A/N: Hey all! So I'm a little late with the update, but I did my best. Besides, I slammed my finger in a drawer. And it still hurts. Does that excuse count? :P Anyway, here's the next chapter.
Again, thanks to all who reviewed, subscribed and favorited. You guys really make writing this story so much more fun.
"Sadon." Jareth greeted coldly, standing up from his seat, "What brings you to my kingdom?"
Sadon slowly walked along the table, trailing a hand over each chair as he did so. Sarah's blood ran cold, and she grew increasingly nervous as he drew near to her seat.
"I heard you were keeping the mortal spoken of old hidden away in this wet old maze." he said silkily, "And I came to see if the rumors were true." He looked Sarah over. "Tut tut Jareth," he continued, "You've been quite selfish." He circled around what he could of Sarah's chair and gave a small bow, holding his hand out.
"Prince Sadon Gavin Anslem the First." he introduced. When Sarah did not take his hand, he withdrew it with a sniff. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Lady...?"
"May I present Lady Sarah Linda Williams." Jareth spoke up through clenched teeth.
"Charmed, I'm sure," Sadon replied cooly with a smirk. It was then that Sarah realized how important a smirk really was. Sadon looked completely cool and in control, just because he could smirk perfectly.
"Dear cousin," Sadon continued, facing Jareth, "I came here, because I have matters to discuss with you. I'm certain you can guess what those matters might be."
Jareth nodded. "Take a walk with me," he said, "We can talk in the Labyrinth."
Sadon wrinkled his nose. "Must we?" he caviled, "I really can't stand your dingy playground."
"We must." was Jareth's reply. Sadon could not object; he was in Jareth's territory now, and with Jareth as king, Sadon was outranked. He was obviously chafing at Jareth's title, but he kept his mouth shut. Sarah, sensing the tension between the cousins, wanted out of the situation before sparks flew. She most definitely did not want to accompany them on their walk.
"Your highness?" she ventured, "I request to retreat to my quarters. I am quite fatigued." Sarah hoped that sounded courtly enough; and again she realized Jareth had been telling the truth about not knowing what to do when actually put in a situation. Fortunately, both Jareth and Sadon seemed satisfied with this request.
"You may leave." Jareth answered, but not before shooting her a regretful look. Sarah knew he was sorry not being able to keep his promise about taking her into the Labyrinth, but there was really nothing that could be done. As soon as she was out of the dining room, and out of earshot, Sarah tore down the corridors calling for Zonks as she ran.
When she arrived at the door of her bedroom, she found Zonks already waiting by it. "Zonks help Lady-girl?" he asked eagerly. Sarah nodded breathlessly. She hadn't realized she was running so fast. After catching her breath, she told Zonks, "I need you to find Garret. Tell him to meet me in the library. But don't let the king or the man with the king know. Can you do that?" Zonks nodded, eyes wide.
"Why Zonks no tell kingy?" he asked in astonishment. Sarah shook her head.
"I didn't mean it like that," she corrected, "I just don't want his guest to know, and his guest is with him. So if you tell the king, his guest finds out. Does that make sense?"
"Surey doos!" Zonks replied, "Zonks go find Garry!" He quickly took off down the halls and Sarah made her way to the library. Entering it, she breathed a sigh of regret. She realized she was going to miss working in it, despite all the energy it consumed.
I need to ask the king if he can fix it soon. she thought. She sat down on a couch and picked up a book written in Fae, studying the letters and trying to make sense of it all by applying what Jareth had shown her earlier that day. However, she quickly looked up from it, just in time to see Garret trip over a stray book.
"Sarah, are you here?" he called.
"I'm here." she replied. Garret made a face.
"Of all the places to pick, you had to pick the room most hazardous to me." he remarked. Sarah laughed.
"I'm sorry Garret." she apologized, "I'm just really familiar with this room. Next time, you can pick the place." Garret smiled and made his way to a couch using his cane.
Sitting down on the dusty seat, he asked, "Now what is so urgent that you sent your poor goblin tearing off to find me?"
Sobering, Sarah leaned closer to Garret. "Garret," she almost whispered, "Prince Sadon's here." Garret's mouth dropped.
"Sadon's here?" he repeated, "How is that?"
"I don't know," Sarah replied, "The king and I were eating lunch and he just kind of swept in. Said Jareth was selfish for keeping me here. Garret, I don't like him. He's way too cocky for anyone's good."
Garret's brow furrowed in thought. "I wouldn't know." he replied distantly, "I have never meet him. Only heard stories from the king." He rubbed his chin. "Did King Jareth tell you to do anything?" he asked after a moment.
Sarah shook her head. "No he didn't" she said, "I asked to go to my room, and he dismissed me." She fiddled with her skirt. "Should I camp out in my room till he leaves?"
With a shake of his head, Garret answered, "I wouldn't do that. If Sadon has something up his sleeve, and he most likely does, you don't want him to know where you are." He stood up and paced the floor. Sarah watched him from her seat.
"So I should stay in here?" she asked, "Do I even need to hide?" Garret stopped pacing.
"If only the king had given some sort of instruction." he mumbled almost to himself, "He never prepared anyone for anything like this." Then, facing Sarah, he asked, "Are you certain he didn't give any sort of-"
"Nothing Garret," Sarah interrupted, "He just looked sorry. He promised to take me into the Labyrinth after lunch, but then Sadon crashed and we couldn't." She heard Garret mutter a small "damn!" under his breath.
"Why don't you stay in here?" he asked at length, "I'll help you practice what his majesty taught you this morning if you like."
"Thank you Garret," Sarah replied, "But if I'm staying here, I'll probably practice reading Fae." Garret's eyebrows shot up.
"He taught you Fae?" he asked incredulously. Sarah shrugged.
"Not really." she said, dismissing it, "Just some basics. The alphabet and stuff. He'll help me to actually learn how to read it later." She rose from her seat and walked over to a shelf. After scanning the titles, as though she could actually read them, she picked a volume off and settled back down in her seat.
"Are you going to stay here too?" she asked after a moment, and Garret hadn't moved.
"I think I shall stay here with you." he answered, "If Sadon stumbles upon you, you wouldn't want to be alone would you?" Sarah vigorously shook her head.
"You have a point."
Meanwhile...
Jareth was fuming inside. Sadon just swaggered into his castle! His home! Uninvited and most definitely unwelcome, even if they were cousins. As he watched the prince walk along ahead of him in the Labyrinth, scrutinizing everything with a critical eye, Jareth hoped Sarah wasn't freaking out too much.
Sadon halted and turned around to face the Goblin King. "Look, we both know you don't want me here." he declared arrogantly, "Hell, I don't want to be here either. But you know very well it isn't fair to horde the mortal all to yourself."
"You've known long?" Jareth asked shortly.
"Rumors." was Sadon's equally brief reply. Jareth frowned, wondering who would have let any information out. They continued to walk, and surreptitiously Jareth rearranged the Labyrinth to make their walk more twisted and confounding; for Sadon anyway. The longer they took, the more time he could adjust to the situation and be able to gain the upper hand.
"So, Cousin," Sadon continued, "Since those rumors have turned out to be true, I wish to request the mortal to be brought to my castle for a short while. It needs to see both realms in order to make a proper decision you know."
"It?" Jareth demanded, "You call the girl an it?"
"She then." Sadon corrected carelessly, though he didn't seem to really care, "But it hardly matters."
"The girl tends to have a strong will." Jareth informed him, "And I'm sure any comments or titles directed towards her that she finds degrading will cause her opinion of you to drop. Thus losing a chance at her choosing your realm."
"Where has this change come from?" Sadon asked in mock-shock, "You're helping me gain an upper hand?"
"Your pride hasn't faded since we last met Sadon," Jareth replied, "I was merely sparing the girl more hardship and annoyance. Your benefit happens to be an add-on" Sadon raised a delicate eyebrow.
"Sparing the girl hardship?" he repeated, "Why Jareth, don't you think the mortal endures enough hardship in this dirty labyrinth with you as her only company?" he laughed cruelly, "Spare the girl hardship my-"
"Are you quite through?" Jareth interrupted. Sadon stopped laughing.
"One week Jareth," he warned, "One week to contact me about the mortal, or I take her myself."
"You already tried that." Jareth muttered bitterly. Sadon heard this and snorted.
"So you already met my dear pet." he retorted, "I'd be liking her back if it isn't too much to ask."
"As a matter of fact, it is." Jareth ground out, "Shall I see you out?"
"Tut-tut Cousin!" Sadon purred, "Manners manners. Have I overstayed my welcome.?"
"You never had a welcome Sadon." Jareth riposted. Sadon smirked.
"I shall see myself out then." he declared, "Remember, you have one week. Then I come." He then jumped into the air, and transformed into a hawk. After circling above Jareth for a few moments, he soared high above the Labyrinth's walls and was out of sight within seconds.
"Show-off." Jareth mumbled under his breath. Turning on his heel, he made his way back at the castle. He and Sarah were going to have to talk.
As he walked through the halls of his beloved home, Jareth couldn't help but feel violated in a way. Sadon had entered his sanctuary with out warning or invitation. That alone was enough to make his blood boil.
Sadon and Jareth had been at odds since Jareth's birth. Sadon was next in line for the High Throne before Jareth was born, and he resented his cousin for taking that title from him. Though they only met each other less than a handful of times, the boys grew up despising each other; Sadon hating Jareth for merely existing, Jareth hating Sadon for making his life a living hell even from afar. It didn't help that Sadon was incredibly attractive, with his dark curly locks, alabaster skin and striking gold eyes.
Jareth growled. Okay, so maybe he was a little jealous of his cousin's good looks, but that wasn't the point. The point was that the two of them never got along, and now Sadon had crossed the line. Invading his privacy, insulting his Labyrinth, not to mention degrading his guest. Jareth was simply burning inside. He was still quite furious when he arrived at Sarah's quarters. Knocking briskly, he called out through the door, "Sarah, it's Jareth."
But of course, Sarah was not in her room. She was in the library, however Jareth did not know that. Didn't I just do this? he thought, opening her door and finding the room empty. He turned back out of the room and called out in a loud voice "Zonks!"
The little goblin came scurrying down the halls shortly, but silently. When he arrived at the king's feet, he glanced around nervously. Looking up at the king, he whispered something, but Jareth couldn't catch it. He knelt down and leaned closer to Zonks.
"What was that?"
"Kingy have strangers with him?" he asked in a quiet tone. Jareth smiled at the goblin's trepidation and shook his head.
"I'm all alone right now." he said, "Do you know where Sarah is?"
"Lady-Girl said no tell Kingy if Kingy gots... gess." Zonks informed him.
"But as I told you before," Jareth replied, "I am alone."
Zonks glanced around and leaned closer to Jareth. "Lady-Girl in libby-rarry." he whispered so quietly that Jareth could barely hear him. Zonks pulled away, eyes wide and a serious expression on his face. He nodded and then scurried away.
Jareth grinned at the retreating goblin, and set off towards the library. Pushing the doors open, he found Sarah curled up on a dusty couch, fast asleep with a book written in Fae resting on her stomach. Jareth doubted Sarah could actually understand the contents of the book for two reasons. One, he hadn't had a chance to really teach her much about the Fae language, two, the specific volume she had with her was an enyclopedia on Oubliettes. Quite an extensive book, if he could recall properly.
"Your highness?"
It was then Jareth realized that Garret was sitting on the couch across from Sarah, working a small hand-held puzzle.
"Yes, it's me Garret," he replied, "Has she been sleeping long?"
"Not very." Garret answered. Jareth smiled and took the book from Sarah's limp hands.
"What did Sadon want?" Garret asked. Jareth sighed and ran his hand over what hair he had.
"He wants Sarah to come to his castle for a while. To see what his realm is like and all. He gave me one week to contact him back, otherwise he threatened to come and take her by force." He carefully sat down at the other end of the couch Sarah was sleeping on. "What are you doing in here?"
Garret smiled and set down his puzzle. "Sarah called for me." he answered, "She was completely at a loss for what to do when Sadon arrived, apparently."
"So was I." Jareth admitted with a snort, "I was and still am quite furious with him." Just then, Sarah stirred and woke up.
"Goblin King?" she asked groggily. Then she sat up quickly. "Is he gone?" she demanded, "Oh please tell me he's gone!" Jareth held up a hand.
"Calm down Sarah," he assured her, "Sadon is gone. However, we need to talk."
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