Darkness. Everything was dark. How long had Pete been there, alone in the dark? He had had to go to the bathroom several times, though of course that meant walking off to the side, doing his thing, and then walking back and hoping that the slight slant of the floor would keep his sitting spot dry. The smell almost did not bother him any more, he was getting used to it.
Why was he being kept here? What was the point?
To be forgotten?
No matter how hard he tried, Pete Thompson could not think of anyone who would call the police when they thought him missing. Sure, classmates might wonder where he had gone when he did not turn up for lectures, but they'd probably think he had transferred or dropped out. His landlord would be pissed but surely he had had people bail on the rent before. His parents? Hadn't talked to them for years.
It was not fair! He did not deserve this! He was not a drug dealer or a mass murderer, or anything else that deserved such severe punishment! Maybe he had taken advantage of fools now and then, who didn't? Maybe he had made up a few rumours about others to put them in a bad light – come on, that's how the game was played. If you're not willing to step on a few heads you'll never make it to the top. He had only done to others what they would no doubt do to him if he had not beaten them to it. Wrap it up in fluff and bleeding hearts all you like, people are still dicks.
For the first time in his life he wondered if just possibly, he had made one or two bad decisions in the past.
They'd taken turns showering in Sarah's small bathroom. Sharon had complained slightly about the lack of fresh clothes and then discovered several other shirts, ladies underwear in various sizes, shapes, and colours, and a My Little Pony hairband with a plastic heart outside the bathroom door when she was done showering. Apparently the goblin gang liked the mouse girl. Sarah decided to not lecture them on the wrongs of petty theft, just this once. Now the three of them were polishing off the last bites of breakfast at her kitchen table and discussing how power worked in the Labyrinth.
"Everything there works by very specific rules," Sarah explained – for the second or third time, but honestly, it was a lot for Sharon to take in and some of it was pretty absurd to the ears of normal people. "Basically, Sharon, since you're the one who said the words that made the goblins take Pete away, you're the only one who has power over him."
"And the Goblin King," Sharon said meekly.
"Yeah, no." Toby shook his head. "Jareth's powerful as all hell but he has to play by the rules of his kingdom. And that kinda means, he may have all the magic but you're the one who calls the shots."
Sharon's face went white.
"Thanks, Toby," Sarah said drily. "Let's not forget that Jareth's on our side this time."
"I'm not running the Labyrinth for Pete," Sharon said. "If it's going to be like that, he can stay there. See if I care."
Toby chuckled and put cheese on his third bagel. "Knowing Jareth, it'd be the shortest, least complicated run ever. Jump over this burned match. You can do that? Good. Here's the oubliette key. Thank you for playing."
Sarah could not help crack a smile at his impersonation of the mercurial goblin monarch. Then she sipped her coffee. "What I am saying is, it's all Sharon's call. We can bring him back here and report him for assault."
"I don't know," Sharon said piteously. "I don't want any trouble."
Toby looked at her, and then back at his sister. He straightened up a little in his chair. "Look, Sarah, it's not just about power. It's about what people think they want and what they really want. Jareth's always been big on people learning what it is they really desire. Clearing the distractions, see the truth." He turned his head to Sharon and put his hand over hers.
"I just want people to leave me alone," she said miserably.
"Then that's how we play it," Sarah agreed. "We don't need police and people asking questions."
"Yeah," Toby nodded. "Though somebody should mention you sound like you want us to drag the guy out back and cap him, Sis."
Sarah blinked and laughed. "Well, maybe that's going a little too far. But we do need to go home and face your mother, and that may be almost as bad."
Sharon made a small squeak. Her day was just not getting better.
"Fogeddaboudit," Toby grinned and got up to put his jacket on. "Let's go home."
The drive to their parents' house was not long. They drove in Sarah's car; Toby would have to come pick up his pickup later. Sarah threw the occasional glance at Sharon when traffic allowed, sitting in the back seat with Toby's arms around her,.
Had she been that terrified when the goblins invaded her life? Had she been skirting the edge of a complete breakdown too?
No. She had not. She had been afraid to lose her brother, definitely. Afraid to get hurt on her Underground ordeal, definitely. But she had never been afraid like Sharon was afraid. She suspected she did not even begin to understand the anxiety that permeated the girl's life. Sarah was strong, and she knew it. She had done cosplay in the park before cosplay was even a thing. She had performed in public no matter who walked past and might laugh, no matter how much she got teased by the other kids for being weird. She had had a healthy childhood. Her parents, even with the divorce, had given her a good, solid foundation to stand on. She had grown up to pursue her love of fantasy and magic and become an artist. In a world full of fantasy artists, she did well enough to have a name, to pay rent and put food on the table. She was a whole person. She did not know what it was like to live in constant terror of inadequacy and rejection.
Toby's got his work cut out for him, she thought, not for the first time. Fortunately, Toby had the same solid foundation under his feet that she had been raised with, and the magic of the Underground to boot.
Sharon gasped when they left the car. Toby looked surprised, then followed her gaze up at the old Victorian house. "Yeah," he said. "It's pretty neat I suppose."
"It's so nice," Sharon said admiringly.
"We're spoiled by growing up here," Sarah agreed. "You never see what's right under your nose, you know? Come on, guys." She stomped up the driveway and unlocked the door.
Might as well have thrown a freshly butchered lamb to the vultures, she thought with amusement as Karen materialized at the sight of Sharon.
There was an old pear tree in the garden. It had not bore any fruit worth mentioning for a decade or more, but the kids' swing still hung from it. Moreover, it was conveniently out of sight from the windows of the Victorian house, something which both children of the house had appreciated as they grew into teenagers, with teenagers' occasional needs to go somewhere out of sight to sulk.
Sarah smiled to herself as she turned from the garden path, coffee mug cradled in her hands, and saw the swing currently occupied by a long-legged figure in black. The cape trailed on the ground behind him as he sat, one leg across the other. She wondered if he realized that sitting like that, a dark-clad warrior on a child's swing, he embodied everything the Underground was: Child-like, carefree, and potentially scary as all hell.
She threw him a casual wave. "Thought you might be around here, somewhere."
The swing turned slowly until the Goblin King faced her, a small, smug smile dancing on his lips. "Oh, I did wonder if it would be you or Toby coming to see me first."
Sarah sat down in the grass. Autumn was getting cold but the ground was dry. "Toby is providing emotional support. I get to be the irresponsible one that sneaks out the garden door while the grown-ups sort things out. How's things in the Underground?"
He tilted his head, blonde locks falling into his face. "If by 'things' you mean Pete Thompson, I do believe he's currently feeling very sorry for himself. He truly is a detestable little person."
Sarah stretched her legs. "I've no doubt from what I've seen of him. What are you planning to do with him?"
The King laughed softly. "Sharon has a say in that, mm?"
"Thought so. Got to say, I don't quite see her running the Labyrinth to free him." Sarah chuckled.
He scoffed. "Not likely. Why did you bring her here, though?"
Sarah looked back at the garden path to the house. After a moment she said, "Because Sharon needs to be here. She needs an adult to look after her for a bit, help her get on with things. Toby's not old enough to count as a mature role model and I'm not up for being a mum."
"But your stepmother is." He nodded.
"You have no idea," Sarah nodded contentedly and sipped her coffee.
Jareth laughed softly, then looked at her with those blue eyes in different shades. "He belongs to me now, you do realize that."
Sarah shrugged. "Fine by me."
He quirked an eyebrow. "I actually expected you to want to argue about that."
Sarah shook her head. "You're not getting a rise out of me about this. Nothing I've seen or heard so far makes me want to play devil's advocate. I'm no mind reader, but I seriously doubt that Sharon's going to throw the little red rulebook at you, either."
The dark-clad king stood and walked over to stand next to her. "Allow me to make a radical proposition then, my dear. Let us forget about Pete Thompson and pursue that interesting suggestion from last night. I rather do think I am a better dancer than a cardboard cut-out of myself." He offered her his gloved hand.
Sarah laughed. "Do I need to go home to change into a dress or do you have that covered as well?"
He smirked. "What do you think?"
She stood and put her hand in his. "I think that I rather like red. Something Latin with a lot of open back. How's your tango?"
"Rob," Karen said to her husband. "Rob, put down the newspaper for just a moment, please. I need you to pay attention."
When his wife used that tone, a man who liked his steaks not burned and his shirts well ironed did well to listen closely. Rob dropped the paper to his lap and watched his wife pace the living room. She was beautiful still. He particularly liked the way she walked. Tall and straight. A lioness on the prowl. He always felt a pang of pride, looking at her, that someone as, well, ordinary as himself had managed to net – and keep! – such a fine specimen.
"That girl can't go on living like that," his wife was saying as he belatedly remembered to listen, rather than watch. "She's pretty and she's smart. She needs to study."
Rob quirked a bushy eyebrow. "I thought she was in community college with Toby?"
Karen nodded. "And she's doing poorly. It doesn't take a genius to see why, between a father who thinks she's his housekeeper and that abusive boyfriend. Well, at least the boyfriend is sorted out now."
"Oh, he is?" He was not entirely certain what the deal was. Something about Toby and some other fellow contending for the girl.
His wife nodded firmly. Her curls danced. He liked looking at them. "Sarah's room is still empty. Sharon's having it for now."
Rob blinked. "You want her to move in here?"
Karen put her hands on her hips. "That girl needs some looking after."
He rubbed his eyes. "If you say so, dear… But aren't they a little young to move in together?"
The lioness glared at him. "They're adults!"
He backed down from that look. "Well, you're usually right about things, honey."
"I know," Karen said with a smug smile. "Sharon will have Sarah's room. It'll be like a co-ed dorm. They'll be dating each other and they share the same mail address, but they're not living together per se. I've missed having a girl in the house."
Rob chuckled. "Well, try not to steam-roll her, she seems a bit shy."
Karen took her hands off her hips and then put them right back. "Don't you worry, Rob Williams. I'm going to help that girl grow some backbone."
"And her father is all right with this?" he asked.
The look of the lioness could have made an angry elephant back away on its tippy toes. "He better be."