Within You
Prologue
Well, that little adventure had hardly worked out as planned. Jareth told himself he was going to have to be more careful about which types of dreams he chose to enact for the dreamer. Sarah had surely not been appreciative of his efforts in the least. His generosity had been scoffed at, his offer rebuffed.
The part which truly annoyed him, however, was that he had been watching Sarah for quite awhile and he had thought that he knew her- knew her subconscious as she never could.
He had chosen to manifest himself as her darker side- seductive and incredibly powerful- assured that she would be unable to resist him. He had created - entirely for her, he might add- that labyrinth based on that play she had been working on. Familiarity with some of the material, surely, would help her accept him. Unfortunately, the role he had been forced to play was not at all enviable- the arch villain, the Goblin King.
Jareth had played the antagonist to Sarah's beautiful young heroine role- her primary fantasy. He had taken her brother (as she had inadvertently asked) as any good nemesis ought to do. He had given her "dangers untold" and "hardships unnumbered." What the hell else could she expect from him? He was supposed to be the villain of the fantasy after all.
But, and this was the part that broke with her story book mold fantasy, the heroine was supposed to live happily ever after- with the "bad" guy, namely Jareth himself. After all, he did go to such trouble for her. He had assumed that she would realize that he had created all this for her, but no. No, that was apparently not clear enough. So, as the bad guy, he drugged a peach and made a little fantasy bubble to tell her his feelings so she would (at last) understand.
Yet again, she persisted in the part of Heroine and rushed away from him. So, after playing nemesis for a little while longer, he let her into the same room as Toby. One last time, he asked her to see past the story and see Jareth. Unfortunately, he was unable to express these sentiments in anything other than "villain" fashion- namely using guilt, threats, etc. because of that damn fantasy play. And so, Sarah never saw beyond the story. She used the ritualistic words which he was forced to obey and banished him from her world.
Damn girl.
He definitely had some work to do before the next time.
Chapter I- It's a Popular Story
Amazing. A movie recounting Sarah's experiences had been made
with
Jennifer
Connelly as Sarah... and David Bowie as
The movie itself was a bit on the far side of accurate-but
nonetheless
intriguing. It
was, of course, entitled The Labyrinth.
The writers had changed the "proper" words to call on the Goblin
King of
course.
That was most likely Sarah's doing. Can't have everyone calling on
Jareth all
the time. They could get into trouble...
The movie was also sprinkled with a few fascinating little
musical
numbers as well. Singing....now that was a good idea. He could
really do so
many interesting things with his voice. Mesmerize, hypnotize,
enchant...
The voice he would keep for next time.
The obvious bonus here was that now hundreds of people had seen
the movie
and
they were all enamored with the idea of Jareth the Goblin King.
Admittedly,
his pick of fantasies to make real was rather limited to the
Labyrinth.
Everyone wanted the Labyrinth - with the Goblin King, of course. But
that was
actually all right. He had taken a liking to the character.
So had a lot of others.
In their private dreams, they wished for him. They formed groups
to talk
about him. They enacted parts of the movie together. They kept using
the
words over and over again in the hopes that they could traverse the
Labyrinth
as Sarah did.
They even had Internet Sites all about him, for God's sake.
Stories
were written
about him and posted at these sites as well as multitudinous pictures.
Ah, the wonders of technology.
But it really wasn't much good without a bit of interaction. And
he did
tend to get
lonely from time to time.
It was time to have a bit of fun.
***************
After perusing one of the numerous sites featuring himself,
Jareth took
note of one in particular. One put up by a Lady Amethyst with an
impressive
fan fiction set. Quite a collection, really. Not just stories, but
poetry as
well. A definite touch, admittedly.
The diverse interpretations of his actions with Sarah as well as
various
sequels and prequels and even totally unrelated ventures were quite
amusing as
well as insightful.
Some saw him as a cruel wizard, some as a sort of dazed lover,
some as an
evil
being, some as simply an individual with ulterior motives. Every last
one of
them saw him as very, very sexy.
It felt good to be appreciated.
Some of the character interpretations were quite good and he
resolved to
use them the next time he used the character of Goblin King. He took
note of
some of the more creative authors and resolved to pay them a visit, in
their
dreams or perhaps in person. Actually, not in person. In owl.
Still, it seemed that no one had seen beyond the story. No one
had
bothered to
wonder why exactly the Labyrinth existed or how it was created with
only the
bumbling goblins to protect it while a human ruled. Actually, at the
time, he
had thought it was quite a good creation. It conformed to Sarah's
play and it
Still, upon review, he realized there were a few loose ends- a
few whys
which hadn't ever really been answered. Why did a human rule over
goblins?
Why, if Jareth could use the power of his crystals to know everything
happening in his kingdom, was he unable to stop a few inhabitants and
Sarah?
Where did the power of the crystals come from anyway? Why crystals,
indeed?
(The reason for that was simply that he was rather fond of them.)
Yet, these people had apparently had no trouble embracing his
creation in
its movie embodiment. Now, in fact, they would be expecting that
particular
setup- what with Hoggle, the worm, the Escher room et al.
But he had no real reason to complain. People believed in him
now - or
at least
they fantasized about him a damn lot.
And wrote stories about him.
A few visits were most definitely in order.
*****************
It was sublimely easy to pick up on the thoughts and dreams of
those
particular
chosen writers. A little act of concentration and a small exertion of
will
power were all that were required. He would gaze into the dreams of
one, stir
the thoughts of another, and perhaps linger in the mind of a third.
Every now
and again, he would perhaps add his own imaginings to some of the
dreams just
for the hell of it.
Needless to say, the fan fiction got increasingly more
interesting.
After all, they were incorporating his ideas into their stories,
marveling at
the sudden "inspiration" which seized hold of them at the oddest
moments-
particularly when they had just fallen asleep.
But this wasn't at all satisfying for Jareth. He needed contact
on a
more physical
basis, at least. He took to watching two of the writers in the
favored form
of snow white owl. He watched them as they went to asleep, as they
went to
school, as they engaged in all the mundane aspects of their lives.
Which was slightly interesting at best, mind boggling boring at
worst.
It seemed that events were heading towards extraordinarily dull a
lot of
the time.
The reason for this predicament Jareth soon discovered.
Increasingly bored by his constant vigil, Jareth soon grew
impatient for
them to
notice him and peered at length into their minds. Deep in their
subconscious,
their
personality, their soul he burrowed. And, try as he might, he was
unable to
find that
curious, yet tantalizing, mix of belief and skepticism. One who
believed a
movie such as the Labyrinth could be reality, but skeptical enough to
see that
it was only a form of reality. One who had the power to see. He
wanted
someone with charisma and poise, but who could yet be swept away by
his grace
and power. Someone trusting, but still discerning. Someone both
powerful and
exquisitely vulnerable at the same time.
In short, someone who wouldn't bore him after two days.
He mused about this revelation for awhile as thoughts of
impossibility
raced through his mind. As he brooded, he heard yet another mortal
calling
out the words from the movie.
Well, they wanted the Goblin King so badly, did they?
Perhaps he should oblige them.
Chapter 2 - Open Up Your Mind
She had been laying in the hotel room, alone.
Her curly shoulder-length hair was mussed from a night of sleep.
Although brown, it always looked red and gold in the sunlight. Her
tall, slim
body lay sprawled on the hotel bed. Tan, muscular legs lay on the
unmade
sheets.
Yup. She looked just peachy this morning.
She sighed and pushed her glasses back onto her face.
Her parents had gone golfing for the day and had left her in
their hotel
suite with
hopes that she would "feel better." The reason for this was that she
had been
dealing with some sort of stomach virus for the majority of their week
long
vacation Arizona. Dealing with wasn't actually the right word for it;
try
struggling with agonizing pain or living through miserably.
It hadn't actually hit her until they left Phoenix. Then, boom!
She
was pretty much out for the count in Sedona. Yet, she had woken up
this
morning to find that she felt nearly normal and pain-free.
If this wasn't a miracle, then the definition of miracle needed a
little
modifying.
This left her with an entire morning to herself. Very convenient.
A little too convenient actually.
Maybe part of her problem had been psychological. She really had
wanted
to be
alone in this room here in Arizona and as soon as her parents had
left, she
had felt fine.
Amazing, the power of the human mind.
Ah well, the point was that she was alone now. So what was she
going to
do?
She attempted to read her book on telekinesis and practice.
Couldn't
concentrate. Tried that out of body experience thing she had read
about. No
good. She played with the stones she had gotten from one of those
little New
Age mystic stores that grew in abundance down in Sedona. Nope.
What was it that she had really wanted to do ever since there was
the
possibility of being alone here in this place filled with untapped
power and
natural energy?
Try the words, of course.
****
Memories.
It was 1986 and she was five years old. She was sitting on the
floor in
the den, eyes glued on the screen as a tall man twirled clear balls in
his
hands. Later, amazing creatures jumped and cavorted around a girl and
there
was a big monster and a small dog-knight with a dog for his horse.
This movie
was great. But, what really caught her wandering five year old
attention was
the man. He had so much power and magic.
That night, she dreamt about being taken away to that magical
place, the
labyrinth. She dreamt of the man. She dreamt he showed her how to do
the
magic, real magic with those crystal balls.
She was insanely happy when she saw him singing on MTV. She kept
pointing out to her parents - "That's him! That's the Goblin King!
That's
Him!" while they nodded assent, said "That's nice, pumpkin," and
watched him
perform.
It really was him. He was real. Which meant the movie was real,
too.
It was a fantasy she would cherish the next few years of her
childhood.
But, as she grew older, she forgot about the Goblin King-or at
least she
buried him deep within herself.
Then, for no reason at all, she dreamt of him again. It was 1996
and she
was
fifteen. The dream was a strange one- yet one of the few she
remembered upon
waking. The Goblin King was instantly recognizable to her. For no
reason at
all. She couldn't begin to even remember the movie but he was known
to her
immediately.
Strange. But she spent little time puzzling over it. Wrote it
down in
her journal and worried about it no more. After all, she was into the
world
of Anne Rice's vampires. Why think about past fantasies now?
Because they still had power over her, that's why.
She fondly recalled the times she had spent daydreaming about the
Labyrinth and especially the Goblin King.
Ah well, enough of that. Back to the Vampire Lestat and his
world of the
night.
March of 1997. She drove to her weekly tennis lesson, reveling
in the
power of
driving her parent's new car. Fairly uneventful lesson. But, as she
was
cruising home, her mind suddenly turned to the Labyrinth and became
fixated on
the Goblin King. She strained to remember the slightest detail of the
movie.
Something about goblins, obviously. A girl, too. And a Goblin King,
of
course. With crystals.
Mostly, she recalled what she thought of as her "silly childhood
fantasies" of a man wielding crystal balls with magical power-
realizing that
she had never truly thought of them as silly fantasies at all.
Ridiculous stuff, surely. Still, she decided to try and see if
the local
Metro movie
place had the movie in. Couldn't hurt to watch it again. Maybe it
would shed
some light on her sudden fixation.
**********
The local Metro did indeed have it. She cringed as her parents
made
stupid
comments about why she wanted to watch it. God, why couldn't they
just mind
their own damn business?
She soon realized that she wasn't angry at them for being
involved. She
was angry because she was embarrassed at her need to see this movie.
They
were only pointing it out to her. It was a children's movie, for
god's sake.
Why the hell did it matter so much?
She snuck up to her parent's room while they were watching their
usual
Saturday
night movie, anyway.
She definitely needed to be alone when she saw this. No one else
could
possibly
understand. Not that it mattered on that point. No one truly
understood her
as it was. How could they possibly? She didn't even understand
herself all
the time...
Well, enough of that sort of self-pity drivel.
She plunked the tape in and began to watch.
**********
A little less than two hours later, she was quietly stunned. And
most
intrigued.
The movie was...well... amazing. Pieces of memory swam up from
the
depths of her mind as she had watched it. Some things were almost
entirely
new to her. The Bog of Eternal Stench, for instance. The Escher
room. The
singing. Most of the Labyrinth, actually with all its goblin
inhabitants.
But the Goblin King was not. His name perhaps-Jareth-was new.
But the
man
himself- no, definitely not.
It also surprised her how much the paraphernalia in her room
resembled
aspects of this movie. Crystal balls with objects representing her
dreams
were mounted in a book case. She had two pictures of owls hanging in
her
room, one of them being a snow white owl. Fantasy books abounded from
her
shelves. Fairy tales in abundance were there. Stuffed animals
looking like
some of the characters were in every corner. And the necklace she
had picked
out for a sixteenth birthday present was that of a hand holding a
crystal
ball.
Good God. This Labyrinth had apparently had a very strong effect
on her,
indeed.
And she had only seen it once before, ten years previously.
That was disturbing.
It was so disturbing, in fact, that she turned her thoughts
elsewhere.
Back to the movie.
The one scene that she had fallen in love with was the
peach-induced
ballroom
scene. It thrilled her that Jareth could love this human girl. She
wasn't
exactly sure why this was the case. After all, it was just another
instance
of a powerful adversary in love with the heroine. Nothing new.
But it still sent shivers of pleasure running down her whenever
she
thought about it.
*And she's a lot like me*
No. Where had that come from and what was she doing thinking
something
like
that? This was a movie. A movie, dammit!
But if it was just a movie, what could be the harm?
She had always had little private fantasies that she struggled to
believe
could be real. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break the
barrier
within herself that would cause them to be real. She wasn't able to
truly
believe in them. But still, she tried. Just as a child who thinks
that they
can cause things to be real simply because they want them to be real.
She toyed with the idea of saying the words- just to see what
would
happen. But she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. What if they
didn't
work? No. That was absolutely asinine. Of course they wouldn't
work, idiot.
This is from a movie. Nothing more. But, if they did work...
But that was beyond silly. Surely others would have tried the
very same
thing and if they worked, you would here about it. At least in the
tabloids,
anyway. GIRL SWEARS SHE WAS TAKEN TO MAGICAL KINGDOM BY GOBLIN KING.
That
sort of thing.
Lord, what kind of thoughts were these? Wishing yourself into
magical
kingdoms
where you were at the mercy of a king who probably didn't much want
you
there...
But what a king. What a beautiful, powerful, dizzyingly magical
king.
To have
such a man desire you, to have him want you, beg you to yield to
him...
Truth be told, she was starting to become afraid.
She was sixteen now. This sort of childish wishing was something
she
should have outgrown by now, surely. Perhaps this was indicative of a
little
mental instability. She had long thought about that, actually. Was
she
slightly mad? A tad loony? A bit batty? She was never completely
sure. But
then, hadn't she read somewhere that only the completely insane were
always
sure of their sanity?
She had always flirted with the idea that she possessed certain
powers,
too. After all, if the average human only used 10% of their brain,
what was
the other 90% capable of? Telepathy, telekinesis? Why stop there?
After a little thought, she finally admitted it to herself. She
believed
that she could shape the world around her. Cause events to happen,
affect
people certain ways. Create things through her belief.
Like Jareth.
If she believed in him, truly believed him on the deepest and
most
fundamental level, he would be real.
That was the bottom line.
*Oh God, am I insane? What am I that I can believe such things?*
But she already knew the answer to that.
She had had proof ever since she was a little child that she was
special.
She was
exceptionally intellectually gifted. She had maxed out of the IQ
tests they
gave in
elementary school and she had an intuitive grasp for most subjects.
Languages
especially. Sometimes she understood the "gist" of a word even if she
was
unfamiliar the language itself.
But besides this, there were other things she could do.
In elementary school, she could affect people's choices. Wishing
for the
teacher to say a certain person's name, the teacher soon would. Her
first
impressions of people were always right- even if it took her years to
figure
out that her initial impressions were the correct ones. She could
tell when
someone was watching her or thinking about her. She could read
others'
thoughts if she closed down the rational part of her mind that kept
telling
her there was no possible way she could do these things.
It was all a question of belief.
In high school, she discovered that by believing something could
happen,
it would
happen. She believed certain boys were looking at her. They always
were. She
believed she was making good impressions on certain people. She
always did.
Admittedly, this seemed a bit of a mundane use for psychic powers but
there
were really no other ways to test it. She affected people and needed
them and
their reactions to see if her powers were working.
And she never could get any absolute evidence when she was by
herself.
It was
either affect people or nothing at all.
But she was still shy and reserved. And very much alone when she
wasn't
in school. Oh certainly, she was charming and vivacious in the
presence of
people. But a group of friends to hang out with? No. A boyfriend?
Never.
Even a date? Nope.
This stemmed partly from a feeling of isolation in her formative
years.
She had been quite simply by herself an awful lot during that time.
And so,
close relationships with people were often strained.
Still, she was changing both physically and mentally. Always a
bit
gawky, she had suddenly changed into a self-assured rather exotic
individual
in the eleventh grade. Not exactly pretty, but interesting to look
at. Her
"powers"- as she liked to call them- were making themselves more
apparent as
well.
Little things bothered her less and less. Nothing really
affected her an
a fundamental level any more. Her grades never faltered and they were
never
more important to her. But she was emotionally apathetic. Her
infatuation
with the vampires of Anne Rice was fading and nothing seemed to be
replacing
it.
Until Jareth.
So, concluding her thoughts for the night, she resolved to watch
the
Labyrinth again soon.
***********
A frantic search of many local movie places had yielded her very
own copy
of the
Labyrinth. Now, she could watch it at her leisure- or at least the
next time
she was alone.
As she viewed it again and again, she paid particular attention
to all
the parts
involving Jareth. She was increasingly surprised by the complexity of
his
character. Just as she thought she had deduced the reason behind one
action,
she would discern yet another. He was most interesting on the
psychological
level.
Oh hell. Whom was she kidding? She kept watching the movie
because she
was
absolutely captivated by him. He was charming, cruel, mesmerizing at
will.
And such power. Always such power surrounded him. He was in control
at all
times. Whether he was psychologically torturing Hoggle, commanding
his goblin
minions, or seducing Sarah- he was powerful. Even when Sarah
"defeated" him
in the end, he seemed to somehow be in control. Though he was visibly
disappointed, he was nonetheless the master of the situation.
She marveled at his strength, marveled at his power.
And she wished to God he was real.
This character, this Goblin King- his every aspect appealed to
her.
Everything she had ever dreamed of, ever sighed for in her daydreams-
this
powerful personality had been made flesh in Jareth.
But this was ridiculous. He was a character from a children's
movie. A
children's
fantasy movie, for God's sake! What the hell was she doing wishing
for him to
be real? Was she just plain nuts? Had the cheese finally slipped off
her
cracker?
Of course not. Everyone had fantasies. This was hers.
And she would do everything possible to fuel her passion.
************
She searched the Internet on a whim and was amazed to discover
the depth
of the material regarding the Labyrinth. Web Pages upon web pages
abounded
all about it. There really were others just as obsessed (if not more
so) than
she was. She found synopses, pictures, sound bytes, even the novel.
The novel immediately caught her interest. She was desperate to
satisfy
her curiosity about one particular issue and the movie was maddeningly
vague
about it- most likely on purpose.
Had Jareth really been in love with Sarah?
If he had been right from the beginning, why take Toby and do his
best to
rid
himself of her? Why not dazzle her and seduce her there? Surely it
had been
within his power. He didn't need the child to get her attention and
he most
likely would have been more successful in winning her if he hadn't
stolen
Toby. Why indeed?
Or if he had fallen in love with her while she was "solving" the
Labyrinth, as it were, why had he granted her wish and taken the child
in the
first place? It seemed odd that a powerful being such as Jareth would
be
beholden to girls' wishes to relieve them of their siblings.
Perhaps Jareth had merely wanted the child. It would explain why
he
answered
Sarah's request. Being surrounded only by goblins had to get to you
after
awhile.
Watching their stupidity for a mere hour, while hilarious, was also
quite
annoying.
Imagine dealing with that sort of thing on a daily basis. But there
were
certainly easier ways to procure a companion than stealing one.
Maybe it was a combination of all three
possibilities...but....damn.
Just thinking
about it was starting to give her a splitting headache. Again.
She downloaded the novel and printed it out.
Scanning the words, she was surprised to note that it didn't
follow the
movie exactly. Here, also, it was apparent that Jareth had fallen in
love
with Sarah after he set the Labyrinth before her. Still, that didn't
explain
why he was forced to take the child in the first place.
Also, this novel made it seem more of a fairy tale where evil has
no
logical purpose except to confound good at every turn but still must
follow
determined rules of its own. Like in the various tales she had read
as a
child where an ogre or some other monster held a princess captive.
The
monster was all powerful and no adventurer was able to defeat it using
the
normal methods. But, if said adventurer procured an apple from the
golden
garden of the sun or walked until three pairs of iron shoes had been
worn
down, etc. , the monster was, for some reason, powerless and forced to
concede
to the adventurer.
This same sort of set up seemed to be the case in the novel.
Here was
Jareth, an extraordinarily powerful, seductive being defeated by a few
words a
girl memorized from a play. Of course, the point there was that she
had
"conquered" the Labyrinth by realizing that Jareth had no power over
her, etc.
But, why should that cause him to lose, as it were? Unless, he had
wanted her
and she had rejected him. If he were in love with her, he would have
felt
forced to obey her wishes, perhaps. But then there was the whole
set-up with
the Labyrinth. Why construct a place based on her subconscious like
that? It
would most likely piss off the person rather than get them to like
you. At
any rate, couldn't he court her like any normal person? Unless he was
trying
to impress her with his power or something. Male egos had a way of
asserting
themselves like that. Though why Jareth needed an ego boost, she
couldn't
fathom. No, that wasn't right at all.
But wait. Sarah was always into fantasy. Maybe it was her dream
to play
out in
"real life" one of her plays that she was always practicing. Since
Jareth had
the power to "realter time and turn the world upside down," he would
be able
to create such a world just for her. That would explain why Jareth
was
subject to the words she had memorized. He would simply be following
the
fantasy play. She would be, too- as the beautiful heroine.
This was starting to make sense.
Frightening.
Frightening because she was beginning to see all the
possibilities of
him.
And all from a simple movie.
Searching for a better understanding of Jareth, she printed out
the few
short stories she had found. Maybe one of them had some insight into
his
character.
One which particularly caught her eye was the Cassandra Trilogy.
The
plot was
good and the character development superb. She liked the way the
author had
not
classified Jareth as pure evil or someone just bent on seducing girls.
Instead, he was a sort of moody lord. Also, he was given a history- a
brother, a hint that they had solved the Labyrinth together at one
point, a
bitter ex-girlfriend of a sorts.
She was impressed with the story.
But, though she refused to admit it to herself, the real, more
fundamental, reason she liked this story so much was this:
The main character had wished herself into the Labyrinth with
surprisingly good
results.
Though it was absolutely absurd that this sort of thing could
happen to
her, she still wished that it could work. Perhaps if her belief was
strong
enough...if she tried the words...maybe...
*No. I will not fool with my mental health like this. I will
not. The
Labyrinth is
fiction. That is all. I do not believe in Jareth.*
Deep down, she knew that thought was a lie. She believed in
Jareth
because she was beginning to see the logic of his situation.
Though her dreams were not the same as Sarah's, perhaps she could
still
use the words to get his attention.
***************
She was reading the story again, lying in the motel bed while her
parents
were
resting after a hard day's travel to Arizona. It rekindled her
passion for
Jareth with every word.
She would do it here. Try the words. All she needed was an
opportunity.
When he appeared, she would be ready.
She paused, wondering again if she was playing a dangerous game
with her
sanity. Wishing for Jareth to come and take her away. All right,
maybe not
to take her away. But most surely to come.
She almost laughed out loud at herself.
*Well, who cares? Who honestly gives a damn?* she thought,
trying to
muster her courage. She was going to try. If nothing happened, well
then
nothing happened. No problem.
But she knew that was a terrible lie. Twice now, she had lied to
herself.
This was
getting to be a terrible habit.
She would be horribly disappointed if nothing happened and she
damn well
knew
it.
So the timing must be right and she must, above all, be alone.
But the question was how. Nearly every minute here was planned
so that
the
maximum family quality time could be obtained. They were here as a
family,
they would do family things together, blah blah blah...
There must be a way. Perhaps when they got to Sedona.
*****************
Which brought her to a few minutes ago. The place was perfect-
vortices
of natural energy, majestic backdrops of regal red rocks.
And she was alone.
Preparing herself, she had stood tall in the sunlight and quietly
said,"I
wish the
goblins would come and take me away right now."
And then she had waited.