Disclaimer: I don't own nothin'…
A/N: Alright, struggle through this with me. I tried to do justice to the way Hoggle talks, but I'm not sure how successful I was. Ah, well…
A soft hand touched hers.
"Sarah?"
She glanced down and to the left. There he stood, a little older, perhaps, but still just as wonderfully homely, with that reserved kindness in his big blue eyes. She smiled as her fingers curled and squeezed his hand.
"Hi."
"What…what happened?" His voice shook with concern and alarm. "Your arm…"
"Yeah, I kind of tangled with a wolf tonight. A really strange wolf. A white wolf."
To her disappointment, there was no automatic flare of understanding. Instead he continued to stand and stare at her, uncomprehending.
"A white wolf?"
"A big white wolf, with red markings on its feet. Have you ever heard of anything like that before?"
Very slowly, Hoggle shook his head. "No. Why you asking me? Animals ain't my area."
"I know," she murmured with a wry grin. The few times he had visited with Merlin in the room had not gone over very well. "But the thing is, this isn't a normal wolf. I don't think it's from this world."
"Why not?" he asked, honestly confused.
"It attacked me in the middle of a crowded night club."
"A what?"
"It's where we go to dance," Sarah explained.
"Like a ball?"
"No, not exactly. It's less formal, and it's open every night. You just pay to go in, dance, have a few drinks, maybe play pool…"
"Play what?"
"It's…a game. It doesn't matter. The big thing is that wolves don't come into the city, let alone into a building crowded with humans and loud noises." Sarah looked quickly at the door, afraid someone would come upon this very strange conversation. "You're sure you've never heard of a big white wolf with red markings on its feet that hunts humans?"
He sighed and shook his head again. "No. But there're other places, Sarah, outside this world. Other than the Labyrinth."
"What do you know about them? The other places, I mean."
The dwarf shifted uncomfortable, looking down. "Nothin'."
"Hoggle…"
"I don't know nothin'. Never been much past the gardens outside the Labyrinth. Never liked traveling."
"And you've never heard anything? No stories?"
Hoggle shuffled from foot to foot, refusing to meet her eye, yet unwilling to release her hand.
"Maybe I have. Don't mean much. Don't talk to a lot of people."
"Hoggle, please. This is important. This wolf…I've seen it before. I've dreamt about this wolf for months now. At first it was just every once in awhile. Now I dream about it all the time. When it showed up in the club, I knew it was there for me. This wolf wants to kill me, and I don't even know why." She clung to his hand, willing him to look up at her. "Hoggle."
"Maybe…maybe I did hear somethin'. Maybe they say that them other places…they sometimes come to the Labyrinth. The people from 'em. They come to see him."
Why am I not surprised? Sarah mused with a sigh.
"Why do they come to see him?" she asked aloud.
"Well, you know he ain't a goblin. They, goblins, they say he came from outside and made the Labyrinth. No one knows when. Always been that way, long as I remember. But stories say he came from outside, where them others come from. So maybe he's one of 'em. Don't know," Hoggle finished defensively. "Not my problem, not my worry."
She bit her lip, thinking his words over carefully. "Do they have a name? Them…them others."
"Maybe. Probably. Don't know it." Hoggle looked up into her worried face, and gave a little sigh of defeat. "I seen 'em, though. They play it like a game, runnin' the Labyrinth. 'Cause they ain't got nothing to be afraid of. He don't take none of their babies. They just come and run the Labyrinth, 'cause it don't matter how long it takes."
"Why not?"
"Don't age. Just like he don't age. Always the same, they is. Seen some of 'em come back after years and years, and they're always the same. Strange folk."
"Anything else?"
"Goblins say they come when he calls. The women, they like him. Real pretty women they are, too. They wear necklaces and rings covered in pretty jewels," he added with great enthusiasm. "Rubies, and emeralds, and sapphires, and diamonds, set in gold and-"
"Yeah, I've got it," Sarah interrupted with a smile. Given a chance, Hoggle would continue on about the jewelry well into the night. "So these pretty people come when he calls. Then what?"
"Goblins say it's mostly dancing. They like to dance."
The tiniest blush crept up her cheeks. Don't they just, she thought wryly. She rubbed her free hand angrily against the hospital blanket, trying to chase away the memory of that rich, black velvet, as well as the feel of her fingers closing on his hips.
I thought it was Daniel. I thought it was a normal human being. He tricked me, again!
Yet some part of her overly honest brain was uncertain.
It wasn't Daniel's face that had you melting. It was the way he danced…the way he touched you…
"They like to dance," Sarah repeated, angrily batting those thoughts away. "Can they shapeshift, like he can?"
"Don't know. Maybe."
"It stands to reason they could," she continued distractedly. "So maybe it wasn't a wolf at all. Maybe it was one of these pretty people."
"Sarah?" Hoggle asked slowly. "What makes you think they got anything to do with it?"
She clenched her jaw in anger.
"Because he was there."
She felt her friend jerk. His eyes swung up, wide with fear.
"You mean Jareth was there? At this night thingy?"
"Yes." Sarah gave him a sideways look. "Do you know, does he come to Earth to dance a lot?"
"Don't know that," Hoggle said uncertainly. "Don't see why he should. If the pretty ladies come whenever he calls, why come here to dance with the mortal types?"
"That, my friend, is a very good question." Sarah's brows drew down sharply. "But I'm willing to bet it's somehow tied in with that damn wolf. And when I find out who that wolf is, or who is controlling it, I don't care how pretty they are, I'm going to strangle the life out of them! I worked damn hard for that roll!"
"What?"
Sarah fell back against her pillows, the fight going out of her to be replaced by exhaustion. "My arm won't heal in time for me to be in this next play."
The horrified fury in his eyes nearly made her laugh.
"But…I helped you practice that part!"
"Yes, and you did a really good Renfield, but Lucy can't have her arm in a sling. It detracts from her seductiveness a little bit."
Hoggle's head hung in dejection.
"We worked so hard…"
A tiny giggle managed to escape. She squeezed his hand thankfully, and shook her head.
"We'll get the next roll. But you've got to go back. I need to sleep, and…I'm not exactly at home. If anyone came in and saw you, there are just way too many questions I can't answer."
He seemed reluctant as he released her hand. "Alright. But Sarah, if you need me…"
"I'll always know where to find you. Tell Ludo and Didymus I love them. And I love you."
"Love you too, Sarah."