In a thousand dreams I see you.
Chapter one: The dream.
Sarah lay down in her bed: she knew even before she closed her eyes she would have the same dream that she had been having for the past three weeks since she had completed the Labyrinth.
She was alone in a huge beautiful castle, she ran through it, wearing the same dress in which she had been when dancing with Jareth. And then she came to a room, full of sunlight, a huge four poster bed with white curtains closed round it. They were of sparkling gauze yet Sarah couldn't see who lay beyond the glittering mist. Hoggle always stood in front it, then he moved aside from the bed with a slight bow of the head as she approached. Sarah then walked over to the bed and drew back the curtains. Lying on the bed was Jareth, asleep; Sarah stared at him as he lay there sleeping, she went to move towards him.
Sarah woke up with a start, she hated that dream, as if she would go anywhere near him, let alone in a situation like that.or would she? Sarah had found herself liking that dream more and more recently and she didn't know why. Sarah rolled out of bed and got dressed for school, she was walking behind a group of girls from another school when she heard one of them say, "It's so strange, they can't even find a clue as to where my baby sister is gone."
All through that day she heard people talking about missing younger siblings, it had to be his work, no one else could have done this, could they?!
When Sarah arrived home, she escaped up to her room with the excuse of having to do her homework. Once there she called out in her room. "Hoggle?"
Hoggle appeared. "Yes, Sarah?"
"Hoggle, is Jareth taking lots of children to the Goblin Kingdom?" Her eyes were filled with anger.
"No, Sarah, the Goblins are doing it of their own free will, Jareth is not awake to keep them in check, so they are wreaking havoc, both here and in the Underground." Hoggle looked very depressed. "Even the Labyrinth's going bad.The castle changed, it's beautiful now, but the Labyrinth remained; except he's asleep and won't wake up."
Sarah was having difficulty trying not to smirk. "Don't tell me, he pricked his finger on a spinning needle," she said, flopping back on her bed.
Hoggle went on as if he hadn't heard. "With no one to care for it, the Labyrinth will slowly cease to exist as will the people who live in it."
Sarah was about to repeat her question, when Hoggle's statement stopped her in her tracks. The Labyrinth slowly ceasing to exist? Its people with it? Immediately, her heart went out to those people, because she knew so many of them: Sir Didimus, who was tiny but had the heart of a lion, and no fear gene whatsoever; his companion and 'noble steed' Ambrosius, who bore a striking resemblance to her dog Merlin and made up for all the fear that his master lacked; Ludo, the gentle giant who had saved her life; the door knockers; the 'false alarms'; the Fiery Sprites who loved to play football with each other's heads; even the sleepy old man who had a frustrated bird for a head. And last, but not least, Hoggle, her first Underground friend, who had managed to stick by her through thick and thin, in spite of himself. As she looked at his ugly but noble face, Sarah knew that she could not let the Labyrinth disappear. There were all those missing children for a start!
Sighing, she put a hand over her face. "How many children are in the castle at the moment, Hoggle?"
"Fourteen."
"Fourteen." She started calculating. "How old are they?"
"Well, the youngest I've seen is only a year old. I saw a toddler once, he must have been around three. The rest are somewhere in between."
"Great, the terrible twos," Sarah muttered. "I bet they're making a mess of the place. Toby's only one and he can destroy an entire room in ten minutes."
Hoggle's great eyebrows swooped downwards. "It's not just the castle, they're wandering around the Labyrinth itself!" he complained. "I can't get any gardening done. They leave messes all over the place! It's like the Bog of Eternal Stench got up and started walking around!"
Sarah lifted her hand and gave him an amused look. "Baby poop doesn't smell that bad, Hoggle, trust me, I've smelled enough over the past year. The Bog was much worse."
"Well, when you're not expecting that kind of smell, it hits you like one of Ludo's rocks," Hoggle retorted. "Especially if it's been mouldering for a few hours."
"Right, so we have babies running amok in the castle and the Labyrinth; the goblins are stealing more every day; and Jareth is in Dreamland."
"He's not dreaming. This is an enchanted sleep. Dreams don't figure. It's just.sleep. Forever, as far as we know."
"Surely you can find a . fair fay princess to kiss the Sleeping Beauty awake or something, can't you?" Sarah demanded. She was willing to save the Labyrinth and the children, but she wasn't about to go anywhere within five miles of Jareth. The dream flashed before her eyes, taunting her. She shook her head quickly, refusing to let it stay.
"Sarah."
"What?" She didn't like the tone of his voice.
"The families of these brats have no idea what's happened, do they?" said Hoggle tentatively.
"No, they're all treating it like some normal abduction."
"So.none of them are going to come and rescue them?"
"No, why do you - oh shit." Sarah put a hand over her mouth. "They'll turn into goblins. They'll be gone forever."
"Exactly. Now, there are two ways to send them back. Either their siblings come and get them, which we both know is highly unlikely, or Jareth sends them back 'free of charge'. And that's not going to happen either."
Sarah looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"If you think I'm saying you need to come back becauseyou'retheonlypersonwhocanwakeJarethup then yes," said Hoggle, backing behind a chair.
Deadly silence followed his words as Sarah deciphered what he'd said.
"But I've obviously got that wrong, so I'll just be going back to my garden," Hoggle said hastily, backing towards the mirror.
"I'M THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN WHAT????!!!"
Hoggle cringed and hit the floor. He was well versed in avoiding rages, usually Jareth's, but Sarah was having a pretty similar fit. There was the usual arm waving, eye flashing, occasional object thrown in his direction - though the objects had improved, being fluffy toys rather than live goblins.
"Look, nobody said you HAD to kiss him, it's all up to you," he said, when the flying missiles had slowed down and the ranting had quietened. "I can just go back to my search scouring the land for anybody who could wake him up - which I doubt, because about fifty have already tried. It was disgusting: some of them looked as if they were glued to him." Hoggle shrugged. "If I were him, I wouldn't want to wake up to them either." Sarah raised a teddy bear, and he ducked again. "Alright, I'm going! I get the point. Guess I'll just have to tell the others you weren't interested." He began to trudge towards Sarah's vanity mirror, head down, scuffing the carpet, the picture of despondency.
Sarah watched him, chin set. She wanted to help, but the price was far too high. It was one thing to give Lancelot to her baby brother: it was quite another to kiss your mortal enemy. She didn't think she would be seen as selfish for refusing to do that.
Just before Hoggle stepped into the mirror, he turned back, searching his pocket. "Now where did I put i-ah, here it is." He drew out a crystal orb, and Sarah gasped sharply. It was just like the ones Jareth used to play with. This one was obviously heavy, because Hoggle set it down carefully.
"It was one of the last ones he made before.everything happened," he said, trying not to sniff. "It'll show you what's going on in the Underground, and give you a way in. If you change your mind of course."
His small dark eyes looked at her, pleading. Sarah almost gave in. But the mention of Jareth's name had strengthened her resolve. She nodded silently. Hoggle sighed and stepped into the mirror. It barely rippled as he disappeared.
Chapter one: The dream.
Sarah lay down in her bed: she knew even before she closed her eyes she would have the same dream that she had been having for the past three weeks since she had completed the Labyrinth.
She was alone in a huge beautiful castle, she ran through it, wearing the same dress in which she had been when dancing with Jareth. And then she came to a room, full of sunlight, a huge four poster bed with white curtains closed round it. They were of sparkling gauze yet Sarah couldn't see who lay beyond the glittering mist. Hoggle always stood in front it, then he moved aside from the bed with a slight bow of the head as she approached. Sarah then walked over to the bed and drew back the curtains. Lying on the bed was Jareth, asleep; Sarah stared at him as he lay there sleeping, she went to move towards him.
Sarah woke up with a start, she hated that dream, as if she would go anywhere near him, let alone in a situation like that.or would she? Sarah had found herself liking that dream more and more recently and she didn't know why. Sarah rolled out of bed and got dressed for school, she was walking behind a group of girls from another school when she heard one of them say, "It's so strange, they can't even find a clue as to where my baby sister is gone."
All through that day she heard people talking about missing younger siblings, it had to be his work, no one else could have done this, could they?!
When Sarah arrived home, she escaped up to her room with the excuse of having to do her homework. Once there she called out in her room. "Hoggle?"
Hoggle appeared. "Yes, Sarah?"
"Hoggle, is Jareth taking lots of children to the Goblin Kingdom?" Her eyes were filled with anger.
"No, Sarah, the Goblins are doing it of their own free will, Jareth is not awake to keep them in check, so they are wreaking havoc, both here and in the Underground." Hoggle looked very depressed. "Even the Labyrinth's going bad.The castle changed, it's beautiful now, but the Labyrinth remained; except he's asleep and won't wake up."
Sarah was having difficulty trying not to smirk. "Don't tell me, he pricked his finger on a spinning needle," she said, flopping back on her bed.
Hoggle went on as if he hadn't heard. "With no one to care for it, the Labyrinth will slowly cease to exist as will the people who live in it."
Sarah was about to repeat her question, when Hoggle's statement stopped her in her tracks. The Labyrinth slowly ceasing to exist? Its people with it? Immediately, her heart went out to those people, because she knew so many of them: Sir Didimus, who was tiny but had the heart of a lion, and no fear gene whatsoever; his companion and 'noble steed' Ambrosius, who bore a striking resemblance to her dog Merlin and made up for all the fear that his master lacked; Ludo, the gentle giant who had saved her life; the door knockers; the 'false alarms'; the Fiery Sprites who loved to play football with each other's heads; even the sleepy old man who had a frustrated bird for a head. And last, but not least, Hoggle, her first Underground friend, who had managed to stick by her through thick and thin, in spite of himself. As she looked at his ugly but noble face, Sarah knew that she could not let the Labyrinth disappear. There were all those missing children for a start!
Sighing, she put a hand over her face. "How many children are in the castle at the moment, Hoggle?"
"Fourteen."
"Fourteen." She started calculating. "How old are they?"
"Well, the youngest I've seen is only a year old. I saw a toddler once, he must have been around three. The rest are somewhere in between."
"Great, the terrible twos," Sarah muttered. "I bet they're making a mess of the place. Toby's only one and he can destroy an entire room in ten minutes."
Hoggle's great eyebrows swooped downwards. "It's not just the castle, they're wandering around the Labyrinth itself!" he complained. "I can't get any gardening done. They leave messes all over the place! It's like the Bog of Eternal Stench got up and started walking around!"
Sarah lifted her hand and gave him an amused look. "Baby poop doesn't smell that bad, Hoggle, trust me, I've smelled enough over the past year. The Bog was much worse."
"Well, when you're not expecting that kind of smell, it hits you like one of Ludo's rocks," Hoggle retorted. "Especially if it's been mouldering for a few hours."
"Right, so we have babies running amok in the castle and the Labyrinth; the goblins are stealing more every day; and Jareth is in Dreamland."
"He's not dreaming. This is an enchanted sleep. Dreams don't figure. It's just.sleep. Forever, as far as we know."
"Surely you can find a . fair fay princess to kiss the Sleeping Beauty awake or something, can't you?" Sarah demanded. She was willing to save the Labyrinth and the children, but she wasn't about to go anywhere within five miles of Jareth. The dream flashed before her eyes, taunting her. She shook her head quickly, refusing to let it stay.
"Sarah."
"What?" She didn't like the tone of his voice.
"The families of these brats have no idea what's happened, do they?" said Hoggle tentatively.
"No, they're all treating it like some normal abduction."
"So.none of them are going to come and rescue them?"
"No, why do you - oh shit." Sarah put a hand over her mouth. "They'll turn into goblins. They'll be gone forever."
"Exactly. Now, there are two ways to send them back. Either their siblings come and get them, which we both know is highly unlikely, or Jareth sends them back 'free of charge'. And that's not going to happen either."
Sarah looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"If you think I'm saying you need to come back becauseyou'retheonlypersonwhocanwakeJarethup then yes," said Hoggle, backing behind a chair.
Deadly silence followed his words as Sarah deciphered what he'd said.
"But I've obviously got that wrong, so I'll just be going back to my garden," Hoggle said hastily, backing towards the mirror.
"I'M THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN WHAT????!!!"
Hoggle cringed and hit the floor. He was well versed in avoiding rages, usually Jareth's, but Sarah was having a pretty similar fit. There was the usual arm waving, eye flashing, occasional object thrown in his direction - though the objects had improved, being fluffy toys rather than live goblins.
"Look, nobody said you HAD to kiss him, it's all up to you," he said, when the flying missiles had slowed down and the ranting had quietened. "I can just go back to my search scouring the land for anybody who could wake him up - which I doubt, because about fifty have already tried. It was disgusting: some of them looked as if they were glued to him." Hoggle shrugged. "If I were him, I wouldn't want to wake up to them either." Sarah raised a teddy bear, and he ducked again. "Alright, I'm going! I get the point. Guess I'll just have to tell the others you weren't interested." He began to trudge towards Sarah's vanity mirror, head down, scuffing the carpet, the picture of despondency.
Sarah watched him, chin set. She wanted to help, but the price was far too high. It was one thing to give Lancelot to her baby brother: it was quite another to kiss your mortal enemy. She didn't think she would be seen as selfish for refusing to do that.
Just before Hoggle stepped into the mirror, he turned back, searching his pocket. "Now where did I put i-ah, here it is." He drew out a crystal orb, and Sarah gasped sharply. It was just like the ones Jareth used to play with. This one was obviously heavy, because Hoggle set it down carefully.
"It was one of the last ones he made before.everything happened," he said, trying not to sniff. "It'll show you what's going on in the Underground, and give you a way in. If you change your mind of course."
His small dark eyes looked at her, pleading. Sarah almost gave in. But the mention of Jareth's name had strengthened her resolve. She nodded silently. Hoggle sighed and stepped into the mirror. It barely rippled as he disappeared.