Confrontations
Jareth snapped his fingers and the crystal vanished.
"I have not forgotten how cruel you can be, Sarah," he said. "That has not changed."
"I..." Sarah looked furiously at Jareth, his face tense and flushed.
"Cruel to me, cruel to the court, cruel even to that stupid beast," he said, accusing. "You could have taken your pleasures without hurt, but it suited your pride that hearts should break for you. You would sacrifice anything for your pride and for your own selfish desires. You did not hesitate to use the satyr to fulfill your perverse desires just as you did not hesitate to humiliate the dwarf when it suited your purposes. You've changed? Not that I can see." He gazed down upon her.
She was lost. The memory of Thaedrus's hands on her seemed so close, as did a horrible, wretched feeling. She remembered telling one of her fairies to flit by Jareth as she left the fairy court. She knew that would pique Jareth's interest, that he would understand what she was doing. She remembered everything. Had she done that? Why?
Her mind whirled and Jareth looked on her, gloating.
"Did you think that a few years among the mortals would change you? We cannot change."
Sarah looked up at him.
"But we must."
Brugar panted as he charged up the steps of the palace. Goblins scattered at the sight of the odd party, muttering.
"Surrender, thou foul vermin," cried Sir Didymus as Ambrosias took the stairs two at a time. The dwarves brought up the rear.
Brugar skidded to a halt as he saw Tobias, a sack flung over his shoulder, run down the stairs. Tobias also skidded to a halt as he stared at the motley party.
Didymus dismounted and bowed, "We hath come to rescue thee, Sir Tobias, on the orders of the very Fairy Queen herself!"
Tobias's eyes grew wide. His hand strayed into a pocket and he struggled for words.
"Rescue me? But I'm running away! The Goblin King lied to me about my sister. I have to go find her."
"Thoust cannot run away, for we are to rescue thee from the foul grip of the Goblin King," declaimed Didymus.
"But, he's not foul, even if he is a liar," Tobias objected.
"All right, let's get a move on," said Hoggle. "We'll help you run away, if you's like that better. All the same we'd better get goin' before you-know-who gets back."
Tobias started to object, then caught the looks on the faces of the dwarves, who were clearly prepared to make their get-away by whatever means.
"Right," he said striding toward the doors.
Sarah shook her head as Jareth circled her.
"Now that you've given up your little delusions, perhaps it is time to discuss what to do about the legacy of your little foray," he said. "Alone I have barely managed to keep up the Labyrinth and palace. The rest of Faery is little more than a wasteland."
"But I was going to set it right," Sarah objected.
"But how?" Jareth asked. "What power is great enough to restore these blasted lands? What can bring back the great forest, the wide plain, the seas? Do you have that power?"
"I thought..."
"Yes, you do," he said, stopping in front of her and smiling. "You do?"
She stared at him wildly.
"Your heart's blood, Sarah."
He drew forth the horseshoe.
"So kind and brave for you to give this to dear Toby. Too bad he couldn't hold onto it. What did you think he would do with it, my lovely queen? Kill me?"
He tossed the horseshoe into the air. When it came back into his hand it was a dagger. He offered it to her, hilt first.
"Will you kill me? You brought a weapon from the mortal world. This must be what you had in mind. Kill me and regain your kingdom."
She started to reach for it. He turned away, examining the blade.
"But of course you know that wouldn't work. My blood won't restore Faery, no more than will yours."
"But you said my heart's..."
"Yes, your heart's blood," he said, turning and offering her a crystal. Inside she saw Tobias, fighting his way across the Goblin City. She gasped and vanished.