All I ask of you, is that when I cannot, would you . . .
Shelter?
"I'm really sorry Sarah, I'm already sharing my room as it is," Toby said over the phone.
"It's okay, I'll find another friend to take me in."
"That's really bad luck they won't let you stay three extra days."
"Yeah," Sarah said, but didn't elaborate. It was embarrassing enough receiving two warnings and an eviction notice. She hadn't been aware of how loud goblins could party until someone had taken a video camera and filmed what they could see through the window from the parking lot. No one had caught any goblins on tape but she knew the songs they sang.
She had found a house share at the edge of the city, and had managed to snag the tiny outside garden suite in the back yard, but could only move in there on Sunday after the current occupant moved out on the weekend. Her lease with her apartment ended at the end of the month on Wednesday, which left three days for her in limbo.
"Speak to you later Toby," she said and put down the phone as he wished her luck.
She pulled a face at the mirror and several goblins pulled worse ones back at her. It clanged across her mind like a bell of doom. The Labyrinth, and more particularly, the Goblin Castle had to have at least one room to spare. She hurried to her room and pulled on her best formal dress, did her hair and make up to perfection, then dug out the bulk box of Oreo cookies she kept stashed in the bottom of her closet. She hesitated then fished out the bottle of wine she had been gifted and was keeping for a special occasion. She checked herself in the mirror and the goblins eyed the box with eager interest. They could read the word Oreo as she had been teaching those who hung around her flat. Some of them could now make their way through simple children's books without too much stumbling.
She stepped through, her mirror now permanently opened into the alcove off the throne room. She wondered if it was a way for Jareth to keep tabs on which goblins visited her. She peeked through to see him lounging on his throne, absently watching Cat the goblin and his littlest daughter and two of her now six month old puppies who could all sit on command.
"And no nightmares?"
"One or two, but the usual sort," Cat reported. "If she's buried in with all her siblings and too warm, or wraps herself up in the blanket and can't escape. No terrors for Your Majesty to worry over."
Jareth nodded.
"Admirable work, you are dismissed."
The Goblin whistled and the puppies trotted after him as he led his toddling daughter from the room.
Sarah put her head around the edge of the room and waved. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You usually just barge in," he said intrigued.
"This time I have a petition to bring before the Goblin King," Sarah stayed in the alcove until he sat up straight, curiosity covering his face.
"Sarah Williams, if you would approach the throne with your petition."
The goblins already in the room perked up at the sight of the Oreo box and there was an excited whispering and muttering as they all watched the king with great anticipation.
She placed the box before him and handed him the bottle of wine. He smiled.
"Gifts also, this must be some petition."
Sarah took a deep breath.
"I need a place to stay for three days."
He blinked.
"You wish to stay in the Labyrinth for three days?"
There was something about the way he said it, that rang warning bells in her mind.
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"You know the tales of fairyland? Not many of them are wrong. Time moves differently here. I could not be sure that you would return to the mortal world in three days or three weeks."
"Okay, then can I ask a slightly different favour. I need to move apartments, and I need to store my furniture for three days. Do you have a room in the castle I can stash my things?"
He set down the bottle of wine and stood up.
"Sarah? What's happened?"
"I got evicted from my flat."
"Why would they evict you? Are your landlords unpleasant?"
"No! Your goblins threw one too many rowdy parties! They caught it on video!"
The speed at which the throne room cleared of goblins was phenomenal. Jareth's face didn't even have time to twitch into a twist of fury before all that was left in the throne room were the two of them and several bewildered chickens.
Jareth stood for a long moment, and she could see the strain it took for him to tamp down his simmering fury.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in a hurt tone, as if it took all his willpower not to bog his subjects en mass, and saved none for his usual haughtiness.
"I thought they would listen to me, they usually do. Only, I've been volunteering down at the children's home for the past few months." She didn't add that was to help them with their homework to try and discover the best way to teach goblins. "I came back after ten most nights to a quiet house, I had no idea how bad it was until they videoed it."
"They could see the goblins?" Jareth sounded alarmed.
"No, but you can hear every word they're singing."
"I am sorry." He looked awkward at having to apologise. He held up his hand and ticked off the wild celebrations he could recall. "There was a party at new year, oh and winter solstice and of course, Yule, and then Twelve Days, oh, and most recently the Equinox, which is cause for much celebration around here." He cringed a bit at having five distinct wild parties to excuse. "I did not think they would take their celebrations into the Aboveground," he added apologetically.
"What's done is done," she shrugged then blushed scarlet at having repeated a paraphrase of his words back at him.
He gave her a saucy wink. She didn't quite know where to look.
"Sorry," she laughed sheepishly.
"Do you need help with the larger furniture?"
"What?" Sarah exclaimed.
"You may stay here three days and store your furniture here. I am obliged to assist you, as my subjects have put you into this situation."
"But what of the time dislocation?"
"As long as you step out into the mortal world every thirteen hours you should be able to keep mostly to the mortal day, but you may miss one here or there? Our Underground and Aboveground are linked but not time synced. Let Toby know, he'll be able to tell your parents you haven't been kidnapped."
She smiled in utter relief and gave him a hug.
"Thank you so much!"
She did not expect him to return the gesture with a tight bear hug.
"I'm sorry it happened in the first place. I will make sure they know the rules for your new residence."
Toby, the Goblin King, several goblins, Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus getting underfoot, helped her empty her flat. There was a room off the passage down the first flight of stairs in the Escher Room which the Goblin King had given to her. It was easily three times as large as her flat and her furniture looked lost in one corner, but they situated her bed beneath a window and created a private alcove by placement of her wardrobe and bookshelves for her dressing area. Once they were settled, Sarah could see the goblins curiously inspecting her things.
"You got stacks of books just like Kingy," one of the goblins remarked sagely.
Sarah caught Jareth's grimace.
"You have a library?"
"A private library." He did not give an inch.
Toby had only ever seen the castle on his infrequent visits as a much younger child to play with the goblins. He now peered out of the window at the Labyrinth as it expanded towards the horizons in all its glory and gave a low whistle.
"That is some defence about the castle. I'd either say you were paranoid or compensating for something."
Jareth slung his arm about Toby's shoulders.
"Would you like to run it?" he purred invitingly as he held out a crystal.
"Jareth!" Sarah warned as Toby shook his head.
"Sarah's told me enough horror stories of the place. You couldn't tempt me enough to try."
"A true pity, there are some magnificent sights to be seen within its passages."
"That wasn't an invitation to work on the temptation," Toby rolled his eyes at the King. "Do I have your word you'll look after my sister? I'm not going to come back tomorrow and find her fifty years old, am I?"
"It could work the other way, she will return in a day and you will be fifty years older."
"That's not making me any happier with the situation. Will she be safe?"
Jareth snorted.
"No one is safe, Tobias Williams. She will be under my protection as a guest of my kingdom, but safe? No."
Toby glared at him and Jareth returned a gaze of sardonic disinterest.
"You think so little of me that I'd harm a guest under my protection?" he drawled.
"But I just asked that!"
"No, you asked a very different thing. You asked for her to be placed into a crystal and not touched by anything that may upset her. That is not living."
"Sarah!" Toby called. "He's doing it again!"
"Jareth, quit winding Toby up!"
Jareth smirked at him and Toby ducked from under his arm and noticed all the goblins about them watching the exchange.
"Weirdly, you all deserve each other," he said with fond exasperation.
"Kingy likes you, hasn't tried to bog you yet," one of the goblins told him.
Toby shuddered.
"I heard of that place," he muttered, giving Jareth's speculative expression a dark look. He turned sharply away. "If that's all Sarah, I need to get back. Laura and I have a date this evening."
"It is! I'll come through with you and use your mirror to return home. I need to drop off my keys with my landlord."
Later that afternoon, after she'd dropped off her keys, Sarah returned to the Labyrinth. She found Jareth not in his throne room, but in her room, sprawled across her couch reading one of the detective novels she kept on her bookshelf. All around him were goblins reading the picture books she had for them. So much for privacy, she realised. She walked over and fluffed Jareth's hair into his eyes as she passed, that was all the reaction he was going to get from her. She ignored his quiet chuckle as she picked up the book she had been reading at night. She flopped onto her bed and joined them.