Labyrinth II: Return to the Underground

Chapter 2: "Why Have You Brought Me Here?"

"Don't take me back there!" "We must return!"


Aurora barely got the car into park before she was out the door and racing into Carrick Dun.

"Birdie!" Aurora burst into the kitchen startling the cook.

"Yes, Miss Rory?"

"Where's Sarah?"

The panic is Aurora's eyes scared Birdie.

"I-I don't know. She went off explorin'. Have seen her fer a few hours."

"You didn't see her in my room, did you?"

"Haven't been out of the kitchen all day? Why-"

Aurora didn't stay to hear what the cook was going to say. The moment she entered the west wing, she knew that not only had Sarah gone into her room, but that she had found the book as well. With a heavy heart, Aurora turned the handle to her room to the left and walked in.

The room was very cold and it was very obvious that someone had been going through her things.
Aurora went to the window and look out briefly. She turned to the bed and saw the book lying open in the center. She stormed over to it, ripped the book off the bed.

"NOOO!" she shrieked and flung the book against the wall with all her might. Angrily, she threw open the wardrobe doors and reached into the very back of it. She pulled out a plush pouch of deep purple and pulled the gold cord. She then emptied its contents into her palm. It was a large crystal sphere. Gripping it in one hand, Aurora turned towards the open window.

"JARETH!" she screamed. "Come to me, NOW!

The air became very still as though everything around her was holding its breath. The scene outside the window began to change. The two levels of landscape merged together, the colors bleeding into one another. Then they began to swirl; slow at first, then faster and faster,until they were spinning at a dizzying speed. The entire view turned black and came to an abrupt halt.

Aurora's eyes narrowed as she locked her gaze on the cerulean blue ribbon that was weaving itself through the liquid night . The ribbon twisted and flowed, turning in on itself, looping, rippling until it became so large that it filled the window. The tip of the ribbon pushed itself through the window and snapped back. A brilliant light swallowed the chamber. Aurora closed her eyes against it. The light lasted for only a moment.

Aurora opened her eyes and blinked. After her eyes readjusted to their now much dimmer surrounds, she looked at the window again. The window's view was now a midnight blue that silhouetted a figure sitting on the window's ledge. Aurora swallowed, half-afraid that the image before her was a dream and half-afraid that it wasn't. The figure in the window slowly
turned his bent head in her direction, but his face was still hidden in the shadows.

"What have you done with her, Jareth!" Aurora set her jaw at a defiant angle and march over to the window.

At first the figure did not even appear to be breathing, but in a flash he had leapt from the ledge and was standing in front of her.

"Is that any way to greet me, Princess?" he asked.

Aurora ignored his comment and reached for the light switch, but Jareth put his gloved hand over hers. Aurora's heart began to pound. Was it her imagination or could she see him grinning in the darkness.

"Would it kill you to say hello to your dear old friend, Jareth?"

Aurora frowned. "Hello, Jareth. I want Sarah back. Now."

Jareth moved away from her. "My, my," he said as he inspected the room, "quite demanding aren't we, Princess?"

Aurora moved to say more but Jareth spun back to her and stood within inches of her face. "I can't let you have her, Rory dear, because you see, Sarah chose to go back. She wished herself back to the Underground."

A sound of disbelief escaped from Aurora. "I don't believe that," she spat at his blatant arrogance. "She told me what happened
last year. There's no way she'd go back."

Even in the dark, Aurora could see his eyes burning. "Is it really so hard for you to believe, Rory." He said her name as though
it was a bitterness in his mouth. "That someone might willingly chose to come back to me?" There was a hurt underlying the sharp edge in his voice. Aurora winced.

"Please, Jareth," she said, softer this time. The anger had left her voice and she sagged against the wardrobe as though she was tired. "Bring Sarah back."

Jareth turned away from her and flipped on the lamp on her desk. As small as it was, the lamp's light illuminated the room.

"You know fully well that I can't. Despite my power, I am bound by certain things. I shouldn't have to tell you that."

Aurora let herself slump to the floor. She hung her head between her knees in defeat.

Jareth instantly regretted his harshness and knelt in front of her.

"Rory.."

Aurora looked up and her eyes widened in surprise. As the light hit his face, she saw that Jareth was even more beautiful than she remembered him being before Sarah defeated him. After her niece had destroyed the Goblin King, Jareth had aged dramatically. He has been so thin and pale, so lifeless. And now... He had been restored to a brilliance beyond his former
glory. A flood of memories washed over her and she let her head hang once more.

"Please, Jareth," Aurora's voice came out in a croak. "Please let Sarah go. She's just a child. Please…"

Jareth said nothing. He took her chin in his hand and lifted her head so she would look at him. He suppressed a sigh as he studied her weary features. The once vibrant redhead with the mischievous sparkle in her moody blue eyes was gone. In her place was a near lifeless drone. All her color was faded, only a memory of what she was. It pained him to hear her call him and demanded Sarah back. Her words lacked power; the fire and passion from them were gone.

Absent-mindedly, he wove a lock of her long hair between his fingers. "Look at what this world has done to you," he murmured. His gaze was distant, looking at something she could not see. She moved slightly and he stood up quickly and turned away.

"I've told you, Rory," he said as he gracefully leaned against her bedpost and crossed his arms over his chest. Aurora caught a glimpse of the familiar pendant that glimmered in the folds of his navy blue shirt. "Sarah wished herself back. I cannot return what I did not take."

Aurora dug her fingers into her scalp. He mind frantically sought for any knowledge of Jareth’s world that was hidden in the recesses of her memory that might help her retrieve her niece. She looked up at Jareth in time to see a sly smile slither over his lips. Immediately, she was transported to another time and place- a forgotten past; a lost childhood.

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Aurora looked uneasily at a laughing Jareth. The sun made his blond hair shimmer and sparkle in its light.

"Come on, Rory," he beckoned, "You want to come to the Underground with me, don't you?"

The fourteen-year-old Aurora nodded, suddenly shy; her adventurous spirit had fled her leaving only doubt and fear behind. She took a step away from the edge of the Haunting Woods- the entrance to the Underground.

Jareth was growing impatient with her indecision. Slowly a sly, wicked smile came to his elfin features. He took several large steps away from her and into the Woods. His demeanor changed and he looked heartbroken.

"Oh, Rory," he said so mournfully that she nearly ran to him then. "If you don't come through the Haunting Woods, we can never play make- believe together again. I won't be able to visit you anymore if you don't go with me. It's the only way to my kingdom…"

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Jareth’s voice jolted Aurora back to her bedroom in Carrick Dunn.

"There is one way you could possibly get Sarah back," he was saying. He paused and glanced at her from the corner of his eye, making sure he had her attention. He shrugged. "But you wouldn't be interested in my proposal."

Aurora pulled herself from the floor and faced him. How long had it been since his last visit? A week? Two weeks? A month? A year? More?

"What's your proposal, Jareth?" She took the bait, knowing he had something up his sleeve.

Jareth walked over to the window and looked out. The landscape had returned to its split-level view.

"You go get her yourself."

Aurora laughed. So that was it. He wanted her to go back.

"I have no intention of going back, Jareth. We've been over this."

Jareth beckoned her over to him and took her by the shoulders. He turned her so that she was looking out of the window.

"Can't you hear it calling you, Rory," he whispered in her ear. "It's been calling you since the moment you came here."

Aurora knew Jareth was messing with her head, but he spoke the truth nonetheless. Homesickness washed over her.

Aurora turned to challenge him but could not find the strength to do so. The hope in his eyes squashed any angry remark she was going to make.

"Come back with me, Rory," he said. "We'll find Sarah together and bring her back."

Without thinking, Aurora reached out and pushed a stray lock of hair out of his eyes and he caught her hand.Time froze. Aurora blushed and pulled away. Jareth sprang lightly to the window ledge.

"You can come or stay," he said with a shrug of indifference.

Aurora couldn't argue. Had she really changed as Jareth said she had. She shook the thought away, reminding herself that Jareth was playing a mind game. Unfortunately, she had to concede that Jareth was right: she was going to have to go after Sarah.

"All right, Jareth," she sighed in resignation. "I'll go."

A peculiar expression of triumph and delight crossed his face. Aurora could tell by the gleam in his eyes that he was up to something, but she didn't care. She took the hand he offered to her and stood on the ledge with him, gazing out at the world she often dreamed of. Lightening flashed in the distance. Jareth took a step out of the window. A crystal step appeared under his foot. Aurora remained rooted to the ledge. Her eyes were wide with uncertainty as she peered down at a ground that was not visible.

This garnered a bemused smirk from Jareth. He pulled her up beside him and the step extended so that they could both comfortably stand on it.

"Come now, Rory," he winked at her. "Surely you're not frightened by a little bit of height?"

Aurora forced her gaze away from the space below them. Jareth took another step up and she quickly scrambled after him. Step after step they climbed into the hazy pink atmosphere, the steps becoming further and further apart from each other. While they presented no problem to Jareth, Aurora struggled to continue. On one step she stopped, unable to go on.

"Jareth," she called breathless.

Jareth looked back at her.

"You can do it, Rory," he coaxed. "Come on, you've done this before."

Aurora looked at the step he was on and shook her head. "I can't. It's too far."

Jareth couldn't understand her hesitation or fear. He extended his hand to her.

"Come on, Rory. Take my hand and jump."

She shook her again. "I can't."

"Take my hand," he urged. "I won't let you go."

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"Come on, Rory," Jareth stood across a wide gully in the Plain of Endless Day. "Jump. Jump. You can do it."

Aurora stared wide-eyed at the raging water below. "What if I fall?"

Jareth smiled reassuringly. "You won't. I'll catch you.I won't let you go. Run and jump. You can do it!"

Aurora locked her eyes onto him. If Jareth believe she could then.... She took a running start and jumped....

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"You can do this." Jareth stretched his hand out further. Aurora focused in on him and, gathering her courage, jumped. She landed awkwardly. Jareth tried to grab her but she panicked and he lost his grip. Her foot slipped off the step and she fell into the darkness below.

Aurora closed her eyes and tucked as much of her body underneath her as she could. She fell in silence as she was not prone to screaming. There was little time to contemplate where she would land for her fall was abruptly broken by something. For a moment she did not move. When she realized that she wasn't in any pain, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself looking up at Jareth, who quickly hid his concern behind a cocky grin.

Aurora closed her eyes and sagged against him.

"You thought I was going to let you fall, didn't you?" There was a sliver of hurt in his voice. She said nothing. Jareth wrinkled his
nose in puzzlement. "You did think I was going to let you fall. Rory, you know me better than that!"

He set her down and Aurora wobbly stood on her own.

"Welcome home," he said quietly.

Aurora looked at her surroundings. Was this real? Was she really here? It was only then that she realized how much she missed this world.

She looked to Jareth. "Where's Sarah?"

Jareth's face fell. "We've been over this, Rory," he said flatly. "I don't know, I didn't bring her here."

Aurora put her hands on her hips and gesture that Jareth knew well. He could see that she was beginning to regain some of her passionate self. A corner of his mouth turned up.

"You may not have brought her here, but you know where she is."

Jareth shrugged. "Maybe I did. But then you pulled me into that miserable place you call 'home'."

Aurora gritted her teeth in frustration. She looked over her shoulder at the Labyrinth behind her. She looked back to find Jareth gazing steadily at her. She squirmed.

"What are you staring at?"

"You..." Her rather sudden transformation mesmerized him. She was alive again, vibrant and beautiful. He had always known that if she would just come back, the Aurora he knew would return.

"Jareth, don't..." She pushed her fiery hair out of her face and looked away from him. Once again she took in the rust-colored world around her. Sarah could be anywhere and not necessarily in the Underground. The chance of locating her niece seemed bleak, but the challenge invigorated her- a feeling she had not had in a long time. The chains of indifference and apathy had fallen off and she felt oddly free.

Jareth's conceited grin was back in place and he smirked at her. "Where are you going to begin, love?" His mismatched eyes danced gleefully. "Sarah could be anywhere." While he was not a mind reader, Jareth knew the redhead well enough to echo her earlier thought.

"Where was she last?"

He almost answered her, but caught himself and chuckled. "Nice try, Rory." He circled her slowly, hands clasped behind his back. "But I'm not going to make this easy for you."

Aurora feigned surprise. "Make what easy?"

Jareth's grinned widened. His worthy opponents was back.

"I know you, Rory. You thought you'd get me to tell you where Sarah was to give you a place to begin so that you can whisk her away to your dreary little realm. Am I right?"

It was Aurora's turn to shrug. "Perhaps." She paused as the desire to challenge him grew strong. "Would you like for me to go through the Labyrinth? I make it and you tell me where she last was."

Jareth laughed.

"I'm not asking for thirteen hours. Let me have three."

This made Jareth laugh so hard that tears came to his eyes. He quickly regained his composure but his eyes still dance in amusement.

"Do you really think I would agree to something so foolish?" he asked raising an eyebrow. "I know you, Rory, and I know you could solve the Labyrinth in three seconds. No, that's far too easy."

"Fine," she replied. "We'll play for Sarah on your terms. What do you want me to do?"

He began to say something then stopped. He paused in front of her and contemplated her question.

"I'll not only tell you where I last saw her," he said slowly. "I'll help you find her and convince her to go back."

Aurora dropped her hands from her hips. She regarded him suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"Nothing much," his voice was as smooth as glass. "Sarah can go, but you have to say."

Aurora shook her head firmly and set her jaw at a defiant angle. "No. We both go."

Something flashed in Jareth's eyes, but she couldn't tell what it was. He seemed angry.

"Fine," he ground out. "Have it your way, you stubborn little sprite. It won't be easy for you, though. Good luck."

With that, Jareth stepped back from her and faded away, leaving Aurora alone in the Underground.