Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the movie Labyrinth. You know the rest of the drill.
Your Eyes
Story by Jessica Arbuckle (Jessi, Princess of Impatience)
June to , 2005
Chapter Fifteen, A Surprising Remark …
Tired out from hours of exploration in and around the hedge maze, Toby finally slept on the small cot in the gardener's small home. Hoggle checked on the boy, pulling up the covers he had kicked off before sinking into a chair, deep in thought.
The things Toby had said today, both when Jareth had been around and later after he had left, had confirmed his belief that Jareth was in love with Sarah. He had begun to suspect it due to the way Jareth had acted at the mention of her name after she left, angry at whoever had spoken it, but with a distant unreadable look on his face. Hoggle had avoided Jareth after Sarah's departure because he hated being reminded of what the man had ordered him to do to distract Sarah, hating himself still over doing it, but he had begun to watch him more closely when he noticed the odd look on his face at the mention of Sarah.
Whenever Jareth entered the Labyrinth and didn't know he was around, Hoggle would watch him. He often saw Jareth gaze into his crystals, mostly seeming sad. The sight had intrigued Hoggle, for he couldn't imagine the arrogant Goblin King ever being sad about anything. A few times Hoggle had been close enough to catch the images within and one time they had been so clear he had recognized the face as Sarah's.
At that, he knew Jareth was in love with Sarah and the fact shocked him. He never thought of Jareth as the kind to love or care about anything, although he had to admit to himself that Jareth was turning into a good king. Most of the goblins were stupid creatures and hard to rule, and for as long as Hoggle remembered, he let them do whatever they wanted, within reason. He managed to control them but he took very little interest in anything other than the upkeep of the Labyrinth. He had looked after all his subjects, but not with any great care or effort.
That was until Sarah had come and everything changed. After she left, Jareth had ordered them to fix up the city instead of leaving the destruction alone, as he would have once done, caring little for the dwellings of the goblins before this. He still allowed them to make a mess of the throne room, but the rest of the castle was clean. The city and the castle now looked much different than they had three short years ago.
Hoggle still wasn't sure about Sarah. She had only called for him once since the few calls after she had returned home. She had been so very sad when she had finally called him, but she had refused to tell him why. He never suspected it might have something to do with Jareth, not until today. He grumbled under his breath in frustration. Reluctantly, he admitted to himself he wanted Sarah to be happy, even if that meant loving the arrogant fool who was his king.
As a sound pulled him from his contemplations, Hoggle looked up to find the man and woman from his thoughts who had just appeared. He watched Jareth settle Sarah into a chair, stroking back her hair with one hand to place a kiss on her forehead. He observed the way Sarah clung to his free hand like it was her lifeline and then watched her relax when he heard the Goblin King murmur a soft 'I love you' before extricating his hand so he could retrieve Toby. As Jareth strode across the room to gather up Toby, Hoggle came to Sarah's side.
"Sarah," he said, his gruff voice soft. He reached for her hands when she did not say anything, patting them gently. "I'm sorry 'bout all that's happened."
Sarah glanced up at the dwarf, seeing the sorrow on his face, and sank to the floor, wrapping her arms around him. She hugged him tightly and placed a kiss on his cheek. In an attempt to make her smile, laugh, anything other than that distant gaze, he said, "Now see here, the last time you did that we almost ended up in the Bog." She looked at him with a ghost of a smile and he grinned. "But I'd do it all again for another."
She kissed his cheek again with a small smile before the sadness came back, overwhelming her once more. She didn't hear the sounds of Jareth clearing his throat as she sank back against the bottom of the chair, but Hoggle did and looked up to find Jareth glaring at him, jealousy written clearly on his face.
"Oh, keep yer shirt on," Hoggle said with a smirk as Jareth opened his mouth to speak. He was surprised the Goblin King allowed the emotion to be so clear on his face.
Jareth's gaze returned to Sarah and seeing her slumped against the chair, he reached down and drew her to his side, shifting Toby slightly to get a better grip on her. As Jareth prepared to leave, he looked down at the dwarf, who glared back at him. There really was no love lost between the two, but Jareth's normal feelings warred with his reluctant feelings of gratitude, causing him to say something he had never said to one of his subjects before.
"Thank you Hoggle, for taking care of him." With that, Jareth, Toby and Sarah disappeared, leaving Hoggle to gape at the spot they no longer occupied, his mouth opened.
"I'll be damned," Hoggle swore softly.
As always, please R/R, I would just adore it!