The world around you faded into the familiar sight of your apartment. You furiously blinked and rubbed your eyes, to the point where stars danced across them.
Could it have been a dream?
Harry groaned loudly, drawing your attention to him. He sat up from the floor, a bedsheet draped uselessly around his waist. He ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes scanning the apartment lazily before they finally landed on you.
You sat quietly on the floor.
No.
It wasn't a dream. That was far too real to have been a dream. And you wanted to go back. Now.
"I wish the goblins would—"
Harry threw himself over to you in an instant, his hand clamping over your mouth to muffle your words. You screamed in frustration and tried to push him off as he backed you into the floor, his body pressing against yours and suffocating any freedom you'd regained.
"Are you insane?!" Harry growled, the whites of his eyes bloodshot and shaking. You figured he must have been crying at some point, but you were in no position to ask him about it, nor did you care for his wellbeing anymore. You pushed against his chest, but he remained firmly in place. "Don't you dare say those words again!"
You struggled against him, wanting to desperately break free. But he wasn't letting up. He couldn't keep you there forever; he knew that too, but there was something playing on his mind with the way he stared down at you.
"He's a Fae," Harry breathed out shakily, sounding almost scared. "You know more than I do what Fae are capable of. They trick people, [Name], and you almost fell for those tricks!"
Liar.
You screamed into his hand again, shaking your head furiously to the side to try and make him shift. Harry pressed his hand harder into your mouth, to the point where breathing was becoming difficult. Was he trying to kill you now? What a way to die. Being stripped away from everything you desired because his fragile ego couldn't cope with losing you. Pathetic.
"That Goblin King was using you," Harry explained hurriedly, as if he was still on a timer to save you. "He showed you what you desired. He did the same to me. He wanted me to stay there, forever. But I said no. I saw right through his lies."
Why was he saying all of this stuff? Tears gathered in streams as they fell down your face. You refused to believe Harry; he'd ruined your future with the Goblin King; with Jareth. You caught him in his act of betrayal and he hated that you sought revenge on him too, now he was tarnishing any chance of happiness that you had left.
"He was toying with you the entire time, [Name]," Harry said in a low tone, now sounding dangerously desperate. "Could you not see those goblins laughing at you? It was all part of their elaborate game to make a fool of you. The lot of them are evil."
You twisted your upper body and finally managed to remove Harry's hand from your mouth. You gasped for air and pushed your hands into his throat, effectively choking him and forcing him away. He gagged loudly and backed off, coughing wildly as you shuffled backwards to create a safe distance. You glared at him with a raging fire in your eyes, furious that he would dare lay his hands on you like that.
"You're a cold hearted liar!" You wailed out loudly, voice trembling as you spoke.
"I'm not lying," Harry defended quickly. He massaged his throat with his fingers in tender circles. A stray tear rolled down his cheek. "You were blinded by his charms. Fae do that. But you're safe now, you're far away from him and we can—"
"There's no we!" You cried out, shoulders shaking in anger. "I don't believe you! I hate you! I hate everything that you've ever done to me!"
"That I've ever done?!" Harry repeated with a bitter laugh. He was now on his hands and knees, looming over you like an animal on its prey. You were starting to grow wary of his animalistic expression, the way he poised himself like a predator ready to strike. "All I've ever done is care for you. I've looked after you. Emotionally, financially... and you want more from me? How selfish can you be?"
"You cheated," you said coldly, now drawing your knees to your chest. If he dared to come any closer, you'd push your feet out and strike him in the face or chest; wherever you could land first. "I never asked for you to do any of that for me. I told you I was capable of supporting myself. You insisted. And then you go ahead and cheat with some stupid girl—"
"Casey is not stupid."
"And now you're defending her!" You cried out. "She's been to my performances, she knew we were together—"
"Are together," Harry corrected with a strange sense of urgency. He started to move closer, and your muscles twitched in anticipation to kick him in the face. Perhaps break his nose, give him a black eye all in one movement.
"We're finished," you reminded him sharply, narrowing your eyes and shaking your head. "I'm calling off our engagement and our entire relationship. I can't marry someone like you. Not when I was shown what I deserve to have."
Harry looked ready to tear his own hair out. He was red in the face from frustration, and he reeled back onto his knees. An exasperated laugh left his throat, and it sounded wild. Insane. You feared that he was ready to snap, and that was starting to scare you more than anything.
"You seriously think The Goblin King would offer you whatever you desire? You're delusional, [Name]. He just wanted another toy to his sick collection. There was a goblin in that labyrinth who told me everything. The Goblin King is a cruel ruler—he steals vulnerable people, young or old, and he forces them to remain trapped in his realm forever."
No. Harry must be lying.
But he was staring straight at you. He wasn't looking away and avoiding eye contact. His stare was strong and serious. Was he being truthful?
"I don't know a lot about Fae, but the goblin explained to me that the Goblin King is the last of his kind. There was a war of sorts centuries ago, and he was the only one remaining. He did something unforgivable to Fae kind, entirely out of the cruelness of his black heart. The only way he stays so powerful is by tricking innocent lives into giving him power through their way of word."
By speaking. By making promises. Making deals. Bets.
You averted your eyes to the floor, your feet lowering as you slowly came to the conclusion that Harry wasn't lying to you, that he was desperate for you to not make another mistake so dangerous. He'd run that labyrinth because he discovered the truth about Jareth, about what he was truly capable of. Harry, despite being able to leave at any point if he wanted to, had risked his life in that trickery maze just to protect you from eternity with Jareth.
Your mind flashed back to the statue that you'd discovered at the same time as the unicorn. The Last of Us. It made sense now. Jareth was the last of his kind, because he did something so unforgiving. The details of that event were left a mystery, but you could only imagine what had occurred. You'd assumed the unicorn was the last of its kind, but maybe it was an associate of Jareth's before the Fae were... well...
Gone.
Harry gently crawled towards you, the bedsheet miraculously hanging onto his naked waist. You let his hand reach out and caress your cheek, and comfort was instantly brought to you.
"I don't expect you to forgive me; I wouldn't even forgive myself. But I love you, [Name], I truly do. Casey was a mistake, a slice of excitement. I'd do anything for you. I ran that labyrinth for you, even though you tried to betray me."
That's right. You got your revenge on Harry, to show him what it felt like to be betrayed. Didn't that make you both equal now?
You finally lifted your eyes to meet his. Your bottom lip trembled at the sincerity in his face. His eyes sparkled with fresh tears under the dim lighting inside your apartment.
"I don't forgive you," you whispered, feeling torn between leaving him and staying out of gratitude. This was an event that should bring you closer, right? He cheated; you wished him away; you betrayed him; he saved you. "But I'm willing to give you a second chance."
"And you'll never say those words again?" Harry asked, his expression reflecting that same urgency again.
You opened your mouth to promise him that you wouldn't, but the words were caught in your throat. That was a big promise to make. And from what you had just learned, words were very powerful. You didn't want to promise something like that. In fact, you felt reluctant to ever make another promise again. You didn't want to. It was dangerous. Words were dangerous.
Instead, you slowly shook your head. You half expected Harry to encourage the vocal agreement, but instead he seemed satisfied with your wordless response.
Your gaze drifted towards the window as Harry wrapped his arms around you, pulling your body into him and tucking you under the sheet. You didn't react to this—you could only focus on the window, where the sun was starting to rise over the buildings outside.
Harry nuzzled his face into your neck, and he kissed and whispered sweet words that hardly reached your ears. It felt wrong to listen to this—you felt as though you were being tricked again. But were you? Harry's sweet promises seemed so meaningless and empty; they felt so dangerous and wrong. What if he promised something that he couldn't take back?
You decided to stop thinking at that point. You were exhausted and in desperate need of sleep. You felt your eyelids grow heavy, and you rested your head against Harry's, slowly falling asleep to the whispers of his love for you.