Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jareth reeled backwards as Peter's fist connected with his chin, and just barely managed to catch himself on the edge of the table. His magic hadn't saved him that time, but he wasn't a bit surprised. He put his fingers to his face while Peter held his own bruised hand.

"We can't begin this way." Jareth said somewhat indistinctly; he had bitten his tongue. "Are we going to have a civilized dinner, or do I have to turn you both into bullfrogs?"

Dinah gripped her husband's arm, and gave him The Look. He nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But don't think I'm through with you yet."

Jareth flashed him a wry grin, and conceded, "Of course not. Well, lets begin, shall we?" He began rifling through the paper bag that had 'Ming's Authentic Chinese Food' printed in big, bold red letters on the side. "Well, sit down! They have very good pepper steak, and their Peking duck is out of this world. Their candied ginger tastes like soap, but what can I say."

Dinah went to get some paper plates, but returned to find Jareth putting out her good China. "Fitting, wouldn't you say?" he winked, and she tossed the paper plates onto the table.

"We're using these, or I don't eat." She stated firmly. Jareth regarded her with amusement, and put the China back into the cabinet.

"Very well. Sit."

The fae sat down at the head of the table, and began to divvy out the food. He paused, fixing them with an extremely annoyed glare, and they finally deigned to sit.

"What about Sarah?" Peter demanded.

"She's safe. I've given her a room near Hoggle. They will be spending the night at my castle, and will be starting out tomorrow."

Dinah blinked. "Wait, starting out where?"

"Patience, I'll tell you in due time. Eat." As if to demonstrate, he bit off the end of an egg roll, chewed slowly, and dipped it into a bowl of plum sauce. "It's quite good, you know. I can't find really good Chinese food in my castle."

Jareth and Dinah managed the chopsticks very well, but Peter gave up when he dropped a hot shrimp into his lap. He returned to his place, knife and fork in hand, and began to eat grudgingly. The Goblin King winked slyly, and said, "I thought you hated Chinese food."

"I do."

Jareth shrugged, and daintily sucked the meat from a snow crab leg. "Well, perhaps it's time we got down to business. You wish to know why I'm here."

"That would be nice."

"Mmm, well…" Jareth wiped his mouth, "She seems to have gotten half of my power, somehow, and I want it back."

"How did this happen?" asked Dinah.

"I assumed she'd know…but she doesn't. All that remains now is that I get it back. That's why you, my dear fellow, were able to get in that…crackerjack shot. My power essentially fizzled out at the last minute. Don't think it pleasures me to admit to this. Really, it's terribly embarrassing."

"When's Sarah coming back?" Peter interrupted, earning a truculent frown from Jareth, "And why are you tormenting her friends with those nightmares?"

"I needed to get her to come back. And the nightmares will continue until I have what I want. Now, I suggest that for the sake of your daughter's welfare and that of your own sanity, you stay out of my way." He disappeared, along with a good portion of the food.

* * *

"This is really good!" Jareth murmured to himself, alternately chewing on an egg roll and a 'beef-on-a-stick'. Goblins were actually passable cooks, but they made nothing like this! Ah, the wonders of MSG…

He paused by Sarah's door, chewing thoughtfully as he tried to decide. The goblin woman saluted him, and he nodded absently. He handed her the food and looked his pocket watch, and saw that it was about 13:35. Time passed to Jareth's liking in the Labyrinth, so while Sarah's parents were 'enjoying' their meal, Sarah herself was almost certainly in bed. Should he visit her, or no? "She sleeps?" he asked.

The gobliness pursed her lips so that they resembled a withered old mosquito proboscis, and nodded. "I think so, Milord. At least, she was when I left her."

"That is well. See that no one disturbs me." He pushed past the gobliness, and slowly eased the door open. Soft candlelight greeted him, along with the sweet scent of a freshly bathed young girl, which he inhaled eagerly. Closing the door behind him, he padded softly over to Sarah's bed and peered intently down at her in the peach-tinted glow. His breath caught in his throat, as it always did when he observed her sleeping. He inhaled again…roses! She had bathed in rose scented bath oil.

Ah, her beautiful angel's face! Marred only by the bruise on her cheek, it rivaled that of the most beautiful fae woman. Her petal mouth parted slightly in sleep, her breath stroking his face with ethereal fingers. He lightly put his hands on her down comforter, and slowly drew it down to view the rest of her. She was wearing a silken nightgown, which he had laid out for her himself; she was not stubborn enough to reject that. He passed his hands slowly over her sleeping form, almost touching, but not quite; he could feel the heat radiating from her body, triggering an answering heat in his groin…

He straightened quickly, drew the covers back up, and left the room.

* * *

"Mornin', miss." Came the dry, creaky voice of Sarah's appointed guard, the gobliness. "You're to get up at once, an' dress an' meet his Majesty in twenty minutes. Now, here's yer clothes, don't be all day about it."

It was the very crack of dawn, and Sarah was annoyed. This gobliness had been pestering her all evening, talking about things that ranged from mildly interesting to downright disgusting, and bossing her about in a matronly fashion. She hadn't even turned her back when Sarah had bathed, and the girl had to just sit there in the nude while this creature bustled obliviously about the room like a mayfly. Still, that was better than being attended by a male goblin. Now, her sleep was being disturbed.

"It's still dark outside!" she protested feebly, clutching her filmy night dress about her body.

"His Majesty commands it. Skeered of the dark?"

Sarah decided not to respond to this. She reached for the clothes, and found them at the foot of her bed. These were the same clothes she had worn the day before, cleaned and pressed and sweet-smelling. Everything was there. Her jeans, her hunter-green sweater, her socks, even her undergarments. She blushed. Had Jareth seen these?

Well, almost everything was there. Her shoes were missing. In their place was a pair of brown leather calf-high boots. There was also something new; it was deep purple, whatever it was. It sort of resembled a cloak, but it had sleeves and a hood. It wasn't a jacket or a coat, though how she knew that was anyone's guess, including her own. She dressed quickly, and was literally pushed out into the hall where she met a bedraggled and thoroughly annoyed Hoggle. He had obviously slept in his clothes, having refused to strip in front of the goblin (or anyone else, for that matter), and was refusing to talk to anyone until Sarah appeared.

"How is that?" Hoggle asked, pointing to Sarah's bruised cheek.

"It's all right. How'd you sleep?"

He answered with a grunt and a vague shrug, and she thought it best to drop it. The circles under his eyes said it all. They sleepily trudged after the goblins, who led them to a small alcove with a fountain and bade them to wash. Sarah dipped her hands into the water, and Hoggle splashed some onto his face to wake himself up. He sputtered a bit, and wiped his face on a clean bath towel. The water actually had a thin sheet of broken ice floating on top. He shivered as water seeped into his collar and ran down his back.

The gobliness noticed, and nodded apologetically. "That used to be heated by his Majesty's power, but now…"

"That'll do, Lola." Jareth interjected, somewhat nettled that he was being discussed behind his back.

"Yes, Majesty." She stepped back, and left the room with the male.

"Well, good morning, Sarah. How are you enjoying your stay?" he asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

She thought for a moment, and said, "I…very nice."

Jareth nodded and looked like he expected more, but she was looking down at her feet. He turned his gaze to Hoggle, who took a step back but met his eyes stubbornly. "You're getting braver, Hoggle. You are no longer afraid of me?"

"'Course I am…but I got no choice."

"Ah, yes…she is your friend, after all, right?" he mocked, forgetting his resolution to be civil.

Sarah took a step forward, laid a hand on Hoggle's shoulder, and replied coldly, "Yes, I am. And he's my friend, like it or not." Hoggle looked up at her in surprise that was mixed with wonder; that she could be so cocky! He shivered involuntarily, and stepped away. Sarah never even noticed. She was staring at Jareth with something that made both dwarf and fae respectfully silent; open hatred flashed as she stared down her enemy. And her enemy backed off, almost humbly.

"I apologize, Sarah. And Hoggle." His voice turned cold. "Come with me, now."

"Where are we going?" asked Sarah.

Jareth didn't answer. Sarah pressed her lips together and jogged after him. Hoggle followed at a flat run, barely managing to keep Sarah's cloak in sight. She paused to wait, but he waved her on. He knew where Jareth was headed; he would catch up eventually.

Sarah followed Jareth into what she called 'the Escher Room', and stopped short. He smiled engagingly at her, and stepped off the ledge onto what looked like thin air. "I'll bet you wish you had known about this the last time you were here. The air bridge would have saved you some time and effort. Keep your eyes on my back; vertigo is a dangerous thing in this room. I won't be able to slow your fall this time." He began to walk forward, slowly, for her benefit. She took a tentative step, and expected nothing less than a fall to her death. It was like she never left the stone steps. She could hear Hoggle's tiny steps tapping in the hall behind her, and stopped to wait for him.

"Don't dawdle." Jareth warned, not looking back. "He will be fine. He used to work for me, remember? He knows his way around."

Sarah looked down, and felt her gorge rise in her throat. "I…I can't move…" The room began to tilt, and she was in Jareth's arms. Real worry showed on his face, and he lifted her carefully.

"God's teeth, don't faint here!" he panted, carrying her across the bridge. She swooned momentarily against his breast, her near-accident playing over and over in her mind. What if he hadn't caught her? Then she realized who's arms she was in, and looked up at Jareth in disgust.

"Put me down." She told him, looking him dead in the eye as he tightened his grip on her.

"No. I don't want you to fall."

"I won't fall, just put me down!" she began to struggle. He didn't answer, and it didn't matter anyway; they had reached the far end, and he did as she had asked. He offered her his arm, but she ignored him. She turned to wait for Hoggle, and Jareth folded his arms in resignation.

The dwarf was slowly making his way across the air bridge, his teeth clenched behind ashen lips, and his eyes trained firmly on Sarah. It was obvious that he had crossed the bridge before, but that didn't stop him from being frightened. Sarah had no trouble understanding why, and she stood stock-still, ignoring Jareth in favor of her friend. Hoggle reached the end of the bridge with a sigh, and Sarah turned to see that Jareth was gone. Hoggle beckoned, and went through the doorway.

The doorway led from the Escher Room to an enclosed balcony, and Jareth was seen standing by one of the windows. "See?" he pointed at Hoggle, "All in one piece. Some breakfast?"

Sarah looked over at the table, and spied what looked like leftover Chinese food. She frowned, but consented to nibble on one of the pot stickers. Hoggle swallowed hard, but didn't dare show his distaste. He followed Sarah's example and ate like a bird.

Sarah noticed that Jareth wasn't eating, and the food stuck in her throat as she wondered why. Was this food enchanted like the peach had been? He caught her eye, and shook his head. "Not to worry, it's safe."

"Why aren't you eating, then?" she countered evenly.

"I am unwell this morning." He frowned. Sarah looked at him closely, and shrugged. He did seem a bit pale, even for him. Sarah ate as much as she could stomach, which wasn't much, and pushed her plate away.

"Finished? Good. I am…very sorry to be sending you out into the Underground during the winter season, but I have no choice."

Sarah sneered quietly. Yes, poor, poor Jareth! What about Hoggle? How much more will he and the others have to go through? Where are the others?

"Why can't you just stay with me, Sarah? I would make you happy…I would give you anything." He pleaded suddenly.

"Maybe if you stopped the nightmares…" she hedged, though the idea of spending the rest of her life with this man made her stomach cold.

"I can't" he hissed. "You halved my powers, remember? This was easy to start, but now it's so big that I can't stop it! Not without my full power. I can make it worse," he hinted, "but I can't stop it."

She perceived his veiled threat, and her eyes hardened. How dare he!

"Do not look at me in that fashion! I could force you to remain with me, but I am giving you the choice!" he snapped at her, unintentionally spitting in her eye. He forced himself to be calm, and continued, "I suggest you use it. I've tried to reason with you, but I see that I have failed in that endeavor. Go out through those glass doors, and down the spiral staircase. A goblin will meet you with supplies." He left for the Escher Room, and Sarah shuddered and folded her arms over her small breasts. From the Escher Room door, one could look to the left and see a door opening seemingly into nothing. Sarah opened the door, and saw a stairway with a guardrail winding its way down around the tower to the ground.

Sarah and Hoggle met the goblin, who gave them food and a ride beyond the Goblin City and the Labyrinth, where they were left to fend for themselves. The sun was up now, and Sarah looked down to see Hoggle hugging himself and stamping to keep himself warm. Jareth hadn't even given him a coat! When Sarah voiced her displeasure of the fact, Hoggle waved it off, and told her not to worry.

"My house is nearby. We'll stop there first, and get some real food. What was that…stuff?" he wrinkled his nose.

"Chinese food, I believe. Dinah loves it, but my dad can't stand it. I can take it or leave it, but it had probably been sitting out overnight. Maybe that's why Jareth was 'unwell'."

"I can relate. It ain't sittin' right with me either." Hoggle rubbed his belly theatrically, and Sarah smiled.

"Let's go, before you turn into an icicle."

Hoggle led the way, and she followed him a short distance to a small house with a low doorway. He frowned sheepishly. "I know how it looks."

"Looks all right to me." she smiled. He led her in, and began to rummage through a closet for his snow clothes. Sarah was able to stand upright, but her head brushed the ceiling. Hoggle came out of the closet, slightly dusty and smelling of moth balls, and carrying his coat, leggings, and snow boots in one arm.

"I won' be long. Just gonna get us somethin' for later." He stuffed a good amount of venison jerky into their packs, along with some dried beans and a few onions. "Hopefully we won't need all this. There's inns along the way, but how many there is depends on where ya wanna git to." He removed his shoes, and began to pull on his leggings. Soon they were ready, and they set out in the direction that Hoggle had suggested. They would search for Ludo and Sir Didymous.