Questers
Chapter one
"I need you Hoggle. All of you."
Well how could I ignore that? A open invitation to come and see Sarah, whenever she needed us. Not that I mind her needing us, but it would be nice for me to be able to call her for help for once.
And boy do I need it now.
That rat Jareth has been chasing me for two days now.
Every time I turn round he's there, or rounding on my tail. We've been playing cat and mouse through the Labyrinth and the oubliettes for all of those two days. I'm starving, haven't had a bite to eat.
I'm home now. Haven't seen him for a few hours, so I think it's safe to stop here for a bit and relax.
The wall worm told me some of the goblins had started a food fight in the throne room and Jareth had gone to sort it out. Lucky for me.
Hoggle walked into his home, dropping his pack and walking into the kitchen.
He lived in a house built underground, disguised as a lump under the sandy floors of the outskirts of the labyrinth.
It wasn't easy to spot the house, and no one had ever managed to find the place before.
Mind you, never before had he been so furious.
Hoggle's home was small, only big enough for him, with four rooms, a bedroom, a living room, kitchen and larder.
The low ceilings were a deterrent to any of the bigger, more menacing inhabitants of the Labyrinth. Even Hoggle sometimes bumped his head going through the doors.
He blamed it on the builders of the place, who had, in all fairness, been a foot shorter than he.
He picked up a knife and set it on the working top, opening the cupboard to get a loaf of bread.
"Not so lucky for the hunk of ham I've got hung up in the larder. I'm gonna make sandwiches, then run as fast as I can till Sarah calls again. She'll know what to do. I can last till then."
"Now really Hedgewood, do you think I can be put off from talking to you so easily?"
Drat. I knew it was too good to be true.
Spinning round, I see him laid out on my kitchen table, twirling one of those dratted crystals.
Stupid gaudy hunks o rock
Reaching behind me, I can feel the edges of the knife.
"Now, Hoggle, don't do that." Jareth mocked. "Stabbing your guests is rude. Didn't your Mother ever teach you that?"
"You're no guest here, Jareth." I got hold of it. If push comes to shove, I'll use it, and I won't regret it either. He ain't my King anymore.
Not after what he made me do.
"True." Jareth aquised. "But your friend Sarah was no guest in my castle and that did not stop her."
"You set the challenge, Jareth, you take the consequences."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Jareth is it? My my, you have grown bold Hoggle. No 'your Majesty's?'"
Why's he talking so long? Normally he'd just does what he's gonna do, and done with it. So why the chatter?
Ah.
I should have known it.
He's too bloody tall!
Can't stand up, can't chase me, can't even sit up cause he's on the table!
That'll teach him to pop in places.
Idly, Jareth began tossing the crystal from hand to hand, multiplying it, squashing the balls back down to one, then turning them into apples, then crystals again, all the while juggling effortlessly.
"You betrayed me Haggle. Do you expect to me to forgive that so easily?"
"I betrayed you?
You's never said nothing bout helping the lass."
"To the contrary. Numerous times did you assure me that you were taking her back to the beginning-only to take her closer to the castle!" Jareths face contorted with rage, catching the crystals back into one hand.
Hoggle watched, terrified, as ground crystal dust trickled from Jareth's fist.
Perhaps Jareth was more annoyed about this than he'd thought. But it wasn't that important, was it? One child in the millions that the goblins had taken over the years?
"Do you realize how much this defeat has cost me?" Jareth hissed. "No, you don't. Because you have your 'precious' friend Sarah."
Hoggle swallowed thickly, feeling the new courage Sarah had instilled in him only days before trickling away. But there was enough for him to decide to be as bold as possible while he still had the chance, and his tongue.
"She wouldn't have made it if you hadn't made me give her that stupid peach. She'd never 'ave got to junkyard if she didn't land there." Hoggle crossed his arms and glared.
'In for a penny,' sighed Hoggle inwardly, 'and I'm in for a pound.' "You knew she wouldn't stay in there."
"True…" Jareth drawled, pulling out the letters. He rolled over and propped his head upon one hand, ever wary of the low ceiling. "I suppose I am to blame partly." Noticing Hoggle's shocked stare, "Tut tut, Heggle. I am nothing but fair."
'though you wouldn't know it from the way he cheats' Hoggle thought darkly.
"Now, your punishment-"
"I need you Hoggle."
End of chapter one.
What did you think? I'm hoping to post on a fortnightly basis.
I don't own Labyrinth, or most of the Characters portrayed here.