Chapter three: Children of the Labyrinth
Sarah waited until later that day: she sat on her bed and took the crystal in her hands and concentrated on it. She spoke inside her mind, 'Take me into the Labyrinth!' She tried to sound as commanding as possible. The orb glowed and Sarah vanished in a swirl of glittering silver dust.
Sarah reappeared: there was a muffled sound from beneath her, quickly she rose to her feet and turned to see she had landed on Hoggle. He rose and dusted himself off, giving Sarah a crooked smile as he spoke. "Well this is a fine way for you to say hello."
Sarah looked at the children. "How many are there now?"
Hoggle thought for a moment. "Close to thirty I think."
Sarah's eyes went huge. "Has anyone come for them?"
Hoggle shook his head; Sarah looked confused for a moment and then spoke with a sigh. "Is he awake yet?"
Hoggle looked confused for a moment and then realisation dawned on his ugly face. "You mean Jareth . . . No it just seems to have got deeper."
"Has no one been able to wake him?"
Hoggle just shook his head his eyes filled with sadness. "We consulted a spell specialist, who told us that Jareth will only wake for the one he showed himself to, the person who has seen his other side, the real him beneath the mask he wears."
Sarah's mind reeled from that statement. "Oh . . . That's wonderful Hoggle." Her voice had a deadpan tone to it that wasn't lost on Hoggle.
"Is something wrong, Sarah?" he asked, concerned as she looked pale.
She sighed, there had to be another way to wake him. "So does he have to be kissed in order to be woken up?"
Hoggle could tell she was ignoring his question. "Well, we think so, but there are other cures to a spell like this."
"What are they?" Sarah asked, hope in her voice: inwardly Hoggle sighed, she was just as stubborn as Jareth.
"Ermm well . . . You can prick the victim's finger; if the person they love gets in danger and they call out the victim's name they will wake to save them and all they have to say is that they love the person; or lastly there is the flower approach, find the right flower and that might cure them."
Sarah instantly had a picture of the white roses on his balcony: maybe they could be the cure to his sleep - not that she cared whether he woke up or not, SHE just wanted to save her friends and if the only way to do that was to save him then so be it, though personally Sarah thought that the Labyrinth would be much better if he never woke up.
There was a huge crashing sound, like an avalanche, and the ground shook violently beneath them. Hoggle grabbed onto the remains of the wall beside him with obviously well-trained hands. Sarah was not so lucky, and ended up going head over heels. "What's happening?" she yelled.
"Just another part of the Labyrinth collapsing," said Hoggle gloomily. "I forgot to warn you about that."
"Oh don't worry about me," Sarah muttered, getting up and rubbing at her sore backside. "I'm used to it."
"You are?" Hoggle brightened.
"No, of course I'm not! Why is the Labyrinth collapsing? I know that toddlers can be destructive, but they can't manage to tear down something as big and old as this."
"It's because he's asleep: usually, any wears and tears are repaired by Jareth's magic. He's like the caretaker as well as the King. But since he's practically dead to the world, nothing's getting repaired, and they keep wearing away the same spot, so.." Hoggle shrugged.
Sarah gazed around, trying to stem the rising panic in her stomach. She'd counted on some parts of the Labyrinth looking worn, maybe a few holes, some uneven hedges, not mass destruction. She'd thought the collapse witnessed through the crystal was a freak event, but it was all too obvious that collapsing Labyrinth was a regular occurrence. It looked more and more likely that she'd have to go into the castle, that is, go near him. Obviously, he was more essential than she'd thought. Granted she'd thought he was an irritating well-dressed cockroach, but let's not quibble on details. The Labyrinth needed help and . . . Jareth was the only person who could provide it. She winced: the situation was so bad, she was forced to actually use his name.
"Hoggle," she said, sounding a little depressed.
"Yes?" he asked, brushing himself down.
"What's the most likely cure for this sleep spell? The pricking; whoever he loves getting into danger - wait a minute, doesn't he love the Labyrinth?"
"I said person, not thing."
Well, that idea went out of the window. "Or would it be the flower thing? Or," she gulped, "the traditional remedy?"
Hoggle considered, while Sarah tried to wipe the sweat off her palms.
"I can't see him waking up because somebody's pricked his finger," he remarked. "In fact, it would be just like Jareth to keep on sleeping because of that. If the person he loves most got in danger, I think he would wake up for her, it's a possibility. It would take ages to find his favourite flower - he might not even have one."
"You're his gardener - surely you've had orders for palace flowers?"
"You really think he'd have flowers in the same castle as goblins? Goblins eat flowers as dessert. Didn't you notice the total lack of plant life in the Goblin City?"
Sarah frowned: Hoggle obviously didn't know about the white roses. The white roses? She beamed suddenly, swooped down over Hoggle, and kissed him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed. "Don't you remember what happened last - "
Too late: the ground gave way beneath them, and they were sliding an all too familiar tunnel. Hoggle was sobbing, and Sarah thought it was from fear of the Bog. However, as they slid out into the open and grasped onto the rock on either side of the tunnel, she realised that he was crying with rage.
"You stupid, stupid girl! Even if he's asleep, the rules he made still stand, and he still keeps his promises!!!!" He glared at her. "Now look what you've gotten me into!"
"Be quiet," Sarah said, stretching out a leg as far as it would go, and finding solid ground. "I'm sorry, okay? I forgot."
"She forgot! She forgot!" Hoggle told thin air. "How could you forget this?!!!" And he gestured at the stinking, noxious burping swamp beneath them.
"Hey, at least I got us closer to the castle," she retorted, grabbing him and pulling him over to safe ground.
"If you put me through that just to get us closer to the castle . . . !"
"No, Hoggle, I didn't," she answered patiently as they slid down onto the path.
She could feel Jareth's power almost hit them, like a barrier. They were coming to where Sir Didimus lived, besides what had once been a bridge before he unfortunately demolished it with a few taps of his sword.
However, as they came into sight of the diminuitive knight's home, she discovered the bridge had been rebuilt, with gleaming stone. It looked far sturdier than the previous one.
"My lady!"
The fox came hurrying out of the tree, beaming all over his furry face. Sarah beamed too, and Hoggle grunted. The knight kneeled in front of them.
"My humble abode is graced by your presence," he murmured. "Fair maiden, it has been too long since we met."
Hoggle turned away, and made as if to retch. Sarah smacked him on the arm, and bowed. "Far too long, sir knight," she agreed. "I came as soon as I heard of the terrible calamities befalling this place."
"No, you didn't," Hoggle muttered, "you sat around on your arse for a couple of days thinking about it, and then - " Sarah elbowed him sharply in the ribs, causing him to choke.
"Why is Jareth's presence so powerful?" she asked. "We're not what you could call near to the castle."
"The King's power doth build up the longer he lies asleep," Sir Didimus answered, still kneeling. "Without use, it spreads throughout his realm and starts causing as much havoc as the babes."
"Yeah, like orange trees and giant butterflies," Hoggle inserted.
"Rise, Sir Didimus," said Sarah hastily. "Orange trees? Giant butterflies?" she repeated, puzzled.
"And that's just the start," Hoggle assured her. "Yesterday, I bumped into a part of the wall of the City."
"You mean you walked into," Sarah corrected him.
"No, I mean 'bumped', it was walking around," Hoggle replied, slighted.
"Riiiiiiiiiiight."
At that moment, a little piece of brownstone wall came trotting over the bridge and went past them towards the main bog. Sarah followed it with her eyes, which were very wide. Sir Didimus and Hoggle had struck up a conversation about the trouble caused by human children, as if this were perfectly normal.
"The wall . . the piece of wall . ." Sarah stuttered.
"Told you," said Hoggle smugly.
"SARAH!"
Ludo came lumbering over the bridge, arms full of mushrooms. Sarah was glad to see him, but then realised that the mushrooms were talking, hurling abuse at Ludo for picking them.
"SARAH!" Ludo opened his arms, letting the fungi fall, and grabbed her in a huge . . . whatever he was hug. Meanwhile, the mushrooms were inspecting the roots of Sir Didimus' tree: having found them satisfactory, they took root and began to jabber happily about their new home.
"I didn't think it was possible for things to get any stranger here, but they have," Sarah admitted, defeated.
"King sleep," Ludo told her. "Magic go crazy. City full of burnt gingerbread men."
"Okay that's enough, let's get going," said Sarah, her mind reeling.
The fox and the dwarf looked up at her. "Oh, are we actually going to do something?" asked Hoggle, confused.
"Somebody has to wake him up," Sarah answered, shuddering in spite of herself.
"You make it sound like torture," Sir Didimus observed, tweaking his whiskers. "What does this awaking involve?" He looked bright-eyed and busy tailed at the very thought of doing something.
Sarah sighed. "That's just it, we don't know, Sir Didimus." She sat down on the side of the bridge, trying desperately to ignore the smell. There were more pressing problems at hand.
"The King certainly looks different when he's asleep," Sir Didimus began, and then screeched. Sarah looked up startled: Hoggle had pulled on the knight's tail, and and was muttering furiously in his ear. Sir Didimus looked sulky, but didn't finish his sentence.
"What do you mean, 'he looks different'?" Sarah asked, pinching her nose and taking deep gulps.
"Now you've done it," Hoggle hissed at the fox, who sniffed, twitching his tail and combing his whiskers.
"I regard it as my solemn duty to tell the truth, both as a knight, and as my lady's protector," he added, bowing to Sarah.
"If you don't shut up, I'll regard it as my solemn duty to thump you!" Hoggle yelled.
Ludo lifted both dwarf and fox up in his big paws. "Friends no fight," he observed. "Ludo protect brother."
Sarah covered her mouth so that neither Hoggle nor Sir Didimus would see her smile. "You're absolutely right, Ludo."
Sir Didimus, safe in Ludo's paw, cleared his throat. "The King verily looks different in his sleep. He reminds me of when I was just a young cub, and he a young prince. He was so different then: a true knight, courteous, gentle - then his parents were assassinated. It was like a spell cast over him. His pain turned to cynicism, he cared naught for the feelings or thoughts of others, it was like he'd assumed some sort of mask. A shell to protect the real him from being hurt. When I saw him asleep, it was like the shell, the mask, had been lifted, like a glimpse into the past . . ."
Sarah waited until later that day: she sat on her bed and took the crystal in her hands and concentrated on it. She spoke inside her mind, 'Take me into the Labyrinth!' She tried to sound as commanding as possible. The orb glowed and Sarah vanished in a swirl of glittering silver dust.
Sarah reappeared: there was a muffled sound from beneath her, quickly she rose to her feet and turned to see she had landed on Hoggle. He rose and dusted himself off, giving Sarah a crooked smile as he spoke. "Well this is a fine way for you to say hello."
Sarah looked at the children. "How many are there now?"
Hoggle thought for a moment. "Close to thirty I think."
Sarah's eyes went huge. "Has anyone come for them?"
Hoggle shook his head; Sarah looked confused for a moment and then spoke with a sigh. "Is he awake yet?"
Hoggle looked confused for a moment and then realisation dawned on his ugly face. "You mean Jareth . . . No it just seems to have got deeper."
"Has no one been able to wake him?"
Hoggle just shook his head his eyes filled with sadness. "We consulted a spell specialist, who told us that Jareth will only wake for the one he showed himself to, the person who has seen his other side, the real him beneath the mask he wears."
Sarah's mind reeled from that statement. "Oh . . . That's wonderful Hoggle." Her voice had a deadpan tone to it that wasn't lost on Hoggle.
"Is something wrong, Sarah?" he asked, concerned as she looked pale.
She sighed, there had to be another way to wake him. "So does he have to be kissed in order to be woken up?"
Hoggle could tell she was ignoring his question. "Well, we think so, but there are other cures to a spell like this."
"What are they?" Sarah asked, hope in her voice: inwardly Hoggle sighed, she was just as stubborn as Jareth.
"Ermm well . . . You can prick the victim's finger; if the person they love gets in danger and they call out the victim's name they will wake to save them and all they have to say is that they love the person; or lastly there is the flower approach, find the right flower and that might cure them."
Sarah instantly had a picture of the white roses on his balcony: maybe they could be the cure to his sleep - not that she cared whether he woke up or not, SHE just wanted to save her friends and if the only way to do that was to save him then so be it, though personally Sarah thought that the Labyrinth would be much better if he never woke up.
There was a huge crashing sound, like an avalanche, and the ground shook violently beneath them. Hoggle grabbed onto the remains of the wall beside him with obviously well-trained hands. Sarah was not so lucky, and ended up going head over heels. "What's happening?" she yelled.
"Just another part of the Labyrinth collapsing," said Hoggle gloomily. "I forgot to warn you about that."
"Oh don't worry about me," Sarah muttered, getting up and rubbing at her sore backside. "I'm used to it."
"You are?" Hoggle brightened.
"No, of course I'm not! Why is the Labyrinth collapsing? I know that toddlers can be destructive, but they can't manage to tear down something as big and old as this."
"It's because he's asleep: usually, any wears and tears are repaired by Jareth's magic. He's like the caretaker as well as the King. But since he's practically dead to the world, nothing's getting repaired, and they keep wearing away the same spot, so.." Hoggle shrugged.
Sarah gazed around, trying to stem the rising panic in her stomach. She'd counted on some parts of the Labyrinth looking worn, maybe a few holes, some uneven hedges, not mass destruction. She'd thought the collapse witnessed through the crystal was a freak event, but it was all too obvious that collapsing Labyrinth was a regular occurrence. It looked more and more likely that she'd have to go into the castle, that is, go near him. Obviously, he was more essential than she'd thought. Granted she'd thought he was an irritating well-dressed cockroach, but let's not quibble on details. The Labyrinth needed help and . . . Jareth was the only person who could provide it. She winced: the situation was so bad, she was forced to actually use his name.
"Hoggle," she said, sounding a little depressed.
"Yes?" he asked, brushing himself down.
"What's the most likely cure for this sleep spell? The pricking; whoever he loves getting into danger - wait a minute, doesn't he love the Labyrinth?"
"I said person, not thing."
Well, that idea went out of the window. "Or would it be the flower thing? Or," she gulped, "the traditional remedy?"
Hoggle considered, while Sarah tried to wipe the sweat off her palms.
"I can't see him waking up because somebody's pricked his finger," he remarked. "In fact, it would be just like Jareth to keep on sleeping because of that. If the person he loves most got in danger, I think he would wake up for her, it's a possibility. It would take ages to find his favourite flower - he might not even have one."
"You're his gardener - surely you've had orders for palace flowers?"
"You really think he'd have flowers in the same castle as goblins? Goblins eat flowers as dessert. Didn't you notice the total lack of plant life in the Goblin City?"
Sarah frowned: Hoggle obviously didn't know about the white roses. The white roses? She beamed suddenly, swooped down over Hoggle, and kissed him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed. "Don't you remember what happened last - "
Too late: the ground gave way beneath them, and they were sliding an all too familiar tunnel. Hoggle was sobbing, and Sarah thought it was from fear of the Bog. However, as they slid out into the open and grasped onto the rock on either side of the tunnel, she realised that he was crying with rage.
"You stupid, stupid girl! Even if he's asleep, the rules he made still stand, and he still keeps his promises!!!!" He glared at her. "Now look what you've gotten me into!"
"Be quiet," Sarah said, stretching out a leg as far as it would go, and finding solid ground. "I'm sorry, okay? I forgot."
"She forgot! She forgot!" Hoggle told thin air. "How could you forget this?!!!" And he gestured at the stinking, noxious burping swamp beneath them.
"Hey, at least I got us closer to the castle," she retorted, grabbing him and pulling him over to safe ground.
"If you put me through that just to get us closer to the castle . . . !"
"No, Hoggle, I didn't," she answered patiently as they slid down onto the path.
She could feel Jareth's power almost hit them, like a barrier. They were coming to where Sir Didimus lived, besides what had once been a bridge before he unfortunately demolished it with a few taps of his sword.
However, as they came into sight of the diminuitive knight's home, she discovered the bridge had been rebuilt, with gleaming stone. It looked far sturdier than the previous one.
"My lady!"
The fox came hurrying out of the tree, beaming all over his furry face. Sarah beamed too, and Hoggle grunted. The knight kneeled in front of them.
"My humble abode is graced by your presence," he murmured. "Fair maiden, it has been too long since we met."
Hoggle turned away, and made as if to retch. Sarah smacked him on the arm, and bowed. "Far too long, sir knight," she agreed. "I came as soon as I heard of the terrible calamities befalling this place."
"No, you didn't," Hoggle muttered, "you sat around on your arse for a couple of days thinking about it, and then - " Sarah elbowed him sharply in the ribs, causing him to choke.
"Why is Jareth's presence so powerful?" she asked. "We're not what you could call near to the castle."
"The King's power doth build up the longer he lies asleep," Sir Didimus answered, still kneeling. "Without use, it spreads throughout his realm and starts causing as much havoc as the babes."
"Yeah, like orange trees and giant butterflies," Hoggle inserted.
"Rise, Sir Didimus," said Sarah hastily. "Orange trees? Giant butterflies?" she repeated, puzzled.
"And that's just the start," Hoggle assured her. "Yesterday, I bumped into a part of the wall of the City."
"You mean you walked into," Sarah corrected him.
"No, I mean 'bumped', it was walking around," Hoggle replied, slighted.
"Riiiiiiiiiiight."
At that moment, a little piece of brownstone wall came trotting over the bridge and went past them towards the main bog. Sarah followed it with her eyes, which were very wide. Sir Didimus and Hoggle had struck up a conversation about the trouble caused by human children, as if this were perfectly normal.
"The wall . . the piece of wall . ." Sarah stuttered.
"Told you," said Hoggle smugly.
"SARAH!"
Ludo came lumbering over the bridge, arms full of mushrooms. Sarah was glad to see him, but then realised that the mushrooms were talking, hurling abuse at Ludo for picking them.
"SARAH!" Ludo opened his arms, letting the fungi fall, and grabbed her in a huge . . . whatever he was hug. Meanwhile, the mushrooms were inspecting the roots of Sir Didimus' tree: having found them satisfactory, they took root and began to jabber happily about their new home.
"I didn't think it was possible for things to get any stranger here, but they have," Sarah admitted, defeated.
"King sleep," Ludo told her. "Magic go crazy. City full of burnt gingerbread men."
"Okay that's enough, let's get going," said Sarah, her mind reeling.
The fox and the dwarf looked up at her. "Oh, are we actually going to do something?" asked Hoggle, confused.
"Somebody has to wake him up," Sarah answered, shuddering in spite of herself.
"You make it sound like torture," Sir Didimus observed, tweaking his whiskers. "What does this awaking involve?" He looked bright-eyed and busy tailed at the very thought of doing something.
Sarah sighed. "That's just it, we don't know, Sir Didimus." She sat down on the side of the bridge, trying desperately to ignore the smell. There were more pressing problems at hand.
"The King certainly looks different when he's asleep," Sir Didimus began, and then screeched. Sarah looked up startled: Hoggle had pulled on the knight's tail, and and was muttering furiously in his ear. Sir Didimus looked sulky, but didn't finish his sentence.
"What do you mean, 'he looks different'?" Sarah asked, pinching her nose and taking deep gulps.
"Now you've done it," Hoggle hissed at the fox, who sniffed, twitching his tail and combing his whiskers.
"I regard it as my solemn duty to tell the truth, both as a knight, and as my lady's protector," he added, bowing to Sarah.
"If you don't shut up, I'll regard it as my solemn duty to thump you!" Hoggle yelled.
Ludo lifted both dwarf and fox up in his big paws. "Friends no fight," he observed. "Ludo protect brother."
Sarah covered her mouth so that neither Hoggle nor Sir Didimus would see her smile. "You're absolutely right, Ludo."
Sir Didimus, safe in Ludo's paw, cleared his throat. "The King verily looks different in his sleep. He reminds me of when I was just a young cub, and he a young prince. He was so different then: a true knight, courteous, gentle - then his parents were assassinated. It was like a spell cast over him. His pain turned to cynicism, he cared naught for the feelings or thoughts of others, it was like he'd assumed some sort of mask. A shell to protect the real him from being hurt. When I saw him asleep, it was like the shell, the mask, had been lifted, like a glimpse into the past . . ."