DISCLAIMER: If it's a scene, character, setting, idea, etc, from Labyrinth, it's (c) Henson, Lucas, Froud, etc, and NOT MINE.
Stay tuned for further disclaimer and A/N at the end.
Isolated, entrenched in the idea that nobody else can really understand, he allows himself a moment's indulgence, to wallow. Not alone, not even lonely, but that fact ceases to matter when none among the dozens around him have ever encountered this situation.
At what point, he has to wonder, will he have to admit that he has no power over this? He shudders, as even his own musings form themselves within phrases fraught with emotion.
This… situation… is atypical in the Goblin Kingdom, much less in all of the Underground, although with his familiarity with life Aboveground, he knows enough to be less surprised. He shrugs, hoping that it won't spread; he fears that his own population might prove to be a particularly susceptible group. Yet he has to continue to maintain his attitude and the appearance of the status quo to avoid triggering a domino effect.
Even so, he is not entirely without options.
"Fide, Sarah. You said subthig aboud soup?"
A/N and addtl disclaimer: The "common cold" is definitely not mine, but I can't find anyone willing to claim it; if it's yours, please take charge of it, and keep better track of it. And the idea of soup (especially chicken soup!) as a cure-all is many generations old, and so is under public domain.
However, Jareth wasn't going to utter the phrase "chicken soup" within earshot of the goblins, as that would trigger too much noise. And I'm not going to speculate how Jareth caught a cold, or what will happen to them when Jareth recovers.