A/N: The chapter in which the author delves deep into the minds of goblins (Not very far) and all the deep penultimate conflict goes down.
This is not mine. Whumper is mine but I'm not keeping him 'cause he smells.
Have fun.
Whumper were extrumptly proud about a numberous of things and was more than willing to admit to thems. Fer example, ef someone weres to tell him that he be the ugliest goblin they knewed, Whumper would simply leer his jagged teeth, coz that be politely in the mannerisms. Ef someone, on passing, mentioninged that Whumper weres second in conniving only to the high majesty himself, Whumper would blush a fetching shade of purple and thank thum.
However ef yous were to asked Whumper ef had eva had a brother, he would flat owt deny it. "No," you seys, "You did have a brother, didn't you? Rangle, or Rats-tail?" No matter what name yous be guessing Whumper wills informering you that no, he never had a brother. His name DEFINITELY wasn't Ratchet and he was most certainly certain that Ratchet, who doesn't even exist by the way, did not end up face first in the bog.
After alls ef Whumper had had such an idiotical brother, than why was it that he, Whumper himzelf, had been given the job of watching the Princessette now?
Yis, the King only gave that kind ov a job to someone who could control themselfs and not drink scrummy ale on te job. And that someone, was Whumper.
Whumper examinationed the girlie. He'd already sawn the rest ov the room and now he wanted to sea what made this human sew special. After all, he had been human wonce and the King didn't want to marryiage him. At least Whumper certainly HOPED he don'ted. That wood certainly make the relationship between them awkward.
Strictly business.
The King gave Whumper jobs to do and in return, Whumper got qualitatious ale.
Ale that Whumper couldn't currently drank coz he was watching the girl who aten the peach.
She had hare the colour of a muddy puddle and i's the same green as a piece of mouldy bread. Her skin weres similar to that of a plucked chicken's but smoother and softer. Understandably she wasn't as attractive as a goblin but that's what was so wonderousful about the King. He hads clearly sawn this pore girl and realised that she would foureva have crippling self esteam issueds do to her less than angular features or jutting knows and chin and out of the goodness of his hart, decided to marryiage her. That's just the kind of man the King was. He weres good. Even ef he didn't let his Goblins drink un da job.
But Whumper woodn't even have to bee watching the girlie if she's weres with the King, but the King couldn't bee wif her all the time becoz he hads two stay at the castle beyund the goblin sity.
An idea came to Whumper, which is rarerer than a nice farie. What ef Whumper wished the girl away to the King? Then, the King could take hers back to the castle and Whumper could has he's ale four beeing such a good guard for the girl.
Whumper puffed out his spindly chest. Now he wood also bee proud to admit he weres the smarterst goblin too.
"I wish the Goblin King would come and take you away." He began confidently, pointing at the girl pointedly. The King weres going to bee so pleased. "Right now."
Whumper weighted a few moments. Then another few. Just before Whumper was about to give up all hope and just go home and drink sum ale, he felt a light breeze flutter passed his should much similar to the way a bat flutters it's wings but with less of the annoyingly screeching and a lot more glitter.
Glitter meant the King.
Whumper scampered around to face the King, dropping into a low bow with his face smushed into the floor. He may have broken his nose in his excitedment.
"My, my, my," Whumper herd the King say softly, his riding crop tapping harshly against his leather clad arm, "What's all this about?"
Whumper risked a peek up at the King a noticed how sharply his eyebrow swooped over his darkening eyes.
"It's... um... The girl's bedroom your most higherest."
The King slowly let a grin slip across his face, crouching down to Whumper's level so the goblin could sea each individual point. Whumper nearly dropped dead from fright when the King's crop flicked the end of the goblin's pointy nose.
"I can see that Whoper," The King hissed, the smile never once leaving his face. Whumper was a lottle (A lot more than a little) afraid now. Maybe he had made a mistake. "but what, pray tell, are you doing wishing about the all powerful Goblin King? You didn't do that? Surely. I mean, goblin's are... stupid creatures at the best of times but even I highly doubt one could be that stupid."
Whumper, however was not the brightest of Goblin's but was in fact less than willing to admit that he had been that stupid.
"N-n-no your most maliciousness. I just hads a thought, yous seas and I... um... I thunk that perhaps, ef I wished the girl away two you, then yous wood finally bee able to take her home wifout the oath you made to the Queen getting in the weigh."
Whumper watched as the King took one cautionary step towards the bed. Then another. Then another. Finally he was next to the girl.
"Well, well, well. What is an ingenious idea doing coming from such an imbecilic goblin?" asked the King as he slowly lowered his hand toward the Princesses cheek almost as if he were afraid of burning his hand.
Whumper shrugged in his modesty.
"I'm not to sure me self."
Scooping up the girl as if she wayed less than a feather (Witch she did not. Whumper had considered lifting her all the way to the Goblin Kingdom before but had had to scrap the idea), the King slowly made his way across to Whumper, who was currently wondering how much ale he would get for being such a genius.
"Although," The King continued off-handedly, "you have just ruined a rather important moment for me..." The King's beam that he gave the girl blurred the line of enraptured and hunger.
"and," his voice hardened "if I ever let it get out that I had allowed one of my own subjects... A Goblin no less," He spat, "order me about, I doubt I would ever maintain my reputation."
Whumper snorted nervously, a habit he had picked up from his brother, who had picked it up from his father, who according to the King, had been a pig.
"Suppose eye wont's be telling no nobody bout it them." Whumper said, dragging his clawed toes anxiously against the stone falls. It sounded like finger nails running down a chalk board which is a very calming sound to goblins.
The King regarded him with a tilted head.
"Hm... I very much doubt it but perhaps I am mistaken..." The Goblin King pointed his crop at the goblin, "Didn't you have a brother Whumper?"
Whumper nodded slowly. He didn't want to admit it but it was the King.
The King's teeth glinted in the soft light of the girl's room.
"I see. And family is so very important, is it not?"
Again, Whumper nodded.
"Good. Enjoy the little reunion."
Whumper didn't see the crystal until it was to late and he hadn't even realised what had happened until he landed face first in teh mushiness of the swamp.
In a castle hundreds of miles away, The Goblin King smiled down at his Princess.
"You really do bring out the best in me love." He purred as they faded away in a shower of technicolour glitter.
The girl stared at the grime flecked glass and watched as the other celebrators twirled passed in the reflection. It was odd. Here she was at her wedding, and yet she knew no-one. Maybe her husband could introduce her to some of the guests when he returned. Perhaps if Hoggle were here he could explain what wa- Wait. Hoggle?
Who was Hoggle?
The girl's brow furrowed in confusion as thought's flickered at the edge of her mind, just out of reach. That's right, there had been a dwarf once. She thought harder, but it was like trying to read a passage from a book splattered with ink. There HAD been a dwarf. He had been grumpy and his face lumpy like a potato and had been named Hoggle... and he had cared. For her? There had been something about mirrors. Something she had forgotten.
"If you ever need me," She murmured, pressing her hand flat against the mirror,
"Call."
She jumped when a gloved hand pressed over the top of her own. Fine hair tickled the bare tops of her shoulder's.
A pair of well known lips whispered against her ear.
"I need you." She felt a sharp nose press itself against the side of her face. "All of you." He mumbled into her hair as the hand pressed against the mirror ghosted a trail along her tingling arm.
He was back.
Early.
She turned almost apprehensively to face her husband. The man with no name. He grinned at her, letting his hand settle in the curve of her back, the other one twirling a riding crop back and forth between his fingers.
"Hello love." He smirked, and for once it seemed less endearing and more unsettling, "Did you miss your poor, suffering husband?"
The girl smiled nervously, trying to shift to shift passed him so that her back would be facing the dance floor rather than the mirror where he could cage her easily.
It didn't work.
"Of course my love." Her laugh sounded fake to both their ears. "I just wasn't expecting you to be back so soon."
The girl cursed herself for being so see through. Sir Didymus had always taught her never to underestimate an opponent and- Sir Didymus! Yes! How could she have ever forgotten he beloved knight in shining armour?
The man who she prayed was not her husband quirked his head to one side as if observing an interesting specimen.
"How could I not rush back, my pet, after the last time we were together?"
The girl tried not to openly shuddered at the thought of what she had let him do. She had kissed him for God sakes!
"Of course my love." The girl's smile looked slightly less fake this time and had been welded in on with determination. Deep down however, she wanted nothing more than for Ludo come and smash this crystal hell apart with his rocks. Hoggle, Didymus and Ludo. That was right. She felt do happy she wanted to laugh with relief. She remembered.
"I remember." She said proudly to herself.
The man who was not her husband's face flooded with relief.
"I'm glad I didn't make such a fleeting impression, precious. Now, how about you give your husband something for the panic you just put him through? Hm?"
The girl smiled in what she hoped to be a coy fashion, fiddling with a button on the stranger's waistcoat.
"And what could I give to the King who has everything?" She asked, her dress ruffling as she took a minuscule step back. When her back hit the glass she knew there was no where left to go.
The haughty man eyed her like a vulture, leaning to one side, "Let me see... It would have to be something precious I dare say... How about..." He paused, tapping his crop against his chin, "A Kiss?"
Toby. This was how she lost Toby.
Before she was ready, his mouth was demandingly pressing against his and the girl's back was push against the cold mirror. She felt one of his gloved hand yank painfully at her hair. The other, entwined his fingers with her own beside her head, the shaft of the whip pressing between the two.
A blind panic set in. She didn't want- If she wriggled he would just- She tried to move but the hand in her hair- It wouldn't let her- Her yelps only encouraged-
The hand entwined with hers wrapped her fingers around his whip, as he murmured to her that it wouldn't hurt, that she was making it hard for herself, that this was what she wanted. His hand was now free of the riding crop and he urged her to relax, to submit, just for a while as his hand began to crawl down her back until- Oh God! Oh God! Please no. Oh God! He was going to- She needed someone to protect her. She needed Ludo and his rocks. She needed Didymus to come charging in on his noble steed. She wanted Hoggle.
The man who was not her husband groaned against her mouth and tried to deepen the kiss. Her knuckles whitened around the whip with determination.
They weren't here.
She would have to protect herself.
She lashed against the man with the whip, putting in all her anger and hatred behind her throw.
The man staggered back, wrenching his arm away from were it had been splayed against her waist, to clutch his face.
A slight nick marred his face, dancing just between his cheekbone and his eye. He lifted his hand in disbelief, gingerly touching the swelling, before lowing it and swivelling his face back towards hers. His eyes locked on her's dangerously and she felt as if the room itself were cackling with the energy of a thousand lightning bolts.
The girl stood there aghast, the whip slipping through her fingers and clattering to the floor.
She took a cautious step towards the man, hoping that he would just brush it off as over excitement. Hesitantly, she lifted her trembling fingers to the cut she inflicted but before she could reach it his hand reached up to crush her fingers. Her eyes watered furiously as she blinked through the pain.
"My, now what am I supposed to do with a disobedient little wife like you?" He asked cooly.
The girl stared back with an equal amount of coolness.
"I am not your wife." She snarled, tugging at her hand.
She recognised the flash of panic in his eyes and realised that he was not invincible.
His grip tightened until she felt her fingers pop. A dull ache built up in her throat. She must not cry.
He smiled at her lazily, twisting her wrist painfully.
"Of course you are. Do you not fear me as a wife should her husband?"
The girl lifted her head proudly.
"No." She said simply, "I do not."
The man growled and if possible, tightened his grip further.
"Don't you love me?" His lip twisted into an incredulous smirk.
The girl shook her head.
"Perhaps the idea of you. Perhaps once."
He dragged her towards the dance floor, through the shifting masses of dancers, dismay scrawled across his face.
"NO! No! You were meant mine. I am all that you need. It is not your place to choose. I have waited for too long for you to throw all of it away. You will love me. You fear me."
The girl struggled in vain, the dancers pressing closer, leering at the two as they struggled to assert power over one another.
"NO." She yelled, "I WILL NEVER BE YOURS!"
"YOU WILL DO AS I SAY SARAH!" He thundered.
Everything stopped. Just for a moment, but it was enough.
Sarah. She stared at him without really looking.
She began to recite from memory, "In the Underground, over fifteen years ago, lived a kindly King and his beautiful Queen." Her voice faltered. Her mother. She was dead because of her, because of him, "Many years... and they longed for a child, and finally their wish was granted, yet it came at a cost." She watched as the man seemed to stoop before her with every word that was said, "To have the child, the King and his Queen had to ask assistance of the wild King of the castle beyond the Goblin City and were much in debt to him." The girl stared at the Goblin King and he stared back in horror, "But eventually, a daughter was born, and they named the girl Sarah, because Sarah means Princess and that was what she was."
She was Sarah.
The words were left unsaid, hanging in the air like dead man hangs from a noose.
The Goblin King knelt on the floor scuffed by countless dancers. His grip on her hand slackened.
"I could set you free. I would be your slave."
Regret coursed through her, burning away the aching sadness and confusion.
She regretted the peach.
She regretted being so cruel to Irene.
She regretted leaving the forest. Leaving her home and her friends.
She regretted leaving Toby alone in the forest that first day she met Jareth.
She regretted caring about the monster in front her.
"I don't want a slave. I never did."
Sarah didn't even flinch when he pressed his face against the jewel encrusted bodice.
"Please don't leave me. You were all I could trust in this world."
Sarah was detached from the facade. It no longer captivated her.
"You can't make other's choices. That doesn't make them free. My heart is my own, no-one will control it. Especially not you Goblin King. Not if you want a life with me."
The King looked up at her imploringly.
"You make my choices. If it would make you stay, then my heart in yours."
Sarah watched as he hopefully stood, watching her, holding her close.
"It would not make me stay."
The Goblin King snarled. Sarah felt leather fingers dig into her arms and the world flickered as he shook her. As if that would make her understand somehow that she should stay.
"You cut me deeper than you understand little girl. Would you leave me to bleed? To die?"
Sarah watched her arm raise, affectionately cupping his cheek.
"Sarah, I never wanted to hurt you."
"I know."
"We could have been good for one another."
A smile ghosted her lips, "I would have been good for you."
Slowly she bought one arm to rest at his shoulder, the other one guiding his hand to her waist. She found small comfort in the familiarity.
Their movements were jerkier than usual, their pauses less graceful and more jolting than either would admit.
Jareth had sung a song about Love found eyes and Cold hearts. About a love found in the stars. He sang about pain and promised to be there as the world fell down.
Sarah watched him leave as usual, when the clock struck thirteen and watched a heart break.
The party goers avoided her more than ever now. They would dart in front of her to distract her or promise her pretty lies just like Jareth had done. She knew what she had to do. What she wanted, what she needed. Before he came back again and broke her resolve. Taking one of the chairs littering the area and rose it above her head.
When she broke through the glass the world fell down. And from the rumble she would rise.
A/N: Second last chapter and then an epilogue. If you're looking at this and saying to yourself, "There's no possible way she can make it all better in one chapter!"
Then you're right.
Well done to you Sherlock.