Dutch FF-lover: No, I don't think Sarah had any friends as the dreamer she was when she was 15. But would she really keep on playing with costumes and books after experiencing the real thing? Will have a bit more on this in chaper 6.
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The silence hung deep between them for a moment, before Sarah exploded in anger.
"Are you out of your mind?" she screamed at him and furiously stamped her bare feet in the dust. "I would not marry you if you were the last man in the world! Not in this world or the next!"
Jareth threw back his head and laughed. "That's what I like about you, Sarah – you're so entertaining! Of course you'll marry me!"
"I will not! You can't make me agree!"
"Actually," he smiled, "the marriage vows down here does not contain any agreement from the female part, so I wouldn't even have to make you say 'I do'."
"I'll never give in to you!" she stated flatly and stared at him with burning eyes. She couldn't believe what he was proposing, and he would certainly not get away with this. "You are a cruel heartless monster, and I'd sooner kiss a snake than let you touch me."
"Oh, would you now?" Locking her gaze with his unusual eyes, he advanced upon her like a predator and suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and caught her mouth with his, kissing her roughly and intensely. His attack took her completely by surprise and she almost gave in to his overpowering presence, and the surge of emotions his kiss awoke in her. As she tried to free herself and beat her fists against his unmoving chest, he just deepened the kiss and pulled her closer, almost crushing her against him. Furious at his attack and without thinking clearly, she resorted to the last possible escape and sunk her teeth into his invading lips, biting him hard and tasting blood.
That did it! He flung her away, cursing under his breath, so she stumbled and fell in the dust. Wiping his mouth with the back of his glove, a trail of blood was smeared across his chin, and made him look like a demon or a vampire king, terrible and cruel. She held her breath in fear and inched away from him, not daring to take her eyes of him. What had she done! He stared at her incredulously, but then to her amazement started to laugh again.
"Oh, I was right!" he said, "You will be most entertaining!"
He looked at her a bit longer, and then turned to gaze out over his Labyrinth. "I think, my dear, you need a little time to calm down. I was going to take you directly to a nice room in my castle, where a soft bed and a warm bath would be waiting for you. But… as you seem to not want anything from me at the moment, I'll let you get there on your own. After all, if my Labyrinth was a piece of cake that last time, you should have no trouble getting through it now."
He started to fade away into the darkness, and his last words hung in the air as he disappeared entirely: "I'll be waiting for you at the castle…"
Sarah took a deep shuddering breath and tried to relax. He was gone – she was alone in the darkness. Everything was silent and only a soft rustle of wind in the trees could be heard. How could she be in this position, she thought desperately. Only an hour ago, she had been safe and happy in her old bedroom, and now it didn't even exist anymore! She didn't exist! No one would miss her or come to save her – there was only the Labyrinth and the Goblin King left. And maybe her old friends here. She cheered up a bit at the thought of Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus, but then again – she hadn't called them in years. Maybe they wouldn't care so much, as she hoped.
The Labyrinth and the entrance to it looked dark and foreboding. Did she have any choice but to go to the castle beyond the Goblin City? He would be there, but who knows what else would be lurking for her in the darkness, if she tried to walk the other way? Other Faes, waiting to trap a mortal? And where would she find food and shelter, if not at the palace? Already, she could feel that she lacked sleep – it was in the middle of the night, and her inner clock was warning her to go to bed soon. No, she would have to go to the castle, at least until she learned a bit more about the Underground. At least the wedding was a month away – she'd have plenty of time to find an escape or trick him into letting her go. If he could take away her family's memories, he could surely give them back again!
She got up and started to go downhill to the illuminated entrance, but she had not gone two steps before she trod on a sharp stone with her bare feet and yelped at the pain. As she hopped a step away, Jareth's long cape got stuck in a thorn bush and trapped her, and she had to almost tear it to get it free. The hopelessness of the situation was so ridiculous it made her feel like crying and laughing at the same time.
"Bare feet, a flimsy nightgown and the Goblin Kings cape," she whispered. "I must be a sorry sight, indeed, and now I have to pass through the Labyrinth at night?"
Slowly making her way down and feeling the ground with her foot before she took each step, she finally made it to the entrance. There was no sign of the fountain where Hoggle had been the last time, and the doors were wide open. The fires burning on each side in two huge pots – probably oil containers - flickered in the wind and made disturbing shadows on the long wall, but at least it was light. It would be very dark inside the corridors, once the gates shut behind her. She looked around for a torch or lamp, but found nothing but a few branches. How was it they made light in the movies, she thought and looked around for something to burn.
Half an hour later, she lifted a long branch with a tightly bound piece of Jareth's cape on the end, and dipped it into the burning oil. It flamed up immediately and then began to burn with a steady flame. The cape she had put back on was now several inches shorter and rather torn and ragged at the end. She tried not to think of what Jareth would say about it when he found out, but then again – she couldn't very well enter the maze without light, could she?
As she had expected, the doors slammed shut behind her the moment she had passed into the Labyrinth. The long unending corridors stretched to each side of her and she looked at them with sinking heart. Should she try to retrace her footsteps from six years ago, or should she try to find a faster way by choosing another path? And would she even be able to, when the Labyrinth kept changing? Taking a quick decision, she turned left – the opposite direction of last time. Walking carefully at the right side of the corridor, she kept a hand grazing the wall the entire time and soon found one of the hidden turns.
"At least I know what to expect this time", she muttered and turned right this time, always keeping her hand on the wall closest to the centre of the Labyrinth. "I will get through, you monster, just watch me!"