-----
Sarah made Jareth take her back to her apartment, to get the things that she had bought. They were still there, of course, stacked neatly in their boxes where she had left them. "You need all of these?" he asked, glancing dubiously at the tall pile. Still, he transported them without further comment.
At least until she started to unpack them all, at which point he said, "I see I am going to have to create you another closet."
-----
The Labyrinth was as she remembered, and yet not as she remembered. With the knowledge that its magic had been tailored for her on her previous visit, Sarah was able to pick out things she recalled, and saw other things which had most likely been twisted into becoming things that were no longer there.
Jareth admitted that the room that looked like the Escher poster had been entirely created for her visit, which Sarah was slightly disappointed at, as she had wanted to revisit it.
He recreated it for her. On his arm, she walked up the walls and danced on the ceilings, as if gravity simply didn't exist. Indeed, no matter where they were walking, it seemed to be down, as her hair and clothing fell normally, and her head never had the feeling of being turned upside down.
When they left the room, Jareth closed the door and Sarah marveled at its location. It was just a door in one of the great rooms, but it was on a wall that was shared with a hallway. She had stood a moment at the room's entrance, looking from the room to the hallway, and the impossible wall that was only a foot thick. There was no space for the Escher room of turning ledges and twisting stairs.
"Don't be dense, Sarah," Jareth had said. "Nothing is what it seems."
To be sure, as Sarah re-explored the Labyrinth, she came upon whole places that should not have fit where they were. It reminded her of something in the Narnia books. Between hedgerows there could suddenly be a forest that opened up for miles and miles and showed no visible signs of being confined within the Labyrinth's winding walls at all. And one could just as easily get lost within these places. There was nothing inherently tricky about them, but if you didn't know how to get back to the Labyrinth proper, you could roam there forever.
One thing that was noticeably different was the castle itself. Well, besides the fact that it was standing tall again, that is. It didn't look as if it had ever even fallen down. Upon asking Jareth if it took much time to rebuild, he laughed and answered, "Only the wave of my hand once you were gone." But what Sarah noticed was that while the castle was still rocky and ancient and slightly dirty, it was no pigsty anymore. And there were hardly any goblins about. Jareth told her that most of the time, the goblins stayed in their town. Actually, Sarah rarely saw any other inhabitants in the castle but she and Jareth.
Which led to several instances of confusion. When Sarah had asked where the kitchen was, Jareth said that there wasn't one.
"The goblins cook their own food in town, but I doubt you'll want any of that."
"Well, what do you eat then?"
"I don't have to eat all the time like you humans do," he responded.
Sarah resisted the urge to throw her hands up in the air. "When you eat, what do you eat?"
"Whatever I want."
"Jareth!"
He grinned and made a gesture with his hand. An apple and an orange appeared. Another gesture produced some muffins. In Sarah's hand there was suddenly a plate of cake.
It turned out that Jareth conjured whatever food he wanted. Sarah at first absolutely hated the idea that she was completely dependent on him for food. But they came to a compromise. Jareth agreed to keep a table permanently stocked with fruit and bread (and sweets), so Sarah didn't feel quite so reliant. She also soon saw the practical advantages to this as well. He could just as easily conjure up french fries and M&Ms as he could five course dinners.
-----
Shortly after her arrival, Jareth gave something.
"To keep you out of trouble," he said. "Forged with iron and magic."
Sarah, remembering much of what she had read while researching various things, replied, "I thought iron was a natural barrier to magic."
"Only to some magic, Sarah. Still, it was somewhat tricky."
It was ring, a small thin band of a shining black substance. Sarah put it on her finger. The metal was smooth and almost black, but a thin layer of a glasslike substance covered the entire band. "What does it do?"
"Binds you to me, for one," Jareth said with a slightly evil smirk. "But it is to help you. The Labyrinth is not a nice place for humans."
"I beat it before."
"You beat what I gave you."
"Are you saying I couldn't?" Sarah demanded.
"What I am saying," he continued, "is that in the years of wandering around here that you have before you, chances are that you are going to step where you shouldn't, at least once."
Sarah didn't have an answer for that.
But the ring certainly did help her. It identified her more or less with Jareth's magic. No pits opened up before her; Labyrinth citizens didn't try to trick her; walls didn't shift behind her unless she wanted them to. It also allowed her a sort of natural connection. She could feel where things were, feel the pull of the magic that hid the hidden doors, and could tell where they led. She could tell the quickest way out of somewhere, and the quickest way to get somewhere else.
The ring's magic was also very cleverly done, she had to admit. The iron was covered by crystal, and wouldn't hurt anyone susceptible that she inadvertently touched. But if she willed it, it could burn. And it had a sort of built in "homing device." If she clenched it, it would take her directly to Jareth. It was also impossible for anyone but herself or Jareth to remove.
-----
Sarah had found Hoggle, of course. Sir Didymus had taken Ludo on a "noble quest" with him, but she was told that they would return within the year.
Hoggle was happy to see her, if a little miffed at the whole situation. Which was understandable, since for all Hoggle knew, the last time she had seen Jareth was when she'd gone after Toby. Sarah explained everything that had happed since then (well, most of it at least).
"Well, I'm glad you're back, I am," Hoggle said after a moment. "And I'm happy for you, I s'pose. But Sarah, why'd you hafta fall in love with him?"
