Chapter Seven
"What do you mean? I thought the child had been taken away." Jamie sat down on a silk chaise chair. Jareth made a gesture of impatience, and stood at the foot of the chair.
"How am I supposed to take a child that hasn't been born yet?", Jareth said, tapping his boot on the polished floor.
"But you're the Goblin King!" Jamie was thoroughly confused.
"Yes, but even Kings have to follow rules. Stop worrying about it, the child is mine one way or another, I do thank you for that by the way." Jareth smiled with a slight bow.
"All I want is to go to the Labyrinth. There is nothing for me here." Jamie straightened his shoulders.
"And what makes you think I can take you to the Labyrinth?" Jamie fumbled for an answer angrily.
"Sarah told me you offered her her dreams in exchange for a human child! My dream is to live in the Underground! It's all I want! I didn't think it would be so complicated, I thought you would be grateful that I wanted something so simple!" Jamie began to pace the room angrily. Jareth stood with his arms crossed coolly, mimicking his statue in the corner. "But I am grateful. Unfortunately, it's not simple."
"Why?", Jamie almost whined. Jareth sighed.
"I am losing my patience. Listen closely, because I am only going to explain this once. The Labyrinth was the unsolvable puzzle, the great mystery. It was created never to be solved. But the unthinkable happened and it was solved. It was partially my fault. I never even thought a mere human girl could solve my Labyrinth; otherwise I would have paid more attention to making sure that never happened. As a result of being solved, the Labyrinth became real. It is real now, and that is why I cannot bring you to the Labyrinth-" Jamie flew at Jareth in a rage. Jareth saw it coming a mile off and dealt him a blow across the face. Jamie fell to the floor. Jareth stared at him with eyes of stone.
"I am older than the dust. I am wiser than the owls. I've been spinning mazes and riddles before any of your ancestors were heard of. Don't do that again." Jamie stared at him without speaking.
"Now listen. What happens when you fill in a crossword puzzle? The puzzle is solved and is of no use to anyone anymore. Before it was filled in, you could imagine, guess, at what words might fill the spaces. And riddles, when someone asks you a riddle, you ponder it, worry over it, but when it is solved, you see how easy it was, the mystery is gone. Riddles are fueled mostly by imagination. As was the Labyrinth. Now it is no more than a solved crossword puzzle." Jamie furrowed his brow.
"I'm not sure I understand yet." Jareth sighed.
"What do you think of a magician who shows an audience how he does his tricks?", he asked.
"I'd say it was pretty foolish of him. The audience doesn't care anymore because the.the mystery is gone. He's just a man going through the motions." Jamie said.
"Yes. Exactly. That is why I cannot take you to the Labyrinth...yet." Jareth leaned against the wall, stared at the tapestry of the Labyrinth, which, once more, seemed to ripple with a breeze of color.
"But you can eventually?" Jamie said hopefully. Jareth nodded.
"You have given me a child. Children fuel the Labyrinth because they are so rich in imagination. They carry it with them. The Labyrinth was always changing because every child offered to me was different; every child's imagination was different. When you look at a child, do you ever wonder what it will be like at it grows up? Who will it resemble, mother or father? What will it be talented in?"
"No, not really. I don't like children." Jamie said dully.
"No, I don't suppose you do." Jareth said thoughtfully, "But the point is, children are so rich in imagination that they cause others to imagine as well, and THAT, my young friend, is the secret of the Labyrinth's power." Jamie thought about that for a moment.
"When will I be able to go to the Labyrinth?" He asked.
"When I have the child. Perhaps three weeks or so?"
"So...the child is still growing inside of Sarah."
"Of course. Where else would it be?" Jareth laughed.
"Does she know? About the wish, I mean?" Jareth laughed again, longer this time.
"Yes, I would say she's finding out right about now." Jamie narrowed his eyes.
"Where is she? If you've harmed her-" Jareth huffed.
"Do you think me a fool? Harm the mother and I harm the child. She's quite safe, I assure you."
"And...once the child is born? Then what?" Jareth looked at Jamie. He walked in a circle around him.
"What does it matter? The child is the important thing." Jamie looked at Jareth steadily. Jareth stared back.
"I want her. When this is all over and done with, I want her." Jareth laughed.
"And what, dear boy, makes you so sure she will want you?" Jamie didn't waver.
"I want her, Jareth. You can do what you like with the child, but I want her to stay in the Labyrinth with me."
"And what about her husband? He may have other ideas on the matter, you know." Jareth looked out the window. Dawn was shining through the panes.
"I don't really care what he thinks." Jamie sat down in an overstuffed chair and crossed his ankles on the ottoman. Jareth looked at him and smiled cruelly.
"Good thing." He vanished, returning the tapestry to its original form as he went. Jamie rubbed his eyes, looking around the room, when he heard a pounding at the front door. What the...? Jamie jumped up and went to the side window, peering through a pane of stained glass. Who was banging his door down at five am on a Sunday morning? He squinted, trying to get a better look. Too big for the paperboy.... oh, damn, it was the DAMN husband! Now what!? Jamie checked the living room and saw the statue. That would be incriminating, all right. He quickly drew a drape across the corner. The he casually sauntered to the front door, trying very hard to look as though he had just been woken out of a sound sleep, instead of pulling an all-nighter with a Goblin monarch.
Jamie opened the door a crack and was thrown back against the wall as Jonathan slammed it open. He half fell, as Jonathan grabbed his shoulders and slammed him against the wall again.
"Daniels! What the hell kind of a nerve-"
"Where's my wife?" Jonathan said quietly, coldly.
"How am I supposed to know that?" Jamie tried to look indignant. Jonathan threw him to the floor and kicked him in the stomach.
"I said, where is my wife?" said Jonathan, even more quietly and coldly. Jamie lay on the floor, gasping for breath. He paused, and then launched himself at Jonathan. Jamie got in a few good punches, enough to bloody Jonathan's nose and to let him have his turn at gasping for breath. Jamie pushed him away with all of his might and Jonathan slid across the floor and came to a rest at the base of the hidden statue.
"Daniels, that was a really bad idea. Not only are you now out of work, but I'm calling the police." Jonathan sat up slowly. Jamie crossed to the telephone on its stand near the fireplace.
"I'm sorry if you're having problems with Sarah and she ran out on you for whatever reason, but I could have told you she was flighty like that even in college.", he said, picking up the receiver and beginning to dial.
Jonathan grabbed the drape as he pulled himself up and fell to the floor again as it fell away to reveal the likeness of Jareth. Jamie was facing away and hadn't noticed. Jonathan looked quickly at the statue and back to Jamie. Then he dove across the floor and yanked the phone out of the wall completely, hurling it across the end of the Chippendale couch. Jamie looked at Jonathan as if he were crazy. For Jonathan did indeed look as if he were going mad. Jonathan felt he just might if he didn't get to the bottom of this soon. He grabbed Jamie's shirt and swung him around, ripping it in the process. Still with a fistful of shirt, he pointed at the likeness of Jareth.
"Now tell me again, where is my wife?" Jamie tried to slap Jonathan's hands away, but they grew tighter and tighter. Jonathan brought him up against the wall, and crossing his wrists, raised Jamie off his feet and proceeded to choke him very effectively. Jamie struggled for air, kicking at Jonathan, but even though Jonathan was smaller than Jamie, it was obvious who was winning. Love can be very serious about getting what it wants. Finally, he caved.
"He's got her." Jamie squeaked. Jonathan didn't need to ask whom.
"Where is she?" he asked. Jamie couldn't breathe to speak, but nodded frantically at the tapestry. Jonathan looked, then dropping the purple- faced Jamie in a heap on the floor and gazed at the Labyrinth. So this is what his wife had gone through to save his brother in law. The portrait was grand, and did much justice to what the Labyrinth had been. Jonathan touched it lightly with his fingertips.
"You'll never find her. Jareth has hidden her well." said Jamie hoarsely behind him. Jonathan turned slowly to face him.
"So.... there is a place to look."
"What do you mean? I thought the child had been taken away." Jamie sat down on a silk chaise chair. Jareth made a gesture of impatience, and stood at the foot of the chair.
"How am I supposed to take a child that hasn't been born yet?", Jareth said, tapping his boot on the polished floor.
"But you're the Goblin King!" Jamie was thoroughly confused.
"Yes, but even Kings have to follow rules. Stop worrying about it, the child is mine one way or another, I do thank you for that by the way." Jareth smiled with a slight bow.
"All I want is to go to the Labyrinth. There is nothing for me here." Jamie straightened his shoulders.
"And what makes you think I can take you to the Labyrinth?" Jamie fumbled for an answer angrily.
"Sarah told me you offered her her dreams in exchange for a human child! My dream is to live in the Underground! It's all I want! I didn't think it would be so complicated, I thought you would be grateful that I wanted something so simple!" Jamie began to pace the room angrily. Jareth stood with his arms crossed coolly, mimicking his statue in the corner. "But I am grateful. Unfortunately, it's not simple."
"Why?", Jamie almost whined. Jareth sighed.
"I am losing my patience. Listen closely, because I am only going to explain this once. The Labyrinth was the unsolvable puzzle, the great mystery. It was created never to be solved. But the unthinkable happened and it was solved. It was partially my fault. I never even thought a mere human girl could solve my Labyrinth; otherwise I would have paid more attention to making sure that never happened. As a result of being solved, the Labyrinth became real. It is real now, and that is why I cannot bring you to the Labyrinth-" Jamie flew at Jareth in a rage. Jareth saw it coming a mile off and dealt him a blow across the face. Jamie fell to the floor. Jareth stared at him with eyes of stone.
"I am older than the dust. I am wiser than the owls. I've been spinning mazes and riddles before any of your ancestors were heard of. Don't do that again." Jamie stared at him without speaking.
"Now listen. What happens when you fill in a crossword puzzle? The puzzle is solved and is of no use to anyone anymore. Before it was filled in, you could imagine, guess, at what words might fill the spaces. And riddles, when someone asks you a riddle, you ponder it, worry over it, but when it is solved, you see how easy it was, the mystery is gone. Riddles are fueled mostly by imagination. As was the Labyrinth. Now it is no more than a solved crossword puzzle." Jamie furrowed his brow.
"I'm not sure I understand yet." Jareth sighed.
"What do you think of a magician who shows an audience how he does his tricks?", he asked.
"I'd say it was pretty foolish of him. The audience doesn't care anymore because the.the mystery is gone. He's just a man going through the motions." Jamie said.
"Yes. Exactly. That is why I cannot take you to the Labyrinth...yet." Jareth leaned against the wall, stared at the tapestry of the Labyrinth, which, once more, seemed to ripple with a breeze of color.
"But you can eventually?" Jamie said hopefully. Jareth nodded.
"You have given me a child. Children fuel the Labyrinth because they are so rich in imagination. They carry it with them. The Labyrinth was always changing because every child offered to me was different; every child's imagination was different. When you look at a child, do you ever wonder what it will be like at it grows up? Who will it resemble, mother or father? What will it be talented in?"
"No, not really. I don't like children." Jamie said dully.
"No, I don't suppose you do." Jareth said thoughtfully, "But the point is, children are so rich in imagination that they cause others to imagine as well, and THAT, my young friend, is the secret of the Labyrinth's power." Jamie thought about that for a moment.
"When will I be able to go to the Labyrinth?" He asked.
"When I have the child. Perhaps three weeks or so?"
"So...the child is still growing inside of Sarah."
"Of course. Where else would it be?" Jareth laughed.
"Does she know? About the wish, I mean?" Jareth laughed again, longer this time.
"Yes, I would say she's finding out right about now." Jamie narrowed his eyes.
"Where is she? If you've harmed her-" Jareth huffed.
"Do you think me a fool? Harm the mother and I harm the child. She's quite safe, I assure you."
"And...once the child is born? Then what?" Jareth looked at Jamie. He walked in a circle around him.
"What does it matter? The child is the important thing." Jamie looked at Jareth steadily. Jareth stared back.
"I want her. When this is all over and done with, I want her." Jareth laughed.
"And what, dear boy, makes you so sure she will want you?" Jamie didn't waver.
"I want her, Jareth. You can do what you like with the child, but I want her to stay in the Labyrinth with me."
"And what about her husband? He may have other ideas on the matter, you know." Jareth looked out the window. Dawn was shining through the panes.
"I don't really care what he thinks." Jamie sat down in an overstuffed chair and crossed his ankles on the ottoman. Jareth looked at him and smiled cruelly.
"Good thing." He vanished, returning the tapestry to its original form as he went. Jamie rubbed his eyes, looking around the room, when he heard a pounding at the front door. What the...? Jamie jumped up and went to the side window, peering through a pane of stained glass. Who was banging his door down at five am on a Sunday morning? He squinted, trying to get a better look. Too big for the paperboy.... oh, damn, it was the DAMN husband! Now what!? Jamie checked the living room and saw the statue. That would be incriminating, all right. He quickly drew a drape across the corner. The he casually sauntered to the front door, trying very hard to look as though he had just been woken out of a sound sleep, instead of pulling an all-nighter with a Goblin monarch.
Jamie opened the door a crack and was thrown back against the wall as Jonathan slammed it open. He half fell, as Jonathan grabbed his shoulders and slammed him against the wall again.
"Daniels! What the hell kind of a nerve-"
"Where's my wife?" Jonathan said quietly, coldly.
"How am I supposed to know that?" Jamie tried to look indignant. Jonathan threw him to the floor and kicked him in the stomach.
"I said, where is my wife?" said Jonathan, even more quietly and coldly. Jamie lay on the floor, gasping for breath. He paused, and then launched himself at Jonathan. Jamie got in a few good punches, enough to bloody Jonathan's nose and to let him have his turn at gasping for breath. Jamie pushed him away with all of his might and Jonathan slid across the floor and came to a rest at the base of the hidden statue.
"Daniels, that was a really bad idea. Not only are you now out of work, but I'm calling the police." Jonathan sat up slowly. Jamie crossed to the telephone on its stand near the fireplace.
"I'm sorry if you're having problems with Sarah and she ran out on you for whatever reason, but I could have told you she was flighty like that even in college.", he said, picking up the receiver and beginning to dial.
Jonathan grabbed the drape as he pulled himself up and fell to the floor again as it fell away to reveal the likeness of Jareth. Jamie was facing away and hadn't noticed. Jonathan looked quickly at the statue and back to Jamie. Then he dove across the floor and yanked the phone out of the wall completely, hurling it across the end of the Chippendale couch. Jamie looked at Jonathan as if he were crazy. For Jonathan did indeed look as if he were going mad. Jonathan felt he just might if he didn't get to the bottom of this soon. He grabbed Jamie's shirt and swung him around, ripping it in the process. Still with a fistful of shirt, he pointed at the likeness of Jareth.
"Now tell me again, where is my wife?" Jamie tried to slap Jonathan's hands away, but they grew tighter and tighter. Jonathan brought him up against the wall, and crossing his wrists, raised Jamie off his feet and proceeded to choke him very effectively. Jamie struggled for air, kicking at Jonathan, but even though Jonathan was smaller than Jamie, it was obvious who was winning. Love can be very serious about getting what it wants. Finally, he caved.
"He's got her." Jamie squeaked. Jonathan didn't need to ask whom.
"Where is she?" he asked. Jamie couldn't breathe to speak, but nodded frantically at the tapestry. Jonathan looked, then dropping the purple- faced Jamie in a heap on the floor and gazed at the Labyrinth. So this is what his wife had gone through to save his brother in law. The portrait was grand, and did much justice to what the Labyrinth had been. Jonathan touched it lightly with his fingertips.
"You'll never find her. Jareth has hidden her well." said Jamie hoarsely behind him. Jonathan turned slowly to face him.
"So.... there is a place to look."