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Chapter Eight: New Friends & New Enemies
Jamilya landed at the outskirts of the Goblin City. She imagined that the Goblin King would be quite pleased to see her. She had loads of information to tell him. Not wasting another moment, she flew into the throne room. Goblins were swarming everywhere, it seemed as if the floor was made up of a million moving pieces. However, the throne was bare, not even a crystal lay on the brown cushioned seat.
"JARETH!" she yelled, her tiny voice exploding through the hall with the might of a gale wind.
In Sarah's chambers, the Goblin King turned to look at the door. Someone had just summoned for him. He glanced back at the woman he loved, holding her child. "Come on," he told her. "I have a feeling my spy is hear to inform us of some things." Smiling, Sarah followed him to the throne room.
The fairy was pleased to see her king enter the room. She was surprised to see who he brought along. The fabled Sarah Williams of the Labyrinth came into the room. All the goblins stopped their fuss and bowed. Jareth sent a small grin to the lady standing beside him, but she couldn't believe what was going on. Never had anyone bowed before her and it was a bit unnerving, but she just thanked them, and held to Krystal tighter. Jamilya smiled. This woman was just an innocent lady who had been dealt a bad hand by fate.
"Sarah, this is Jamilya," Jareth introduced them. "Jamilya, this is Sarah Williams, and her daughter, Krystal."
"I have already had the displeasure of meeting your husband," the fairy said. The woman's dark hair glistened, but her green eyes showed a small hint of fear when Jamilya spoke of Jason. "I beg your pardon, my lady," she bowed her head. "I meant no disrespect."
"It's alright," Sarah replied softly, her eyes now on her daughter's face. "I just prefer not to think of Jason as my husband. A husband is meant to love and cherish you. He is meant to protect you and be faithful to you all his days, as is a wife, but ever since the first day Jason raised his hand against me, he has denied his role of husband in my eyes."
"A wisely put statement, my dear," Jareth commented, putting an arm around her shoulders.
It was no secret that the king had a thing for this girl. The desire in his eyes was evident from a mile away. Jamilya wondered if Sarah was blind, or just ignoring his obvious love. Could she care for him in return? Seeing them like this, how she looked at him and how he responded it made her think that indeed she did. Of course, there was the minor problem of her husband, and the chance that he might beat the Labyrinth. That could cause this relationship to fall to pieces within seconds.
"Sire, you must know that Jason was helped by-,"
"I am already aware of the assistance the villain has acquired, Jamilya," he snapped, though she could tell the irritation in his voice wasn't directed to her. "I would like it if you could stay here and watch over Sarah. I'm sure with your magical capabilities it will prove to be an easy task and I know how you love to attend to children," he added, sending a warm glance in Krystal's direction.
"Yes, your Majesty," she nodded.
Jareth turned to leave, walking from the throne room toward his private chambers. Sarah handed Jamilya her daughter, and rushed after the Goblin King. "Jareth, where are you going?" she asked, grabbing onto his arm. He spun around, catching her in an embrace.
"Sarah, you must understand my position. I have vowed to keep you safe, and that I will. I will let nothing happen to you, even if that means facing Jason myself. I will give him a warning, and that is all." He pulled back, looking at her longingly. "I will be back as soon as I possibly can. I will not permit you to come along because it is too dangerous for you."
"But-,"
"No 'buts'," he shook a finger at her. "You will just have to remain here until I return. Is that understood?" he ran the finger down her cheekbone, to her neck. "I lost you once," he whispered, drawing her close. "I would not risk such a thing again, not in all the centuries of this world or yours." With that he vanished, leaving Sarah alone in the dimly lit hallway. Sighing, she went back to the throne room to talk with the fairy.
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Hoggle heard voice just ahead of him. Only a few more steps and he would be caught up to them. He wondered how they were thinking of reaching the Goblin City like this. They seemed to be taking the long road, then again, he noticed that they were detouring around the Bog of Eternal Stench. "Damn," he muttered more to himself then anyone else.
"Is that you Sir Hoggle?" a familiar voice asked. Before the dwarf could respond, two dogs, an orange beast, and a man came forth out of the forest. Hoggle gawked at them all, then shook his head to clear his thoughts. "It is! It is Sir Hoggle that accompanied us on our last adventure against this ruffian called the Goblin King," Sir Didymus exclaimed, holding his spear up high.
"Erm…Ludo, Didymus, could I have a word with you fellows," the trembling dwarf asked. The man send him a suspicious look. "In private, that is."
"Certainly," Didymus grinned.
The three of them went several paces ahead of the man. "What the hell do the two of you think you are doing?" Hoggle yelled, unable to control his temper. "Do you know what you are doing? You are helping Sarah's husband."
"Yes of course," Didymus nodded.
"Bad?" Ludo moaned.
"Of course it's BAD!" Hoggle hollered. "Did you think I came here to award you?! Sarah wished herself and her daughter away because he beats her!" Hoggle stated, angrily.
"Beats her?" Didymus questioned, not quite understanding at first.
"He hits her, kicks her, cuts her, and nearly killed her until Jareth showed up and saved her and her daughter, who is only two."
"Oh my," Didymus exclaimed. Looking down at his dog he cried, "Ambrosia! How dare you confuse me and make me help the traitor of our favorite lady?" Ludo shook his head. "We must leave here at once. Lead us to our fair lady," Didymus asked. Making sure Jason was no where near, Hoggle nodded and started leading them to the castle.
Back where they had left Jason, the man was pacing around. "Where are those bastards?" he growled.
"I have heard far worse come out of your foul mouth," an arrogant voice interrupted him. He whirled around, spotting Jareth lounging in the branches of a nearby tree.
"What do you want King of the Assholes?"
"Tsk, tsk, such a mouth will get you in trouble one of these days," Jareth told him, jumping down onto the ground. He adjusted his gloves, pulling them tighter. "I merely stopped by to give you a friendly warning. You dare to hurt Sarah or Krystal and I will personally see to it that your life becomes worse than any hell in religious beliefs." He smirked. "As it were, I have decided to be generous to you. If you give up now, I will send you home and return your home to its normal order, but Sarah and Krystal shall remain here with me…forever."
"NO!" roared Jason, charging at the Goblin King. Jareth disappeared.
"Then," Jareth said, shaking his head from behind Jason. "You shall perish. You have four hours left to solve the Labyrinth, and no more guides. Such a pity, but then again, I did give you a fair chance." With that, the Goblin King once again vanished, this time to return to his palace and one very important woman who he held dear to his heart.
Jason, on the other hand, let out a long slew of curses before running a hand through his hair. Which way was that damned castle?
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A/N: Another long wait. Sorry folks. I have just been so busy lately and despite all the snow days, my life has just been more and more hectic. I apologize for the wait. Hope you enjoyed it. ~ Nev