displacement
Chapter 2
Welcome to the Labyrinth
Disclaimer: Jim Henson owns Sarah, Jareth, and Hoggle. But I own Círbara. I like her.
Sarah found herself in a large chamber in a castle. There was a throne in one corner of the room, and goblins were swarming everywhere. They were chasing chickens, laughing in groups, standing around barrels of what she guessed must be ale or beer. The Goblin King stood beside her, one hand clamped around her wrist.
"Out!" he suddenly roared. The commotion from the goblins abruptly ceased, and they scampered to leave as quickly as possible. She tried to pull away and flee with them, but he held her fast. "Not you," he said softly. As soon as the room was empty he threw his arms around her. "Sarah, Sarah, my little Sarah." He pulled back, a huge grin on his face. "You can't possibly know how..." he trailed off at the expression on her face. She looked horribly lost and afraid.
"Where are we?"
"We are in my castle. Beyond the goblin city. I am Jareth, King of the goblins."
"Jareth," she whispered looking off to the side, as if trying to remember something. He looked eagerly at her, searching her eyes for something. Coming back to herself she said coldly, "What are you going to do with me? Turn me into a goblin?"
To her surprise he looked disappointed. "Come with me, my dear. I will show you where you are to sleep." A flash of pain coursed through his eyes so quickly she thought she must have imagined it. "I have many things to show you."
He led her through the throne room, and down several halls before stopping in front of a great wooden door. It was intricately carved and she ran her fingers over the wood for a moment before she opened it. Inside was a lovely room occupied mainly by a large canopied bed. A sheer white fabric fell about it, and a pale green silk cloth served as a bed spread. She felt the cloth in delight.
A wardrobe stood against one wall, next to that was a small table with a mirror. In one corner stood a screen, behind which was a large, marble tub, sunk into the ground. A window with a small balcony was opposite the bed. As she stepped out on the balcony she saw the labyrinth stretched out before her. She gasped at how large it was. It seemed to stretch forever, rolling with the hills and valleys. Far away were distant mountains.
She turned to the Goblin King. "It's very...beautiful." He seemed pleased with her words. He turned away and gestured towards the wardrobe.
"You'll find a set of clothing in there that should fit."
"But how?"
"I've been expecting your arrival for sometime now."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid I must leave you now. Dinner is at 7 o'clock." With that, he swept out the door and down the hall, his cape billowing out behind him.
Sarah slowly shut the door. She turned back to her room, feeling lost. She threw herself on her bed and stared up at the ceiling in thought until tears came. She cried, and cried and finally was overcome by sleep.
Jareth paced his office. He had a lot of work to do, but he couldn't keep his mind on any of it. Sarah was here. Sarah was actually here. He longed to go to her, to hold her. What he really wanted was to give her memories back. But he knew that was impossible. If it was found out that he had been returning her memories in her dreams, he would be in serious trouble with the High Council. No, the best thing to do was to help her create new memories.
He loved her with a desperation he had never experienced before. If she couldn't be convinced to love him back it would destroy him. But he knew he couldn't force her. It would happen naturally. It would have to happen, wouldn't it? It was only logical that if she loved him in her dreams, she would come to love him here to as well.
He knew he was only justifying things to himself. Nothing was ever assured. He hoped it wasn't the greatest mistake of his life, sending the book to that child in Sarah's class. He would have to wait things out, and see how they naturally evolved. He abhorred waiting for things he wanted, but there was nothing else to do in the situation.
For now he turned his attention to the matter at hand. What to tell Sarah about her previous experiences here. Should he deny that he ever knew her? Should he tell her of his removal of her memories? Even if he explained that it wasn't allowed for mortals to keep their memories of the Underground, he wasn't sure how she would take the news. He was sure she would feel violated. Especially if he told her they were lovers in the dream world. Although that had been all her own doing, he recalled with a smile. He had simply appeared in her dream, it was she who had first supplied the sensual settings. He agonized over what was to be done, not coming to any real conclusions. Finally he decided that it would be too dangerous to tell her about her first trip to the Underground. She would most certainly be outraged about why she was now here, but he hoped that in time she would come to love him the same way as she did in her dreams.
Sarah woke to a light knocking on her door. She was disoriented for a moment, as was usual for her after waking up. What was most unusual was to find herself on a soft bed surrounded by gauzy white cloth and stone walls. She sighed to herself realizing it hadn't all been a dream. But she never remembered her dreams anyways, so she didn't see how it mattered.
The knocking occurred again, this time slightly louder. "Come in," Sarah called, her throat hoarse from crying.
The door opened to reveal a goblin woman of medium height. Her green face was horribly squished, her mouth and nose were pinched close together, she had beady black eyes, and her brown hair was pulled off her face in a high ponytail. However, she looked extremely clean, which was more than Sarah could say for the other goblins she had seen. And when the goblin smiled, her face smoothed out and looked almost pleasant. Sarah found herself smiling back.
"You'll be Sarah, then." It wasn't a question. "I'm Círbara. That's with a k sound, not an s mind you. His majesty tells me I'm to be your maid. Dinner's in an hour. Will you be wanting a bath then?"
"Hello Círbara. A bath would be very nice."
"Good thing," the goblin woman said, "You look terrible."
Sarah climbed into the now filled tub. "I feel terrible." Her expression became bleak. "What's to become of me?" she whispered.
"Ahem," Círbara cleared her throat uncomfortably, and left her to her bath.
Twenty minutes later Sarah found herself in a short robe, surrounded by dresses.
"Well?" Círbara asked. "The blue or the red? Either one will look lovely on you."
"I really don't care. You pick one."
"You don't care?! These are the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. I can't pick one. You must do so, my lady."
"Okay, fine," she said, exasperated. "The red one."
Círbara rolled her little black eyes. "Finally. That dress will look stunning on you, dearie. That's the perfect shade of red for your hair."
The dress was beautiful. It was a deep red, and it did seem to bring out red highlights in her hair. It also made her skin look a lovely shade of pale. As Círbara helped her into it, she realized that she truly was stuck here. She would be dressing like this for the rest of her life. The thought saddened her, but she realized there was little she could do about it. The dress laced up the back, which Círbara obligingly tied for her. After she was in the dress, she looked in the mirror.
It certainly was beautiful. Somehow the dress managed to be decadent and princess-like yet modern at the same time. It had two layers, one of lighter red, which lay the closest to her skin. It was sleeveless, with a neckline that plunged dangerously in both the front and the back. The outer layer, made of darker red cloth was more of a long, sleeveless jacket, which at least covered her back. It cinched in the waist, somewhat accentuating her bust line, but there was nothing to do about that. The dress came to the ground, hiding her feet. Which was well, because there were no shoes to go with the dress, and she had to wear the sneakers she had on when Jareth took her.
Círbara sighed. "You look lovely, m'dear. Certainly good enough to dine with the King. Now, what do we do with your hair."
"Nothing."
"Oh, but couldn't I—"
"No," she repeated stubbornly. "Nothing. I'll wear it just like this." Her hair was still tangled from her bath, but it hung long down her back. She wasn't sure why she didn't want it put up, but it felt comforting to have it down, as though she could hide in it if she needed. She also didn't want it to seem like she had put too much effort into looking nice for the king.
"Okay, okay. Let me at least brush it out for you, then."
"Done." She quirked a sideways grin at her maid. She like this goblin.
"Sit here, m'dear." Círbara indicated a chair in front of the window. She smiled to herself when she saw the white owl which had settled a tree nearby, looking in at the two of them, then flew off when he caught Círbara's gaze. "Well, well."
"Hmm?"
"Oh, um, I was just thinking to brush a little of this in your hair." She pulled a jar out of the dressing table which, when opened, revealed a type of sticky salve that smelled like coconuts.
"What is that?"
"Just trust me, dearie." She scooped out a little bit of the oily goop, and spread it into Sarah's hair. After brushing out the worst snarls, she began to brush vigorously. Soon the goopy mess had been distributed equally throughout the mass of hair, which now shone and glistened where the light hit it. "All finished. And just in time too. I'll show you where the dining hall is."
Círbara led Sarah through the castle, and left her at a large set of double doors. "Just through there, dearie. I'll see to you in the morning."
"Thank you for everything, Círbara."
"No need to go thanking me," the little goblin replied, flustered. "Only doing m'job." But Sarah caught the faint blush to her green cheeks and smiled. She pushed the doors open and entered, still smiling.
Jareth turned anxiously at the sound of the doors. His breath caught when he saw how radiant Sarah looked. She had a glowing smile on her face, and she looked absolutely stunning in that dress. Her dark hair tumbled luxuriously about her shoulders, and he longed to run his fingers through it. He longed to press his face to her hair, her neck, the swell of her breasts under her dress. He knew however that he could do none of these things, and he willed his desire down. It wouldn't do to frighten the girl, after all she had no memory of their past...encounters.
"Sarah," he said as she came to stand before him.
She dropped down into a curtsy. "Your Majesty."
He stiffened in surprise. "Don't do that," he said sharply. "Whatever would possess you to do that?"
"I—I don't know," she stammered. "Everyone else seems to call you that. It just seemed appropriate."
He sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought. It was extremely difficult to separate the Sarah he knew from this exquisite and confused creature in front of him. "Didn't I tell you to call me Jareth?" he asked quietly.
"I'm sorry, Jareth."
Closing his eyes, he cringed inwardly at the way she bit out his name, but tried to ignore it.
He must not lose his temper. She is frightened, he thought to himself. You cannot afford to let her goad you into an argument.
"You are entirely forgiven. Shall we eat?" He led her to the table, and
pulled her chair out for her. These simple things were what he was
missing from their dreams. He found great pleasure in these tiniest of
gestures such as seating her. He sat down across the table from her and
indicated that she lift the lid from her plate.
She removed the silver dome to display the plate of chicken swimming in a creamy mushroom sauce. "This is my favorite!" she exclaimed. His heart leapt for a moment, until she fixed him with a suspicious glare.
"Really? How extraordinary," he replied blandly, knowing full well it was her favorite dish. He had specially requested it for her. "By all means, begin."
Throughout dinner Jareth found himself distracted by Sarah, the little things he missed out on by being confined to her dreams. The curious way she held her silverware. The little contented sounds she made after an especially pleasing mouthful. The way she held one hand, palm up, limply in her lap as she drank from her goblet. He realized for the past three years that he had been Sarah's lover, he had really not known much about her. He very much looked forward to learning.
Sarah was also engaged in observing her dinner companion. He ate with an elegant grace that she could never hope to achieve. His wild hair gleamed in the fading sunlight. He was dressed in tight black breeches which left little to the imagination, a flowing white shirt that was open halfway down his chest, displaying an unusual medallion. It had a circular design in the middle, and two downward curving horns on either side. An upside down crescent, she realized. There was also a well worn brown leather jacket with wide lapels which spanned the width of his shoulders. He looked extremely comfortable.
Sarah looked again at his eyes, the edges which swept up towards his temples, the design patterned there. The shocking mismatched irises. He was extremely beautiful. But she couldn't afford to be distracted by beauty. She had to go home.
"Why am I here?" she asked abruptly.
Laying his silverware aside, Jareth looked calmly at her. "You know very well why. A child wished you away to me."
"Isn't that convenient," she replied snidely.
"Yes, it is. Is it my fault that your little students had such little regard for you as a teacher that they wished my goblins would take you?" He said that somewhat harshly, and struggled to control his anger. After all, it was his fault. It was he who had placed a spell on Sarah, making her crankier than usual, it was he who had given the book to the child. He had totally orchestrated her return, but Sarah must never know that.
"How long must I stay here?"
"As long as I wish it."
"Okay, how long do you wish it?"
He looked at her a long moment, finally replying in a soft tone. "Forever."
With that Sarah got up and ran from the room, tears spilling down her cheeks. The Goblin King sat, his head bowed over his plate. That did not go well at all, the thought sadly to himself.
Back in her room, Sarah tore at the laces behind her back, struggling to get loose of the dress. Earlier she had felt lovely in it, but now she felt constricted, trapped. She finally stepped out of it, letting it crumple to the floor. Looking in the wardrobe, she found a long, white silk negligee, with a matching robe. She slipped into these garments, reveling briefly in their softness before throwing herself into bed. She had to think of a way out of here. She had to. Before she could formulate any plans, exhaustion took over, and she fell into a deep sleep.
She was dreaming about her class. They sat quietly, working on some assignment. There was a strange woman sitting at her desk. Sarah realized that she was somehow standing outside the window even though it was three stories up. She pounded on the glass, trying to get someone's attention, trying to let them know she was still here. She screamed and screamed, but no one could hear her. She saw Tommy raise his hand to ask for the bathroom, and the woman granted his request with a smile.
"Sarah."
She turned quickly to the quiet voice at her side. It was the Goblin King.
"You," she said coldly. "What are you doing here? Can't I even escape you in my dreams?"
He let out a short, bitter laugh at that, and grabbed her hand. "Come with me."
"No!" She jerked away, and suddenly she was falling. The school disappeared, and she was falling, falling through darkness.
She landed with a thump on a dark bed. She wore the negligee she had worn earlier to bed. Jareth lay next to her. She looked around, realized where they were, their proximity, and buried her face in her hands. "Please, can't you let me go? I'm not a child to be wished away. I have a life back home. I have friends, I have family. I have responsibilities."
He watched her cry softly into her hands for a moment, then deciding something, brushed his hand over the crown of her head. At her sharp intake of breath as he returned her memories, he felt a sigh of relief. Even if he had Sarah in real life, right now it was no substitute for the woman in his dreams.
She looked up at him joyfully. "Is it true? Am I really here?"
"Sarah, we are still in your dream. Yes, I have finally brought you to my castle, but you are finding it extremely difficult to adapt to what has happened. You seem to feel nothing for me now but revulsion."
"Jareth no!" she cried, and flung herself around his neck. "I love you!" He drew his arms around her gratefully, and buried his face in her neck, as he had wanted to do earlier.
"I admit," she said slowly, "I am confused. I remember what I felt like during the day. I'm afraid. And I want to go home. I still think you're beautiful during the day, but...treacherous somehow." He tightened his grip on her. "You can't let me know of my first trip while I'm awake, can you." He shook his head sadly, face still hidden in her neck.
"No," he said, his voice muffled. "I do not know what would happen to us if I did that. You must come to love me without the memories of our time together. Sarah—"
"Shhhhh, give me time. I've had quite the shock. Maybe bring my old friends to meet me again, that might give me some security."
He nodded. And began kissing her where her shoulder met her neck. She let her arms drop as she gave herself to the pleasure he was creating. "Mmmmm."
The next morning she woke to the pounding of Círbara on her door.
"Breakfast!" the goblin called cheerfully. "Hurry and eat! You're to have a tour of the grounds today."
Sarah sat up and stretched luxuriously. She had been having the most wonderful dream. He body throbbed for a moment, but she shook herself and came fully awake.
She began tucking in to the tray Círbara set on her bed. There was fresh fruit and slices of thick brown bread with a soft cheese to spread over it. It was delicious.
"Th' grounds?" she managed to ask, her mouth full.
Círbara rolled her eyes. "Don't you have any manners girl? Yes, the grounds! Don't you want to see the gardens? Maybe take a small trip through the labyrinth? It's going to be a beautiful day!"
And indeed it was. As Círbara threw back the curtains, the bright sunlight streamed into the room, and Sarah could see nothing but blue sky. Círbara pulled out a light cotton dress, light blue with a small pattern of pale yellow flowers. "This will do nicely. Finish up your breakfast now. It's set to be pretty hot today."
The dress buttoned up the front, so Sarah had no problem dressing herself. Círbara bustled around the room, making the bed, and cleaning up the remnants of breakfast.
"Círbara, I can do that," called Sarah from behind the dressing screen as she struggled to button the many tiny buttons that lined the front of the dress.
"What kind of a maid would I be, letting you clean your own room?"
"I'm just not used to having people wait on me."
"Never mind that. Heh, I'm happy to do it."
"Okay, then. I tried." Smiling, she stepped out from behind the screen. This dress didn't fall quite so low, only to about mid calve. She stepped into her sneakers and stood before the mirror. "Hmmm, kind of mars the effect, don't you think? Well, at least I'm comfortable."
Círbara tutted to herself, and made a mental note to get the castle cobbler up here for shoes. The King had been able to provide approximations for her dresses, And how does he know her sizes, I wonder, but they were not able to create shoes for Sarah before she came.
Sarah sat down before the mirror to brush out her hair. "Círbara," she asked shyly, "Do you think you could..." she trailed off.
"Course, dearie, course. My mind was off and runnin'. You just let me brush it out for you." Sarah sighed in pleasure as Cirbara stroked the thick brush through her hair.
Fifteen minutes later, Círbara was leading Sarah towards the throne room.
"Now, do we understand each other, Higgle?"
"It's Hoggle!"
"Yes, yes. Do we understand each other Hoggle?"
"I think so. You're sayin' Sarah's here, but she's all grows'd up, and she don't remember anythin' about me."
"Indeed. So don't go ruining anything for her, or telling her anything about her previous trip here. She can't know anything about it. If you let anything slip, so help me, I'll tip you headfirst into the—"
"Good morning," a feminine voice called from across the room. "Am I...interrupting something?"
Jareth stood up from where he had been threatening the little dwarf. "Nothing," he replied. "This dwarf is to be your guide through the labyrinth. No harm will come to you as long as you are with him." He strode from the room, pausing at the door. "Enjoy yourself," he said, halfway over his shoulder, and left them alone.
Sarah released a breath she wasn't even aware she had been holding. That man, infuriating as he could be, was certainly a presence.
"Hello, I'm Sarah." She waited politely for the little dwarf to introduce himself, but he just stared at her. He was very short, came to below her waist. He had a large nose, and deep set eyes, with expressive, bushy eyebrows. He was dressed strangely, in a leather vest with a horribly leering face on the back. A small pouch at his waist jingled when he moved. "And that would make you..." Sarah prompted.
"Uh, Hoggle," he said, breaking out of his daze.
"Nice to meet you," she said pleasantly. "Shall we?"
"'Course."
He led her through the castle, out to the gardens. They were very beautiful. The gardens were gown in neat little squares, with soft grass in between for walking on. Each square was bordered carefully with white stones, piled several inches high, presumably to keep out the grass. Yet within each square was wild growth, exploding every which way. Sometimes there was only one variety of flower, sometimes several colors of the same type of flower. Sometimes the colors matched, and sometimes they clashed horribly.
It was nice to see a garden that wasn't totally ordered. Sarah remembered her stepmother's garden, and how it always had to be so perfect. She would probably pass out if she saw this madness, Sarah thought with a grin. As for herself, she liked the feeling of barely constrained chaos. It was volatile, and passionate. It was real.
She and Hoggle began to talk, and Sarah told him of her life. He was particularly interested in her brother for some reason, and seemed very satisfied when she told him how much she loved the boy. She told him about being a teacher, and how much it meant to her. He told her about tending the gate of the labyrinth. He talked about how it could sometimes be lonely, but he enjoyed solitude for the most part. She said she didn't handle lonely very well, and maybe would he like to visit her in the castle sometimes? She said she could use a friend in this place.
She didn't know why, but she felt a great affinity for this little dwarf. She felt she could trust him, even if he was a little touchy and rough around the edges. When she asked him what was in his pouch, he put a hand on it and eyed her suspiciously. "Them's mine!" he had responded. She had laughed, and asked, "What do you think I'm going to do, steal them?" He had grumbled to himself, but not said anything.
He finally asked if she would like to see the labyrinth. She had declined, saying maybe another time. For now, she was content to sit in the garden with him, in comfortable silence, interspersed with random conversation. Someone brought lunch to them, and they spent the entire day lounging in the cool shade of the trees. She picked a small bouquet, and then it was time for dinner.
"Will you come to see me soon?" Sarah asked.
"I suppose," he replied gruffly. She just smiled, and said goodbye.
She brought the flowers inside and put them in a vase in her room. Círbara drew her a bath, and she was soon ready for dinner. This time Círbara convinced her to wear her hair up, and as an afterthought wove a few of the flowers Sarah had picked into her hair.
Little was said at dinner. Jareth complimented her on her dress, and asked if she had enjoyed the gardens. Sarah gave short, perfunctory answers. Maybe if she wasn't a good conversationalist he would send her home. The silence stretched as he ran out of things to say, but it grated on her after the comfortable silences earlier that day with Hoggle. After dinner he bade her goodnight, and wished her a good night's sleep with a strange gleam in his eyes.
Yaay, chapter 2! I just had to bring some other characters in, although I'm having a hard time doing Hoggle's dilogue. I know his throwing in of s's isn't random, but I haven't quite got the pattern down yet.
In the next chapter I want to bring in Didymus and Ludo, and maybe make things a little easier on Sarah. Or maybe not. Hee!
