Shattered

 

Sarah stared at the rock in the road, wondering what the big deal was. There was nothing obvious about it, nothing that shouted "important", but that, again, was simply part of the labyrinth itself.

Challenge or wall, she didn't know which, but she was ready for whatever it required.

Sarah walked closer to the stone and saw writing on it. The words were in English. Sarah had the sneaking suspicion that the words would be in whatever language the runner spoke.

"Here lie your desires. Touch me if you dare," Sarah read aloud. She frowned. It wasn't much in the way of a warning. No fancy riddles hinted darkly about dangers or what the road ahead would hold. "Okay, Jareth, I'm guessing that asking you what's going on is out of the question, so just listen for a bit, okay? If I'm wrong, there's no need to do anything dramatic, like sling lightning-bolts my way."

"Not my style," came the voice on the wind. "I won't speak for the Sky King."

"Oh." Sarah blinked, then got back to her original line of thought. "Desires and a dare. Either this rock is going to make me live out my desires, in which case you're in for a workout, or it's going to turn them into nightmares, which would really suck because, well, see first option."

The wind chuckled.

"But there's the dare part that doesn't quite jive. I desire you, to be your Queen, but I don't see how that's a dare--other than the whole 'run the labyrinth' thing, that is." Sarah bit her lip. "How can desires hurt?"

The wind held its breath.

"No help, huh?" She sighed. "Sometimes you're really annoying, you know that?"

"I've been told it's one of my better qualities," teased the wind. "The choice is yours, Sarah. Do you touch the stone, or do you not?"

Sarah groaned. "What is it about this place that makes me take up every dare and then demand more?"

"You're blaming my labyrinth for your own character flaws? Really, Sarah, I thought we'd gotten beyond that last time." Jareth's voice chided her, and she recalled the constant refrain of "But that's not fair!" that she had cried when things didn't go her way.

"Oh, we are, but I'm guessing it's something in the air." She grinned and finished. "Twisted, just like you."

"And you wouldn't want anything else," came the reply, suggestive and taunting at the same time.

"No, I suppose not," she said, thinking of her book. By now, the second day, the heroine was deep inside the labyrinth, searching for the key to the castle, which was hidden where no man could reach it and no woman could see it. It was a bitch of a riddle she'd made, but this was…just weird.

Before she forgot, Sarah took out her tally sheet and marked down 2 memories. "That's the price for chatting with you instead of getting my work done. Off with you now, Goblin King. I'm sure you've got other things to deal with."

"Mm. Indeed. It would seem I have a hero in a village not a day's travel from you. He's done very well, and I must reward the boy. Any ideas?"

Sarah shrugged. "I suppose you could grant him one dream come true--a pleasant one, Jareth. I know how sick you can be."

"Sick?" came the squawk of protest. "My dear, I may be deviant, twisted, and perverse, but I'm never sick!" The huffy silence from the winds made Sarah giggle. Stepping a bit closer, Sarah lifted both hands to the rock. With a light, open heart, she touched the stone.

And nothing happened.

Sarah lifted her hands from the stone and looked for any other instructions. If there were any other instructions, they were well hidden.

"Well, I guess that's it," she muttered, shaking her head and walking around the stone. She looked over every side of it, even going so far as to climb the tree closest to it in order to see if there was anything carved on the top.

Nothing.

Shaking her head, Sarah put her feet on the path to the inner rings of the labyrinth.

Queen Mab cackled. Oh, she loved her Stone of Desires Dark and Light.

Sarah had just become her own worst enemy.

Inside his castle, Jareth shuddered. She had touched the stone. The fifth wall was passed, and now Sarah would endure more from him than even she knew she wanted.  And she would ​want​.

He almost pitied the girl.