Chapter Four: It's Still Not Fair!
Disclaimer: No Labyrinth rights for me.
Author's Notes: Kind reviews give me warm and fuzzy feelings :) Thank you!
Robert Williams was sound asleep in the bed that he shared with his second wife, Karen. The two had arrived home only an hour ago but it hadn't taken Robert long to change into his pajamas, crawl into bed, and fall asleep—he had been thoroughly exhausted from the party that they had attended. His snores were gentle and he twitched slightly every few minutes.
Then the scream came.
Robert shot up, immediately looking to his left for Karen. When he saw that her side of the bed was empty, he leaped out of bed and raced out of the bedroom. He ran toward the living room where the scream had come from. Karen was sitting on the couch, all of the lights turned on around her, hugging Toby's pillow.
"Karen, what's wrong?" Robert sat down beside the woman, placing a gentle hand on her back.
"They're gone!" she cried, tears staining her cheeks. "All of them."
"Are you sure? Have you checked the-"
"Of course I'm sure! I've looked everywhere! I went to go check on them before I went to bed and none of them were in their rooms. I've searched through the entire house. They're missing!" She let out a loud sob.
Robert hushed her and rubbed her back soothingly. "Maybe they just went out for a walk."
"At three in the morning?" Karen looked up at her husband incredulously. "With a five year old? Robert, they've been taken! I just know it. Call the police. Now!"
"Alright, alright. I'll call the police, but I really think that there's a simple explanation behind all of this." Robert stood and walked into the kitchen to the phone. At least, I hope there is.
…
Though it was three in the morning in the Aboveground, it was reaching mid-morning in the Underground. However, a creature inside the Labyrinth would not have been able to tell such a thing by looking at the sky; the gray clouds revealed nothing of the time. Inhabitants of the newly rebuilt Labyrinth were forced to get clocks (which were not particularly reliable in the Underground) or rely on their bodies to tell them when it was time a for a meal, time for bed, and time to wake up. Sarah's body chose the third option: to wake up. The first thing she experienced as she was coming around was the sound of echoing whispers.
"Sawah smell diffwent," a deep, growling voice commented.
"I's noticed that too," a gruff, breathy voice responded. "She's just grown up, is all."
Deciding the best course of action would be to open her eyes to see where she was, Sarah slowly lifted her eyelids and focused her eyes.
"Oh, oh! Look! There she is," the second voice said excitedly—it sounded rather familiar to Sarah. "I told's you she wasn't dead!"
"Ludo glad," another familiar voice-the first one she'd heard-said in a rumble that came from deep within his chest.
Sarah turned her head to the right and saw a big, hairy beast and a tiny little man standing beside her.
"Hello there," she said with a large grin.
"Sawah!" Ludo cried excitedly.
"Hi, Sarah," Hoggle said almost shyly.
She slowly lifted herself to a sitting position and held out her arms. Ludo was the first one forward and he wrapped Sarah up inside his massive arms, pulling her up off the tiny cot she had been on.
"Ludo miss Sawah," Ludo said as he held Sarah tightly against his body.
"I missed you, too, Ludo," she giggled, hugging him back.
"Careful, Ludo!" Hoggle said nervously.
Ludo gently put her down on her feet and she turned to Hoggle expectantly.
"Well, where's my hug from you?" she asked, holding out her arms.
"Well...I...I mean, I's..." Hoggle stumbled over the words that were all trying to come out at once.
"Come here, you." She pulled him into her arms and hugged him.
Hoggle relaxed into her arms and wrapped his own around her. When they separated she sat back down on the cot.
"How did you two find me?" she asked, remembering her near-drowning experience.
Hoggle and Ludo exchanged a look.
"What?" Sarah's brow furrowed in confusion.
"We don't really know," Hoggle explained. "We just got a feelin' that we should go to the river. So we went. What were you doing by the river, anyways?"
"I was looking for the entrance to the Labyrinth."
"The entrance's far away from the river."
"The Goblin King left me off in the middle of a forest near the river, a few hour's distance from the Labyrinth. I met up with Mot, a fisherman...well, sort of...and he brought me down the river in his boat and left me near that giant door. I thought that that was the entrance."
"It's an entrance but it's not the entrance."
"Well I didn't know that. Mot did tell me not to go in the river, so I had made a plan to climb a tree and make my way across the wall that way but then...then a boy came along and he took me to the river."
"Damn those water spirits!" Hoggle cursed angrily. They's got no business messin' about with good folk."
"But how did you get me out of the water?"
"Ludo fought them off...y'know how he is with rocks."
"Rocks friends," Ludo stated happily. "Sawah friend."
Sarah smiled up at him. "Thank you. Both of you. You saved my life."
They both looked a bit bashful. Sarah then realized that there were two creatures missing from their happy reunion.
"Where's Sir Didymus and Ambrosius?" she asked.
Hoggle and Ludo looked at each other sadly and then back at Sarah.
"We's haven't been able to find him yet." Hoggle rubbed his hands nervously.
"What do you mean you haven't been able to 'find' him?"
"Y'see, Sarah, since Jareth decided to change the Labyrinth around, a lot of the things that live here had to change around as well. We all had to find new houses and it was even harder to get around the Labyrinth than before. I only found Ludo a few days ago."
Sarah frowned. "Why didn't you tell me that this was going on? I could have stopped him. I could have-"
Hoggle looked down at the ground. "You haven't called on us in months, Sarah. We...thought that maybe you's..." He looked up at Ludo who lowered his head.
"That I what?"
Hoggle drew in a deep breath. "We thought you didn't like us anymore."
"What?" Sarah exclaimed, standing up. "Hoggle! Ludo! I love you all very much and always will. Never, ever, ever forget that!"
Neither of them looked at her. She closed her eyes and calmed herself down. She knelt down in front of them, taking each of their hands.
"You've always been on my mind. There were so many times I wanted to call on you but...my life got a little complicated. But I promise that things are going to change from now on."
Hoggle looked at her, his eyes lighting up with hope. "D'you mean...you's goin' to stay with us?"
"Sawah stay! Sawah stay!" Ludo clapped his massive paws together.
Sarah bit her lip and shook her head sadly. "I can't stay with you. I want to. Believe me, I do. But I have to go home. I'm going to call you every day though, so you'd better come running when I do." She squeezed Hoggle's hand comfortingly.
They both nodded though there was still a remnant of hurt in their eyes. Sarah's heart felt heavy seeing them like that; she decided to change the subject.
"I need your help now though." She stood up. "My friend Eliana wished herself away to the goblins-"
"Why would she do a stupid thing like that?" Hoggle interrupted.
"Ehweeana dumb." Ludo agreed.
"No, no. She didn't know that the wish was going to work. She thought it was just from some silly children's story."
"That's still not smart. Wishes is powerful things. You don't mess with 'em."
Ludo nodded.
"Anyway," Sarah drew out the word, "The Goblin King also took Toby, and now I have three days to get to the castle beyond the Goblin City and get them back."
"We'll help you, Sarah!" Hoggle raised a fist in the air, standing up as straight as he could.
"Ludo help!" Ludo raised a paw in the air, mimicking Hoggle's gesture.
"Thank you so much! You're the best friends I could ever-" Words failed Sarah when the two vanished before her eyes. She looked around behind her. "Hoggle? Ludo?" Her heart began to race as she anxiously scanned the room. She immediately stopped moving, realizing what had happened. She narrowed her eyes and screamed, "Goblin King!"
"Hush, Precious." He appeared before her, clad in a dark blue poet's shirt and black pants. His eyes gleamed mischievously. "I'm right here."
"You bring them back right now!" She stomped up to him.
The King crossed his arms. "I knew you were many things, Sarah, but I never knew that you were a cheater."
Sarah furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"
"You were going to use your friends to help you through the Labyrinth."
"And...?"
He leaned in closer to her; the feeling of his warm breath upon her face sent shivers up and down her spine.
"That's against the rules, you naughty girl," he breathed.
Sarah's lids grew heavy and she focused only on his lips. He reached out and began playing with a few strands of her hair. His light touch made Sarah almost groaned in frustration; if only he would really touch her...
Jareth admired the blush spreading prettily across her cheeks and the heat that radiated from her body.
"Oh, you precious thing." He ran a finger down her jawline. Sarah slowly closed her eyes.
"Return to my castle with me," he whispered, his lips brushing against her's. "Be mine."
Sarah felt a heat pulsing from her core out through the rest of her body. She wanted so desperately to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him deeply; to feel his arms around her waist and his lips at her neck; to mold herself to him with all of the heated passion she held inside herself. She took a small step forward and put a bit more pressure on his lips with her own.
Toby. Ellie. Ludo. Hoggle. The names and faces flashed through her mind and poured ice water on the heat she had been feeling. She took a step back from the Goblin King, separating their lips, and opened her eyes. The King watched her with something akin to sorrow in his expression, but was quickly hidden behind an arrogant smirk. The appearance of the smirk made her walk back a few more steps.
"No." She shook her head.
The King's straightened up until he was standing at his full height, staring down upon her intimidatingly. Sarah also stood up straighter in the hope that it would draw away from the fact that she was shaking.
"I won't e-ever belong to you, Goblin King." She clenched her hands into fists at her side. "You want to trap me here, to make me forget...but it won't work! I'm going to defeat your Labyrinth, win my friends back, and then we are going to go home and I will never hear from you again. I'll make certain of that." Her voice cracked at the end, but her face did not betray her.
"Still so cruel," he replied without emotion. "But then, so am I." He spun away from her.
"What do you mean?" she asked slowly, worriedly.
"I don't believe that a week in the oubliette was quite enough punishment for your friends," he said thoughtfully. "After all, they almost repeated their previous treasonous acts. I shall have to think of something much more creative this time."
"Don't you dare harm them!" Sarah warned.
The Goblin King leveled a malicious smile at Sarah before vanishing. Sarah threw up her hands and let out a scream of rage before collapsing upon Hoggle's cot. Drawing in a few ragged breaths, she brought her knees up to her chest and angrily wiped at the tears that began to run down her cheeks.
It's just not fair.
It's not, but that's the way it is.
"Shut up!" Sarah growled before letting out a frustrated sob and hitting the pillow under her head.
Author's Note: Angst! Angst! Angst! But comic relief is on its way! ...hopefully. The ending may have felt a little abrupt, but Sarah just began letting out a stream of profanities directed at Jareth (some of the things she was suggesting I didn't even think were possible...) after hitting that pillow. I decided it was best to save your innocent eyes from exposure to such language. Read&review!