1character | Rash Wishes (50 Sentences about Sarah)

Character: Sarah
Fandom: Labyrinth
Theme set: Alpha
Rating: G
Warnings: None

#01 - Speak: The wish is out of her mouth before Sarah can think to recall the words; when they take effect, she wishes a more desperate, and far more futile wish: That she could unspeak them again.

#02 - Touch: He's so beautiful, as he takes her and guides her onto the dance floor; his touch seems irresistible; but, despite her confusion, Sarah can feel danger in his arms.

#03 - Memory: There's such a strange blank space in Sarah's memory; she knows she's here, in this strange place, for some reason, but that reason eludes her; she's certain that it was life-or-death, or very near that level of urgency, but she can't place why.

#04 - Vanilla: Life is as dull for Sarah, as monotonous, as only ever eating vanilla ice cream; craving excitement, she loses herself day after day in fairy tales and stories of adventure, wishing that she could belong in that world, rather than the one she lives in.

#05 - Chocolate: He's alluring; there's no doubt about it; as tempting as dark chocolate; if Sarah were older, she feels like, fear or no fear, she could almost fall for the Goblin King.

#06 - Ways and Means: The wish was just a way for Sarah to express her frustration at being left to babysit Toby again, when she'd rather be doing anything else besides listen to her half-brother's crying; her heart almost stops when the wish comes true.

#07 - Belief: Words have power; Sarah knows now how true that is; she never believed much in the fairy tales that distracted her from her humdrum existence, but now she knows she has no alternative, being dropped into one, herself.

#08 - Linger: She'll be an adult soon, Sarah knows; she'll have to leave so much behind; but her ordeals within the Labyrinth have brought her priceless experience, and she hopes that, as she grows to full womanhood, those memories will linger.

#09 - Luminance: The ballroom practically glows, luminous and beautiful; Sarah's never been anywhere so gorgeous in her life; her memory is blurry, but she's sure she'd remember something this magnificent.

#10 - Ornament: She didn't know she could be this beautiful; the ballgown is an incredible, shimmering confection enrobing her, and the ornaments in her hair stand out almost like a crown; nevertheless, she feels like being here, in this dress, in this place, is oddly wrong.

#11 - Coup de foudre: The thunder and lightning outside, the cutoff of electricity inside, seem to conspire with the invading goblins, in order to inspire terror in Sarah's heart, on top of the fear she already feels at finding Toby's crib empty.

#12 - Archway: Beneath archways and over cobblestones she wanders, her feet tiring but pressing on, almost of their own volition; through tunnels and across bridges; throughout these myriad meanderings, Sarah knows she has to find the right path that will help her to rescue Toby.

#13 - Fate: Even now, on the very edge of defeat, Sarah can see how hard Jareth is trying to win; his words paint a beautiful picture, as though she's fated to accept his world, and him, and walk away from all that she's known, all that she belongs to.

#14 - Pulse: Her vision is dazzled, her pulse is quickened, when the Goblin King makes his arrival; Sarah isn't sure when she's seen anyone or anything quite so beautiful, or as terrifying.

#15 - Envelope: Fear envelopes her when Toby's fussy screaming abruptly halts; he can be a nuisance, but he's still Sarah's brother, the half aspect of their bond notwithstanding, and she still loves him.

#16 - Cold: She feels troublingly cold as she opens her bedroom door...and the Junk Lady saunters through and makes herself at home; she'd thought that her past ordeal, whatever it was, was merely a bad dream; but the Junk Lady acts as proof of just how real that mostly-forgotten ordeal was.

#17 - Need: She pushes forward, down turn after turn; she needs to find her way to Toby, and get him back home again; that determination keeps her focused.

#18 - Drunk: Facing him down for the final time, Sarah almost pities Jareth, despite the nightmare he's put her through; before, he was drunk on power, practically tripping over his own vanity, but he's now only a faint shadow of the man who'd inspired such terror in her heart.

#19 - Mask: There are masks everywhere she looks, in this opulent ballroom; she's not sure what's false here, and what, if anything, is true.

#20 - Rose: Jareth is like a dark rose, in Sarah's eyes: Incredibly beautiful, but prickling with thorns, thorns that she strongly suspects are tipped with poison.

#21 - Two: She stands before him, taking in how defeated he already appears; despite her gratitude for the friends she's made as she's gone through the Labyrinth, there was no other way this could end, apart from the two of them, Goblin King and defiant child, staring each other down.

#22 - Fresh: As he takes over the giant automaton that threatens them at the gates of the City, Sarah finds herself looking at Hoggle with fresh eyes; yes, he's a coward, which led him to offer the ensorcelled peach, and to run away from perceived danger; but here he is now, risking life itself, to stop the rampaging automaton from slicing her and her other friends to ribbons.

#23 - Bribe: Sarah's beginning to understand Hoggle's being so fully under Jareth's thumb; he's too much of a coward to respond to reasoning and bribes, though he seems anxious enough to try to help her; but his fear of his apparent lord and master tends to get the better of him.

#24 - Error: This seems to be Sarah's day for making errors: Losing track of time and getting on her stepmother's perpetual bad side; wishing Toby into the goblins' clutches; winding up in the Oubliette; Sarah's had bad days before, but this one feels like a culmination of every single other bad day she's ever had.

#25 - Appetite: The peach Hoggle gives her seems almost like a godsend, there to take the edge off of her exertion-inspired appetite; but the effect of it hits as soon as she swallows the only bite she takes, leaving her woozy and defenseless.

#26 - Refrain: If only her stepmother would refrain from criticizing her at every turn; Sarah will never see her as a second mother, one being quite enough for anyone; but they share her father, and Toby; if her stepmother could just be a little less harsh, perhaps they could almost be friends, for the sake of the male half of the household.

#27 - Family: Toby isn't perfect; he's a baby, so he takes constant looking after; and he's soaking up her father's attention, and understandably monopolizing her stepmother's; he's a crying pest who can't manage for himself; nevertheless, he's family, and Sarah regrets wishing him away to the goblins.

#28 - Grieve: She doesn't grieve when she tucks Lancelot in beside Toby; she knows she's giving up her favorite of her toys, a vital part of her childhood; but, after what she did, she knows that her brother has earned her greatest treasure, and become more of a treasure to her than Lancelot ever was.

#29 - Vapor: She sprawls on the forest floor, her mind a blur; whatever her purpose was in this strange place, it's fading from her like so much vapor, blown on a breeze.

#30 - Tea: It doesn't occur to her until long after she's back home again, but Sarah now sees how silly the Worm was to ask her in for a cuppa, as sweet as the offer was; a human of any size could never fit through the gap leading into his home, and his wife might well resent the intrusion.

#31 - Medicine: Sarah feels no urge to be smug about defeating Jareth; he's already suffering, taking the bitter and necessary medicine to cure him of his own ego.

#32 - Moth: Of course that damned Goblin King would have an owl as his second form; Sarah almost wishes that it was a moth, instead, so that she could punish him for his actions by swatting him out of existence; but, having magic on his side, he'd probably survive.

#33 - Perfect: Sarah has the best of both worlds, she realizes when she's home again: A perfect balance between the world she lives in, and the memories and friendships in that other, more magical realm; she knows it's time for her to begin to grow up, but she also understands that that doesn't have to mean giving up on her imagination and her dreams.

#34 - Rope: She's always known that she was different from others her age; as a little girl, when other girls were playing jump rope, Sarah was always off by herself, daydreaming, living in her own fantasy world; over the years, nothing has changed, and she suspects that it never will.

#35 - Wind: The paths through the Labyrinth are perplexing, winding around and across and through; for all Sarah knows, she might be going around in circles, and she certainly wouldn't put it past that damned Goblin King to have arranged it.

#36 - Crossroads: There are so many paths, so many crossroads, in the Labyrinth; it's impossible for Sarah to know whether she's chosen the right one, especially given the place's ability to change on a whim; all she can do is pick and choose, and hope that she eventually reaches the center in time to save Toby.

#37 - Summer: Her fear of Jareth blazes in her heart like the sun on a hot summer's day; at the same time, though, she finds him peculiarly fascinating; she never suspected that evil could be so alluring.

#38 - Candy: Ludo might not be too bright, and easily frightened, in spite of his size, but Sarah doesn't care about that; he's gentle and kind, and sweeter than candy, and loyal to her, so she's glad to have him with her in this otherwise hostile place.

#39 - Photograph: Along with her toys, she tucks away the clippings and photographs of her mother; Sarah still misses her, still misses them all being a family; but her mother's chosen acting over mothering, so perhaps it's time to let go of that hero worship.

#40 - Spoon: Seeing the contempt that Jareth shows to Hoggle, and the dwarf's frightened resentment of such treatment, Sarah finds herself wondering: Does he also treat his goblins as something less than dirt, and has he spoon-fed them some nonsense, to keep them loyal and subservient; or are they stupid enough to think that it's all they deserve, at the hands of their King?

#41 - Forest: Sarah can't begin to guess how she managed to lose someone as large as Ludo in the close confines of this eerie forest; but when the Fireys arrive, her fear of them drives that question out of her head entirely--especially when they try to remove it from her shoulders.

#42 - Mirror: He can be a bit irritating at times, but his devotion and loyalty are beyond question; Sarah always expected, if she were ever lucky enough to meet a knight, that the knight in question would be a bit more...poised; but Sir Didymus, she can't deny, is the very mirror and flower of chivalry, and she knows she's lucky to have him on her side.

#43 - Smoke: The peach, or whatever it was treated with, clouds Sarah's mind like smoke or fog; she can't think straight anymore, feeling bits of her mind slowly erasing under its influence.

#44 - Shine: Though her mind is a blur, and her senses are distracted by the ballroom's glitter, Sarah sees her dance partner, and knows she recognizes that shine; knows that, somehow, this figure who holds her close is a threat that she needs to free herself from, before it's too late.

#45 - Balloon: Every balloon is destined to burst or deflate; Sarah feels a hint of gratification at witnessing Jareth's being so fully imploded by her refusal of his pleas.

#46 - Vine: She could stay in the ballroom, in the arms that guide her through the dance, forever; but there's something eerie and insidious beneath all the loveliness; and his arms, so strong and sure, feel like vines creeping around to bind her to him.

#47 - Butterfly: Once back at home, safe and sound, with Toby asleep in his crib, Sarah feels like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis; she's been through the fire, and come out stronger; after the Labyrinth, she knows she can face any challenge.

#48 - Gloves: How desperate Jareth must be, Sarah thinks during their final confrontation; he talks as though he'd treat her with kid gloves, and worship her every day...but the words he doesn't say, the lines she reads between, tell the truth: That accepting his offer would be accepting being eternally bound to him; she'd be his slave, rather than him being hers.

#49 - Venom: The ballroom is a place of splendor, but Sarah can sense a wrongness beneath it all, despite the gaps in her memory; this place is beautifully venomous, trying to draw her away from something she knows is important, whatever that something is; somehow, she knows, she must get out.

#50 - Remain: Of course Jareth's words would taunt her, tempt her, to remain in his impossible domain; but Sarah is stronger than she was before she entered his Labyrinth, and she did not come all this way to bow to him.