All I Want For Christmas

The goblins danced around the large tree decorated with stale popcorn and dead rodents. Behind them, sitting sideways on his throne with one leg thrown haphazardly over the arm sat Jareth the king of the goblins. At the moment each of the goblins had a shiny glass ornament in their hands, throwing them to each other and smashing several. The goblins had started celebrating months early for some reason. Jareth did not dislike the holiday, but saw no real reason to celebrate. He had not celebrated the holiday since the tradition began, but enjoyed how humans on the Aboveground decorated with the lights and many colors. His only concessions here were a red riding crop and red streaks in his hair. As they danced, the goblins began to sing Christmas carols as loud and off key that they shattered a mirror on the far wall of the room.

Jareth stood, now irritated, "Where did all of you learn that horrid song?"

"Sarah teach us!" they each yelled out of turn, sounding much like an echo.

"Enough!"

The goblins settled back into their dancing game of catch, but were no longer singing as the Goblin King settled back on his throne.

"Sarah… Sarah, you have been a busy girl."

Without much thought, Jareth called up a globe to see what Sarah was doing. I had been ten years since they had seen each other face to face and he doubted until this moment that she remembered him. He had watched her finish school, go on dates, and even sometimes sleeping so he could hear her whispered voice as she dreamed. In all that time she had not once whispered his name or called him.

As Jareth gazed into the globe in his hand he concentrated on Sarah. A misty haze appeared in the glass before Sarah's sleepy image appeared. In one hand she held a sketch pad, the other a long pencil. She was lying on her couch propped up by the side of the couch. Under her legs sat a spiral with her newest story in it. He turned the picture to see what she was drawing and gasped when he saw his face looking back at him. The image was Jareth dancing with Sarah like they were in the ballroom all those years ago. The detail in the picture was exquisite.

"Oh goodie, Saree be writing another Labyrinth book!"

One of the goblins had been watching from behind the throne. All Jareth could see of it were its eyes and long pointed nose.

"Sarah has been writing about the Labyrinth?"

"Yes. Yes, my king. Here!" she handed Jareth one of the books she always had with her.

The book itself had been terribly worn and slightly sticky. The cover looked disgusting and covered in moss and leaves, but as Jareth ran his fingers over the drawing of his Labyrinth he noticed that the book was originally that. As he looked through it he realized this story was an adventure Sarah could have had with the goblin that was now on his arm. It remained quiet, waiting for her king to get angry at what was written, but instead he laughed. The whole room stilled in shock at their king's behavior, not knowing how to react to him. He had not laughed in many years.

For the next few weeks Jareth watched Sarah through globes from a far. He saw her interacting with humans and his goblins and that creature Hogwart. Somehow that goblin who told him of Sarah's books, Vira, had given him a set of all of her children's books. The stories ranged from her first appearance in his realm to the ridiculous. He imagined Sarah taking several goblins trick-or-treating and began to laugh again. He would have loved to have seen that.

"Majesty," Vira was on her knees in front of the throne, "I have news of Saree. That book she was writing is coming out today, Christmas day, and she is having a costumed ball to celebrate. Her whole town is invited as well as all of us. She likes having us around, I think."

The goblin began jumping up and down in glee with the flyer in her hand until the king took it and waved her away. With no time to spare he located the place where Sarah was holding the ball and linked it with his ballroom in the castle so now the two places merged into one. The windows that faced the outside now showed his labyrinth. He stood neat the wall as Sarah walked into the room with her arms fill of decorations. She wore a plain pair of blue jeans and an old sweatshirt. Masking his presence from Sarah, he watched her decorate the tall tree in a corner of the room.

"Is everything ready, Tobey?"

Sarah spoke to the boy that was hidden on the other side of the tree.

"This was all we had left, sis. Vira popped up a little bit ago and told me the goblins are coming. I can't wait to see them all again. Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo should be here already. Hoggle was going to help me set up the table for the books.

Sarah sighed, "I'll go check on him," she stood, going up the stairwell behind where the tree sat. In the stairwell she was met with a wall of fur.

"Sarah!" Ludo had both hands holding several tables, carrying them very carefully.

Before Sarah could respond to him, three goblins came running from in between Ludo's legs with a brightly colored garland wrapped around each of them. She laughed and ran after them.

"Vira! Cado! Mirna!" Sarah caught one end of Mirna's garland and began to unravel it quickly, sending the goblins spinning. Tobey, Jareth and everyone else began laughing as Sarah's antics with the goblins got worse and worse until all four of them were tied up together. When Sarah looked up at the clock she yelped and rushed up the to untangle herself.

"My lady, your dress awaits!" Sir Didymus stood at the top of the stairs waiting for his Lady Sarah.

She flew by him into her small makeshift dressing room that she had been using to hold her personal things for the party. Her gown was one that matched the one from her newest book. It was an emerald green with golden trim and trailed to the floor. It felt amazing against her skin as she sat in front of the mirror, weaving gold and green satin ribbons into her hair, then she began to work on her eyes. Cado and Vira had both told Sarah that the king had started reading her books. Considering the story in this newest book, hearing them say that made her very nervous. Would Jareth laugh at her newest stories? When she wrote it the last thing she thought about was the real Jareth and how he would react to it. In her mind she still saw the Jareth she danced with at the ball. After putting in her other earring Sarah gazed into the mirror.

"I wish…" she sighed, not wanting her wish to come true, but at the same time… since that day she had not made one wish.

Below her, under the stairs the Goblin King listened silently through a globe, "What do you wish, Sarah?" He only listened, giving her privacy she needed to dress.

"Jareth?" Sarah said suddenly.

She couldn't feel anyone watching her or hear anyone. She looked around the room feeling foolish for even saying his name. She had said his name in her books and in things regarding her books, but never to the Goblin King himself. Laughing, Sarah shook her head.

Below, as Sarah was finishing her makeup, the goblins huddled together around Sarah's newest book, not exactly reading it, but interoperating the story in their own way. Jareth walked up behind them and took the book swiftly, causing the goblins to scramble and yelp.

"Tell no one I am here," he told them quietly, walking back to his shadowy spot near the stairs.

Slowly he began to read over the book in his hand. Inside he learned of Sarah's story of Jareth, the Goblin King, who fell in love with a young maiden many years ago and loves her still. After many years he returns to claim her for his bride. At first Jareth wanted to laugh at her story, but as he thought about it, parts of her story were indeed true.

"Ah Sarah, you always were the dreamer," he said with a grin.

Sarah paced back and forth behind the stage that had been set up to reenact her short story. She had to be crazy for setting herself up like this. The girl knew how cruel Jareth could be, but for some reason she just could no longer see it in him. She listened to the stories the goblins had told her about Jareth's past and how he acted around them and it softened her heart towards him. She had tried to write other stories, but the only ones that made sense to her were the ones with the goblins in them. She had done many paintings of her friends from the Underground and all of them were now on the walls of the hall. Knowing it was silly, Sarah turned to that last painting she had made of Jareth. Only for a moment her gaze locked on it before she began to pace again nervously.

"You're borrowing trouble Sarah. The Labyrinth is based on dreams and the more people there are dreaming of it the stronger it will be. He was only a dream. He can't be who you want him to be… he's not like that."

For years Sarah had tried to convince herself that the emotions she felt from Jareth had all been a dream. That was why she had written this last book, she had to get him out of her system. All her hopes had failed though since it now seemed that he was on her mind more than anything.

"Saree?" Vira chirped.

Sarah jumped at the sudden noise. She had been so lost in her thought that she didn't notice the goblin next to her.

"Oh! Vira, it's you."

"They be coming in now, Saree, you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she muttered. When the goblin looked at her sideways she replied, "I am ready."

She thought a minute, "Vira, did Tobey ever find an actor to play the Goblin King?"

The little goblin's face brightened, "We have one, yes, yes, we do."

Vira ran out of the room before Sarah could ask her any more. After a bit, with a sigh she followed the little goblin out. Hoggle stood at the main stage entry with a clipboard.

"Everyone has checked in, Sarah, it's about five minutes until show time."

"How long was I in there?"

"It's been over an hour at least, but I am not totally sure. Everything is taken care of, just like you said."

"I can't believe I was off daydreaming like that. I guess let's get started. "

"Yes, my lady," he bowed and walked off.

As she made her way to the stage Sarah thought the goblins had been acting very strangely. As she started to think about it, everyone was acting strange now. At the edge of the stage, the writer hesitated, unsure if she could do this. The goblins on the other hand had other ideas and pushed her onto the stage. Half tripping, she made her way to the center of the stage.

"Welcome all to this evenings performance of 'All I want For Christmas'.

Sarah stepped back, letting the goblins and her friends start the play. They had practiced this several times and each time they had gotten out of hand. She hoped that this time they would behave. When it came time for her entrance as "Emily", Sarah stepped in. It was almost a dream as she went through her lines and travelled in her tiny labyrinth. When she paused in fake shock for her character she noticed in real shock the real Labyrinth outside the windows. Although it was night the Labyrinth still appeared bright as day. Shaking off her shock, Sarah continued until she came to the ballroom scene. Hoggle took Sarah's hand and they began to dance with many others suddenly all around her. As the audience gasped, Hoggle turned Sarah and spun her to the actor who played the Goblin King. With a smile, she danced with him as well. The likeness of the actor that played Jareth was so similar that for a moment she had stumbled, but he caught her before she could fall.

Sarah spoke her lines to him, almost afraid of what the real Jareth would make of them. She read through her lines clearly until she got to that last sentence.

"Even after all these years, you still have power over me, Goblin King."

The actor playing Jareth smiled and continued dancing as he should have. When their eyes met again she bent forward and her lips brushed against his gently only a moment before she kissed him softly. Hesitantly, he returned her kiss, but after only a moment he fell into it. A gasp from the crowd tore her from him. Sarah clung to the actor play Jareth when she realized she was several higher, on the balcony above the stage, but still in the stage lights. The man next to her put his fingers under her chin, turning her eyes to his.

"Be my queen, Sarah?" he said, still following the words from her book, but his eyes told her another story.

Sarah stared at those mismatched eyes in shock as she realized she had the real Jareth in her arms. When their lips met again, she flung her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Yes," she whispered.

The crowd still wonders to this day what happened to the writer Sarah Williams. During her last performance she and her entire Labyrinth cast disappeared mid-performance. To this day they haven't been seen or heard from again.