Spider and the Fly

Disclaimer: Right, don't own Labyrinth, never will. Currently feeling sick as a dog, so if I'm a little short I apologize. The first song used is "Spider And The Fly" by London After Midnight dies in ecstacy and the second is "Demon" also by London After Midnight. dies again





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Sarah was sitting in her bathing room, with candles all around her. Mafana, her maid, would be coming soon to help her dress. Mafana was a Gypsy, a girl from a family older than most countries. She always had such beautiful stories to tell... but tonight, Sarah was determined to make her own story.



A knock on the door woke her up. "Lady?"



"Come in, Mafana." Sarah called.



Mafana, a girl with dark skin and even darker hair, smiled as she slipped into the room. "I brought you a gift, my lady."



"A gift? From whom?" Sarah asked lazily.



"From my granddame, my lady." Mafana ducked her head.



"What is it?!" Sarah sat up in the tub, almost splashing the water out.



"Words of wisdom. She says if you spill candle wax into water, it will tell you the future. Perhaps... even the name of your true love." Mafana said the last part slyly.



Sarah giggled at her maid's audacity. "Hush. If my mother heard that she'd cut off your ears so you wouldn't hear anything to tell me."



"Well, then she can find out when the Dark Prince is going to the ball instead." Mafana said loftily.



Sarah squeaked. "He'll be there?!"



"Aye, and rumor has it he's looking for a bride." Mafana said, her eyes sparkling.



"Mafana, how many others know?!" Sarah demanded.



"None. I have my ways of knowing." Mafana smirked.



"Gypsy magick?" Sarah asked in a hushed voice.



"Feminine magick." The maid replied, winking. "Amazing what a guard sworn loyal will say when an exotic maid plays cat and mouse with him."



"Mafana!" Sarah's cheeks blushed at the thought.



"If you wish to win the Prince's heart, that's the wrong way." Mafana smirked.



"So tell me, Mafana, what must I do?" Sarah demanded, sinking back into the water.



"Get out of your bath, so you don't wrinkle, for one. For two, I took care of it. Your mother was informed of my discovery, and she and I spoke of the current fashion of the court."



"The glittering puffy things? Ugh!" Sarah climbed out of the bath and took the towel Mafana offered her.



"Yes. We agreed on something else." Mafana opened the door and disappeared, coming back with a white silk gown that was outrageous in its simplicity. A sleeveless, shapeless gown, Sarah just KNEW it would fit her perfectly, and would cling and flow like a dream.



"It's beautiful, Mafana... it looks like it's something made from my dreams." Sarah whispered.



Quickly, Sarah got dressed in the gown, with Mafana brushing her hair out and letting it down. "You look like a dream, my lady. A fairytale come to life." Mafana said with awe.



"But that dress needs a finishing touch." Sarah's mother stood in the doorway. In her hand was a silver and gold owl pendent. "Put this on her, Mafana, and make her look perfect."



"Why an owl, Mother?" Sarah asked.



"It's said to be the Prince's personal crest." Her mother answered haughtily. Mafana shot Sarah a glance in the mirror, saying 'She only knows because I told her.'



"Wear this necklace proudly, Sarah. And win his heart. He is said to be a good man, behind all the cruelty he wears."





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Sarah opened her eyes and sighed. Such a lovely dream... but the bathwater was cold, and she was ready to move on. She smiled as she saw the candles with deep pools of wax. "Well, Mafana, time to see if your granddame was right." she whispered. Grabbing a deep blue, almost black candle in one hand, she swirled the water with her other and poured the wax in. Smiling, she put the candle down and moved on to a black, then red, then grey, then tan, then purple, then deep blue, then black, then gold, then finally... she grabbed the last candle, a white pillar, and she had to grasp it with both hands. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Show me his name." She poured the wax and opened her eyes.

A pool of multi colored wax was floating in the water above her lap. On top, in startling white against all the dark colors, was a single letter.



J.



Sarah stared at the wax. His full name slammed into her, rocking her and making her shiver with anticipation. Jareth. Jareth. Jareth the Goblin King. My Jareth. My King.





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Jareth stared at her in the crystal, hearing his name in her mind but not going... not yet. He smiled cruelly at Sarah's face. "She's so lovely when she's thunderstruck, isn't she?" he whispered to no one.

Jareth. Jareth. Jareth the Goblin King.



Her next words took him by shock, leaving a rush in their wake.



My Jareth. My King.





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After Sarah dried herself off and blew the candles out, she then scooped the wax out of the tub. She laid it on the windowsill, smiling and tracing the "J" with her fingertips.

"Soon." she whispered to no one in particular. "Soon."



Leaving the bathroom, Sarah went over to a bookshelf. Pulling out a dusty CD player, she turned it on and smiled as she hit play. A song began to play, a song that captured her dreams, and her regrets, perfectly.



Empty hearts I can hear them talking

I close my eyes and I keep on stalking

My love

My love



Sarah walked to her dress and smiled at it. She turned to sit down at her vanity when something caught her eye.





No one's aware of the hunger I feel

It's something you or time cannot heal

I need someone to help me rise above





A white rose was on her vanity. Smiling curiously at it, she picked it up and inhaled.





Eternal bliss is something I can show you

Spread your arms and let my wings enfold you

My love





It smelled of night skies and thunder, of electricity and wind. Of fire and of ice. Most of all, it smelled of magic... and of HIM.



In the darkness shades of crimson rapture

The world is ours alone to capture

My love



She kissed the rose lightly.



Come over here and let me tell you something

Nothing ever comes of nothing

We pay a price for all



Whispering to it, Sarah caressed its petals as if the rose was his face. "I know you gave me this rose, my king. Thank you. It's the only thing I wanted this year, and knowing it's from you... that makes it right."



Come along now and take my hand

I'll lead you to a promised land

The morning after it may never come again,

Never be the same...



Sarah kissed the rose softly, inhaling that deliciously magical and male scent.





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Jareth felt her phantom kiss on his lips, felt her breath on his face, and smiled his cruel smile. "Oh yes, Sarah, you're so close..."

Jareth walked to his chambers, throwing open his wardrobe. For her, for Sarah... nothing but his best would do. This was not a time for fear, or a time for love. This was a time to reclaim what belonged to him. Smirking, he dressed in a midnight blue shirt and breeches of pure black, with leather boots and midnight blue cape. Laughing, he realized how close what he wore now looked to what he wore the night of the ballroom, six years.



"Yes Sarah... now it's time to realize how foolish you've been. And for me to reclaim what you stole." Jareth's voice hissed.





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Sitting at her vanity, dressed in her gown, Sarah pulled on the owl necklace. As soon as the pendent settled on her chest, she sighed with relief. It felt so right to have him there... above her heart.

She reached for another white velvet box, and opened it carefully. Inside were two earrings, shaped like golden owl's feet grasping a crystal ball. Each foot held one perfect, round, clear crystal. Smiling, Sarah put them on as well. Standing, she looked in the mirror. "It's time..." she whispered.



"Yes, Sarah, it's time." Jareth said, vanishing the crystal and himself along with it.



Sarah walked through her apartment, drinking in the sights as if she would see them for the last time. Smiling slightly at the romantic notion, she picked up the white pillar candle from the bathroom and turned off the rest of the lights in the house. The CD changed songs, once again another song by the same band, the same story behind what she lived everyday.



"The moon is full and through the mist

I hear your voice I feel your kiss

The line grows thin between what's wrong and right.



Burning flesh, pale as the stars

No one knows just who you are

Drive the knife in deeper to my soul



Velvet touch your mouth on mine

Drunk on lust like drunk on wine

The world will end we'll hear the thunder roll.



Don't even say it

Don't even look away

Haunted by

Haunted by

Black winged angel come to me

Release my soul from this misery."



"How fitting." she whispered, opening her balcony doors. She took two tapers and lit them, using their melted wax to secure them to the railing. Walking around her home, she lit the candles around her bedroom, her living room. Everywhere was illuminated in a soft, golden glow.



The same glow his eyes held for me, long ago... did he hold them for me? Or did I imagine it? I was so desperate, so lost, so... wanting…



Shaking her head, Sarah walked back to her bedroom, the candles lit. Her lips parted, suddenly dry. Shivering, she licked her lips before she spoke.



"Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child that you have stolen." Sarah stood before the open balcony windows, with the pillar candle in her hands. It was the only light in the room, and reflected off of her jewelry and gown. "For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great." Thunder roared in the sky far off in the distance as she said the words so familiar and so alien to her.



"No, Sarah, not those words!" the voice hissed, desperate.



"But you still have power over me." Sarah looked out into the night as she spoke into the darkness. "Jareth."



A gust of wind blasted the curtains wide open. Sarah stood there, unmoving, but trembling. Jareth was before her, his hair and eyes as wild as she remembered. Her eyes traveled the length of him, before slowly meeting his eyes again.





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"Hello, Sarah." he purred in his honey and whiskey voice. Just hearing her name said like that sent shivers down her spine.

"Hello, my King." she said, dipping a curtsey.



"After all these years, that's all you have to say? Come now, Sarah." he said mockingly. "No 'I'm sorries'? No 'Forgive mes'? You have nothing to say except hello?"



"No." she said, setting the candle down and stepping towards him.



"Then what else do you have to say to me, Sarah? Did you just call me here to mock me?" he spat.



She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dance with me?" she whispered, her eyes saddened. She realized he hated her. It wasn't a surprise. She would hate herself too... she did hate herself for what she did.



She quickly took her hand away. "I-I-I mean... if you want to." she stammered, suddenly shy. Her cheeks flushed with red as she realized she had touched him of her own volition.





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Jareth was expecting everything but that. He smirked as he swept her into a dance, a slow waltz like they danced six years ago. Sarah's dress swept around her, his cloak wrapping around her, almost as if it had a mind of its own.

"A dance? A dance is all you wanted from me?" he purred dangerously. "Why Sarah, a girl with your imagination could dream it. After all-" his lips were next to her ear in a dangerously sensual growl. "You dreamed of it before."



"It's not all I wanted." She said, laying her head on his shoulder. How can I tell him? How can I ask him? He hates me... almost as much as I hate me.



Jareth stared down at the top of her head as they danced around her tiny apartment. She was different, this Sarah. Her spark, her pluck, her defiance... was gone. He decided to see if that same spark was there, and made a drastic decision.



He shoved her away from her and she went crashing to the floor with a cry.





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"So tell me, Sarah, what is it you want from ME?" he snapped, his mismatched eyes flashing. Ice blue and dark gold glared at her. Gold like glitter. she thought nonsensically.

She looked up at him from the floor. Weak, she felt so weak. She felt broken, as if something in her had disappeared, a vital piece. She reminded him of a broken doll, one who lost a part of her inside that could not be fixed, and had been tossed away.



Her eyes were empty as she stared up at him. No, not empty... full of pain and regret. Jareth's eyes narrowed as he watched her stand, swaying slightly. She looked beautiful, he noticed, even when she was pale and wan. She touched the owl pendent around her neck, and breathed deeply.



She takes strength from it. The thought flashed through him like a knife. She takes strength from ME.





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Jareth strode forward until he stood in front of Sarah. He gazed down at her, clad in a white silk dress and jewelry that reminded both of them of HIM. He stepped back to fully look at her. She wore nothing under the dress, he could just barely see the outline of her body and knew any clothing would be show. The thought made him uneasy, at how vulnerable she had made herself to him. And how easy it would be to take advantage of that vulnerability.

Leaning down, he stopped himself inches from her lips. "What do you want, Sarah?" he half snarled, half purred.



Sarah felt his breath against her lips and almost lost her mind. "I... I..."



"You what?" he demanded, grabbing her bare arms, holding her close and forcing her to look up at him. His vice grip was leaving bruises on her arms, but neither noticed. Sarah was losing her grasp on everything. The feel of him against her... his eyes... his voice... the smell of magick and of dreams. He was driving her mad.



She summoned up the last bit of courage she had, and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling herself close and laying her head on his chest. Looking up at him, she whispered in a voice so low he could barely hear, "Take me away."





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Jareth stared at her. Her eyes were open to him, pools of green that were begging him, tearing at him, ordering him to say yes.

Instead, he laughed.



Cruelly, he laughed at her. He tossed her to the floor again as if she were nothing but a speck of dust.



"You expect me to take you back to the Labyrinth? Take you back when you disdained to stay six years ago?" he inquired, showing his slightly pointed teeth. He began straightening his clothing, dusting off the fabric as if she had tainted it. He sternly told himself that the trembling came from rage, nothing else.



Sarah shivered at the sight of his teeth, slightly pointed, wondering what they would feel like biting her neck. "I-"



"You what? Found out how hard it is here and decide to come running back to me, hmm? Oh Sarah, you should know better. I've moved on, to bigger and better girls then you." Jareth leaned down to sneer.



She stared up at him, her heart breaking. "Please..." she whispered.



"Try your tears elsewhere, my dear, for I grow tired of them- and of you." He snapped, spinning around.



"Jareth!" she screamed, reaching for him.



He disappeared into the night, leaving her sobbing on the floor.



"Perhaps next time, my dear girl, you'll think about the consequences before you make a rash decision." Jareth's voice purred in her mind.





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Sarah sat in a crumpled mess on the floor, sobbing. She caught sight of one of her wrists. It bore the scars of her days after the Labyrinth. Days when no one believed her. The days before Karen had her committed.

One of the scars hadn't healed completely. It was a slight rose pink, where the others were pearly white. She sat up, staring. Yes. she whispered to herself. If I can't go back... I won't stay here.



Sarah stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom again, staring at her tear streaked face. Glitter, gold glitter, physical memories that cut her more than anything she'd ever felt before, covered her body and dress. She slowly opened the medicine cabinet and her fingers curled around a familiar shape.



I promised Toby I wouldn't do this anymore... but he's gone now... everyone's gone... they stopped answering... all of them...they don't care... even Jareth hates me... is it such a big surprise...I hurt him... badly... and I deserved every mark on my skin.... everything I've done, everything that's happened, is because I hurt him. This is my punishment...



Sarah took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and placed the blade against her skin. No more, she whispered. You refused to have any power over me, Jareth. Now no one will, ever again.





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Jareth was lounging in his throne, idly playing with crystals. His goblins ran amok, leaving him alone in his thoughts. Their noise was enough to deafen a beast, but Jareth didn't hear.

The sound of shattering crystal broke through the goblins' noise. They all stopped and turned to Jareth. But he was gone.





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Sarah was kneeling on the floor, her wrists held over the tub. She felt sleepy, tired, and cold.

The cold has been here, all along. My hope he would help me is what kept it away...



The hope's gone. It all rested on him. Now he's just as cold, if not colder, to me. The cold's here to stay...



I deserve my fate... every second of pain is a pittance. He suffered more at my hands... how could I be so cruel? So cold... it's getting dark...



Sarah didn't feel anything as she slipped onto the floor, unconscious. She didn't feel the warm arms around her, or the lips placing a kiss on her forehead. She didn't hear his voice, whispering words to her. She was lost in a cold, dark place.



And it suited her fine.