Dealing with Goblins

Disclaimer: All Publicly Recognizable Characters, Settings, Ideas, etc. are the property of Jim Henson and Co. The Original Characters and Plot are the Property of the Author. The Author is in no way Associated with the Owners, Creators, or Producers of Jim Henson and Co. No Copyright Infringement is intended.

Chapter 02

The hall Sarah now walked was dark. There was a stone roof over her head and torches lined the wall, casting light for her to see.

Sarah hugged herself as another shiver went up her spine. This wasn't the Labyrinth she knew. The Labyrinth was scary, but this place...this was dark, creepy and...well, evil. Both had malicious airs about them, but the Labyrinth's had a more playful, easy-going one. Like an annoying prankster who didn't know when to quit. This area of the Labyrinth was joyful, as if it found true happiness in the pain of others.

The air was thick and heavy; difficult to inhale. And cold. It seemed to not only be sucking the warmth from her body, but from her thoughts. She tried to think of her last trip here; the happy moments to distract her and give her courage. But she was having trouble remembering her first meeting with Ludo. She could remember her anger at the smaller goblins who had been tormenting him clearly, but she could not seem to remember talking with him after. She knew she had, but the memory was fuzzy. She remembered the fear when she ran from the cleaners in vivid detail. But she could not remember Hoggle saving her from the giant metal knight in any detail.

"Maybe coming this way was a bad idea."

"Really? Why do you say that?"

Sarah turned at the voice to see a dark-haired man with ice blue eyes staring at her. He was leaning against the wall a few feet ahead.

"Who are you?" asked Sarah, muscles tensing.

From what she could make out in the dim light, his skin was perfect, and his eyes seemed to be looking inside Sarah as opposed to at her.

He was thin, and gave off the same air of strength Jareth did. He was not, thankfully, wearing tight pants though. Simple yet elegant black trousers, a loose blue silk shirt that matched his eyes. He was overall incredibly handsome and therefore not to be trusted. No one looked that good unless they had magic, which meant he was Fae, like Jareth.

"My name is Alamir, and you are?"

"Sarah."

"Sarah," he repeated, tasting her name, letting it roll off his tongue. "As beautiful as its owner. You seem lost. Allow me to escort you to my home," he offered, removing himself from the wall and walking towards her. "I have maps that may be of use to you."

He held out his hand for her to take.

"No! I mean - thank you, but no. I think I'll just retrace my steps."

"Not possible, I'm afraid."

He stretched out his arm and the torches flared. The hall was cast in a bright light, and Sarah brought her hands to her face to protect her eyes against the sudden onslaught of light. When her eyes adjusted, she turned to see that behind her was now a dead end.

"No!" she shouted in frustration as she ran towards the wall and started pounding it with her fist, hoping it was merely some sort of illusion.

It wasn't.

She turned to Alamir.

"Open it."

"No. You have two choices, Sarah: come with me or stay here and die of thirst."

Sarah turned back to the wall. Instead of blindly pounding the stone, she pushed against the bricks it was made of, hoping one would act as a trigger and open the wall again.

"That won't work."

Sarah stiffened: that voice was close, very close. Less than two feet away close. She turned, pressing herself against the wall, trying to get as much space between her and the creature as possible.

Alamir smiled at her quickened breaths and wide eyes. He leaned forward, resting the palm of his left hand against the wall just over her shoulder. His right hand was inching towards her face.

"I won't hurt you, Sarah."

Suddenly, a leather-clad hand wrapped its fingers around Alamir's wrist.

"No, you won't as you will not be touching her."

Jareth gave Alamir's wrist a twist and threw him against the wall on Sarah's right.

"Jareth, still alive and well?" hissed Alamir as he pried himself from the wall. "I thought I heard rumours that you had been injured by an assassin."

"The idiot your father sent?" Jareth chuckled, crossing his arms. "An incompetent cretin, much like his employer."

Deciding Alamir was not a threat, Jareth turned from his opponent to Sarah. Slowly he reached out and caressed her jaw his index and pinky finger making their way to her neck to check her pulse which was rapid but not erratic. His eyes scanned her wrist looking for any bruises. "Are you hurt?"

"No, no," she panted trying to calm herself. "I'm fine. This isn't the Labyrinth, is it?"

Jareth nodded. "Some paths will take you to different kingdoms. Alamir is a Sluagh, a type of…demon, I suppose, is the word you might use, or evil spirit. This path would have taken you to a portal which, in turn, would have taken you directly to the castle in the Sluagh capital city. In future," he chided gently with a hint of a chuckle, "you will kindly stay within the boundaries of my kingdom."

"I didn't know!" she yelled taking a step to the side and losing contact with his hand. "Why didn't you post a sign or something?"

"I placed the worm and his home directly in front of the path – Alamir, if your hand gets any closer to that knife, you will lose a very small but very treasured piece of your lower anatomy. Am I clear?"

Sarah looked past Jareth to see Alamir's hand withdrawing from the small of his back and come to rest at his side.

'How did Jareth know?' she wondered, looking up at the mismatched eyes.

"Come along, Sarah. You still have to finish your run."

Sarah turned back to the wall that had been blocking her path only to find it was gone. She felt Jareth's hand on her shoulder as he guided her back to the Labyrinth.

"Thank you. What was that about an assassin?"

"I know this is hard to believe, Sarah, but there are people out there who wish to end my life and seize control of the Labyrinth. They are under the impression that if I can do it, so can they. Also, many rulers find me to be 'an annoying, obnoxious, self-centered, self-righteous prick'."

"Why?"

"I've no idea. I think I'm rather charming."

"No, why would they want to rule the Labyrinth? I mean, goblins aren't the most…powerful or obedient creatures."

"They have little to no interest in most of the goblin population, and I'll have you know that my army is a force to be feared."

"Jareth, I fought your army in the city. They weren't scary."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, Sarah. The reserve force is a joke, meant to help with the runners I have no desire to kill."

"You kill runners?"

"Occasionally. I have a tendency to show my displeasure to particularly bad examples of parenthood. Sometimes I achieve this by ending their life, though not always. One runner has been a guest of mine for some fifty years, though he often wishes he isn't. Currently the record for surviving my displeasure is five hundred and two years, though it may be less, I haven't check in on Miss Anna in a decade."

"Five…hundred years?" gasped Sarah. "How? What did she do?"

"The Underground grants some of its citizens long life, the Labyrinth more so. Though every creatures still has to eat. Last I checked, Anna was insane and animalistic, but still had the presence of mind to capture and breed rats for food."

Sarah stopped walking and backed away from Jareth. "Why?"

Jareth turned and sneered at the girl. "Because as soon as she wished her daughter away, the child became mine. By having the audacity to attempt to reclaim the child she attempted to become a threat to the girl." Jareth's face darkened, his lips pulled back in a snarl and he slowly advanced towards Sarah, who found her legs frozen in place. The hall darkened as power coiled around the Goblin King, his eyes mere slits of pure malice that glared at the raven haired girl before him.

Sarah's breathing quickened as she felt something inside of her burn. Only this wasn't the hint of arousal she now knew she had felt on her last trip. There was nothing pleasant about this. The Goblin Kind didn't look like a dark, menacing, ethereal being anymore. He didn't looked like a being at all. Just maliciousness given a humanoid shape. Before, he had blended into the shadows, now he was them. It was impossible to tell where the shadows ended and the king began. The only solid things were the teeth and eyes, and they were burning her soul.

"If I had believed for one moment that you would ever have harmed Toby, Precious, I would have tricked you into giving yourself to me or made sure you returned to your world a bloody disembowelled husk. No matter how young or pretty you were. No one, threatens a child in front of me. I am not merely cruel, I am protective of those in my power, and vindictive: anyone who makes themselves a threat in any way, shape, or from to my charges in my land forfeit their lives, their sanity and their souls for my judgment. The only reason Alamir still lives is because he threatened you outside the Labyrinth, and didn't touch you. Granted, he attempted to, but the treaty I have with the other kingdoms is quite specific. No harm can be done to anyone on neutral territory. And he did not harm you."

Suddenly the darkness was gone and Jareth stood above her smiling gently, twirling a lock of her hair in his fingers.

'This guy has worse mood swings than the most hormonal of pregnant women.'

"Then why did he reach for a knife?"

"Obviously he thought I was distracted enough that he could slay me. If he had managed to kill me, I would not have been in any shape to seek vengeance, now would I? You see, Precious, I follow the rules. Alamir and his cretin father do not."

He let her hair fall before turning and walking down the corridor.

"Come along, Precious."

Sarah turned and started following.

"So, why does Alamir's dad want to kill you?" asked Sarah, desperately trying to fill the awkward silence.

"Aside from the powerful army, the Labyrinth is a source of great magic. It actually provides a great deal of the magic for the entire Underground. Much like your Amazon rainforest provides most of your planet's oxygen."

"Wow," she said, pausing. "Um, thank you for coming to get me."

"You have but to call my name, Sarah. I would have been there sooner if you had. That hall is a sort of limbo; an in-between place. The Sluagh people have as much control over it as I do, that made it…difficult to track you."

"But calling your name will help?" she asked sceptically.

"Names, Precious, have power."

He stopped walking and looked around. Sarah followed suit and saw that they were out of the hall. The stone walls now sported a layer of glitter and there was no ceiling.

"You should be safe now. Well, as safe as one can be when running the Labyrinth. You have twelve hours and thirty two minutes remaining. Tick tock, tick tock," taunted Jareth before vanishing.

Sarah spotted the worm who was still there just off the her right. Jareth had brought her back to the edge of his kingdom.

She turned to address the worm who was still sitting outside his home.

"Excuse me, I never caught your name."

"Ah, you're okay," chimed the worm, smiling at the sight of her. "Glad to hear it. And the name's William."

"Next time, William, do you think you could mention that this path will take you to the Sluagh castle? I though you meant the goblin castle."

"Ah, well that explains it. I was wondering why anyone would want to go there. Right, I'll be sure to mention that to the next person I see. Good luck!"

"Thanks!"

oo0oo

Sarah glanced at her watch. She'd been walking for five hours. She had come across the helping hands again, this time she had told them to take her up. She had been rather pleased with her decision: it had brought her to a beautiful apple tree.

It was about a half meter in diameter, and taller then her house. The apples were bright red, and even from her vantage point on the ground, they looked succulent. She looked around, but oddly enough, didn't spot any on the ground. She looked back up, wishing she could eat one, but she'd learned her lesson. It did look like a beautiful spot to rest though, so she sat down with her back against the tree and took out her lunch.

"Excuse me," said a feminine voice from over Sarah's shoulder, "but how would you like it if some stranger came and started leaning against you?"

Sarah jumped to her feet and turned to the source to see a green face poking out of the tree.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were there. You're a dryad, right?"

"I am," said the woman as she stepped out of her tree. Her skin was green and her hair made out of twigs and leaves. Her body was lithe and her movements dainty but her eyes were hard as they stared at the intruder.

"Well, I'm sorry I disturbed you. It just looked like such a beautiful place to rest, but I'll go if you want."

The dryad's eyes softened at the flattery. "No, you may as well stay, just don't touch me. Or tear off some of my fruit."

"I brought my own food," assured Sarah, holding up her backpack. She took out a sandwich. "By the way, my name's Sarah. What's yours?"

"Alyssa. Are you a runner?"

"Yes."

"Were you out on a picnic or something when you whished away…who did you wish away?"

"My little brother, Toby. But I already got him back. A dwarf named Hoggle helped me and Jareth threw him into an oubliette." Sarah went on to explain her situation, finding it nice to have someone to talk to. Maybe the dryad could be convinced to help her out.

"So, we're allowed to give you directions? Hm, the assistance I can give you is limited. Dryads can't go far from our trees. The birds that rest on my branches are another matter. Hold on a minute."

She leaned back against the trunk of her tree and sank into it.

Sarah started packing up her lunch while she waited, wondering if she could trust the dryad. Well, it wasn't as if she would have a better idea of where to go otherwise.

"You'll want to take that path there," announced Alyssa suddenly as her head poked out of the tree. The dryad gestured with her head in the direction of a path to the right. "Take the third right, fifth left, then you'll come to two doors. Take the right one. The birds say they saw a runner take that door and a few hours later they were in the middle of the Goblin City. The door will take you underground though so they can't give you any more details."

"That's alright, I'll find the way. Thank the birds for me, and thank you for your help."

"My pleasure."

Sarah started off in the direction the dryad had suggested. As soon as the young brunette disappeared from sight, Alyssa heard a sharp, masculine voice.

"You hate me, don't you?"

Alyssa turned to see her king glaring at her.

"Majesty," she said with a bow of her head as she stepped out of her tree. "I don't hate you, however you know what they say about a woman scorned."

"Revenge, Alyssa?" sneered the Goblin King. "I thought such pettiness beneath you."

The dryad turned to face her king, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Oh, come now, no need to be melodramatic. It's just a little humiliation. You getting beat by a fifteen year old human girl not once, but twice, is priceless. Can you blame me if I wish to help her along?"

"She won't win."

"As I understand it, she's managed to make half your usual tricks illegal."

Her smile turned into a smirk as she crept closer to the Goblin King. She placed a hand on his chest and stared up at him.

"You can't put her into a dream world." Her smile warped into a Cheshire cat grin as she stepped away. "If that is all my lord." She bowed at the waist and melted back into her tree.

Sarah, meanwhile, followed the dryad's instructions and soon found the door. She opened it to find a dark tunnel. Grateful she had thought to pack a flashlight, she brought it out when she heard a voice.

"Don't use that."

Sarah jumped and turned to face the speaker.

"Jareth! Don't do that!"

The Goblin King smiled. He loved it when she called him by his name.

"Don't use your flashlight, Sarah. You'll miss out on something…quite beautiful."

"Thanks for the advice, but I think I'll go with the flashlight," replied Sarah with a roll of her eyes. Like she was really going to stumble around in a dark cave. "If that's all, I'll just be going."

She quickly turned from the king to the doorway and as soon as she was through, closed the door in his face. She walked for five minutes before deciding that maybe it would not hurt to turn off her flashlight, just to see what Jareth was on about. Although she felt she could not trust him, the fact was, he had never actually lied to her. Well, flat-out lied to her.

She turned off her flashlight. At first nothing happened, but after several seconds, she noticed the walls and ceiling were glowing. Little globes of wiggling light. Some were blue, some were yellow, green, orange, violet, even pink. It was beautiful. The glow intensified as the seconds ticked by. Soon the light was bright enough for her to see.

"Wow." On closer inspection she realised the globes were moving because they were made up of tiny worms.

"Hello?" called Sarah wondering if they spoke. On hearing no reply she shrugged and continued to stare in wonder at the sight before remembering that she had a deadline. She would have to come back here when she didn't have one of those hanging over her head.

Was she starting to look forward to her spring break when she would be Jareth's servant? She shook her head. She was looking forward to any breaks he might grant her where she could get away from the castle and explore the Labyrinth. If he even gave her one.

She walked another ten minutes until she reached a large cavern. The multi-coloured globes were still glowing and opposite to her were three doors.

"Which one should I choose?"

"They'll all take you to the city," said a familiar voice. Sarah took a deep breath to calm herself before turning to face her opponent.

"But if you take the middle one," continued Jareth. "You'll arrive a few yards short of the castle. I must warn you though, it will not be a pleasant trip. Possibly even dangerous and I may not be able to protect you."

"I don't need your protection. It can't be all that bad."

"Oh, it can't?" asked Jareth, his voice becoming cold and harsh. "You've done some research since your first trip. Tell me, what is a Labyrinth?"

"It's like a maze, only with no dead ends. There's only one path in a Labyrinth."

"Does that sound like my Labyrinth, Sarah?"

"No. This place is full of different paths and dead ends."

"Nonetheless, this is a Labyrinth, Sarah, and there is only one path out of this place. Think, Precious, what is the Labyrinth's purpose?"

"Traditionally they're meditation tools. Or in the case of the Greeks, a challenge."

Jareth nodded.

"Exactly. Now, Precious," he continued as he started to advance towards her. Sarah continued to stare coolly at him, determined not to show any fear. "How did the Labyrinth challenge you? How did it change you?"

"It made me grow up."

"Precisely. You thought the world unfair, the Labyrinth made you accepting of the fact. You even learned to use it to your advantage. You were afraid of monsters, yet you ran towards the cries of your rock-controlling friend. You lived in a dream world, yet you ran from the one I gave you. You were selfish, placing more worth on your toys and bears than your brother, yet when you remembered him, you called all your treasures 'junk' and ran towards the city.

"There is only one way out of my Labyrinth, Sarah. Growth. The Labyrinth pushes the runner to face hard truths about who and what they are. The darker and nastier the runner, the darker and nastier the way out."

"So I'm not the first beat the Labyrinth?"

"No, though it is rare. You are, however, the first to befriend the inhabitants; to truly appreciate this land's beauty and use it to your advantage. You're a rare creature, Sarah." He reached out and brushed hair from her face. "This is a shortcut. To advance so much in a short time, you will be pushed…" He paused and cocked his head to the side, thinking, "...and possibly crushed. Literally." His gaze shifted to her eyes. "The Labyrinth is not always kind. Your innocence protected you last time. But no one has ever run this place twice."

"I'm not backing down, Jareth. I can take whatever your Labyrinth throws at me."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

He stepped back and waved his hand at the middle door. It swung open with a groan. He turned to Sarah reaching out he traced a finger along her jaw line, while Sarah wondered why she was letting him touch her, even if he did make her feel warm inside.

"Well, Sarah? Will you go on? Or give up now?" His smile widened. "I promise, I can be a very pleasant master."

Sarah turned from the king to the door and walked through.