Title: Say The Words (Part Four)
Author: Amber
Distribution: Email me first (Arrilyn@hotmail.com), but other than that, all I ask is that my name and email addy be left attached!
Disclaimer: Same as each time before! Labyrinth and all its characters belong to Jim Henson and Lucasfilm(s?).. I own nothing, and I'm not looking to get any profit from this story! Heh...like anyone would wanna pay to read this!
Summary: Another one of those 'alternate ending' type fics, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! More conflict between Jareth and Sarah...and this might not seem like it's going anywhere right now, LoL, but it will be!
A/N: If you didn't read Parts 1, 2, or 3, I suggest you go do that RIGHT NOW before you read this part! I don't know if it would keep you from understanding anything in this bit of the story, but what's the fun of skipping to the middle of a story?? Also, sorry it's taken me so long to get this next part out...when I first started posting, I had several parts prewritten so I could just post 'em right away, but I don't have any more prewritten parts, so you'll have to wait longer for each new part! But anyway, on with the story!
Sarah should have expected it, really. Among all the different colors of her new room and clothing, white and silver were the most prevalent. The curtains on her window and bed were white, a number of the dresses in her wardrobe were at least slashed with white, and most of her other belongings were silver. So she shouldn't have been surprised when, upon entering her room, she found a white dress laid out on her bed. Actually, upon closer inspection she found it to be more of a creamy white color as opposed to the virginal white she'd worn at her introduction as the new queen, but nonetheless the color was starting to irritate her.
There was at least some relief to the dress, however. The bodice had been decorated with small seed pearls and fragile golden threading, and both sleeves and hem were also adorned with the twisting patterns of thread and pearls. It wasn't an unattractive dress, but why was white always the color chosen for her? By the time she was married-if she ever got out of the Underground, anyway-she'd be so sick of white that she'd probably end up picking a black dress for her wedding!
A pair of dainty shoes had also been set out for her to wear, as well as several pieces of jewelry. As Sarah picked up the dress from the bed, she couldn't help but admire herself in the mirror set atop her bureau. All her life she'd dreamed of being able to wear fancy dresses and attending dinner parties, or of being a queen in a fairytale story, and now she was actually living those dreams. Even though she knew her story wouldn't have a 'happily ever after' ending, what small part that was left of the dreamer inside her was reveling in this moment. When she was through, she would be the culmination of every spectacular, queenly vision she'd ever imagined.
Jareth was hardly inclined to disagree. When Sarah was led into the dining hall, her expression looking as radiant as the moon, he could hardly believe that this was the same girl who just the day before had been ranting about how unfair life was. Her dress fit perfectly, narrowing at the waist before flowing downward to the floor. The neckline was cut low enough to show off the delicate necklace she was wearing, and the gold threads sewn onto the dress brought out the golden accents of the crescent-shaped pendant lying against her chest. Her hair had been piled atop her head in a mass of curls, with a few tendrils left to hang freely, and tiny threads of golden wire were woven through the coiffure. She was so simply elegant that he couldn't help his sharp intake of breath at the sight of her.
"Good evening, Sarah," he managed to say, standing respectfully as she approached. She smiled self-consciously and lowered her eyes to her hands, which were clasped in front of her. "I'm glad you decided to join me," he ventured, which was enough to bring her gaze back to his.
"Well, I didn't feel like shutting myself in my room tonight," she replied, trying to brush off his soft words. How was it possible to arm oneself when the enemy was using kindness as his weapon? "But…thank you for the dress. It's beautiful."
"I was hoping you'd like it." He gestured for her to sit down, and actually went so far as to pull the chair out for her. The room was silent for a few minutes afterward, though on Sarah's part, her silence was contemplative. Jareth found himself, for the first time, at a total loss for words.
Before he could think of anything to say, their meal was served. Sarah looked at the dishes being set before her and frowned curiously. What was this stuff? She'd never seen anything that looked so…well, different! Her hesitance toward the food must have been noticeable, because she suddenly heard a soft chuckle from Jareth. Looking up, she blushed at his amused expression.
"It won't bite you," he promised, trying to hide a grin. Sarah laughed shortly.
"How can I be so sure?" she retorted, looking back down into a soup bowl filled with some sort of thick, greenish liquid. "Nothing is what it seems in this place."
"Sarah…"
Despite herself, she smiled at him. "Don't worry," she assured him, "I don't feel like fighting tonight."
Jareth sighed relievedly at that.
"And she just left you and your father, not caring what happened to you?" Jareth asked incredulously, leaning forward with an intent expression on his face. Sarah lifted her crystal wine goblet and nodded.
"I understand, though," she told him, taking a sip of the deep red liquid. "I want to be just like her someday. I want to be an actress, and see the world!"
"Is that all?" The Goblin King smiled in a satisfactory sort of way and leaned back again. "You can do all that now, Sarah. You have the power to do anything you dream of."
"Do I?" she replied in a suddenly preoccupied voice, her expression growing wistful. "Yes, I suppose I do…You gave me this necklace, didn't you?" Jareth only nodded, but she seemed to know the answer anyway. With a distant smile, she brought a hand up to gently touch the pendant hanging from its frail chain. "I can do anything with it?"
"Anything," he agreed. "Go ahead, Sarah. Make a wish. What do you want?"
"I want…" Her gaze was still unfocused as she continued to lightly finger the crescent moon-shaped pendant. "I don't know what I want…"
Jareth wasn't sure to laugh or become worried. He'd expected her to say 'I want Toby back', which despite ruining a lovely evening, would have cost him the only leverage he had to keep her with him. But he'd given her the opportunity to say the words because he wanted to show her that he cared for her enough to let her go, should she still decide she wanted to leave…and she hadn't taken it. Granted, it sounded as though the wine she'd been drinking was muddling her thoughts, but even so, she hadn't consumed enough to be that oblivious. He wondered what was going on, but made no mention of it. He'd given her the opportunity once, but he wasn't stupid enough to give it twice.
"I think you've had enough wine for the evening," he said, drawing her attention away from the necklace. She held the goblet away from him as he leaned over to take it. A wryly amused smile spread across his features. "Sarah, don't be stubborn."
"I'm not stubborn," she protested, placing the goblet on the table, well away from his grasp. "Don't you think you've taken enough away from me already?"
So she did still remember Toby. Then why hadn't she taken the opportunity to get him back? It would have been as simple as it had been for her to wish him away in the first place! Jareth leaned back in his chair and watched the young woman with a thoughtful gaze. He knew that mortals, after being in the Underground for long enough, began to forget about their own world, but that was supposed to happen only to children, like Toby. Toby had begun to forget even before the thirteen hours were over; the younger they were, the quicker they forgot about reality and succumbed to the magic of the Underground. But Sarah was of the age where she should have retained her hold on reality. However, he reflected, despite her age, she was still a child in so many ways. Was the childlike part of her beginning to forget about her own world? The idea was dangerous and exciting all at once.
"Sarah…" he began, then stopped. Instead of continuing with his train of thought, Jareth stood up. "Have a good evening."
"You're leaving?" Sarah blurted out incredulously.
"If I stay, it will only ruin the evening," he told her, "and I was enjoying myself too much to end it on a bad note. So I bid you good night."
"Good night…" She watched him leave with a confused expression on her face. Why did he have to leave? And why did she feel so disappointed to see him go?
The sun was well above the horizon before Sarah awoke the next day. She stretched luxuriously in her bed, feeling strangely better than she had in days. Why was that? she wondered. She hadn't really come any closer to reaching her goal, and Jareth was still obviously intent on keeping her and Toby in the Underground. So why did she feel so relaxed, so at ease in her surroundings?
"Well, it doesn't matter," she stated to herself, climbing out of bed. "Today I'm going to figure out how to make this necklace work!"
After bathing, she clothed herself in a light-colored dress-though what she really wanted was a fresh pair of blue jeans-and left the palace. Despite the rocky projection Jareth's castle had been built upon, Sarah had discovered that there was a wide courtyard behind the intimidating structure. Of course, it was just as dead and unwelcoming as the rest of the city, but it was the perfect place for Sarah to begin testing her newly-granted powers. Could she turn a barren expanse of rocky earth into a beautiful garden?
Now, how do I do this? she wondered, perching herself on a flat stone. Hazel eyes scanned the area over and over again as she thought. Finally, deciding it was as simple as wishing away Toby had been, she stood up and took a deep breath. "I wish that…flowers would grow!"
Nothing happened. Scowling, Sarah turned away and propped her foot up on the flat rock, leaning slightly so that her elbow was resting on her knee, and her chin was cupped in her palm. The posture wasn't suited for someone wearing a dress, but she hardly noticed how silly she looked as she continued her musings. When she again turned around, her breath caught in her throat. All around her, beautiful wildflowers were blooming, their colors bright and cheerful against the gloomy backdrop of the Labyrinth. Unfortunately, she hadn't planned anything further than just wishing them to grow, and so the flowers had sprung up with reckless abandon, giving the impression of a weedy field rather than a well-cultivated garden. But still, it was a start. Pleased with her work, Sarah plucked a dainty pink daisy from its stem and tucked it into her hair, then made her way carefully back to the front of the castle. She would work with her garden more later, but at that moment, she wanted to try her luck in the Goblin City.
What exactly she planned on doing there, she had no idea. Jareth had told her that she had no real authority as queen, pendant or not, but if she was able to use the necklace's power, then didn't that technically mean that she did have authority? Well, some authority, at least. Jareth was probably just lying to her about her lack of power, hoping that she'd be too scared to defy him. Didn't he know anything about her? Not that he'd never frightened her before-when they first met, she would have run screaming if it hadn't been for Toby-but by now, she knew him well enough not to fear him. If he hadn't done anything thus far to harm her, he wouldn't do so in the future…right?
Very few of the goblins paused in their daily boisterous activities when Sarah walked past, and those who did stop only stared at her in surprise, murmured something about the queen, and then scampered off in fear for their lives. Apparently, they were well aware of their king's malicious behavior, and assumed their queen would act the same. Sarah smiled wryly, wondering how long it would take those goblins to realize that she was as different from Jareth as the sun was from the moon. She continued her aimless meandering, hardly paying attention to where she was going.
Up ahead, the commotion was so loud that Sarah ducked behind a rickety house, fearing that some sort of violence was about to take place. Peering around the corner, she saw a short, squat goblin woman shrieking frantically as a taller, dog-faced goblin pried a squalling baby from her arms. Sarah's mouth opened in surprise as she watched the kidnapping take place, but nothing prepared her for the four goblins who stormed in on their lizard-like mounts and grabbed the woman, dragging her off and away from her child. What was going on?!
"Wait a minute!" she shouted, coming out of hiding. The woman was gone by that point, having been pulled quickly down the street, but the canine goblin was still standing in the middle of the narrow side street. He looked at her with wide golden eyes as she approached. Sarah towered over him by several feet, glowering at him with all the menace she could dredge up. It wasn't hard to do, after she reminded herself that Jareth had done virtually the same thing to her and Toby.
"Queen Sarah," the goblin gasped, his arms going slack. The crying baby began falling to the ground, but Sarah quickly bent down and retrieved him.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, holding the furry baby close to her. "Where'd you take his mother?"
"I…I…" he stammered, eyes still fixed fearfully on her. Did she really look that frightening? "I'm sorry, my queen!"
"I wish…" Sarah trailed off musingly. "I wish for you to get lost inside the Labyrinth and never get out!" It was the worst punishment she could think of besides death, and death was one thing she'd never wish for anybody. Before her eyes, the ugly goblin disappeared with a frightened shout. Sarah smiled in satisfaction, then held the small baby out at arms' length and studied it. It was smaller than a human child, and furry, with big brown eyes and a snub nose. It watched her with a curious expression, its tears for the moment gone.
"Hello, little one," Sarah said, smiling at the goblin babe. "We're going to find your mama, don't worry." She snuggled the baby against her once more and headed off in the direction the other goblins had gone. How far could they have gotten in this amount of time…and in which direction would they have gone?
Fortunately, goblins weren't blessed with much intelligence, and so by keeping on the same street, Sarah soon caught up to her quarry. The baby's squalling began anew when it saw its mother being dragged by the arms down the street. The loud noise alerted the four guards to Sarah's presence, and they promptly turned around, two of them raising their spears while the remaining two stood off to the side and continued to hold the plump goblin woman. If any of them recognized her as the Queen of the Goblins, they made no sign of it.
"Let her go," Sarah said loudly, trying to call back her intimidating expression. The goblins grunted in some language she didn't understand. "Let her go!"
What happened next was such a blur that Sarah hardly knew what to think. The goblin woman began fighting with renewed energy, shouting all number of loud curses at her captors. At the same instant, a very familiar voice rose up from a nearby alleyway, followed by a sheepdog hurtling out of nowhere toward the armed goblins. Atop the dog was a small fox, his blue hat crooked and its distinguished plume falling into his eyes. Nonetheless, he charged like the noblest of soldiers, giving the lizard mounts a good thwack to the head as he went by. Sarah watched in astonishment as Sir Didymus darted back and forth, cracking a goblin on the head as he flew past once and then getting the other on his knee as he came by again. Both goblins watched in confusion, too slow to fight back.
When at last it seemed that the small warrior was growing weary, a new ally lumbered out of the alley, carrying a rock in his massive hands. Before the goblins could react, Ludo raised the rock above his head and then sent it crashing down, first on one goblin's head, and then on the other. Both collapsed unconscious to the ground. In the background, Hoggle had crept up behind the remaining two goblins and successfully pulled their mounts from beneath them, using a length of rope tied around the lizards' legs. Panicked, the goblin soldiers relinquished their captive and ran off in fear for their lives. The goblin woman stood up and brushed herself off, grumbling indignantly.
"Are you okay?" Sarah asked, approaching the beleaguered woman. She held out the wriggling baby. The goblin woman's eyes lit up as she took the child into her arms and hugged it.
"Thank you, Queen Sarah," she said, a smile forming on her face. The timbre of her voice was mellow, but there was a gravelly quality to it that made her sound old.
"I'm just glad I was there," she replied, smiling back at the woman. "Why did they do that?"
The short-statured woman cast an annoyed glance at Hoggle, then pointed a thumb at him. "They thought I'd know where he was," she stated, frowning in distaste. "When I told 'em I had no idea where he went off to, they said they were gonna take me to the castle and let Jareth deal with me. But they didn't have to steal my baby!" She snuggled the baby closer to her.
"You two know each other?" Sarah asked in bewilderment. Hoggle rolled his eyes.
"Yeah," he grunted. "This is Hetta. My sister."
"You have a sister?" The question escaped her lips before she'd been able to stop it. She immediately felt foolish; why was it so surprising that he might have relatives? After all, she didn't know him that well yet, so he could have a whole family hidden away somewhere, for all she knew! However, that possibility was a little too unbelievable. He had been so self-centered when she first met him that there was no way he could have had a family.
"He doesn't talk about me much, does he?" Hetta remarked, interrupting Sarah's thoughts. "Well, I don't talk about him too much, either. Not much to talk about!" She chuckled quietly to herself, while Hoggle scowled.
Sarah giggled, then looked at her three friends, who should have been hiding rather than prancing about right under Jareth's nose. "Thank you for helping me," she said, hugging them each in turn. Then abrubtly she frowned. "But you shouldn't have come here! If Jareth sees you, or if those goblins run off to tell him you're here, he'll find you and put you in the Bog of Stench!"
"The Bog of Eternal Stench, eh?" Hetta was still looking quite amused with herself. "Just your sort of place, Hoggle!"
"Would you be quiet?" Hoggle snapped impatiently. Hetta was unfazed by her brother's surly attitude. "Sarah, didn't you call for us? That's why we came…"
"No, I…" Sarah reached up to touch the pendant hanging around her neck. "I must have been wishing for help…"
"What is that, my lady?" Sir Didymus inquired, pointing to the dainty crescent moon. The crystal hanging from its top point glittered like smooth ice.
"Jareth gave it to me," Sarah told him, letting her hand drop. "It has some kind of power, and I've been trying to figure out how to use it. I still can't figure out why he gave it to me, though, especially when he said I had no authority as queen."
Hetta stared up at Sarah as if the mortal girl was quite dense. "That's obvious," she said in her gravelly voice. It's because he loves you."
The End! For now, anyway...I thought this part was longer than it turned out to be (and it SHOULDA been longer, considering how long it took for me to post!), but oh well! Now it's time to work on the next part...
Author: Amber
Distribution: Email me first (Arrilyn@hotmail.com), but other than that, all I ask is that my name and email addy be left attached!
Disclaimer: Same as each time before! Labyrinth and all its characters belong to Jim Henson and Lucasfilm(s?).. I own nothing, and I'm not looking to get any profit from this story! Heh...like anyone would wanna pay to read this!
Summary: Another one of those 'alternate ending' type fics, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! More conflict between Jareth and Sarah...and this might not seem like it's going anywhere right now, LoL, but it will be!
A/N: If you didn't read Parts 1, 2, or 3, I suggest you go do that RIGHT NOW before you read this part! I don't know if it would keep you from understanding anything in this bit of the story, but what's the fun of skipping to the middle of a story?? Also, sorry it's taken me so long to get this next part out...when I first started posting, I had several parts prewritten so I could just post 'em right away, but I don't have any more prewritten parts, so you'll have to wait longer for each new part! But anyway, on with the story!
Say The Words
Sarah should have expected it, really. Among all the different colors of her new room and clothing, white and silver were the most prevalent. The curtains on her window and bed were white, a number of the dresses in her wardrobe were at least slashed with white, and most of her other belongings were silver. So she shouldn't have been surprised when, upon entering her room, she found a white dress laid out on her bed. Actually, upon closer inspection she found it to be more of a creamy white color as opposed to the virginal white she'd worn at her introduction as the new queen, but nonetheless the color was starting to irritate her.
There was at least some relief to the dress, however. The bodice had been decorated with small seed pearls and fragile golden threading, and both sleeves and hem were also adorned with the twisting patterns of thread and pearls. It wasn't an unattractive dress, but why was white always the color chosen for her? By the time she was married-if she ever got out of the Underground, anyway-she'd be so sick of white that she'd probably end up picking a black dress for her wedding!
A pair of dainty shoes had also been set out for her to wear, as well as several pieces of jewelry. As Sarah picked up the dress from the bed, she couldn't help but admire herself in the mirror set atop her bureau. All her life she'd dreamed of being able to wear fancy dresses and attending dinner parties, or of being a queen in a fairytale story, and now she was actually living those dreams. Even though she knew her story wouldn't have a 'happily ever after' ending, what small part that was left of the dreamer inside her was reveling in this moment. When she was through, she would be the culmination of every spectacular, queenly vision she'd ever imagined.
Jareth was hardly inclined to disagree. When Sarah was led into the dining hall, her expression looking as radiant as the moon, he could hardly believe that this was the same girl who just the day before had been ranting about how unfair life was. Her dress fit perfectly, narrowing at the waist before flowing downward to the floor. The neckline was cut low enough to show off the delicate necklace she was wearing, and the gold threads sewn onto the dress brought out the golden accents of the crescent-shaped pendant lying against her chest. Her hair had been piled atop her head in a mass of curls, with a few tendrils left to hang freely, and tiny threads of golden wire were woven through the coiffure. She was so simply elegant that he couldn't help his sharp intake of breath at the sight of her.
"Good evening, Sarah," he managed to say, standing respectfully as she approached. She smiled self-consciously and lowered her eyes to her hands, which were clasped in front of her. "I'm glad you decided to join me," he ventured, which was enough to bring her gaze back to his.
"Well, I didn't feel like shutting myself in my room tonight," she replied, trying to brush off his soft words. How was it possible to arm oneself when the enemy was using kindness as his weapon? "But…thank you for the dress. It's beautiful."
"I was hoping you'd like it." He gestured for her to sit down, and actually went so far as to pull the chair out for her. The room was silent for a few minutes afterward, though on Sarah's part, her silence was contemplative. Jareth found himself, for the first time, at a total loss for words.
Before he could think of anything to say, their meal was served. Sarah looked at the dishes being set before her and frowned curiously. What was this stuff? She'd never seen anything that looked so…well, different! Her hesitance toward the food must have been noticeable, because she suddenly heard a soft chuckle from Jareth. Looking up, she blushed at his amused expression.
"It won't bite you," he promised, trying to hide a grin. Sarah laughed shortly.
"How can I be so sure?" she retorted, looking back down into a soup bowl filled with some sort of thick, greenish liquid. "Nothing is what it seems in this place."
"Sarah…"
Despite herself, she smiled at him. "Don't worry," she assured him, "I don't feel like fighting tonight."
Jareth sighed relievedly at that.
"And she just left you and your father, not caring what happened to you?" Jareth asked incredulously, leaning forward with an intent expression on his face. Sarah lifted her crystal wine goblet and nodded.
"I understand, though," she told him, taking a sip of the deep red liquid. "I want to be just like her someday. I want to be an actress, and see the world!"
"Is that all?" The Goblin King smiled in a satisfactory sort of way and leaned back again. "You can do all that now, Sarah. You have the power to do anything you dream of."
"Do I?" she replied in a suddenly preoccupied voice, her expression growing wistful. "Yes, I suppose I do…You gave me this necklace, didn't you?" Jareth only nodded, but she seemed to know the answer anyway. With a distant smile, she brought a hand up to gently touch the pendant hanging from its frail chain. "I can do anything with it?"
"Anything," he agreed. "Go ahead, Sarah. Make a wish. What do you want?"
"I want…" Her gaze was still unfocused as she continued to lightly finger the crescent moon-shaped pendant. "I don't know what I want…"
Jareth wasn't sure to laugh or become worried. He'd expected her to say 'I want Toby back', which despite ruining a lovely evening, would have cost him the only leverage he had to keep her with him. But he'd given her the opportunity to say the words because he wanted to show her that he cared for her enough to let her go, should she still decide she wanted to leave…and she hadn't taken it. Granted, it sounded as though the wine she'd been drinking was muddling her thoughts, but even so, she hadn't consumed enough to be that oblivious. He wondered what was going on, but made no mention of it. He'd given her the opportunity once, but he wasn't stupid enough to give it twice.
"I think you've had enough wine for the evening," he said, drawing her attention away from the necklace. She held the goblet away from him as he leaned over to take it. A wryly amused smile spread across his features. "Sarah, don't be stubborn."
"I'm not stubborn," she protested, placing the goblet on the table, well away from his grasp. "Don't you think you've taken enough away from me already?"
So she did still remember Toby. Then why hadn't she taken the opportunity to get him back? It would have been as simple as it had been for her to wish him away in the first place! Jareth leaned back in his chair and watched the young woman with a thoughtful gaze. He knew that mortals, after being in the Underground for long enough, began to forget about their own world, but that was supposed to happen only to children, like Toby. Toby had begun to forget even before the thirteen hours were over; the younger they were, the quicker they forgot about reality and succumbed to the magic of the Underground. But Sarah was of the age where she should have retained her hold on reality. However, he reflected, despite her age, she was still a child in so many ways. Was the childlike part of her beginning to forget about her own world? The idea was dangerous and exciting all at once.
"Sarah…" he began, then stopped. Instead of continuing with his train of thought, Jareth stood up. "Have a good evening."
"You're leaving?" Sarah blurted out incredulously.
"If I stay, it will only ruin the evening," he told her, "and I was enjoying myself too much to end it on a bad note. So I bid you good night."
"Good night…" She watched him leave with a confused expression on her face. Why did he have to leave? And why did she feel so disappointed to see him go?
The sun was well above the horizon before Sarah awoke the next day. She stretched luxuriously in her bed, feeling strangely better than she had in days. Why was that? she wondered. She hadn't really come any closer to reaching her goal, and Jareth was still obviously intent on keeping her and Toby in the Underground. So why did she feel so relaxed, so at ease in her surroundings?
"Well, it doesn't matter," she stated to herself, climbing out of bed. "Today I'm going to figure out how to make this necklace work!"
After bathing, she clothed herself in a light-colored dress-though what she really wanted was a fresh pair of blue jeans-and left the palace. Despite the rocky projection Jareth's castle had been built upon, Sarah had discovered that there was a wide courtyard behind the intimidating structure. Of course, it was just as dead and unwelcoming as the rest of the city, but it was the perfect place for Sarah to begin testing her newly-granted powers. Could she turn a barren expanse of rocky earth into a beautiful garden?
Now, how do I do this? she wondered, perching herself on a flat stone. Hazel eyes scanned the area over and over again as she thought. Finally, deciding it was as simple as wishing away Toby had been, she stood up and took a deep breath. "I wish that…flowers would grow!"
Nothing happened. Scowling, Sarah turned away and propped her foot up on the flat rock, leaning slightly so that her elbow was resting on her knee, and her chin was cupped in her palm. The posture wasn't suited for someone wearing a dress, but she hardly noticed how silly she looked as she continued her musings. When she again turned around, her breath caught in her throat. All around her, beautiful wildflowers were blooming, their colors bright and cheerful against the gloomy backdrop of the Labyrinth. Unfortunately, she hadn't planned anything further than just wishing them to grow, and so the flowers had sprung up with reckless abandon, giving the impression of a weedy field rather than a well-cultivated garden. But still, it was a start. Pleased with her work, Sarah plucked a dainty pink daisy from its stem and tucked it into her hair, then made her way carefully back to the front of the castle. She would work with her garden more later, but at that moment, she wanted to try her luck in the Goblin City.
What exactly she planned on doing there, she had no idea. Jareth had told her that she had no real authority as queen, pendant or not, but if she was able to use the necklace's power, then didn't that technically mean that she did have authority? Well, some authority, at least. Jareth was probably just lying to her about her lack of power, hoping that she'd be too scared to defy him. Didn't he know anything about her? Not that he'd never frightened her before-when they first met, she would have run screaming if it hadn't been for Toby-but by now, she knew him well enough not to fear him. If he hadn't done anything thus far to harm her, he wouldn't do so in the future…right?
Very few of the goblins paused in their daily boisterous activities when Sarah walked past, and those who did stop only stared at her in surprise, murmured something about the queen, and then scampered off in fear for their lives. Apparently, they were well aware of their king's malicious behavior, and assumed their queen would act the same. Sarah smiled wryly, wondering how long it would take those goblins to realize that she was as different from Jareth as the sun was from the moon. She continued her aimless meandering, hardly paying attention to where she was going.
Up ahead, the commotion was so loud that Sarah ducked behind a rickety house, fearing that some sort of violence was about to take place. Peering around the corner, she saw a short, squat goblin woman shrieking frantically as a taller, dog-faced goblin pried a squalling baby from her arms. Sarah's mouth opened in surprise as she watched the kidnapping take place, but nothing prepared her for the four goblins who stormed in on their lizard-like mounts and grabbed the woman, dragging her off and away from her child. What was going on?!
"Wait a minute!" she shouted, coming out of hiding. The woman was gone by that point, having been pulled quickly down the street, but the canine goblin was still standing in the middle of the narrow side street. He looked at her with wide golden eyes as she approached. Sarah towered over him by several feet, glowering at him with all the menace she could dredge up. It wasn't hard to do, after she reminded herself that Jareth had done virtually the same thing to her and Toby.
"Queen Sarah," the goblin gasped, his arms going slack. The crying baby began falling to the ground, but Sarah quickly bent down and retrieved him.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, holding the furry baby close to her. "Where'd you take his mother?"
"I…I…" he stammered, eyes still fixed fearfully on her. Did she really look that frightening? "I'm sorry, my queen!"
"I wish…" Sarah trailed off musingly. "I wish for you to get lost inside the Labyrinth and never get out!" It was the worst punishment she could think of besides death, and death was one thing she'd never wish for anybody. Before her eyes, the ugly goblin disappeared with a frightened shout. Sarah smiled in satisfaction, then held the small baby out at arms' length and studied it. It was smaller than a human child, and furry, with big brown eyes and a snub nose. It watched her with a curious expression, its tears for the moment gone.
"Hello, little one," Sarah said, smiling at the goblin babe. "We're going to find your mama, don't worry." She snuggled the baby against her once more and headed off in the direction the other goblins had gone. How far could they have gotten in this amount of time…and in which direction would they have gone?
Fortunately, goblins weren't blessed with much intelligence, and so by keeping on the same street, Sarah soon caught up to her quarry. The baby's squalling began anew when it saw its mother being dragged by the arms down the street. The loud noise alerted the four guards to Sarah's presence, and they promptly turned around, two of them raising their spears while the remaining two stood off to the side and continued to hold the plump goblin woman. If any of them recognized her as the Queen of the Goblins, they made no sign of it.
"Let her go," Sarah said loudly, trying to call back her intimidating expression. The goblins grunted in some language she didn't understand. "Let her go!"
What happened next was such a blur that Sarah hardly knew what to think. The goblin woman began fighting with renewed energy, shouting all number of loud curses at her captors. At the same instant, a very familiar voice rose up from a nearby alleyway, followed by a sheepdog hurtling out of nowhere toward the armed goblins. Atop the dog was a small fox, his blue hat crooked and its distinguished plume falling into his eyes. Nonetheless, he charged like the noblest of soldiers, giving the lizard mounts a good thwack to the head as he went by. Sarah watched in astonishment as Sir Didymus darted back and forth, cracking a goblin on the head as he flew past once and then getting the other on his knee as he came by again. Both goblins watched in confusion, too slow to fight back.
When at last it seemed that the small warrior was growing weary, a new ally lumbered out of the alley, carrying a rock in his massive hands. Before the goblins could react, Ludo raised the rock above his head and then sent it crashing down, first on one goblin's head, and then on the other. Both collapsed unconscious to the ground. In the background, Hoggle had crept up behind the remaining two goblins and successfully pulled their mounts from beneath them, using a length of rope tied around the lizards' legs. Panicked, the goblin soldiers relinquished their captive and ran off in fear for their lives. The goblin woman stood up and brushed herself off, grumbling indignantly.
"Are you okay?" Sarah asked, approaching the beleaguered woman. She held out the wriggling baby. The goblin woman's eyes lit up as she took the child into her arms and hugged it.
"Thank you, Queen Sarah," she said, a smile forming on her face. The timbre of her voice was mellow, but there was a gravelly quality to it that made her sound old.
"I'm just glad I was there," she replied, smiling back at the woman. "Why did they do that?"
The short-statured woman cast an annoyed glance at Hoggle, then pointed a thumb at him. "They thought I'd know where he was," she stated, frowning in distaste. "When I told 'em I had no idea where he went off to, they said they were gonna take me to the castle and let Jareth deal with me. But they didn't have to steal my baby!" She snuggled the baby closer to her.
"You two know each other?" Sarah asked in bewilderment. Hoggle rolled his eyes.
"Yeah," he grunted. "This is Hetta. My sister."
"You have a sister?" The question escaped her lips before she'd been able to stop it. She immediately felt foolish; why was it so surprising that he might have relatives? After all, she didn't know him that well yet, so he could have a whole family hidden away somewhere, for all she knew! However, that possibility was a little too unbelievable. He had been so self-centered when she first met him that there was no way he could have had a family.
"He doesn't talk about me much, does he?" Hetta remarked, interrupting Sarah's thoughts. "Well, I don't talk about him too much, either. Not much to talk about!" She chuckled quietly to herself, while Hoggle scowled.
Sarah giggled, then looked at her three friends, who should have been hiding rather than prancing about right under Jareth's nose. "Thank you for helping me," she said, hugging them each in turn. Then abrubtly she frowned. "But you shouldn't have come here! If Jareth sees you, or if those goblins run off to tell him you're here, he'll find you and put you in the Bog of Stench!"
"The Bog of Eternal Stench, eh?" Hetta was still looking quite amused with herself. "Just your sort of place, Hoggle!"
"Would you be quiet?" Hoggle snapped impatiently. Hetta was unfazed by her brother's surly attitude. "Sarah, didn't you call for us? That's why we came…"
"No, I…" Sarah reached up to touch the pendant hanging around her neck. "I must have been wishing for help…"
"What is that, my lady?" Sir Didymus inquired, pointing to the dainty crescent moon. The crystal hanging from its top point glittered like smooth ice.
"Jareth gave it to me," Sarah told him, letting her hand drop. "It has some kind of power, and I've been trying to figure out how to use it. I still can't figure out why he gave it to me, though, especially when he said I had no authority as queen."
Hetta stared up at Sarah as if the mortal girl was quite dense. "That's obvious," she said in her gravelly voice. It's because he loves you."
The End! For now, anyway...I thought this part was longer than it turned out to be (and it SHOULDA been longer, considering how long it took for me to post!), but oh well! Now it's time to work on the next part...