Chapter 3

Muninn, the Raven watching the Goblin King, cawed as they made their way down the steps to the valley below. "Jareth do you think Toby is alright?"

Taking her wrist gently, avoiding her injured hands, he led her into the valley. "Your brother is a smart and resourceful lad. I'm sure he's made it this far. While Odin can be cruel, I doubt he would send us through his challenges if the boy had already failed." Stopping, he turned to Sarah and caressed his cheek with his other hand. "Your brother has the same strong will as you. He won't be beaten easily."

Sarah surprised both of them by leaning into the touch slightly. Remembering herself she shook her head away as if she was dizzy.

"We should hurry and catch up with him," She said curtly. Hoping he would just chalk up her strangely physical sense of reassurance to overwhelming fear. She was probably nothing but an amusement to him anyway.

Jareth followed Sarah without comment. He had not missed her behavior, and he wondered about it. Hope was stirring in his chest and he couldn't help but thank Odin, just a little bit, for giving him the chance to be with Sarah once more.

Sarah was nearly to the bottom of the steps when she stopped dead. The river had risen so high that the banks were underwater. The water now lapped at the steps themselves. She eyed the water, wondering if they would be able to swim across despite the fast current. "How could Toby have possibly crossed this?" She asked Jareth, yelling above the sound of the downpour.

"He probably crossed before the water got so high!" Jareth called. He too, was now shouting to be heard over the downpour. Overhead, Muninn gave another cry and the rain shut off abruptly. "Very funny, old man!" Jareth yelled into the sky.

"Look, Jareth!" Sarah pointed to a small bush that was partially submerged by the water. Caught in its branches was a rope. Not the same as the rope that had made up the bridge. This was in far better shape. "Maybe that can help us cross if we tie a rock to it and throw it over that tree over there." Sarah pointed to a small tree growing on the opposite bank.

Odin overheard Sarah's words and turned his gaze back to the boy. The snake had stopped at the sound of a raven's cry overhead; and seemed to only study him with its curious alien gaze. Toby swallowed as the snake simply watched him. He backpedalled quickly and moved toward the tree line- up the slope of the riverbank that was quickly disappearing. Scrambling quickly, he hurried away and stumbled into the trees.

Tripping over a branch, he fell down a small slope for a few feet and blinked, sputtering.

Suddenly, he was no no longer in a wet forest but a dry plain with tall grass. Standing quickly and wiping at his clothes, Toby looked around. He didn't see a tree for miles.

"What the heck? What am I supposed to do now?"

In the distance, something unseen began parting the tall grass up ahead, just out of eyesight of the boy.

"Well, c'mon feet," Toby said, echoing a phrase that Sarah had often said when they started out on an adventure to the park or on a hike through the woods near their home. He smiled at the thought of his sister, although the smile was a bit melancholy.

Toby started through the grassland, not really knowing the right way to go, he simply chose a direction and started walking. He soon found himself having to push his way through patches of taller grass. He kept a careful watch for anything dangerous that might pop out in front of him.

He didn't see anything as he struggled on, but then, he didn't look back either.

Meanwhile, in the canyon valley, the others were facing struggles of their own.

Jareth had argued that the rope was too short the reach the opposite side of the bank. Sarah being as stubborn as ever, had insisted it would work and ignored his arguments. Tying a large rock onto one end and securing the other to her waist, she threw it with all her might just for it to fall short. "Damn. Almost." She muttered as she started pulling the rope back to her.

"Sarah, this isn't going to work." Jareth informed her again as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Shhh." She shushed him as she wound the rope around her arm. "It'll work, you'll see." This time, she swung the rope over her head like a cow girl trying to rope a steer. Jareth watched with an annoyed expression as she tried, and failed, to throw the rope far enough.

Just as he was about to suggest something else, Sarah stepped into the water, wading out until she almost reached the actual bank of the river, before throwing rope with all her strength again. This time it hooked on to the tree branch, but the sudden tension on the rope caught her off guard and she fell head first into the raging waters.

Jareth was striding out into the water when Sarah's head popped above the surface a little ways downstream. Luckily the rope around her waist had prevented her from drifting too far. She sputtered or a moment and then started hauling herself forward, hand over hand. When she reached the other side, she looked back at him and waved. "Told you it would work!"

Jareth rolled his eyes. "Hardly!" He pointed at the rope. "How am I supposed to get across with the pack?"

Sarah thought for a moment. "Throw it to me!" She called, bracing herself against the current and hold her arms out.

Jareth rolled his eyes and sighed. He took the pack from his arm and chucked it at Sarah. As the pack flew over the river, Sarah was certain it would make it to her, as Jareth had thrown it perfectly. She stood with open arms prepared to catched it, but neither was prepared for Muninn, who was now twice the size of the pack, to swoop down and catch it in his large talons.

"Mother fu—" Sarah started, glaring at the raven, only to feel Jareth yank on the line as he started to cross. She drew her attention back to him to keep herself steady and help him cross.

He was heavy, doubly so with the added weight of water, and by the time they both had crossed the swollen river they were tired, muddy and sore.

"You alright, Precious?" He murmured, half slumped just like she was against the tree line, his hair plastered to his face.

She looked over at his appearance and snorted, then began to giggle, shaking her head. "You look like shit."

He blinked and glared. "You don't look gorgeous yourself, you know."

"At least I don't resemble a drowned rat." After all the stress so far, she couldn't help but briefly laugh. He slowly joined in.

Having his eyes on her for so long gave her a strange, warm feeling down in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she was far too aware of how close he was standing. Feeling self conscious, she made a point of putting a little distance between them, attempting to shake off her wet clothes. Limp noodles of hair clung to her face, and she swiped at them with the heel of her hand. Already, the coldness of the water had sunk into her skin, and she began to shiver. Her breath caught in her throat as a warm body moulded itself to her back.

A black eyed raven stood vigil above within the cover of the treetops, relaying all beneath its cold gaze to its master. The sight of the pair of them, sharing comfort and warmth after overcoming yet another obstacle in their path, dampened Odin's jovial mood some.

"Best to take your petty victories and celebrate them while you still can. You may not find the next step of your journey quite so easy." With a clap of his mighty hands, the disgruntled god shook the earth itself as he brought about the next of his challenges. "Go easy on the path, foolish ones. Now, let's see if your youngling can do the same."

Toby was still doggedly making his way through the grassland. Odin shook his head. The boy had not yet realized that he would never reach the end, no matter how far he walked. He would have to turn and face the challenge that trailed along behind him. He sighed and turned his attention back to Sarah and Jareth. Their change of scenery was likely to be far more amusing for him.

Sarah looked around in confusion. Between one step and the next it had felt as though the world shifted. Now they found themselves in a stone corridor. At her side, Jareth started swearing in an unfamiliar language. "What is it?"

"We're in the Labyrinth. The bastard has recreated the stone maze." He glowered up at the Muninn before looking back at Sarah. He held out his hand. "Stay close, Precious. This may look like the Labyrinth, but I have no power here. Who knows what surprises Odin has added." Sarah nodded and drifted closer to him, but made a point of not taking his hand.

After a moment, Jareth pulled his hand back and looked around carefully, trying to decide if there were any differences between this place and his Labyrinth that would provide clues on what to expect.

After several minutes of silence, Sarah reached out, touching his arm softly. "Jareth? What's wrong?"

He looked troubled as he turned to face her. "I'm not sure. There's something about this that I really don't like. Maybe it's just the fact that it looks so familiar but at the same time, feels totally alien." Sarah's eyes widened. Her brow creased and she began to chew on her bottom lip as she stepped closer to him than was strictly necessary. His heart lurched. She was seeking reassurance and comfort from him, he knew, and his desire to protect her grew stronger. He placed his hand over hers where it still gripped his arm as he looked down at her. "It will be alright, Sarah."