Chapter Seven: The Quest Begins

"What happened to Robert?" Brian asked when he and Leilah had arrived at the throne room, where Jareth and Sarah were talking.

"What do you mean?" Jareth asked, breaking off in the middle of his sentence.

"He ran past us through the city gates." Brian explained.

"Oh no." Sarah stood. "My Robert."

"Stop." Jareth got up and put a hand on her shoulder. "He won't want to talk to us again, I promise you that." He looked to Brian and Leilah.

"Woah, come on." Brian shuffled backwards a few steps. "I've never been in that Labyrinth and there's a reason for that. I've heard enough stories about enough people to know it's not a good idea."

"Someone has to go after Robert." Sarah pleaded.

"I'll go." Leilah announced casually. "I've always wanted to do it for myself."

"Do what for yourself?" Jareth asked.

"Solve the Labyrinth." She smiled.

Jareth took a deep breath. "Brian, will you go with her?"

Brian sized Leilah up. "Are you sure this is such a good idea? We don't have any special powers or anything."

"You don't need any." Sarah promised them. "I solved the Labyrinth when I was about your age, Brian, and all I had were my wits. You'll do just fine, I'm sure."

"Yes, I agree." Jareth added. "But you'd best get going soon. Here." He reached into the air and pulled out a few gold coins. "Use this to buy yourselves some food and whatever else you need in the city before you go. I expect Robert will be hard to find and hard to bring back as well. And, here," he plucked a crystal from the air as well. "Whenever you're not sure which way to go, just set it down and let it roll. It will lead you to our son."

Brian reached out to accept the gifts. "Thanks, um, just how long do you think this is going to take?"

Jareth and Sarah looked at each other. "It is a typical quest," Jareth suggested, "getting through the Labyrinth, anyway."

Sarah shrugged and turned to Brian. "It usually takes people 13 hours to get through the Labyrinth, but then you'll have to come all the way back as well. And Robert might not come willingly."

"So we're looking at a day or two?" Brian asked.

"Possibly three." Jareth added. "Don't worry about your parents. We'll figure something out."

Brian looked nervously at Leilah, who had the biggest, widest smile on her face he'd ever seen on anyone. "Well," he said, turning to leave, "here goes nothing."

***

Robert ran until he tripped on a loose stone and tumbled head over heels through the lair of the fireys, over the edge of the cliff, and down toward the bog of eternal stench. It was a tree branch that saved him. He held on to it and fought against crying.

After he had sufficient control of his eyes, he swung himself onto a ledge and started to make his way down toward dry land.

It's not fair. He kept thinking to himself. It's not fair. It's not fair. Nobody asked me if I wanted to be a prince, or the Goblin Prince. Nobody asked me if I wanted to be the stupid Voice of the Stupid Labyrinth. It's not fair.

A second voice inserted itself between his thoughts. It's not life that's fair, Robert. It's all our lives together that are fair.

Robert stopped moving and shook his head as if to dislodge the oddly familiar voice. He looked around quickly to see if anyone was following him, but he couldn't see anyone. Heart pounding, he continued thoughtlessly until he reached the dry ground that rand through the bog like a maze of its own and started winding his way through it.

Where should I go? He wondered to himself as he went. They'll know to look for me at the oubliette. I can't go back to Earth, damn them all. But maybe the Shadows. Maybe I could find the Shadows. They'd never look for me there. They'd never dare to go to the Shadows for anything. So that's where I'll go, and I'll live there forever, and no one will tell me what to do or who to be, and I can just be free forever.

Freedom, the voice that did not belong to Robert whispered in his ear, is a matter of perspective.

***

"Well," Brian announced when they were standing on the outside of the gates to the city, staring at the heaps of garbage people. "Which way do you think he went?" He was hefting a backpack filled with food for three people for three days, along with some odds and ends that he'd bought with the change: string, some paper and a few pens, a light blanket, two books of matches. In his belt, he'd stuck a large knife he'd also gotten in the market, along with a large leather canteen of water.

"That way," Leilah pointed ahead at the mess created when a pile of garbage had been knocked over. "See? Toward the forest."

"Yeah, I see." Brian followed Leilah's light steps into the stinky mess. "I just hope we don't run into anything too dangerous."

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about," Leilah promised. "I've read all about it, and there's nothing that could really kill you, I think. Except for that machine in the tunnels. And I guess if the fireys actually pulled you apart that would probably kill you."

"Okay! Okay!" Brian interrupted her rambling. "I really don't want to know about it unless we have to deal with it, alright?" He glanced up at the sky. "We've still got a full day of light ahead of us, so don't waste your breath talking, okay?"