Oh, how I wish I owned the rightsto Jim Henson's Labyrinth, and its wonderful character's, but alas I do not. So, without further ado, the standard disclaimer. All official Labyrinth characters are property of Jim Henson. Unfair, but, that's the way it is.
Chapter 9
Kansha and Ciel swiftly made their way to the carriage that was awaiting them at the front gate. Ciel couldn't stand the Goblin Kingdom, so he always had a carriage ready and waiting for a swift departure. The less time he spent there the better.
Kansha tried to keep up with her husband, as he rushed to leave what he called 'The Smelly Castle Full of Derelicts', a nickname that she found very offensive. She was born and raised in that castle, to her it was home. The only thing there that smelled was the goblins. As soon as they arrived at the carriage, they promptly got in and left.
"Ciel, may I ask you a question?" Kansha asked.
"Is it a stupid one?" Ciel replied.
"Why did you make me lie to my brother? It won't take long for him to find out the truth. He is no fool," she said.
"Are you questioning my plans?" Ciel asked, as he turned and glared at Kansha.
"No, Sir. I was simply curious, that is all."
"I see, well, you are my wife, so I shall tell you. The plan is to marry Jareth off to my sister, who is quite fond of him, so that we may have complete control over the Labyrinth and its unlimited amount of power," Ciel replied.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" she shouted, "Jareth would never allow that to happen."
"Ah, but he will. Whether he likes it or not. We both know that he will not only attend the ball a bachelor, but he will also be leaving the ball a bachelor. He said so himself. Also, there is no way that Jareth will be able to find a wife within the specified time limit that he has been given. When he fails to meet that requirement, the Court will then pick a wife for him, my love-struck sister," Ciel replied, with a smug look on his face.
"And if he does find someone?" Kansha asked.
"Then she will be dealt with accordingly," he replied in a dark tone and with an evil smile.
Kansha shivered, she had never seen her husband act like this. He was a whole different person.
"I have to keep this from happening, if he succeeds, who knows what will happen to the Underground. The Labyrinth chooses its queen, to go against it would be..." Kansha didn't even want to finish the thought, for the idea of doing so was too scary. "Oh, Jareth, I hope you can find a way out of this, for I am afraid I cannot do so for you," she thought. Kansha then fell asleep for the rest of the ride home.
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Aboveground
"Welcome to Luigi's FINE Italiano Restaurante, I am Francisco your waiter," the young man said in a horrifically fake accent. He then seated his newly acquired patrons, Jeremy and Linda.
"Thank you," Linda said, as she desperately tried to keep from laughing.
"Here are your menus. I shall be back in a few moments to take your order."
No sooner had he left did Jeremy start laughing. "Oh man, I've heard better fake accents from people in soap operas," he said as he continued to laugh.
"Oh, Jeremy, be nice. That poor young man is probably being forced to use an accent."
"Really? If that's so, then why aren't the other employees using an accent?" Jeremy asked.
"Ok, good point, you win."
"Thank you. Now, what do you want to drink?" Jeremy asked.
"I think I'll have an iced tea. What about you…Jeremy? Are you alright?" Linda asked when she noticed Jeremy acting weird.
Suddenly, Jeremy made a kicking movement that shook the table.
"Jeremy, what is…?" All-of-a-sudden she heard a creepy giggle.
"Hee Hee, again!" the creepy voice said.
That's when Linda realized what it was. A goblin. This could not be good. Luckily, they had a nice corner booth in the back of the restaurant, so privacy was not an issue.
Jeremy immediately bent down as if he had dropped a knife and looked under the table.
"What the hell are you doing here, Podge?" he whispered. "You're not supposed to be here without Jareth."
"Kingy is here, sent us, says he needs to talk 'bout pretty lady," Podge whispered back.
Jeremy sighed. "Fine, when does he want to see me?"
"How about now? Little brother," Jareth said.
Jeremy immediately sat up, only to see that the young waiter had not only returned, but had company with him.
"Sir," the young waiter said in his fake accent. "The second half of your party has arrived," he announced, before handing Jareth a menu and leaving.
"Confused?" Jareth asked as he sat down.
"Jareth, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked cautiously.
"I had to speak to you immediately, for I have a problem."
"Kingy have big problem," one of the goblins under the table said.
"There will be an even bigger problem, for you, if you and the others don't return right now," Jareth said, annoyed that they had not yet left. When he was sure the goblins were gone, he continued. "As I was saying, I have a problem."
"What kind of problem?" asked Linda.
"Our sister, Kansha, paid me a visit with her husband. They are pushing me to marry," Jareth said.
"Wait. What? Why is she pushing you to get married?" Jeremy asked his brother in concern.
"Politics, dear brother, politics. Although, I have a feeling that there is more to this than she is letting on," Jareth said anxiously.
"Oh, dear. This is quite the problem, it changes your whole situation with Sarah," Linda said. "She is not going to like this, she hates being forced into a corner."
"I noticed. Your daughter made that obvious when I first met her. She made quite the impression among those in my Labyrinth. They either miss her, or hate her. As for the Labyrinth, well, it likes her very much. Why, it even begs me to bring her back," Jareth said with a smile.
"The Labyrinth has finally chosen its queen then, huh?" Jeremy asked.
"Yes, so I guess that makes two problems, now that I think of it. Both of which involve speaking with Sarah as soon as possible," Jareth replied. "Do you two think you could arrange a meeting?"
"There's only so much I can do when it comes to Sarah. However, I will give her a call later this evening. However, I still want my little private mother-daughter talk. So, perhaps we can work something out for later in the day tomorrow? I'm not asking much, I just want some time alone with her, before you boys step in," Linda said.
"As you wish. Sarah is your daughter after all, and I would hate to intrude upon your private time with her."
Jeremy sat in silence while Jareth and Linda talked, contemplating the current situation.
"Jareth, go home," Jeremy suddenly said.
"Pardon?" Jareth replied in shock.
"You heard me. I said, go home. Linda and I will take care of Sarah, and when we're ready to meet up, I'll let you know. So, go home, eat, and get some rest. Knowing Sarah, you'll need the energy," Jeremy said in a tiresome voice. To be honest, he really just wanted to have his own little dinner with Linda, and have a nice night out on the town together. However, with Jareth around, he couldn't, and it was getting on his nerves. "We'll help you out, so don't worry. Just go home and relax. We'll talk about this more, tomorrow, with Sarah."
Jareth looked upon his younger brother, stunned. Jeremy rarely spoke to him like this. However, he was right. "Very well little brother, and thank you for the assistance. Enjoy your dinner, and hopefully I will see you soon. If not, then it will be my goblins that you will be seeing," Jareth said with a mischievous smile. "Good night." And with that final note, he left.
"You know, I saw a cat smile like that once," Jeremy said.
"And I married a man who smiles like that all the time," Linda said, looking Jeremy in the eye.
Jeremy simply smirked, then let out a small chuckle. "Meow."