Challenge #30: Time Repaid
Title: Time Repaid
Words: 2285
Summary: When Jareth takes three hours from Sarah's run, he thinks nothing of it since he always breaks the rules. This time, though, his rule breaking has consequences. To cope, he remembers and sings what the fireys know all too well about problems. OR The time in which Jareth began quoting Chilly Down, and everything just got sillier downhill from there.
Everyone had always told Jareth to never take time away from a runner.
For most of his life, he did that and never questioned why.
One day, he found Sarah Williams. He was not supposed to try to make contact with her since she was human, but when it came to Sarah, he broke the rules. Again and again.
Her dreams and belief were incredible, and he wanted nothing more than to invite her into his world, so that he could deepen her belief. He could not contact her, so he created a book for her and left it in the park where she always went. He could not talk to her, so he watched over her in the park.
Runners were not supposed to have help; she converted his spies. Humans were not supposed to eat fairy fruit, but Jareth gave it to her anyway, just in case she somehow managed to win. Then he would always have a claim to her at some point.
All was fine and dandy until she told him that his Labyrinth, his lifelong creation, was “a piece of cake”.
He took three hours away from her in revenge, and he felt good about it afterward. Then she won.
Anger at being defeated by her kept him going for almost a day without sleeping. At the end of it, he was still mad at himself, but he felt more in control. He had the fruit, after all.
Then his father decided to visit.
“I hear you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of trouble, my son,” he said, resting a commiserating hand on Jareth’s shoulder.
“Yes, don’t remind me. I lost. It’s the first time ever someone has lost to me,” pouted a disgruntled Jareth, staring at the floor from his spot on a step.
“That’s bad, too, but that’s not why I’m here. Haven’t I told you the rules about runners?”
Looking up in surprise, Jareth said, “Yes, many times over. I know she shouldn’t have eaten the fruit, but she’s necessary. I think her belief is much stronger than anyone else I’ve ever met. That’s reason enough to keep her.”
“Once again, you shouldn’t have, but that’s fine. The reason I’m here is because of time. Time you took away from her. Three hours, to be exact. Do you know what happens because you took it from her?”
“No. Nothing does. Or at least, so far,” he said, looking warily at his father.
“Something’s about to, Jareth. I suggest you try to find the good in the situation, and fast. Now that you’ve taken three hours of Sarah’s life away, you must repay that three hours…. Each day for the rest of your life. It’s rather like when Persephone had to spend a third of her year with Hades, only your time is shorter.”
“What?”
“If you don’t go to her and spend at least three hours with her, you will be sent there automatically. Magic doesn’t care if you’re busy or not. The last king who committed such a deed once got sent back to the runner while he was taking a bath.”
“That’s rich,” replied Jareth with a laugh. “Is that the worst?”
“Oh goodness, no. I believe the worst time was when he was attending a party and wore face paint. When he was transported to the runner, he almost died due to a large object being thrown at his head. It appeared that the runner had a fear of clowns. Don’t lose your head over this girl.”
“I’ll do my best, Father,” said Jareth, trying not to think of the fireys.
“Good. You have exactly five minutes before you are taken to Sarah, your runner. I suggest you use the facilities now. I hope you’ve learned your lesson about breaking the rules, and will learn to respect them.”
With that, Jareth’s father disappeared in a flurry of feathers, and Jareth prepared himself.
He was changing his boots when he suddenly did not feel his throne beneath him. His boot left his hand as he fell, and by the time he smacked the ground with his rear, the boot landed on his head with a fine “clunk”.
Mimicking his father, he said, “I hope you’ve learned your lesson about breaking the rules….well, I certainly wouldn’t if I had known this would happen!”
He mumbled about his problems all involving a certain girl named Sarah, and he could not help but think of the ridiculous fireys and the song they always sung.
He sang, “Don’t got no problems.”
He felt a little better after singing, but not much more. “Great. Now do I just sit here? No, think positive.”
His mind supplied helpfully, “They’re positively glow glow, huh!”
Ignoring his mind, which may be turning loony, he looked at his surroundings and found that he was in a house. On the wall and mantelpiece were pictures of Sarah, making him believe he had been sent to Sarah’s home.
At first, his mind could not think of one great thing.
“Alright,” he said, “think small like the fire gang. Even when things go wild, don’t lose my head. Sure. But what can I gain?”
It was then that the clock on the main floor chimed nine o’clock.
“Time! Of course! Time with her. Then she’ll want to come back with me, before the peach’s effects are felt!”
Now he felt like singing. Heck, he even felt like singing that nonsense that the fireys were spouting. In this instance, it actually
helped. There was no need to panic; he just had to chilly down and win Sarah over with all the extra time he had been given.
Perhaps, if he got really lucky, he would finally have a queen.
It was as Jareth was dancing and pretending to kick (heads or chickens, who can guess) that Sarah walked into the room with her backpack. She promptly dropped it upon seeing the occupant, making Jareth pause mid-victory kick. He turned with a toothy grin, pointing a finger in the air.
“Sarah! Just the person I was looking for.”
Sarah jumped back as she cried, “Ah! Goblin King! What do you want?”
“I’m out to have a good time,” said Jareth with a wink.
“I’ve heard that line before; you can’t have my head!”
She picked up her backpack, a little afraid of him. After several moments of him not moving, she yelled, “Get out my house!” When he still did not move, she added for extra measure, “You have no power over me!” She had no idea why Jareth was back, but it could not be good.
“There’s no point sending me away, Sarah. This magic will just find you again. While I have no power over you, the Labyrinth’s magic has power over me.”
Jareth pointed to a chair, and Sarah reluctantly walked toward it. She was a little curious about what power the Labyrinth had, but really, she just wanted to go to bed.
“Why is the Labyrinth forcing you here, Goblin King?” asked Sarah impatiently.
“Now, now, Sarah. You’ve beaten my Labyrinth. I think we’re on a first name basis. Call me Jareth,” he said with a sly smile.
When the charming smile did nothing to change the tired girl’s face, he shrugged and continued.
“As you recall during your run, Sarah, I took three hours away from you.”
“Yes, you cheated,” said Sarah, suddenly looking very mad at him as she remembered the tunnels. “And then you sent the cleaners!”
“Yes, I sent the cleaners, but they would’ve never hurt you. I wouldn’t allow it. I respect you too much for that. As for cheating, I didn’t cheat. Well, according to the rules, perhaps I did. And that’s why I’m here now.”
“I don’t understand,” said Sarah, quickly losing interest when it became clear that he could not hurt her or Toby.
“Sarah, because I took three hours away from you, I must now, for each day for the rest of my life, spend three hours with you. The Labyrinth will send me here automatically, to whatever place you are.”
“What?!?”
Jareth sincerely hoped that Toby was fast asleep, given how irate Sarah had become.
He tried speaking more softly in the hopes that she would calm down accordingly. “Sarah, this is a golden opportunity for us-“
“This can’t be! I just got rid of you! I have school work and friends, and I’m really tired right now. It’s not fair!”
This final statement was punctuated by a punch to the chair arm. Jareth was glad to not be the chair’s arm. When that display was done, he continued.
“Now, Sarah, I thought you were done using that little catch phrase-“
It was at that point that Sarah stomped over to Jareth and took hold of his sleeve.
“Really, Sarah, there’s no need for such dramatics-“
“I don’t know how you’re so happy right now. Anyways, it’s not my fault that you took three hours away from me. Now I’m being punished. I’m tired, Jareth. Right now, I’m going to bed. If you’re in the same room as me, I’ll never fall asleep. I’m putting you in the closet until I figure out what to do with you. C’mon.”
She continued to pull him upstairs, and Jareth decided not to mention that he would not have done such a thing had she not provoked him with her “piece of cake” line. But, seeing as he had asked her the question first, he was the original instigator. At some point, when she was not so drowsy and irritable, he would enjoy bringing up the point to see if he could get into an argument with her. It was so much fun to see her get worked up, but it was wasted upon her right now.
It was as Sarah was opening her closet that Jareth decided to try again to be rational.
“Sarah, I do apologize for the inconvenience, but you’re going to have to get used to having me around. I think you’ll find that my presence is quite pleasurable once you give me a chance.”
Sarah paused with the door midway open. “Jareth, please go into the closet. Can’t we talk about this tomorrow?”
“When is a good time for you? I can see that this time is not preferred. My preference is for the evening, if it’s all the same to you,” he said, avoiding the closet for as long as he could. It looked quite cramped and seemed to smell of some ghastly, cheap perfume.
“I’m in school all morning and afternoon. Evenings after seven are best, since I finish dinner then.”
“Would you consider going to bed later in the future? I don’t fancy the idea of spending an hour in your closet every day. I’d much rather spend it well, such as in conversation with you. Or even doing chores, if that’s required.”
Sarah’s eyes lit up at the thought of having someone to help her with chores.
“Come at 5:45 pm. I’ll find something for you to do during dinner.”
Jareth rolled his eyes but complied. He would find a way around this dinner business.
A few days later, Sarah’s stepmother walked into the living room to find Toby. Instead, she found a worried Sarah and pleased Jareth.
“Sarah! Why didn’t you tell us you had a boyfriend? We would’ve made space for him at dinner,” the stepmother cooed.
Glaring at Jareth, Sarah said, “Jareth’s not my boyfriend. He’s my study partner for a school project. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it sooner. He misunderstood the time.”
“Jareth King. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Jareth with an outstretched hand as he ignored Sarah.
“Oh, aren’t you sweet! You can come to dinner anytime!” she gushed.
Sarah wanted to strangle Jareth. He was supposed to be doing laundry upstairs, not bothering her downstairs!
“Thank you. I’m sure you’ll see a lot more of me to come,” replied Jareth. I’ll make sure to bring food with me in the future to share.”
And with that, Jareth found a way around dinner. It was just a matter of playing it cool and strutting his nasty stuff. Sarah would thank him one day.
It took some years, but eventually, all of it did pay off. He had been a handy date for high school dances, a study and football game partner in college, and a source of spending money from winning karaoke contests, all with Sarah. He won her family over quickly, and in time, he won her. Even if it took her some time to forgive him for giving her that peach.
In the end, Jareth decided that breaking the rules for Sarah was not such a bad idea after all. More time with Sarah was never a bad thing, unless she was tired.
Nine years after her run, Sarah found herself in Jareth’s bedchambers. She looked at her watch, and counted down the seconds. Then she said, as though she were calling Toby to dinner, “Oh, Jareth!”
At that moment, Jareth plopped into their bed.
“Oh good. I was beginning to fear that the time service clause was nullified once we married. Get over here, husband. I’m still tired. You’re my favorite pillow.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Sarah. We just got married yesterday. The only reason I haven’t spent all day with you is because this kingdom of ours refuses to behave. I blame the fireys.”
“Whatever. I know your secret. You love them and that silly song of theirs. Now, get over here, or I’m sending you into the closet.”
“Such dramatics,” intoned Jareth as Sarah shook her head and nestled into Jareth’s chest.
Words: 2285
Summary: When Jareth takes three hours from Sarah's run, he thinks nothing of it since he always breaks the rules. This time, though, his rule breaking has consequences. To cope, he remembers and sings what the fireys know all too well about problems. OR The time in which Jareth began quoting Chilly Down, and everything just got sillier downhill from there.
Everyone had always told Jareth to never take time away from a runner.
For most of his life, he did that and never questioned why.
One day, he found Sarah Williams. He was not supposed to try to make contact with her since she was human, but when it came to Sarah, he broke the rules. Again and again.
Her dreams and belief were incredible, and he wanted nothing more than to invite her into his world, so that he could deepen her belief. He could not contact her, so he created a book for her and left it in the park where she always went. He could not talk to her, so he watched over her in the park.
Runners were not supposed to have help; she converted his spies. Humans were not supposed to eat fairy fruit, but Jareth gave it to her anyway, just in case she somehow managed to win. Then he would always have a claim to her at some point.
All was fine and dandy until she told him that his Labyrinth, his lifelong creation, was “a piece of cake”.
He took three hours away from her in revenge, and he felt good about it afterward. Then she won.
Anger at being defeated by her kept him going for almost a day without sleeping. At the end of it, he was still mad at himself, but he felt more in control. He had the fruit, after all.
Then his father decided to visit.
“I hear you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of trouble, my son,” he said, resting a commiserating hand on Jareth’s shoulder.
“Yes, don’t remind me. I lost. It’s the first time ever someone has lost to me,” pouted a disgruntled Jareth, staring at the floor from his spot on a step.
“That’s bad, too, but that’s not why I’m here. Haven’t I told you the rules about runners?”
Looking up in surprise, Jareth said, “Yes, many times over. I know she shouldn’t have eaten the fruit, but she’s necessary. I think her belief is much stronger than anyone else I’ve ever met. That’s reason enough to keep her.”
“Once again, you shouldn’t have, but that’s fine. The reason I’m here is because of time. Time you took away from her. Three hours, to be exact. Do you know what happens because you took it from her?”
“No. Nothing does. Or at least, so far,” he said, looking warily at his father.
“Something’s about to, Jareth. I suggest you try to find the good in the situation, and fast. Now that you’ve taken three hours of Sarah’s life away, you must repay that three hours…. Each day for the rest of your life. It’s rather like when Persephone had to spend a third of her year with Hades, only your time is shorter.”
“What?”
“If you don’t go to her and spend at least three hours with her, you will be sent there automatically. Magic doesn’t care if you’re busy or not. The last king who committed such a deed once got sent back to the runner while he was taking a bath.”
“That’s rich,” replied Jareth with a laugh. “Is that the worst?”
“Oh goodness, no. I believe the worst time was when he was attending a party and wore face paint. When he was transported to the runner, he almost died due to a large object being thrown at his head. It appeared that the runner had a fear of clowns. Don’t lose your head over this girl.”
“I’ll do my best, Father,” said Jareth, trying not to think of the fireys.
“Good. You have exactly five minutes before you are taken to Sarah, your runner. I suggest you use the facilities now. I hope you’ve learned your lesson about breaking the rules, and will learn to respect them.”
With that, Jareth’s father disappeared in a flurry of feathers, and Jareth prepared himself.
He was changing his boots when he suddenly did not feel his throne beneath him. His boot left his hand as he fell, and by the time he smacked the ground with his rear, the boot landed on his head with a fine “clunk”.
Mimicking his father, he said, “I hope you’ve learned your lesson about breaking the rules….well, I certainly wouldn’t if I had known this would happen!”
He mumbled about his problems all involving a certain girl named Sarah, and he could not help but think of the ridiculous fireys and the song they always sung.
He sang, “Don’t got no problems.”
He felt a little better after singing, but not much more. “Great. Now do I just sit here? No, think positive.”
His mind supplied helpfully, “They’re positively glow glow, huh!”
Ignoring his mind, which may be turning loony, he looked at his surroundings and found that he was in a house. On the wall and mantelpiece were pictures of Sarah, making him believe he had been sent to Sarah’s home.
At first, his mind could not think of one great thing.
“Alright,” he said, “think small like the fire gang. Even when things go wild, don’t lose my head. Sure. But what can I gain?”
It was then that the clock on the main floor chimed nine o’clock.
“Time! Of course! Time with her. Then she’ll want to come back with me, before the peach’s effects are felt!”
Now he felt like singing. Heck, he even felt like singing that nonsense that the fireys were spouting. In this instance, it actually
helped. There was no need to panic; he just had to chilly down and win Sarah over with all the extra time he had been given.
Perhaps, if he got really lucky, he would finally have a queen.
It was as Jareth was dancing and pretending to kick (heads or chickens, who can guess) that Sarah walked into the room with her backpack. She promptly dropped it upon seeing the occupant, making Jareth pause mid-victory kick. He turned with a toothy grin, pointing a finger in the air.
“Sarah! Just the person I was looking for.”
Sarah jumped back as she cried, “Ah! Goblin King! What do you want?”
“I’m out to have a good time,” said Jareth with a wink.
“I’ve heard that line before; you can’t have my head!”
She picked up her backpack, a little afraid of him. After several moments of him not moving, she yelled, “Get out my house!” When he still did not move, she added for extra measure, “You have no power over me!” She had no idea why Jareth was back, but it could not be good.
“There’s no point sending me away, Sarah. This magic will just find you again. While I have no power over you, the Labyrinth’s magic has power over me.”
Jareth pointed to a chair, and Sarah reluctantly walked toward it. She was a little curious about what power the Labyrinth had, but really, she just wanted to go to bed.
“Why is the Labyrinth forcing you here, Goblin King?” asked Sarah impatiently.
“Now, now, Sarah. You’ve beaten my Labyrinth. I think we’re on a first name basis. Call me Jareth,” he said with a sly smile.
When the charming smile did nothing to change the tired girl’s face, he shrugged and continued.
“As you recall during your run, Sarah, I took three hours away from you.”
“Yes, you cheated,” said Sarah, suddenly looking very mad at him as she remembered the tunnels. “And then you sent the cleaners!”
“Yes, I sent the cleaners, but they would’ve never hurt you. I wouldn’t allow it. I respect you too much for that. As for cheating, I didn’t cheat. Well, according to the rules, perhaps I did. And that’s why I’m here now.”
“I don’t understand,” said Sarah, quickly losing interest when it became clear that he could not hurt her or Toby.
“Sarah, because I took three hours away from you, I must now, for each day for the rest of my life, spend three hours with you. The Labyrinth will send me here automatically, to whatever place you are.”
“What?!?”
Jareth sincerely hoped that Toby was fast asleep, given how irate Sarah had become.
He tried speaking more softly in the hopes that she would calm down accordingly. “Sarah, this is a golden opportunity for us-“
“This can’t be! I just got rid of you! I have school work and friends, and I’m really tired right now. It’s not fair!”
This final statement was punctuated by a punch to the chair arm. Jareth was glad to not be the chair’s arm. When that display was done, he continued.
“Now, Sarah, I thought you were done using that little catch phrase-“
It was at that point that Sarah stomped over to Jareth and took hold of his sleeve.
“Really, Sarah, there’s no need for such dramatics-“
“I don’t know how you’re so happy right now. Anyways, it’s not my fault that you took three hours away from me. Now I’m being punished. I’m tired, Jareth. Right now, I’m going to bed. If you’re in the same room as me, I’ll never fall asleep. I’m putting you in the closet until I figure out what to do with you. C’mon.”
She continued to pull him upstairs, and Jareth decided not to mention that he would not have done such a thing had she not provoked him with her “piece of cake” line. But, seeing as he had asked her the question first, he was the original instigator. At some point, when she was not so drowsy and irritable, he would enjoy bringing up the point to see if he could get into an argument with her. It was so much fun to see her get worked up, but it was wasted upon her right now.
It was as Sarah was opening her closet that Jareth decided to try again to be rational.
“Sarah, I do apologize for the inconvenience, but you’re going to have to get used to having me around. I think you’ll find that my presence is quite pleasurable once you give me a chance.”
Sarah paused with the door midway open. “Jareth, please go into the closet. Can’t we talk about this tomorrow?”
“When is a good time for you? I can see that this time is not preferred. My preference is for the evening, if it’s all the same to you,” he said, avoiding the closet for as long as he could. It looked quite cramped and seemed to smell of some ghastly, cheap perfume.
“I’m in school all morning and afternoon. Evenings after seven are best, since I finish dinner then.”
“Would you consider going to bed later in the future? I don’t fancy the idea of spending an hour in your closet every day. I’d much rather spend it well, such as in conversation with you. Or even doing chores, if that’s required.”
Sarah’s eyes lit up at the thought of having someone to help her with chores.
“Come at 5:45 pm. I’ll find something for you to do during dinner.”
Jareth rolled his eyes but complied. He would find a way around this dinner business.
A few days later, Sarah’s stepmother walked into the living room to find Toby. Instead, she found a worried Sarah and pleased Jareth.
“Sarah! Why didn’t you tell us you had a boyfriend? We would’ve made space for him at dinner,” the stepmother cooed.
Glaring at Jareth, Sarah said, “Jareth’s not my boyfriend. He’s my study partner for a school project. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it sooner. He misunderstood the time.”
“Jareth King. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Jareth with an outstretched hand as he ignored Sarah.
“Oh, aren’t you sweet! You can come to dinner anytime!” she gushed.
Sarah wanted to strangle Jareth. He was supposed to be doing laundry upstairs, not bothering her downstairs!
“Thank you. I’m sure you’ll see a lot more of me to come,” replied Jareth. I’ll make sure to bring food with me in the future to share.”
And with that, Jareth found a way around dinner. It was just a matter of playing it cool and strutting his nasty stuff. Sarah would thank him one day.
It took some years, but eventually, all of it did pay off. He had been a handy date for high school dances, a study and football game partner in college, and a source of spending money from winning karaoke contests, all with Sarah. He won her family over quickly, and in time, he won her. Even if it took her some time to forgive him for giving her that peach.
In the end, Jareth decided that breaking the rules for Sarah was not such a bad idea after all. More time with Sarah was never a bad thing, unless she was tired.
Nine years after her run, Sarah found herself in Jareth’s bedchambers. She looked at her watch, and counted down the seconds. Then she said, as though she were calling Toby to dinner, “Oh, Jareth!”
At that moment, Jareth plopped into their bed.
“Oh good. I was beginning to fear that the time service clause was nullified once we married. Get over here, husband. I’m still tired. You’re my favorite pillow.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Sarah. We just got married yesterday. The only reason I haven’t spent all day with you is because this kingdom of ours refuses to behave. I blame the fireys.”
“Whatever. I know your secret. You love them and that silly song of theirs. Now, get over here, or I’m sending you into the closet.”
“Such dramatics,” intoned Jareth as Sarah shook her head and nestled into Jareth’s chest.