Chapter 9

Sarah was surprised. She could still hear the creatures' razzling breaths above her, yet nothing happened. As far as she could hear, they weren't even moving.
She opened her eyes a little.
The creatures weren't even looking at her anymore! Their eyes were focused on something behind her and there was something reflecting in them.

Are they… scared?

Sarah looked back, but saw nothing. It was nothing but rocks that reflected the moonlight a little.
Yet there was something. Something that made the creatures frightened. The smaller one looked back to the forest and took a step in its direction, but with a little cry it remained by the bigger one, stepping around nervously.
The bigger one on the other hand, did not move.

"And what do we have here?"
Jareth's voice suddenly came from behind her.
Relieveness washed over Sarah at the sound of his voice. But then she got annoyed.

What does it look like?! What's he doing here anyway? Stupid goblin king…

She opened her mouth to tell him off when another voice suddenly was heard.

"Nothing."

Sarah's eyes turned to the big in shock.

Did it just speak?

"Nothing? Nothing?!" Jareth said angrily and walked around Sarah towards the creatures that were both backing at his approach.
"We haven't touched her! Honest!" the smaller one said sacredly in a high voice.
"Oh, no. Of course you haven't." Jareth said as if he was joking and chuckled.
The creatures laughed a little with him, looking nervously at each other.
Jareth stood next to the bigger one and looked at Sarah, who was panting on the ground.
"Of course you haven't," Jareth said in a more serious tone. "No, that would mean that you were going against my orders not to kill or touch the girl."

He turned to the creatures that tried to hide how scared they were.

"No, we would never do that, Your majesty. We are honest creatures. Really! This was only an innocent game of 'Who bites first'!" the small one said lightheartedly, hoping to get off the hook.
"Will you be quiet!!?" the bigger roared to the smaller, causing Sarah to jump as well as the small.
"We're sorry, your majesty," the big one said calmly. "This was nothing more than a stupid misunderstanding."

Jareth didn't look merciful at all.

"You do realize what will happen to you now, don't you?" he asked coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"We can go home?" the small one asked hopefully.

Jareth smiled a cold smile that made the creatures back scaredly again.

"In a manner," Jareth said and walked around them. "You will be sent to a new home."
"Oh please no… Not the-"
"The Bog of Eternal Stench!" Jareth said and laughed as the two creatures sprinted passed him, into the forest and disappeared in the darkness. Tails between their legs.

Jareth put his hands at his sides, looking quite pleased with himself as he turned to Sarah. He walked over to her and held down his black leather gloved hand to help her up.
Still being angry about the event in the tower, Sarah ignored his hand and got up on her own. Her legs were shaking after running and still hurt, so she leaned on the wall closest to her, avoiding to even look at him.

"Sarah," he said as he put his hand on the wall in front of her and leaned in till they were at the same height. "Is that how you thank someone who just saved your life?"
"I didn't ask for your help," she answered, still exhausted and started to feel a little funny. She started to fumble her way towards the forest, walking passed Jareth who removed his hand and stood up when she started walking. "You're wasting my time."
"Where are you going?" Jareth asked. Sarah didn't like the hidden amusement in his voice.
"I'm going to save Hoggle and get out of this darn labyrinth!"
"You're too late, Sarah."

She froze on the spot.

"What do you mean 'I'm too late'? There's still time!" she said, feeling panic crawling in.
He chuckled a little.

"Yes, there's still time. But you see, Sarah. You're not even half way."

Sarah had to hold on to the wall harder to prevent herself from falling down.
Jareth smirked at her shock.

"Ah, Sarah," he sighed as he walked over to her. "I told you I wouldn't make this easy for you."

He tilted his head a little when Sarah let go of the wall.
Her head was spinning and her sight flickered even more than before.

"You're lying…" she said weakly. "There's still time… I can make it…"
Her hand where she had been bitten thumped hard with her heartbeats, but she was too dizzy to focus on it.
"I… have to save him… Hoggle…" her own voice echoed inside her head, as if it was empty. Her mouth felt dry. "I… can make it… I promised…"
She tried to take a step forward, but her legs suddenly folded beneath her and she fell.
The last thing Sarah remembered was being catched and the feeling of an arm wrapped around her shoulders before she left the cold ground.
She was being held against something soft and warm. It felt like the thin fabric of a shirt. She could hear a hearts soft beats against her ear before everything disappeared.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! ^^
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