A/N: Author notes are being moved to end of the chapter henceforth. Thank you for your continued support! As a reminder: I own nothing, am not benefiting financially in any way from this, and take the movie and novelization as canon sources of inspiration. My only reward is the kind words, follows, and favorites of my readers. xoxo


Chapter 4: Changes

Sarah couldn't be bothered to notice the look of complete shock that washed over Hoggle's face. She wasn't sure what just happened, but she was determined to take full advantage of it. With a smug smile gracing her lips, Sarah entered the Labyrinth, a glittery fog still emitting from the great, open doors.

She considered which way to go. On the one hand, she could try to find a more direct route to the castle, but she would certainly be met with some new, possibly worse puzzles to decode. Or, she could try to recreate the path she took before.

No good. She thought, remembering how the walls had a way of separating and coming together so as to change the maze. It was impossible to retrace her steps exactly. She could try to find the Bog of Eternal Stench, and hope for a warmer welcome from Sir Didymus and Ambrocious, his humble steed so like her Merlin. She missed Merlin, having lost him to cancer the summer before she left for college. Yes, this was perfect. The Bog it is. She couldn't wait to see Merlin's doppelganger.

First thing was first, she had to find her way deeper into the maze. She didn't have much trouble this time spotting a slight but definite discontinuity in the wall indicating an entrance. She marched through, head held high and full of pride in herself.

"Ouch!" She rubbed her nose and checked to see if it was broken. She growled in frustration. There was an opening there… wasn't there? She chose to ignore the snickers and giggles that seemed so familiar coming from the tiny, flying creatures that must have engaged in breeding practices that could rival rabbits. Surely, there wasn't so many fairies the last time Sarah had been here. Then again, Hoggle was succeeding fairly well in killing the bratty beasties off.

With her thoughts drifting back to Hoggle, Sarah noticed that he had chosen not to follow her in and try to surprise her this time. Oh well. I don't need a grumpy gnome around anyway. Sarah picked up the pieces of her ego and began to search for a legitimate opening in the sparkling gray corridor.

It wasn't long before Sarah was once again on her way. She remembered the last time she passed through these walls, she knew exactly what she had to do then. With determination guiding her, and later the gift of companionship, Sarah was absolutely ready for her confrontation with the King of Goblins when the time came. She was going to get her brother back, no matter what. This time, however... It was lonely solving the maze without a soul by her side, and Sarah found herself alone with her thoughts. She mulled over what she would she do when she reached the castle. Hey there, Mr. King of Goblins, old pal. You know that gift you tried to give me a while back? Yeah, that's the one, the one I so rudely rejected. I would totally like to cash in on it, now, your, uh… your majesty?

Sarah was so lost in her own mind that she wasn't aware of the walls of the Labyrinth starting to close in around her until she was contorting herself to fit. Finally, she reached a point where she simply was not going to squish through. She moved backward to find that the opening she had just passed through was now just as tight.

"Damn." The curse was barely audible. Sarah bit her lip and tried to formulate a plan.

Hehehehehe!

"Be quiet! Please! I am trying to think!" Sarah shouted, flustered by her inability to find her way out. The giggles made their way closer and closer, crowding Sarah's mind so nothing else would fit. Then hundreds of tiny, winged humanoids descended upon her like a swarm of bees, and just as dangerous.

"Help! Hoggle! Didymus! Ludo! Anyone!" Panic was beginning to set in as little fangs sharp as needles started penetrating any exposed skin. She tried in vain to retreat into the thin veil of silk and lace her pajamas provided. The fairies seemed to take extra pleasure in finding the most sensitive areas to tear into. The supple skin that covered her inner thighs was screaming in pain as what felt like thousands of teensy teeth descended upon it. She felt as if she was covered in broken glass.

Just as Sarah started to accept her fate, curling herself as small as she could in the cramped corridor, she heard the most beautiful groans.

"I'm coming, Sarah!"

Instantly she was back in fighting mode, swatting with a newfound fervor. When Hoggle reached her, he was firing his fairy killing spray as fast as the apparatus would allow. Soon, the clever little beasties realized their comrades were falling around them and retreated, leaving Sarah covered in blood-dotted miniscule wounds.

"Hmph, seeing as yous are just as stubborn as ever, it looks like I am going to have to escort you again," Hoggle gruffly announced, producing what appeared to be ground up leaves in a liquid from a satchel attached to his belt.

"Look, I don't need your assistance," Sarah spat out, shying away from his offer, remembering the last time she accepted a leaf from the dwarf. Then her voice softened, "but, I would like it," she accepted the tincture and started rubbing it over the worst of the bites. She cooed at the coolness and noted the warm look of hope in the dwarf's eyes. He had changed so much.

"As you may have noticed," Hoggle began to speak as he pulled a rope ladder out of it's camouflage on the wall and began to ascend. "The Labyrinth has changed a lot, but the dangers still remain. You can't-"

"Take anything for granted," Sarah finished the phrase for him, and began to follow up the ladder. She smiled up at him when he looked down at her.

Hoggle lead Sarah through the twists and turns of stone eventually morphing into winding bushes. He was a dwarf on a mission, and Sarah couldn't decide if it was to get rid of her faster or to please her.

Suddenly, Hoggle turned to Sarah and made a hushing gesture. Sarah looked confused and was just starting to object when Hoggle pushed open a door made of hedge hidden in the leafy wall.

"Ludo!" She exclaimed and ran into the beast's huge, orange furred arms. As she was hugging him she noticed a slightly smaller, chocolate furred figure.

"Sarah," the beast smiled as he released her from his embrace.

"Sola," he motioned to the other creature. "Love," came the simple introduction.

Sarah wasted no time in embracing the smaller yeti-like beast. Sola seemed shy and apprehensive at first, but soon returned the hug. A smile curved her lips and she spoke.

"Sarah, friend!" Her voice was much higher than her companion's. She pointed at her partner. "Ludo tell Sola! Sarah, friend!" The female beast appeared ecstatic to finally meet the young adventurer from years ago that Ludo had so dearly remembered.

"Sarah see brother?" Ludo asked. Sarah shook her head.

"Not yet, Ludo. But I would greatly love to, do you know where I might find him?" Sarah questioned the beast. For a moment, it looked like a figurative light bulb turned on above the his head but it soon grew dim.

"No," he moaned sadly. "Smell bad?" he framed the words as a question as opposed to a statement. Hoggle was quick to interject.

"I ain't never returning to that damned Bog!" he crossed his arms as he made the declaration. Sarah looked at him with a small pout, and the dwarf's furious expression dissolved and his arms fell to his sides.

"But, perhaps, we may ventures to find the Sir at the gates of the castle," Hoggle mentioned. "Rumor has it, he has tooken a job as the new Guard of the Gates since… well, since Humongous retired."

Sarah stifled a chuckle, remembering Hoggle pushing every button and knob in the gigantic contraption until it short circuited. It was quite the respectable, and ridiculous, feat. Sarah coughed, as something began to fill her lungs. The room was starting to get hazy with...dust? And what was making that moaning noise?

"Ra!" Ludo announced then turned the corner, returning with a magnificently fuzzy ball tucked into his arms.

"Dust, friends," Ludo smiled down at the fluff he was cradling. "Soon, rocks friends."

Sarah reached out to pet the babe and was surprised when Ludo placed the creature into her arms. She shifted the surprisingly heavy figure into what she thought may be a comfortable position and was completely enthralled with the wee beast.

"Oh, well, hello there, little one," she rocked him with a gentle sway and smiled at his resemblance to his father. He had impossibly huge eyes that drew you in, with the longest and thickest lashes she had ever seen and an infectious giggle. Sarah tickled his small, round belly covered in auburn fur, soft as down feathers, which caused him to giggle more. She would have held him forever, had the babe not grown agitated and hungry prompting his mother to take him back. Sarah was sad to see him go, but purred as she stretched her back, contented with the symphony of small popping noises the action caused.

"Thank you, Ludo," she nodded to the large beast and then to the smaller one, "and Sola." Sarah reached towards the babe for a farewell pat, and he clasped her hand. "And of course you, too, Ra," she beamed at the bundle of fur. "But we really must be leaving now."

Ludo looked sadly at the girl. "Ludo, come?" He asked, though he knew he wouldn't be able to. He also knew Sarah would decline, though appreciate the offer.

"I think our friend Hoggle here has everything under control," she smiled reassuringly. The dwarf and the girl bid the beasts ado and set off back on their path to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City.

The pair seemed to be solving the Labyrinth in record time, having encountered few obstacles. Sarah attributed this mostly to Hoggle's familiarity with the maze but she wondered if much of the difficulty before had been at the hands of the Goblin King. Without him meddling, the venture really was a piece of cake.

In no time at all, and without any run ins with Fireys, False Alarms, or oubliettes, they reached the gates of the castle.

"On guard!" came the voice of a canine soldier with one eye and a declining sense of smell. It was obvious the small soldier had lived a rough, but valiant life and took great pleasure in his job as Guard. He was quite proud of himself for having acquired the former job of a creature at least 100 times his size.

"Noble sir! It's me, Sarah!" the girl announced. "And Hoggle!" She added as an afterthought, remembering how Hoggle had not immediately recognized her earlier.

"Young maiden?" There was evident surprise in Sir Didymus' voice. It was clear he remembered, but was astonished at her presence.

"What doth bring thee to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City?" the furry soldier inquired. Sarah noticed the wheels turning in Hoggle's brain. Evidently, he was realizing he had never asked the goal of her mission. Sarah swallowed hard.

"Well, I thought if I were to once again defeat the Labyrinth, that I might have a chance at my dreams again," she revealed to them. The creatures looked to each other in a rather distressing way.

"Well," the canine began with a shrug. "What I can say, is there has not been a braver warrior to venture to this Goblin City. Not even I!" Sarah felt her ego swell. "Certainly, no one has ever tried to run a second time. So, who's to say it won't work?" He offered Sarah a reassuring grin, looking more like a snarl due to his carnivorous teeth. Actually, was he beginning to really snarl?

"But I must stay true to my duty! None may pass these gates-"

"Without your permission?" Sarah smiled cunningly.

"Without solving this riddle!" Didymus corrected. Sarah raised an eyebrow at the canine, the crossed her arms and smirked.

"I am ready, Sir," she announced. The soldier cleared his throat then began.

"What animal walks upon four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?" He watched Sarah's face intently as she worked out the puzzle.

"Man," came the answer just moments later. "Man crawls at birth, walks on two legs most of their life, then by 'evening' must rely on a cane of some sort," Sarah excitedly explained. "I knew all those crosswords were good for something!"

"Alas, outwitted again! You are quite the worthy opponent, m'lady! But then again, what man can pretend to know the riddle of a woman's mind," the soldier stepped aside and let the pair push open the gates. Once inside the walls of the city, the three were greeted with rambunctious, intoxicated goblins.

Most goblins paid no attention to the crew as they made their way through the ransacked houses. There were times when two goblins would look on Sarah with a faint familiarity, turn to each other and shrug. Many were just passed out on various stoops and carts.

Upon reaching the castle, Sarah and Hoggle struggled to push open the heavy doors while Didymus was making his rounds to ensure the citizens of the Goblin City were all breathing. After all, he took his job of protecting his people very seriously and wanted to make sure he still had all his people. They were finally able to enter and Sarah gasped softly at the enchanting state of the castle.

The once barren walls now sported elaborate art installments and cascading candelabras. Eyes of the long dead upon tapestries seemed to follow Sarah as she floated forward, mouth slightly agape. The windows were dressed in a deep maroon velvet, each differing with the next more enchanting than the last, reminiscent of ball gowns at a formal royal event.

Out of a hallway suddenly emerged a she-goblin with shoulder length hair the color of pencil lead and a perpetual frown. In the creature's determination to get from her point A to point B, she collided right into Sarah knocking herself on her bum. She looked upon the woman standing above her with wide, chocolate eyes and mouth agape.

"Oh, my, I am so sorry!" Sarah quickly apologized and kneeled down to help the little goblin. The goblin blinked twice in response, jumped to her feet and grabbed the lacey hem of Sarah's shorts, ushering her quickly to a room of the castle Sarah had never visited. Before Sarah could question the creature, she had disappeared into the darkness of the corridor. Sarah looked frantically from her right to her left, and all around.

Then she saw him.


A/N: Hello babes! I just wanted to touch quickly on the fact that I take what some would consider risks in my story development. My mom taught me long ago to "disturb the universe" when I write, and I have taken that to heart. I want to evoke emotions in my readers, and not just the warm and fuzzy ones. I also want to challenge myself. While it is always difficult to lose readers, I am going to stay strong to my instincts with the development of this plot. That said, I do want to mention I consider Sarah and Jareth to be soulmates... take that how you will. ;)

Brownie points for anyone who can identify the Don Quixote quote I threw in ;) And another fun tidbit is Ludo means "light" in Italian, so I chose Sola meaning "sun" and Ra meaning "son god" for Ludo's family's names!

Thank you to my reviewers: FreakinGodzilla, Annibale, the artful scribbler, Jetredgirl, Starzz123, Honoria Granger, DarkGreenRose, Cakeydaftone, LovelyAmberLight, and guests.

Super special thank you to my repeat reviewers: SarahLouiseDodge, Jediavenger, Ariella21

You guys keep me writing, thank you so, so much.