"Have you seen the boy that was wished here?" whispered Hoggle to Sir Didymus.

"Not I. Though I have heard the rumors doest thou believe them true?"

"I surely hope they are. I can't stand her like this. She is worse than Jareth." Sir Didymus hushed Hoggle when he spoke the king's name. If anyone knew what they were speaking, Queen Sarah would sure punish them for sure.

"We can't blame her and you know it!" It was true they couldn't. They always had to hide the fact they and few others knew the truth about the queen.

Ludo had shuffled into the cramp cabin that they shared, "Miss Sarwah!"

Hoggle patted the huge orange monster on the lower arm. They all missed Sarah and the one who sat on the throne may look like Sarah in every way but was no way her. When Sarah called him by the wrong name, which she did often, he couldn't help it to show a twang of sadness. The magic of the goblins and those who ruled higher made sure that she would not remember her own trip to the labyrinth or in any case remember nothing of her life as a mortal. They figured it would strengthen the kingdom. It did mainly because the inhabitants lived in fear of the tyrannical queen.

xxxxx

"Well how is it?" She was leaning against the counter with her arms crossed watching as the boy ate on the counter across from her. The kitchen servant had trembled in fear when she had entered the room. Though it didn't bother Sarah, she had yelled at them for making her food wrong many times and told them to fear the day she entered the kitchen because it would be the day they would be bogged.

"It is very tasty," the boy took another bit of the sandwich. It looked a little nauseating to her but most things in this kingdom were not to her partial liking anyway. The boy continued eating and then rubbed his mouth clean in goblin-like fashion on his long sleeves. She noticed a slight discoloration on his forearm when he did so. She immediately grabbed his arm surprising both him and her.

She pulled the sleeve up higher to reveal a large bruise, "What is this?" She was disgusted at the sight of purple, black, and blue on the boy's pale skin.

The boy tried to pull away from her but failed, "Nothing. I just hurt myself." She could tell plain as day that he was lying.

She looked him directly into the eye. When she did so her head started aching terribly for no reason. Those eyes! She had to pull away from the boy and return to where she was before.

The boy closed his eyes. He knew that the queen had just realized his deformity. The reason for all of his pain from the foster care to being picked on at school. For some reason it made him unwanted everywhere but here. Here the goblins surrounded him like a lost friend. He opened his mismatched piercing blue eyes to look over at the queen. She was holding her head. He had done something to her when she looked right at him, what he did not know and he felt sorry for it. The queen had been nothing but kind and generous to him even though she was a bit reserved.

She finally recovered her composure, "Don't lie to me," she demanded but in a slightly gentler voice added, "What happened?" She refused to look back at the boy.

The boy hesitated for a second, "My foster mom beats me because I have been in her care a long time. No one wants me anywhere. I don't belong."

Sarah looked at the boy not knowing why but something touched her deep down. She revised her pervious observation about the boy for she realized there was something important about him. She closed her eyes when she did so strange images appeared of a girl in a silly muslin colored dress talking to a large shaggy dog. She pinched the bridge of her nose and the image stopped and was replaced by the plump lady falling into one of the oubliettes. She needed to tend to the runner soon.

The boy watched her as he continued to eat what the kitchen goblin brought him. He noticed he had two fresh peaches. He grabbed one and held it out for the queen, "Want one?"

Sarah opened her eyes and saw to her surprise that the boy was holding out some of his strange food out to her, "What is it?"

The boy laughed at her. She was about to yell at him for his mocking but he stopped when he noticed the change in her attitude. "Seriously? You don't know what a peach is?"

"If I did I wouldn't have asked now would I?"

"Well here try it then," he hopped down from the counter and walked to her holding the peach.

She grabbed it from him. It felt so weird even on her gloved-fingers. She watched as the boy lifted himself back onto the counter and took a bite out of his own peach. She then did the same. Its juices were amazing. She knew she had never had a peach before but yet its taste was so familiar. Her head twinge again but this time she ignored it. Must not show weakness in front of mortals.

There was a knock on the doorframe. Sarah looked over to see the old dwarf the plump lady had demanded to know the entrance to the labyrinth. "Ah, Hogwart just the dwarf I wanted!"

Hoggle's eyes watered slightly but he closed them so the queen wouldn't see and then reopened them so they showed no emotion. "It's Hoggle."

She shook her head, "Whatever. I want you and your little group of friends to all come here."

Hoggle stiffen slightly. Had they been found out? He looked over at the boy on the counter. He nearly fainted on the spot at the sight of him. There was no mistaking the resemblance even in this young form. "Ahh….for the boy…and that…lady?"

She gave an evil smile, "Quite right! I want that monstrous ball of fluff and that senseless knight to take care of the boy for a moment. I have something much more special for you, Hoggle." Even though she had said his name right it was with such coldness and distaste.

It only took a moment for Ludo and Sir Didymus to appear in the kitchen. They were surprised by the summons, for Queen Sarah never summoned them nor however were her summons pleasant like Sarah of old. She gave them their orders and walked out of the kitchen with Hoggle toddling behind her awaiting his own special orders.

When out of the kitchen she turned suddenly that Hoggle had to stop quickly or else he would have run right into her. He knew clumsiness would sentence him to a week in an oubliette. She smiled coldly at him, "As I said, I have something more special for you," she paused to observe the fear that spread through the dwarf. It brought her joy most of the time. She laced her gloved-fingers behind her, "I want you to find someone for me."

"Who, your majesty?"

"A Toby Williams." She turned not to face him but a tapestry of the labyrinth. Hoggle's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Her brother! Is she remembering things, impossible?

She started toying with a single string on the worn out tapestry, "He has a little red book about the labyrinth that I wish to have in my possession…."

"The one about the brave mortal girl who beat the Goblin King!" He blurted it out without thinking. He knew he was done for sure. He spoke treason.

She gave a cruel smile and turned to him her eyes flashing, "Yes that one. It tells of the one weak link, like this string here." She toyed with it again, "One little pull on it," she gave a tiny yank, "It will unravel to nothing." Then the tapestry became undone and laid in a heap on the floor in front of her. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes your highness," he gulped. He had often wondered how Toby was doing. There hadn't been any conversing with him after Sarah came. Would he welcome him?

"Good because Hogface if you fail me your punishment will be far more severe than a simple oubliette or the Bog."

Hoggle turned and hurried away from Sarah. He turned around in the shadows to see that she fixed the tapestry and was leaning against it looking worn down. Something is wrong. He wanted to comfort her but knew he would be punished by Sarah because she was showing weakness. He watched as she finally shook herself out of it and disappeared.