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Chapter Nine: Cheaters Sometimes Prosper
"Maturity begins to grown when you can sense your concern for others outweighing your concern for yourself." ~ John MacNaughton
Jason had been wandering around in the forest for what seemed like years. He felt too angry to think straight, and his feet were beginning to go numb from all the walking. Inside he was still cursing that crazy fool who had placed him here and who had taken his wife away. If he touched a single hair on her head, he would pay. Jason slammed his fist into the palm of his opposite hand. There was no mistaking it, he was pretty damn pissed off.
"Anyone out there?" he called, hoping to get some type of reaction. At this point, he was so desperate to see another form of life, he would be glad to see one of those strange yellow orangish beasts that wanted to decapitate him. Anything was better than the eerie silence he was surrounded with now.
Finally, he came to a wall. It had seemed earlier that there was nothing but walls in this place, however, it had been at least three hours since he had seen one, so he took this as a good sign and followed it until he came to a door. There were two signs hanging above it. One read "Enter Here," and the other said, "Beware, Enter Not." He found that they both pointed to the same door, the only door that there was.
Several feet away was a dirt path, leading to the castle, which wasn't too far anymore. He smirked. This was a trap, was it? That dumb king, what did he call himself, Jareth? Yeah, he was nothing. He didn't even know how to deceive others. Chuckling to himself, Jason opened the door, and waltzed through.
It was dark on the inside. Then he saw a light to his left. A woman was standing there, shivering. It was Sarah. A malicious grin spread across his lips. Powerfully, he strolled forward with every intention of making her pay for forcing him to go through all of this to keep her. Just as he reached her side, she disappeared, and the floor gave out from under him. As he fell, he heard the delighted laughter of the mighty Goblin King.
"Damn it!" Jason hollered, skidding down the tunnel, before tumbling out somewhere new.
Wherever he was now, it reeked. The smell was the worst his nostrils had ever taken in. Wincing at the pain it brought to his nose hairs, he tried to open his eyes. All around him was a bubbling mess of slop. It gurgled and burped. The slop resembled a huge swamp, but instead of remaining calm, it was dense. In fact, it acted like it had a life of its own.
Finding himself on the edge of a eroding wall, Jason worked his way down, hoping to find someway of crossing the sickening display of a dump and continuing his journey to the castle. When he got there, Sarah would be punished. She would be punished so that she never forgot. He promised himself that.
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"Well?" Sarah asked, looking to Jareth for a report on Jason's progress.
It pained him to see the expression of her eyes. He knew how much she loved him, could tell, could feel it. But there was so much fear in her. He hated seeing her so weakened by the mistakes of her past. He felt worse that he hadn't been able to protect from the man called Jason. No one, especially not his Sarah, should have ever been hurt so brutally. It was inhumane to treat another so carelessly.
Closing his eyes, he drew her into his arms, pulling her to his chest. "I have made sure to show him to one of my finer accommodations," he told her. "The Bog of Stench is reserved for the worst of souls."
"You put me there once," she whispered.
"Did I leave you there long?"
"Sir Didymus found us, and Ludo was able to get us out by calling the rocks," she replied.
"Who do you think put them there?" he smirked, glancing down at her innocent face.
"Jareth," she said softly, searching his eyes. She hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder, and he continued to hold her, promising himself that he'd never let her go again.
Hoggle wiped a tear from his eye, as he, Ludo, Sir Didymus, and Jamylia all watched from behind a curtain. "Ain't they such a pwretty sight?" he sighed, watching the Goblin King, whisper declarations of love to the girl he had helped all those years ago.
"They certainly will make good parents," Jamylia agreed, still holding Krystal, who had fallen asleep in her nanny's arms. "Besides, it's about time Jareth settled down. He's always been really good with children, goblin, human, or fae. And Sarah is just about the best mother I've ever seen. They have love on their side and a firm relationship. You can't wish for anything better. They are going to have a good life once that bimbo is taken care of."
Sir Didymus, Ludo, and Hoggle were most confused over what had happened. They didn't fully understand the magnitude of abuse Sarah had had to endure while she had been living Aboveground. However, they were more distracted by her child, who had taken a keen interest in them. Presently, though, she was sleeping.
"Bimbo?" Ludo groaned, shaking his head.
"Yeah, that moron is going to try to screw everything up," Jamylia informed them. "I wish Jareth would just kill him already. Doesn't he understand that in the end, he's going to have to, for Sarah's sake, I mean."
"Perhaps he should challenge him to a duel to win fair maiden's heart," Sir Didymus suggested.
"He already has 'er heart, you idiot," Hoggle smacked the dog-knight off of his stead.
"Oh, my," Sir Didymus mumbled, glaring at Hoggle as he attempted to re-mount Ambrosia.
"Would you two stop it?" Jamylia snapped. "You're going to wake the baby," she motioned to the sleeping Krystal, then continued. "Now, I think we should help Sarah and Jareth. We should take care of Jason ourselves. Then they can go on with their lives without worry. What do you think?"
"Good plan, dear lady," Sir Didymus nodded.
"Plan good," Ludo seconded the vote.
"I suppose it might work," Hoggle shrugged.
"Alright," the fairy smiled, "then this is what we'll do."
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Hoggle grumbled to himself as he entered the Bog of Eternal Stench. Of all the places he had to go, why did he have to come here? It was the worst place to get stuck in the entire Labyrinth. At least oubliettes were usually clean and smelled fine. Not this place, it was like a liquid dump. He shuddered, but continued on his way. Jamylia had said that moronic pain was out here somewhere. It was his job to find him.
As he went on his way, he heard some foul language to go with the foul stench. That sounds like him, he thought, agitated already. Wish I could take my pixie spray to him, but the fairy said to lead him to Ludo and the dog, so I guess I ourght ta do that first. Then I'll spray him as I see fit. That thought put a rather pleasant look on the dwarf's face.
He made his way around a tree, and stumbled over the root. Mumbling about how he hated nature, he failed to notice the large, burly human who was approaching him. Before he could react, Jason had picked him up by the back of his shirt.
"Why, hello there, friend," he greeted Hoggle sarcastically. "You're in luck. I'm feeling kind of generous. Lead me to Sarah, and I'll spare your other friend," he held up Sir Didymus in the other hand.
"I won't betray my first friend," Hoggle refused.
"Then I'll toss you both into that awful smelling pit," he threatened.
"Fine," Didymus stubbornly replied. Hoggle twitched, but said nothing. Jason growled, then shook them roughly. "You are vile and hardly a gentleman of protocol at all. It is no wonder why our dear lady Sarah left you," Didymus barked.
"She left me?" Jason hissed, through his clenched jaw. "No one leaves me, especially her. She belongs to me. And the both of you are going to lead me to her," he growled, pulling out a hunting knife from his shoe. "Now."
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The castle was booming with life. Sarah had been distinguished as the future Goblin Queen and the goblins had taken it upon themselves to throw a party. They were dancing around, singing (well, as well as any goblin can sing.) In the end, it gave Jamylia a headache. Jareth, always the gracious host, ushered his guests out of the throne room to the empty (and much more calm) ballroom.
Sarah laughed at Jamylia's relieved expression, while Jareth wrapped an arm around her slim waist, protectively. She glanced over at Ludo, who was presently rocking Krystal. Her daughter sure could sleep. "She has your brother's eyes," Jareth commented absently, when he noticed where her attention was. "It is now wonder she is such a beauty. Following in her mother's footsteps, I do believe," he added, giving her temple a quick kiss.
She smiled over her shoulder at him, unsure when she had ever been this happy. For years, she had been afraid, fearing for the worst, but now, it finally seemed that she would be alright. After all, Jareth was here to save her, just like the hero in all the fairy tales she had read. He had promised to never let anything bad ever happen to her again and she believe in that promise whole-heartedly.
Still, the small fear inside her was growing as the time ticked by. Jason was never the most clever of people, but when there was a way, he found means to get there. For that reason alone, she was frightened.
Her fear was justified when Jason walked through the ballroom doors, shattering her perfect dreamland.
It was as if the world had stopped. Krystal awoke and started to cry, screaming for her mother. Sarah, fearful of Jason's temper, hurrily grabbed her child into her arms. Clutched the scared babe against her chest, she backed away from her husband. Jareth had had enough and he stepped in from of her and between Jason and herself.
"You ungrateful whore," the hot-tempered man growled at Sarah. "Did you honestly think you could get away from me?" He threw Hoggle and Didymus on the floor at her feet. They appeared to be unconscious, but otherwise, unharmed. "You're mine. I own you, just like I own that little bitch in your arms," he sneered, cruelly, as Sarah began to cry from his harsh words.
"That is quite enough. Get out of my castle," Jareth commanded. What motion that had been left in the room stilled. The massive flood of goblins, which were coming to aid their king, paused. Only a pair of mismatched eyes dared to move, dared to glare with overwhelming hatred at the man who had hurt his love so deeply.
Jason cleared his throat, letting out a hoarse laugh. "Excuse me? What did you say to me?"
"I believe you heard me," Jareth smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Or do I need to repeat myself?"
"Fuck you! I won, bastard! She's mine, not yours, MINE! She belongs to me!"
"She belongs to no one but herself," Jareth hissed, slowly starting to lose his temper.
Behind his back, he signaled to Ludo to get Sarah and the rest of them out of the ballroom. The great orange creature wasn't quick enough to catch the gesture, but Jamylia saw it. She immediately began dragging the Williams girl out of there. However, Sarah knew how dangerous Jason was, and despite his great power, Jareth might get hurt. She wouldn't allow that. Therefore, Ludo had to carry her out, kicking and screaming.
"Where are you taking her? She's my property! I won her back!"
"No woman is property for another," Jareth growled. "Besides, the Labyrinth is meant to test one, not to allow one to bargain and cheat their way through. You forfeit, but disinclining to follow the rules."
"You never mentioned that I couldn't cheat," Jason pointed out.
"Doesn't mean it wasn't a rule. By law, the Underground won't permit you to leave with Sarah. We don't favor wife beaters here." He turned to his swarm of goblins. "All of you," he said to his minions, "leave us."
The little beasts looked around, confused. Normally, their king would allow them the simple pleasure of dismembering such a man, who was the loser of the game, or, if he was in an especially good mood, he let them watch the Fierys have a bit of fun. This command left room for none of that and it confused them.
"OUT," he barked. Quickly, they all went out the door, scattering all about on their way.
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A/N: Sorry that you had to wait so long for an update. I am working really hard to finish my HP fanfic called "An Unlikely Friend" so I have more time for my three Laby fics and my first attempt at an Inuyasha fic ("Pure Heart"). This was probably the longest chapter I have written for this story, so I think perhaps, the wait was worth it…well until the Cliffhanger, at least? Don't come get me with your pitch forks just yet. I am working on the final chapter as we speak, but I want to make it extra special. I usually suck at endings. ~ Neveada Sierriana