A/N: Hey guys sorry this took so long to update. My computer kind of imploded on itself so I was waiting to get some of my notes before starting this chapter. On another note, I'm currently looking for a beta for this story. I've tried canvassing the beta area here on but it's somewhat difficult and a lot of folks on there aren't interested in beta-ing anymore. If you have any offers or recommendations please please message me! I'm open to almost anything!
The Goblin King did not go to his chambers despite the late hour. Instead he transported himself to his study where upon arrival he began pulling several books from the shelf behind his desk. He stared at them piled atop of each other and let out a deep sigh. It was going to be, unfortunately, a rather long night. Although he suspected as much when he felt her pull to him and very nearly drag him to her home. Well, it was only a matter of time wasn't it? He was just going to have to increase the research now. He let out another sigh as he realized that this would probably be the first of many late nights.
He ran his gloved hand over the large black cover of the first book. As he touched it a golden scrawl began appeared. An old reference text that had to many, lost its value several centuries ago. Right now however it was his best option. He wearily sat down and pulled a pair of wire rimmed glasses out of the air opening the book to the first chapter.
Sarah had no idea how long she'd slept only that it had been one of the best rests she had in a long time. She slowly opened her eyes to feel the sunlight warming her face. She rolled over onto her back and smiled stretching her arms and legs out to take advantage of the spacious bed. She let out a deep sigh.
"Ahh I could just stay like this all day."
"Well you practically have already."
The unexpected voice caused Sarah to bolt upright in bed suddenly very awake. This was now the second time in less than twenty-four hours this had happened to her. She was really going to have to either get used to strangers startling her in her room or invest in a very strong, magic proof lock.
Sarah looked around for the owner of the voice but to her eyes her room appeared empty. She lowered her covers a bit.
"Um Hello?"
"Down here!"
Sarah crawled over to look over the side of her bed. She didn't see anything.
"Down where?" Sarah stuck her head further over the side of the bed very nearly toppling off in the process.
"In your dresser of course!" The voice intoned from across the room.
Sarah pulled herself upright and then turned her head towards her dresser and noticed the very small purple worm sitting at the bottom of said dresser.
"Oh! I'm sorry."
Sarah climbed out of bed and walked over to where the worm was perched atop her left boot inside the dresser. She knelt down so she was more at eye level with it.
"May I ask what you're doing in my dresser?"
"Well I'm figuring out what clothes you'll be needin' ain't I?"
"Clothes?" Sarah replied dimly.
"Yes of course! These won't last thirteen weeks will they. Never the mind you've only got the one pair o'shoes, that'll never do. Then I've got to get started on some more formal wear."
Sarah held up her hand haltingly. "Wait slow down what formal wear?" She was still trying to process what the worm was saying as she'd barely been awake five minutes.
"You know ball gowns and them fancy garments." The worm tsked at her impatiently. "You can't very well be attending any events in clothes from the goblin market of all places! No no, I should have them all ready for next week not to worry not to worry."
Sarah narrowed her eyes in confusion recognition dawning on her. "Wait, are you the seamstress?"
"Well o'course I am!" The worm replied brightly.
"But…you're just a worm!" Sarah laughed looking at the tiny creature that appeared small even on the toe of her shoe.
"No I ain't!" The worm replied indignantly. "I'm a silk worm!"
Sarah smiled. "Ah I should have known."
The worm nodded. "Now I've got your measurements from the king so won't be needin' those. Dark hair, pretty girl like you, I know just what to spin for you." The worm began to crawl down from the dresser to the floor.
"Oh that's wonderful thank you." Sarah bit her lip hesitating. "Um can I just ask…no white overly fluffy gowns please? I've kind of been put off them."
"O'course, O'course!" The worm was now nestled at a crack in the wall behind her dresser. "Must be off now, the mister will be wanting his lunch and tea. I'll introduce you sometime."
Sarah smiled slightly at the memory. "You know I think we might have already met."
The worm laughed and vanished through the crack.
Sarah pulled herself up and walked over to the window. Getting closer she noticed that the window didn't actually have any glass on it and was more just a well shaped hole in her wall. She rolled her eyes. That was going to get old real fast in thunderstorms. She tried to hazard a guess at the time given the sun's location in the sky. The worm had said lunch which told her it was probably past noon. She could not remember the last time she had slept this late but she credited it to inter-realm or dimensional travel. She wasn't sure which the Labyrinth was. She just knew she was pretty sure she wasn't on the Earth as she knew it. She let out a deep sigh and began to drum her fingers on the windowsill absently. Something was bothering her but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She hated that feeling, like the perpetual wondering whether or not she left the oven on and chuckled in spite of herself. Well if she had left the oven on her apartment was doomed.
Her brows knitted together in concern. Actually that was one thing bothering her, just how unbothered she was by the entire situation. Here she was standing at a hole in the wall in her bedroom of an old otherworldly castle and laughing about the possibility of her apartment burning down. She'd slept past noon, she didn't care that she should have been at work this morning, it didn't bother her that the first thing she did when she woke up was have a conversation with her seamstress the worm and most troubling was how little it bothered her that she agreed to this without giving it more than a minute's worth of thought. In fact, she still didn't care about the rashness of her decision. Jareth had been right, she didn't have any doubt in her mind which was more than a little bit bizarre.
Jareth…that was the other thing. His name. Why was she so focused on trying to remember him last night? It was after all what inevitably called him to her. For that she didn't know if she was grateful yet. Thirteen weeks of her life she'd promised him. She bit the inside of her cheek feeling a pang in the pit of her stomach. Pleased or not whether she was to be on this – temporary - vacation something was obviously very wrong here.
She thought back to the night before. He'd been relatively helpful all things considered. He'd even let the fact that she'd spit in his face go which really didn't seem like the Goblin King she now remembered. Not to mention he knew too much. He knew just which thread to pull to lead her back down here. Not only that, he seemed to know she'd come willingly. Why was that? She wondered and pulled her hair running it between her thumb and forefinger. He was her adversary. That was the role that had been established and now, to her at least, this incarnation seemed almost a paradox of his previous self. He was relatively helpful if not somewhat cruel and manipulative. He was generous that much was clear just from looking around her castle suite. He was and here she shuddered again at the thought, maddeningly temptuous. She wasn't afraid of him anymore. Perhaps that came with beating the Labyrinth as a reward to the victor. The lack of fear over the monarch thereby giving them power of you. Then there was something else. Something that was swimming in her mind from the previous evening but that she couldn't quite recall. She sighed and shook her head trying to rid herself of thoughts that really didn't have answers at this point. She remembered that he said he would address her questions today, hopefully he'd remain true to that promise. For now however she had friends to find and they'd certainly already waited long enough.
She quickly bathed and dressed in one of the simple skirts and blouses that had been left in her closet. She had no interest in forcing herself into the corset so she left it hanging on the door to the dresser and then quick as she could ran down the stairs. It was only when she reached the bottom that she remembered she had no idea where anything in the castle was. She had been hoping to grab some food out of the kitchen as a peace offering to her friends for delaying so long in contacting them but she doubted she could even find her way back to the throne room from here.
She tapped her foot thinking. "God doesn't this castle have a map somewhere?" She muttered out loud. She shrugged her shoulders and went left down the corridor. "Ah well nothing for it."
She walked down the left corridor for what must have been half an hour. She was starving and the hallway showed no sign of ending. Now she was getting frustrated. At least there were windows so she could see better than she could last night but this long unending corridor thing was getting ridiculous. She walked for another five minutes before finally giving up and kicking the wall a couple of times in frustration. She leaned back on the other side and let her head bang softly against the stone. Except it wasn't stone behind her, it was wood. Sarah turned around in confusion. She was certain that it had been stone just a moment ago but oh well a door's a door and she was just at this point grateful to get out of the hallway. She made to grab for the door knob before she noticed there wasn't one. She tried just pushing on the wood but it wouldn't budge. Sarah let out a cry of frustration.
"You know what I've had just about enough of this for one day! The only door in this damn hallway for ages and it doesn't even have a handle!"
Sarah began kicking the door and letting out a few choice swears for good measure when suddenly the door vanished leaving a very tired very annoyed looking Jareth standing in its place. Sarah was so startled by the door's sudden disappearance and the Goblin Monarch's sudden appearance that she stumbled over her kicking feet into a heap on the ground.
"Ouch." She groaned before looking sourly up at him.
His annoyance vanished to be replaced with a smirk standing over her.
"I could say the same thing. You kicked me in the shin before realizing I was there."
Now it was Sarah's turn to smirk.
"No I knew you were there."
Jareth rolled his eyes but was clearly amused. He extended his hand to her and she reluctantly took it pulling herself up. Jareth leaned casually against the doorframe.
"Now dare I ask what prompted you to start pounding and shouting at my study door like the hounds of hell were on your heels?"
Sarah threw up her arms in renewed frustration.
"There are no doors in this place! Only hallways that go on forever! Then I finally do find a door and there isn't even a handle to open it with! I have been walking for half an hour!" She pounded her fist against the wall for good measure.
Jareth let out a low chuckle and looked up at her grinning.
"Half an hour you say?" He stepped out of the doorway and walked down the hallway a few feet. "You know I expected better from the Labyrinth's champion." At this he touched the wall and a large wooden door appeared.
Sarah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Well that's hardly fair you can do magic!"
He smirked at her arching his left eyebrow expectantly.
"Oh? Is that it? Look closer Sarah."
Sarah tapped her foot and looked around the hallway. It still appeared solid stone with no doorways anywhere.
"I don't see anything." She sighed in annoyance.
Now it was his turn to roll his eyes.
"I assure you it is full of doors. You're just not seeing them. Reach out your hand to the stone."
Sarah reluctantly complied brushing the tips of her fingers over the stone walls. Suddenly she was no longer touching stone but wood. She noticed that this door at least had a handle. Sarah narrowed her eyes at the newly appeared door.
"How come I didn't see them?" Sarah whispered softly.
Jareth had walked back over to stand beside her.
"Expectations Sarah. You projected what you knew of the Labyrinth onto the castle. I assure you my castle does not normally have passages that continue in a straight line for half an hour. Expect to see a door and you will see a door. Although it appears you still have to physically feel the door for it to appear. That should stop being the case now that you know the doors are there."
Sarah turned to face him.
"So you're telling me that because I expected to see a long passage similar to the outer level of the Labyrinth that your castle re-arranged itself to accommodate it?"
Jareth gave a toothy grin in response.
"So wait does that mean the entire castle is different to me than to anyone else? Like the kitchen for example. Where's the kitchen to you Jareth?"
Jareth simply shrugged his shoulders and began to walk back into his study.
"You're still trying to get the castle to live up to your expectations. Wherever you expect the kitchen to be that's where it will be. Focus on it and it will appear."
Jareth waved a hand from behind him and the door reappeared shutting him inside the study.
"What?"
Sarah ran forward and resumed pounding on the study's door.
"Goblin King get your royal behind out here!"
Once again the door vanished but this time Sarah was a little more prepared for the wooden disappearing act and was able to stay on her feet. Jareth looked however appeared deeply annoyed now but Sarah didn't rightly care. She was starving and now faintly sweaty from repeatedly beating his door.
"Can I help you?" The Goblin King drawled maintaining an air of superior pride despite his frustrations. "This may have escaped your notice Sarah but I am rather busy at the moment."
Sarah looked past him into the study. She noticed stacks of books and paper piled atop the long desk by the window. Jareth began drumming his fingers on the doorframe.
"Well this door doesn't have a handle. I wasn't able to get into it. How am I supposed to get into the kitchens if the doors here don't have a handle? I can't just magic them here and there like you can."
Sarah began tapping her foot to match his finger drumming. Jareth rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Sarah this is my personal study. Rooms that are my private quarters or rooms that are exceedingly dangerous are the only ones that are accessible only by magic. That way no goblins wander in accidentally and decide that their new favourite hobby is seeing all the different places they can pee in one room. The kitchen is a common area so you should have no trouble entering it." He paused and gave a small smirk. "Or exiting it for that matter. Now if you don't mind."
He was about to re-create the door but Sarah was onto him. She ran into the room before he could do anything and the door appeared behind her. She noticed that indeed there was no door knob on this side either. Jareth for his part was too busy being royally ticked.
"Sarah I've had just about enough of this. Now I have told you how to access the kitchens and I have a kingdom to run. I don't have time for these self-indulgent antics."
Sarah scoffed. "Yeah well I could say the same thing vanishing doors left and right without letting me get a word in edgewise. But you promised me answers to my questions. Today."
Jareth chose to ignore her and sat down behind his desk instead and began writing. Sarah puffed out a sigh before wandering over and grabbing the topmost book from the pile. It was clearly written in a language she didn't read or even recognize. She crossed over to stand behind Jareth's shoulder trying to read what he was writing. She noticed that it was still clearly a language she didn't read but it was definitely different and looked much less complicated than the one the book was written in. Jareth had stopped writing and threw his quill down on the parchment and turned in his chair to face Sarah.
"That is truly an appalling habit reading over someone's shoulder."
Sarah huffed "It's not like it's a language I read."
"That does not make the habit less appalling."
Jareth stood up and walked over to the door making it vanish for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Sarah simply crossed her arms and kept her feet planted.
"Nope not going anywhere. You said I could have answers and I want answers."
Jareth peaked his left brow.
"Sarah how old are you?"
"Twenty-eight." Sarah answered confused.
"Really well I was under the impression you were no more than five given the way you are behaving."
Sarah threw her arms up in the air she crossed the room to stand in front of him glaring.
"Oh that's rich coming from you of all people."
"I'm not the one impeding the government here!" Jareth spat back.
"You dragged me from my home in the middle of the night sent me to bed with barely any explanation of just what exactly I've gotten myself into and tell me I can have answers tomorrow. Well I'm not leaving until I get some!"
Jareth crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Technically I believe I said this morning Sarah. It is now long past and your offer for answers has expired."
She began to audibly protest but he held up a hand to stop her.
"However, I am willing to reconsider in an hour. In the meantime I suggest you have some lunch and then return here where I will meet with you."
Sarah felt her stomach growl in agreement. It would probably be best to eat before getting into what was sure to be a long discussion anyways.
"Fine." Sarah sighed, she hated giving in to him so easily. "But one hour and no more! I would still like to be able to find my friends today."
Jareth rolled his eyes at the mention of her friends but nodded in agreement. "An hour Sarah."
She stepped out of the room and saw the door back in place. She turned to her left to notice where there once was only corridor there were now turns and doors. Sarah shrugged and closed her eyes trying to imagine the kitchen appearing in front of her. She scrunched up her face trying to visualize it best she could. When she opened them however all she saw was blank wall. She sighed.
"Well so much for just willing it to appear."
She was going to have to find it the old fashioned way but at least this time she had more than just a long empty corridor to go with. Sarah made a right at the first turn and began to smell something cooking. Smiling she realized she was on the right track. She was slightly concerned that the kitchen might have been on the opposite side of the castle. She started walking towards the smell but as she got closer she realized it wasn't so much cooking as it was burning. She raced to the largest door in the hallway and noticed smoke billowing out from under it.
Sarah wrenched open the door to find what she imagined was the kitchen covered in flames and about eight goblins running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Some of them were jumping in and out of the fire cackling with glee while others were simply piling more items onto the burning masses.
Sarah coughed from the smoke covering her mouth with her sleeve.
"Just what do you think you're doing!" Sarah managed to choke out from behind her sleeve.
As soon as she spoke all the goblins froze like time had stopped. They all slowly turned to look at her and then let out a collective shriek. They began running and ducking to hide in various places. Throwing pots and pans everywhere and a few of them tried to hide in the flames.
"Hey wait!" Sarah called stepping hesitantly into the burning kitchen. She managed to grab on by its tail before it tried to crawl into the oven. The goblin looked up at her with petrified eyes wriggly and writhing in her grasp. Sarah pulled it to eye level with her, one arm still covering her mouth from the smoke.
"What in the world is going on here and why is everyone running?" Sarah asked the goblin from behind her sleeve.
The goblin closed its eyes and began talking very fast. "We was just playin' with the fire cause Grochy mades it and thens we sees the more things we put in it the bigger it got and the mores pretty and then it starts gettin' all smoke-y so then we was just playin' with the smokes and the fires and then you comes in here and please don't throw me ins the bog it wasn't my idea I swears it."
Sarah lowered the goblin confused.
"Throw you in the bog? Why would I throw you in the bog?" She asked questioningly.
The goblin opened its eyes slightly.
"You won'ts?"
Sarah shook her head and began to cough. The goblin pointed to the kitchen door.
"Yous best goes out there. Its less smoke-y."
Sarah coughed again and carried the Goblin out into the hall where she pulled the door closed taking deep breathes of the clean air.
"But what about the kitchen and the other goblins?" Sarah managed to choke out in between breaths.
The goblin which she was still holding by its tail just laughed.
"Naw theys fine. Fire no hurt us. Just tickle. Iz funs. King know. King makes kitchen fire proof. Fire go away now that the goblins go away. Go back in. Fire no there anymore."
Sarah raised her eyebrows at this and sceptically opened the door slightly. The goblin was right, the kitchen was spotless and there wasn't anything to suggest that it had been ablaze only minutes before. She let out a slow whistle.
"Okay." She said smiling at the suspended goblin. "That, is an impressive trick."
The goblin smiled back toothily or it would have if there had been any teeth in its mouth to smile with. Sarah's grin turned into more of a grimace at that but she was just so pleased that she was no longer choking to death and the castle wasn't going to go down in a ball of flames that she didn't much care about the goblin's lack of dental appendages.
She slowly lowered the goblin to the floor standing it upright. She straightened the metal tin it wore on its head with a smile. She extended her hand towards it.
"Okay now that we've settled that and you know that I have no desire to bog you let's try some pleasantries shall we? My name's Sarah."
The goblin gave another toothless grin and then licked her palm which Sarah withdrew quickly in horror.
"Lickered!"
Sarah began frantically rubbing her hand over her skirt.
"Ugh why would you do that?" Sarah asked with disgust.
The goblin looked crestfallen.
"Was just introducin' meself."
Sarah sighed and bent down so she was more on the goblin's level.
"I'm sorry it's just where I come from people don't get 'lickered' by way of introductions."
The goblin looked up at her for she was still quite a bit larger than it even crouching.
"No my name be Lickered. Thats how I meets peoples."
Sarah laughed and patted Lickered on the head.
"I'm sorry Lickered. But now that you've licked me sufficiently you won't be needing to do that again right?"
Lickered nodded happily.
Sarah pulled herself up to full height and looked around the blessingly flame free kitchen. She turned to Lickered a smile on her face.
"Alright Lickered, how would you like some lunch?"
Lickered shrieked with joy in response and darted into the first cupboard to come running back brandishing a frying pan and waving it back and forth shouting for lunch. Sarah laughed and evenly walked over and plucked the frying pan from Lickered's hands placing it atop the stove.
She managed from the food products that she found, and recognized, to make a delicious couple of grilled cheese sandwiches for her and Lickered with some veggies on the side. While Sarah was cooking Lickered entertained her by telling her of the goblin goings on in the Labyrinth and the Goblin City. According to Lickered the goblins were free to come and go from the castle as they pleased. There were rooms that were off limits of course, but they knew well enough not to break into them. The goblins mostly preferred however to have homes in the city and come to the castle as a meeting place or for celebrations and to discuss matters with the king. Only a few goblins spent most of their time in the castle. Lickered was one of them. He told Sarah he was waiting until he could make his fortune as a stone seller in the market to get his own home. He spent his day collecting broken pieces of the castle and rocks around the Labyrinth. Sarah inquired as to the purpose of these stones and Lickered replied that they contained magic. Magic, he explained, was valuable in any form especially to those species that do not possess the power to wield it. Goblins, were one of those groups. Although Lickered offered, they were nearly indestructible, and certainly fireproof Sarah intoned, they did not have the power to control magic. The stones were sometimes used as fortune telling runes among the goblins and were used to see the past, understand the present and predict the future.
Sarah found herself very interested in what Lickered had to say as before she had never really given much thought to the goblins that the Goblin King must have authority over. She'd also never really considered the Goblin City which was the main metropolis of the Goblin Kingdom. Lickered was fairly patient considering her was a goblin and was happy to explain a number of things that Sarah didn't understand.
When she was finished she realized she'd easily passed the hour dealing with flaming kitchens and talking with Lickered. Before she left to find the Goblin King again she turned to Lickered who at this point was 'cleaning' the plates by licking them (Sarah made a mental note at this to always wash dishes before she used them now), and asked him something that'd been bothering her since she'd spoken to the Goblin King earlier.
"Lickered" Lickered turned and Sarah hesitated slightly. She didn't know how deep the goblin's loyalties lied. "Is the Goblin King...a good king?"
Lickered looked at her questioningly. "Is he good king?"
Sarah nodded. Lickered paused for a minute seeming to consider his answer.
"He good king."
Sarah waited for Lickered to expand on this but he resumed licking the plates. Sarah's mouth twitched slightly. "Choose your right words." She thought to herself.
"Lickered" She started again. "What I mean is, what makes him a good king?"
Lickered smiled at her. "He make kitchen fireproof. He let us play. We listen, he listen. He keep goblin market good. No let others come in and break us. He bog when bad. He bog when mad." Lickered paused and thought for a moment. "He bog lots. But good king."
Sarah raised her eyebrows with a smile. "He bogs you a lot huh?"
Lickered shook his head. "Not just king. Any fae can. No bog me in fifty years!" Lickered puffed out his chest proudly.
Sarah lifted herself from her seat at the table and pushed her plate towards Lickered to lick.
"Well as long as you're happy I suppose."
Lickered nodded his head enthusiastically between licks. Sarah told him she would try and find him later and they could continue talking. Lickered happily agreed and then ran out of sight. Sarah made her way out of the kitchen and back towards the Goblin King's study.