Chapter 9 – How to become a Goblin Queen, part 1

Jareth had found himself distracted all day. He'd been cursing the Labyrinth for all it's meddling over the past week, showing Sarah to the library and then the nursery. Why the Labyrinth felt the need to open doors to Jareth's past he did not know, he simply knew he had to be careful and watch for any more signs of interference. After lunch he'd gone back to the library to continue his search, only to discover he couldn't concentrate, his mind was full of thoughts of Sarah. Eventually he'd given in and created a crystal and began to watch Sarah. What had started out as a few minutes of innocent observation, had turned into full on spying as he'd been unable to drag himself away from watching her. The love her felt for her was growing by the day, as was the fear of losing her. His thoughts had been interrupted though, a summons had come from Aboveground and he grabbed his troupe of goblins and goAboveground.

He found himself in a dingy little flat which looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. The windows were that murky there was barely any light, there was rubbish all over the floor, everything was coated in a layer of dirt, the Goblin King felt contaminated just being there. Making sure his face contained his trademark look of arrogance he turned to face the woman laid out on the bed. She was in her late twenties, unbelievably she was dirtier than the flat, even from across the room Jareth could smell her stench. As he looked at her he tried to control his temper, no matter how unfit the woman was to be a mother, he was the Goblin King, and he had to act like one, he simply couldn't let his personal feelings cloud his judgment. The woman would get a fair go at running the Labyrinth. Not that he had any hope of succeeding, she was barely conscious, he didn't know what drug she had in her system but he knew it was wearing off. With a slight incline of his head he sent the goblins scurrying all over her, resulting in a fit of hysterics from the girl. Calling the goblins away, Jareth waited until she had composed herself, and in turn realized he was there. After a few minutes of her staring at him, open mouthed in confusion, he eventually spoke.

"So I believe you wished away your daughter to me."

For a while there was silence, he could almost see the thoughts running through her head, trying to remember if she had indeed done that only moments ago. He saw the moment when she registered what she'd done, but the reaction wasn't so great, there was none of the panic of someone who'd really cared what she'd done. The anger began to seethe through Jareth again, and it took all his strength to say his next words in an even tone.

"Do you understand what you have done?"

Slowly her mouth began to move. "Yes. Kiera. Wished away. I did that. I shouldn't have done that. She's my Kiera."

"Was, your Kiera. Now she's my Kiera."

He saw it then, the flash of panic. It faded quickly though, what was left was more of an uncomfortable feeling, rather than real fear. Slowly she dragged herself to her feet, looking round in some confusion, checking that Kiera really was gone, she wasn't just imagining all this. Eventually she looked up at Jareth, her eyes gained some focus, her voice became steadier, but there was still that vagueness about her that said she wasn't really sure what she was doing.

"I want her back."

"What's said is said. Kiera is mine now."

"But Kiera's mine. My daughter. Not yours. You can't have her."

"On the contrary, you wished her away to me. She is mine now. So go back to your bed, go back to your drugs. Kiera is no longer your concern."

"No." This time her voice was clear. "I want her back."

Smirking, Jareth produced a crystal. Rolling it back and forth in his hands he offered the girl her dreams, as was required. However now she had fully grasped the situation, she wasn't about to let go. She wanted her daughter back. The offer of her dreams halted her for a moment, but eventually she found the resolve to say no. Jareth was disappointed, he'd hoped she'd take his dreams and leave him be, but it seemed she wasn't quite as far gone as he had thought. Still, he had no doubt she would fail along the way. The thought of sending a baby back to this mess disgusted Jareth, but there were rules to being the Goblin King, and he had to follow them. He quickly transported her to the hill outside the Labyrinth, gave her the customary speech and left her to it.

No sooner had he sat back down in the library but he heard a second summons. Cursing the timing he summoned the next troupe of goblins and set out again. This time he found himself in a stunning kitchen. The room was enormous, and the fittings were beautiful. It spoke of money and good breeding, done out in black granite and chrome, with white marble dotted around for decoration. The wooden cupboards looked of the highest quality and the floor tiles, although simple, were clearly made to stand the test of time.

He found the girl looking around franticly calling her brother's name. She was a complete contrast to the last girl, already this one was terrified of the consequences of the words she had spoken. So panicked was she that it was a few more seconds before she noticed the Goblin King stood serenely in her kitchen. The shock of seeing him caused her legs to buckle and instantly she was on the floor, staring up at Jareth open mouthed.

"Wha- What did you do to him?" She managed to force out.

"I did nothing to him, it was you who wished him away, I was simply the means to granting that wish."

"I didn't mean it! You know that! It was an argument, stupid, it was sibling stuff, I said that to hurt him, like he hurt me. But it wasn't his fault, and I never wanted him taken. You know I never meant it! You can't have him, he's my brother!"

By this time she'd dragged herself to her feet, her stance was one of power, anger coursed through her, both at Jareth and at herself for being so stupid. She was determined to win her brother back, no matter what it took. Jareth knew she'd make it through the Labyrinth without any problems. She would be an easy one. However it didn't change the fact that there were now going to be two girls running the Labyrinth. For an instant he thought about just giving the girl her brother back, but once again, rules were rules, and he had to obey. So he gave the customary speech, interrupted multiple times by outbursts from the girl, before leaving her outside one of the other entrances to the Labyrinth. This was less used than the main entrance and was created solely for times like this when there were multiple runners.

Leaving Amanda to her own devices he created a crystal to check on Amy, the first girl. The second call had taken longer than he'd thought, Amy had already found her way into the next level on the Labyrinth. Accepting it was going to be a long day he transported himself to the stone maze and found Amy lying on the floor wracked with sobs. Jareth couldn't help but look at her with slight contempt, she'd wished her daughter away and all she could do was feel sorry for herself. Once again he composed himself as the Goblin King before speaking.

"Well look at what we've got here. I'm afraid crying won't help you get your daughter back."

"Kiera…"

"Yes Kiera. But forget about her, I know what you want, what you crave." He produced a crystal, but there were no tricks this time, he simply knelt down in front of her and held it mere inches from her face. "In this crystal are all the drugs you'll ever need. Take it. Forget about Kiera, she only makes you miserable. But this, this will make you happy, it'll make you forget her. Then you can carry on your life, like it was before she came along…"

He could see the temptation in her eyes, as soon as he'd mentioned drugs her eyes had become locked on the crystal. Even as he spoke she never looked at him, her mouth slowly opened in wonder at the gift being offered to her. She reached out her hand slowly to take it, but she hesitated, feeling that something this good couldn't be real. People don't just give you free drugs, they always expect something in return. Kiera. She knew the price, knew what taking the crystal would cost her, and yet still her hand crept towards it. It was only at the last second, as her fingertips were millimeters away from brushing the crystal, that she seemed to remember just who Kiera was. Instantly she sat on her hands, a physical representation of her refusal to give in. Jareth sighed before throwing the crystal in the air and disappearing simultaneously.

He reappeared in the library once again settling down to the task of his research. So lost in his troubled thoughts was he, that he only realised hours had past when in frustration he hurled a book at the wall, smashing the glass face of the old grandfather clock. Immediately cursing himself for getting distracted he created a crystal and saw that Amanda had was nearing the point of requiring a test. Jareth still hadn't visited either of the children, at this rate both girls would arrive at the castle unhindered before he could even get his first glance of those wished away. Groaning in he was about to transport himself to Amanda when a thought flashed into his mind. Sarah. One day she would be Goblin Queen, and as such, the duties of the Labyrinth would become hers as well as his. Grinning to himself he created a crystal and looked in it to find her location.

He saw her in the gardens and then appeared beside her. Whilst lifting Tabatha up and sending her off to play he said, "Sarah, I need your help. Come with me. Carnice, please forgive the intrusion." With which he grabbed Sarah's arm and transported her to the throne room.

"Sarah I hate to ask this but I require your help. Two girls have just wished their siblings away almost simultaneously, normally I could handle it alone but with all the plans for the ball, I'm not going to be able to do a proper job. One of the girls wished away her twin brother, she meant it as a joke but there was enough of a twinge of hatred within her to make the wish come true. The tests I've set for her are quite simple as she does love her brother, so doesn't need much of a test to make her appreciate him. I'm going to put you in charge of her." He handed her three crystals then continued.

"These crystals will show you where she is, at certain times they will begin to grow bright blue, simply hold them in your hand, they will be absorbed into you and you will know what to do for each test. If you need my help use a crystal to call me, now I must go, the second girl will be trickier and requires every test I can throw at her or we'll have another abandoned child in the nursery, although in this case I'm not sure that'd be a bad thing."

Before Sarah could even respond he'd kissed her on the cheek and disappeared from the room. She stood there stunned for a few minutes, unable to comprehend that she was suddenly to become the villain in the same Labyrinth she'd run years before. For all she'd recently learned about the Labyrinth, a part of her still did not want to play that part, she did not want to be seen through the eyes of a girl, terrified at having wished her brother away. Yet as she looked at the crystals in her hand, she knew she was going to do it, she had to, Jareth needed her, she couldn't let him down. So she looked into the crystal and found herself looking at the face of a girl around 18 years old, looking thoroughly scared at the situation she'd found herself in . So far she'd managed to find her way out of the entrance corridor and into the stone part of the Labyrinth, Sarah found herself wondering if the girl had met the worm, and resolved that when this was over, she'd finally take the worm up on its offer of tea.

It was then that the crystals began to glow blue, and Sarah realized it was time to test the girl. Slowly the crystals began to absorb into her skin, and as they did the details about the girl and what Sarah had to do for this particular test became clear in Sarah's mind. The girl was called Amanda, her brother, Jake. Amanda had wished Jake away in the heat of an argument about Amanda's latest boyfriend. She was a sweet girl and did truly care about him, shame her boyfriend didn't feel the same way about her. Jake had discovered he'd been cheating on his sister, confronted him about it, and the resulting row and turned into a full blown fight. When he told Amanda later, she was hurt by the revelation she was being cheated on and had turned on Jake, blaming him for being the one to inform her of this. In the heat of the moment she'd spoken the words, reverting back to the child within her due to the pain her boyfriend had caused her. She'd regretted it instantly, but it was too late.

All this went through Sarah's head in an instant and when she opened her eyes she realized she was now standing in the stone Labyrinth. She felt dizzy for an instant, disorientated by the transportation, not least of all because she hadn't been expecting it. It was Jareth's magic that had done it, and her body simply wasn't used to holding power. However the moment passed and Sarah stood up straight just in time for Amanda to come around the corner then stop dead in surprise at seeing Sarah.

"You're not the Goblin King!" The girl stated in surprise.

"No, I'm not, I'm the Goblin Queen." The replied came so naturally that it surprised Sarah, of course she knew it was part of the crystal's magic, and yet it felt right to say. "Though it matters not who I am. So tell me, how are you enjoying our Labyrinth?" She got an intense feeling of de ja vu speaking those words, yet they flowed as if they were her own.

She watched the girl's reaction, it was nothing like her own had been at hearing that question. Instead of the cocky bravado, there was a timidness to this girl, she was afraid, truly afraid of losing her brother, and it showed. Amanda's reply was apprehensive, fearful of making things worse for herself.

"It's hard, seems like I've been here hours, but I've hardly moved, please, you know I didn't mean it, please give my brother back."

Instead of feeling scorn for the girl, Sarah admired her for her answer. Instead of hiding her fear behind fake confidence as Sarah herself had done, this girl was truly honest about how she felt, more interested in getting her brother back than how she looked to others.

"Now what kind of Queen would I be to simply let you give up? No, that wouldn't do at all. How about this?" With which, Sarah produced a crystal, and began moving it in the same way she'd seen Jareth do. "This crystal, last time you saw it, it was an offer of your dreams, but not this time, the time for you has passed, now it's about your brother. What will happen if you go back? There's no guarantee of happiness back in your world. He could end up in a dead end job that he hates, alone in a bed-sit, no friends, forgotten by his family, he was never any good in school, you know that. Do you really want him to end up like that?" There were tears in Amanda's eyes now as she shook her head desolately. "No, I didn't think so, but this crystal could change all that. Take it, it's his dreams, if you take it, you go home, everyone forgets Jake even existed, he gets to remain here, in a fantasy world, where all his dreams are played out, he'll live in a world he invented in his head, where the pain of real life can't touch him. His own perfect little world…"

Sarah could see the thoughts as they passed through Amanda's head, the emotions clear on her face. She wanted her brother to be happy, wanted to give him his dreams, but at what expense? The world he'd be living in didn't exist, he'd be living inside his head, and that was no kind of life, not really. Amanda was torn between giving Jake a perfect life, and giving him a real life. It was a hard choice, but there was only one real outcome. Sarah saw the second it came over her face. A hardness came into it, a resolve that she would not lose him. Sarah saw the strength appear that would get Amanda through this Labyrinth and she smiled inwardly.

"No, I won't do it. Jake wouldn't want that. To live a life that doesn't exist, away from everyone he cares about? NO! I won't take that crystal! I'm going to get him back!"

Sarah laughed in that characteristic way that Jareth always had, before throwing the crystal in the air and disappearing. The only thing left of her presence was a faint echo of her voice saying, "Nine hours Amanda, nine hours."

As she materialized back into the throne room, Sarah felt a moment of dizziness before regaining her composure, transporting by herself took a lot out of her, she still wasn't used to this borrowed magic. Gazing back into the crystal she saw that Amanda was now moving through the Labyrinth at quite a speed, it seems the test had worked in giving her the determination she needed to continue fighting for her brother.