It's Only Forever (a labyrinth fanfic)

Chapter 12

Sarah POV:

Over the next few days I learned three things: that the labyrinth is filled with never ending adventures, the food at the castle is to die for, and Jareth is the strangest person I will probably ever know. Just the other day I overheard him yelling at one of the chefs for pureeing something instead of processing it. It's also disturbing how many pillows he had on his bed. How does he use the blankets? Does he just burrow in the pillows or something? So weird.

But I had been reunited with Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo and that's all that mattered. Ever since I had gotten back, I had been having the time of my life! After becoming familiar with a few paths, I had moved outward, exploring and trying out new tunnels and turns. True to what Jareth told me, whenever I was lost or stuck, all I needed to do was go left.

I sat crisscross in bed, reading a book. It was a children's book that I had found on one of the shelves called Little Monster Did It. For some reason it was now my favorite. The chilly night air blew in through the open window and I shivered. There didn't seem to be anyway to close it- no glass or shutters. I snuggled under my blanket with the book, my eyes wandering towards the window. It was a beautiful night with a huge luminescent moon. But it was so cold.

I kicked off the blankets and stood up before wrapping my robe around me. One day I'd come home to find a strange little goblin named Fritzy standing in my room beside a pile of new clothes. He'd said that Jareth had decided that I needed something else to wear. So now my dresser was filled with freshly washed garments. I poked my head out my door and looked around. How was I supposed to find a goblin at this time?

I bit my lip before padding through the cold halls. Everything was quiet and almost peaceful. I turned left a couple of times before finding myself in front of a dark wooden door. Hesitating, I finally knocked. There was a moan from the other side of the door. I tried not to feel bad as I knocked again, this time louder. My voice was a whisper, "Jareth?"

The door opened to reveal a very tired shirtless Goblin King. Jareth squinted at me, "Sarah? It's like one in the morning."

"It is?" I'd had no idea how late it was. This only made me feel worse about waking him up. I sighed, "I'm really sorry for waking you up but I was wondering if you had an extra blanket or something. It got really cold in my room."

Jareth rubbed his eyes before nodding, "It does get cold in here. Come with me, I'll show you where the blankets are. That way you know where they are when you need them."

I pressed my lips together, he looked exhausted. I followed him to a small room that was stacked with hundreds of blankets and, wouldn't you know it, pillows. Jareth reached onto a higher shelf and pulled off a heavy blanket. I took it from him before shyly saying, "Thanks."

The Goblin King managed a tired smile, "You're welcome."

He lead me out of the huge closet and to my room to make sure I got back okay. As I was opening my door I heard him say, "Goodnight Sarah."

I stopped. He had said it so light and casually, as if he'd been saying it for years. I couldn't remember the last time that someone had said that to me. I turned around to face him, "Goodnight Jareth."

In that moment, something seemed to change. I wasn't just someone who was renting a room in his palace, but rather a roommate who said everyday things like goodnight and goodmorning. It felt good to know that. To know that I wasn't staying here because I needed to to, but because maybe Jareth wanted me to. And maybe because I wanted to stay here too. Stay to tell him goodnight and overhear him singing in the shower. To watch from afar as he jumped on his bed and rocked out to a song I knew he loved. It was strange to feel so close to him, and to yet be so far.

I smiled softly as I climbed into bed and piled the extra blanket on top of me. It didn't take long before I was fast asleep.