Here's another chapter for you all. It's kind of long, but I am sure you
don't mind too much. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks again for all the reviews,
they mean a lot!
Disclaimer: Same as before!
Chapter 3
Sarah was absolutely exhausted after her party. Between the dinner, music and dancing she barely had enough energy to climb the stairs to her room. 'Oh well, you only turn 21 once, right?' Sarah thought to herself. Her parents had gone all out for it too. Among her guests were family members from all over, plus many of her close friends. She received many nice gifts as well.
Remembering Toby's gift, she took it out of the box to look at it again. Strangely, it was warm to the touch. Suddenly she felt a jolt going through her arm and dropped the crystal, where it broke into several small pieces. That wasn't what bothered her at the moment though. What concerned her was the multi-colored light that surrounded her. It was the same light that she saw in the crystal earlier, but much brighter. Her body felt like it was charged up. All her hair felt like it was standing on end. Before she could try to make any sense of what was happening to her, she passed out.
The owl outside her bedroom window saw it all and knew what it meant.
*****
Jareth, in his owl form, flew over his Labyrinth. A flight usually soothed him whenever he was uptight or had to think something over. This time, though, it wasn't working worth a damn. Sarah was in his thoughts again. Not that she was ever out of them; just now she was in the forefront.
For days the thoughts persisted, and since he hadn't much to do anyway he decided to go Aboveground and check up on her. He watched from outside her window as her brother and she played around with each other. It was hard to believe how well they got along now. This wasn't the same spoiled brat who had so carelessly wished her brother away almost eight years before.
Her brother had brought her a gift. Jareth watched curiously as she opened it and was taken aback by what was revealed. Where had Toby gotten one of his crystals? Then he remembered. If he were in his human form, he would have smacked himself in the head, for the answer was quite simple. When he had thrown the crystal in the Escher room to point out Toby's location to Sarah, Toby had caught it. He must have brought it back with him after Sarah had said those dreaded words!
He looked to the ground and noticed a familiar figure sitting by the lake. He flew down for a closer look and transformned into his normal shape. "Hello, Marillia." He said to the elfin sitting there.
Marillia opened her eyes and smiled. "Well, Jareth. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
"What, can't I just drop in and see an old friend of mine?" he answered with a small smile of his own.
"Of course you can. It's just that you don't. Not without a reason." Marillia replied.
"Point taken." He let out a sigh and turned away from her. After a moment he said, "Sarah is here."
Marillia's jaw dropped. "What do you mean she is here? Did you 'invite' her here again?"
He spun around to face her. It seemed she was still a little sore at him for the way he had handled Sarah's last 'visit.' "No, I did not 'invite' her here. Nobody did, and that is the problem!" He was hoping she wouldn't ask how Sarah got there, for then he would have to tell her it was partially his doing. He silently cursed himself for not accounting for the crystal Toby had. He had been too intent on talking Sarah into staying with him to think of it.
The elfin blanched. "Damn! This is not good. We have to find her!"
"We?" Jareth asked, arching his eyebrow.
"Oh, alright. You have to find her." She said looking down at the ground. "But please don't tell her anything just yet!"
"You have my word, dear Marillia. I promised you I would not tell a soul if it could be avoided. You know I always keep my promises, yes?"
"Of course you do. I just worry is all."
"Well you shouldn't. I'll take care of everything." With that, he once again turned into his owl form, and flew back to his castle. He had search parties to form. Even though he had shown confindence when he told Marillia he would find Sarah, he wasn't too sure he would find her before the Court did.
*****
When Sarah opened her eyes she had to shut them again. The sun was awfully bright and the glare was too much. 'What am I doing outside?' she wondered. Recalling her last memory, she sat up quickly and looked around her. 'Where am I?' she thought. This place did look a bit familiar to her. It looked like the same hill she was on at the start of that dream. She lifted up a handful of the ground beneath her and let it sift through her fingers. Then, as the realization hit her she felt as though she was going to be sick. This was not a dream. Since when could you touch tangible things in dreams? She actually felt the ground under her; she could smell the breeze. She was really here!
After her nausea passed, she stood up carefully. When it didn't seem like she would faint or throw up, she started walking down the hill towards the labyrinth. At the little pond in front of the wall, she saw the dwarf spraying for faeries, just like she had remembered. Smiling, she decided to have a little fun with her old friend, so she called out, "Hello, Hogwart!"
The dwarf growled and turned around, "Ohhhhhh, it's Hoggle!" He stared at her with wide eyes. "Sarah! What are you doing here?" He ran over to her and gave her a hug, which she returned.
"I'm not sure what I am doing here. I was in my room at home and must have fainted or something. The next thing I knew I was up on that hill back there."
"Well, come on then. Let's go have some lunch. I thinks the others would be just as happy to sees ya."
"The others?"
"Yes, " Hoggle replied, "Ludo and Didymus. We all keeps in touch since you left."
He led her to a clearing where there was a table and chairs. She saw a little fox and a red beast setting things up. The fox was just getting ready to pour the tea when Hoggle called over to him. "Didymus, we needs another place setting. We have a guest!"
"Milady! Thou hast returned to us at last!" cried Didymus.
"Sawah back!" growled Ludo.
After everyone had finished their greetings, Sarah saw Didymus struggling to pull out a chair for her. She was a little amused, but did not show it outwardly. Didymus took great pride in his chivalry, and she wasn't about to hurt his feelings. When he finally got the chair pulled out, she curtsied and said, "Thank you, noble sir!" Didymus bowed before her and took a seat to her right. Ludo sat to her left and Hoggle across from her.
As she sat there looking at her friends, she started to cry. Three concerned sets of eyes looked at her questioningly. "I'm sorry," she said through her tears, "I just feel so ashamed at myself."
"But why?" Didymus asked.
"Why Sawah cry?" asked Ludo.
"For not bothering to call any of you since I left. I thought it had all been a dream and people would think I was crazy if I started talking to my mirror."
"Ohhh, don't bother yourself with that!" exclaimed Hoggle. "Of course you would thinks it was a dream. If I didn't live here I would thinks it was too!" The others nodded in agreement.
She looked at them in amazement. These three were probably the truest friend she ever had. They were so quick to forgive, and loved her unconditionally. She smiled, wiped her eyes with a napkin and said, "This is supposed to be a happy day, so I am done crying!"
They spent the remainder of the afternoon talking about her life Above, their life Under. They reminisced about her previous time here too. They talked about how she met each of them, about the Labyrinth, and about Him.
"You shudda seen him when he came back from that room with the funny stairs!" Hoggle said.
"Yes, it was a rare sight to be seen, verily!" replied Didymus. "Never before have I seen His Majesty in such a state!"
"What do you mean?" asked Sarah
"Most of us have seen him mad before, but this time I thinks he lost his mind. He started throwin' and kickin' everything. When he turned his anger on the Goblins we gots out of there as quick as we could." said Hoggle.
Sarah gulped. "Didn't he try to come after you?"
"No. None of us has seen much of him since that day. We trys our best to stay out of his way.
"That's probably the smart thing to do. I think I will avoid him as well." Sarah said with a yawn. She was surprised to see that the sun was setting.
Hoggle saw how exhausted his friend appeared to be. "Alright then. Come on. You must be tired, so's you can stay at my house. It might be a bit small, but it's cozy."
As the group parted they promised to meet again the next day. Sarah followed Hoggle to his home and he showed her to the spare bedroom. Even though the bed was obviously made for someone of his stature it was quite comfortable. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Disclaimer: Same as before!
Chapter 3
Sarah was absolutely exhausted after her party. Between the dinner, music and dancing she barely had enough energy to climb the stairs to her room. 'Oh well, you only turn 21 once, right?' Sarah thought to herself. Her parents had gone all out for it too. Among her guests were family members from all over, plus many of her close friends. She received many nice gifts as well.
Remembering Toby's gift, she took it out of the box to look at it again. Strangely, it was warm to the touch. Suddenly she felt a jolt going through her arm and dropped the crystal, where it broke into several small pieces. That wasn't what bothered her at the moment though. What concerned her was the multi-colored light that surrounded her. It was the same light that she saw in the crystal earlier, but much brighter. Her body felt like it was charged up. All her hair felt like it was standing on end. Before she could try to make any sense of what was happening to her, she passed out.
The owl outside her bedroom window saw it all and knew what it meant.
*****
Jareth, in his owl form, flew over his Labyrinth. A flight usually soothed him whenever he was uptight or had to think something over. This time, though, it wasn't working worth a damn. Sarah was in his thoughts again. Not that she was ever out of them; just now she was in the forefront.
For days the thoughts persisted, and since he hadn't much to do anyway he decided to go Aboveground and check up on her. He watched from outside her window as her brother and she played around with each other. It was hard to believe how well they got along now. This wasn't the same spoiled brat who had so carelessly wished her brother away almost eight years before.
Her brother had brought her a gift. Jareth watched curiously as she opened it and was taken aback by what was revealed. Where had Toby gotten one of his crystals? Then he remembered. If he were in his human form, he would have smacked himself in the head, for the answer was quite simple. When he had thrown the crystal in the Escher room to point out Toby's location to Sarah, Toby had caught it. He must have brought it back with him after Sarah had said those dreaded words!
He looked to the ground and noticed a familiar figure sitting by the lake. He flew down for a closer look and transformned into his normal shape. "Hello, Marillia." He said to the elfin sitting there.
Marillia opened her eyes and smiled. "Well, Jareth. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
"What, can't I just drop in and see an old friend of mine?" he answered with a small smile of his own.
"Of course you can. It's just that you don't. Not without a reason." Marillia replied.
"Point taken." He let out a sigh and turned away from her. After a moment he said, "Sarah is here."
Marillia's jaw dropped. "What do you mean she is here? Did you 'invite' her here again?"
He spun around to face her. It seemed she was still a little sore at him for the way he had handled Sarah's last 'visit.' "No, I did not 'invite' her here. Nobody did, and that is the problem!" He was hoping she wouldn't ask how Sarah got there, for then he would have to tell her it was partially his doing. He silently cursed himself for not accounting for the crystal Toby had. He had been too intent on talking Sarah into staying with him to think of it.
The elfin blanched. "Damn! This is not good. We have to find her!"
"We?" Jareth asked, arching his eyebrow.
"Oh, alright. You have to find her." She said looking down at the ground. "But please don't tell her anything just yet!"
"You have my word, dear Marillia. I promised you I would not tell a soul if it could be avoided. You know I always keep my promises, yes?"
"Of course you do. I just worry is all."
"Well you shouldn't. I'll take care of everything." With that, he once again turned into his owl form, and flew back to his castle. He had search parties to form. Even though he had shown confindence when he told Marillia he would find Sarah, he wasn't too sure he would find her before the Court did.
*****
When Sarah opened her eyes she had to shut them again. The sun was awfully bright and the glare was too much. 'What am I doing outside?' she wondered. Recalling her last memory, she sat up quickly and looked around her. 'Where am I?' she thought. This place did look a bit familiar to her. It looked like the same hill she was on at the start of that dream. She lifted up a handful of the ground beneath her and let it sift through her fingers. Then, as the realization hit her she felt as though she was going to be sick. This was not a dream. Since when could you touch tangible things in dreams? She actually felt the ground under her; she could smell the breeze. She was really here!
After her nausea passed, she stood up carefully. When it didn't seem like she would faint or throw up, she started walking down the hill towards the labyrinth. At the little pond in front of the wall, she saw the dwarf spraying for faeries, just like she had remembered. Smiling, she decided to have a little fun with her old friend, so she called out, "Hello, Hogwart!"
The dwarf growled and turned around, "Ohhhhhh, it's Hoggle!" He stared at her with wide eyes. "Sarah! What are you doing here?" He ran over to her and gave her a hug, which she returned.
"I'm not sure what I am doing here. I was in my room at home and must have fainted or something. The next thing I knew I was up on that hill back there."
"Well, come on then. Let's go have some lunch. I thinks the others would be just as happy to sees ya."
"The others?"
"Yes, " Hoggle replied, "Ludo and Didymus. We all keeps in touch since you left."
He led her to a clearing where there was a table and chairs. She saw a little fox and a red beast setting things up. The fox was just getting ready to pour the tea when Hoggle called over to him. "Didymus, we needs another place setting. We have a guest!"
"Milady! Thou hast returned to us at last!" cried Didymus.
"Sawah back!" growled Ludo.
After everyone had finished their greetings, Sarah saw Didymus struggling to pull out a chair for her. She was a little amused, but did not show it outwardly. Didymus took great pride in his chivalry, and she wasn't about to hurt his feelings. When he finally got the chair pulled out, she curtsied and said, "Thank you, noble sir!" Didymus bowed before her and took a seat to her right. Ludo sat to her left and Hoggle across from her.
As she sat there looking at her friends, she started to cry. Three concerned sets of eyes looked at her questioningly. "I'm sorry," she said through her tears, "I just feel so ashamed at myself."
"But why?" Didymus asked.
"Why Sawah cry?" asked Ludo.
"For not bothering to call any of you since I left. I thought it had all been a dream and people would think I was crazy if I started talking to my mirror."
"Ohhh, don't bother yourself with that!" exclaimed Hoggle. "Of course you would thinks it was a dream. If I didn't live here I would thinks it was too!" The others nodded in agreement.
She looked at them in amazement. These three were probably the truest friend she ever had. They were so quick to forgive, and loved her unconditionally. She smiled, wiped her eyes with a napkin and said, "This is supposed to be a happy day, so I am done crying!"
They spent the remainder of the afternoon talking about her life Above, their life Under. They reminisced about her previous time here too. They talked about how she met each of them, about the Labyrinth, and about Him.
"You shudda seen him when he came back from that room with the funny stairs!" Hoggle said.
"Yes, it was a rare sight to be seen, verily!" replied Didymus. "Never before have I seen His Majesty in such a state!"
"What do you mean?" asked Sarah
"Most of us have seen him mad before, but this time I thinks he lost his mind. He started throwin' and kickin' everything. When he turned his anger on the Goblins we gots out of there as quick as we could." said Hoggle.
Sarah gulped. "Didn't he try to come after you?"
"No. None of us has seen much of him since that day. We trys our best to stay out of his way.
"That's probably the smart thing to do. I think I will avoid him as well." Sarah said with a yawn. She was surprised to see that the sun was setting.
Hoggle saw how exhausted his friend appeared to be. "Alright then. Come on. You must be tired, so's you can stay at my house. It might be a bit small, but it's cozy."
As the group parted they promised to meet again the next day. Sarah followed Hoggle to his home and he showed her to the spare bedroom. Even though the bed was obviously made for someone of his stature it was quite comfortable. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.