Solea: Thank you for the long constructive review- always very welcome! Reg. Sarah - give the poor girl a chance... :-) after all she's been through all this in just five days, so the maturity hasn't become natural yet and she only had 2 minutes to react to him. But she'll compensate in this chapter, I promise.
Pretty racing: No, I did not know! Thank you, that was incredibly helpful. Maybe your tip and puppy eyes will persuade the mean writer to be nicer to Sarah and Jareth... ;-)
Saffy: ...because all is well that ends well. I promise some compensation for our heroes later.
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A whole week had passed since Sarah had returned from the Underground. Although she had been gone for five days, some aspect of Jareth's magic when restoring her identity had apparently kept everyone Above from noticing her absence. They all behaved in a perfectly normal way and chatted about the birthday party which had been so exciting and her presents and the nice weather they had had. In her rooms were present lined up from her friends and a brand new suitcase set, which was a gift from her father and Karen. Toby had given her a drawing of himself and his little puppy, and although she pressed him a little more than the others, even he did not show any signs of remembering that she had been missing. It was as if it had never happened.
The only proof that she had really been there, was her beautiful gown, but she had made sure no one else saw it. The first night she had been forced to tear the buttons in the back getting out of it, as it was one of those dresses you simply couldn't get in and out of without a maid, and then she had hid it inside her closet deep down, not believing she would ever want to too look at it again or have an opportunity to wear it.
In the daytime, she couldn't eat or concentrate, as her mind kept swarming with thoughts of what had happened after she left. She desperately hoped that the Council had been right and that the Bog had now retreated and restored the kingdom to normal, but she could think of no way to be sure. She wondered what Jareth had told the goblins and her friends. Had he blamed it all on her or admitted his lies to them as well?
The worst part was that she still loved Jareth with all her heart, but at the same time she felt that the five days in the Labyrinth had simply torn her up emotionally. The fear, the anger, the growing trust – and then brilliant love and painful deception. What was she supposed to think anymore, she thought with despair? Which feelings were right? His confession had taken her completely by surprise, so even though she knew she should listen to herself and trust her instincts, she didn't know whether to trust herself anymore. If that was a lie, what else had he lied about?
She did not sleep well either, for every night she was haunted by dreams about the Goblin King and the Labyrinth. In some dreams, he was dying and in others pleading her to come back. They almost all ended with the Bog flooding the Castle and herself waking with a start, eyes swollen with tears. Her heart and body screamed for him after these dreams and made her ache to have stayed him, despite his lies and despite that her presence there would have destroyed the Labyrinth. She usually cried herself back to sleep.
It was Saturday today and Sarah came down late to the kitchen to have breakfast by herself in her bathrobe. That had also been a shock – getting back to the mundane world with electrical appliances and everyday doings. She remembered her father and Toby would already have left to go shopping for the new school uniform and, if she knew them right, probably also some new sports equipment, like a baseball bat or basket ball shoes. They always ended up doing father-son stuff, when Karen was not with them. She had expected Karen to be out as well, but to her surprise, her stepmother was sitting in the kitchen and reading the morning paper sipping a cup of freshly made coffee.
"Good morning, Sarah." Karen smiled at her, but then frowned in concern and looked up and down at Sarah. "You look as if you need to be back in bed. Do you feel ill?"
Sarah shook her head in disagreement, although the sight in the mirror this morning had shocked her as well. "I'm alright, just so tired lately."
"Actually," Karen continued worriedly and got up to fetch Sarah a cup of coffee, "you look like you've been crying all night instead of sleeping. Are you in pain? Stomach cramps? Headaches?"
Sarah shook her head, but gratefully accepted the coffee and sat down with her stepmother. "I just have bad dreams at the moment," she whispered and sighed at the thought of this night's dream, where a desperate Jareth had lost the battle against the Bog and died.
After a moment of silence, her stepmother reached out and put her hand on Sarah's. "Sarah, you're in love, aren't you?" she asked gently, and Sarah started and looked up at her in shock. She opened her mouth to deny it, but then gave up all pretence, and started sobbing again. What did it matter who knew it? He was lost to her anyway.
"Shh, easy now," Karen said and patted her on the hand. "Did he hurt you? Leave you?"
"He deceived me," Sarah cried softly and every word hurt to get out. "He made me fall in love with him and then I found out he had been lying all the time to keep me with him. And now I don't know what to think or do anymore."
"Did he lie about loving you?"
"Well, he never said he did love me," she confessed and realised at the same time that she had never told Jareth those three small words either. "But he acted as if he did."
Karen thought about this for a moment. "Where is he now? Back in California?"
Sarah nodded. She couldn't very well tell her stepmother where Jareth really was – no one would ever believe her. "His lies were revealed and he had to let me go."
"Oh, sweetie, I know it hurts," Karen said softly. "Leaving your heart behind with a man. Especially your first love."
The wistful tone in the older woman's voice made Sarah look up in surprise. "You have lost as well?" she asked and for the first time thought of Karen as a woman and not just her father's wife. Karen nodded.
"I was even younger than you," she said, eyes clouded with the memory. "He charmed me so easily and I believe he did love me, too. But we were pulled apart by a jealous woman who lied and convinced me he was cheating on me with her, and I would not listen to his denials. Years later I found out the truth by accident, but by then he had moved on and was engaged to be married to someone else. I love your father now, but the purest part of my heart still belongs to my first love. The pain will go away, Sarah, but the dreams of what might have been – never."
Sarah knew these dreams all too well, but what really got to her was the image of Jareth with another woman. He was a king; he had a duty to get an heir, so of course he would marry in time. If not for any other reason, then to stop his brother from inheriting the throne. And the agony of imagining Jareth kissing another woman, making love to her, finally made her admit what she had to do.
"I have to get him back!" she whispered in wonder and stopped crying. Karen smiled knowingly.
"I have to get him back!" Sarah repeated and jumped up, almost knocking over the cup of coffee. She looked at Karen with shining eyes. "Thank you, Karen."
Running up to her room, she slammed the door shut and looked around searchingly. Now, how was she supposed to get back? Well, maybe the way she'd done it before?
"I wish the goblins would come and take…" She started, but stopped before she could finish the sentence. No, she had to make sure she was doing this right, so there would be no more threats and impure mists. It might work to wish herself to the Underground, but it was equally likely that something bad would happen or that she would be forced to leave within 13 hours again. She sank down on the chair before the vanity table and stared at her mussed reflection for a moment, weighing her options. Calling Jareth was tempting, but she almost didn't dare – it would be wonderful to see him again, but what if he didn't come? What if he had died like in her dreams, or was fighting the Bog? She sighed and decided to take the safe path and consult her friends first. If anyone could help her get back into the Labyrinth without violating the Laws, it had to be Hoggle.
"Hoggle, I need you," she said to her reflection and waited. Nothing happened. "Hoggle, are you there?"
"Ahh, Sarah, look at ye! Ye look dreadful!" The familiar voice made her spin around and she smiled jubilantly at the sight of the dwarf sitting on her bed. "What have ye been doing to yerself, girl?"
"Oh, Hoggle, I'm so glad you're here!" Sarah cried and ran to hug him. "Are you ok? Are the Labyrinth safe? And Jareth?"
"Well, I'm fine," Hoggle started, "and the Labyrinth is back to normal now. Sir Didymus left the castle yesterday to go back to his nest. But his majesty… well, we don't know."
"What do you mean?"
"We haven't seen him, since ye left," Hoggle confessed and Sarah felt a pang of fear. "He screamed at us to leave him and then locked himself in his room, and we haven't heard a sound from him since. It's been a week now, and all them goblins are scared to death."
"Oh, I have to go to him!" Sarah cried. "That's why I called, Hoggle. You have to find a way to get me back into the Labyrinth without breaking the Laws. There must be something in the books about it. Can I wish myself away?"
"No," Hoggle replied slowly, "that doesn't work. It has to be someone else wishing ye away, but in yer case it wouldn't work anyway, 'cause ye can only wish away children, not grown-ups."
"How about if I wished away Toby again?" she thought out loud, but realising how mean that sounded, she quickly added the point of this, "so I could lose and Jareth could let me stay instead of Toby?"
"Wishing only works if ye really wish it, girl," the dwarf said patiently. "Ye couldn't wish away the child just to go back yerself, because then ye wouldn't mean yer wish."
Sarah sighed. He was right. There was no way she could say the words and really mean them as she had six years ago. "I must go back, Hoggle," Sarah whispered fervently. "I love him!"
Hoggle's eyes widened at the confession, and he looked almost embarrassed. "Well, I suppose I can take ye there," he muttered and fumbled at his trinkets. "Won't be anything legal or permanent, but ye could at least stay for some hours. After all, he probably cares about ye, too. That's why he's locked himself in and all. Can't have a goblin kingdom without a Goblin King, can we? Damn goblins would roam all over the place and in me fine library."
Sarah was filled with hope and smiled broadly. "You can? Really? Oh, Hoggle, that would be wonderful. Even it it's only for 13 hours, I would be able to see him and talk to him again. And I'm sure he will know what to do, so I can stay longer."
"Well, come on then," Hoggle said and held out his hand, but as Sarah caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror again, she cried out at the thought of Jareth seeing her like this.
"Do you mind waiting ten minutes, dear Hoggle? I have to look nice for him!"
Hoggle groaned and waved her away. "Females!" he snorted in disgust. "Ok, I'll just be over here looking at ye fine books, then. Go ahead, girlie."
Half an hour later, Sarah emerged from the bathroom much cleaner and fresher and full of mixed expectations at the thought of seeing Jareth again. What if he had changed his mind? What if he asked her to leave? Hoggle was sitting on her bed deeply engrossed in her copy of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", smiling broadly and laughing to himself.
"This is hilarious," he commented as he closed the book and got up. "What mortals can imagine! Can I borrow it, please?"
"Go ahead," Sarah said, thinking only of getting back to the Labyrinth. She had dressed in jeans and a poet's shirt, similar to what she had worn the first time she ran the Labyrinth. She thought about bringing the white dress from the closet, but she would have to go back anyway, so that could wait. "Shall we leave?"
Hoggle offered her his hand again, and as she took it, the world shimmered and changed.