DISCLAIMER: I claim Gorbath and all of his army. The rest is just wishful thinking.
Chapter Four
Somewhere, a bell was ringing. It was a good, old fashioned school bell, not one of the new, electronic ones that so many places had adapted. A door slammed open and hundreds of children poured out of the school. They rushed around the tall figure in their midst without noticing her, heading for school buses or waiting parents. Finally, after the rush of students had slowed, a boy with sandy brown hair and downcast eyes trudged out the door. He paid no attention to the other students and would have walked right past his sister is she hadn't said his name.
"Toby?" The boy jumped before seeing her. Sarah placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Are you okay, Toby? What's wrong?" With eyes still lowered, Toby faced his sister. For a moment, it seemed as if he was going to be stubborn but then his lower lip trembled and he threw himself into Sarah's arms. Kneeling down, she hugged him reassuringly. "What's wrong?" she repeated.
The boy gulped back a sob and quickly rubbed at his red eyes. He sniffled and wiped his nose on his shirt sleeve. Sarah grimaced but said nothing. Finally, he was calm enough to speak in a quavering voice.
"I was just playing with some friends," he sniffed, "and Mark wanted to be Luke Skywalker and James wanted to be Wolverine so I said I was gonna be the Goblin King. And then Mark said that there's no such thing as a Goblin King so I couldn't be him." Tears were again dripping down the boy's face. "And then I said that if the Goblin King wasn't real, then neither was Luke Skywalker or Wolverine and he was to real because you told me so." Sarah sighed inwardly. She had told Toby the tale of the Labyrinth as a bedtime story and no matter how evil she made Jareth seem, Toby still idolized the Goblin King.
Toby sniffed again. "And then they said they didn't wanna play with me anymore and they told everyone else not to play with me either." He paused for a minute. "But he IS real, Sarah, isn't he? He HAS to be real!"
"Oh, Toby," Sarah sighed. She had to tell him about Jareth before they got home. She didn't want him to walk in and blurt out the Goblin King's entire past. There was no way of knowing how he would react once he did remember. She hugged Toby again and looked him straight in the eye.
"Of course he's real! Did you really think I made all those stories up?" The boy smiled a little and shook his head. "Good. Now, I have a surprise for you."
"What is it?" he asked eagerly, tears forgotten. Sarah leaned closer to him conspiratorily.
"How would you like to meet," she paused and her brother fidgeted in anticipation, "the real, live Goblin King?" Her brother's mouth fell open in astonishment as he stared at her. "But Toby," she continued before he could react, "something bad has happened. The Goblin King doesn't remember anything from the stories. So I want you to be really careful about what you say, okay? He's got to remember things on his own." Toby just nodded, his face still dazed. Sarah wasn't sure if his silence was good or not. At least he seemed to accept the news easily enough.
They walked home in silence. As they got closer to the house, Toby began to walk slower. Finally, he stopped and looked up at his sister worriedly.
"What do I call him?" he asked. Sarah smiled.
"Jareth."
"Jareth." He repeated the name quietly. "And what am I supposed to say to him? Can I ask him about goblins? Will he do magic tricks for me? What if--"
"Toby," Sarah interrupted firmly. "Remember what I said about something bad happening? Jareth doesn't know anything about goblins or magic tricks or anything from any of the stories. All he knows right now is his name and mine. So try not to bring up anything about his past, all right?" She smiled gently at her brother. Toby squirmed as he absorbed her speech.
"But what do I SAY?" he asked again, sounding extremely nervous for such a young child. Sarah bit her lip as she thought about it.
"Why don't you tell him about what you like to do for fun?" She didn't think Jareth would be very interested, but it was important to Toby. His face brightened as he listened to what she said.
"Yeah," he crowed in excitement, "I can tell him all about Star Wars and the X-Men and..." Sarah smiled in relief as they resumed walking and let Toby's chattering wash over her. Now, what would SHE say?
-----------------
The shadows were chasing him. He could feel them, creeping silently behind him, unseen by living eyes. Somehow he knew they were there. He ran. He ran faster than he thought possible and still they followed. Something unutterably cold brushed his arm. Jumping to the side, he whirled and raised a hand to attack but there was nothing there. Just a child in striped pajamas crying.
He frowned in confusion and picked up the boy gently. The child stopped crying and blinked tearful eyes at him. It smiled and then burbled happily. Then the cheerful giggling became a croak and he saw the boy's face contort into an ugly grimace. The beast in his arms cackled maniacally. Thrusting it away in revulsion, he looked for a way out, a door, a tunnel, anything to get him away from the monster.
There was a strange light calling to him and he followed it unconsciously, wanting only to escape the horror he had just witnessed. The light seemed to tug at him, pulling him along. The closer he got to it, the faster it pulled him and he felt like he was tumbling into a bottomless pit.
----------------
With a gasp, Jareth came awake. His eyes darted around the room into every corner, looking for...shadows? But he was alone. He raised a hand to his forehead dizzily. The room he was in seemed strange to him but also vaguely familiar. He breathed deeply, trying to calm the fear racing through his mind. He found that he could stand and began to wander around the room, grateful to have something to distract him from his dreams.
Pictures on one wall caught his attention. One in particular of a young girl drew his eyes. He realized he was inches away from it but couldn't remember moving. A frown creased his face. What was so important about this picture? He thought carefully, trying to remember something, anything, about his past. For much of his life, there was nothing. But for the last few days...
"Sarah," he murmured in wonder. He remembered the girl's name and how she had healed him from a strange wound. Looking at other pictures, he saw a jolly looking man with a thin woman beside him. These he disregarded; they meant nothing to him. But pictures of a small boy struck a cord in his memory. He paused, trying to think through the hazy blur. There was something about a child, and perhaps a monster? And why was he thinking of crystal balls?
The sound of a door opening distracted him from his thoughts. Suddenly apprehensive, he moved around the corner so he could see who was coming. The girl, Sarah, was standing in the doorway. She looked a bit nervously and smiled a little when she saw he was awake, but it was not her that Jareth was watching. His eyes were riveted on the boy standing calmly beside her. The boy walked boldly up to Jareth and stuck out his hand.
"Hullo, Jareth," he said happily. "It's real nice to meet you." Jareth raised an eyebrow in surprise and caught a glimpse of an amused grin on Sarah's face before she raised a hand to cover the grin. He solemnly shook the boy's hand.
"It's nice to meet you...again...Toby."
End Chapter Four.
Chapter Four
Somewhere, a bell was ringing. It was a good, old fashioned school bell, not one of the new, electronic ones that so many places had adapted. A door slammed open and hundreds of children poured out of the school. They rushed around the tall figure in their midst without noticing her, heading for school buses or waiting parents. Finally, after the rush of students had slowed, a boy with sandy brown hair and downcast eyes trudged out the door. He paid no attention to the other students and would have walked right past his sister is she hadn't said his name.
"Toby?" The boy jumped before seeing her. Sarah placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Are you okay, Toby? What's wrong?" With eyes still lowered, Toby faced his sister. For a moment, it seemed as if he was going to be stubborn but then his lower lip trembled and he threw himself into Sarah's arms. Kneeling down, she hugged him reassuringly. "What's wrong?" she repeated.
The boy gulped back a sob and quickly rubbed at his red eyes. He sniffled and wiped his nose on his shirt sleeve. Sarah grimaced but said nothing. Finally, he was calm enough to speak in a quavering voice.
"I was just playing with some friends," he sniffed, "and Mark wanted to be Luke Skywalker and James wanted to be Wolverine so I said I was gonna be the Goblin King. And then Mark said that there's no such thing as a Goblin King so I couldn't be him." Tears were again dripping down the boy's face. "And then I said that if the Goblin King wasn't real, then neither was Luke Skywalker or Wolverine and he was to real because you told me so." Sarah sighed inwardly. She had told Toby the tale of the Labyrinth as a bedtime story and no matter how evil she made Jareth seem, Toby still idolized the Goblin King.
Toby sniffed again. "And then they said they didn't wanna play with me anymore and they told everyone else not to play with me either." He paused for a minute. "But he IS real, Sarah, isn't he? He HAS to be real!"
"Oh, Toby," Sarah sighed. She had to tell him about Jareth before they got home. She didn't want him to walk in and blurt out the Goblin King's entire past. There was no way of knowing how he would react once he did remember. She hugged Toby again and looked him straight in the eye.
"Of course he's real! Did you really think I made all those stories up?" The boy smiled a little and shook his head. "Good. Now, I have a surprise for you."
"What is it?" he asked eagerly, tears forgotten. Sarah leaned closer to him conspiratorily.
"How would you like to meet," she paused and her brother fidgeted in anticipation, "the real, live Goblin King?" Her brother's mouth fell open in astonishment as he stared at her. "But Toby," she continued before he could react, "something bad has happened. The Goblin King doesn't remember anything from the stories. So I want you to be really careful about what you say, okay? He's got to remember things on his own." Toby just nodded, his face still dazed. Sarah wasn't sure if his silence was good or not. At least he seemed to accept the news easily enough.
They walked home in silence. As they got closer to the house, Toby began to walk slower. Finally, he stopped and looked up at his sister worriedly.
"What do I call him?" he asked. Sarah smiled.
"Jareth."
"Jareth." He repeated the name quietly. "And what am I supposed to say to him? Can I ask him about goblins? Will he do magic tricks for me? What if--"
"Toby," Sarah interrupted firmly. "Remember what I said about something bad happening? Jareth doesn't know anything about goblins or magic tricks or anything from any of the stories. All he knows right now is his name and mine. So try not to bring up anything about his past, all right?" She smiled gently at her brother. Toby squirmed as he absorbed her speech.
"But what do I SAY?" he asked again, sounding extremely nervous for such a young child. Sarah bit her lip as she thought about it.
"Why don't you tell him about what you like to do for fun?" She didn't think Jareth would be very interested, but it was important to Toby. His face brightened as he listened to what she said.
"Yeah," he crowed in excitement, "I can tell him all about Star Wars and the X-Men and..." Sarah smiled in relief as they resumed walking and let Toby's chattering wash over her. Now, what would SHE say?
-----------------
The shadows were chasing him. He could feel them, creeping silently behind him, unseen by living eyes. Somehow he knew they were there. He ran. He ran faster than he thought possible and still they followed. Something unutterably cold brushed his arm. Jumping to the side, he whirled and raised a hand to attack but there was nothing there. Just a child in striped pajamas crying.
He frowned in confusion and picked up the boy gently. The child stopped crying and blinked tearful eyes at him. It smiled and then burbled happily. Then the cheerful giggling became a croak and he saw the boy's face contort into an ugly grimace. The beast in his arms cackled maniacally. Thrusting it away in revulsion, he looked for a way out, a door, a tunnel, anything to get him away from the monster.
There was a strange light calling to him and he followed it unconsciously, wanting only to escape the horror he had just witnessed. The light seemed to tug at him, pulling him along. The closer he got to it, the faster it pulled him and he felt like he was tumbling into a bottomless pit.
----------------
With a gasp, Jareth came awake. His eyes darted around the room into every corner, looking for...shadows? But he was alone. He raised a hand to his forehead dizzily. The room he was in seemed strange to him but also vaguely familiar. He breathed deeply, trying to calm the fear racing through his mind. He found that he could stand and began to wander around the room, grateful to have something to distract him from his dreams.
Pictures on one wall caught his attention. One in particular of a young girl drew his eyes. He realized he was inches away from it but couldn't remember moving. A frown creased his face. What was so important about this picture? He thought carefully, trying to remember something, anything, about his past. For much of his life, there was nothing. But for the last few days...
"Sarah," he murmured in wonder. He remembered the girl's name and how she had healed him from a strange wound. Looking at other pictures, he saw a jolly looking man with a thin woman beside him. These he disregarded; they meant nothing to him. But pictures of a small boy struck a cord in his memory. He paused, trying to think through the hazy blur. There was something about a child, and perhaps a monster? And why was he thinking of crystal balls?
The sound of a door opening distracted him from his thoughts. Suddenly apprehensive, he moved around the corner so he could see who was coming. The girl, Sarah, was standing in the doorway. She looked a bit nervously and smiled a little when she saw he was awake, but it was not her that Jareth was watching. His eyes were riveted on the boy standing calmly beside her. The boy walked boldly up to Jareth and stuck out his hand.
"Hullo, Jareth," he said happily. "It's real nice to meet you." Jareth raised an eyebrow in surprise and caught a glimpse of an amused grin on Sarah's face before she raised a hand to cover the grin. He solemnly shook the boy's hand.
"It's nice to meet you...again...Toby."
End Chapter Four.