Sunrise Sunset

“How domestic Sarah, very pleasant.” Jareth stepped out of the shadows. She instantly picked up her brother and clutched him to her. “Really it is quite touching seeing you like this.” Jareth waved his hand taking in the scene.
The fire was still burning brightly and Sarah’s face was half hidden by shadows. Twas was still deeply asleep peacefully unaware of his presence.

Sarah was ready for Jareth though. During the time she had been settling Toby she had gone over and over the story in her head. How the heroine in her book had defeated the Goblin King. After the trials and heartache Sarah knew what she needed to do to win her brother back.

“Give me the child.” She started to recite the lines, but Jareth interrupted her with a sigh.
“I already have, he is free Sarah.”
“But.” she frowned “I didn’t solve the Labyrinth.” Sarah was suddenly confused. She hadn’t beaten the Labyrinth, she hadn’t gotten to the castle, nor had she confronted the King. But he was setting them free.
“I’ve changed the rules, there is more to this than a childish wish.” He leaned against the stone mantle of the fireplace and crossed his arms. The fire started to burn a light brighter as if it fed off the magic Jareth possessed.
“You mean we can go home?” Sarah’s eye lit up excited at the prospect. Home, safe and sound. She would never again complain about taking care of Toby.
“No,”
“But you said,”
“I said he is free, nothing about you going home.”
“But Toby” Sarah started to panic and clutch the sleeping baby to her painfully her eyes wild. She wasn’t going to let Jareth take her brother; Sarah would make sure Toby got home.
“Don’t’ you see Sarah, this was never about the child.” The bundle in her arms vanished.

“No!” she screamed and threw herself at him. “Give him back, you said he was free!” her hands turned into claw as she tried to scratch is face.

Jareth simply grabbed her flailing wrists and held her away from his body. “Silly girl, he is in his bed. Safe, this was never about him.” He dropped her wrists and walked away from her.

“Show Me,” she hissed still angry but sane. “Prove to me he is still safe.”

Jareth kept his back turned to Sarah and he held out his arm. After rolling his wrist twice a crystal appeared in his hand. The images inside it were small and she couldn’t see the clearly.
Sarah inched her way forward, not trusting herself to be too close to the goblin king. It seemed he had spoken the truth. Toby was cuddled up in his own bed comforted by Lancelot.

“Sarah, you exhaust me” he sighed as he rolled the crystal out of her sight. “One minute you are a kind and protective woman, the next you are a selfish cruel child. What am I to do?” hrnedrned and faced her. His eyes were searching her face for answers.
“Are you a child or are you a woman? Am I the villain or your hero? I need to know.”

Sarah swallowed, and stepped away. She didn’t know how to answer him. She didn’t understand him.
“What is it to be Sarah?” Jareth pressed her, “What are your dreams?”

Suddenly Sarah was scared, she was alone in a dark enclosed space with a man. A man she didn’t know. Her bottom lip quivered as her courage failed. Silently she begged him to leave her alone.
Jareth closed his eyes and put a gloved hand to his brow. He looked as exhausted as he claimed.

“What is it to be Sarah?” he asked softly, gently this time. “Are you a girl or a woman?”

Sarah was silent, thinking. At 15 she wasn’t really supposed to be a child anymore, but a times she was positive she didn’t want to grow up.

“I’m both,” she whispered. “At times I am grown, but I don’t want to let go yet.”

“Let go?” Jareth looked at her over his hand.

“Yes, I don’t want to loose the magic and the mystery. I want to be able to dream. Growing up means I would have to leave it all behind. Means I have to let go of…” her face reddened as she held back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.

Jareth remained silent watching the internal battle quietly.

Sarah didn’t want to think the thought that were running through her head. Letting go of her mother was something she knew she had to do but didn’t want to. She wanted to keep her dreams and still love in the tiny world of her own imagination.

But being that way had put Ton dan danger, he was safe now, but if she didn’t stop being selfish she could seriously hurt someone else. Sarah didn’t want anyone to come to harm because of her. Not anymore.

“I didn’t want to let go until now.” She corrected herself and her voice was stronger and more determined. “I know that I don’t have to let go of my dreams to be grown up. I just have to consider others around me. I have to remember that people are not creations of mine, or simple puppets. I understand now that being grown up doesn’t mean that my fantasies need to be left behind. Instead I have to leave behind childish things.”

“Such as?”

“Not the ideas of a child, but the greed and self possession. I need to start caring about the world around me and others.”

“So you are a woman then Sarah?”

“Umm Humm” she nodded, pleased with herself.

“And what am I then?” Jareth started to walk towards her. “Am I a hero or an adversary?”

This caught Sarah off guard. She wasn’t ready for this line of questioning at all. She licked her lips and drew a breath. “What are you asking me?”
“Am I to be a villain or your hero Sarah? What is my role to play in your dream?” his voice was a husky whisper. “Think very hard.”

Sarah backed away trying to clear her mind. She started to talk out loud to put up a barrier between them.
“You have shown me a truth about myself by making me realize that I love Toby, that I don’t need to stop dreaming. But you stole Toby.” She paused and frowned now caught up in her monologue. She didn’t notice the light dancing in Jareth’s eyes or the fact he had stopped breathing.
“No you didn’t steal Toby, I asked you to take him. You gave me a chance to win him back, and when I had almost lost you returned him to me. You sent him home.”

“What am I to you Sarah?” his voice was caged, his eyes alert. Jareth needed to know her answer.

Sarah looked up and tilted her head. Her eyes reflected a sudden comprehension as she opened her mouth and said “Hero.”

Jareth smiled a weary but satisfied smile.
“You are a hero, you rescued me, and shown me my dreams, then I attacked you. I believed the worst of you. I’m sorry. I was so selfish.” Sarah lowered her head contrite and ashamed.

“There o neo need to be ashamed,” Jareth whispered and he lifted her chin with his finger. “You have apologized and that is enough.” He smiled a tolerant smile. “Now that you understand who I am, do you still fear me?”

Sarah looked into his eyes and noticed for the first time how blue they were. One was a darker blue yes, but it was like looking into a lake. Shallow and deep, both were cool and calming. She started to look at the Goblin King in a new light.

He was mysterious in a dark magical way yes, and he exuded power effortlessly. His casual manner in almost everything was defiant in the way she had expected royalty to behave. But he didn’t feel evil.
His hair and clothes were fantastic, everything she believed a king should wear. His hair wild and untamed, while his clothes were the epitome of medieval pomp and decadence.

Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head. She felt ashamed for studying him so closely while he still had his finger on her jaw.
Jareth removed his hand from her face and stepped around her to stand in front of the fireplace.
The fire was dieing down again and he knelt down to pick up the final log from the basket. As he threw it onto the fire he started talking.

Sarah couldn’t hear him so she walked closer to him. He seemed to be singing.

“I’ll place the stars in your eyes.” He stood up and whisked Sarah into his arms. Music came out of nowhere and he started to dance with her.

“As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you
Every thrill was gone
Wasn’t too much fun
But Ohh I’ll be there for you
As the world falls down.”
Jareth held her close and danced, letting the music fade behind them “That was your dream Sarah. A dream I could feel. I can feel others as well. Ones I could make come true.”
Images came into Sarah’s mind. Images of a pair of eyes, slightly different from each other, reflected in candlelight. Of a pale smooth leg exposed to the night air and moonlight before disappearing under a writhing sheet. The sounds of husky breathing and soft mews, accompanied each of the images.

Sarah closed her eyes and fought these images. She may be young but she knew what they meant. Two bodies intertwined in heat and lust. But she wasn’t ready to see that, to live that.

Jareth rested his chin on her brow as she struggled with her dreams. He closed his eyes and frowned a private grimace before opening his eyes again and pulling away from her slightly.
“You said that you were a woman Sarah, but I am sure that in some respects you are still very young.” She started to speak but he stopped her with a gloved finger on her lips. “Now that you know who I am to you, what I feel for you, you are free to go. For now,” He removed his finger from her lip to trace along her jaw line and caressed her earlobe. “When you are ready for me I will return for you.” And he lowered his face to hers for a chaste and simple kiss. A kiss a prince would use to wake Sleeping Beauty.