Chapter 3
"Sarah Williams, Hoggle. Tell me where she is." said Jezebel to the dwarf.
"What makes you think I know anything about her?" asked Hoggle nonchalantly as he sat at the table whittling. Jezebel put her hands on her hips and said,
"Because I saw you Hoggle. She is your friend. You helped her defeat the Labyrinth. And you, Sir Didymus and the rock caller Ludo have kept in touch with her. You know where she is."
"And why should I tell you?" asked Hoggle indignantly.
"Because one, I'm your Princess and you are sworn as a citizen of the Underground to tell me. And two, because Jareth has become your friend hasn't he?" she asked. Hoggle looked down at the table.
"I felt sorry for him after Sarah left. He didn't act so bad anymore. Still was a little impatient, but he treated me like a friend should." Jezebel crotched down to his eye level.
"And we've always been friends, right? Ever since your days as the Royal Gardner?" she asked. Hoggle nodded.
"Then for your friend Jareth and your friend Jezebel, tell me where I can find Sarah." she pleaded.
"Sarah is my friend too. How do I know you won't try to get revenge on her? I won't do nothing to harm her!" protested Hoggle.
"Hoggle. I just want to know what kind of woman Sarah is that she could defeat my brother." she said.
"Promise?" asked Hoggle raising an eyebrow. She crossed her heart and held up her hand,
"Cross my heart and hope to die! Stick my big toe in the Bog of Eternal Stench if I should tell a lie!" He eyed her a minute before sighing,
"Doh, alright! I tell ya."
"Thank you my friend!" said Jezebel placing her hand on top of his.
&&&
Sarah Williams stepped out of the dormitory, and breathed in the fresh springtime air. She then proceeded to walk to her creative writing class. Her long black hair flowed behind her in the breeze. Just then she bumped into a young woman who dropped a stack of papers.
"Oh! Gees, I'm so sorry! Here let me help! I guess I wasn't watching were I was..." Sarah stopped talking and froze in mid-sentence. The young girl with long, curly golden brown hair had mismatched eyes. Immediately, an image of the Goblin King popped into Sarah's mind. Five years ago, she had journeyed into the Labyrinth, and conquered the figure she wished secretly in her heart could love her and take her away from reality and into the fairy tales she loved. Of course, she imagined him to look like her mother's handsome actor boyfriend, but who would have thought he did? Was that another way of his being 'generous'? She had never thought of that before.
"Um...I'm going to need that back!" said the girl.
"Oh sorry! Here you go!" said Sarah handing her back the paper.
"Thanks. Bye." said the girl walking off. Sarah continued on to class thinking,
'Ok, Williams. Lots of people have mismatched eyes. That was just a coincidence that sparked an unpleasant memory. Well...maybe not unpleasant. Toby getting kidnapped was awful and Jareth wanting to control me was worst, but I did have the adventure of a lifetime. And I made so many amazing friends! Hoggle, Didymus, Ludo and Ambrosious! And all the goblins, fierys, and other creatures of the Labyrinth. Hmm. I wonder what they are doing now?'
She walked into the glass building not knowing a hawk was following her overhead. Sarah sat in class for the next hour drawing pairs of mismatched eyes in her margins. One in blue ink, and one in green. Finally, she thought to herself,
"Man! Five years and I'm still not over my stupid teenage crush! He was handsome though. And mysterious. And dangerous, Williams, remember dangerous. Still, I wonder if he did just do it all for me. After all that look on his face when I told him 'You have no power over me', was just so sad. Still, I couldn't possibly think seriously about a guy like him. Bad boys come and go. You can't change them. They'll only change you.' She crumbled her paper up and said softly as class ended,
"Be careful what you wish for!" She threw the paper away as she left the classroom. Outside, she walked back towards her dorm, ready to go back to sleep. A figure wearing a black leather coat, white t-shirt, blue jeans and black leather gloves and boots stepped out of the shadows and watched her go. Jezebel unrumpled the piece of paper and said,
"Well...didn't totally reject him now did you Sarah?"
Later that night, Sarah talked on the phone with her friend, Tracy.
"I can't believe it Trace. I'm graduating in a few weeks! A two year writing degree and no clue what I'm doing with it!" said Sarah looking at a blue dress.
"Well, you could stay and do acting with me! " said Tracy.
"No thanks. One play next week with Mr. Welch is enough thank you!" laughed Sarah.
"So you're a fairy princess. What's your problem? With all those fantasy novels you read, you'd think you'd be thrilled." Sarah remembered the crystal ball room. She had been playing fairy princess then with a handsome king ready to kiss her. But it lacked the romance she would have wanted.
"Let's just say I had one too many frog princes to actually want to act out fairy tales anymore." said Sarah.
"Oh! Who was he?" teased Tracy.
"Yeah! Notice I said princes not prince!"
"Yeah, but only one special guy can turn you off to living fairy tales for good!"
"Well, this guy did more than that!" said Sarah.
"Oh? Anything I should be concerned about?" asked Tracy seriously.
"No! Just that, nothing is what it seems." she said.
"Huh?"
"Forget it. So what are you wearing to Tom's party?" asked Sarah changing the subject.
"Nothing special. Are you taking anybody? You haven't really dated much." said Tracy.
"Yeah well, as much as my frog prince failed me, there seems to be a lack of knights around to take me on their white horse and gallop me into the sunset." said Sarah.
"Williams. Do us a favor and do something besides, class, homework, and staying home with a pint of chocolate fudge ice cream will ya?"
"I do not stay home with a pint of chocolate fudge ice cream!...It's vanilla." joked Sarah. Hearing only Tracy's laughter on the other end, Sarah failed to notice the golden brown hawk fly away from her window.
"Bye Sarah!"
"Bye, Tracy!" said Sarah hanging up the phone.
Back in the Underground, Jezebel charged into her room. Actually, it was more of an outdoor garden situated on the roof of the castle. Willow trees encircled the ivy and rose bushes, their color and health preserved by the magic spell she had cast to give her room privacy from goblins, Fae eating monsters, and older brothers. In the middle of the space, lay her bed dressed in white linens with draped muslin everywhere flowing through the breeze. To the left of her bed, was a mirrored vanity. Besides that was another full length mirror. On the right, a tall wardrobe full of lavish clothes from around both worlds. One of her favorite things to wear, was her live fox Stoll, Danny. He was a good friend to talk to when she was down. Her other favorite piece was an enchanted scarf named Isaac. The folds of the cloth would form to make a loose face as it draped along her body or when crumpled up on her vanity like he was now. He was a little cantankerous sometimes.
"Hey! She's back!" said Danny from his spot on the vanity.
"About time!" huffed Isaac. The various crystal gazing balls in all shades of the rainbow acting as decor reflected her figure flop onto her bed from their respected pedestals around the room.
"Hey Jez!" greeted Danny.
"Not now Danny! I need to think!" said Jezebel as she conjured up a crystal to juggle around her finger tips.
"Oh swell. Here comes talking to herself again!" said Isaac.
"Shush! I'm trying to hear!" scolded Danny. Jezebel closed her eyes.
"Ok. I have a few problems. On the one hand, there's Jareth. He's depressed, heartbroken and letting the Labyrinth die. But I can't get him to make the Labyrinth alive again unless he's happy and not heartbroken. But the only way he'll be happy and not heartbroken, is if he has Sarah. That leads to problem number two." She conjured up another ball in her other hand and switched them back and forth from hand to hand.
"Sarah is attracted to Jareth. But she won't admit it because she cast him into the role of the villain a long time ago. And she can't get over that, until Jareth lets her get to know him, and tells her the truth of how they really met! But she won't come to the Underground again if her life depended on it! And of course let's not forget Captain Jack Sparrow!" said Jezebel opening her eyes as she produced one more crystal and looked into it. The pirate's face came into view.
'Yes let's not forget that handsome devil! Wait, did I just think handsome? Oh never mind!' she thought. She cast Sarah and Jareth's faces into the other crystals as well.
"Ok, Captain Sparrow needs to be punished, Sarah needs to get back with Jareth, and Jareth needs to get his act together and restore the Underground! But how? I've heard of killing two birds with one stone, but three? Sigh!" she sighed as she began to twirl the crystals in her right hand as they clinked happily along. She saw the reflection of the dry barren Labyrinth over her lush green room.
'My room must be the last spot of color in the whole Underground! Look at the Labyrinth, why...' Then the wheels of her head began to turn. She sat up and turned around to face the setting sun over the Labyrinth. She smiled,
"Of course! The Labyrinth!" She then smiled wickedly,
"I've always wondered what it would be like to control the Labyrinth!" She blew the crystals off her hand turning them into glass bubbles floating to the horizon.
&&&
"Absolutely NOT!" said Sir Didymus as his faithful steed Ambrosious whimpered.
"No!" said the tall, gorilla like beast known as Ludo, his bulldog like face scowling.
"I told you I'd do nothing to harm her!" said Hoggle pointing a finger at Jezebel. She had summoned them to her room fifteen minutes ago where they could enjoy privacy.
"Please! Without you the plan won't work!" pleaded Jezebel.
"Tricking the King, YOUR OWN BROTHER, into thinking you've overthrown him, then making Milady Sarah run the Labyrinth with him, to save us, her friends from supposed danger, and then throwing in a vile pirate just for kicks and giggles? Disgraceful!" growled Didymus.
"It will only be for thirteen hours! And no one will come to any harm!" said Jezebel.
"But we will be lying to Milady Sarah! And to His Majesty! The only part of this charade I approve of is punishing that pirate Sparrow for stealing your property Highness!" said Didymus. Hoggle held up a hand,
"Wait. Why only thirteen hours?"
"Because according to the Rules of Magic, that is how long I, the Princess Enchantress can control the Labyrinth. The King is the only one with full control. I can control it for a while because then it could give Jareth a day off every now and then." explained Jezebel. Hoggle scratched his cap,
"And you're sure Sarah will fall for Jareth? That she's even right for him?"
"Faes wouldn't be able to fall in love with only one person, if part of them couldn't tell they were right for them. Besides, this is my brother's every happiness on the line. And if Sarah still refuses him, then this will give them both some closure." said Jezebel.
"Well...we would be doing it for Jareth's sake. And Sarah's if what you say if true about her feelings for Jareth. And we could just think of it as giving Jareth a day off..."said Hoggle.
"But Sir Hoggle! Tis an act of treason!" protested Didymus as Ambrosious barked.
"Yes, well, it is for the good of the Kingdom! Besides, Jez wouldn't commit treason against her own brother if it wasn't for his own good!" reasoned Hoggle. Didymus furrowed his brows and thought. Jezebel looked up at Ludo who shook his head. Finally, Didymus said,
"All right! I say yay! For the King, Milady Sarah, and the Kingdom!" Jezebel smiled and asked,
"And the rest of you?"
"Ludo help Sarah!" said the Rock caller.
"You can count on me!" said Hoggle.
"Hey us too! We can help!" yelled Danny. They all turned to look at the stoll. Didymus asked in a curious tone,
"I say, have we met?" Jezebel stood and said,
"Alright. Now, I want you three to assemble the goblins! Ask them for their help. I'm sure they'll be eager to see their King tricked a little!"
"At once Milady!" bowed Didymus as Hoggle rolled his eyes and walked out. Ludo and Didymus and Ambrosious soon followed. Jezebel laid back on her bed and sighed as she gazed up at the early night sky.
"Interesting night isn't it your Highness?" said a voice. She sat up and sat a tall, skinny man with brown skin, and a shaggy haircut in flowing blue cape and suit standing on the castle wall. Unlike royal Fae though, his eyes were a single shade of gold.
"Marin! How good to see you! Please, come in!" said Jezebel standing up. Marin stepped down and said,
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Jezebel froze.
"How much did you hear?" she asked nervously.
"Oh...all of it!" teased Marin.
"Marin, please don't tell Jareth! I have a plan, it's just..." Marin place his gloved index finger on her lips and said,
"Relax. I'm like the goblins. I'd like to see Jareth get a taste of his own medicine. In fact, I even would like to help you out."
"How?" asked Jezebel. He circled her.
"How would you like to have MORE than thirteen hours to make your plan work?" he offered.
"How?"
"I found a spell that lets anyone control the Labyrinth." he whispered in her ear. She gasped,
"What?"
"Mmm Hmm! For however long you want! It's one of the old spells from before the early courts." said Marin.
"Wait a minute! That's old magic! Old magic has to tap into raw power and that's too dangerous for a Fae!" said Jezebel.
"Maybe. For a single Fae. But with the two of us, we could control it!" said Marin.
"No Marin. I appreciate the gesture, but thirteen hours will be just fine!" said Jezebel. He shrugged,
"Your funeral. I just thought I'd help out an old friend. Serve my king by forcing him back into shape! But now, the offer is closed. You can't change your mind!" said Marin preparing to go.
"Thanks anyway!" she said as he stood on the castle ledge. He turned and bowed,
"Highness!" Then he transformed into a blue jay, and flew off. He flew until he reached the edge of the Goblin City. His guards, the Gurnocks, a tall skeleton like race with four arms and no eyes and a leathery thick skin pulled tight against their hunched over bones stood ready. The largest said,
"She said no to helping you take over the kingdom, didn't she Master?"
"Hmm. Yes she did. Luckily for us, she's planning an elaborate ruse that will leave the Labyrinth vulnerable and Jareth even weaker. A perfect time for me to conquer the Underground don't you think?" He laughed evilly leaving his guards silent.
"Well, laugh!" barked Marin.
"At what?" asked one of the guards. Marin pinched the bridge of his nose and yelled,
"Never mind! Just move out!" He turned back to the City walls and said,
"Soon, you'll be all mine!"
That night, Jezebel and Jareth sat down to dinner. Jezebel happily noticed Jareth had received some of his appetite back, but he still looked melancholy.
"So I thought we could work on restoring the Labyrinth tomorrow." she offering taking a sip of her wine. He sighed,
"I don't feel like it right now, Jez."
"It's just that...there's this pirate..."said Jezebel looking down into her cup. His interest piqued, Jareth listened while taking a bite of his chicken.
"He stole my pendant!" she said embarrassed. He half smirked,
"So that's where it is!"
"He's refused to apologize and return it! Called me the most insulting thing!" she stormed.
"What'd he call you?"
"A stuck up royal snob! A spoiled Princess brat!" she fumed.
"Ah, so he knows you're royalty?"
"And a Fae Enchantress! You would think he wouldn't mess with magic, but he seems to be not afraid of it! Like he's seen it before!" she huffed. He waved her off and said, returning his attention back to his plate,
"Just use the Labyrinth however you like!" She smiled inwardly, but her face was a cool slate.
"However I like?" she questioned. When Jareth nodded she said,
"Thank you your Majesty. I shall!" Taking a sip of her cup, she looked over its rim to see Hoggle by the doorway, giving her thumbs up and mouthing,
"THEY-RE-IN!" She smiled and said,
"Well, here's to having a little fun at other's expense!" she toasted raising her glass.
"Let the games begin!" said Jareth raising his own cup. He didn't know how right he was.
&&&
The next morning, Jareth woke to bright sunshine on his face. But instead of the castle ceiling, he saw a dusty blue sky all around him. He sat up and found not his comfortable bed, but the dusty barren ground as his pillow. And he was no longer dressed in his pajamas, but a plum leather coat with multiple collars that hung down mid thigh. He wore form fitting gray linen pants and tall black boots. Plum gloves completed the look Confused he saw he was just outside the walls of the Labyrinth. And even further to his surprise, the Labyrinth was restored! No longer did weeds grow and walls crumble. He could see the gigantic maze shift paths from here. He leaned back on his hands and then felt a piece of paper. He unrolled the scroll that it was and read,
'We regret to inform you that you have failed in your duties as King of the Goblins, the Labyrinth, the Fae Kingdom and the Underground. From this moment on, you are stripped of your title and your powers. As ordered by Her Majesty, Queen Jezebel the First, Queen of the Goblins, Caretaker of the Labyrinth, Head of the Fae Clan, and master of the Underground. Long live the Queen.'
"LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! JEZEBEL!" roared Jareth standing up.
"Well I thought it had a nice ring to it!" said Jezebel's voice echoing throughout the plain. Jareth looked behind him and saw his sister grinning with her arms folded.
"What have you done?" he fumed.
"What you told me to. Use the Labyrinth however I like! But I couldn't do that without complete control so here we are!" she sang. He walked to stand over her.
"And so you took my throne?" he asked dangerously. She quirked an eyebrow.
"It wasn't as if you were using it." Stepping past him she said,
"Since you are my brother, I'll give you a chance to regain your throne."
"How? By begging?" asked Jareth dryly.
"I had in mind more of a game. You running the Labyrinth, against two opponents. If you beat them to the Castle beyond the Goblin City before the end of thirteen hours, I'll give back the crown and accept my punishment. If you don't you end up as a permanent resident in the Bog of Eternal Stench! Agreed?" she asked looking over her shoulder at him.
"And I suppose one of my opponents is that pirate you were talking about at dinner last night?" stated Jareth folding his arms. She nodded,
"Right as rain! His name is Captain Jack Sparrow. And don't let the drunken swagger fool you. I think it's safe to say he's as clever as a Fae!"
"Please don't start rhyming!" asked Jareth.
"Anyway, I'm off to retrieve him, right now. So if you'll excuse me?" she said.
"And the other opponent?" asked Jareth. She smiled,
"Let's just say that's a surprise! But Jareth, are you sure you want to do this? After all this is what you acted like you wanted."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You have been acting like you don't want to be king. So I granted your request." she said.
"I know you Jez. You mean what you say about controlling the Labyrinth. But I also can tell you have something up those red leather sleeves of yours. So I'll play along for now. But when I figure out what you've got in mind, you will regret this day!" threatened Jareth. She smiled before fading away,
"See you in a few minutes!" Jareth sighed,
"I knew I should have turned her into a newt when we were younger."
&&&
Sarah stepped off the stage with a bow. She handed the roses off to her stage manager and reveled in the applause still erupting from the audience. Now she knew why her mother was an actress. People clapping for you is a high, but not something Sarah could do all the time. She walked into her dressing room and took off her shoes and her pantyhose. She then slipped a pair of jeans under her white medieval styled dress with gold embroidery. She slipped on her sneakers and was about to put the dress off, when she heard clapping behind her. She turned with a start and saw the young girl with mismatched eyes that she had bumped into the other day. She was wearing a red leather pantsuit that hugged every curve of her with a flowing velvet cape attached at the neck and wrists.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in my room?" Sarah demanded.
"Only someone who wished to congratulate you on a job well done. You're the best fairy princess I've seen since, well, myself." said Jezebel smiling warmly.
"Who are you?" asked Sarah.
"Does the name Jareth, ring any belles?" asked Jezebel folding her hands in front of where she leaned against the vanity. Sarah eyes opened wide.
"You're not Jareth are you?" she asked. Jezebel waved a hand and said,
"NO! I'm his sister Jezebel! Gees what gave you that idea?"
"One thing I learned from the Labyrinth, nothing is what it seems." said Sarah.
"And I suppose you're going to now tell me I have no power over you?" said Jezebel.
"Well you don't! You or Jareth!" said Sarah.
"Don't be too quick to cast the role of the villain Miss Williams. After all, 'nothing is what is seems'." said Jezebel. This caused Sarah's brows to furrow.
"Anyway, Jareth has no power whatsoever! Especially since I've just taken his throne!" continued Jezebel grinning. Sarah opened her mouth in shock.
"What?"
"And I've come to ask you to play a game." said Jezebel.
"Really?" said Sarah skeptically.
"Yeah. You run the Labyrinth against Jareth and another 'friend' of mine. First one to the Castle before thirteen hours wins!" said Jezebel.
"What's the catch?" asked Sarah. Jezebel stepped forward and said,
"Your friends freedom."
"WHAT!" yelled Sarah. Jezebel produced a crystal and turned it to let Sarah see her friends calling for her and for help.
"Why?" asked Sarah.
"My brother went easy on traitors to the crown. I'm a little tougher!" said Jezebel.
"So, what? Are you going to turn them into stone or something if I don't win?" demanded Sarah. Waving the crystal away, Jezebel said,
"Not a bad idea."
"Fine. I'll play your game and I'll win!" said Sarah. Jezebel smiled.
"I thought you might say that!" Jezebel stepped to the side and the wall behind her turned into the Underground countryside.
"If you'll kindly wait there, I'll be with you shortly. I still have to pick up my 'friend'." said Jezebel gesturing towards the entrance. Sarah stepped inside and asked,
"So who is this..." But when she turned around and saw nothing behind her but barren wasteland, she continued,
"Friend?"
&&&
Captain Jack Sparrow laid face down on the bed and gave a great yelp as Anamaria pulled buckshot out of his rear end. This time, a farmer, older than the hills shot at Jack when they had docked near his farm at St. Charles.
"Twenty-seven." said Anamaria dropping the piece of metal in a little pan Gibbs was holding.
"Jack, this be the fifth incident of bad luck in the last month! Running from that peg leg, getting chased by the Royal Navy, sharks, fleas and lice at the same time!" said Gibbs. Jack scratched his head and said,
"Don't remind me!"
"Just apologize to that 'Fae' and get this over with!" said Gibbs.
"Normally I would agree, but she's done said I've run out of chances maTE!" yelped Jack as Anamaria pulled out,
"Twenty eight!"
"Sigh! Ana darling, if you're going to do that, warn me first hmm?" said Jack expecting some biting remark from his boson. When silence came, he asked,
"Anamaria?"
"Nice view!" said a familiar feminine voice that was not Anamaria. Jack looked over his shoulder and saw the Fae enchantress smiling and shifting her glance to his back side. Flustered, he slipped off the bed and pulled up his pants with his back to her.
"What I just told Anamaria, goes for you too, Luv!" he said. She drew circles on his bicep.
"Party pooper!" she pouted. Ignoring the chill the touch sent up his spine, he turned around and saw Gibbs and Anamaria frozen in time behind him.
"I see you've still got your touch!" said Jack.
"Hmm!" she said playing with the trinkets in his hair.
"So...how's your brother?" asked Jack trying to get her hands away. She coyly smiled,
"Well, my dear brother had to be dethroned. So now, it's Queen Jezebel."
"Why did he have to be dethroned?" asked Jack.
"The kingdom was going to pot. So now that I'm Queen, I've decided your punishment." she said.
"And that...would be?" he asked.
"I'm not going to give you one." she said. Jack blinked and cleaned out his ears.
"Sorry Luv, but I must have busted me eardrums. I thought you said you weren't going to punish me?" he asked.
"I did. I've decided a trade is in order." she said.
"Trade?" he asked suspiciously.
"You run the Labyrinth, and make sure the other two opponents running it with you don't make it to the Castle beyond the Goblin City before thirteen hours, and I'll release you and the Black Pearl." said Jezebel.
"Since when did the Pearl figure into all this?" asked Jack.
"Since I've decided to hold it for ransom until you give me my pendant back and complete my little task." she said cheerfully.
"What?" shouted Jack.
"Relax! All you have to do is beat the Labyrinth and make sure my brother and his friend, don't. Simple." she said cocking her head.
"And if I refuse?" he asked.
"Then I'll make sure you'll live to see just how far my curse can go!" said Jezebel. Jack gulped and then sighed. He put on his hat and coat and said,
"Lead on your Majesty. Lead on!" Jezebel pointed to the far wall of his cabin, and to his wonderment, he saw an enormous, and elaborate maze just beyond the barren hillside on which he stood. As the Pearl faded away behind him, he saw the tall castle peeking up above the Labyrinth. He turned back to the Fae and said,
"Don't look too bad."
"It's worst than you think. And time is short." she said.
"May I receive a good luck kiss then?" he asked cheekily.
"Kiss yourself!" said Jezebel as she faded away. Jack, Sarah and Jareth stood at different places outside the Labyrinth walls. Then they heard Jezebel's voice say,
"Let the games begin!"