The story thus far has taken me three months to write, and this chapter took only three hours! It is basically writing itself at this point. Lots of stuff going on in this chapter because I want to wrap things up. I can't wait for the end!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Delon, and I'm beginning to wonder why I even claim him. Title today belongs to Garth Brooks, from the movie "Frequency".
Chapter 7
When You Come Back To Me Again
Sarah sat back down at her vanity table and smiled at her reflection. Freshly showered, teeth brushed, hair combed and straightened, she knew that she looked more presentable than she had a few minutes before when she had just risen from her bed. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt and blouse that she had put on, wanting to look nice for Jareth. This was, after all, the beginning of the rest of her life...
She continued to gaze at her reflection, making sure everything was perfect. She looked about her room's reflection, and her eyes fell upon her sky crystal, winking at her from its stand. She stood and walked over to the table where it stood and picked it up.
"It won't be long until we will get to spend the rest of eternity together, Jareth my love." She thought, returning to her seat with the crystal. She drew a deep breath and said, "Okay, Jareth. I let you have your fun for one night. Now will you please talk to me? I have something that I really want to say."
In response, Sarah heard the clock tick in the hallway outside of her room.
"Come on, Jareth. You've had your fun. I think you will like what I'm going to say."
The silence she was getting in return was starting to worry Sarah. She wrinkled her forehead and thought about what could possible be keeping Jareth from answering her. Desperately, she called to the one who would know.
"Hoggle, I need you."
"What fer? Seems like you never got time for your friends anymore." Hoggle's face appeared in the mirror just above her left shoulder. She turned and saw the dwarf standing behind her chair.
"I'm sorry, Hoggle. I've been busy. Where is Jareth?"
"Ya mean he ain't here? When I heard that he didn't return to the castle last night, I assumed he was with you." Hoggle looked a bit shocked.
"Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. No one has heard nor seen Jareth since last night?" The panic in Sarah's voice was growing.
"I ain't seen him since yesterday afternoon. Things is not right, Sarah. Jareth never stays away this long without getting word to the kingdom. It ain't right, I tell ya."
"I think I have to agree with you on that. Is there anyway I can get there?" Sarah paced her room, anxious to be doing something.
"I can't get you there, if that's what ya mean. Only Jareth is strong enough to do that. He's got more magic in one of them crystals than I..."
"Crystals!" Sarah interrupted, suddenly remembering Jareth's present which she still held in her hand. She looked at it and its stars twinkled merrily on, oblivious to the turmoil of its surroundings.
"Will this get me there?" Sarah asked, looking at Hoggle. She showed him the crystal, and he stood mesmerized at its glittering stars.
"Yeah, it should. But be careful. Ya never know what Jareth had packed into those neat little packages. One wrong move, and it could be the cleaners for you."
Sarah held the crystal in both hands and closed her eyes. "I wish I was in the Labyrinth."
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing on the hill outside of the Labyrinth. The surroundings looked the same except for the dark gray clouds hanging over the landscape. They looked like they could open up to a downpour at any minute. The strange thing was that they seemed to be centered above the castle.
"What the..."Hoggle said as he appeared behind Sarah, "Whatever is going on here, I ain't got nothin' to do with it. The Labyrinth was its perfectly normal self when ya called. Somethin' ain't right, I tell ya."
"Yeah, I get that feeling too. Maybe we should ask someone about all this. Come on, maybe we can find someone in the there that will tell us what is going on." She jogged down the hill towards the entrance, thankful she had decided on flat loafers instead of heels.
The entrance doors creaked open as Sarah and Hoggle approached. The pair stepped through the doorway and into the endless maze, unfazed by its appearance.
"I don't likes the looks of this, Sarah." Hoggle sounded worried.
"There is nothing to worry about, except for maybe Jareth's disappearance. We will just find someone to talk to and go back out again." She tried to mask the worry in her own voice.
As they stood trying to decide which way to go, a small voice on the wall beside them said, "E'llo."
Sarah turned sharply towards the voice. There was the same worm that had helped her before, sitting on a brick at eye level.
"Mr. Worm! How good it is to see you again! I hope you can help us."
"There's a door five feet to your left or ten feet to your right. You got to be solvin' the Labyrinth again, do you? My name's Henry, by the way."
"Thank you, but I was hoping you would know something."
"What's that, my dear?"
"Do you happen to know where the king is?"
"O'course I do! He's in the castle, same as always. Well, today at least." Henry hesitated a bit.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, King Delon only got here last night. Late last night. Said he was the new Goblin King. Since Jareth ain't been seen since yesterday, and no one dares disagree with a man who calls himself king, I guess we all accepted it as truth. Not that it affects me much. I'm just a worm."
Sarah and Hoggle looked at each other in shock as Henry spoke. "No one considered that something could be terribly wrong? You all just accepted this new king without asking any questions?" Sarah asked Henry, astounded.
"We don't say 'em out loud if we did have questions. Nobody would dare upset the king. No one brave enough. We just accept things as they happen and leave the rest to fate."
"So, does anyone have an idea as to where Jareth might be?"
"Lots of rumors flying around, Miss. Some says that he just got sick of the Labyrinth and left. Others say that he is trapped somewhere. But that's silly. Everyone knows hat he could just use his powers to get himself out again."
Not if he didn't have them anymore. thought Sarah. "Thank you, Henry. You have been a great help to us."
"Anytime, Miss. Anytime."
Sarah steered Hoggle away from Henry. The two of them walked side by side for a few steps before she spoke.
"Hoggle, now I an definitely worried. Jareth wouldn't just leave, because that would mean that he still has his powers. He would be able to answer me when I called last night and this morning, and I know he would have answered."
"So, what are ya thinking?"
"I'm thinking that this 'King Delon' has more to do with Jareth's disappearance than he lets on."
"D'ya think we should try and get to the castle?"
"No, I want to see what others have to say. Let's keep going."
"Wait a minute, Sarah. Look." He pointed to the crystal that she held in her hand. The midnight blue sky was now changing as if a miniature sun was about to rise. Sarah was mesmerized by the colors swirling together, and for a split second saw Jareth's face looking worn and tired. Almost as soon as he appeared, he was gone, leaving one the stars to blink at Sarah.
I'll lay my love between the stars.
"The crystal! The crystal will lead us to Jareth! Come on, Hoggle. We have no time to loose."
* * * * * * * *
"Yes, my lovely. Run and find your Jareth. If you can." Delon laughed evilly as he watched Sarah and Hoggle race through the Labyrinth through a crystal. Suddenly, their images blurred and finally faded completely. "Damn. Why is it that these things never want to cooperate with me?"
He flung the crystal aside, delighted to hear it smash against the throne room wall. "Perhaps the lovely Sarah would consent to being my queen once she sees the pitiful scrap that Jareth has become. Yes, true power can do that to a person. She would make a lovely decoration to my castle." Delon stretched and yawned, surprised at how easy it had been to take up residence in the castle. He had come expecting some sort of fight, but was only met with brief stares from the goblins before they returned to their tasks. If it weren't for the fact that they didn't have much brain power, Delon would have thought this gesture as a sign of disrespect. But, he sought his revenge by magically moving buckets and brooms around so that the goblins had to go searching for them, scattering a thick layer of dust on rooms that had just been cleaned, and sending his breakfast back to the kitchen three times, each time demanding something new.
"Jareth was a stupid fool for not doing everything he could to keep this life." Delon thought to himself as he reclined in the throne and placing his hands behind his head. His eyes began to droop, and he was soon in a deep sleep, thanks to the peaches that the goblins had made sure accompanied his breakfast.
* * * * * * * *
The hours stretched on as Sarah and Hoggle wove their way through the different mazes. Seeing not a soul, they were led by the crystal, which was steadily changing to a gold color from its original blue. By the time they had reached the hedge maze, the crystal was almost completely gold, showing blue streaks here and there.
"Sarah, do you love him?" Hoggle asked hesitantly.
"Yes Hoggle, I do. I know that now. I was such an idiot before that I am surprised that he sill loves me. I hope that I am not too late. What do you suppose happened?" Sarah's voice was tinged with sadness.
"Don't know. Can't guess even. Jareth's been king so long that it don't seem right him givin' up like that."
"Maybe he didn't."
"I dunno. He ain't been himself lately."
Sarah hung her head and blushed. She knew why Jareth had been out of sorts. It was her fault. Before she could say anything, she saw that they had reached the urn that they had crawled out of after their escape from the cleaners, as well as the wise man's stone chair. In the ground was the set of stairs that wound their way into darkness. Sarah looked down at the crystal, and her mouth opened in surprise. It was completely gold. Her head shot up as if she was expecting to see him standing in front of her, but instead only saw the staircase.
"He's there, Hoggle."
"But that can't be. That don't go nowhere."
"You mean the stairs just lead to a wall?"
"No, I mean there ain't nothin there. Just black nothingness. Last I heard, Jareth hadn't finished it. Rumor has it that it would lead to a whole nother section of the Labyrinth. Don't think he ever got around to it."
"I know he's there." Sarah walk to the top of the stairs and looked down. She felt miserable as doubt was beginning to creep into her brain. "This is your one chance for true love, girl. Don't screw it up. You know that he would do the same for you." She thought to herself. She felt Hoggle's hand on her arm, and she looked over at him. He was staring at the crystal. It was now blinking as if a light was being turned on and off within it.
"You gotta go, Sarah."
Sarah hugged her friend and started down the steps. With each step down, the crystal began to blink more rapidly. She reached the bottom step and stared into the blackness below. The weak light shining from above her was not enough to illuminate the bottom, if there was one. Loosing her nerve, Sarah nearly turned back before glancing at the crystal. It was blinking so rapidly that she could hardly tell it was blinking at all. She took a deep breath an stepped off of the last stair. She knew she was falling quickly, but could not tell how far she had gone. The dim light still shone constantly from about her, never growing smaller, even though she knew she had fallen quite a long distance. Just as she was beginning to think that she could fall forever, she hit bottom, laying flat on her back. The crystal rolled out of her hand into the blackness. Sarah watched it roll across the floor and be enveloped by the dark. As she got to her feet, she sensed that she was not alone.
"What have we here?" A dry voice said from the direction that the crystal had disappeared into. Sarah followed the voice with her eyes and watched astonished as the now-glowing gold crystal reappeared immediately before her eyes.
It was no longer blinking.
"Hello, Sarah Love."