Her heart was in her throat as she made her way to the towering wall that would take her back into the world she had been aching to see for so long. There was no sign of Hoggle or anything familiar at the point where she knew she could enter. The entrance was not hard to find and as she walked through it she actually kissed the narrow walls within. It was chilly out and the light of dawn was gray and uninviting. She shivered, lamenting that she had only a thin sweater and a denim skirt on, but she knew that she would be moving enough to warm her blood. And if brisk walking failed to warm her, well, she would merely have to think of the possibilities at the journeys end to get her fired back up. The place seemed void of life and the silence was eerie and unnatural, she didn't like it and wanted to know what it meant.
"Hoggle?" She called, feeling stupid. When no one answered, she moved onward, pleased to find that all of her dreams helped her to retrace her steps. She was sure she would come to some other soul as she moved deeper in, but she found no one. The glittering dust that had been everywhere the first time seemed to be missing and the lack of bird and cricket song caused her a nagging disquiet.
She came to the place that must have been near where the worm was in her youthful ignorance. "Ello?" She called. No response, she sighed and crossed her arms, walking into the hidden opening. Last time, the worm had warned her against going right, but as this world was ruled by contraries, she wondered if it was worth it to risk going the opposite way this time. "If there's one thing you can say for yourself now, at least you look before you leap." She said to herself. The thought that she might not make it to the castle was gnawing at the back of her mind and with the ominous absence of friends, she decided to try to retrace her steps as well as she could. She went left.
She picked her way through the place, retracing her steps, the walls behaving as they had the first time, moving only when she turned her back on them. Rather than feeling frustration, she felt curious, curious about the magic that caused them to move the way they did. The sun was hidden behind clouds and the day remained gray. She did not know what time it was, but the lack of obstacles began to wear on her conscious.
Before long, she found herself standing before two doors. The guards that had heckled her behind their shields were gone. Disappointed, she reached for the door she had gone through the first time. A riddle, a friendly word would have been so welcome, but she asked for this and all there was to do now was cope and continue.
She gave herself a little shake and opened the right door, mindful of the Oubliette but as she peered down into the pit, the hand covered walls seemed to be covered in some kind of weird pointy white plants. She squatted down for a better look and realized with a thrill of horror that they were bones, skeleton hands. She backed away quickly and closed the door, feeling sick. "Did I cause this?" Was the question that stayed on her mind as she closed the door. Swallowing hard, she opened the door on the left. It looked like a forest path that seemed vaguely familiar. Looking down first, she stepped inside and the door slammed closed behind her. Something swished down the path to the right of her, causing her to jump, yet feeling hopeful that there was some life form other than herself. Another hour walking though and she began to get discouraged again. "Think of him, think of the embarrassing thing you are going to have to say." She reminded herself. Feeling a little more cheerful she came to a fork in the path. She almost went left, but on a note of inspiration, she turned around completely and went back the way she came, then turned around again. This time, there was no fork, but a straight path leading to a wall. She made her way forward, smiling for the first time in hours when another surprise made her heart speed up with joy.
"Damn things!" Sarah's could never mistake the sound of that familiar gravelly voice and the little stooping figure that was Hoggle. He took no notice of her as he went on whacking a pointy stick into an obscenely large mushroom that was splattering everywhere as he struck it. "That sure is a stubborn mushroom isn't it?" She asked from behind him.
"Well they creep up on you if you aren't …Sarah?!" Hoggle jumped and tried to hide the goopy stick behind his back unsuccessfully. Sarah smiled and said, "I am so glad to see you!"
"Yep. Goodbye!" He said breaking into a scurrying run. Unfortunately for him, he did not get very far, because he tripped, smacking himself in the face with his stick as he fell.
"Wait, Hoggle!" She cried, running to catch up, and reaching out to help him.
"Oh, blegh!" He spat mushroom on the ground and battered her hands away. "Don't touch me, don't touch me!"
"Hoggle, what is the matter with you? Don't you know me?"
"Ha! How do you forget the person that sends you down a path of unfixable ruin? I've been on the run ever since you left."
"But why?"
"Because Jareth went insane, especially after you destroyed his castle and so he drafted everyone to war over, well, I don't even know what, but I wasn't about to get sucked into that. So now I'm wanted for desertion and failing to obey a direct order. All thanks to you!"
"Well, I'm really sorry Hoggle." She said, squatting near him and offering her handkerchief.
"Sorry? Fat lot of good that'll do me! I just hope I can keep on the run. Why are you even here anyway?" He said, grudgingly taking the handkerchief.
"Well, it's kinda hard to explain. I hope if I get where I need to go, everything will be put right. Maybe you won't have to run anymore. I can tell Jareth…"
"You can leave me out of this, thank you very much!" He said.
"If that's what you want." She glanced around. "But where is everyone else? Are they at war too?"
"What do you mean?" Hoggle asked.
"All the creatures and goblins and stuff, where are they? I've been in here for hours and you're the first person I've come across."
"Heh. You just don't learn from your mistakes do you?"
"What do you mean?" She said.
"You create all of your own problems. The first time you were impatient and angry, so you kept running into obstacles. You create your own obstacles in this place, how can you not know this?" He said.
"So the way I feel affects the magic of this place?" She asked.
"Something likes that." He grunted.
"Well, I have to go. Take care won't you? I hope you know I've missed you and it was so good to see you."
"Yeah yeah." He said, though as soon as she was out of sight, he looked down at the handkerchief tenderly before tucking it away in his pocket.
As Sarah continued on, she came to a place she had never seen before and realized she had somehow missed the Bog of Eternal Stench. Grateful for this, she turned her attention to where the castle was when something caught her eye. It was a face, but you could only see it when you stood back. It was Jareth's face. The stones did not touch each other but she admired it for a while and went so far as to kiss the stone that would form his lips.
"You do seem to be making good progress, are things seemingly more fair now? Or are you losing your determination." Sarah looked up sharply, not able to quell the nagging suspicion that he might have seen her foolish little spectacle. There was nothing she could do about it so she promptly ignored it. "Well you know what they say, actions speak louder than words."
"Who says that?" Jareth said, not familiar with the idiom. Sarah shook her hair out in a girlish little attempt at flirting. "No one that you would care about. You know, I lied to you when I told you that I found your Labyrinth to be a piece of cake. I wanted to annoy you because I myself was so annoyed. I have to admit, I find your Labyrinth to be the second most challenging thing I've ever attempted."
This caught him off guard. "Second? What then was the first thing?"
"My first foray into it."
He was quiet a moment.
"Well, perhaps I did underestimate you. But I want you to be quite aware that you are underestimating me right now. I loved you once, but you destroyed it so thoroughly…"
"Why did you let me return?" Sarah asked, fighting with every breath to keep the tears from starting. "Why did you show up, why did you bring me here then." She was glad to hear her voice was still steady in spite of the emotional turmoil inside her.
"You know nothing about magic, it would be pointless to explain." He said.
"I know it was magic that brought me to where we are now, and we wouldn't be here if you didn't use your magic in the first place."
"The magic doesn't work that way." He said angrily. "When a request is made of me in a certain way, I am not able to refuse it."
"But…"
"Just get to castle if you can, I want this over with." And he was gone. Sarah dropped to her knees and allowed herself a few minutes of helpless sobbing. Jareth was right. This was her fault. "But I will fix it if I can. You loved me once, lets see if that's changed as much as you say it has."
