AN: Alright, here is the next part. Once again, my computer decided I wasn't good enough to go on FF.Net for whatever reason, so this is the first I've been able to post it. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. This part is a little shorter, but it does help explain one thing: where exactly was Jareth anyway? The next part should be out soon, that is IF ff.net plays nice with my computer. Oh, and please, let me know, would anybody bother to read a sequel of this?? What if the sequel was not only the main Laby characters, but more of my own creation, D'Vinnian?? Or, do you think I should give D'Vinnian his own story, and explain a little of his history?? Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, welcome…criticism is fine too, just as long as you elaborate for me. In the meantime, enjoy and R&R!! ~Saphire
Chapter seventeen: Digging Deeper
"Well?" The dwarf prompted the Goblin Lord as he sat quietly mulling over the information presented to him by the motley crew of Didymus, Ludo, and Hoggle.
Ever since the three had finished their observations of Sarah (which, while not much from Ludo's end, still proved to be helpful), D'Vinnian had been sitting in utter silence. The truth was, he was stumped. He knew that the trio spoke the truth, and he could tell that whatever was between his cousin and that mortal woman was more than Jareth would ever admit to. He said he had loved her…past tense. Now, he denies everything…supposedly for the sake of rebuilding the Labyrinth. Finally, feeling six eyes trained on him, he decided to speak his thoughts.
"Well, Hoggle, it appears that there is much more here than meets the eye. Unfortunately, there are several problems here. The first is that Sarah is, in fact, responsible for the fate of the Goblin Kingdom. I realize that she's here to help fix her mistake, but I feel that the king is using her wrong. Whatever theories he has won't work until he looks at the obvious. The problem with the Goblin King looking at the obvious is his pride."
Here he paused to chuckle shortly as all three creatures nodded their heads in firm affirmation.
"Pride and stubbornness and a thick skull….all of which describe Jareth - uh, King Jareth - perfectly."
He paused to take a breath and gather the rest of his thoughts, and Hoggle jumped in,
"And you're forgettin', Lord D'Vinnian, that he's also gots a bad temper."
"Brother Hoggle, quiet. This is not an attack on the king, we are supposed to be helping both him and Sarah," Didymus reprimanded.
Hoggle would have argued back, but a sharp glance from D'Vinnian stopped him short. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to poke at the dust in the fire pit with the stick he was holding.
"As much as you are right, Hoggle, listing my cousin's lesser qualities isn't helping us. Alright, let's skip over the rest and get to the point."
"Which is?" Didymus asked cautiously.
"Which is, Sir Didymus, that we need to take matters into our own hands."
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"My dreams? How do you figure?" Sarah asked quietly, looking around her and wondering if it could be true.
"Well, Sarah, the Labyrinth showed no signs of life until your dream. The growth originates in the very spot you and I were talking -"
"Talking?" Sarah interrupted.
"Fine, then, arguing. I was also able to get some of my still lacking powers back…but only for short periods of time. Then, there was nothing for two weeks. And, the very night I bring you back Underground…and you come to this exact spot, there is growth again. Both times at night, and both originating with you," Jareth explained.
"Ok, I understand that, but, Jareth, there is no way I could have dreamed of this spot. I had no idea what it looked like before, remember?"
"Yes. I believe that your dreams are just a source for the Labyrinth for use for growth. A source of magic."
"Magic?"
The Goblin King nodded, "Certainly, Sarah. Think of all the power you hold in your dreams. Think of all the possibilities set before you every night. Dreams, and the gift of dreams, are not to be taken lightly."
Sarah blushed, her mind flashing back to a perfect crystal that once held her dreams, offered to her for the small price of the blond haired boy who was probably at home in bed, or at school terrorizing the little girls.
The woman sighed, "But, Jareth, I don't remember having any dreams."
Jareth shrugged, "From what I am told, it is quite possible for humans to have vivid dreams and yet not remember them."
"What about you? You dream, don't you?"
Jareth nodded, "Yes, but not quite in the same way and not quite as often. The land is so connected to dreams, they are a lot more real for me. And I have more control over them…most of the time. I also remember every single one of them."
"Well, could it be your dreams, then??"
Jareth shook his head, "No. I haven't dreamt of the Labyrinth in a long time, Sarah."
"Why not?" Sarah asked, her curiosity piqued.
She could see a subtle change in the king, almost like a slowly descending fog, but it was barely noticeable.
"That has to do with the past, which I would rather forget," Jareth said, turning to walk away.
Without any real purpose, Sarah grabbed his elbow to stop his exit,
"Wait, Jareth. I - I'm not trying to anger you on purpose anymore. We said we would be friends. But why can't you tell me where you were?"
Jareth tuned slowly, "It's a hard concept to explain."
Sarah shrugged, "So? Tell me. Try."
The king thought for a moment, then acquiesced with a sigh, "I was nowhere, Sarah. And it's not a pleasant place to be."
"You were Nowhere? Like a place…a name, right? Like the Underground is a name?"
Jareth shook his head, "No, Sarah, I was nowhere. I was as close to dead as I could ever get."
"Nowhere?"
Jareth nodded sadly, "Nowhere. And I could do little about it. I had no form, no body, owl, fae, or otherwise."
"So, you were like a spirit."
"Sort of. I suppose I could liken it to being in Purgatory…or Limbo. But, it's not the same. I had nothing…no senses…only a feeling that the Labyrinth was dying, and needed me."
Sarah's mood dropped right along with Jareth's, and her next question came out barely above a whisper.
"How did you manage to come back?"
"Determination. Time. Trying to reach out and connect to some part of the Labyrinth…to anything that I could draw power from. It took ten years to be able to come back, and I am still not even remotely close to having the power I once held with almost no thought. I have confidence, though, that with the rebirth of the Labyrinth, so will I gain my power," Jareth answered as best he could.
Sarah felt tears burning her eyes for what he had been through, for what she had put him through, but she refused to shed any. She had been crying too much as of late anyway.
Instead, she sighed, and said in a shaky voice, "Jareth, I know I can never undo what I've done completely, but I am sorry, despite what you believe. I didn't know the consequences, like you said. I didn't think…and I wish desperately that I had. I wish I had seen what you think I should have. I -"
But Jareth place a gloved finger over her lips to quiet her, "Enough. No more of this. If we want to rebuild this place, we need to concentrate of the now, and on your dreams. As I said before, whatever happened in the past means nothing now."
Reluctantly, Sarah nodded her head in mute agreement and Jareth took away his finger, then lead her slowly back to camp. Sarah was completely silent, going over everything that had happened since she and Jareth and called a truce the night before. No matter what Jareth said about the past meaning nothing, Sarah couldn't let it go. There was something there that she was missing, and she wanted to know what
