SECOND HOUR
A clock chimed one somewhere. Anna jumped, and looked around the room she was in. There was nothing different, so she went back to watching the Labyrinth move.
"Be careful of who you trust." A soft feminine voice whispered in Anna's ear. Anna looked around once again, but saw nothing. How odd, Anna thought. She was hearing voices. Anna went back to watching a wall move, when she suddenly heard a soft pop.
"Beautiful, Isn't it?" Jareth asked Anna, edging in beside her so that he could look out the window at the moving labyrinth walls.
"Yes." Anna said softly, noticing the way Jareth's arm brushed hers. She looked up at Jareth, but Jareth was staring at the labyrinth. "You said you needed to talk to me?"
"Yes." Jareth shifted his weight and brought his mismatched eyes up to meet her green eyes. "Perhaps we'd be more comfortable elsewhere. If I may?" Jareth asked. Anna nodded, and Jareth threw a crystal ball up in the air. Anna closed her eyes, and it felt as if she were sitting in a very fast car. When she opened her eyes, she was sitting in a large, overstuffed chair, and Jareth was in a chair in front of her. The room was small, and only had the two chairs and a small table in it. The door was behind Jareth, and there was a small fireplace to her left. There were no windows, and no other way out. Anna sighed.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Anna asked Jareth. Jareth held up one hand, as if he was signaling for silence. Anna looked at Jareth with an odd look on her face. Jareth, sat there, as if he was waiting for someone. Slowly a woman that looked familiar to Anna materialized behind Jareth. Anna just looked at her. The woman looked misty at first, as if she couldn't remember what she looked like. Then she became clear. The woman looked exactly like Anna's aunt. She had long brown hair, pale skin, and was tall. The woman smiled at Anna, and shook her head.
"Jareth cannot see, or hear me yet. I'm Sarah, your aunt." Sarah told Anna. "This place is where I woke up after the accident. I'm sorry about that." At that Sarah shook her head. "I wish I had been there when you were born. I've been watching over you. I just didn't know you were sensitive to me." Anna sat there, trying to absorb what she had just been told. While Anna was trying to make sense of what she'd been told, Sarah became sharper, clearer, and moved to the small table. Jareth stood up when he saw her.
"Sarah!" Jareth said, and hugged her. "Anna, this is Sarah, your aunt."
"We've met." Sarah said, and pulled away from Jareth. Sarah sat on the small table between the two chairs.
"There are some things you need to know about the Labyrinth." Sarah told Anna. "Things that anyone here should know, like if you have ever been here, when you die, you come back here." Sarah glared at Jareth, and then shook her head. "Anyway there are a few things that Jareth needs to tell you. And then you and I need to talk. So, I'll be back when you are finished talking." And with that Sarah slowly faded away.
Anna sat, still a bit stunned. It wasn't everyday that you met somebody who was dead after all. Jareth let Anna absorb everything for a few moments, then spoke.
"Anna, Sarah is right. There are a few things I should tell you about the Labyrinth. Among those things that I should tell you, who exactly is running the labyrinth right now." Jareth smiled an odd smile.
"What things?" Anna asked. "And why is my aunt here instead of heaven?"
"That's among some of the things I should tell you." Jareth said, and then sighed. He leaned back. "This may take some time. We don't have a lot, but I'll try to tell you the most important parts, OK?" Jareth asked. Anna nodded.
"The first thing you should know is that when you come to the labyrinth something essential in you changes. It isn't obvious, and it isn't exactly clear what it is. But you are touched by it. You will never be able to forget the labyrinth or what happens there. You never forget it." Jareth stopped, as if unsure what to say next. "When your aunt wished your father away that night, she didn't really know what she was doing. Your brother was affected of course, as was Sarah. Sarah made friends she would never be able to forget, and Toby had memories of me and the goblins. Sarah also learned some important life lessons, which she would never have learned otherwise."
"So the labyrinth changes you. I knew that from my dreams of Sarah. She came here a bit child like, and left more like an adult than the child she had been. And my father has told me a bit about what happened while he was here. You sang to him because he was frightened." Anna smiled at Jareth, and Jareth instantly smiled back at her.
"H remembered it that way?. I was irritated because he wouldn't stop crying, so I sang so he would quiet down, actually." Jareth leaned forward, towards Anna.
"Now another thing you should know. Sarah was the only one to ever successfully win her way through my labyrinth, and she had help. Your father is now running the labyrinth for you. He heard you wish yourself away and demanded a chance to get you back. There are things that I can't tell you right now, but I might be able to tell you later, closer to his thirteenth hour." Jareth sighed.
"I know you didn't know what you were doing when you wished yourself away, but I need to tell you what you did do. There are things happening here, and you seem to be the catalyst for them right now. The Labyrinth has been slowly growing sleepy and dull, and now it is waking up with a vengeance. If it decides that your father should not win, then there is nothing I can do. I have set some friend in his path, though. The same friends that your aunt had that helped her through the labyrinth, when she ran it, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo. I hope that they will be able to help him." Jareth told Anna. For some reason Anna had the feeling that he was lying, or not telling her everything.
"You may have a choice to make when the thirteenth hour comes, like Sarah had a choice. But it will not be the same choice as she had. I'm sure it will be different. I have some hopes that I may be able to influence that labyrinth like I used to, but I am not sure. It seems to be a bit more powerful, for some reason, and I do not like it." Jareth leaned back in his chair. Anna sat, and thought through everything she had just been told. Finally she reached a conclusion.
"So you're saying that my father is running the labyrinth for me. I will have a choice to make at the thirteenth hour, but you won't tell me what it is. You're also saying that anyone who comes here is changes, but you don't know how. I somehow get the feeling that you're trying to lead me on some kind of goose chase." Anna looked at Jareth suspiciously. "And the labyrinth has a mind of its own."
Jareth just nodded. Then a small chime sounded, and Sarah appeared.
"You're time is up Jareth. That was the half-hour chime. You said I could have the fourth half hour with Anna all to myself." Sarah looked at Jareth until he nodded.
"I'll be back before the hour chime." Jareth said, and then produced a crystal from his jacket. "I'll see you both later." And with that Jareth threw the crystal and disappeared. Sarah sat in the seat Jareth had just vacated, and waited for a few moments. Anna just looked at Sarah, and then started to open her mouth. Sarah lifted her hand in a 'stop' motion, and Anna closed her mouth. Finally Sarah put her hand down.
"He was listening in. Now he's not." Sarah said simply. "What did he tell you?"
"Well, that the labyrinth has a mind of its own, that dad's running the labyrinth, and that everyone who comes here gets changed some how." Anna summed up everything in a few words.
"Well, all that is true. But he left out a few things too. You get tempted to stay. All the time. You may fall in love with someone, or make friends that you just can't leave behind. But sometimes it's better not to trust the illusion that the labyrinth forms. I am…" Sarah paused for a moment, as if she were searching for words. "I am outside of the labyrinth, as is Jareth. But he is tied to the labyrinth as I am not. I came here almost...voluntarily at my death. I can leave at anytime, and I have. But I heard your wish, and I came back. I let Jareth know that I wanted to speak to you years ago if you ever wished yourself away. And he has kept that promise." Sarah smiled a sad smile. "Jareth didn't know what he was offering when he tried to make me stay that time. He was offering a chance of slavery. Be careful of him. Be careful of who you trust."
"You. You were the one who told me that in that room, while I was looking at the labyrinth." Anna said, suddenly.
"Yes. I did not wish for you to be sucked into a goblin rebellion. There are forces at work here right now. There is a faction of the goblins who believe that Jareth is getting old and careless in his ruling. That he should be replaced…by one of them. That he let me win. He did no such thing. I won my way through the labyrinth. And there is no doubt in my mind that Toby will win his way here. Though I have a feeling that you may not leave here." Sarah said softly, sadly.
"Sarah." Anna leaned forward. "I don't know why I am here now. All I know that I have dreamed of the labyrinth all of my life. I have dreamed of you all my life. All I know is that I wished myself here, and I know why I did it too. I heard Jareth. He was lonely. There was a lot of pain in his voice, and I want to help him."
"I know. There has always been a lot of pain in Jareth. From what I've learned, since I've come here this time, it stems from his childhood. There is nothing anyone can do for some of his pain, but the right person could take a lot of his pain away." Sarah leaned forward, earnestly. "But I don't know if you could be that person. What if you only make it worse?"
"I don't want to hurt him, only help him." Anna said, and then sighed. "If in no other way than a friend." Anna leaned back and looked at her aunt. Sarah nodded and looked down.
"You need to understand something about the labyrinth. Things are not always as they seem here. There are things that no one has been able to see or understand for years. I've spoken to other ghosts, who have been here for a while, as I have been. They've told me things that others haven't seen. And they haven't all talked to each other." Sarah leaned forward again.
"Once the Labyrinth was alive. It had a conscience of its own. Jareth only managed to shape the labyrinth in those days, and the labyrinth would judge you as you ran it. If it determined that you were worthy, then you managed to get through it. If it decided that you weren't worthy enough, you would die in it. And if you stayed for over thirteen hours, then you would become a part of it." Sarah paused for a moment.
"Anna, if you or Toby are here for over thirteen hours, then you will not be able to leave the labyrinth. You will become a part of it, stuck, and unable to leave. That's how Jareth became the Goblin King. The last Goblin King gave him a choice at the end of the thirteenth hour, and Jareth stayed, and slowly became the Goblin King. Once Jareth was the Goblin King, the old one slowly died. He became a part of the Labyrinth." Sarah stopped talking, and then held up a hand. "The hour comes close to an end. Jareth will be here soon. When he gets here I will go to help Toby. Once I've finished helping you both, I will leave the labyrinth for good. I've said it before, but this time I will really leave for good. I wish you luck in your life, Anna."
"Have a good talk?" Jareth asked as he appeared in the room. Anna stood up, and looked at him.
"Yes. I believe we have all had a good talk. I've learned a lot." Anna told Jareth.
"Goodbye Jareth." Sarah said as she faded away.
"Shall we go back to the other room?" Jareth asked Anna with a frown on his face.
"Yes." Anna said, and closed her eyes. This time she didn't feel anything, but when she opened her eyes, she was in the other room. Jareth was still frowning.
Then a clock chimed two, and Anna felt her body sway with the chimes.
Meanwhile in the Labyrinth Toby had gotten into a spot of trouble. Toby and Hoggle had climbed to the top of the ladder, and saw the skylight. The skylight was covered with a panel of glass that was double-paned. Toby stared at the glass for a few seconds while Hoggle looked down.
"How will we get out of here if there's no way out?" Toby asked out loud.
"Well. There's another way out. Look it there." Hoggle said and pointed. Toby looked and saw a small door in the ceiling about three feet away. If Toby stretched he might be able to reach the door. He reached out, and the door swung open. A giant shaggy head poked through.
"Ludo?" the being said and shook his head. His head disappeared again and a giant arm reached through and grabbed Toby. Toby was pulled from the ladder and through the door. He was gently laid on the ground while the being reached in to get Hoggle.
"Ludo! Hows you know that we were there?" Hoggle asked Ludo.
"Ludo know." Was the only answer Hoggle got. Hoggle waited for a longer answer but got nothing. While Hoggle and Ludo were talking Toby looked around. They were still in the Labyrinth evident by the walls all around them. The walls were white and made of stone. Toby took a few steps forward. Suddenly the group heard voices.
"But what if they don't believe you Josh?" A small feminine voice said.
"Then they don't believe me. There's not much I could do Lara." A boyish voice answered.
Within seconds a small goblin and a fairy walked around the corner. They stopped and stared at the small group standing there waiting for them. The goblin visibly gulped. Toby took a few seconds to study the goblin and the fairy. The goblin was about two feet tall, and brown. It had shoulder length black hair, and bright blue eyes. It was wearing a small black AC/DC t-shirt, and blue jeans. The fairy sat on the goblins shoulder. The fairy had long black hair, blue eyes, and wore a gauzy little dress that made room for her wings.
"My….my name is Josh." The little goblin started. "I wished my little sister away once, while I was babysitting her once. I was fifteen, and she was two."
"My name is Toby. My daughter wished herself away." Toby introduced himself.
"I know. I heard the king talking. I just wanted to let you know some things. I lost when I ran the Labyrinth. The king turned my sister, Lara into a fairy, and me into a goblin. We'll never be allowed to go home. Even if we do go home, everyone would be grown up now. And we'll never be more than a goblin and a fairy here. We've heard; from different people that this time the Labyrinth run is very important. It could change the way the Labyrinth is forever. We thought we'd offer our help to you." Josh said.
"Yes. We thought you might like some help through the most confusing sections of the labyrinth. I've been everywhere. And Josh has been in the parts that I haven't been in." Lara said.
"but you is a fairy. Fairies are pesky creatures thatd rather biteya than lookatya." Hoggle said in a rush. Lara floated up and over to Hoggle.
"But That's just the fairy soldiers. The rest of us are gentle. The fairies are all the babies that were not gotten back from the Goblin King. As we grow up we are given two choices; to either stay with our fairy families, which adopt us, or to go out and become warriors. Males and females. Those of us who are angry at what the King has done become soldiers. The rest of us try to find our brothers, sisters, babysitters, parents, or family or friends that wished us away to ask why they did what they did. Most of us that do that tend to stay with them." Lara told Hoggle. Hoggle was silent for a few minutes.
Then they all heard a clock chime twice, and Toby fell down in what seemed to be a faint….
A/N What's next? We'll hear more of Josh and Lara's story, We'll learn why Jareth is frowning. Sarah will show up a few more times before the end. We'll learn why Toby 'fainted' and how it happened. We'll learn more about the fairy culture, and we'll get a few insights into the goblin culture. We'll also learn a bit more about Jareth and how he got to be the goblin king later. For now….please review and tell me what you think. All reviews are welcome.