Sarah squeaked and jumped backwards as Irene pushed her way through the mirror into the reflection. She looked very put out.
"Really! I suppose it hadn't occurred to you that we were in the middle of something important? Have you no consideration? Your brother is missing!"
Sarah was about to snap back, then saw Irene's obvious agitation, and realised with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that, right now, she was her stepmother's last hope. Now was really not the time.
"I'm sorry," she replied, once her heart had stopped beating a mile a minute. "But this is important. Sir Didymus might know where Toby is."
Irene turned, and seemed to notice the knight for the first time. She blinked rapidly, as if trying to clear something from her eyes. "Sarah?" she queried.
Sir Didymus' eyes locked onto Irene's, and then, without breaking his gaze, he swept a low bow. "Sir Didymus, valiant knight and defender of the Labyrinth – and beautiful ladies," he added with a wink, "at your service."
Without taking her eyes off of him, Irene took a cautious step backwards. "Sarah," she stated authoritatively, "there's a talking dog on your hall table."
It was all Sarah could do not to burst into a fit of mad giggles. "I know," she managed to say in a semi-calm and level tone of voice. "He's an old friend of mine. And it's not exactly my hall table."
"Well, whose is it, than?" Irene demanded.
Rein in that temper before it gets out of hand, Sarah scolded herself. Irene's never been within ten feet of a goblin and she doesn't believe in fairy tales. This is going to be an uphill battle, but I am going to keep my temper! "We're inside a mirror at the moment," she said aloud. "It's not exactly my house."
"No, it most certainly is not! If your house was in the Borderlands, well…" Didymus shook his head. "Better not to think of that."
Irene looked around, seeming to notice the length of the hallway and the shadows gathered in its farthest corners for the first time. "Is it dangerous?"
"Oh yes. Very dangerous," Sir Didymus began. A sudden look of panic crossed Irene's face, and he hastily amended, "for those who don't know what they're doing. But you, my ladies, have a guide!"
"Sir Didymus, where's Hoggle? And Ludo? They're all right, aren't they?" Sarah asked, her anxiety for Toby momentarily overshadowed by other concerns.
"Oh yes, Sirs Ludo and Hoggle are both quite well. In fact, my brother Ludo is waiting at the border to aid our crossing."
"And Hoggle?"
Sir Didymus seemed reluctant to say anything more, until Sarah glared him down. "You know I'll find out eventually, and if it's bad, I'll be more upset than if you just told me."
"He's keeping guard on your baby brother, in case she tries to spirit him away to…er, somewhere else."
Sarah was taken aback. "What? But – isn't that in the castle? But he's always been so frightened of Jareth. What changed?"
"I believe Sir Hoggle did, milady, thanks in no small part to you."
Sarah found that she was impressed by her friend's bravery. "So. Why would we need help crossing the border?"
Didymus waved his staff dramatically. Irene took a few more cautious steps back. "The border patrol have become a little…overzealous in their protection of the Underground. But no matter! We shall fight them to the death! Hah!" He swung out wildly with his staff. Irene and Sarah both ducked.
"All right! All right. I know you could fight any border guard and win, Sir Didymus," Sarah admonished him gently. "Look, I don't understand. When I went through the Labyrinth, there weren't any border guards. I just walked right in."
"Ah, but that was just the Labyrinth, milady," Sir Didymus said sagely, lowering his staff. Irene breathed a sigh of relief. "The Goblin King took you straight into the Underground. He has – well, had – the authority to bypass the border. But you're on your own this time, so we must fight our way through!" He brandished his staff at thin air again.
At this point, Irene, who had been following Sarah and Didymus' conversation with growing bewilderment, interrupted. "I'm sure this is very pressing and important, but could either of you take a moment to explain to me exactly what is going on here?"
Sarah could have kicked herself. Once again, she'd selfishly focused on herself and hadn't even noticed anyone else's distress – a habit she'd tried even harder to break than the habit of keeping piles of trinkets lying around. She considered explaining everything, than realised that she didn't even remotely know where to start. "What do you want to know?"
"Well, first, what's this Underground you two keep talking about? Some kind of slave trade?"
"No, fair lady," Sir Didymus replied. "It is the home of a great many mysterious, quite magical, and occasionally exasperating creatures. I believe you call it 'Fairyland'?"
Irene wrinkled her brow. "Fairies? Sweet little people with wings?"
"Oh no, those are pixies. And they're anything but sweet." Sarah grimaced at the recollection. "They bite something fierce."
"And if they sense you are dying, they will take you off to their nest to feed their young. Of course, sometimes they don't wait for you to die first…"Sir Didymus let the sentence trail off. Sarah got the feeling that, had Irene been slightly more crass, she would have stuck out her tongue in disgust. As it was, she maintained an admirably straight face.
"And you say these things took Toby?"
"No. She's taken him, into the very centre of the Labyrinth."
Irene turned to Sarah. "This wouldn't be the same Labyrinth you were always going on about, would it?"
Sarah nodded. "I think they're one and the same."
Her stepmother's face momentarily revealed just how out of her depth she actually was.
Sarah sighed. "Do you remember when I was fifteen and I got home and hour late and it was pouring rain and I threw a tantrum and you and Dad wanted to go out somewhere and you left me to watch Toby? He wasn't eighteen months old yet, I think."
"Sarah, it might be easier if you tried to point out an occasion on which you were home on time and cheerfully suggested that we go out while you stayed home with Toby."
Sarah had to admit that this was true. "Well, when you came home, I'd put away all the pictures of my mother and I didn't talk about goblins or fairies for nearly two weeks. Do you remember that?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I thought it quite odd, but I was proud of you for making the effort to grow up. But I don't see what that has got to do with any of this." Irene waved an arm broadly, the gesture encompassing Sir Didymus, the mirror, and the shadow-hung halls.
"Everything," Sarah replied. "Because after you two left, I kind of…wished for the goblins to take Toby away. And they did." Seeing the look on Irene's face, she hastily added, "I got him back! I solved the Labyrinth in thirteen hours, with Sir Didymus and Ludo and Hoggle helping me, and I got Toby back. I never told you or Dad. I knew you wouldn't believe me."
"But why is he gone now?" Irene asked, lack of sleep and utter confusion most probably contributing to the utter lack of patience implicit in her voice.
Sarah shrugged.
Sir Didymus cleared his throat. "I believe that I may be able to shed some light on this matter, fair lady." He bowed again, a sweeping gesture that ended with his nose nearly touching his knees and one arm extended grandly behind him. Sarah stifled another fit of giggles. "After Sarah left the Labyrinth, the Lords and Ladies – the other rulers of the Underground kingdoms – decided that the Goblin King wasn't up to the task of ruling the Labyrinth any longer. But, being mostly goblins and elves themselves, they were much too lazy to actually do anything about it. Besides, I personally think that all of the Ladies have something of a soft spot for Jareth…"
"Is this still the same person?" Irene asked.
"Yes," Sarah replied. "Jareth is the Goblin King. He rules -"
"Er, ruled," Sir Didymus interjected.
"– the Labyrinth," Sarah finished. "He was the one I had to defeat to get Toby back."
Irene gave her a look of disbelief, mingled with a hint of admiration. Sarah beamed delightedly.
"Yes. Well, a little while ago, this…woman showed up in the Labyrinth," Sir Didymus continued. "She wasn't one of the goblins. In fact, we think she may even be human. But, at any rate, she told the Lords and Ladies the most astonishing tales about Jareth!" Sir Didymus shook his head disapprovingly. "Our king may have had his faults, but there are limits! Whatever happened to loyalty? To honour? To -"
"Sir Didymus!"
"Yes?"
"Continue with the story, please."
"Oh. Yes. I beg your pardon, milady! This woman came out of nowhere, and once she had the Lords and Ladies on her side, she returned to the Labyrinth and she deposed the Goblin King." These last five words were delivered in a hush, as if they were too terrible to speak. Sarah found that she almost agreed with that sentiment.
"How in the world did she do that?"
"No one knows, milady, no one knows! She went into the throne room, and when she came out, she had the medallion of office around her neck. The first thing she did was have Jareth imprisoned. He didn't even try to put up a fight!"
Sarah, despite fifteen years of denial, suddenly felt sorry for the now ex-Goblin King. The mental image of the person she'd been terrified of and partially in love with for most of her young life cowed and broken by someone else was almost too awful for words.
"Good," Irene stated definitely.
"Good?" Sarah and Didymus asked, almost in unison.
"Yes. Good. From what I've heard here, this Jareth wasn't a particularly good king, and an even worse man."
Sarah and Sir Didymus exchanged a look. How to explain…
"Not exactly a man, as such," Sir Didymus finally said, as tactfully as possible. "And for a kingdom of goblins, he was a perfect king."
Irene sniffed disbelievingly.
"No, really!" Sarah said loudly – possibly a little too loudly. She lowered her voice. "Goblins are lazy, stupid, spiteful, deceitful, cowardly, perpetually angry, thieving little -" Sir Didymus cleared his throat meaningfully. Sarah continued. "And Jareth is the most cunning, deceitful, and lazy of the bunch," she said, and was a little shocked by her own impudence, but then realised it was all true. "He was a natural king."
Irene's expression clearly showed what she thought of such a notion of kingship.
In a bid to change the subject, Sarah asked, "So, who is she, anyway?" Neither Sir Didymus nor Irene seemed to know what she was talking about, so she clarified. "This woman who kicked Jareth off the throne."
"No one knows, milady," Sir Didymus repeated. "She just calls herself the Queen."
"All right. So we're up against the Goblin Queen?"
"No, milady," Didymus replied darkly. "Just the Queen."
"Okayy…" Sarah turned to Irene. "Do you have any other questions?"
"Just one."
"Well, fire away."
"Where is my son?"
There was a pause.
"She's taken him to the centre of the Labyrinth, fair lady," Sir Didymus began.
"To the castle beyond the goblin city," Sarah added.
"And how do we get there?"
"'Tis a long and arduous journey," Sir Didymus stated uneasily.
"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered," Sarah quoted. She'd memorized the damn lines, and they wouldn't leave her alone. It was almost a relief to get to say them again.
"And – perhaps – it is not the type of journey that a lady of your station would care to undertake?" Didymus suggested. The look Irene gave him was pure steel.
"If some…'Queen' has taken my son there, then there's no way I'm going to sit at home while you two try to get him back."
Sir Didymus caved immediately. "Of course not, fair lady! How could there even have been a suggestion of such a thing? But never fear! Though the trek may be long and fraught with danger, I, Sir Didymus, valiant knight of the realm, shall be your protector! And I vow that no harm shall come to you!" He bowed again, with a flourish, this time toppling head-over-heels off of the hall table. He sat up, hat firmly wedged over his eyes, and said, "I'm perfectly fine. Would someone turn on the lights?"
This time, Sarah did giggle, and immediately regretted it when both Irene and Sir Didymus glared at her. She quickly changed the subject. "So now, the only problem is how to get into the Underground."
Irene turned left, and began to stride determinedly down the corridor. Both of the other two shouted, "Stop!" and she did, turning around, and placing both hands firmly on her hips.
"Well? I thought we were going."
"We are," Sarah said, "but not that way. You never go that way!"
Sir Didymus looked up at her. "Whyever not?"
Sarah shrugged again. "I don't know. It's just something a little worm told me."
"Indeed? Well, you have been taken in by someone, milady. If you turn left in the Labyrinth, you will go straight to the castle!"
"Oh," Sarah said, feeling foolish.
"What is the way, then?" Irene asked angrily.
"Why, through the mirror, of course," Sir Didymus replied.
"Okay," said Sarah, as she put her foot up on the mirror frame again.
"No, not like that, milady!" Sir Didymus shouted, and Sarah immediately pulled her foot back down. "Do that again, and you'll become lost in a maze of reflections with no exit." With that, Sir Didymus walked over to the mirror, rapped sharply on its gold frame with his staff and yelled, "Hey! Open up!"
"Sir Didymus?" Sarah asked.
"Just a moment, milady," Didymus replied distractedly, and thumped the mirror a few times more. "Open up in the name of the King!"
"Sir Didymus!" Sarah shouted.
"Yes?"
In answer, Sarah took hold of the frame and swung the mirror away from the wall. It moved as if on hinges, and opened inwards to reveal a pastoral landscape, on which the sun appeared to be setting. About two metres away, a low wall had been erected out of what appeared to be boulders salvaged from a field or riverbed. Along its length, great black crablike creatures with blades for arms scuttled back and forth, their beady red eyes scanning the perimeter of the wall. And, off in the distance, the low and very yellow sun gleamed off of the walls of the Labyrinth.
A/N: No, I'm (probably) not venturing into full-on crossover territory here. I just thought that Garthim would make very good border guards, and they're from a Henson fantasy film as well, so why not?
Sorry for the long and confusing Page of Explanations. But, then again, we all have some catching up to do, not just Sarah.