Work Text:
The moon was full and gleamed like a lustrous pearl in the clear midnight skies. In the distance, a clock chimed the hour. It was midnight. She was known to many as the Witching Hour.
Midnight may be the Witching hour, but the Devil's hour was three a.m. That was neither here nor there. What did matter? Strange and beautiful things happened at night. Things that feared the daylight always made themselves known when the sunset and the moon rose.
A young brunette woman stood gazing her beautiful eyes at the moon in a typical town. As if it was an old friend. Her gaze transfixed upon the moon.
Her breath fogged her large bay window, and she drew a heart with the initials S and J in the fog on the window. Then, when the clock finished chiming twelve times, she sighed.
Tightening her light blue bathrobe around her body, the young woman ascended the steps to her bedroom. Once she was there, she paused for a moment.
She closed her eyes, and her mind drifted to that long-ago night in her youth for a moment. To another world of magic and wonder. Where she had had friends and where she discovered her real self.
Who knew an ill-made wish could change your life in so many ways? Or even if other people called that night nothing more then a dream. So when her friends and family told her to stop thinking about a childish fantasy, she knew it had happened.
Sarah knew in her heart that the Labyrinth wasn't a dream. Yet, no matter how often people told her to stop talking about it, that night was never far from her mind.
And neither was he: Jareth, the Goblin King. Even decades later, he still somehow cast a spell over her. She found herself lately longing for him. To dance once more with him and see him and his crystal balls.
Life after him and his Labyrinth had been quite different. She had grown up after that night. She was becoming more responsible and starting to act like a young lady. And yet she couldn't forget the dreamer she had been when she first entered the Labyrinth.
She went to her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. She whispered good night to her friends from that world once more. Then she wished the Goblin King goodnight.
From midnight to three, nothing happened. Then, as the clock struck three, Sarah suddenly awoke. But was immediately confused by what she saw. She was no longer in her nightgown but a simple white tunic and barefoot.
Sarah managed to keep herself calm, but it only lasted a moment. She suddenly felt like she was on fire and choking on smoke. She fell and then rolled down the rocky embankment as she hit her head on a rock.
Losing consciousness, she wasn't aware of the strong arms lifting her from the ground. Likewise, she wasn't aware she was bleeding from a large gash on her forehead.
She didn't even hear a familiar voice whisper, "I've got you, Sarah. I've always got you."
When Sarah finally came, she was aware she wasn't in her bedroom. Instead, the room she was in was fit for a queen. The large windows were open, and a delicate breeze flowed through the room, keeping it at the perfect temperature. Outside, songbirds were singing as the warm sunlight streamed in just perfectly.
She had been resting on a king-size bed with soft, white cotton sheets with a dark stained headboard. The mattress gave the impression one would feel as if they were sleeping on a cloud. There were a dark wood wardrobe and a massive gold full-length mirror across from the bed.
Lavish gowns and beautiful finery were glistening on the bedside tables. There were private chambers for royalty, no doubt about that.
Drawn to the beautiful gown in front of her, she approached the mannequin. The dress was a pale pink silk gown with fluted sleeves. Tiny crystals sparkled all over the clothing. Laying next to it was a beautifully crafted swan masqueraded mask.
Glancing around again, she noticed a particular flower arrangement. It was eight-light pink roses, seven snow-white roses, and three sprigs of myrtle. How did anyone know that been what her mother had carried down the aisle?
Sarah coughed again and immediately wished she could be in the water because her body felt on fire. It felt like the flesh was melting off her bones.
"Make it stop! Someone helps me!" she cried out, and then a hidden door opened, and she saw the most magnificent bathroom ever. It had the enormous bathtub she had seen with sold gold tabs and other spa-like luxuries within the toilet.
Furthermore, she noticed in the bathroom was vases full of fresh cherry blossoms, lilacs, and white roses; moreover, throughout the bedroom where green roses, purple hyacinth, and forget-me-nots.
Wanting to relieve the pain, she quickly lost herself in a soothing hot bubble bath. This was all so magical. She tried to lose herself in a daydream as she closed her eyes.
But it was more like a nightmare. In her mind, a raging inferno was everywhere. Thick black smoke and no way out. She was screaming for help and yet not able to escape.
Her brown eyes snapped open, and her breathing was heavy. Why was she having nightmares about fire? It made no sense! But it seemed too real to be a dream.
She quickly got out of the tub and went back into the main bedroom. Then, hesitating, she put on the beautiful gown and swan mask. Once dressed, she felt compelled to pick up her mother's flowers.
As if in a trance, when the door to this bedroom opened, she walked out and seemed drawn to a distant room. The room turned out to be a chapel of some kind.
She finally returned to her senses and realized it was Jareth standing at an altar, awaiting her. He was holding a single long-stemmed red rose.
"Sarah, it's good to see you again. You've grown even more lovely since we last met," he said relaxedly.
"Why am I back in the Labyrinth? Why are you here?"
"Because me bringing you here was the only way to save your life."
"Save my life? What are you talking about?"
He summoned his crystal balls, and one floated over to her. She looked into it and realized she was seeing her own home ablaze. It was out of control, and the fire department couldn't put it out.
"Is this happening? Or is this a trick?" she demanded to the Goblin King, who shook his head.
"No trick, my darling Sarah. When the Devil's Hour arrived, your life was to end. Faulty wiring in the house would cause an inescapable fire. You would've died almost instantly."
"What did you do?"
"I snatched you from your world and brought you here, though you can no longer return to your world. This is because your former body has expired. Your new body can only exist within my world now."
"So I am dead?"
"On Earth, yes, you've perished. Here? You can live forever. Sarah equal in step and equal in heart, forever together."
"That is a bit poetic, but what does it mean?"
"It's the vow I wish to take with you if you will finally have me, Sarah. The girl who has haunted my dreams for so many decades. The one who stole my heart," as he held out the rose for her.
She took it, gazed at it fondly, and then looked up at him. "You wish me to become your wife? To be one now and forever?"
"That is what I've longed for so many years. Since we first met all those years ago. I only wish to have you by my side all of the time. So what do you say?"
"I do."
"So, this what you want?"
"I just said I do. Isn't that what people say when they wish to marry someone?" Sarah began to fondly Jareth and then finally kissed him.
Finally, she was at home again in his arms for the rest of the time. It was a dream come true.