you can�t trust what�s before your eyes." She paused and picked her way the final few feet to the ground. They stood at the door of the Labyrinth, which were shut tight. "Next, watch out for those oubliettes Jareth mentioned. They�re probably everywhere. I�ve had the unfortunate pleasure of being introduced to one. There is no way to escape them. A friend told me that Oubliettes are places to put people to forget about �em, and that�s exactly what will happen."
"But then how did you escape it?" Vincent questioned.
She gave a wry smile. "That friend helped me escape," she replied. "He�s a dwarf�yes, a real live dwarf�named Hoggle. Jareth sent him to lead me out of the Oubliette and to the beginning of the Labyrinth again, but he ended up switching sides. I�ll have to tell you about it sometime�preferably when we get out of here."
"Do you think we�ll meet him?" Vincent wondered. "His help would be valuable."
"I know," she replied with a worried frown. "That�s why Jareth probably made sure we won�t meet up with any of the friends I made here last time. But no matter. About that oubliette. If you do fall into one, you�ll be caught by things growing out of the wall that are called the Helping Hands."
"The Helping Hands?" Vincent looked incredulous, and she gave him a wry smile.
"Yeah, I know. Sounds kind of like an Underground version of the Salvation Army, huh? But it�s true. They�re hands that form faces, and they can talk, too. They�ll ask you which way you want to go. Under no circumstances do you ever tell them �down�! Say you want to go up instead, or you�re stuck in the oubliette, and I doubt that Jareth would have such a convenient escape rout planned this time around."
"I understand," he said, looking a little dazed.
She smiled. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You�re not gonna be sick or anything, are you?"
"No, I�ll be fine. I�m just trying to accept all this," he assured her with a weak smile. "In all my boyhood dreams and adventures, I never dreamed something like this."
"I know. It is hard to believe. But put aside the fact that you�re an adult. I mean, Jacob would have no problem believing a place like this could exist. Kids are still innocent. They don�t know any better, because Reality hasn�t reached them yet, hasn�t drilled in all those cold, hard facts about the way the world is supposed to work. That�s why they believe in Santa Clause, and the Easter Bunny, and Peter Pan, and all magic in general. I mean, I was here before, and right now I�m still having a hard time accepting the fact I�m here again! I lied to myself all these years, telling myself it was only a dream, because I�m an adult and adults don�t believe in fairy tales, even though I know they�re real!" She laughed. "Am I in need of a good shrink, or what?"
Vincent was smiling. "No more than I," he replied. "Tell me, what else need I know of this Labyrinth?"
She threw up her hands. "Tons!" she exclaimed with a grin. "But I don�t have time to explain it all to you. So I�ll tell you what I can, until Jareth finally manages to separate us." She pointed to the gates. "Right now, I suggest we find a way to open these doors."
Vincent pushed against them with all his might, then pulled. They didn�t budge. "Please, let us into the Labyrinth," he asked politely. Not a twitch.
"Open Sesame!" Sarah said jokingly, hardly surprised when it didn�t work. Finally, she walked up to the doors, knocked three times, and, to their surprise, they swung silently open. "Who�d have thunk?" she asked with a grin, and stepped inside. The door slammed closed behind them. "Okay, let�s choose a path and stick with it. Feel along the walls. There are openings in them that you can�t see, but they�re there. Don�t look for them. Let them find you."
They each took a side and started picking their way through the rubble that littered the walkway, trailing their fingers lightly along the walls. "Another thing you need to watch out for are the fairies," Sarah said as they walked. "Those little flitting creatures in the bluebells outside the walls? Those were fairies. Beautiful little things, but don�t be fooled. They bite, and really good, too. I found that out the hard way. They�re like Tinkerbell on steroids."
Vincent chuckled at that. "I�ll be sure to remember," he replied.
She nodded. "Also, if you start to smell anything really, really bad, avoid at all costs. That�s the Bog of Eternal Stench." At his skeptical glance, she snorted. "Don�t let the name fool you," she muttered. "I was in it, and it was worse than anything you could possibly imagine! It eats right through your skin, and gets into your throat and makes you gag and you can hardly breathe�" She shuddered at the memory. "If you even stick a foot in that Bog, you�ll smell bad the rest of your life," she added firmly. "It won�t come off. I didn�t believe Hoggle either when he told me, not until I was in it, and I don�t want to go back."
"I�ll take your word for it," he replied. "Avoid the Bog. Is there anything else?"
"Oh, plenty. For instance, avoid peaches�and any other type of food you might come across. The last peach I ate down here ended up with me at a ball."
"How is that a bad thing?" he asked.
"I lost three hours of time, and ended up forgetting what I was there to do," she replied bitterly. "I ended up in the junk heap, and if it hadn�t been for my friends I�d still be there."
He nodded. "I understand," he replied.
She stopped and grinned suddenly. "Oh, and never, under any circumstances, are you ever to call Jareth�s Labyrinth a piece of cake. Especially not to his face. He doesn�t take kindly to that."
"You have experience, I take it?" Vincent�s voice was gently amused.
"Um�yeah. Let�s see�The first time, I ended up in the oubliette. The second time, and that�s the time I said it to his face, he took a few hours off my time and sicced the Cleaners on me. You don�t want to meet up with the Cleaners. They keep the lower tunnels clear of�debris. Such as any person who happens to be wandering around down there at the time. Then Hoggle said it in the courtyard of Jareth�s castle, and that�s when the entire goblin army appeared."
Sarah�s hand suddenly passed through the wall, and she stumbled in with a startled "Oh!" Vincent followed her, looking amazed at having just passed through a seemingly solid stone wall. They stood in the inner passageway. "Great! We�re making progress!" she exclaimed cheerfully. He gave her a disbelieving look, and she grinned sheepishly. "You have to keep a positive outlook about this," she warned him, "or the sheer size of this place will wear your energy away. And another thing. We don�t have any clocks, and time has a way of catching up with you down here at amazing speeds. I don�t think it actually follows any set patterns. You must treat every minute you spend here as though it were your last, because it very well could be. Only quick wits and sharp instincts and a lot of luck will get us through this in one piece. We have to keep it together, understand?"
"I understand," he replied quietly, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I�m beginning to realize that there�s more to you than I�d ever imagined. Jareth underestimated you once. He may very well do so again."
Sarah blushed at his praise. "Well, I doubt that," she replied with a laugh. "And I�m not about to underestimate him, either, and neither should you. He does things his own way to suit him, and he cares little for the safety of mortals like me. Even mortals like you. But enough talk. I think I told you everything I can, though I�m sure there is much more that I don�t know about, so be on your guard at all times. Oh�and if you should reach the Fiery Forest�avoid the crazy red creatures that live there. That�s the Fire Gang, and they have a habit of dismembering themselves and playing basketball with their heads. They�ll take your head off, too, if you give them a chance at it. It�s a goblin thing. Anyway, if we do get separated, or should I say when, just keep heading for the castle, and don�t look back." She smiled at Vincent and patted his arm, and they both turned and started down the long, twisting paths that would eventually lead them to their liberation�or their condemnation.
Chapter Six
When Wreath stepped through that portal, she wasn�t expecting to end up in a large, stone room filled with hundreds of little creatures that looked like something out of a nightmare, and smelled even worse. She stared about in astonishment, wondering what in heaven�s name she�d gotten herself into, before turning her eyes to a large stone chair set upon a dais. In this chair sat Jareth, slouched with his leg draped over one curved arm, affording her with a rather interesting view, due to the tight gray breeches he wore.
She coughed and turned her eyes away, looking for Jacob. She found the boy sitting at the edge of a fire pit, watching a cock fight with fascination, not at all mindful of the hideous little goblins that surrounded him. "Jacob!" she called, and the child looked up, his eyes lighting in delight at the sight of her.
"Wreath! Lookit the chickens fightin� in the pit!" he called, pointing into the fire pit. Wreath hurried to his side.
"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "The bad man didn�t hurt you, did he?"
"The �bad man� hasn�t lain a finger on the child," Jareth retorted from above her. He stood and towered over her, and she glared her defiance at him.
"You�re going to regret ever tangling with the likes of Vincent," she said proudly. "He�s not your normal man, you know! His senses and instincts are far sharper than that. He�ll be here in no time at all!"
Jareth smirked. "Well, time will tell, won�t it? The Labyrinth is as ever changing as the seasons in your world. It shifts and evolves to match the personalities of those who seek to surpass it. It is different for every person who comes. The challenges your Vincent will face are not the ones Sarah will face. It chooses those that will test the challenger�s durability and strength to the limits."
Wreath glared at him. "If anything happens to him, I�ll�"
"You�ll do what?" Jareth challenged mockingly. His face darkened. "There is nothing that you could do to me, little one, that will affect the outcome one way or the other. What happens now is entirely up to your friends. We can do nothing but sit back and watch and wait."
"And interfere, if it suits you," she snapped. "Sarah told me all about the last visit she had with you, and frankly, I can see why she doesn�t care for you all that much!"
"The feeling is mutual!" he hissed after a long moment of silence, but Wreath didn�t believe him. She was gazing at him in open astonishment, for she had seen something in his eyes that was completely at odds with his harsh words.
"You don�t hate her," she finally told him after a long moment. "It�s the complete opposite of that, what you feel for her. You love her, don�t you?"
"And how would you know that?" he snarled, his eyes glittering dangerously.
She laughed bitterly. "Do you think, after years of watching Vincent mourning for his lost Catherine, who will never come to him again, that I�d not by now know the expression of hopeless love in a man�s eyes? Aye, Jareth. That�s what it is. What I see in your eyes behind that frozen mask is the same as what I see in Vincent�s when e�re he gazes upon her portrait in his chambers." She turned her back on Jareth�s astonished gaze and looked toward Jacob, who was patiently attempting to teach the goblins a game of pick-up sticks. She smiled sadly as she watched him. "I imagine that self-same emotion has shown in my own eyes countless times, if Vincent was only perceptive enough to see it�" she finished in a whisper.
She had not meant for Jareth to hear that, but the fae�s sharp hearing picked it up, anyway, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face briefly. With a sigh, he lowered himself into his chair and summoned a crystal, thinking it was time to check up on his two other guests.
Just then, Wreath looked up at him, and a hint of mischief danced in her eyes, completely at odds with the melancholy that had lingered there only moments before. Jareth couldn�t help but wonder if there wasn�t a bit of Fae in Wreath herself, what with all her sudden mood swings. "I�ve been meaning to ask you, who does your hair? Edward Scissorhands?" she was asking him with a sly grin.
He bristled defensively. "What�s wrong with my hair?"
"Oh, nothing," she replied innocently. "It just looks like you took a nose-dive into the wrong end of a weed whacker, is all. Perfectly normal, I�m sure."
Jareth glared at her, but decided to ignore her in favor of spying on his other�guests. He sulked as he gazed into the crystal, and Wreath turned away with a small smirk of triumph.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Vincent paused as Sarah suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. He looked about, wondering what had alarmed her so, but the stone path they followed was empty but for themselves. "What is it?" he asked in concern. "Is something wrong?"
Sarah relaxed slowly. "He�s watching us," she stated calmly. It took Vincent a moment to realize that she meant Jareth.
"How do you know?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I don�t know. I just�suddenly felt that he�s watching. Look for a white owl. That would be Jareth. He�s a shape-shifter, as well, you know. Either that, or he�s spying through one of those crystals. Be on your guard. He may try some nasty trick," she replied matter-of-factly. She continued on and he followed.
"Have you always been able to sense him spying?" Vincent asked after awhile.
She hesitated, then shrugged lightly. "Not that I recall. Last time I was worried more about staying alive than about the Goblin King spying on me. I guess this time, when I know what to expect, I can tell when he�s peeking in."
Vincent cocked his head to the side, studying the young woman who walked beside him. He knew that there was more to it than that. There was a kind of bond between her and the Goblin King. He had sensed it, due to his own unique gifts, from the moment Jareth had appeared in the room. Even as he and Sarah had faced each other down, there had been something more that flew between them. Something completely different from the animosity they�d displayed, especially on Jareth�s part. Especially when he�d turned down Sarah�s request to take Jacob�s place in the Labyrinth. It had been pure disappointment that bordered on near physical pain that Vincent had sensed in the king�s emotions. He wondered, briefly, if Sarah knew how much Jareth was really in love with her, or that she was more than a little in love with him, as well. He had a feeling that by the time this adventure was over, it would all be coming to light.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Wreath watched as the goblins played their mindless games, while Jacob attempted to teach a few of them the simple concept of playing Go Fish with a deck of cards. Well, simple it was to him. To the goblins, however, he may as well have been attempting to explain the finer details of brain surgery, for all the understanding they showed. But they were having fun, and Jacob was having fun, so she let them continue as she herself stared out the window at the Labyrinth and attempted to make out any figures moving within its twisting walls.
"You�ll never see them," came a silky voice from behind her, and she jumped in surprise, turning to see Jareth standing there, smiling at her smugly.
She scowled back. "That�s your opinion!" she snapped. "They could be at the castle already, for all you know!"
"Trust me. They�re nowhere near the castle. They may both be in an oubliette by now," he smirked. "Such a pity. Are you sorry now that Sarah wished you away. Rather unkind of her, wasn�t it?"
"Not really," she replied smoothly. "I�d have wished myself away, if she hadn�t beaten me to it!"
Jareth laughed. "Yes, I suppose so," he murmured. "You and she are alike, you know," he added mysteriously. "You both have that same independent spirit and unbreakable soul."
"Unbreakable�, you say. Well, that surely doesn�t keep you from attempting to break it, anyway," she sniffed, and he replied with another feral chuckle as he walked away from her. It was time that he played another of his cards, and separated the two challengers. Make the Labyrinth twice as hard to complete. He knew just where to separate them. In the Fiery Forest, where Sarah had lost that Ludo creature during her last visit. They were nearing it now, and he could see that neither of them was happy about it.
Good. The forest was filled with things more dangerous than the Fierys. Much more. Hopefully, a secret part of his mind thought, nothing too terribly nasty would meet up with his Sarah. He frowned and quickly banished the thought, and the rush of emotion it brought along with it, and summoned a crystal, lounging in his throne to watch the scene take place before him.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
She drifted beside them as they pushed their way through the tangled forest, neither of them sensing that she was close by. Even Vincent, with all his keen instincts, was too busy fighting the forest to realize that she was there. She walked beside him, even going so far as to reach out and touch that glorious mane with phantom fingers, remembering the feel of tangled, silken strands slipping through her hands�
"Stop," she whispered, scolding herself, and her voice sounded like a breath of wind�no different from any other breath of wind. "You do yourself no good remembering what was. Think to his future." She sighed and moved ahead, to see what was to come. There were dangers in these woods. Hidden dangers that could rend and kill should they catch the trespassers. She would do her best to protect them.
It happened quickly. So quickly, that even she did not sense it coming. One moment Vincent and Sarah walked together, and in the next�he had simply vanished. Right into midair. Both Sarah and the Lady stood there, staring at the spot Vincent had been, and then Sarah gave a furious yell. "Fine!" she screamed. "Go ahead! Separate us! It won�t make a difference! We�ll still kick your butt!"
The Lady smiled wanly at Sarah�s spirited yell, though her own thoughts were a jumble. She had no idea how the Goblin King had done away with Vincent so easily. She was worried for him, and yet she did not dare leave Sarah. Vincent could easily look after himself, but Sarah might need her help. For now, she decided, she would stay with Sarah and help her. She could only hope that Vincent would be okay.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Vincent examined his new surroundings with some perplexity. He didn�t understand how it had happened, him having ended up somehow back in the inner Labyrinth, and yet he was there. He knew that Jareth had something to do with it. He also knew that he�d better get a move on if he expected to reach the castle in time. Luckily, he seemed to be no further out than he was, but he wasn�t really any closer, either. With a soft sigh he started forward at a loping pace, his long legs and tireless canter giving him extra ground. He had held back for Sarah�s sake before, knowing she�d never be able to keep up with him should he choose to set out at this pace. But now that he was alone, what was to stop him from running the entire way? Perhaps Jareth had done him more of a favor than a disservice, he thought with a slightly smug smile.
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet dropped away, only an instant after he sensed the minuscule shift of the trap door. With a growl he lunged forward and managed to grip the edge of the shaft before he fell in completely. There was a moment�s frantic scrabbling on the pathway as the stones threatened to give way under his grip, but his claws caught the edge of a stone and held, and he started to pull himself back up. He thought he heard voices below him. Voices that sounded like hollow bones and dried-up old leaves.
"Say! The door�s opened! Where�s the poor sod what�s supposed to have fallen in?" someone complained loudly. Curious, Vincent poked his head in over the edge, and his sharp sight picked out the faint shape of a�face. At least, he thought it was a face. It looked more like a bunch of green hands formed together�
"The Helping Hands," he murmured with a smile. "Sarah was right."
"Who said that?" one of the voices demanded. "Come down here! Ye�re supposed to fall in and let us catch you! Don�t you know anything?"
"I�m sorry," he called back, chuckling a little. "I rather like daylight. I�d prefer to stay up here. Thank you anyway." He stood and loped away, all his senses on red alert for more such traps, and the voices, still complaining, faded away.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Jareth frowned as he watched Vincent in the crystal ball, and Wreath, who had been watching with him, grinned. "You see?" she said smugly. "He�s not so easy to fool, my Vincent. You�ll have to do better than that to throw him off!"
He gave her an irritated glance. "A fool�s luck," he muttered. "That�s all it was. The pitfalls are not the most dangerous things in the Labyrinth. There are many others that are, I�d wager, more than a match for �your Vincent�." His tone turned mocking on the last two words, and she glared at him before deciding to ignore him. Jareth smirked and drew another crystal from the air. It glowed briefly, and Sarah�s image appeared within its depths. His expression softened as he gazed on her, which Wreath could hardly help but notice.
"Why not tell her?" she asked softly.
Jareth gave her a startled glance. "Excuse me?"
She waved a hand in the air. "Tell her! Tell her that you love her, and that you only want to make her happy! Sweep her off her feet! Trying to frighten her out of her wits is not going to help your cause along, you know. I can�t begin to imagine what she might see in you, but it wouldn�t kill you to try, would it?"
He smirked. "And I should take your advice because�" He trailed off, raising an elegantly slanted eyebrow as he waited for her to pick it up the train of thought.
"Because I�m a woman," she replied haughtily. "I think I ought to know what women like, don�t you?"
He snorted. "Why don�t you tell Vincent that you love him?" he challenged back. "You are no different than I, and you have less to lose."
"I haven�t told him because I know he�s still in love with Catherine," she retorted. "I cannot hope to compete with a ghost. And I do not have less to lose. Vincent is my best friend. If I tell him, I may lose his friendship, and the risk isn�t worth that price."
"Even the potential for eternal happiness?" he asked quietly.
She stared at him. "Ask yourself the same question," she replied. "Are you willing to lose even a chance at Sarah�s heart because of your pride? You have less to lose than I, as I see it. As it stands now, she can barely tolerate you. If you do tell her how you feel, the worst thing she can do is exactly what she did the last time she was here."
Jareth stared at her for a long moment, and then sighed heavily and turned back to the crystal, staring into it as though it held the key to his very existence.
Chapter Seven
She watched as Sarah turned this way and that, trying to find her way out of the forest. She feared the dark shadows of the trees, and the creatures that scuttled beneath her feet, and the Lady could hardly blame her. She was unable to help in the way she wanted to, so she did what she could, drifting ahead to seek out hidden dangers.
Presently, she felt something pulling at the edges of her subconscious. Something dark and rank, like a black cloud. She shuddered, her movements causing a faint breeze to lift and settle again. The Something stirred, awakened, drawn out of a deep slumber by her presence. It raised its head and blinked through empty yellow eyes, scenting the air with psychic feelers.
She stopped in her tracks, her entire being frozen in sudden fear. What was awakening? It was unlike anything she had sensed before! It was old. Possibly as old as this realm she walked in, so old that it was forgotten, until now. She sensed the creatures of the forest beginning to stir, their instincts telling them that danger was afoot. She sent out delicate thoughts, trying to find the source of this danger so that she might somehow steer her charge away from it.
In a patch of blackness, hidden beneath the land, a type of nether-world dwelling place existed where only shadows reigned. The Lady shivered as she carefully probed this blackness. There! She could "see" something there, slowly rising from its eternal hibernation, brought out of it by her presence. But how could it have sensed her? She was little more than a wraith in this land. Her power was not strong enough to wake something such as this!
Nevertheless, the Something was now fully awake, and it was hungry. It sent out feelers of energy from its blackness that passed into the Underground, and the birds sent up a loud cry of alarm and took flight, startling Sarah. The woman stopped dead in her tracks, looking around fearfully as the birds abandoned their nests. She knew danger was close, though she didn�t know what it was, or where.
The Something was beginning to rise. The Lady tried to capture it in a web of magic, but her power was nothing to this creature, and it shrugged it off as though it were nothing. It resembled a black wolf. A very grotesque, twisted version of a black wolf. Its jaws gaped, and its paws were twisted into thick claws that were nevertheless deadly. It was lean and gaunt, and appeared to be made out of shadows and the night more than anything else. But that didn�t keep it from being dangerous.
It had sensed Sarah, and its yellow eyes fixed on the girl. She had not yet seen it; probably never would until it was too late. It hid within the shadows themselves, deep in the darkness with even its glowing, empty eyes dimmed to nothing. It was following the girl, like a cat following a cornered mouse when it knows it has all the time in the world to kill it. The Lady knew that she was going to need to find help. She couldn�t take on that shadow creature by herself and expect to do any good.
Sarah continued to walk, knowing something was wrong, but not knowing that the wrongness paced right beside her within the shadows, waiting its chance to attack. The Lady knew that time was running out. She had to do something before it gathered enough strength to hurt Sarah, so she took herself to the castle in the blink of an eye in search of Jareth.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Jareth watched as Sarah felt her way along the forest paths, looking as lost and confused as she ever had been. He almost felt sorry for her. This wasn�t supposed to have happened, and yet it had, and he couldn�t say he was sorry to have the girl back in his Labyrinth again. But�she was so bloody stubborn! Everything she did was in defiance of him, including wishing Wreath away into the Labyrinth, just because he�d told her she wasn�t welcome!
He sighed and banished the crystal, choosing to turn his attention to the odd boy playing quietly in the fire pit at his feet. An unusual child, in more ways than one, he thought. Not just in the outer appearance, although that was unusual enough. But his mind was very perceptive to probes and psychic suggestions. This intrigued Jareth. Did this mean, then, that the child was also susceptible to magic, as well? If that were so, he would make Jareth a fine heir, even more than the boy Toby would have. "I�ll have to think on that some more," he murmured to himself with a nod. This was most certainly worth pursuing, if it meant that he would be able to finally hand over the reigns of his kingdom to somebody wise enough to handle them, and if the boy were as much like his father as he seemed, he most certainly would be.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Jacob hummed to himself as he picked up the makeshift game he�d been playing. The goblins had grown bored with the game, since it was too hard for them to play. Jacob couldn�t understand how something that simple could so completely confuse the odd creatures, but it had. But now what to do? He looked around and saw some of the goblins covering each other with mud. He eyed them with interest. Now that looked like a fun game! It was the kind of game his father and Wreath wouldn�t like, but that made it all the more fun. He started to creep closer to the filthy group, in hopes that one of them might "accidentally" splatter him. Then he would have an excuse to get dirty the rest of the way.
Just then, a faint glow caught his attention. It seemed to be coming from a lady standing in the corner of the big room. She was a pretty lady, he thought. She was dressed in a long, white gown that floated like it was being brushed by the wind, only there wasn�t any. Her hair was long and golden, and her eyes were soft. Her skin was pale, and she glowed all over with golden-white light. She seemed worried as she surveyed the room. Awed, Jacob crept toward her and stood watching her, until she seemed to realize the child�s attention was fixed on her, and she looked at him, clearly startled.
"Who are you?" he asked curiously.
She really was startled now. But she quickly hid it. "You can see me?" she asked softly.
"You�re standing right there," he pointed out, looking at her as if that should have been the most obvious thing in the world.
"I suppose I am," she replied with an amused smile. Then her expression turned serious. "I need you to do something for me," she added softly. "It�s very important, and somebody�s life depends on your help."
"Whose?" he asked. "My daddy�s?"
She smiled softly. "No, you�re daddy is fine. Sarah is in danger, though. There is a�a creature that follows her. A creature of shadows and blackness. I know not what it is, and I can�t stop it without help. I need you to tell the Goblin King that he must go to Sarah right away. Can you do this for me?"
His eyes wide, Jacob nodded and scurried to the throne. The Lady watched him go with a wistful smile, then sighed and faded away. She could have told Jareth herself, but she didn�t know how he might react to her presence. Best she remain hidden as well as possible until Fate had finished its work. This was much better this way, she told herself. She was surprised when the boy had seen her. His gifts were far greater than she�d assumed, and she couldn�t help but feel the slightest bit of pride in Jacob. But of course, it was only natural, she thought. He was Vincent�s son, after all.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Jareth felt someone tugging at his knee as he lounged in his throne, deep in thought. Annoyed, he looked down, prepared to send a goblin flying across the room. However, it was no goblin cowering there, but Jacob, who gazed up at him with earnestness written all across his face. "What is it, child?" he asked with some surprise.
"I got to tell you. The Golden Lady told me that I got to tell you that Sarah�s bein� chased by a creature that she never saw before. The Lady, I mean," he said seriously.
"Child, whatever are you talking about?" Amused rather than concerned, Jareth straightened on his throne and regarded the boy with tilted head. "What �Golden Lady� are you talking about?"
"She�s right over there," Jacob replied, wounded by the Goblin King�s lack of concern. He looked around, but the Lady had vanished. He frowned. "Well, she was there. I think maybe she went to help Sarah. She said the monster was made out of shadows an� blackness, an� I think she went to get it before it ate Sarah up." His forehead wrinkled with worry. "She said she can�t hurt it by herself. She needed you to help her."
Jareth frowned, his concern growing. The child certainly appeared to believe what he was saying, although Jareth had seen no such Lady in his castle. But still�He concentrated, and sure enough, he felt faint, psychic vibrations in the air, fading quickly. They seemed familiar, as though he�d felt them before. And he had, he recalled suddenly. Not so long ago, there had been a presence in his kingdom that was unfamiliar in the way of his kind. It was the same as he felt now. If there was a "Golden Lady," he was very much curious to know what she was doing there, and where she had come from, and why she had come into his realm in the first place. He got the distinct feeling that she was somehow involved in this currant fiasco. Unfortunately, she had conveniently vanished.
He summoned yet another crystal and concentrated, seeking out a creature of "shadows and blackness." His heart slammed in his throat when the crystal brightened, showing clearly a grotesque, wolf-like monster that was, indeed, tailing Sarah, and just about ready to attack, by the looks of it. She was completely unaware of its presence, and once the thing sprang, she�d stand little chance.
"The WolfBane!" he hissed, springing to his feet. How had it awakened? It had been in deep slumber since he himself was little more than a boy, and that was eons ago! Why had it awakened now? "The Lady," he murmured. "She�s awakened it, with her presence. Now its after Sarah."
He gestured to Wreath, who was standing out the window. "Watch the child. I have matters to attend," he commanded, and without another word turned himself into the white owl and took off into the Labyrinth, leaving a bewildered Wreath to stare after him.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Sarah continued to pick her way through the forest, determination and fear warring with each other to take the lead in her heart. "I�m not gonna let him beat me! I won�t quit! I can�t! Too many people are at stake now!" She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Wish I knew what time it is," she muttered. She didn�t remember the forest being so dark before, although she thought she might recognize the area as being the one she�d been in before, right when she met the Fierys. She shivered again and hurried along, not relishing a second meeting with them.
Suddenly, a coldness washed over her that had nothing whatever to do with the damp air. She paused, gasping slightly for breath. What was it? She glanced fearfully around. Something was there. She knew it was, but she couldn�t see anything. It had been following her now for awhile, not attacking, only watching. A malicious, evil stare that seemed to bore right through her. She fought off the urge to bolt, instead looking around for anything she could use as a weapon, although she had the feeling that nothing she found would be adequate. If whatever was following her decided to attack, she was pretty much toast.
This was worse than the thugs who�d attacked her back home, she thought. Those, at least, she could see, and she could at least anticipate their moves and try to defend herself. But this�she had no idea how to handle this, and she hated that feeling. The feeling of being completely helpless. She wanted company more than ever. Somebody to help her be brave. She tried to think of Vincent�s gentle, noble face, but Jareth�s appeared in her mind, instead. That cold, beautiful face with those cold, beautiful eyes.
She found herself wishing he was with her right now.
The coldness washed over her again, leaving her once again gasping for breath. Suddenly, she felt eyes boring into her back. She froze. It was there, behind her, and whatever it was, it was about to attack. She gritted her teeth and whirled about. If she was going to face her death, she was going to face it like a fighter, not like a whimpering coward! The eyes were there, set right in the middle of the shadows, as though the shadows were a part of the creature itself.
"Come on," she muttered, defiantly meeting its burning gaze. "If you want me, come and get me! But I�m not going without a fight!"
It seemed to laugh at her, albeit silently. Then it stepped out of the concealing shadows, and Sarah�s hard-won courage immediately turned tail and fled. She was hard pressed to keep from following it. The creature was�was�she didn�t know how to describe it! It was the most terrifyingly ghastly creature she�d ever seen in her life, or could even imagine! It was worse than any nightmare, or perhaps all of the nightmares in the universe put together! It shifted and flowed like liquid night, the only color in its yellow gaze. Even its gaping jaws were black.
She tried to scream, but the sound seemed to have fled. She shook violently, wanting to run, but it had locked gazes with her and held her powerless in its will. It grinned, revealing more razor teeth, and stepped forward, savoring its coming victory. You are mine, she heard it hiss, like vile steam, in her mind, and she shuddered, unable to do anything but stand there.
"Help me," she whispered to whatever soul might be listening.
It attacked.
She finally found the will to scream, and scream she did, letting the sound rip out of her, her final act of defiance against the creature as it descended on her with teeth and claws extended. She closed her eyes, prepared to feel daggers of poison sink into her flesh in another moment.
She felt something hit her from behind. Something hard, but not at all sharp, and in the next instant she was flying through the air and landing with a bone-jarring crash on the forest floor. The breath knocked out of her, she lay there with stars dancing in her eyes before finally rising to her knees. The monster! Where was it?! She looked fearfully around, expecting it to attack again at any moment.
She did not expect to see Jareth there. He was standing before her, cloak flying back and his face almost blazing with defiance as he wielded a long, black blade that sparked with wicked green light. He faced the creature, who hissed and lunged at him. He repelled it with a wide slice of the sword, and the nightmare fell back, screeching with pain.
Sarah could not take her eyes off Jareth. Never had he looked more beautiful to her than at that moment, and he was defending her to this creature! Why?
Never mind, why! a part of her shouted. He�s there, and you�re still alive! Be grateful!
"Sarah, are you all right?" Jareth asked, his voice filled with concern, although he never took his eyes off the creature.
"I-I�m fine," she stammered, her voice shaking slightly. "Wh�what is that thing? What�s it doing here?"
"It�s called the WolfBane, and until now it was sleeping beneath the land. I�m not certain how or why it woke up, except that there has been a strange presence in my kingdom. I believe that is the reason its decided to wake up prematurely," he explained. "Leave while you can! I�ll hold it off for you. It cannot leave the forest. It needs the shadows to survive. Escape the forest while you can."
"You want me to leave you with that thing alone?" Sarah asked incredulously. "I can�t do that! What if it hurts you?"
"I highly doubt this thing is much of a match for me," he sniffed. "Leave! I�ll handle this myself!"
"But�"
"For the Underground�s sake, Sarah, will you go?! I won�t be able to hold this thing off forever! Why must you defy my every order? I am doing this for you!" His words echoed the words he�d spoken to her eight years ago.
Everything I�ve done, I�ve done for you�
She stared at him a moment longer, than turned and fled into the forest. As soon as she was out of sight, Jareth turned his full attention to the abomination before him and brandished the sword. "I don�t know why you�ve come, but you�re going back to where you belong," he told it.
It laughed and lunged forward suddenly, dodging under Jareth�s quick strike, and ripped at him with its claws. The Goblin King gave a cry of pain and jumped back, bleeding from three long gashes in his side. You must catch me first, the WolfBane hissed, eyes darkening with hate.
Jareth held his side, gasping for breath on one knee, and brandished the sword. "You will not be so lucky again," he retorted. "I have the power to send you back to where you came from, and send you back I will!" He lunged forward and swept the sword downward, but the WolfBane stepped out of the way, and with another slash of its claws, the sword flew through the air and landed, point down, in the earth some feet away.
Pitiful, it mocked with an evil laugh. Such a pity�now you will be the first to die. Then your little friend, when I catch her�
"Noooo!" came a scream from the forest, and both the WolfBane and the Goblin King turned startled eyes to Sarah as she came barreling out of the forest. She snatched up the sword, wielding it as well as any soldier, and threw herself at the WolfBane. It didn�t even try to dodge, silently laughing at this pitiful mortal�s attempt to attack it. It would kill her, then finish off Jareth.
Sarah appeared to stumble, suddenly, landing on her knees with a painful cry. "Sarah!" Jareth cried in fear, starting toward her, but the WolfBane, seeing its chance, flew past the king with fluid ease, claws extended for a killing blow. Its form seemed to expand, until it hid Sarah from the Goblin King�s view, and with a shriek threw itself at the girl�
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Sarah didn�t know why she had stopped her panicked flight into the forest. It was as if somebody had grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to come to a stumbling halt, gasping for breath. She�d heard a voice, not her own, whisper clearly in her ear, "You would abandon him to the same fate that you would have faced?"
That had been enough to bring her back to her senses, and her blind fear vanished. She felt a new feeling replace it. Shame. "I abandoned him," she whispered. "He saved me, and I just left him!"
True, he had ordered her away, but when had she ever listened to him before? It had been her fear that had acted, not her mind. Her face turned grim as she tossed back her tangled curls. "I�m going back for him, and to the Bog with what he wants!" she huffed, and began to retrace her steps. Luckily, she hadn�t run off very far, or she�d probably never have found him again.
She heard Jareth�s cry of pain, and her heart slammed in her chest in response. Jareth? In pain? She�d quickened her pace and all too soon reached a scene of frightening intensity. There, Jareth knelt before the WolfBane, his arm clutching his side, and she could see a bright red stain spreading across his pristine white shirt. Her hands flew to her mouth in horror, and her mind reeled with the shock of seeing the powerful Goblin King injured�in pain�vulnerable�It was too much to believe!
But seeing him there, facing his death with that same defiant manner she had come to know so well�it did something to her. The animosity she harbored against Jareth fell away, and in its place rose a fierce protectiveness that she hadn�t known she possessed. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she studied the scene before her. That nightmare kill her Jareth? Not if she had anything to say about it!
Just then, she saw him lunge at the WolfBane, and then the sword was flying through the air to land only a foot away. She heard the creature�s mocking words to the Goblin King, saw it poise to strike a final blow, and she suddenly lost it. She thought she screamed. She wasn�t sure. All she knew was that she could not�could not�let that creature reach Jareth!
She tore out of the forest, snatching up the blade and heading for the creature. It saw her coming, of course. She hadn�t expected otherwise. She was determined to meet it head-on. But she stripped, suddenly, her newly-healed ankle giving out on her, and she allowed herself to fall to her knees, using the sword to brace herself.
She saw Jareth start to his feet, crying out in alarm, but the WolfBane was quicker. It flowed past Jareth, springing toward her, seeming to grow twice its normal size. She watched it coming grimly, her determination having tripled when Jareth had cried out her name. She knew she would sooner die than let this nightmare close to him again.
A part of her marveled at this sudden change of heart. Where had it come from�and what did it mean? But there was no time to ponder it now, for the WolfBane was there, shrieking like a Bane-Sidhe as it threw itself on her. She let it come, bringing up the black sword at the last possible moment, and the creature�s momentum was enough so that it couldn�t keep itself from being impaled right in the gut, the sword digging in to the hilt.
Its death cry was like the wailing of a hundred tortured souls, and Sarah released the sword and collapsed in pain, her hands coming up to cover her ears. She curled up on the ground and waited for the wails to stop, whimpering softly. Suddenly, strong arms were around her, pulling her against a solid chest, and she realized dimly that it was Jareth. He pulled her away from the convulsing WolfBane and shielded her body with his own, and she let him, curled up with her face buried against his chest and her arms wrapped around his waist, his face buried in her hair, and together they waited for the keening to cease. It did, finally, and Sarah slowly raised her head, looking at the dead husk of the nightmare that was fast shriveling and blowing into dust. The sword remained, wicked light still sparking. She shivered slightly, and Jareth�s arms tightened in response.
That brought her to her senses quickly, remembering who exactly it was she was clinging to so tightly, not to mention that he was hurt, and she probably wasn�t exactly helping him get better by squeezing the life out of him. She very quickly released him and sat up, checking his side anxiously to be sure she hadn�t caused more damage.
"I�m fine," he told her, chuckling softly. "I�ve already healed myself. You see?" He removed the ruins of his shirt and showed her his pale side, where there was no trace of a wound. But Sarah was rather distracted at seeing the Goblin King without a shirt on to really take notice�
She drew in a long breath and looked away, trying to pass off the warmth in her cheeks as an aftereffect of the battle. She could tell Jareth wasn�t fooled, judging by the slightly amused smile that crossed his face. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" he asked.
She glared at him and refused to answer. He laughed again and, in an instant, was clothed in a new shirt and waistcoat. "Better?" he asked with a wicked smile. He rose to his feet, and she followed automatically. Her own shirt felt wet, and she nearly went into asphyxiation when she looked down and saw that it was soaked with blood.
"It�s mine," he reassured her, seeing her face turn pale. "Don�t worry. You�ve managed to come through relatively unscathed." He reached out to finger her sleeve. "Perhaps you�d like a new shirt?"
She eyed him suspiciously. "This is a first. You�re actually being nice to me," she muttered.
He grinned devilishly. "You quite possibly saved my life," he replied. "Should that not warrant some respect on my part?"
"I suppose�"
"Just why did you defy my order and save my life, anyway?" he asked, a hint of wicked mirth dancing in his eyes. To his delight, her cheeks reddened.
"I�er�it wouldn�t have been very appreciative of me to let you take what was meant for me," she mumbled, refusing to look at him. "Fair�s fair, you know."
"Really!" He laughed yet again, amusement plainly showing in that smile and in those beautiful eyes. "How odd. Before, as I recall, you were always saying how unfair everything was! What changed your mind?"
Her hands knotted into fists at her sides, and she glared at him through sparking hazel eyes. "Go ahead and have your fun!" she snapped. "We�re in the middle of a game, as I recall, and you�re keeping me from it! I�ll see you at the castle!" She turned to march away, but he couldn�t refuse the last word.
"Yes, but will it be before or after time has run out?" he asked impishly, and faded away before she could react. She glared at the empty spot he had stood in, then huffed and flung her hair over her shoulders before marching into the forest, trying to ignore the fact that she was now wearing a clean shirt.
Men!
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
The Lady laughed softly to herself as she witnessed the two lovers� exchange. Well, lovers they would be, if she had her way about it! She sighed and shook her head as Jareth vanished. "Why could he have not taken her with him?" she murmured. "It would have made the game much easier. They both know how they feel! Why will they not admit it?"
But she had seen the battle, and how Sarah had so valiantly defended her Jareth from the WolfBane. The Lady chuckled. Did Sarah even realize how much her possessiveness of the Goblin King was becoming evident? The Lady had heard the woman�s thoughts, although reading such thoughts was not something she was skilled at. Only the strongest of emotions was she able to pick up, and Sarah�s were very strong, indeed.
"Very soon, now," she assured herself. "But time is fast running out. I know not how Vincent fares, but it is not yet time for his test. For now, I must continue to guide Sarah, so that she may reach the castle in time. Perhaps Wreath, wise soul that she is, will be able to help her see her destiny more than I."
With that in mind, she moved to follow Sarah, using the limited power she had in this strange world to coax the enchanted twists and turns of the Labyrinth into a clear path. By this, Sarah was far better able to reach the castle, with plenty of time to spare.
The Lady sensed that the Goblin King knew what she was about, and yet, surprisingly, did little to resist. Perhaps he was too distracted, but she felt it was more that he just didn�t care, and this pleased her. Maybe there was hope for him, after all�
The task soon completed, the Lady nodded in satisfaction. She had done all she could to help Fate guide Sarah and Jareth together. Now it was up to they themselves to complete the task. She had another matter to attend. A very important one, at that. With a soft sigh, she brought herself into another part of the forest, where a cat-like man was facing some problems of his own�
Chapter Eight
Vincent froze in his tracks as a faint sound reached his ears. After his brush with the oubliette, he had managed to reach the Fiery Forest with relatively little mishap. He had called out for Sarah, but quickly gave it up as a hopeless task, considering he had no idea how large the forest really was, or how far he had been misplaced from his companion. Not only that, it had taken him close to an hour to get to where he was, and she could have been at the castle already, for all he knew.
The noise came again, closer. A yell and crash, and all of a sudden he was surrounded by five large, flame-red�creatures�with lean bodies and wild eyes. They circled him, leaping and dancing, and whooping loud enough to wake the dead.
"Hey! We�re wild!" one of them screeched. "Who�re you? You ain�t no human, man!"
Vincent drew back, offended. "Of course I am," he replied. "Just because I look different makes me no less human for that!"
They laughed at him. "You wild, man? Take off yer head an� shimmy down!" And with that, the largest one pulled his head off and threw it into the air as the others all laughed and yelled. Another one pulled of a leg and hit the first one�s head like a baseball, and they all yelled some more.
Vincent watched all this with horrified fascination. What manner of creatures are these? he wondered. Then a memory surfaced. Fierys. They were the Fierys Sarah had warned him of.
"Hey, man! Take off yer head and get down wit� us!" one of them screeched at him, and leaped onto Vincent�s back with a sudden movement, skinny hands grabbing his head and attempting to twist it.
"Stop it!" Vincent growled, reaching around and throwing the creature from his back. It squealed as it flew through the air and landed in a tree a few feet away.
"Hey! Why you do dat?" another one accused. "You broke da rulez! You can�t do dat!"
"C�mon! Get �im! Take off �is head!" yet another cried, and they began to advance on him.
Vincent drew himself up and prepared for defense. He didn�t want to hurt them, but he wasn�t about to let anybody remove any part of his body. "That will be quite enough!" he snarled, showing all his teeth. "I do not have time for your games!" He drew in a deep breath and let it out in a feral roar that immediately sent the Fierys shrieking away into the forest. He watched them go with a grim smile. Apparently, courage wasn�t one of their strong points.
With that problem taken care of, Vincent once again started jogging along the path at a steady pace, his breathing deep and unlabored. Twice, the ground shifted under his feet, and he sprang away in the nick of time to keep from falling down the long shaft to the oubliettes that waited below. The wall of the Labyrinth eventually came into view again, rising high above his head, and he paused to search for a way through it. It looked like the only way past was to climb it, and so climb he did, his claws working well to hold a solid grip between the stones. In no time at all he reached the top, and before him stretched a long maze of stone and mortar, with the gleaming castle of the Goblin King rising high above it all.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Sarah made her way cautiously through the hedge maze, still hardly believing her luck. She did not remember the Labyrinth being this easy to solve the last time! Which made her twice as leery this time around, every nerve in her body just knowing that something was about to happen, even though nothing did. She found herself almost running, hoping to reach the castle before her luck ended.
All too soon, she found herself at the boarder of the junkyard, and she stopped, trying to catch her breath. Several huge piles of junk shifted slowly as the owners of them toiled under their burdens, adding more to them all the time. Sarah picked her way through them, recognizing one of them as the same Junk Lady whom she�d met before. She shivered and hurried past, feeling the dead eyes of the goblin burning into her. The junk people terrified her. She had nearly become one of them, still remembering the feel�that terrible weight�as the Junk Lady loaded more and more onto Sarah�s back�If it hadn�t been for Sarah finding that book and remembering�
"Don�t think about it," she muttered, sprinting the final stretch of junk-covered land to the main gates of the Goblin City. There was no resistance. In fact, there was no guard to resist, so she simply pushed open the gates and squeezed through. The inner gates stood open, but immediately began to close. There was no giant robot in the doors, however, and she darted through them before they fully closed.
The city was deserted, but for the numerous chickens and scrawny cats. Just like last time. She hesitated, her heart pounding in her throat as she strained to hear some sign of the vanished goblins. There was nothing. "Okay," she muttered, her expression turning grim. "This is it. I might as well go for it now, and get it over with!"
With that thought in mind, Sarah drew in her breath and took off in a sprint toward the castle, expecting an army to leap out at her at any moment. She wished she had a stick or a rock, although neither of them would probably be effective against guns and cannons. She ran until she could hardly breathe, and soon the castle was before her, its empty courtyard stretched out as though waiting.
She slowed to a halt when she reached it, breathing hard. It was around this area when Jareth�s army had attacked last time, driving Sarah and her friends back into the city. But nothing happened this time, and she was beginning to feel confused. Did Jareth want her to lose or not?
What if time ran out? she suddenly thought, feeling panic rise up. Maybe that�s why he hasn�t come after me�because it�s already too late! No, that couldn�t be it! It hadn�t been more than seven hours, if even that. At least, that�s how it felt to her�but time did play funny tricks on the mind in the Underground�
She hesitated no longer, sprinting up the steps and shoving the doors with all her might. They opened with a heavy groan, just enough to allow her to slip through, and she pounded up the stairway which, if she recalled correctly, led to Jareth�s throne room.
She had expected to find it empty. Which was why she nearly yelled when she raced into it and nearly tripped over a goblin sleeping in the middle of the floor. From his place at the fire pit, a very dirty Jacob looked up, and his eyes lit with joy at the sight of her. "Sarah!" he cried, leaping up and throwing himself into her arms. "You came! Now you can play games with me!"
"Sarah?" came another voice, and Wreath appeared from another stairwell. "Oh, thank heavens!" she gasped, running and throwing her arms around her friend. "I didn�t think you�d make it here in time!"
"What? And let everyone get turned into goblins? What kind of friend would I be?" she teased. Then she turned serious. "Where�s Jareth? I would�ve expected him to be here to confront me. Or is he waiting in the Escher Room again?"
"He�s out there," Wreath replied. "Turned into that owl and took off. Probably to check up on Vincent."
"Vincent!" Sarah gasped. "I half forgot about him! We were separated. Do you know if he�s okay?"
"Aye. He�s fine. I�ve been watching you both through Jareth�s crystal. Quite an entertaining sight." Wreath chuckled as she gestured for Sarah to join her at the window. Jacob went back to playing with the goblins, as they were far more interesting than a couple of girls.
"So how are you?" Sarah asked in concern. "Did Jareth hurt you at all?"
Wreath let out a peal of laughter. "Hurt me!" she giggled. "Girl, he�s been on his feet all day, what with running back and forth between the two of you out there. Of course, he�s been checking in on you far more than he has been Vincent�" She trailed off with a sly grin. Sarah coughed uncomfortably and didn�t reply.
Wreath frowned at her friend�s refusal to take a hint. She decided bluntness was probably her best bet in this matter and, luckily, she was very good at being blunt. "I saw you both fighting off that WolfBane creature," she stated. "That was quite the bravest sight I�d ever seen in me life. You had the chance to escape, and yet you went back to save him. Why is that?"
Sarah blushed. "Like I told him, it wouldn�t have been very appreciative of me to just leave him there. I had to save him. It was only right," she muttered.
Wreath snorted. "Please, girl! This is me you�re talkin� to! I saw the entire fiasco, and you didn�t see the look on Jareth�s face when he blinked out of here like his tail was on fire! He was terrified for you, girl. Terrified." She paused and shook her head. "Not only that, but I saw the look on your face when you defended your Goblin King after he defended you. That was not the act of a woman paying off her debt toward an acquaintance. That was the act of a woman defending the love of her life! It�s the exact same thing I myself would do for my Vincent. Defend him to the death," she replied sternly. "You may have fooled yourself into believing it wasn�t anything but compensation for his help, and maybe you even fooled him, but you can�t fool me, Sarah Williams. I know better! You�re in love with that Goblin King, or I�m a goblin!"
"Really? You don�t look much like one," she retorted weakly.
Wreath sniffed. "You�re a coward," she stated. "You�re afraid of what may happen should you actually tell Jareth how you feel. But he loves you! He�s always loved you, only you�re too stupid to see it! But I tell you, if Vincent looked at me with half the love Jareth shows whenever he looks to you, I�d die the happiest woman in the world!"
Sarah bristled, leaping to her feet and standing with her fists clenched at her sides. "And who are you to be calling me a coward?" she snapped. "You�re just as cowardly as I am! You never told Vincent how you feel about him!"
Wreath winced. "That�s because I know he doesn�t love me," she replied calmly.
"How do you know that? You never asked! Maybe he does love you, only he isn�t telling you because he thinks you don�t love him! You�ll never find out for sure if you don�t tell him."
Wreath regarded her steadily. "You�re probably right," she replied after a moment. "I never will know. But I�ll make a deal with you. If I take your advice and tell Vincent that I�m in love with him, will you finally go to Jareth and offer him your heart? He may be an overbearing egotist, but I bet you�ll be making him happier than you�ve ever seen him, and all those dreams you�ve told me of will come to an end. I think your happiness is down here, in the Underground. Don�t you see? It�s Fate! If you hadn�t tossed out that book, it never would have come to Vincent, and if he hadn�t found you, you never would have been there when the Goblin King came, and you wouldn�t be here now."
Sarah froze, her face draining of color. "But�but I don�t love him," she replied in an unsteady voice.
Wreath grinned and picked up a small frame laying on the sill. Sarah accepted it and looked at the other girl curiously. "Look at this," Wreath told her with a hint of a smile playing on her lips, "and keep telling yourself those words. Maybe, in time, you may actually start to believe them!" With a wicked smile, she stood and sauntered over to the other side of the room to check on Jacob.
Sarah watched her go, her head spinning in shock. Then, almost against her will, she turned the frame over so that it lay face-up in her lap, and there was Jareth�s face, staring grimly out of the painted canvas that the frame surrounded, his eyes boring into Sarah�s own, as though demanding her to listen to Wreath�s words. She stared at the beautiful portrait for a long, silent moment. Then, with a force of will, slammed the picture face-down on the windowsill so hard that she heard the frame crack. She sat there, staring into nothing, as she thought about the past�and the future.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
The Lady listened with half an ear as Wreath spoke to Sarah, smiling to herself. She had known Wreath would know what to say, and she could see that Sarah was being swayed by her forceful words. Now, if only Wreath would take her own advice�
"All in due time," she whispered to herself. "For now, it is nearly time for Vincent to come to terms with his life, and I must help him do so." She banished the glowing light through which she�d watched the two women and turned back to Vincent as he rested briefly with his back against the wall. He did not know as of yet, but the gates of the city were just on the other side, past the junk yard.
"Rest yourself, brave Vincent," she whispered, "for soon you will be facing a challenge that is far greater than any this Labyrinth could provide you with. Hopefully, through it you will come to see the path of your future."
Vincent raised his head suddenly and looked about, his blue eyes searching, as though he�d heard her speak. With a sigh and a slight shake of his mane, he rose gracefully to his feet and started off again�in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go.
She frowned. "Wait!" she called, forcefully, and he paused and yet again looked about, his brow creased in perplexity. "Not that way," she whispered in his ear. "Go the other path. You must, if you are to arrive. Trust me. I will guide you�" She drifted ahead of him, still speaking softly, and he began to follow her, his blue eyes still searching. She led him down the path toward the castle, confident in her ability to lead him through safely.
Suddenly, Jareth appeared before her, and from the look in his eyes, the Lady knew that he could see her. She paused, startled, wary. He glared at her, and behind her Vincent growled softly and took a defensive stance. "What do you want, Goblin King?" he snarled. "Get out of my way!"
Jareth smirked, but he ignored the man, focusing his attention on the Lady, instead. "Cheaters are not tolerated in my kingdom," he told her softly, dangerously. "There are rules to be followed, and I have the power to banish those who break them, should I so choose. I am grateful for your warning of the WolfBane, but I will not allow you to help this man through the Labyrinth."
Vincent stared at the Goblin King, perplexed, but he seemed to realize that it was not he to whom Jareth was speaking. He waited silently as his rival continued to speak, apparently forgetting all about him�
The Lady drew herself up. "There is more to this than even you realize, King of Goblins," she told him sternly. "Allow us to pass, or I will be the one to call upon the power I possess to banish you!"
He laughed. "And how, pray tell, do you intend to do that?" he sneered. "The powers of your realm are not what they should be in this one. You are no match for me should I choose to call upon my magic!"
The Lady smiled a small, secret smile. "No, my power alone is not enough to banish you from my sight," she replied with a touch of amusement. "However, when I have the powers of Fate and Destiny to guide me, they are more than a match for any who choose to interfere, and you are doing so at the moment. Time is running out�for all of you. Be gone from my sight, and let us complete our task in peace."
She gestured, feeling a new strength that was not her own flow through her, and Jareth�s face registered shock for a moment before he suddenly disappeared into thin air, as suddenly as he had appeared. She nodded silently, and turned to face Vincent, who was staring at the area Jareth had occupied with a stunned expression. She smiled. "Come, dear one," she told him. "Time flies, and you still have much to accomplish. Continue on."
Vincent shook his head, then sighed and began to jog along the path at a fast pace, and the Lady guided him with silent hints and subtle suggestions. She stayed with him until they reached the junkyard, and there rose the gates, once again closed. "Now, you must do it on your own, for I have other matters to attend. But I will return at the proper time," she told him, and vanished. He paused, sensing that the strange presence at his side was now gone. Then, with a determined air, he sprinted toward the gates, ignoring the calls of the strange people who drifted between the piles of garbage, all bearing heavy burdens of their own. He felt victorious. He was almost there, and time had not yet run out. He could only hope that Sarah, wherever she was, had been just as successful in her own journey.
Chapter Nine
Sarah was, at that moment, in the Escher Room. As was Wreath and Jacob�and Jareth. A very furious Jareth. Sarah had no idea how they�d all gotten here. One moment she�d been sitting at the window, drinking in the dark beauty of the Labyrinth in the setting sun, and in the next they had all ended up here!
And, judging by the stormy and slightly stunned expression on the Goblin King�s face, she got the feeling that he hadn�t had anything to do with it�
"What in blazes is going on?" Wreath cried. "Where are we?!"
"This is the Escher Room," Sarah replied darkly. "This is where Jareth and I confronted each other."
"This room�s enough to make a girl go mad!" Wreath protested. "Jareth, why are we all here?"
"How the bloody hell should I know?" he snapped. "This wasn�t my idea! That�that woman sent us all here, and I can�t seem to get out again!"
"What woman?" Wreath asked in surprise.
"The Golden Lady who�d warned Jacob of the WolfBane. She�s not of this world. She�s of the next realm, beyond both our worlds. I don�t know what she�s doing here, but she�s been interfering the whole time! I finally confronted her as she was leading Vincent to the castle, and she spouted off some nonsense about guiding Fate and Destiny to the end of this journey." He missed the startled looks Wreath and Sarah shot each other at those words, nearly echoing Wreath�s words earlier. It was too much of a coincidence to be only that, and Wreath�s knowing look told Sarah so. She frowned and looked away, still not certain as what she was going to do.
Jareth began to pace, hands clenched behind his back and booted feet clicking on the floor. He paced up a wall and down a ceiling and through a stairway and over a door�
"Jareth! For the love of the Saints will you quit doing that?!" Wreath finally snapped. "You�re making my head spin what with that pacing!"
He paused and shot her a wolfish grin. "Sorry," he replied, not sounding in the least bit repentant. He sighed and sat down on a ledge. "This is absurd!" he grumbled. "This is my kingdom, and yet I�ve been�upstarted by that pale ghost of a woman who thinks it�s her job to mess with Fate! What does she think she�s doing, anyway?!"
"So now you know what it feels like," Sarah said coldly from behind him. He turned to face her, clearly offended.
"I beg your pardon," he huffed. "Just what are you talking about?"
She bit her lip, then cautiously took a seat on the same ledge that he was resting on, not too close, however. Wreath grinned slyly and took Jacob�s hand, coaxing him away to do a little exploring. "His Majesty�s about to get his tail burned, and we don�t want to be too close to the flames," she explained to the child in a teasing voice as she led him through a doorway. Sarah glared at her friend briefly before turning her back on her and staring out into the abyss of the room.
"What, exactly were you trying to say?" Jareth questioned again, his voice commanding.
She shot him an irritated glance. "There, you see? That�s what I mean! You always go out of your way to intimidate people, and to make them feel helpless in your presence. You�ve certainly tried your best to do that with me," she complained. "And now, when the tables are turned and you�re the one who�s being bullied into submission by a strange woman, you can�t take a single drop of your own medicine! You�re the biggest hypocrite I�ve ever met in my life!"
Now Jareth was offended. "How dare you speak to me in such a manner!" he snapped. "I am the Goblin King, and I demand that you show me the respect�"
"Or you�ll do what?" Sarah snapped. "Throw a temper tantrum? Kick your feet? What? Go ahead and act like a six year old for all I care! But don�t you go trying to bully me into submission, because it isn�t going to work anymore! I�ve feared you for the past eight years, wondering what you might be planning, what sort of revenge you might have in store for me. But now that I�m here, I�m not afraid of you anymore! You can scream and yell and threaten until you�re blue in the face, but I know now that without me�without anyone�you�re nothing. Nothing but a dream, a fairy tale that can be forgotten as soon as the book�s closed."
She stood and stared down at him. "I pity you, Jareth," she finished softly. "What kind of life have you led that has made you into who you are today? What friends do you have? Do you have any? You only have your goblins. It isn�t any wonder, really, that you are the way you are. You don�t know how to be anything else."
He stared up at her, his face expressionless, and yet she could see that her words had cut him deeply, for those mismatched eyes of his were stricken, and all the emotions he refused to let slip behind that stolid mask swirled madly in them. For just the barest of a moment, a look of pure, intense pain crossed over his beautiful face, pain and longing so deep that Sarah felt her throat tighten with sadness for him. But then he drew himself up haughtily, and the mask was fully in place once again. "I need no one," he bit out, his voice seething with anger.
She shook her head. "That�s a lie," she replied quietly. "Everyone needs someone. Even you." Then, gathering all her courage, she hesitantly reached out and, for the first time, she dared to gently touch the Goblin King�s face with a slightly shaking hand. He flinched back as though he�d been burned, staring at her in shock. Never had she touched him before, except eight years ago during the enchanted ball, and the moment when her fear after the battle with the WolfBane had led her to cling to him, but she had been under the influence of enchantment and fear at those times�This was the first time she had knowingly and willingly touched him, her hand resting cool and soft against his lean cheek for the barest of moments, before she withdrew and rose to her feet, leaving him to stare after her in wonder.
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Sarah leaned against a wall and took a deep, steadying breath, trying to still her pounding heart. She could not quite believe that she was still standing there, not after the way she had dared to speak to Jareth! Still, she knew that he�d needed a good taking down for quite some time now, and she guessed she was probably the only one brave enough�or was it stupid enough?�to do it. But she had touched him! She gripped the hand that had rested on his cheek, still remembering the feel of warm, silky skin beneath her own. What had possessed her? she wondered. She certainly hadn�t meant to touch him! But he�d looked so�vulnerable! Just like when he was facing the WolfBane. She�d wanted to comfort him, despite the fact that he was supposed to be the enemy.
"I am so messed up it is not even funny," she muttered.
"I�d say you�re probably the sanest person here," Wreath retorted from behind her. "Besides Jacob and myself, that is." She gave her a cheeky grin and sat down on a step. "So, I saw what happened. What happens now?" she asked.
"What do you mean, �what happens now�?" Sarah retorted. "Vincent comes, we win the game, and we all go home again."
Wreath stared at her incredulously. "Do you mean to tell me that you still haven�t figured anything out yet?" she huffed. "If you leave that man again, it�ll break his heart, not to mention your own! Don�t you see, Fate�s been guiding us, just like I said, and it obviously wants you to be here, with Jareth! You�re his equal, you know. Nobody else would�ve dared to speak to him like that and still be alive! He knows it, and he knows he�s lonely, and you are the one who can end that loneliness, as well as your own!"
"Just leave me alone," Sarah mumbled, sliding down to sit on the floor and rest her forehead against her knees. "It�s too much to work out all at once. I mean, what if I did stay? What about my family? I may not have seen any of them for a few years, but I think they�d be slightly worried about me suddenly vanishing from the face of the earth�literally!"
"Daft!" Wreath exclaimed. "You think Jareth would keep you down here and never speak to them again? He�s powerful enough, he could send you back anytime you wanted, and he could go with you. Nobody need know who he is. As for that so-called life of yours, would you really miss it all that much? You never cared much for it in the first place, if I recall."
Sarah bit her lip. "Well, that�s true, but�"
She was suddenly interrupted by a loud rumble as the ground began to shake under her feet. "What in blazes is that?" she gasped, leaping up and gripping the wall for support.
"Jacob!" Wreath gasped, and sprinted away to find him, though how she would ever find him in this maze of stairways was beyond Sarah. She remembered how hard it was to reach Toby the last time�
She saw the child then, looking around in wide-eyed terror on a ledge below her. "Jacob, don�t move!" she called. "Stay there! I�m coming to get you, okay? Just hang on!" She lowered herself over the edge and dropped onto the one below, where the child stood. She gripped his hand. "Come on, we have to find Jareth and Wreath. Something�s going on," she told him. "Hold tight, okay?"
He nodded and gripped her hand with all his might as she led him through the room, calling for Jareth and Wreath. Another shudder shook the room, and she gasped and crouched close to the floor so she wouldn�t topple off, pulling Jacob down with her. He whimpered, and she soothed him. "Jareth! What are you doing?" she yelled. "Are you trying to get us killed?!"
"I�m doing nothing," he replied suddenly from behind them. "Something is disturbing the balance of the room. It�s not of my doing. Come. Get further back from the ledge. Can�t have anyone falling off." He led them to a relatively secure area and made them sit close to the floor.
"What�s happening?" she demanded.
"I wish I knew," Jareth replied tightly. "She�s causing this. I�m sure of it." He raised a hand to summon a crystal. One began to form slowly in his palm, as though it were struggling to pull itself together. Jareth frowned as a look of concern passed over his face, and concentrated harder, and the crystal formed fully in his hand. The surface glowed, and within it formed an image. He couldn�t stop the gasp that escaped his lips at the scene he witnessed inside. It was his throne room, only his throne room had never looked like this before�
"Wreath!" Sarah suddenly gasped, looking around in horror. "What happened to Wreath? She isn�t here!"
"That�s because she�s here," Jareth replied tightly, and the crystal grew slightly so that Sarah could see it as well. Her gasp of shock echoed throughout the now-silent Escher Room as someone else suddenly appeared in the scene. Jareth gave a startled curse. "It�s her!" he snapped. "That Lady! I knew that she was behind this!"
"That�s no ordinary Lady," Sarah replied in a whisper, her face going pale. "I think�I think that woman is�Catherine!"
~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@
Vincent had made it into the castle with little mishap. Too little, and he was extremely suspicious about what was going to happen next. A strong feeling of danger permeated the air, and his hackles were raised and all senses on red alert. He padded silently through the castle, wondering where all the goblins had gone. He had not seen one of them, but for the Fierys. He was beginning to wonder if there even were any. But no, he could catch glimpses of shadowy figures darting in the shadows, silently watching him, but for the hiss of a laugh every now and again.
He took a stairway that led up, listening for any movement. The only thing he heard was his own deep breathing. It was far, far more eerie than Sarah had ever explained to him�and yet he could not shake her serious warning from his mind.
Nothing is as it seems�
Suddenly, he felt a presence. A very strong presence, and it seemed to fill the castle with its strength. He stopped dead in his tracks, testing the air with his senses. It seemed to be the strongest directly ahead of him, but it was hard to be sure, as the natural magic in this strange land interfered somewhat with his telepathic abilities. But he definitely got the feeling that something was happening ahead of him�He growled softly and took off again, sprinting the stairs at a quick pace.
A wave of intense heat met him as he ascended the last step, and he brought himself to a halt with barely enough time to keep from leaping head-long into a raging inferno that blazed below him. He gasped for breath and stumbled back, shielding his face from the scorching heat, feeling the fur on his hands and face singing from it. He hated fire. The cat in him feared it, and reacted instinctively to the threat of it. His hackles raised and his lips pulled back in a snarl.
"What is this?" he hissed. "A test?"
"A final test," another voice replied. A soft, whispering voice that sounded hauntingly familiar to him. But he could not place it at the moment, the fire distracting him.
"Who are you?" he roared. "Show yourself to me!"
"You must first transcend this test of will. Look into the inferno. There awaits your trial. Pass, and all will be brought to light. If you fail, all will be lost�"
Vincent shielded his eyes and gazed long and hard through the waves of heat that rose from the fires below. There�he could make out two columns of stone, rising out of the inferno. They were narrow, and unsteady, and bits and pieces crumbled away from the base. He drew closer for a better look, and then cried out in horror at what he saw. Chained to one of the columns was Wreath! She lay there, unconscious, as the trembling rock slowly crumbled beneath her. He started forward, but suddenly a figure on the second column caught his attention. He gazed through slitted eyes, attempting to see who it might be�
He froze in complete shock.
It was Catherine. His Catherine! She was alive, and was chained on that rock in the same manner as Wreath. He knew it was her! He could smell the scent of her, like wildflowers and sunlight, over the choking fumes of sulfur and burnt rock. She lay there, pale and beautiful as he remembered even with her face smudged with soot and her clothes torn�
"Catherine," he whispered harshly, starting forward. He had to save her! The column was collapsing beneath her, and soon she would tumble into the fire and be lost to him all over again�He could not allow that to happen! He couldn�t lose her again! He would die if that happened! Her eyes locked onto his, though she said not a word.
He stepped toward the second column, but then he heard someone whisper his name, and he turned to face Wreath. She had woken up and her expression quickly turned from one of confusion to one of horror as she realized where she was. "Vincent!" she cried. "Help me!"
He stared at her, stricken, uncertain what to do. He looked back to Catherine again, and Wreath followed his gaze. Her face paled when she saw the woman chained to the rock. The rock suddenly jerked under her, and she shrieked. "Vincent, hurry!" she cried. "The rock is crumbling!"
Still Vincent hesitated, torn. He turned desperate eyes to Catherine again, and she met them, her own filled with sadness. "You must choose, Vincent," she told him, speaking quietly, and yet he heard every word. "You can�t save us both. You must choose between us. Your past�or your future. You can only save one of us. You must follow your heart, my love. That is the only way to know�"
The ground beneath her shifted, and he took a step toward her, then stopped, looking to Wreath. She was staring at him with an expression of hopelessness in her eyes. "How can I choose!" he roared, looking to Catherine again. "How am I to choose between you both?" He fell to his knees, his head bowed despairingly. When he raised it again to look back to Wreath, he saw that she had slipped back into unconsciousness.
She looked so�helpless. He had never seen her so helpless before. That decided him. His heart was torn, but he knew that he could not leave his Wreath to die. She meant too much to him, and he had never realized just how much until that moment. If he let her go, he would never forgive himself. He had choose. His past�or his future. He knew what he had to do.
It was with some regret, and much resignation, that he turned his eyes to Catherine, one last time. "I�m sorry," he whispered. "But I know what I must do. I can�t let Wreath die."
She gazed at him quietly. There was something�otherworldly about her gaze, he suddenly realized. Her eyes were serene, peaceful, almost ancient in a wisdom that had not been there before. "Who are you?" he whispered. She smiled. That same, beautiful smile he remembered so well, only now it was even more lovely. Everything about her was too beautiful, too perfect, to be real. No mortal was this perfect. "You are not alive," he whispered in realization.
Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, everything changed. The fiery pit was gone, and they stood in a room that was only a room, with a large, ornately carved stone chair at one end. Wreath rested on the floor. Vincent gave a startled exclamation as he looked back to Catherine, who now stood before him, clothed in a flowing white gown.
"No, Vincent. I�m not alive as you think of life," she told him softly. "I�ve watched you these past six years as you mourned for my loss. It was a terrible thing to have happened, but I cannot regret that it did happen. Neither must you. And you must let the past go. There is one who loves you, who can make you as happy as I did in life. She�s loved you far longer than I did, long before our paths ever crossed." She reached up and traced a hand along his face, and he gripped it in his own as tears filled his eyes. "I miss you," he whispered.
"I know. But I�ll always be where I can watch over you," she replied. "You�ve done a fine job of raising our son. He will grow up to be just like his father, I can tell." She smiled. "But he is only a little boy, and every little boy needs a mother. I can�t be what he needs anymore, and although that saddens me, I feel better in knowing that Wreath loves Jacob as though he were her own, and she would gladly become his mother in truth, should you ask her."
Vincent looked to Wreath, who still lay on the floor, then moved to gather her into his arms. He looked at Catherine again. "If I love another, what of my love for you?"
She laughed. "Oh, Vincent! You will always love me, and we�ll be together again. You�ll never stop loving me. But you have so much love inside you, and you�ve been alone for so long! Wreath could end that loneliness. She�s special, Vincent. She�s known and loved you her whole life. Even when I came, she never stopped loving you, and she let you go because of that love, though I know it hurt her. If you let her go now, will you ever forgive yourself?"
Vincent gazed down at Wreath and smiled. "I don�t suppose I will," he replied. He looked up again. "Thank you, Catherine. You�ve helped me. I think I may finally be able to move on. I will not forget you."
Catherine smiled and nodded, a benediction and a blessing. "I believe my work here is done," she told him, as she began to fade. "I must go now. But I�ll be watching over you." She faded away entirely, and Vincent watched her leave, feeling sadness at her passing. He knew that this was the last time he would see her in this mortal life. But she was right. The past was laid to rest, and he held the future in his arms�once she decided to wake up�
He smiled with wry amusement as he studied the sleeping woman. He�d never really noticed before how lovely she was. She had a beauty all her own, fresh and natural. He did not share with her the bond he and Catherine had shared, but in ways he felt they had something stronger. A friendship that had lasted for as long as Wreath had been alive. To think, all this time she had loved him, and he had been too blind to see. He felt regret at the pain he must have caused her, but he had the rest of their lives to make up for it. He smiled and held her closer as he went in search for the Goblin King.
Chapter Ten
As it was, the Goblin King found him. He, Sarah, and Jacob entered the throne room at the same time he was leaving it. They came face to face and stopped, startled. Sarah eyed Wreath in his arms, and a grin split across her face. "It�s about time!" she said teasingly. "She�s been waiting forever for you to make a move!" Her brow furrowed. "Is she okay?"
"I�m fine," Wreath suddenly murmured, opening her eyes. "Just a little dazed. What a dream!" She looked around, then frowned. "It was a dream, wasn�t it?"
"Nope. All real," Sarah replied as Vincent set Wreath on her feet. She grinned at her friend. "But that�s a good thing, if you can remember what happened."
Wreath thought. "It�s blurry, but I remember bits and pieces."
"Daddy!" Jacob suddenly squealed, barging through the group and wrapping his arms around his father�s leg, gazing up at him through silky, red-gold hair. "I gots to play with goblins! An� there was a room filled with stairs that went everywhere, an� then the ground shook like it did before at home, an��"
"And this is not yet over," Jareth suddenly interrupted, glaring at them. They all blinked at him, having forgotten that he was even there.
"Um�I beg to differ," Sarah replied, crossing her arms defiantly. "We both made it to the castle. You lose. Let us go home."
A feral smile crossed Jareth�s face. "Yes, you both did make it to the castle. However�" He gestured, and a clock appeared. The hands read ten minutes after thirteen. "Time has run out. You did not confront me. You lost."
"But it isn�t fair!" Sarah burst out before she thought. "It wasn�t his fault!"
"It was hardly my fault, either," he replied coldly. "The game is ended, time has run out, and you and Vincent will be returned to your world, as the rules go. Wreath and Jacob will remain." He raised his hand, and Sarah�s eyes widened.
It wasn�t supposed to go this way! she thought. She didn�t want to leave! More than she didn�t want Wreath and Jacob to be trapped here, she didn�t want to leave! It was utterly ridiculous, but it was also the truth.
Wreath seemed to sense this, because suddenly she gripped Sarah�s arm and stared into her eyes earnestly. "Sarah, I don�t pretend to know what exactly is happening, but I have the feeling that now is the time," she whispered. "Remember what I said about Fate? About not letting your dreams go again? If you want something, you have to reach out and take it! Now is not the time to play coward! Fate is trying to tell you something here."
Sarah paused, then nodded. "I know," she replied. "Leave it to me. You�ll both be going home. I promise." She smiled, then moved toward Jareth, who regarded her somewhat suspiciously. "I need to speak with you," she told him in a tight voice.
"Very well," he replied slowly. "Speak."
She shook her head. "Not here. Someplace private. Please. It�s important."
He studied her for a moment, then gestured, and immediately she found herself in a different place. She blinked and looked around. She was in a large bedchamber, a very magnificent chamber with a large, four-poster bed centered in the middle of it, draped with sheets of satin and velvet, all in a deep, midnight blue shot through with silver embroidery, like the night sky. There was a chair pulled up beside a roaring fire, and a large window, over to which Jareth strolled and seated himself on the sill casually. "Well?" he said. "I�ve things to do. Speak your mind."
"Wh-where are we?" she stammered.
A glimmer of amusement lit his eyes. "My bedchamber," he replied, and when she paled, the amusement spread to his smile. "You did request someplace private, did you not? My chambers are the most private area in the castle. The goblins don�t dare enter here without specific permission."
"Oh," was all she could find to say. She was exceedingly uncomfortable with this arrangement, but she figured she�d better state her argument before he changed his mind and sent her home, instead. So she took a deep breath, turned to face Jareth fully, and looked him in the eyes.
"I want to stay. Send Jacob and Wreath home, and let me here in their place," she stated quietly.
He sighed, and his eyes darkened. "Sarah, we�ve already been through this�"
"I know," she said quickly. "But the thing is�what I said before, about me not really wanting to come here�it was all a lie. Of course, I didn�t know it was a lie, at the time. I thought I meant it, but now I know I didn�t. I want to stay."
Jareth stared at her, his face expressionless. "What of your life Above?" he asked flatly. "You were living your dream. What of it?"
She licked her lips. "What of it?" she replied, and then sighed, running her hands through her dark hair. She unconsciously started to pace as she fought to find the right words for what she had to stay. "All my life, my dream was to become an actress, just like my mother. I�ve finally become one, even though it�s only a two-bit part in a show, but it�s still acting! But since I started this job�no, before then, actually�I�ve felt miserable, like there�s something missing in my life. Like there�s this giant hole in me, and acting isn�t filling it up at all like I thought it would."
She paused and rubbed her hands together nervously. "Today, I finally figured out why. It�s because I had discovered some new dreams, when I went and wished my little brother away into the Labyrinth. Only, up until now, I never realized it. But when you appeared to us and took Jacob, and when I figured out that this time I was gonna get left behind�well�that�s when I wished Wreath away. Because I didn�t want to stay behind, because if I did some part of me knew that I�d regret it. Eight years ago, you had offered me my dreams, and I was too young and scared to take them. But now, I can�t help but wonder what would have happened if I had taken them. Would Toby have been turned into a goblin? Or would he have been sent home, and I would have ended up living the rest of my life as a perfect fairy tale?"
She looked at Jareth, and her eyes shone with tears. "I have a second chance. If I walk away from these dreams of mine this time, I�ll never be able to live with myself. I want to stay here. Forever. With you." She hesitated, then whispered, "Please?"
Jareth eyed her. "And if I choose to send you back anyway?" he asked emotionlessly, fists resting on hips and head tilted to one side. "What will you do then?"
Sarah swallowed and looked down. When she looked up at him again, some of that spark was back in her eyes, and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Then I guess�I�ll just have to keep on wishing children away to you until you get so sick of me winning and showing you up that you�ll be begging me to stay," she replied with her characteristic spirit.
Jareth stared at her for a long, silent moment. Then, suddenly, a wide smile spread over his face, and he began to laugh, throwing back his head and nearly howling with delight. Sarah felt her face flush, thinking that he was mocking her yet again, and with a huff she turned on her heel to march away. She didn�t have to stand there and take it!
Before she had taken three steps, strong arms suddenly surrounded her from behind, pulling her back against an equally strong chest. Jareth�s laughter had stopped. "Don�t leave," he murmured softly, resting his cheek against her hair. "I wasn�t laughing at you. Only your words."
"Well, I meant them," she muttered, trying to ignore the strong distraction of being held in a most intimate manner by the Goblin King. Not that she was complaining�
He chuckled, and his warm breath tickled her ear, making her shiver slightly. "I�m quite aware that you meant them," he replied, his voice teasing. "If there is one thing I�ve learned about you, it�s that when you put your mind to something, you never give in until you get what you want."
"Damn straight," she replied hotly, and he laughed again.
"I like that in a woman," he whispered, and then his hair brushed her face as she felt warm lips press softly against her throat, just under her jaw, and the slight prick of teeth as he gently nipped at her skin. A short, startled gasp escaped her as her eyes widened, and her heart took a nose-dive into her feet before bungee-jumping its way up into her throat, where it stayed, pounding furiously.
Jareth was well aware of Sarah�s reaction to him, and he smiled into her hair. "Do you remember the last time I held you?" he murmured softly.
She smirked. "Yeah. When we saved each other from the WolfBane," she retorted smartly, and he growled playfully.
"Before that," he replied. "During your last�visit. During the ball. Remember?"
She nodded. "Of course," she replied. "I�ve never been able to forget that!" She frowned for a moment before allowing a wicked smile. "Although, I must admit to being rather spaced out on that LSD-laced peach you slipped me to remember anything clearly�" she added evilly, and his arms tightened briefly.
"Very funny," he sniffed. "Do you remember clearly enough what I was attempting to do before you�now how would you put this?��freaked out� on me?"
Sarah did remember, although she wasn�t about to admit it. Unfortunately, the delicate blush that appeared on her cheeks did all her talking for her, and he smiled. "I see you do," he added teasingly. "As I recall, I was quite rudely interrupted when you smashed through the wall." He grinned as she shifted uncomfortably. "I was wondering," he finished in a near whisper, "if you would allow that I might finish what I tried to initiate eight years ago�"
Sarah was absolutely still. Even her breathing seemed to have quit. He wondered if she was in need of one of those pills she�d been taking. For some moments she stood in silence, and Jareth was just about ready to step away and cast off his request as nothing but flippancy when, very slowly and faintly, Sarah gave a single nod of her head. Barely a twitch�but it was all he needed.
He turned her in his arms so that she faced him, and her hands rested lightly against his chest, where he knew she could feel his heart racing beneath her palm. She glanced down, then back at his face, and a secret delight at his reaction to her shone in her dark eyes. "My response to you was the same eight years ago," he told her. "You just weren�t ready to see it then."
She shyly ducked her head, and he gently lifted her chin, pleased with this new side to her personality. She felt a difference in his touch, and noticed that his hand was ungloved. She looked at him in surprise, and he smiled. "I want to feel your hair flowing through my fingers," he told her. "Gloves would only get in the way of that." He stroked her cheek softly, and his slender, elegant hand buried into her satin hair. She closed her eyes at the feel of his fingers stroking her skin.
Then her face was tilted up, and a moment later the briefest touch of velvet brushed across her lips before coming back and affixing firmly to her mouth in a burning kiss that made her head spin and her legs go weak. She�d probably have fallen if it hadn�t been for his firm grip on her waist. As it was, she had to slide her own arms around his neck for extra support, and that didn�t seem to bother him in the least. He merely tightened his own grip and deepened the kiss into an inferno as his long-restrained passions fought to take control.
Sarah�s own passions were nearing the breaking point when he finally ended the embrace and stepped reluctantly back, and she nearly cried at the emptiness she felt at his withdrawal. She gazed at him, noting that his breathing seemed as erratic as her own. She wondered if his heart was pounding as hard. She probably should take a pill for that� Oh, to hell with the pills! she thought elatedly. If she was going to die of heart failure, well�what a way to go! She tried to find some words to say, but the most she seemed able to come up with was a very breathless, "Wow."
He grinned. "You see what you missed out on eight years ago?" he teased gently, cocking his head to the side.
She gave him a weak smile. "I�m glad I did," she retorted. "That kiss was almost worth letting Toby get turned into a goblin. I wouldn�t have stood a chance against you after that!"
He gave a bark of laughter, regarding her almost tenderly. "Well. We�d better get back to your friends before they tear down the castle looking for you," he said. He took her hand into his own, twining her fingers between his in an almost boyish gesture. She found that she liked it, and she smiled to herself as he began to pull her toward the door.
"Wait a sec!" she suddenly cried. "You never answered my question!"
He raised an eyebrow. "What question was that?"
She shot him an incredulous look. "Whether or not I can stay here!" she huffed, fist resting on her hip in a stubborn manner.
"Ah. Yes. That." He shot her an absolutely devilish grin. "Well, I�ve been a bit�distracted," he added teasingly. At her exasperated glare, he chuckled, then took her other hand into his and raised them both, one after the other, to kiss them softly. "I should think the answer would be quite clear," he murmured. "Don�t you remember the old stories you read? Remember what happens when a mortal is kissed by a fae? They are then bound forever to that fae. You know, you are now bound to me by my kiss."
Her face paled a little. "You mean�even if I wanted to leave, I couldn�t anymore?" she whispered.
He regarded her seriously. "Only if I chose to let you go," he replied.
She swallowed. "Then�I suppose its a good thing that I want to stay."
He smiled briefly. "That is a good thing," he agreed, "because I really don�t want to let you go. Still, you can only remain on one condition."
"Which is?"
"You must marry me," he replied. "You must become my wife and queen in all senses of the word. I love you, Sarah. I have always loved you, and to have you this close to me and not be able to have you would be too much to bear. Even for me. So choose. Either marry me, or return to your world and let Jacob and Wreath remain."
Sarah stared at him for a long moment, and then gave a sudden shout of laughter. "Well, duh!" she cried, giving him a poke in the chest. "What did you think I meant? That I�d be your mistress? Please! I have morals, you know!" She laughed at his stunned expression, raising her hands to cradle his face. "I love you," she told him softly. "What do you think I�ve been trying to tell you this whole time?! Do I have to spell it out? Fine! I L-O-V-E Y-"
Jareth darted forward, effectively silencing her with another tender kiss. When he raised his head again, she grinned at him. "-O-U. And another thing! This is gonna be an equal opportunity relationship, buddy! No more of this dominating bit, got me? Like I said, I�m not afraid of you anymore!"
"You�re not?" He affected a wounded look, and she grinned.
"Nope. Believe me, right now, I am anything but afraid of you!" she teased.
"Even my �darker� half?" he murmured seductively.
She sobered a moment. "I�ve seen enough of your dark side," she replied. "I know its only a role you affected for my sake, but the play is over, Jareth. You don�t have to be a villain anymore."
He pulled her close to him and buried his face in her hair, holding her as though he�d never let go. "I�ll be whatever you wish of me, beloved," he whispered. "If you want a brave and noble hero, I�ll be�" He grimaced. "�brave and noble."
"Well�" She grinned wickedly and kissed his throat. "Maybe not all the time. The villain is kind of exciting, you know�"
Chapter Eleven
Vincent paced worriedly, paused to look up at the ceiling, and then paced some more. Wreath watched him with a humorous smile as she sat cross-legged on Jareth�s throne. Hmmm�the guy could really use some cushions on that thing. Jacob had scampered back to the Escher Room with some of the goblins in tow, promising to behave himself, but Vincent couldn�t help but wonder what sort of nasty habits his son was picking up from the creatures. He was more worried about Sarah at the moment, however. What sort of discussion was she having with the Goblin King?
"They�ve been gone a long time," he said.
"And wearing a hole in the floor isn�t gonna bring them back any sooner," Wreath replied teasingly.
"But where did they go?" he questioned, shaking his head.
"Someplace private, I�d imagine. They have a lot to talk about."
Vincent regarded Wreath suspiciously. "There�s something you aren�t telling me," he accused.
She gave him an innocent smile. "I can�t begin to imagine what you�re talking about," she replied sweetly, then grinned wickedly at his playful growl at her refusal to tell all. "Oh, stop it, Vincent. You don�t scare me," she teased. "We both know you�re just a big ol� pussycat at heart."
"Pussycat!" he huffed, shooting her an offended look.
She laughed. "You heard me. Bet if I scratched your back you�d start purring. Admit it!"
"I�ll admit no such thing," he sniffed.
She just grinned at him, her eyes sparkling with mirth. He noticed, yet again, how pretty she was. It did something to his heart that he�d not felt for a long time. Certainly not since Catherine was alive�To think, all this time she�d been right there, and he�d never noticed before. Of course, she�d been just a child, but no longer. Now she was an adult, and she was his. Or she would be, if he had anything to say about it. Knowing that Catherine approved, and even encouraged him to pursue her, only made things better.
"What are you looking at?" Wreath suddenly asked with a smile. "Did I just grow an extra head or something?"
He grinned suddenly, showing a quick flash of sharp canines, and his eyes lit with wicked humor. "No," he replied with false seriousness. "I was just wondering if you�re still as ticklish as you were when you were a child."
Her eyes widened. "You wouldn�t dare!" she said with a nervous laugh. "You haven�t tried to tickle me since I was ten years old!"
He flashed another grin. "Then I guess that means I�m thirteen years overdue," he replied teasingly, starting toward her. She yelped and scrambled off the throne, dodging past him with a flash of bright hair.
"I don�t think so, buddy," she said, laughing. "Your gonna have to do better than that!" She stuck her hands on her hips. "What�s gotten into you, anyhow? Jareth didn�t feed you any of his peaches, did he?" She grinned, and he laughed softly.
"No, no peaches," he replied. He took another step toward her, and she jumped back again, holding up her hands.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" she asked sternly, although her eyes were sparkling. She was half stunned at this odd behavior from her longtime friend, but also a bit delighted. He was always so serious. This was a rare glimpse of his more playful side, and she took it as a good sign that he was allowing her to witness it.
Vincent was stalking her now, and she was backing away, not sure what to expect from him. Suddenly, her foot reached the edge of the shallow fire pit, and she stumbled back with a yelp of surprise. Before she could fall, however, Vincent had reached out and snatched her hands in one of those surprisingly quick moves of his, and pulled her away from the pit.
"Thanks," she said. Then, noticing that he still held her hands, she raised an eyebrow. "Um�you can let go now," she added. "I�m not gonna fall."
His eyes glittered. "What if I don�t wish to let go?" he asked, smiling slightly.
She eyed him suspiciously. "I don�t know. What if?" she replied cautiously.
He released one of her hands to reach up and gently touch her face, his eyes dark with some emotion. "I thought I was going to lose you," he told her. "When I saw you there, in that pit of fire, my heart nearly stopped."
"Then you saw Catherine," she added with a wry smile. "I bet that must have shocked you." Her brow furrowed as she suddenly realized something. "What�s happened to her, anyway?" she asked. "I thought�I mean�you did save her, didn�t you?"
"She�s where she belongs," he replied quietly. At her confusion, he smiled. "You were unconscious. You didn�t see. It wasn�t Catherine, Wreath. It was�the spirit of Catherine. That test was not given to me by Jareth, but by her. To help me put the past to rest and to face the future, as she told me. I am at peace now. I can face the past now and feel no pain, and can look to the future with open heart and mind."
"But I don�t understand. Why would she do that, and how in the world would she get here? I mean, this isn�t exactly a conventional world," Wreath replied.
"I suppose she can now go anywhere she chooses," he replied thoughtfully. "I have the feeling that we are not the only ones she�s been watching over. Sarah and Jareth were involved in this as much as you and I."
Wreath nodded, frowning thoughtfully. Then she gave Vincent a shy glance. "So, what you mean by looking to the future is�you no longer hold on to Catherine�s spirit?" she asked coyly.
He smiled, nodded his assent.
She nodded as well, in satisfaction. "That�s very good," she told him seriously, "because, in complete honesty, I am really getting tired of competing with a ghost. It�s impossible, vying with somebody as perfect as the image you�ve been carrying in your heart. The real Catherine, at least, had flaws."
She bit her lip and looked away, worried that maybe she�d spoken prematurely. After all, just because Vincent said he was letting Catherine go, he hadn�t exactly said that Wreath was the reason for that. But his next action caused her apprehension to vanish in an instant as he lifted her face and gazed deeply into her eyes, his own glowing with love. "You know, someone has been hinting at me that Jacob needs a mother," he told her seriously. "Not just someone to watch him, but a real mother. Do you happen to know anyone who might be interested in applying for the job?"
A smile twitched on her lips. "Well�I must admit that I�ve had my eye on it. For quite awhile, in fact," she told him with false seriousness. "I mean, I like kids, and I adore Jacob, and I�m pretty sure Jacob is pretty fond of me, too. I can�t imagine having a better career. But, you know, his father is a complete bear, so I didn't want to send in an application until I knew that the position was open. Didn�t want to get my head bit off for no reason�"
Vincent stared at her for a moment before allowing a soft growl of laughter to escape him. "I would like to examine it," he replied teasingly. "Do you happen to have it with you?"
"My application?" Wreath�s eyes glimmered with secret mirth. "Nooo�but I do have a r�sum� you might be interesting in reviewing�"
"Oh? By all means, show me."
"If you say so�"
She grinned, needing no further encouragement. She hopped up onto the stone dais where the throne rested so that she was at eye level with Vincent. Then, slipping her arms around his neck, she drew forward and touched her lips to his ever-so-gently. He stiffened in surprise for the briefest moment, before raising his own arms to encircle her in a warm embrace, pulling her closer to him as he responded to her shy kiss. They stood locked together like that for long moments, lost to everything but each other.
They never noticed that Sarah and Jareth had entered the room behind them. Sarah�s face split in a wide grin as she saw them standing there and she looked at Jareth mischievously. He smiled at her gently and stroked her hair. "It looks like we are not the only ones to have discovered our dreams," he said softly. They turned back to the two lovers, who had still not come up for air. "We�ll be here all day if we don�t alert them," he added with a touch of mischief.
Sarah grinned. "Um�not meaning to interrupt such a perfect Kodak moment, but�we thought maybe you�d like to go home now. Unless you�ve decided that you�d rather stay here�" she announced loudly, and they jumped apart guiltily, a charming blush staining Wreath�s cheeks.
Sarah laughed. "Please. Don�t let us stop you," she teased, and Wreath shot her a feigned glare, then grinned.
"Don�t mind us," she replied cheerfully. "Vincent was just reviewing my r�sum�." She smirked at Sarah�s raised eyebrows. "He�s looking for someone to become Jacob�s mother," she explained, her eyes twinkling. "I told him I was interested in the position."
Sarah laughed. "So did you get it?" she asked coyly, shooting Vincent a teasing glance. He coughed politely and smiled, a bit sheepishly.
"I would say that she certainly did," he replied, regarding Wreath tenderly.
She smiled back at him and hugged him, resting her head against his chest. "It�s about time, too," she added in jest. "I was beginning to think I was going to have to look elsewhere for a job."
"Never, beloved," he murmured into her hair.
Jareth coughed, looking slightly ill, and Sarah elbowed him. "Be nice," she muttered, though she was smiling. "Wasn�t so long ago you were saying those things to me."
He relented and turned his attention back to Vincent. "You should thank Sarah," he told the other man calmly. "Because of her, I have decided to allow all of you to return to your home. Where�s the child?"
"Here I am!" Jacob called, racing into the throne room and throwing himself into Vincent�s arms. He regarded his father happily. "Is Wreath really gonna be my mother now?" he asked breathlessly.
Vincent looked surprised. "Were you listening, little imp?" he asked fondly, and laughed at his son�s guilty nod. "Yes," he told him. "She is going to be your mother. Does that upset you?"
"No!" he replied firmly. "If she didn�t ask you if she could be my mother, I was gonna ask you, instead. I�m glad she did, though." He reached over to Wreath and patted her cheek. "You�ll be a good mother," he told her. "Can I all you that?"
Wreath�s expression softened. "I�d love it if you�d call me that," she replied softly. "I�d be glad to call you my son, too."
Jacob grinned and, that settled, looked at Jareth. "I had fun playin� with your goblins, sir, but can I go home now? I want Daddy to finish reading me that story. You know, the one when you came."
Vincent looked slightly panicked at that, but Jareth laughed. "Don�t worry," he assured him. "I�ll not be returning for your son. He�s a bright lad, and he�d make a good heir, but I now have the means of making my own." And he regarded Sarah with a wicked grin, who flushed in embarrassment.
"Are you saying that she isn�t returning with us?" Vincent snarled, feeling his hackles raise. "You�re keeping her here? As a prisoner?"
Jareth laughed loudly. "Hardly that," he replied with a smirk.
Sarah stepped forward, gripping Vincent�s arm lightly. Her eyes, once so haunted, were now at peace. "He isn�t keeping me here," she told him softly. "I offered to stay." At Vincent�s concern, she smiled. "Don�t worry, Vincent. It isn�t a spell. I discovered something while I was here. That piece of me that had been missing, well, it was Jareth all along, and now that I�m with him again I finally feel whole. This is my destiny, to be his queen. It�s right. I know it is. I�ll never forget your kindness to me, and how you helped me. We�ll always be friends. But I belong in this world. I always have. Do you understand?"
Vincent slowly relaxed, smiling slightly. "I knew there was something about you when we first met," he replied. "I�m glad that you�ve found your place, even if it is here. I bid you well."
"So do I," Wreath jumped in, reaching out to give Sarah a hug. She stepped back and regarded her. "Looks like I was right," she added smugly. "And if there was anyone meant to be a queen, its you."
"I was right, too," Sarah replied with a grin. "You see? Everything worked out. I hope you have a great life of your own. You keep Jacob out of trouble, got it?" She walked back to Jareth�s side and slipped an arm around his waist, and he pulled her close with one hand as a crystal appeared in the other.
"Oh, and, Vincent? In the future, I suggest you be more careful about what you choose to read to your son," Sarah added with an impish grin. Vincent chuckled as he pulled his family closer to him, and then, with a flash of light, they were gone. Sarah sighed as she stared at nothing, realizing that she would most likely never see the three of them again. "They were true friends," she murmured. "I�ll miss them."
Strong arms surrounded her, and Jareth�s voice asked softly, "Do you regret your decision to stay?"
She turned in his arms and held him close. "Never," she whispered, burying her face in his neck. "This is what I want, more than I�ve wanted anything in my life. It�s my destiny to love you. Don�t ever doubt it." She then lifted her face to his and sealed her promise with a tender kiss, which he returned to her wholeheartedly.
Epilogue
From a world beyond the mortal and faerie realms, a Golden Lady stood surrounded by mist; soft, white mist that parted like a veil before her as she passed through, and closed softly again. Images swirled within that whiteness, reflections of two worlds. Worlds full of color, and pleasure, and pain, and joy, and sorrow, hate, friendship, love�all mixing together and existing together, the good with the bad, in the type of existence only Life could give.
Catherine looked upon those two worlds, seeing the new bonds of Life that she had helped to form between them, and smiled.
~~End~~