The crystal went flying across the room, smashing against the helmet of a stunned Goblin. Jareth glared at the Goblin and when the little creature took a step back out of fear Jareth let out an inhuman below of rage. The Goblins fled, fighting each other to get out of the throne room as fast as they could. Never had they seen their King in such a rage, never had he shown such violence… never before had they been afraid of him, but they were now.
Two months ago they'd listened as Mandana explained what had happened at The Caves of Arnagoth, and the consequences of Sarah's actions there. They'd all grieved when they'd heard that she was going away and wouldn't be coming back. Although she'd only been there a month, they'd all grown to love her, she was a fair, just and kind ruler and they missed her. Jareth had reordered time Aboveground, but he hadn't altered anything Underground. He didn't see the point, he couldn't turn back the time in Arnagoth, he couldn't change what had happened, so what was the point reliving the month without her? No, he'd left time as it was in the Labyrinth, and so they all remembered Sarah, and they all missed her. Not only that but some of them had also lost more than one friend. Ludo and Sir Didymus grieved most of all the Goblins, having lost not only their precious Sarah, but Hoggle as well. Knowing Sarah had no friends Aboveground, Jareth had changed Hoggle and Carnice into humans, stripped them of their memory of their lives Underground, given them new memories of a life with Sarah, and sent them to her. He'd arranged jobs and a home for them and then he'd watched.
For two months, almost all he'd done was watch. The Kingdom was in turmoil around him. Negotiations between Gerard and Jareth's father Parthanon, the High King of the Underground were not going well. One of the punishments Gerard had demanded of Sarah for using the power of his Kingdom against him, was that her Kingdom be forfeit to him, along with her life. Sending her Aboveground, Jareth had cheated Gerard out of Sarah's life. Few creatures had the power to travel Aboveground, and although Gerard had once had this power, he'd lost it about six years ago. Gambling was rife in almost every world, and Arnagoth was no different, except Gerard had been gambling with more than money. In a bid to gain the power of an Animalanis to change shape, he'd bet his own powers of being able to travel between worlds. It was a bet he'd lost and so he was now confined to those worlds with weak magical barriers such as those surrounding Arnagoth and the Underground. Aboveground had as much magic as any other Kingdom, but instead of giving the magic to its people, there existed a strong magical barrier surrounding Aboveground, a barrier which few could penetrate, so Sarah was out of Gerard's reach. But as to the matter of Sarah's Kingdom, his Kingdom, he could see no way out. Determined to stay behind and guard his Kingdom, Jareth had soon forgotten his intentions. So distraught was he at losing his dearest Sarah, he became obsessed with watching her. It had fallen to his father to go into negotiations with Gerard, but there was only so long he could drag them out. Missed meetings, delays, arguments, checking of ancient law, Parthanon had tried it all, but he was running out of excuses, and Gerard was running out of patience. If Jareth didn't do something soon, Gerard would declare war on him, and as he had no direct involvement in the dispute, Parthanon could do nothing to stop it. Neither he, nor his royal army could help Jareth. As brave and fierce as the Goblins were, the merpeople of Arnagoth hugely outnumbered them. It would be a slaughter. Jareth would lose both his people and his Kingdom.
Salienne, Jareth's mother, had spent hours trying to convince him to do something, to enter talks with Gerard, to do anything to protect his Kingdom. She had pleaded, she had shouted, she had argued, but to no avail. Jareth's heart and mind were consumed by his grief, and nothing, not even the potential massacre of his beloved Goblins could shake him out of his reverie.
Earlier that day Saliene had come again to try to talk some sense into her son, but she had once again found him immersed in a crystal, staring intently at Sarah as she sat in bed, held by the man Hoggle had become, pouring her heart out in both tears and words. Saliene had watched silently, tears running down her own face as she watched Sarah's pain. Yet there were no tears on Jareth's cheeks, no moisture in his eyes, his face was hard and set, the only emotion he showed anymore was anger, most of the time he sat stony faced watching in a crystal. A barrier had gone up around his heart, he felt nothing but his pain for losing Sarah, yet he showed none of it.
It was only as Sarah's tears ceased that Jareth became aware of his mother's presence, but he did not look at her. The only visible sign he knew she was there was a tensing of his muscles again the argument he knew was to come. But Saliene was defeated. She knew what was to come. She couldn't make him listen to her, and Gerard wouldn't wait much longer. Sarah had usurped the power of his Kingdom, now he would take hers… regardless that she was not here to protect it. Instead, all the Labyrinth had was its King, a King who had months ago stopped paying any attention to it. The Labyrinth had fallen into decay, summons were ignored, the children in the castle had been adopted out early and no more arrived. Without an active ruler, parts of the Labyrinth began to be wild, Goblins stopped going there, what creatures remained were changed, they became dangerous. Saliene had watched the slow destruction of the Labyrinth from within, and she was beginning to despair. Now as she looked at the hunched shoulders of her son, watching the woman he loved in a crystal, she lost all hope.
Slowly she walked to the throne next to Jareth's and sat in it. Instantly Jareth was on his feet facing her, anger blazing from every fibre of his being. No one sat in Sarah's throne, no one even touched it! Yet Saliene was not a woman to be intimidated by her son. She stared him in the eyes as he glared at her, and eventually the anger faded from his face. He would not hurt his mother, he was not a monster. He dropped back into his throne, legs thrown over one side, but this time he looked at his mother. For a long while there was silence. It was Saliene who eventually broke it.
"The talks are almost over, there's nothing more your father can do. If you do not hand over your Kingdom, Gerard will attack."
There was no pleading in her voice, no anger, no fear. There was no emotion whatsoever, her voice was flat, dead. She'd given up. She had watched her son fall into despair, and his Kingdom fall into ruin around him. He would not fight, she could see that now, there was no point argueing anymore.
"His numbers are superior, your army cannot possibly win, and I will not let your people die for your grief. When Gerard strikes, I'm taking your subjects with me, every creature in this Labyrinth will return to the High Castle, and from there disperse to whichever Kingdom they like."
There was no change in Jareth's face, no sign he had even heard her words.
"Have no nothing to say on this matter?"
"And what is there to say mother? I have lost the only thing in this life I cared about, why should I bother about a piece of land?"
Once again, tears filled Saliene's eyes.
"Is that all it is now? A piece of land? Does it mean nothing to you now? Once this was your whole life, you tamed the Labyrinth like no one had ever been able to before, you brought it to life, and in turn it brought life into you. It gave you a vitality you had never had before."
"That may have been true once, but without Sarah, it is just land, there is no life here. Without Sarah, there is no life anywhere…"
"And so you would die from the loss of her? I have thought a lot of things about you in the past, a fair King you may have been, but you were also cruel, yet never have I thought you a coward."
A fire began to blaze in Jareth's eyes once again.
"That's right, you're a coward, no one but a coward would simply give up because they hit an obstacle."
"An obstacle! Is that what you call it?" His voice was filled with fury as he spoke. "I have lost the woman I loved…"
Saliene interrupted him before he could finish what he was to say.
"You speak as if she were dead. She is not."
"She might as well be. If she comes back here, he'll kill her."
"But she is not dead yet, your people may soon be if you do not face the challenge Gerard has set."
"Then take them, what do I care."
Before Saliene could reply, her anger quickly rising to match her sons, a voice was heard from the entrance to the throne room.
"Forgive me your Highness, but I will not leave my King in his hour of need. I am a Knight and I shall fight any enemy of my King to death."
The proud little Knight stood in the throne room, sword in hand, pressed against his breast, fierce pride showing in his eyes. For a few seconds there was silence before the lumbering hulk of Ludo entered the throne room also.
"Ludo protect King."
Saliene couldn't help but smile at his childlike loyalty, but it wasn't finished there. Slowly, one by one more Goblins came to stand with the Knight and the Beast.
"We's not leaving our King."
"Wouldn't be much good as royal guards if we dids that."
"Got's to stay and fight we has."
"Gerard aint getting this castle, it's ours and he aint getting it."
"We'll protect our King…"
"Our King needs us…"
"We won't leave our King…"
"…our King…"
"…our King…"
As she stared at the Goblins now pouring in the door Saliene felt the tears threaten again, but these weren't tears of sadness, these were tears of pride, pride that her son could instill such loyalty in his subjects, that they would face certain death for a King that had moments ago said he didn't care about them. Slowly she turned to face her son before she spoke.
"You may not care about them, but they care about you. Do not let them die for nothing."
With that she disappeared, leaving her son to ponder all that he'd seen and heard.
AN: Thank you so much for the reviews you've left so far!!! I'm glad you're enjoying it, and Mentally Insane Fangirl, I've tried to eliminate run-on sentences, let me know what you think as this is something I appear to be struggling with. Thank you once again and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
