(Hey again guys, I've been waiting to type this one for ages. All my others were done on paper first, but this is straight onto the computer, so if you notice any differences at all, that'll be why! Cheers for all your support xxx)
Chapter XVIII
Jareth and his subjects whirled as an enraged beast charged into the room, pursued by the other half of the goblin army. Amidst the stampede, Lynden and Sir Didymus joined the mass of creatures to pour across the bridges to the platform. The goblins that had already been in the room hesitated at the sight of Ludo's vertically jutting fangs but upon seeing their master's stern glare, they rushed to confront him.
A high-pitched voice screeched out, "Attack!" and the floor was swamped.
Sarah lost Hoggle within the fray, having heard his chain snap but nothing more. He may have been granted human form but he was still a little man, making it hopeless beneath the sea of armoured green. She ducked, allowing a self-propelled brute to soar over her head and crash into a heap of guards. Swishing the length of her spear about her, she was able to sweep those that circled off their feet, giving her time to scan the melee. Ludo was towering above the goblins, hurling them left, right and centre and roaring mutely when they clambered upon his back. At that particular moment he shook his head, swinging the plaits of his mane in a wide arc, sending a hanger-on hurtling into the guard that Didymus was battling.
"Many thanks, brother!" called the fox-creature as the goblins along one of the bridges toppled like dominoes.
A guard lifted his visor and leapt at Sarah, biting into her arm. She cried with pain and rage and reached into its helmet to grab its nose, wrenching the teeth from her skin. She pulled it as far as she could and slammed the visor down, dropping the miserable creature at the same time. She clenched her jaw and searched for Lynden - a near impossible task. When she had decided to give up in vain she noticed a glimmer of distorted air at the back of the room where the platform met wall, slightly raised compared with the rest. Running forwards to get a better view and whacking a trio of goblins along the way, she observed Jareth standing opposite the water girl in what looked like a standoff. Words were being spoken but she couldn't hear.
"You can't have her, Jareth," the water child hissed, her liquid strands of hair shimmering. "Just as you can't have me."
The Goblin King sneered for the first time, never having been ill-favoured enough to do so before.
"I never wanted you. *No one * ever wanted you, brat. Your family wished you away because they hated you and now I have to put up with your insatiable whining."
"Liar! I'll make you pay for every life you ever stole!" Lynden growled, advancing.
"I stole nothing," Jareth seethed, the blue shades around his eyes darkening. "The blame rests upon them, girl, on people like you. Mortals get what they ask and what they deserve. They are fools! They waste my time with this eternal duty I am bound to."
"Then let me relieve you of it!"
Sarah watched from the frenzy of Underground creatures as her friend threw herself upon Jareth, knocking him down. Lynden was latched around him, invisible, saturating his clothes, smothering his face. The Goblin King writhed and rolled at the height of the room, his lips moving but not making words. //He's drowning//, she thought with horror.
The struggle ended and Lynden flew back from the foe that spluttered and coughed at her feet. A shape drifted inside her translucent body, a piece of metal and a gemstone strung with cord - Jareth's pendant. Silence filled the platform. Every goblin stayed its hands and looked around in a daze, starting to mill around as though nothing had happened. As though they had no orders. A disgruntled shriek emitted from one unfortunate who had been teetering on the brink of the bridge, overbalanced by his lack of purpose.
The scrape of Jareth's boots as he got to his feet scored the quietness like a rusty saw. He regarded the water girl with a chilling stare and made to turn his back on her. His cloak flicked out and a spherical blur rolled into his palm. He doubled back and plunged his hand into her heart, leaving behind a floating glass orb.
Lynden peered down at the crystal inhabiting her body. It gave her long enough to display an expression of surprise before a surge of cold energy enveloped her from the inside out, a frozen statue. Jareth narrowed his eyes and smiled grimly. His gloved fingers curled into a fist and slammed into his pendant's prison. The water girl shattered.
"Lynden!" Sarah screamed.
She bolted through the crowd of bickering creatures and up the few steps to the raised part of the platform where she could see the Goblin King reaching slowly for his heirloom. A flicker of realisation kindled in Sarah's mind. Thinking fast, she dove for the pendant and clasped it in her palm, immediately dashing back across the room. His curses rang in her ears; she felt her heart as if it were pulsing in her throat. She shrieked as he materialised at the far end of the bridge, blocking her only escape. She stopped at the edge of the platform, peering down into the endless chasm beneath.
"It's over, Sarah. Give it back and no one else will get hurt," she heard his voice shiver every atom.
She uncurled her hand and examined the swirling colours at the heart of the jewel. Then she slipped the loop of cord over her head and let the pendant hang around her neck.
"I wish the spell to be undone," she whispered then she took in a breath and leapt into the abyss.
Jareth was unprepared this time, his conjuring too slow. No sooner had a crystal appeared in his palm, she had vanished into the dark. For a moment he stood awkwardly, unable to decide on his course of action. Until he noticed something move in the chasm. A grey entity meandered through the blackness, a sound like violent winds rumbling in the depths.
Ludo, Sir Didymus and a few curious guards joined the king in leaping back from the edge as the formidable mass of Pterelas burst from the gloom with Sarah clinging onto his pinnacled back, diving once more beneath the bridge with the aid of his majestic, black wings. Jareth tossed his waiting crystal into oblivion and jumped after it, disappearing from sight.
Sarah glanced back from her position upon the rock dragon and spread her arms out in a hug of sorts.
"Nice timing," she called over the rush of wind that dried her tear-stricken eyes.
"Don't thank me yet," Pterelas bellowed back. "I sense something is not-."
A hideous strangled screeching cut off his words. Sarah turned once more, this time to see the same gleaming eyes she had encountered when she had been required to rebuild this very castle. The four-headed Polydragon snapped at the rock dragon's tail as it emerged out of the darkness with its master perched where the necks met, the dim scarlet scales blazing as though they were aflame.
Pterelas veered off and swung his granite tail, smashing the teeth of one of the gaping jaws, unable to outrun the younger fire-lizard. He dropped deeper, warning his rider of his every move. Still the larger monster gained, drawing alongside the old monster, bashing him in his flanks. Sarah lost her grip and rolled across the breadth of his wing, which curled to protect her.
The Polydragon was now equal to Pterelas' speed but did not attack, merely sending a few warning snaps. The Goblin King stood, needing little effort to control his own gravity. He leaned in as close as possible and stepped onto the rock dragon's back.
Pterelas roared in anger, unable to shake off his unwanted passenger for fear of losing Sarah. He reeled again, ensuring she was secure but trying to catch the hijacker off guard. Sarah crawled forwards, gripping the edge of the wing and reaching for her friend's neck but to no avail. The familiar pair of boots entered her frame of vision.
"Give me your hand, Sarah."
She ignored the voice, holding on for dear life, her eyes closed against the whipping draught.
"Don't be foolish," Jareth growled. He knelt down and snatched hold of her arm, hauling her to safety. "Now, give me my pendant."
Sarah shoved him back and clumsily got to her feet upon the high-speed dragon.
"Sarah, don't make me have to take it from you," Jareth warned, his footing as natural as ever.
She fell backwards and refused his help. She remained seated, leaning back on her hands.
"You'll have to kill me first!" she blurted.
The Goblin King raised his hand in mid-strike but he hesitated. A wave of emotion washed over him, banishing the shadows and removing the masked glaze that had made his eyes cold. Sheer, unadulterated pain and horror reflected upon his once again beautiful face, awoken from his world of dark fantasies and faced with a harsh reality.
"Sarah, I-."
He had not been forewarned. The impact of stone swept him from where he stood as Pterelas passed beneath the bridge, casting him into the black. Sarah cried out in anguish, and tore the pendant from her neck, hurling it after him. All the remaining friends gazed solemnly into the eerie abyss for signs of life, whether it was deserved or not.
The faint flapping of wings served to ease Sarah's heart. A bright white owl fluttered up but collided with the unperceived fury of the starving, four-headed monstrosity. One of the Polydragon's snouts clamped onto the bird's wing and bit deep, tugging against the flurry of feathers. Finally the owl tore itself loose and landed brokenly in the centre of the floor. Its torment was not yet ended; the excitable gathering of goblins set upon the bird, ripping and poking, unaware of the bloodshed they caused.
Finally it was over. The goblin crowd parted with a series of gasps at the sight of their master lying pale and still, the symbol of their obedience glimmering at his chest.
Hoggle, as he had always been known, once again a dwarf, stepped into the circle and shook his head wearily.
"At least he got 'is pendant," he said grimly.
Sarah came running across the floor, having dismounted from Pterelas, a look beyond worry blanching her cheeks.
"Hoggle, I...he...is he okay?" she stammered.
The dwarf retreated from the dumbstruck creatures and took her by the hand. He motioned to Ludo to help as he led her across the bridge to the doorway.
"Where are we going?" Sarah asked wearily.
"*We* isn't goin anywheres. You is goin' where you's belong," Hoggle replied gently as they walked into the throne room.
The dwarf trotted over to a section of the wall that was covered in cobwebs. With a deft brush of his hand, he cleared the debris and revealed the worn, wooden surface of the old thirteen-hour clock. He stood on his tiptoes and turned the hands until just before the last hour then he turned to his human friend.
"G'bye Sarah," he said with a sniff.
"Goodbye Hoggle."
"Bye Sehwah."
Sarah wiped a tear after she'd hugged the dwarf, overwhelmed with grief. The sound of Ludo's returned voice warmed her soul.
"Goodbye Ludo. Tell the others I said goodbye. I'll miss-."
And the clock struck thirteen.
Chapter XVIII
Jareth and his subjects whirled as an enraged beast charged into the room, pursued by the other half of the goblin army. Amidst the stampede, Lynden and Sir Didymus joined the mass of creatures to pour across the bridges to the platform. The goblins that had already been in the room hesitated at the sight of Ludo's vertically jutting fangs but upon seeing their master's stern glare, they rushed to confront him.
A high-pitched voice screeched out, "Attack!" and the floor was swamped.
Sarah lost Hoggle within the fray, having heard his chain snap but nothing more. He may have been granted human form but he was still a little man, making it hopeless beneath the sea of armoured green. She ducked, allowing a self-propelled brute to soar over her head and crash into a heap of guards. Swishing the length of her spear about her, she was able to sweep those that circled off their feet, giving her time to scan the melee. Ludo was towering above the goblins, hurling them left, right and centre and roaring mutely when they clambered upon his back. At that particular moment he shook his head, swinging the plaits of his mane in a wide arc, sending a hanger-on hurtling into the guard that Didymus was battling.
"Many thanks, brother!" called the fox-creature as the goblins along one of the bridges toppled like dominoes.
A guard lifted his visor and leapt at Sarah, biting into her arm. She cried with pain and rage and reached into its helmet to grab its nose, wrenching the teeth from her skin. She pulled it as far as she could and slammed the visor down, dropping the miserable creature at the same time. She clenched her jaw and searched for Lynden - a near impossible task. When she had decided to give up in vain she noticed a glimmer of distorted air at the back of the room where the platform met wall, slightly raised compared with the rest. Running forwards to get a better view and whacking a trio of goblins along the way, she observed Jareth standing opposite the water girl in what looked like a standoff. Words were being spoken but she couldn't hear.
"You can't have her, Jareth," the water child hissed, her liquid strands of hair shimmering. "Just as you can't have me."
The Goblin King sneered for the first time, never having been ill-favoured enough to do so before.
"I never wanted you. *No one * ever wanted you, brat. Your family wished you away because they hated you and now I have to put up with your insatiable whining."
"Liar! I'll make you pay for every life you ever stole!" Lynden growled, advancing.
"I stole nothing," Jareth seethed, the blue shades around his eyes darkening. "The blame rests upon them, girl, on people like you. Mortals get what they ask and what they deserve. They are fools! They waste my time with this eternal duty I am bound to."
"Then let me relieve you of it!"
Sarah watched from the frenzy of Underground creatures as her friend threw herself upon Jareth, knocking him down. Lynden was latched around him, invisible, saturating his clothes, smothering his face. The Goblin King writhed and rolled at the height of the room, his lips moving but not making words. //He's drowning//, she thought with horror.
The struggle ended and Lynden flew back from the foe that spluttered and coughed at her feet. A shape drifted inside her translucent body, a piece of metal and a gemstone strung with cord - Jareth's pendant. Silence filled the platform. Every goblin stayed its hands and looked around in a daze, starting to mill around as though nothing had happened. As though they had no orders. A disgruntled shriek emitted from one unfortunate who had been teetering on the brink of the bridge, overbalanced by his lack of purpose.
The scrape of Jareth's boots as he got to his feet scored the quietness like a rusty saw. He regarded the water girl with a chilling stare and made to turn his back on her. His cloak flicked out and a spherical blur rolled into his palm. He doubled back and plunged his hand into her heart, leaving behind a floating glass orb.
Lynden peered down at the crystal inhabiting her body. It gave her long enough to display an expression of surprise before a surge of cold energy enveloped her from the inside out, a frozen statue. Jareth narrowed his eyes and smiled grimly. His gloved fingers curled into a fist and slammed into his pendant's prison. The water girl shattered.
"Lynden!" Sarah screamed.
She bolted through the crowd of bickering creatures and up the few steps to the raised part of the platform where she could see the Goblin King reaching slowly for his heirloom. A flicker of realisation kindled in Sarah's mind. Thinking fast, she dove for the pendant and clasped it in her palm, immediately dashing back across the room. His curses rang in her ears; she felt her heart as if it were pulsing in her throat. She shrieked as he materialised at the far end of the bridge, blocking her only escape. She stopped at the edge of the platform, peering down into the endless chasm beneath.
"It's over, Sarah. Give it back and no one else will get hurt," she heard his voice shiver every atom.
She uncurled her hand and examined the swirling colours at the heart of the jewel. Then she slipped the loop of cord over her head and let the pendant hang around her neck.
"I wish the spell to be undone," she whispered then she took in a breath and leapt into the abyss.
Jareth was unprepared this time, his conjuring too slow. No sooner had a crystal appeared in his palm, she had vanished into the dark. For a moment he stood awkwardly, unable to decide on his course of action. Until he noticed something move in the chasm. A grey entity meandered through the blackness, a sound like violent winds rumbling in the depths.
Ludo, Sir Didymus and a few curious guards joined the king in leaping back from the edge as the formidable mass of Pterelas burst from the gloom with Sarah clinging onto his pinnacled back, diving once more beneath the bridge with the aid of his majestic, black wings. Jareth tossed his waiting crystal into oblivion and jumped after it, disappearing from sight.
Sarah glanced back from her position upon the rock dragon and spread her arms out in a hug of sorts.
"Nice timing," she called over the rush of wind that dried her tear-stricken eyes.
"Don't thank me yet," Pterelas bellowed back. "I sense something is not-."
A hideous strangled screeching cut off his words. Sarah turned once more, this time to see the same gleaming eyes she had encountered when she had been required to rebuild this very castle. The four-headed Polydragon snapped at the rock dragon's tail as it emerged out of the darkness with its master perched where the necks met, the dim scarlet scales blazing as though they were aflame.
Pterelas veered off and swung his granite tail, smashing the teeth of one of the gaping jaws, unable to outrun the younger fire-lizard. He dropped deeper, warning his rider of his every move. Still the larger monster gained, drawing alongside the old monster, bashing him in his flanks. Sarah lost her grip and rolled across the breadth of his wing, which curled to protect her.
The Polydragon was now equal to Pterelas' speed but did not attack, merely sending a few warning snaps. The Goblin King stood, needing little effort to control his own gravity. He leaned in as close as possible and stepped onto the rock dragon's back.
Pterelas roared in anger, unable to shake off his unwanted passenger for fear of losing Sarah. He reeled again, ensuring she was secure but trying to catch the hijacker off guard. Sarah crawled forwards, gripping the edge of the wing and reaching for her friend's neck but to no avail. The familiar pair of boots entered her frame of vision.
"Give me your hand, Sarah."
She ignored the voice, holding on for dear life, her eyes closed against the whipping draught.
"Don't be foolish," Jareth growled. He knelt down and snatched hold of her arm, hauling her to safety. "Now, give me my pendant."
Sarah shoved him back and clumsily got to her feet upon the high-speed dragon.
"Sarah, don't make me have to take it from you," Jareth warned, his footing as natural as ever.
She fell backwards and refused his help. She remained seated, leaning back on her hands.
"You'll have to kill me first!" she blurted.
The Goblin King raised his hand in mid-strike but he hesitated. A wave of emotion washed over him, banishing the shadows and removing the masked glaze that had made his eyes cold. Sheer, unadulterated pain and horror reflected upon his once again beautiful face, awoken from his world of dark fantasies and faced with a harsh reality.
"Sarah, I-."
He had not been forewarned. The impact of stone swept him from where he stood as Pterelas passed beneath the bridge, casting him into the black. Sarah cried out in anguish, and tore the pendant from her neck, hurling it after him. All the remaining friends gazed solemnly into the eerie abyss for signs of life, whether it was deserved or not.
The faint flapping of wings served to ease Sarah's heart. A bright white owl fluttered up but collided with the unperceived fury of the starving, four-headed monstrosity. One of the Polydragon's snouts clamped onto the bird's wing and bit deep, tugging against the flurry of feathers. Finally the owl tore itself loose and landed brokenly in the centre of the floor. Its torment was not yet ended; the excitable gathering of goblins set upon the bird, ripping and poking, unaware of the bloodshed they caused.
Finally it was over. The goblin crowd parted with a series of gasps at the sight of their master lying pale and still, the symbol of their obedience glimmering at his chest.
Hoggle, as he had always been known, once again a dwarf, stepped into the circle and shook his head wearily.
"At least he got 'is pendant," he said grimly.
Sarah came running across the floor, having dismounted from Pterelas, a look beyond worry blanching her cheeks.
"Hoggle, I...he...is he okay?" she stammered.
The dwarf retreated from the dumbstruck creatures and took her by the hand. He motioned to Ludo to help as he led her across the bridge to the doorway.
"Where are we going?" Sarah asked wearily.
"*We* isn't goin anywheres. You is goin' where you's belong," Hoggle replied gently as they walked into the throne room.
The dwarf trotted over to a section of the wall that was covered in cobwebs. With a deft brush of his hand, he cleared the debris and revealed the worn, wooden surface of the old thirteen-hour clock. He stood on his tiptoes and turned the hands until just before the last hour then he turned to his human friend.
"G'bye Sarah," he said with a sniff.
"Goodbye Hoggle."
"Bye Sehwah."
Sarah wiped a tear after she'd hugged the dwarf, overwhelmed with grief. The sound of Ludo's returned voice warmed her soul.
"Goodbye Ludo. Tell the others I said goodbye. I'll miss-."
And the clock struck thirteen.