Disclaimers: Labyrinth does not belong to me. I am making no money from my fanfic, it is merely for fun. Of course I'm sure you know that copyright to the poem itself, however, belongs to me, so please do not use either version of it (yes, there are two) without asking permission. Although I don't see why you'd actually want to use it anyway...
This is a poem/short story I came up with awhile ago, inspired by my favorite scene in the movie, the crystal ball and the song and dance Sarah and Jareth shared. It is my long-held belief that Jareth truely loved Sarah no matter how cruel he seemed (Or maybe I'm just a romantic at heart), and this is my interpretation of how Sarah might have felt after she defeated him, the regrets she might have faced upon looking back at the choices she was forced to make. I am proud to announce that this fic was given the honor of Best Poem for the 1999 Labyrinth within the Labyrinth fanfiction awards (tied with Lady Sowelu's "The Thirteenth Hour"), and also for the 2nd Annual Green Awards in 2000, hosted by the Labyrinth Fanfiction Mailing List. My thanks to all the Listians who voted for it. ^_^
Also, as I've mentioned, I have since written another version of this poem called "Hopeless Love (Confronting the Villain)", which I've been given the great privilege of having published this past year. It's much the same thing as this, only longer and there is of course no mention of Labyrinth in it, although the basic theme is still there. I added about six more verses to it and changed the point of view and made it into more of a story than what it was, with a beginning and an end instead of just a middle. That version of the poem is the one posted on my main Labyrinth page.
Always Shall We Dance
by Stormlight
The young woman stared out her window as the cool, night air drifted in, teasing her dark, flowing hair with delicate, invisible fingers. It was deep into night, and it seemed that all the world was fast asleep, but for Sarah. The stars shone bright above her, cold and impersonal, as impossible to reach as forgotten dreams.
She sighed and shifted, and the journal on her lap fell open, as though in invitation for her to pour out her sorrows. She glanced at it, her mind still pondering the dream she'd just woken from. It was a dream she'd had many times before since the time, now five years past, that she'd returned from there.
A place she had tried so hard to forget, and yet never could…
His face haunted her mind, always, by turns forbidding and melancholy. She knew not which face she feared more, or which she most longed to see. Lately, it was the latter expression that had come to her in her dreams, in this one in particular…
She glanced at her journal again; a simple, wire-bound notebook, and slowly picked up her pen from her night stand. This dream…it was as beautiful as it was melancholy. She would not write of it carelessly, as though she were discussing the shirt she'd bought at the mall, or how much she disliked her job. This dream needed to be handled delicately or, like a certain crystal, it could shatter and be lost forever…
The images formed together in her mind's eye, and so she put pen to paper and began to write her right words…
There's someone that I'm searching for,
yet whom, I do not know.
Surrounding me, instead I see,
in hazy candle glow,
the Dancers dressed in fine array.
Seductively, they twirl and sway,
like glittering rubies on display,
with naught but glass below.
Then through the hoard of colored silks
I glimpse that which I seek.
His changeling eyes burn into mine
and leave me feeling weak,
and through the hazy, dim-lit room,
his eyes filled with despairing gloom,
he drifts to me, as though to Doom;
I find I cannot speak…
Such sadness in his haunted eyes!
It tears my soul in two,
and deep inside, my heart cries out,
"Please tell me what to do!
Your torment I don't want to see!
I wish that you would smile at me;
For things to be how they'll never be…
I long to comfort you."
Into his arms he takes me then,
and into dance we're spun,
and something magic fills his eyes,
for Something has begun…
In velvet voice, he sings his song.
We're dancing, dancing all night long.
My heart cries, "Here's where I belong!
From you I'll never run!"
Yet something lingers in my mind;
A hidden doubt is there,
but when he bends to kiss my lips,
my heart cries, "I don't care!"
Yet still, I feel there's much amiss.
I turn from his most tempting kiss,
and from my throat there comes a hiss
of worry and despair.
For Dancers start to press me in,
and masked eyes glitter coldly.
On lips are twisted sneers of hate
as rough hands clutch me boldly.
And so, with startled, panicked gasps,
I tear myself from hateful grasps
and stumble through the sea of masks
amid their howling glee.
And yet, no matter where I run,
those eyes I can't escape.
They follow me where e're I go;
Their sorrow I can't shake.
And in their depths lies a command,
a plea for me to understand
the Gift he holds in outstretched hand,
as through the wall I break.
Then screams of horror fill the air
and end the mocking laughter,
as everything begins to fall
and all ends in disaster.
But still, the Dancers gracefully
all sway to broken melody,
for even now they are not free;
They'll dance forever after.
Sarah paused for a moment, staring out into space with a sad, contemplating look. She sighed softly, then turned back to her words…
And as for me, I realize now
I've lost my greatest chance.
My dreams were there within my grasp,
within his longing glance.
His cruelty, always, I'll despise,
and yet, when e're I close my eyes,
this sacred dream within me lies…
There, always, shall we dance…
She slowly closed the journal and slid it down between her bed and the wall, and then, feeling exhaustion once again plague her, she nestled down within her covers and shortly fell back into slumber.
…And once again found herself dancing in Jareth's arms…
~~Finis~~
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