Chapter 7.
Toby cringed as the other two males wrangled with words over which Sarah actually belonged to. The more possessive the King's words were the more furious the dwarf seemed to get. It was a strange tango of words and wills, and the King was easily topping all of the claims the dwarf was making.
"Hogswort," Jareth said softly.
"Hoggle," the dwarf answered through gritted teeth.
"Ah yes," Jareth snickered. "Do you recall a promise I made to you regarding Sarah?"
The dwarf scratched his head, his eyes shifting from side to side. "Which one?" he hedged.
"The one I made when you were going on about being her…friend," Jareth's voice dropped several octaves and by the dwarfs reaction it was apparently obvious that he not only remembered but still feared this threat. Pleased by the reaction, Jareth gripped one of Hoggle's ears tightly. "If I was going to turn you to the Prince of Stench, just for receiving a gift… do you really think I'd turn Sarah over to anyone other than myself?"
"No," Hoggle answered but it sounded more like a question.
Jareth let go of the dwarf's ear. "Open the gate; we have to find where they've taken her."
Hoggle nodded and moved to the gate quickly. Toby watched with amazement as the gnomish little man made a gesture with his hand causing the gate to open. "Wow," he mouthed, before turning to Jareth.
"Hoggle you'd best come with us," Jareth said as he moved forward. "We may have need of your various skills."
"I'm coming for her, not you…" grumbled the little man entering the gate and taking a deep breath with eyes closed. He pointed in the direction of the scent in the air. "They took her that way." He started to walk down the corridor.
Jareth winked at Toby who was right beside him. "We'll let Hoggle do the hard work," he smiled.
"Couldn't we just use magic to find her?" Toby asked softly, itching to find out just what kinds of powers he had on this side of the mists and veils.
"Best not to alert the ones who took her," Jareth said calmly. "Besides, you didn't experience the Labyrinth before." His voice was soothing and patient, as if guiding a student or apprentice. "It is best to experience it without the use of magic, so that you may appreciate its potential."
"Father," the boy spoke and noticed the ears of the dwarf turn slightly at the word. "Why do you call her yours?"
"Ah," Jareth also noticed the attentiveness of the dwarf even as he followed the scent. "For so many reasons, lad," he heard the under breath grumble of the dwarf and chose to ignore the insolence for now. "There's a good many things you are not privy to. Some are really none of your business, others… well let's just say you'll learn as you go along."
Toby pointed to the dwarf. "Who and what is he?"
"Ah," Jareth placed a guiding arm over the lad's shoulder once more. "That is Hoggle, he's the gatekeeper and gardener. As to what his classification is in the Fairylands races, he's actually a mixed lower subclass of elemental. He had a Boggart for a father and a Gnome mother. He shows traits of both, and that is what makes him useful to me."
"He's useful?" questioned Toby with skepticism.
"Very useful at times," Jareth quipped, thinking of how Hoggle had done his bidding in regards to the girl even over his own protestations.
Toby didn't like the way the dwarf disrespected his 'Father', and loyalty made him speak of it. "But he's insolent and disrespectful…and you said he was taken with the Witch."
Clearing his throat, Jareth tightened his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Lad, who is it that told you Sarah is a … witch?"
"The minions," Toby said quickly. "I heard them say that so often I guess I started to think of her that way."
"The minions," Jareth sighed. "I see."
Hoggle struggled with listening to the conversation and tracking the scent. He wondered who the young Fae man with the King could be. He'd heard the boy call Jareth Father, and that he found startling. In the years he'd been in the Labyrinth serving the King, he could not recall the King speaking of family members. "They passed here," Hoggle paused and pointed to an opening that was in the corridor. "Into here," he pointed.
Toby whispered to Jareth, "He's listening to us."
"I am aware," Jareth whispered back.
Hoggle frowned, "The scent is stronger in the next passage."
"Follow it, we are right behind you." Jareth instructed.
--
Toadface watched as the two nameless goblins bound Sarah's wrists with the chains and shackles. "Don't untie her until the chains are locked," he warned. "And stay back from her feet, she's got a kick like a mule."
The goblins were not gentle in their handling of the girl. Nor were they careful in how they worked with the metal that was linked to the wall behind her. One bit of chain slapped against Sarah's face where the bruise from the rock was now showing. It caused her to see stars and she nearly lost consciousness. When they had finished binding her in chains, they removed the remains of the rope from her wrists and her ankles. Then quickly got out of the way for fear of her kicking them to kingdom come.
Toadface turned to see Skunkweed and Stinkweed entering the dungeon. "Should we take the gag from her mouth?"
Skunkweed leered at the girl, and rather enjoyed the look of fire in her green eyes. "No, leave it for now. That way we don't have to worry about anyone hearing her." He waved at her. "We'll be back little witch," he called as he turned to leave. "Try not to miss us…" The others snickered at his jib and followed him out of the dank pit.
Sarah looked about her, and took a deep cleansing breath, and vowed that if it were the last thing she did, she was going to knock that look of superiority off the face of that stupid goblin leader.
--
Skunkweed looked at the borrowed cart, "Take this back to your brother," he ordered Toadface. "We don't want it here; no one is supposed to be here."
"Fine," Toadface motioned two of the nameless goblins to grab hold of the wooden tongue. "We'll meet you at the broken bridge."
Stinkweed turned to Skunkweed, "Where are we to meet Nightshade and his crew?"
"They'll be waiting for us at the fiery forest," Skunkweed said watching the goblins move the cart down the dirt road. "They better have that book," he growled.
--
Jareth allowed a distance to gap between Hoggle and them, they could still see him, but he could not overhear their conversation. "You were telling me about the minions and their visits to you." He kept his voice very quiet. "You said that Sarah told you stories; what kinds of stories, do you recall?"
"Oh yes," eager to please, Toby seemed excited to reveal every detail to his 'Father' of his live in 'captivity of the witch'. "She liked the old fairy tales, stories with fairies, ogres, dwarfs, and goblins. She used to bring home books from the local library, ones with artists visions of what the Fae and Fairy Realm inhabitants must look like. Books that described every last detail… as they knew them, habits, habitats and protections from Fae tricks. She really liked to find the ones that were from the Celtic people best of all. She said that the Celts didn't sugar coat the facts."
Jareth seemed amused. "Did she now?"
"Robert Williams," Toby spoke the name of his birthfather with an impersonal tone, as if speaking of a stranger. "Said that one of the reasons Sarah became a teacher was so she could research all the old fairytales."
"Did he?" Jareth seemed unperturbed by the boy's detachment from his human family. "How perceptive." His tone was bordering on insulting. "So for three years she worked on… informing you." He mused.
"She spent most of her free time with me," Toby said in a snitchie tone. "Whenever she was not at school, she was home inundating me with information. Be it in story form or a game."
"Games?" Jareth asked gently. "Such as?"
Toby shrugged, "Games… you know in the park… role playing mostly." He frowned. "Then she was gone, and I was left in the care of the Williams…" his face pinched up a bit. "They didn't tell stories, not like the ones Sarah knew. Always sugar coated fabrications," he muttered entirely. "Always pretty tales with not a thing to go bump in the night."
"Don't be too harsh on them," warned the king with a mild smile. "They didn't know any better."
"She did," Toby said. "The woman did… she was afraid of Sarah."
Jareth paused, "Was she? How do you know this?"
"I heard her say something to him, to the Robert…." Toby whispered tersely. "She said that Sarah had too powerful an influence on me, and that she wanted to protect me from the tales that Sarah liked. She said that Sarah's interest in the world of…make-belief was not healthy." He swallowed hard, "She said that she was afraid of Sarah, of her influence and her possessiveness of me. At first when Sarah was gone, she was glad… but that didn't last."
Gently Jareth pulled the boy closer, and gave him what comfort he felt he could. "I see."
Toby looked up at him, "When the minions kept coming, and bringing the gifts you sent I was overjoyed. When they told me who I really was, it made sense."
"Who you really were?" Jareth stopped walking and looked at the boy.
"Your son, and heir," Toby whispered. "And that I had another name, not just Toby…."
"Jerethkin," murmured the King with deep emotions. "They told you about that, did they?"
"They said I should never forget who I was…" he said urgently. "While the Williams were doing the bidding of the witch trying to make me forget, they vowed to help me remember."
"I'll bet they did," Jareth growled. "Toby, never be ashamed of your mortal roots, and don't ever be ashamed of the name your mother gave to you…" The boy blinked at him in surprise and Jareth said gently. "Tobias, it means 'The Lord is good'. It's a very fine name, a blessed name." Seeing the dwarf waiting for them he changed the subject. "How did you manage to make contact with the goblins?"
"At first," Toby replied with a serious tone. "Only in Sarah's mirror… the one on her vanity table. I used to have to sneak into her room when I was supposed to be taking a nap… useless things naps are…"
"Not always," countered the King with an amused smile.
Toby raised a brow, "Name me one time a nap was of any use to anyone…."
"In time, in good time…" he promised. "Continue."
"Well I used to sneak in and sit on her chair and talk to the minions," Toby's eyes squinted as he worked at recalling the visits. "At first they just talked, and called me 'young prince', or 'young master'," Toby snickered. "They seemed to be very determined to please me; they really wanted me to… favor them."
"I'm sure," Jareth replied listening to not only the boy's words, but his tone of delivery. "Tell me about the gifts again."
"The gifts started coming about six months after the first contact," Toby said impersonally. "Flowers at first and they told me to hide them around my room. They were very specific as to where, under the bed, in the closet, and in the dresser." He paused. "I thought it was strange that I could smell them but the Williams' could not."
"Fae senses," Jareth said by way of explanation. "They must have been developing from the time you were taken from here…"
"So I was taken, like the minions said I was," Toby jumped on the explanation. "The Witch took me from here! From you…"
"Toby, settle down," Jareth commanded firmly and calmly. "You're working yourself up needlessly."
"How can you say that," the boy moaned slightly out of control, sounding suddenly very much younger than seventeen.
"Because I have facts that you don't." Jareth stated giving the child's shoulder a squeeze. "Now get back on track and this time stay focused."
"Yes sir," the boy sighed. "The gifts," he nodded. "Flowers, as I've said, and then the thing you called a fibber stone… and then other things as well. Odd things really, buttons that I had to sew onto my clothes. Little bottles full of god knows what, some they demanded I drink in front of them… like they didn't trust me not to…" The boy made a face. "Most of the time I pretended to drink and I got rid of the contents of the bottles later."
"I wonder what vile concoctions they fed you," Jareth pondered. "Tell me if you can what it tasted like."
"Swamp water, or what I suppose swamp water tastes like," Toby whispered with a gagging sound remembering how many times it had caused him to lose the contents of his stomach not long after leaving Sarah's room. "They would insist on me staying in her room as long as I could… and I got caught in there more than once."
"What other gifts and instructions?" Jareth asked calmly making mental notes.
"Little broken toys," Toby whispered. "Incomplete toys… like a paddle and ball, but no ball… or a broken whirly-gig… Half a tidily, no wink…. And then they brought me a gift they said was from you…" Toby reached into his shirt and pulled out a pouch that he wore about his neck on a long cord. He opened up the pouch to pull out a little golden tube. "This." He handed the item to Jareth with reverence.
Jareth looked at the object and frowned. "I had wondered where this got to…." He raised it up to his eye and twisted. "I've had this collideascope for years." His voice was joyous. "Did you enjoy it?" Toby nodded and Jareth smiled. "I'm glad." He handed it back to the boy. "You may keep it, dear boy."
Toby tucked the precious gift back into his pouch. "I've kept it on me ever since. I only take it off when I'm going to be in the bath… or at school during gym class." He tucked it back into his shirt, "Even the Witch does not know about this… and she seemed to know about everything!" He frowned, "She came back from being away at school… I was six or seven… and she accused me of messing in her room… I had to admit that I'd been in there because the woman was standing there listening, and she would have snitched." He made a grim expression. "Then came other gifts, things that allowed your minions to appear in other mirrors."
"What gifts?" Jareth stopped walking. "What mirrors?"
"They looked like little bits of moss…with eyes… and the minions said I had to put them on the frames of the mirrors." Toby closed his eyes to recall which mirrors. "The one in the front hall, the one in my room… the one in the mudroom and the strange mirror that belonged to Sarah's mother up in the attic. That one seemed to be the most active… they were able to walk out of it like the one in Sarah's room." He opened his eyes. "Am I doing alright remembering Father?"
"Yes," Jareth said keeping clam. "You're doing very well indeed."
Toby smiled shyly up at him. "And you're pleased?"
"Very," Jareth assured him as he began to walk again. "Now which of the minions called Sarah a witch?"
"The one the other called Skunkweed," Toby assured him. "He did most of the talking."
"I see," Jareth grumbled. "I should never have allowed them to volunteer."
"Volunteer," questioned the lad.
"Yes, I've had goblin guardians watching you and Sarah for years." Jareth sighed. "I had a bad feeling about Skunkweed, he's a mountain goblin you know… they are ill-bread even for goblins."
"How many different classes of goblins are there?" Toby asked intelligently, taking an interest in the kingdom and its subjects.
The King was delighted in the boy's question. "You really want to know?" he laughed pleasantly as the boy nodded. "Alright, there are many classes or category of goblins. Mountain Goblins, Desert Goblins, Forest, River, and the well known rural area Goblin called a Hobgoblin. Mountain Goblins specialize in mining and tunneling. Desert Goblins are nomadic herdsmen; Forest Goblins play jokes on travelers and sometimes disguise themselves as gypsies. River Goblins live in and on small rivers and streams. Now here in the Labyrinth we cater to mostly domestic goblins most often referred to as the common hobgoblin, of which there are thousands of subcategories. " He pointed to Hoggle ahead of them, "Hoggle is a goblin not by his birth of course but by his citizenship. We are not the only Goblin Kingdom, but we are the most open. We take in what are considered the dregs of other Fairy creatures."
"Goblins are Fairy creatures?" Toby questioned leerily.
"In the broad sense yes," Jareth laughed pleasantly.
"So this Skunkweed and his merry band are Mountain Goblins?" Toby asked, "Is there something I should know about them?"
"Skunkweed and his clan came here to the Labyrinth as outcasts." Jareth spoke with a warning in his tone. "I often offer sanctuary to outcasts…it is the nature of the Kingship here. Sometimes it works out to the benefit of all, such as with Hoggle…for the most part." He hedged once more. "Mountain goblins are sometimes a bit more devious and underhanded. They have a tendency to be shifty and mean, not to mention clannish. To a Mountain Goblin, the clan is everything."
"Father, how could they know how to trick me?" Toby asked.
"That would be my fault," Jareth lamented. "Remember I had goblins keeping an eye on you…"
"So this band did what watch my every move?" Toby asked.
"I imagine they watched you whenever you were in Sarah's room with her." Jareth said factually. "They must have been more aware of you and Sarah than I anticipated."
Hoggle stopped ahead and began to quake. "She was here for a long time," looking down he saw the blood on the wall. He bent down and looked back at the King worriedly. "She's bleeding…"
Jareth left Toby's side and moved to the wall to examine the stain. "They tied her," he held up a portion of blood soaked rope. "This is completely out of line," he glowered. "I'm going to tan a few hides before I'm finished."
Hoggle backed up, glad to be on the side of the King for once.
--
Sarah felt dizzy and nauseous, and her vision was slightly blurry. She seriously wondered if she'd suffered a concussion from the blow she'd received. Her throat was slightly raw and dry, and she was becoming dehydrated she was sure. It was too dark in the dungeon to really see what the accommodations looked like. As something scurried past her outstretched leg, she was glad it was too dark for her to see it, or it to really see her. The raw areas of her wrists were now crusting over, and blood had run down her arm. She had aches and pains where a person should never have aches and pains. She'd given up trying to pull free, as the shackles were not going to give. Exhausted and drained, she allowed her body to rest, and she closed her eyes.
"Do you see anything," an oddly old voice asked in the darkness.
"Yes," a much younger and decidedly feminine one answered. "A young woman… human I think."
"And the goblins who brought her here?" the older voice questioned.
"Gone," the second voice answered cautiously. "For now."
Sarah stirred, wondering if she were now hallucinating. She heard something move and she moaned.
"Is the creature hurt?" the old voice asked.
"Yes," by the sound of the voice, the younger one was now very close.
Sarah turned her head to the direction of the voice and blinked. There in the darkness was a pair of bluish eyes glowing, seemingly suspended in space.
"Be at peace," the youthful voice said, "I mean you no harm."
Gentle hands touched Sarah's wound on the side of her head. "That looks very painful," the tone was soothing but concerned. "I have some herbs that will help with the swelling and the scaring…"
Sarah felt something cooling touch the wound, and it began to tingle.
"I can't take the gag from your mouth," the youthful voice said. "Not just yet, if they come back you don't want them to know you were not alone in here." The herbs were removed from the side of her head. "I will keep watch," she promised. "Soon as they remove the gag, I'll bring you something to drink. Do you understand?" Sarah nodded, and the young voice whispered at her ear, "I am called Kuri…"
Sarah heard movement and knew her secret supporter had gone back into hiding.
--
Nightshade paced, "This is not going to make Skunkweed happy," he complained bitterly. "This is not how we planned this!" He looked at his helper and frowned. "He'll want to skin us alive for this one!"
"Who knew the King would arrive so quickly?" complained the helper. "I never knew he was that fast."
Nightshade began to tear at his long shaggy hair. "All the boy had to do was find the flippin' book!"
"Well he did find it," the helper lamented. "Who knew he'd give it to the King…"
"Who gave what to the King?" Bellowed Skunkweed. Both Nightshade and his helper began to quake as the other Mountain Goblin approached. "Answer me," he demanded.
"The boy," Nightshade cried out in fear of his life. "He gave the book to the King!"
At first Skunkweed was silent, then he began to bellow and blubber and began to tear at his own clothes. "No, no, no, no, no!" he yelped. "That's not how it was supposed to go!"
Nightshade pulled the helper in front of him for protection, in case the deranged goblin struck out at him. "We did what you told us, we encouraged the boy to find the book…we promised him the reward, just like you told us to…" The goblin recounted the events as they went down. "He found the panel hidden in the girls dressing table. He opened in and took out the book, but before we could snatch it out of his willing hands…." A new fear appeared on the goblins face. "He had to hide… the owl… the barn owl… It was at the window… nearly as furious as the storm!"
The goblin being used as a shield cried out. "It rattled the windows, nearly breaking the wooden frames!"
"We hid, we drew back, and none was close enough to even touch the boy." Nightshade agreed. "We watched as the Goblin King transformed, and confronted the boy…."
A dark and dangerous sneer formed on Skunkweed's evil face. "And did the boy quake with fear, did he bow down low, did he… beg for mercy."
"No," wept the shield goblin.
"No," wept Nightshade.
"No?" the goblin asking the questions gasped. "NO?" he roared.
"No," both of the goblins from the vanity mirror lamented.
"If he didn't beg for mercy," growled Skunkweed. "What did he do?"
Nightshade swallowed the lump the size of an orange in his throat. "He…" he began to stammer, not wishing to report to the leader the events in the girl's room. "He threw himself into the king's open arms and embraced him…"
"He did what?" Roared Skunkweed.
"And called him father," the shield goblin rasped as his throat was now in the clutches of the angry leader.
"Unheard of!" bellowed Skunkweed. "He just walked into his arms and called him father?"
"No," Nightshade said backing away. "He also handed him the book."
