A Forgotten Love

Disclaimer: (Pay attention, I'm only doing this once!)The Labyrinth and all its characters belong to Jim Henson. This story however is original. NOT MINE!!!!!!!

A Prologue

As the voices of her newfound friends died away, Sarah had realized how tired she was as she lay on her bed. Her mind was spinning with all she had encountered in the Labyrinth. She felt relief knowing that if she needed her friends all she would have to do is simply say that she needed them and they would be there for her. She couldn't help but think of the darker aspects to the whole experience. The panic she had felt when Toby had been taken, the feelings of dreadthe the pit of her stomach when she thought she would never be able to get him back, and the fear she felt when faced with the intimidating but strikingly beautiful Goblin King. Worst of all, the shame she felt because of the attraction could feel towards him.

Was it all a dream?? She was a sensible person...sure, she had her imagination run wild sometimes, but something that felt so real couldn't have been fabricated could it??

She began to look around her bedroom trying desperately to think of something else, just until she would be abo fao fall asleep. And then it hit her...

The poster on her wall of the Escher room with all the upside down stairs, the globe of the beautiful doll dressed in a ball gown, her dwarf bookends that looked surprisingly like Hoggle, and the book lying on the vanity appropriately titled, "The Labyrinth". No wonder she had dreamed of all these things, everything she thought she had encountered in the Labyrinth had been something of hers from her childhood that had meant something to her.

As Sarah began to put the pieces together to make some sense out of her "experience" in the underground, she began to convince herself that she had gotten so upset about having to baby sit yet again, that she put Toby to bed and went in her room to pout. She figured it was then that she had fallen asleep. She got so carried away with her overactive imagination; she dreamed that after she put Toby to bed and he wouldn't stop crying, she wished him away to the goblins.

"Yes", she thought, "that must've been what happened."

Sarah also started think about what her stepmother had said... "Well, I'd expect you'd tell me if you had a date, I'd like it if you had a date, you should have dates at your age." Although she would hate to admit Karen ever being right, Sarah couldn't help but think that she was getting a little too old to be behaving like this. She would be a freshman in high school this fall. She decided that her "trip" in the underground had been the last straw. She could no longer use her imagination as an escape from reality. The fact was, she was fifteen years old and never quite over the fact that her mother had left her. And she knew it. She thought about how difficult it must be on her father to see her act like such a child when he was just trying to move on with his life and be happy. She decided enough was enough. She would pack all of her childhood things away and force herself to start acting as an adult...if not for her father's sake, then for her own sanity. With that last thought Sarah drifted off to a dreamless sleep.


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Chapter 2


"You're him aren't you, you're the Goblin King...A Maze...An endless entity of twists and turns, nearly impossible to decipher... Nearly impossible... Thirteen hours...the clock is ticking...You cannot have him, I must get him back...A Beautiful face with Frosted blond hair, a slight hint of desire behind his eyes...Jareth...you have no power over me..."

At the sound of snapping fingers, Sarah's eyes opened.

"Easy Sarah, you may feel a little disoriented, but it is just from the hypnosis, it will wear off in a minute. I usually don't like to start off sessions with hypnosis, but since you wanted to get that part over with, we can now move on so that I can get to know more about you. So why don't we begin by you telling me how you came to live in New York City?"

Sarah looked nervously about the room. The office was plainly decorated with a few certificates hung upon the wall. She did have to admit that the infamous "couch" was rather comfortable.

"Well, I don't know what exacmy smy stepmother has told you, but I will start at the beginning. I used to baby sit ale tie time for Toby, my little brother. As I got older, I hated it. I pretty much had no social life, because every weekend dad and Karen would go out and I would have to stay home with Toby. Well, I think I had just had enough one weekend, Karen and I had some words when I was late getting back from the park, and went upstairs and slammed the door. I just didn't want to hear it. I thought by acting really upset, my dad would get the hint and come and try to talk to me, but when he asked me what was wrong, I told him there was nothing to talk about. He changed the subject rather quickly and left with Karen. I think that was just the last straw for me. I was so tired of being invisible and being treated like I didn't matter."

"From what Karen has told me about you, she said that you had always loved reading and had a very viviaginagination. Her and your father had always assumed you would want to study the performing arts. So what are you up to now Sarah?"

"Well, that was six years ago, I am twenty years old now and go to school at NYU. I am in the Biology program there."

"That seems like quite a change for you. How come you didn't want to go into the performing arts? From what I had heard, you seemed pretty passionate about it."

Sarah sighed. "I think I just decided I needed to grow up and it is really hard to do when you are still playing dress-up, don't you think?"

"Ok, I can understand that, if that is really why you gave it up, but I want you to tell me more about that weekend you were talking about earlier. Karen said that you seemed to change overnight. Now, all my experience with girls at the age of fifteen tell me that drastic changes such as yours don't usually occur overnight."

"The next morning, I went downstairs to get some breakfast, and my father asked me if I was planning on going to the park. I told him I wasn't in the mood, and he gave me a strange look and asked me if I was feeling ok. I told him I was fine. So he asked me what I was planning on doing and I told him I wanted to clean my bedroom, and he laughed so hard and said, "Something really must be wrong with you..." I insisted I was fine, and then he said, " Listen Sarah, Karen and I were talking last night and we were thinking it might be a good idea for you to go spend some time in New York with your aunt Patrice. There is so much more to do there, and we thought it would be good for you to not have to baby sit all the time. Your aunt has told me that she would love for you to come out there. She said they have a great high school there with an excellent drama department." I just simply looked at him not knowing what to say. He told me he thought I would be a little more excited, but maybe I just needed time to adjust to the idea. He left shortly after for work. Karen had already left with Toby that morning to take him to Daycare. She agreed to give me the day off after our little argument the night before."

"So you decided to clean your bedroom on a beautiful day, a day you didn't have to baby sit for your little brother I might add. So what did you think about coming to New York?"

"I didn't know what to think at first, it felt like he was trying to give me away, but the more I thought about it, I thought about how much I really wanted to leave that house."

"So tell me what you did with your bedroom."

"I went up to my bedroom and I changed it."

"What do you mean you "changed" it?"

"I began to box up all the childhood things I had in my room, and made it look more like an adult's room...listen, I don't know why you think this is such a big deal, it is called growing up."

"Sarah, I know that you were feeling a little invisible, and I know that you were probably doing this for attention whether you realize it or not, but the thing that puzzles me is the real reason why you gave up your dreams as far as acting, and changed a lot of your hobbies like reading. People can become more grown up in the way they act, but it doesn't mean they have change who they are. Besides, there is also one more piece that doesn't fit with your story..."

"What's that?"

"Do you recall anything you were telling me from the Hypnosis session earlier?"

"No, should I??"

"Well, it seems to me that you have a repressed memory. It is not at all uncommon, people usually repress things that happen to them usually in their childhood that they really do not want to remember."

"What am I repressing? I can't really think of anything in my life that I would repress, the worst thing that has ever happened to me was when my mother left us. And I remember that more than I care to."

"That's just it Sarah, the things you were speaking of don't really sound like something that you actually could have experienced, but from what I know of repressed memories, they are always something that the person has actually experienced physically. From what you told me, it just doesn't make sense."

"So, what did I tell you??"

"Well, I think the easiest way to do this is to play back the tape. I always record my hypnosis sessions."

"Let's hear it, then."

As the tape clicked on, the soft fuzz of dead air echoed through the room, and a shiver went down her back. Finally, she heard the Dr. Simms' voice say, " It is six years ago, on August 2, 1997. You were living at home with your father, Karen and Toby. Tell me what happened that night."

Sarah froze at what she heard next. In her very own voice sounding very frightened Sarah heard herself say, "You're him aren't you, you're the Goblin King...A Maze...An endless entity of twists and turns, nearly impossible to decipher... Nearly impossible... Thirteen hours...the clock is ticking...You cannot have him, I must get him back...A Beautiful face with Frosted blond hair, a slight hint of desire behind his eyes...Jareth...you have no power over me..."


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Chapter 3

Sarah took a deep breath. "I honestly don't know what any of that is supposed to mean...it doesn't even make any sense...although..."

"What is it Sarah, do you remember something?"

"No, not exactly, but I can't help but think I have heard that name before...Jareth..."

"Well dear, it will take you a while to allow these memories to surface. You will just have to look for clues that can help you to remember what this memory is about."

"Just remember if you need anything, please don't hesitate to call me."

"This is all actually pretty funny. I never would have thought I needed to see a shrink, pardon the expression, but when I was talking to Karen last week she told me it was all the rage now to see a psychiatrist because it is supposed to keep your mentality in balance, you know, like Yoga. I thought she was nuts, but curiosity got the better of me...I had to try the couch."

"I appreciate your honesty Sarah, and I do agree with Karen that seeing a Therapist is great for mental health, but I was surprised at what we found. I think that until we know what this memory is all about, I think we should continue to see each other. So, tell me, what are your plans for the summer?"

"I am spending the summer at Dad and Karen's. I haven't spent much time with Toby since I came out to New York, and I think it will be a nice change from the city."

"Well, do you think that you could do something for me since you are heading home?"

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

"For yourself actually...I would like you to find your favorite book from when you were younger and re-read it."

"Are you serious? Why do you want me to do that?"

"Because sometimes when you do thinks you used to do when you were younger but you don't do them any more, it can bring back feelings and memories from when you used to do them. It is called Nostalgia. I believe that by reading this book, it may be a start to re-discovering who you are, and what this memory has to do with that."

"Ok, I will give it a shot. Can I please take that tape, if I listen to it some more, it may help trigger something."

"Sure. Just remember, call me if you need anything."

***
Sarah got back to her apartment around 7:00 pm that evening. Her apartment was small, only a one bedroom, but it was plenty big enough for her. She went into her bathroom and decided she needed to take a hot bath and think about everything that had happened at Dr. Simms' office. She just kept repeating that name over and over

"Jareth...Jareth...Jareth.."

Who was he?? She couldn't remember. She knew that it wasn't someone she went to school with, she would have known that. It wasn't a name one hears everyday. She ran a hot bath adding just the slightest bit of lavender oil to help her relax. Somewhere deep within her she felt a stirring just at the mention of his name. Her face began to get flush and she lightly brushed her hand over her breast...

The phone suddenly rang. Sarah jumped up out of the bathtub to answer it before it hang up. As she grabbed the receiver, she held the p[hone to her ear and said, "Hello?"

Silence....

"Hello? Who is this??"

Silence....

A shiver ran down Sarah spine. She quickly hung up the phone. "Damn, I hate prank calls. It is probably some nasty old guy with nothing better to do then to heavy breath on the phone." She thought. Once again, the phone rang.

Sarah regained her confident façade and grabbed the phone. "Listen you nasty Perv..."

"Hello, Sarah?? What are you talking about??"

"Oops, sorry dad." Sarah Blushed , "I just had a crank call and I thought it was them calling back."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm not nasty, but I may be old...and certainly not a pervert. I was just calling you to make sure you were coming down tomorrow morning. Toby is excited to see you. He wanted to say goodnight to you. I'll put him on."

"Hi Sarah! I can't wait to see you tomorrow, you'll be around to play with me all summer!!! Mom and dad never have time to play with me much. Well, I just wanted to tell you goodnight...so Goodnight!!!"

"Goodnight munchkin, I will see you in the morning ok? Maybe we can do something special tomorrow, just you and me."

"Ok Sarah, well, Sweet dreams."

"You Too. Goodnight."

Sarah hung up the phone. And walked into the tiny kitchenette off of her living room, and made herself a steaming cup of Chai tea. She lit a few candles and a stick of Nag Champa incense and plopped herself down on the couch. She pushed play on her tiny tape recorder that had used for some of her classes, but this time she listened once again to the tape she had borrowed from Dr. Simms.

She listened again as she heard herself say, "You're him aren't you, you're the Goblin King...A Maze...An endless entity of twists and turns, nearly impossible to decipher... Nearly impossible... Thirteen hours...the clock is ticking...you cannot have him, I must get him back...A Beautiful face with Frosted blond hair, a slight hint of desire behind his eyes...Jareth...you have no power over me..."

What did it all mean?? It didn't make sense. Sarah closed her eyes. Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind. It was a tall extremely beautiful man with frosted blond hair and mismatched eyes. He seemed to look right into her very soul. In his hand, he held a small sparkling crystal. And just as quick as it came, it was gone again.

Sarah sat up and looked around her apartment. Who was he to me? She had to admit he was deliciously sexy. But at the same time, she felt the tinge of fear seep through her.

"Well, I think it is time to try and get some sleep" she thought.

Sarah blew out the candles and extinguished the incense. She swilled her last sip of tea and made her way to her bedroom for a goodnight's sleep.


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