15Here's a little oneshot I've had on my mind for a while now. If you want it to be extended to a two-shot, let me know! I hope you all enjoy!
Sarah never felt happier. All of her new friends from the Labyrinth were in her room, dancing and laughing and playing with her. She couldn't stop smiling. In thirteen hours, she had made lifelong friends, saved her brother, and managed to learn things she would never have learned without the experience of the Labyrinth.
"Congratulations, child," a melodious, feminine voice said. At once, the residents of the Underground silenced and turned around. Sarah furrowed her brow in confusion and turned out to see an almost ghostly woman appear into her bedroom. The white, ghostly woman wore a long, medieval styled gown with loose sleeves and a long skirt that faded to the floor. Sarah could see the faint outline of legs and bare feet through the skirt. Her eyes had no irises or pupils, but instead glowed a fluorescent white glow. Her long hair fell in gentle waves to her hips. She practically radiated power. Hoggle was the first to bow before her.
"My Lady," he said. The rest of the Undergrounders followed Hoggle, bowing and referring to this woman as their 'Lady.' Sarah curtseyed and looked up at the woman with confused eyes.
"Who are you?" Sarah asked. The woman's face remained neutral and almost cold.
"I am the Spirit of the Labyrinth," she said. She motioned for everyone to rise. She turned to the window and with a flick of her wrist, the window flew open. "And I summon thee, Goblin King." Sarah widened her eyes. A moment later, a barn owl flew into the room, perching on Sarah's vanity. "Must I spell out which form I require of you?" The owl flew upwards and transformed in a beam of light, transforming into Jareth, the Goblin King that Sarah had just bested.
"Egeria," Jareth said, his voice cold. "And to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You tried to go against my will," Egeria hissed.
"She needed to learn," Jareth snapped.
"You must learn as well," she growled. "My will and the will of the Labyrinth are one and the same. You had to meddle with it rather than trusting my judgment!"
"What?" Sarah asked. Egeria turned her haunting, glowing white gaze to Sarah.
"Did you ever see a fox following you? Or a snake? I believe I also took the form of a bird but I can't recall," Egeria said. Sarah widened her eyes. She remembered the fox she saw in the distance, staring at her with a strange green gaze. She also remembered the bright orange snake she not-so-subtly ran away from. "All me. I followed you, Sarah. I made sure that you faced your tests and passed them. Of course, Jareth had to interfere." She turned her glare back to the Goblin King, who wore a cold, stoic expression. To Sarah, it seemed as if he was holding something back... but not anger.
"There was a time where you trusted my judgment as much as yours," Jareth said.
"And whose fault is it that I don't anymore?" Egeria snapped. A flicker of hurt appeared in Jareth's mismatched eyes.
"Don't you dare blame me for that," Jareth whispered. "You know I did everything in my power to-"
"Yet it wasn't enough," Egeria replied, her voice cold. "Do not interfere again. I will not hesitate to reprimand you for toying with my Labyrinth."
"Our Labyrinth," Jareth hissed. "You wouldn't hurt me. You couldn't hurt me."
"Of course I could," she replied. "The Heartless can do many things without remorse." Sarah now saw the obvious hurt in Jareth's eyes. There was no trace of anger... just sorrow and pain. She didn't think the Goblin King could feel such things. "Remember my words, Goblin King. Do not interfere with the next runner." Egeria turned around and faded away, leaving behind the Undergrounders and a pained looking Jareth.
Jareth let out a sigh and shook his head, collapsing into Sarah's vanity chair. "You've no idea how much it pains me to see her like this, Sarah."
"She seems so cold," Sarah said, sitting on her bed. "So distant, so..."
"Heartless," Jareth finished. "And she's right. It's my fault. Had I just been quicker or discovered Aelfric's intentions sooner..." Sarah tilted her head in confusion. Jareth looked up at the girl with his mismatched eyes and sighed. Sarah suddenly widened her eyes when the realization hit her. She had heard stories about this kind of thing. Why didn't she see it sooner?
"You loved her," Sarah said.
"I assure you, my feelings for her are in the present tense," Jareth snapped. Sarah looked over at Hoggle, who nodded his head, confirming Sarah's suspicions. "Yet she can no longer feel the same way for me. She can't feel love or compassion for anyone anymore."
"What happened?" Sarah asked. She should have felt no pity for Jareth, but the anguish in his voice was too much for Sarah to miss. Even the subjects who feared him looked down in silent pity, clearly knowing the story behind Jareth and Egeria.
"It's a long story and not necessarily a happy one with a happy ending like in those fairy stories you're so fond of," he said.
"I want to hear it," Sarah said. Jareth took a breath and began his tale.
Egeria and I grew up together. I was the Goblin Prince and she was the next Guardian of the Labyrinth. We often played in there, playing hide and seek and all those other silly children's games...
"Come on, you slow poke!" A young Jareth looked up to see the young, redheaded girl smiling at him from behind a bend in the Labyrinth. Her bright green eyes were alive with energy and playfulness. Jareth let out a broad smile and chased after the young girl. He ran around the corner, only to see that Egeria was now gone.
"Come on, Gigi," Jareth whined. "This isn't fair!"
"Life's not fair!" he heard her shout. "Really, what's your basis of comparison?"
"I don't know!" Jareth shouted. "It just isn't!"
"Too bad!" Egeria laughed. Jareth smirked and followed the sound of her voice. He felt a tap on his shoulder.
We were often joined by Aelfric, the Prince of the Elves...
Jareth turned around to see the black haired elf prince behind him. Aelfric put a finger to his lips and snuck around the other side of the wall. Jareth nodded and kept talking. "Gigi, where are you?"
"You have to find me, Jarey!" she giggled. She suddenly let out a squeal and burst out of a bunch of bushes. "Aelfric! That's not funny! Don't you dare touch me there!" A laughing Aelfric appeared out of the bushes and shrugged.
"But your tail was just asking to be yanked!" Aelfric replied. Egeria frowned and swished her ginger fox tail up to her arms, stroking it lightly. She stuck out her tongue and walked over to Jareth.
"At least Jareth has the decency to not yank a lady's tail," she snapped, pursing her lips. Jareth gave Egeria a light, one-armed hugged and shrugged at Aelfric. But the young Jareth couldn't see the jealous possessiveness that was slowly forming in the elven prince's eyes.
When we got older, she took on the mantle of Guardian of the Labyrinth. Shortly after I was crowned the Goblin King. Aelfric returned to his own kingdom to become the Elvenking. We never saw him much, but Egeria and I were almost inseparable.
"This one should be allowed to finish it," an older Egeria said. Jareth arched an eyebrow and ran a hand through his blond hair. "She has a kindness in her heart. She truly wishes to fight for her baby."
"If she would die for her child then why wish him away in the first place?" Jareth asked.
"I think it was a moment of stress," Egeria said. "I mean, being a single mother in the Aboveground is hard these days."
"Perhaps," Jareth murmured. "Fine. I'll tell the goblins to let her through the city."
"Thank you, Jareth," Egeria said with a happy smile. She kissed his cheek and stood up. Jareth could feel his cheeks begin to warm as the beautiful redhead skipped out of the room, her skirts swaying behind her.
She was my best friend, my most trusted advisor... and I fell in love with her.
Jareth lounged casually on his throne, watching as his goblin ran amuck as usual. Egeria came barging into the room, her anger and fiery as her hair. "That dumb broad! She honestly thought that the answer to that riddle was a map!? Seriously? She's not even taking the Labyrinth seriously! She sees it as a game and sees rescuing her child as a trivial matter that she has to merely deal with!"
"So you won't let her complete it?"
"I intend to make her life a living hell in this Labyrinth," Egeria growled. She paced about the room, scaring even the goblins. Jareth rolled his mismatched eyes and stood up, walking towards the raging girl. Her tail swished aggressively from side to side as she paced. Suddenly, Jareth grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her close to him, capturing her lips with his own. She froze for a moment before resting her arms around his neck and pulling him closer to her. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers. "I've been wanting you to do that for a while."
"Really?" Jareth asked, his voice low and soft.
"Really," Egeria replied. Jareth smiled and leaned in for a second kiss, oblivious to the fact that an Elvenking was watching the affair through his crystal, glaring at the happy couple and coveting the fox-woman.
I wasn't the only one in love with her, however. Aelfric vied for Egeria. He always had, even as children. I should have worried about his obsession with her more, but I didn't. I only saw it as jealousy within reason. After all, Egeria was... is... the most beautiful woman I know. I had no idea of the lengths he would go to in order to have Egeria as his...
"Marry me."
Jareth watched as Egeria stopped walking and stared at him in shock. She dropped her jaw and covered her mouth.
"What?" she asked.
"Marry me," Jareth said, going down to one knee. "Love me for eternity and I will do the same for you." He held her hand while she stood there in shock, processing everything that was happening. Finally, Egeria nodded.
"Yes," she said. "I'll marry you, Jareth." When Jareth stood, he grabbed his beloved by the waist and pulled her into one of the most passionate kisses he had ever experienced. In the palace of Elvenking, Aelfric was storming about in a jealous rage, knocking over bookcases and vases and pretty much anything that could break.
Aelfric went behind my back and attempted to get Egeria to betray me. She denied him and told me of what had occurred. She told me that he said, 'If I can't have you, nobody will.' I feared for her, so I assigned extra guards to her rooms. Of course, Aelfric chose to take a less direct approach when it came to his revenge...
It was the night before the wedding of Jareth, the Goblin King, and Egeria, the Guardian of the Labyrinth. Jareth and his future bride were eating dinner together, dining on the finest food and drinking the wine that his parents drank before their wedding. "A toast," he said, raising his goblet. "To our future." Egeria smiled her bright, beautiful smile and drank out of her goblet. Egeria drank from the goblet and set it down, taking Jareth's hand into her own. Suddenly, her face fell. She began to cough violently and breaths grew raspy and forced. "Gigi," Jareth gasped. He caught her when she fell from her chair and knelt onto the ground.
"Poison," Egeria was barely able to cough out. Jareth felt tears fall from his eyes as he watched the love of his life die in his arms. Her face was growing purple and her eyes were filling with blood. "Aelfric... had to be..."
"I'll kill him for this," Jareth growled, holding back his tears. "I'll kill him!"
"Find me," Egeria rasped. "When I'm reborn Aboveground. Find me before he does... I love you..." Egeria fell limp into his arms, moving and gasping no more. Her blood-shot eyes remained open, staring blankly into nothingness. Jareth sobbed into the chest of his beloved, his heart shattering in a way he never thought a heart could break.
He slipped a poison crystal into her goblet. I could never prove it was him to the High Court, though. My Egeria was gone from the Underground.
"So the woman we saw now is her ghost?" Sarah asked. Jareth shook his head.
"When a Fae is killed in the Underground, their soul is sent to the human realm where it is reborn over and over until they find their way back," Jareth explained. "While Egeria wasn't a Fae, she was the Labyrinth's Guardian, so the same rules applied to her. Aelfric wanted to kill her in the Underground so that he could find her here, where her memories of the Underground wouldn't exist, and make her fall in love with him."
"It sounds more like an obsession than love," Sarah said. Jareth nodded, clearly agreeing with her.
"It took me millennia to find her in this realm," Jareth said. "When I finally found her, the year in the Aboveground was 1943. Her name was Meredith Fox..."
Meredith looked exactly like my Egeria. She had the same eyes, the same smile... the same aura even. I didn't care that she had no memory at the time; I was only glad I got to her before Aelfric. Then again, I did everything in my power to keep him from entered the human world. I would watch her every night in my owl form. I slid her a copy of a book chronicling the tales of the Labyrinth. I waited as she read the book and waited to see if any of her memories would return. When she finished the book, I appeared before her...
Jareth watched as young Meredith awoke with a start. The ginger teenager looked around the room, watching as shadows from the tree outside her window danced around. She gulped and got out of her bed, turning on a lamp as she walked to her bookcase. She pulled out a familiar red-bound book and smiled, sitting on her bed and opened up to the last chapter.
This was it; after this chapter, Jareth would appear before his love reborn.
He watched with impatience as the teenage girl read through the last few pages. Her green eyes darted from word to word across each page. When she finally finished the book, she set it down with a smile. "Such a good story," Meredith sighed wistfully. Suddenly a loud crashing sound rose from downstairs and the sounds of swearing and yelling filled the space outside her door. Meredith sighed and shook her head. "I wish the Goblin King would just take me away from here. Right now."
This was it. Jareth got up and started flapping at the window, causing as big of a ruckus as he could. He saw Meredith snap her head around and stare wide-eyed at his barn owl form. "A barn owl... like the form the Goblin King takes... curious..." Meredith stood up and opened her window. Jareth flew into a room and swiftly turned into his Fae form.
"I've so waited to hear you wish that, Meredith" he said with a smirk. Meredith furrowed her brow in confusion.
"How do you know who I am?" she asked.
"Because you're not Meredith Fox at all," he replied. She narrowed her eyes and arched her brow.
"I'm pretty sure I am," she replied. "I've been Meredith Fox my entire life."
"You've Meredith Fox for all of this life," Jareth said. "Before, though, you were a denizen of the Underground. Did you enjoy the story of the Labyrinth?"
"I what? I mean, I loved the book, but what do you mean by before?" Meredith asked. Jareth smiled and leaned against the wall.
I explained everything to her about her origins. It was a four hour long conversation. The entire time, her human parents were arguing and yelling. On occasion we'd hear something shatter and Meredith would roll her eyes. I was only glad that it was never her that they lashed out at or abused. But by the end of those four hours, Meredith had accepted that she was once Egeria, Guardian of the Labyrinth, and still had the desire to come with me to the Underground. She packed a bag of books and we were gone. She never again went to the human realm. Some... interesting things began to happen during her first weeks in the Underground...
"JARETH!" the Goblin King looked up at the doorway, still lounging on his throne. A slightly freaked out Meredith appeared in the room, her eyes wide and her jaw slightly dropped. "Um... I have a tail."
"A tail?"
"A tail." Jareth motioned for her to turn around and show it to him. Sure enough, on Meredith's backside was a bright red fox's tail. It was identical to Egeria's. He hadn't expected any sort of transformation when she returned to the Underground.
"I don't know why I didn't expect this," he said. "Egeria had the tail of a fox as well. Perhaps you'll gain her magic in time."
"Her magic?" she asked. "Well... I guess my magic. I mean, I'm her and she's me. What kind of magic did she have?"
"Mostly shapeshifting," Jareth replied. "Her favored form was a fox for obvious reasons. Though I had also seen her as a butterfly, a cat, a bird, a squirrel, a snake, a slug-"
"Slug?" Meredith asked. "Why would I choose to be a slug?"
"Something about being more covert. Not sure why you thought that. Your slug form was bright orange," Jareth said. "Unfortunately, I don't think you can get rid of the tail." Meredith sighed and shook her head, leaving the room, grumbling about having a 'stupid tail.'
I decided to not tell her about her dragon and phoenix forms. Over the next months I showed her the Underground and taught her how to use her magic. My love for her was already there; it a sense it had been first sight for me... though I know it was because I had loved her past life. For Meredith, it took a bit longer, but it still happened...
"Merry, stop being so difficult!" Jareth shouted into the Labyrinth. He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair and sighed. "You were just like this as Egeria." Just then, he saw a ginger cat dart out of the corner of his eye. He smirked and chased after the cat. "I've got you now, precious." He ran into the courtyard where the cat ran and scanned the area, searching for the cat. He scanned the ground and his eyes fell on a bright orange slug. "Really? That has got to be one of your more conspicuous forms." The slug suddenly began to grow and turned into a laughing Meredith. She was wearing more Underground-esque clothing now. Today's ensemble was a white blouse with a brown leather corset and a brown leather sleeveless coat, dark brown leather pants that hugged her legs and brown leather stiletto boots.
"I panicked," Meredith said, smiling. "I knew you saw me as a cat." Her fox tail swished from side to side a she sat on the ground laughing. Jareth rolled his eyes and held out a hand. She took and attempted to stand up. She tripped over her shoes, though, and fell right on top of Jareth. He smirked as the redhead stared down at him. Suddenly, she did something Jareth wouldn't have expected of her.
She kissed him.
It was a soft peck, as if she acted on impulse. Jareth felt his chest swell, cherishing the feeling of kissing Egeria after so many years. Meredith broke the kiss and flushed. "Sorry! I don't know what came over me, and..." Jareth pressed a finger against her lips.
"I've been wanting you to do that for a while," he said, echoing the words Egeria said to him when he first kissed her.
"Really?" Meredith asked. Jareth nodded, suddenly Meredith narrowed her eyes in confusion. "I'm having a moment of déjà vu. Were we going steady? When I was Egeria?" Jareth smiled and nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought it was enough to get used to being the sole Guardian of our Labyrinth," he told her. "Imagine me telling you we were once engaged."
"Engaged?" Meredith asked. She smiled and laughed. "I think I remember that... I'm starting to remember us. Jareth, I loved you so..." Jareth sat up and held onto Meredith, she hugged him back with just as much passion. She leaned up and kissed him. For the next few hours, the lovers reunited. It was a flurry of lips and hands and the passions of making love.
It was her idea to resume the engagement. After all, she got most of her memories back. In essence, she was Egeria again. Yet she still wished to be called Meredith. It felt more like her name, anyway, so I didn't object. We tried to keep her presence a secret but we failed. Word eventually got to Aelfric. Needless to say, he still wanted Egeria for himself and would go to any and all lengths...
Jareth pointed a sharp, steel sword at the chest of Aelfric. Meredith hid behind Jareth, her eyes filled with fear and anger. "This is the second time you've attacked my precious on the eve of our wedding. When are you going to come to terms with the fact that she chose me instead of you?"
"Egeria will choose me," Aelfric snarled. "That can be assured."
"I will never be yours, Aelfric," Meredith hissed. "I never have and never will."
"Why must you be so difficult?" Aelfric said with an annoyed sigh. In a puff of smoke, the Elvenking disappeared and then reappeared behind Meredith. He grabbed her and spun her around to face him. Suddenly, Aelfric plunged his hand into Meredith's chest. Jareth widened his eyes in shock. He had no idea that Aelfric knew how to take someone's heart out. With a swift motion, Aelfric brought his hand from Meredith's chest and took out the pulsing, glowing red heart. Meredith fell to the ground, her eyes vacant and shocked.
"Now I will always have her heart," Aelfric spat. "She may not love me but now she will never love again." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Jareth and Meredith alone.
"Meredith!" Jareth shouted as he caught her. She looked up at him and began to cry.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. She suddenly began to mutter an incantation under her breath. Jareth shook his head when he realized what she was doing. When she finished the incantation, she looked up at Jareth. "Put my body in stasis. Hide me. Make sure Aelfric never finds me."
"You can't-"
"I must," Meredith said, she placed a hand on Jareth's cheek. "No matter how cold my spirit becomes, know that I will always love you." She took a breath and looked up, shouting, "I bind my soul to the Labyrinth and swear to remain with the Labyrinth for eternity and beyond!" She closed her eyes and went limp. Yet she still breathed, as if sleeping. A faint white mist came out of her mouth and swirled into the form of a ghostly woman. She looked down at Jareth sadly before fading away, most likely to enter the Labyrinth.
I've spend the last forty years trying to break into Aelfric palace to recover her heart. His magic is strong and I still have no idea where he keeps it. Yet he's done the same, trying to get Meredith's body. Not even the goblins know where I've hidden her. Every day, Egeria grows colder... More Heartless...
Jareth looked up to see Sarah place a hand on his shoulder. "Do you know how much it pains me to see the woman I love treat me as if she has little care for me? She was always a fiery woman, yet now she's turned to ice."
"I'm sorry," Sarah softly said. By now, most of the Undergrounders had returned to their realm, save for Didymus, Hoggle, and Ludo.
"All because Aelfric could never let go of his obsessive lust for Egeria," Jareth spat.
"You've given up hope, haven't you?" Sarah asked.
"Very nearly," Jareth replied, staring blankly at the ground. Suddenly Sarah removed her hand and stood in front of Jareth.
"I'll help you get her back," Sarah said, her voice filled with resolve. Jareth arched an eyebrow and stared at the girl.
"Why?" he asked. "Even after your run in the Labyrinth you're willing to help me? Why?"
"Because every deserves love," Sarah said. "And it's not fair that yours got taken away by Aelfric." Jareth let out a snort.
"In this case I'd have to agree. It isn't fair," Jareth stood up and looked around at everyone in the room. "You are really willing to help me?" Sarah nodded. "I shall warn you, the Elvenking's defenses are strong. Stronger than mine."
"Ludo, Didymus, Hoggle, and I will help you get into his Kingdom and find Egeria's heart."
"If Sarah wants us to help, we will," Hoggle told him.
"Ludo help," the giant beast agreed, nodding his head.
"We shall help you recover the heart of your fair maiden," Sir Didymus assured the Goblin King. For the first time in many years, Jareth finally felt a sense of hope. He felt as if he would be able to see his love once again and finally have his happily ever after.