Past her house the entire world outside no longer existed and Sarah feared that if she opened her door to check she would disappear. Every little creak that made a sound in her house made her call out for the goblin Toby promised would come for her. Then there was the matter of what she was actually going to do once she got to Labyrinth…
"Hoggle, Didymus, Ludo… Will you still be there when I come back? Will you remember like I do you?" She swore she would break Jareth herself if he harmed them for having helped her. As she stared at the corner of her couch, expecting life's meaning to jump out at her, she wondered if they even cared. They had been the first thing she'd stopped from coming to see her when she decided to blot out Labyrinth. When she told them she couldn't see them anymore they had seemed to understand with a sad kind of comprehension. It had taken almost a year to not cry when she thought of them. Her father and step-mother had thought it was just the growth of a teenage girl… gods had they been so terribly misinformed. In thirteen hours Sarah had aged more in mind then she figured her body could ever catch up with.
Thinking absentmindedly she set her hand down on the couch and touched something clearly not material; she took her hand back quickly. Before her stood the small and ugly form of what she could assume was Skub. She'd forgotten just how misshapen some of the goblins could be and this one had to be the best looking one she's witnessed.
"You must be Skub?" She leaned over and the small goblin removed his hand from his head which he'd been saluting and twiddled his fingers.
"You must be a sorceress… and you even called my name out." He seemed way too happy for having his name said that Sarah stepped away slightly. "First the King and then strangers… I'm so happy…" Skub squealed in joy and convulsed with what looked to be complete satisfaction.
"Yes, Skub. Now I know you said the King sent you here. Can you tell me what he's said to you?" Sarah discerned what the goblin said and figured out Toby had left her self rather vague. To her surprise she was rather impressed and bent down to hand the goblin a glass bead.
"This is a gift for you, for having come. You will get more when I reach the outer gates of the Goblin city. Do you like it?" Skub turned an odd shade of red and hugged the gem that was like a medium rock in his small hands.
"I like it. I mean… I love it! A gift and a mission… what a glorious day! And then when I get back I'll be his majesty's valet and I'll use my gifts to make my coat very fine…" Sarah listened to his rambling as she peered at his 'coat'. She had rags she used to clean oil from her car that were cleaner than his clothes.
"Ok. When can we leave?" Skub looked back at Sarah and jumped down from the couch.
"Right now?" He took a few steps away and when he realized Sarah would follow him, he continued. He stopped in front of her front door and looked at the knob which was easily two feet too high for him. Sarah hid the chuckle in her throat as he stared like his skull might open it up; she opened the door herself. Standing a moment outside the door she looked up the street which was oddly clear of all people. She feared being seen walking down the road with what could pass as a very ugly breed of dog that had been beaten beyond healings and reconstructive surgery.
"So how do we get into Labyrinth from here?" The goblin swung around with his fingers to his curled and crackled lips, he hissed for her silence. She rolled her eyes, but the creature either didn't know about insults like that or simply didn't care. It wasn't until a short while that she noticed Skub would stop once in a while on the street and look at a broken watch. Despite that he would look at it intently and wait a few seconds before continuing and whether the watch was fixed to work in some other manner, not once did Sarah come across the path of other people.
Thankfully enough the rain had ceased to fall like it had before. The ground had mostly dried and the air smelled like it had been washed clean of all human scents. It was nice… she had the sense of almost being free from outside influences. Winding up the streets where the road would soon stop at the base of a small hill where only trees grew beyond it. A single tree stood sentry at the top which make her think of the first sights of labyrinth.
"Skub, what is Labyrinth like now? How did Jareth rule over the years?" It was an odd question, but she only knew of the baby thieving man and not the King himself. She might as well ask; it would be interesting to hear about the castles workings from an outsider's perspective and from an outsider's mouth.
"I liked it. I've almost always been a castle keep, but after today, a King's Valet." He squealed again. "I've worked there for almost 90 years. 89 to be exact. I've seen lots because no one thinks I'm good for anything so they overlook me… I used to be a soldier you know." His voice dimmed slightly and she actually felt sad for him.
"I'm sure you're the best worker there… So what kind of things have you seen? What kind of big events have happened in your time in the castle?" This seemed to ease his mind as he spoke of Toby's announcement as the Heir to Labyrinth and the Queen of Moraine's unexpected visit. She was shocked to hear that Hoggle had attended the gathering in the castle.
"Why did Hoggle come to the castle?" She could only assume that Jareth had been cruel.
"We'll, he's Prince of the Land of Stench. Jareth had promised it to him when…" He trailed off suddenly and paled.
"When what?" She stopped and leaned over. She might be going to play in Jareth's court, but that didn't mean she'd been training for it. Every day she'd wondered if he'd be there. In thirteen hours he'd set to cross over his entire realm and at the end had let her leave. She'd not expected him to simply leave her alone… not when he claimed what he had…
"Not allowed to talk about it. The King decreed that if any speak about it… they will be punished to life in an oubliette." He had to be kidding… She was glad she was coming as an unnamed face rather than Sarah… these people thought she was some kind of plague by the sounds of it… At least that's how Jareth made her out. What a child he was…
"We'll he's not King anymore is he?" Skub looked at her like she'd said something horrid about his mother, but then his face eased.
"I guess you are right… it's just… he's always been my King… I'm unsure how things will be now in Labyrinth… Toby's seems like he'll be a great King though… it's just an odd change after so long." She grinned. She couldn't help it… Sarah always knew her brother was a monster, but a goblin… the King of them? She chuckled.
"So… about Hoggle?" Skub twiddled his hands and kicked his feet for a moment, but relented.
"Jareth had said that if he ever kissed 'her' that he would make him the prince of the Land of Stench, sure enough. Now he's the Prince and obviously received an invitation to the Heirs initiation party." Now she was interested… Her past in Labyrinth was much more known than she'd though… but she was known only as 'she or 'her' from what Sarah could tell.
"Who is this 'her' character?" Skub tripped and slammed head long into the dirt. He picked himself up quickly and stared at her.
"Ah… she is… well she was supposed to be our Queen… She declined though and it was made forbidden to mention her ever." Skub bent over closer to her and she bent down to listen.
"After she left… it's said Jar-, I'm mean the King, lost control of Labyrinth until he made a deal with the witch… The Goblin's rose up against him as they thought he'd lost his powers… Labyrinth had begun to suffer some hardship…, but when he came back he was fine and was able to fix all that had gone wrong with Labyrinth and the Goblin City. Things cleared up after and have been good for almost 8 years. Then a week ago or so Jareth named his Heir and disappeared…" Sarah stood up and loosened the collar of her shirt. She knew just where he'd gone when he'd 'disappeared' and then she'd thrown him out. Hearing her story without biased she could understand why both Jareth and the people of Labyrinth had no liking for her. In their eyes she didn't like herself much either.
"So Jareth's returned and is helping Toby now…" She cringed with the thought of fighting it out once more with Jareth over her brother. She was glad Toby was almost an adult and she was no longer a child herself.
"No… He's still missing." Sarah swallowed the quickly growing lump in her throat.
"Dammit… Ok… Tell me this then… Who is the Queen of Moraine and what is she like." She would sap every amount of knowledge out of this goblin to get the upper hand. She wasn't going to be tossed around and pushed into corners like she had last time she'd gone into Labyrinth for her bother.