"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 20
By Aiijuin
*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth". This fanfiction is rated M for some harsh language (which is, really, mostly used by Toby) and adult situations. Gavin King is Jareth, the Goblin King, for those who have jumped into the middle of the story. The names: Torok, the Troll King and Eunice St. Clair are characters borrowed from the 1986 movie Troll, but are not used in context with the movie inside my fanfiction in any way.
PS: Please let me know if I messed up anywhere with the grammar. I proofread about a dozen times before I post my chapters here, but sometimes I still miss a few flubs. Thank you!
**Revised 09/10/2009 – chapter number discontinuity was fixed, major grammatical errors repaired, and the name "Irene" was changed to "Karen".
Chapter Twenty: The Fairest of the Fair
Gavin managed to survive an hour of serenading from Ziggy, but it was clear he wasn't pleased. Sarah assumed that he was feeling ill because of his head injury. It was almost ten o'clock in the morning when they reached O'Connell's Captivating Carnival. As expected, it was a huge event and over-crowded with people. The scent of buttered popcorn and roasted peanuts lingered thickly in the air. Children could be heard squealing on amusement rides.
Sarah made sure the convertible top was locked into place and her father's car alarm was set before she walked towards the ticket booths. Toby promised Sarah he would be back at the car by seven o'clock that evening. He told his sister that he had his cellphone if she needed to reach him before then. Sarah still didn't have a cellphone. Luckily, Gavin did. He assured Toby that he would keep it turned on, while the two youths wandered off to enjoy themselves.
Sarah had wished that she could have talked with Jessica a bit more, but Toby was anxious to be alone with her.
The music of the merry-go-round played a cacophonous song. It made Sarah feel like a small child again. She grabbed Gavin by the hand and decided that she wasn't going to let any Goblin King spoil her fun with a dashingly handsome, young, billionaire bachelor today.
Besides, Jareth would have to be pretty brazen to pull a stunt in front of all these people anyway, Sarah thought.
On the other hand, it was a carnival, and if anything unexplainable happened here, nobody would ever notice. In fact, they would probably believe it was part of the show and applaud. Sarah shivered. Gavin sensed she was pulling away, and wrangled her into his arms. He asked, "What's the matter, my dear?"
Sarah looked around at the clouds in the sky and then at Gavin. She smiled weakly and said, "Oh, nothing."
Nodding her head, she reassured him again, "It's nothing. I'm fine."
The rest of the day passed very uneventful. Sarah walked by Toby and Jessica thrice. Of course, he was kissing her neck while they waited in the lines of the rides. Jessica was holding a plush, pink elephant that Toby had won for her. Her lovely black eyes locked on to Sarah wistfully.
Sarah and Gavin rode several of the rides, but Sarah seemed more interested in the less traveled part of the carnival. She felt overwhelmed and wanted to get away from the crowds. She wandered into The Mystical Traveling Oddities Show. There were many oddly shaped and strangely clothed people here. Sarah was convinced that if Jareth had been standing amongst them, in his sweeping black cape, nobody would have ever given him a second glance.
Men gazed deep into crystal balls with shiny colored turbans on their heads. Blue painted women danced around with bells draped over their wrists and ankles. A very thin man swallowed swords, while a short, stout man blew fire. A young girl with yellow eyes walked a Bengal tiger on a leash. People chanted with scratchy voices. Several placed their hands over lit candles, while others burned incense. A dark-skinned man was dressed in a loincloth, which was fastened loosely with a knot at his waist. He played a lute towards a cobra immerging by his face from a woven basket. It danced to the beat of the music.
There was a bearded lady, a man pierced from head to toe with nails, and several little people that scampered about doing cartwheels and gymnastics. An old minstrel played a music box for a dancing monkey that was dressed like a hotel concierge. A giant man patted Sarah on the head with his enormous hands. He was dressed in a tight, yellow, spandex outfit that revealed a bit too much. Sarah swore that he must have stood nearly nine feet tall.
Sarah's head swung to and fro at the sea of human oddities. She nearly forgot that she was still clutching Gavin's hand. He seemed relatively unamused by the unusual array of people here, nor their pathetic human illusions and physical irregularities. He was, obviously, more interested in Sarah. He watched her closely, trying to learn as much as he could about her.
Sarah didn't know why she had wandered into this area. She felt like someone had drawn her in. Suddenly, a flamboyant woman draped in oriental robes of red silk and bird feathers stuck into her tangled, wild hair, grasped Sarah firmly on the shoulder. The woman introduced herself as the Amazing Madame Saint Clair, Reader of Palms and Teller of Fortunes.
Gavin rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Madame St. Clair reeked of cat urine. Her jewelry looked like something she found in the garbage.
It was probably made of plastic, thought Jareth.
She looked a bit insane, and forcefully grabbed at Gavin's palm first. Gavin pulled back, and gave St. Clair a very stern and threatening look. She ignored him and grasped Sarah's right palm instead. In a loud boisterous voice, Madame St. Clair said, "Oh, my dear! My dear! You have quite a palm! Lovely, delicate, and so fair. Why, it is the fairest of the fair! Ha! But that is funny, since we are at a fair, and then you shall be crowned the fairest of this fair!"
Sarah arched her eyebrows downward and corrected the boisterous fortune-teller, "Actually, this is a carnival, not a fair."
Madame St. Clair snorted and ignored her. It was apparent that the Reader of Palms and Teller of Fortunes had been a huge connoisseur of Jack Daniel's Classic Whiskey. Her breath was enough to make Sarah's long dark locks stand taller than Jareth's wisps of massive blonde strands. The woman swayed with an unsteady gait. She wore little silver talismans around her wrist that clanged together every time she stumbled. She carried a tambourine around a braided belt of multicolored ribbons at her waist. She was barefoot, and her feet were black with dirt and grime. Sarah tried to pull her hand away slowly, hoping the woman would forget about her and leave. Madame St. Clair seemed drawn to Sarah and didn't relent. She said, "For five dollars, I can give read your palm and tell you your future. Yes?"
Something about this woman, reminded Sarah of the old-junk hag, back in Jareth's Labyrinth. Sarah nodded. She would pay five dollars to make her go away. Gavin was signaling Sarah with his hand, trying to tell her silently not to waste her money. Sarah dug into her purse and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. The fortune-teller nabbed the whole thing and stuffed it into her shirt. Gavin contorted his face in disgust at the gaunt woman.
St. Clair grabbed Sarah's hand and gazed deeply at its surface. She hummed out of tune with a raspy voice. Sarah could vaguely see that Madame St. Clair was probably beautiful once, but something, besides gallons of alcohol, had ravaged her mind. Her eyes were dull and lifeless. She had deep lines on her once youthful face. Sarah waited for St. Clair to finish reading her palm. Finally, after several more minutes of appalling breath and staggering stance, the woman gestured towards the sky and said, "Aha! You were Genghis Khan in your former life, my dear! How wonderful, and I can see in the future, you will have ten sons, three daughters, and five husbands!"
"Not likely," Sarah said, without sounding extraordinarily amused.
The woman looked into Sarah's face closely and replied, "Oh, but you cannot go against fate, my dear. What will be, will be! Have a nice future, and remember to plan for college budgeting. Thirteen children is a lot of expense!"
Sarah coughed, and shook her head as the woman stumbled away. Gavin was smiling ear to ear. He was thoroughly amused. He rebuked Sarah, "I tried to warn you about throwing your money away to such a sham-of-a-woman. However, if you want to believe her reading, then I must say, you are the most adorable, former-male figureheadthat I have ever met, and I'll gladly lend you my mansion when the babies start coming, so you have enough room to expand your family to such alarming proportions. However, I will warn you, that your five husbands are not welcome, and they'll have to rent an apartment in town. Ah, and speaking of five, should I mention that the hag also owes you five dollars in change?"
Sarah laughed at Gavin's comment and shook her head as she found a nearby bench to sit upon. King sat next to her and placed his hand on her knee. Sarah's feet were hurting and she was too tired to protest his action. It was nearly six o'clock, and they had another hour inside the carnival before they would all meet back at the car. Sarah patted Gavin's hand. Just then, the little girl, who had been walking her tiger from earlier, shoved a space between Gavin and Sarah. Gavin pursed his lips in agitation at the child's abruptness. The little girl looked up, but Sarah didn't take notice.
Finally, in a soothing, surreal voice, the girl asked, "Your name is Sarah, isn't it?"
Sarah had been rubbing at her eyes. She lowered her hand from her face and looked at the child. Then, Sarah's eyes traveled from the girl to the tiger. It sat below her legs on the ground. It was enormous. She jumped back and exclaimed, "Oh, my!"
The little girl grabbed Sarah's hand in reassurance, "It's okay, Mister Miles won't hurt you. He's quite tame, because he used to be a man before the curse."
Sarah didn't follow the girl's strange statement. The child said, "I'm very sorry about my mother."
Sarah asked, "Who?"
The little girl pointed to Madame St. Clair and continued, "That's my mother. She cannot consult with the powers any longer. My father removed them from her sometime ago and he cursed her too, just like Mister Miles here."
"'The Powers'," Sarah repeated with skepticism in her voice.
The little girl nodded, "Yes, my father is a great and powerful king, from the immortal realms. A long time ago, before I was born, he fell in-love with my mother, and gave her a special magic power. She could see the futures and pasts of people just by gazing at them, until, one day she abused these powers for her own selfish gain of jewels, men, and money. Jealous and hurt, my father rebuked her. Then, as punishment, he cursed her with perpetual disillusionment and took away the power. Now, she's condemned to wander the earth forever, trapped within a half-dream."
Gavin narrowed his eyes. The child sensed his stare and looked up with her unusual yellow eyes. Unlike her mother's dirty golden curls, the little girl had jet-black locks. Her skin was nearly white and its fairness rivaled that of Jareth's and Jessica's. The little girl's eyes opened wide as she saw him. She gasped. After tugging at Sarah's sleeve nervously, she whispered into her ear, "The King of the Goblins has come for you, Sarah! He is watching you very closely, even now! You are in great danger of falling under his spell, as he plots against you!"
Although Jareth didn't hear what the girl was saying to Sarah, he could tell from the look on Sarah's face that it was, undoubtedly, about him. The Goblin King felt the urge to turn the child into something hideous.
Perhaps a goblin, he thought.
Something about the girl's eyes and hair reminded him of someone familiar from long ago. Although he couldn't recall whom, he knew it was somebody that he didn't like.
Sarah stood up in attention and looked around. The tiger yawned. Sarah was about to speak but the child placed her fingers against her lips and said, "Shh!" Then, she turned to face Gavin again, but said to Sarah, "He's here, right now, keeping you close. I could tell you more, but…"
"'But', what?!?"
The little girl looked at Sarah's purse, "Well, my mother hasn't eaten well for weeks. If you provide some money, then I promise I'll tell you everything that the balance will allow. I'm not greedy, but my mother is very hungry and I care for her the best that I can."
Gavin tapped Sarah on the shoulder again, "Sarah, honestly, how many times do you have to subject yourself to these extortionists tonight?"
Sarah ignored Gavin. She pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and handed the whole thing to the little girl. The child smiled, "You have a good heart, Miss Williams."
"Now, tell me," Sarah asked, "How do you know my name?"
"Everybody in the Underground knows your name. You're the only girl to defeat the great Goblin King. My father told me all about it through his magical mirror."
Sarah couldn't bear the suspense any longer. She had to know, "Who's your father?"
The child shrugged, "He is Torok, King of the Trolls."
Gavin scowled, but Sarah let out a relived sigh. For a minute, she had entertained the idea that the girl might have been a child of Jareth's. Sarah was glad it wasn't so. The little girl smirked upon hearing Sarah's exhale, "You're in love with him."
"No, I'm not! I've never even met the Troll King," Sarah replied frantically.
Sarah thought, The last thing I want is to unintentionally start a war between two magical kings.
The little girl giggled, "I meant, you're in love with Goblin King, not my papa! You are, aren't you?"
Gavin raised his eyebrows and studied Sarah's reaction, which was to, instinctively, bulge her eyes and shake her head no. The child argued, "Yes, you are. When I mentioned him, your eyes lit up brighter than that Ferris wheel over there, not to mention you're turning bright red."
Sarah kept shaking her head in denial, but nonetheless remained speechless.
The little girl squeezed Sarah's hand and scolded her, "Shaking your head 'no' isn't going to make me believe otherwise, Miss Sarah. I'm a psychic, after all."
The little girl finally folded the fifty-dollar bill that Sarah had given her and tucked it neatly into her velvet satchel bag that hung from a belt on her waist. Sarah was still in a panic, when the girl grasped her hand again and began to gaze into its creases.
The child's fingers followed the lines as she began to say, "Wow, I've never seen a palm like this before. You've led a very interesting life. Sad to say, though, it is full of disappointments and failures, but at least you beat the Goblin King."
Sarah pursed her lips in agitation.
The girl continued, "Goodness! You're ancient!"
Offended, Sarah groaned, "My god, thirty-two isn't that old!"
"Are you sure? Lots of people, especially ladies, lie about their age, you know."
Sarah nodded in a disgruntled manner. The child's fingers opened up Sarah's other hand and she choked, "Oh, my… No! This is terrible! Oh, Sarah, I'm so sorry. You're future…you see… It's-its…"
Sarah looked mortified. She stared back at the child as if to say, "Tell me what is wrong!"
The child looked away and answered, "You won't need to worry about the Goblin King much longer. He won't be able to bother you soon."
Gavin could hear the panic in Sarah's voice as she asked, "Is-Is something horrible going to happen to him?"
"No and Yes," the child continued. "He will be fine, physically, because he's immortal, but even the noblest heart will break when you die, Sarah Williams."