Chapter Eleven: Just a Little Girl with Gray Eyes
It was mid-morning on Sarah's ninth day in the Labyrinth. She was sitting in a low chair in Jareth's study, contemplating this fact. She was alone; Jareth, for the first time, had chosen to be late to their session. Very irritating.
So. Nine days. She felt like she was on vacation—days passed and she did things, but she never really felt the flow of time. Kind of like summer break. She was doing work, true, by learning magic, but it wasn't nearly as tedious as real schoolwork. Probably I'll be screwed when I finally get back home, homework-wise... good thing I've already been accepted to NYU.
Of course, this was all assuming that they didn't lock her up in the loony-bin when she tried to explain where she'd been all this time. Hmm. I should probably stick as close to the truth as possible. This guy, a friend of my step-father's, showed up at the park one night and kidnapped me. Um. He took my to a house somewhere and. Er. Tried to teach me all this magic stuff? Like, he must have been crazy? What does he look like, you ask? Blond, definitely. Where was the house? I don't really remember. Don't know how I got back, either.
Okay, so the story was thin. Chances were they'd never catch Jareth, so it didn't really matter what she said about him. Jeremy would probably realize what happened, but Jareth deserved anything he got from Jeremy. It wasn't like her stepfather was any kind of threat, as far as magic was concerned.
This train of thought occupied her thoroughly; she didn't hear the door creak open, if it opened at all. The Goblin King knew better ways of getting around. As a result, she had no warning of his presence.
"If you answer a question for me, I'll give you a gift," purred a low voice into her ear, lips a hair away from brushing her earlobe. She jumped a couple of centimeters into the air, taken completely offguard. A combination of warm air and sound waves tickled along the skin of her neck. Sarah simultaneously felt her jaw drop and her stomach turn inside out. Erk.
"It depends on the question," she managed to reply, mind on autopilot, trying to ignore the breathiness in her voice. Jareth sauntered over to his desk and sat down, giving her time to gather her wits. He lounged across the chair, rather than sitting like a normal person. Today he was dressed all in black, a striking contrast against his pale skin and hair. Villain-mode.
Holy crap. What's with this? Just Jareth being Jareth? Her brain was beginning to function again.
"Indeed," he said in a voice that was more conversational and less... Dead-sexy. Orgasmic. Er. Shit. Bad me. Crap. I just need to stop thinking now.
"So what was the question?" Sarah asked, watching him closely. Jareth returned her gaze innocently, his face a pleasant mask.
"I was trying to decide what to teach you next. Putting spells into crystals would be the logical step. It would be easier if you used a form of magic that comes most... naturally to you."
"That's not a question." She wasn't going to give him an inch. She was annoyed. Perturbed. Definitely perturbed.
"I'm getting to that. So we might learn what you are talented in, could you please list all the times that you've used your power unwittingly?"
Sarah was feeling ornery. She crossed her arms.
"Please?"
"Dream-walking, or whatever you call it,was first," she said shortly. "Then... at Mom and Jeremy's reception, I made the centerpiece candle flare up. When I was eating lunch at school, I accidentally shot a bolt of energy, or something, at Aar—at one of my friends. The same week, I set a trashcan on fire and summoned a bunch of flowers. Then I got stuck in the Middleground. I've been okay since then."
"Interesting." He tapped his fingers against his leg, contemplating this information. "That's quite a variety of skills. Conjuration, I think, may be a good concentration for you. An elemental link to fire is not out of the question either. You seem to have aptitude for traveling the layers of the world, as well, but that is not something that can be contained inside a crystal."
"So?"
"I'd say that conjuration is a safe beginning. I have no desire to be burned alive today."
"That's too bad. I was looking forward to it."
He looked at her. She looked at him. He smiled slightly. She relented unwillingly.
"What's my reward, then for answering your question?" So sue her, she was curious. Anything offered in that tone of voice was either very good or very scary. Or both.
"Here. As promised." A crystal appeared in Jareth's hand. He tossed it across the room and Sarah caught it, just barely, not expecting the movement. When it touched the skin of her hands, it changed—the glassy surface disappeared in place of metal. A thin gold chain draped across her wrist and a pendant appeared in her fingers.
It was... a necklace. The pendant was a smaller version of Jareth's own; gold and silver formed into an odd shape, not quite triangular. Sarah studied it musingly.
"With that around your neck, you will be free to roam the Labyrinth with impunity. I do warn you, though—it won't prevent you from getting lost."
"Thank you," she said slowly. Sarah traced the contours of the signet with an index finger. "What is this, exactly?"
"A necklace?" asked Jareth, eyebrows raising dramatically and voice sardonic. Sarah scowled at him.
"That's not what I meant. It looks like horns, almost. Or a moon. What is it?"
"Right on the first try. They are horns."
"Why horns?"
"That's a long story." His face seemed to shutter off abruptly, eyes becoming distant. "I doubt you would be interested."
"Sure I would," Sarah replied stoutly. It wasn't entirely out of an urge to make Jareth pay for... surprising... her this morning.
"Well. I don't suppose you know the origins of the word 'labyrinth', do you?" His voice said he very much believed that she did not."
"It's from Greek mythology."
"Yes, but what does it actually mean?"
"I don't know," she said defiantly. Jareth let out a breath sharply, not quite a snort but definitely disparaging.
"Translated very roughly, it means 'place of the double-headed axes'."
"And this has to do with horns how...?"
"Be patient, child." Sarah made a face and he ignored her. "It was called that after a tool that the Ancient Minoans used for sacrifices. They were very keen on bulls, you know."
"Oh." Sarah remembered something, thunking herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. "The Minotaur. Duh. But still... you aren't exactly one to follow convention. Why take your symbol from a myth?"
"It wasn't my choice," he explained frostily. "I inherited it."
"Inherited it? From who? You haven't always been the Goblin King?" This was a new idea for the teenager. She had never considered Jareth's beginnings, or end; he was a constant.
"Always is a very large word. No, I have not always been the Goblin King, though I was the first one. I inherited the pendant, and the Labyrinth, from Minos's sorcerer. A very long time ago."
Sarah's brain feebly tried to compute this. She drew up legs up in the chair to sit cross-legged and leaned forward. "King Minos? The Minotaur's keeper? But that's just a fairy tale!"
Gak. Drat. She regretted the words the moment she said them.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, then are dreamt of in your philosophy," Jareth quoted archly. "Very ironic, coming from a girl conversing with the Goblin King."
"I'm the one who's supposed to quote Shakespeare," she muttered, irritated. "Fine. However did the Labyrinth make its way Underground from Crete? And how did you acquire it?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes. Don't you dare not tell me, after saying this much." Sarah sent him the look-of-death that automatically came with two X chromosomes. Sadly, Jareth was immune in this case. Maybe it was a humans-only thing.
"As you wish. I'll start at the beginning to make things less confusing. I guess you've heard the myth before—remember that it is a myth. Some things are true, some are not. I'll tell you the facts of the events."
"Get on with it already."
"Ahem. Everything began, for better or worse, when Minos's wife fooled around with a demon masquerading as a fae. Minos always thought of it as something he did, insulting the gods or whatever. Truthfully, I understand, he was just a pompous ass and Pasiphae was tired of it. So she got pregnant by this demon and bore a child that took after its father. It also had a vicious streak, so Minos built a cage for it on the advice of his ministers. He didn't want to anger the gods farther by killing a member of his family—if only he knew the truth."
"I thought that Pasiphae, er, was impregnated by a bull."
"What did I say?" he asked, shooting her a reproving look. "I promise, it is physically impossible for a bull and a human to have children together. All that wooden cow nonsense it pure fabrication.
"So. Where was I? The child was violent; beside having a cow's head and pointy horns, it had a couple rows of razor-sharp teeth and a taste for flesh. A locked room wasn't enough to hold it, so Minos had the Labyrinth built. It was made of stone, durable, but actually rather small. Confusing but nowhere near the scale of the Labyrinth today. Minos's sorcerer was a mostly-human man named Daedalus. Don't interrupt me," he said suddenly, holding off Sarah's exclamation with an upraised hand. She sat back in her chair, frowning.
"Yes, the real Daedalus was a sorcerer. He infused the stone walls of the Labyrinth with magic in an attempt to contain the growing demonic child. Unfortunately, as clever as he was, his talent alone wasn't enough. At Minos's bidding, he used necromancy to bind wild magic to the Labyrinth walls. He used a blood ritual to summon the magic from the Underground and affix it to the fortifications. A nasty business, but very reliable. Every year he had to sacrifice two children and use their blood in the binding. He kept it up for almost two decades."
Sarah gasped, disgust drawing her lips back in a grimace. "He killed children?"
"Quite. This gave rise to part of the Minotaur myth, if you remember—every year Athens sent young men and women in tribute to Minos?"
"I remember."
"Good. I do have to say, in Daedalus's defense, he was a good man at heart. Minos forced him into the dark magic, using threats to keep him in line. But that is irrelevant at the moment.
"Daedalus controlled the magic of the Labyrinth with the pendant I wear around my neck; it was the key, the focus. He might have kept the Minotaur imprisoned for a very long time if a young man hadn't rendered it unnecessary. With the help of the princess Ariadne, a young man—let us call him Theseus—slew the Minotaur and rescued the captive children before a sacrifice. He sailed away with the princess by his side. Which is where I came in."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really. Daedalus summoned a being from the Underground to retrieve Ariadne... and that being just happened to be me. Minos made a bargain; if I brought Ariadne back, safe, then he would gift me with the Labyrinth. I was young then, with little interest in humans. What did interest me was power; I had noticed it gradually leaking from my homeland. I was pleased to discover why. I accepted the bargain. I found the girl, returned her, and Daedalus gave the pendent to me."
"Dionysus found her in the story. Are you saying that you were somehow equated with a Greek god?" Sarah was disbelieving. Jareth smiled wickedly, an expression that suited him.
"The god of wine, madness, ecstasy, and secrets. I can't think of anyone I'd rather be replaced by."
Sarah could believe that. "So you returned her and got the Labyrinth? That's all?"
"No, it isn't. I took the pendent and broke the bindings that held the wild magic to the Aboveground. It returned to its natural home rather abruptly. Very abruptly." He paused. "It was really quite interesting, from a magician's point of view. The reaction was so violent that Daedalus, woven into the magic for years, was pulled along with it into the Underground. And the wild magic started acting very strangely. Instead of dispersing back into the land, it held the shape that it had held for so many years. Blood magic is that strong, you see. It stayed a maze, and it kept its desire for children."
Sarah twitched in alarm. Jareth shook his head at her, lips curled.
"No, I do not murder children, Sarah. Don't even suggest it. There is only a compulsion to take children when they are offered. It's not something that I can help."
"What about the goblins?"
"The goblins migrated here a few centuries later. I would have barred them if I could, but they're like rats. Humans, came, slowly: the children that were sent to me. Eventually the children of Jeremy's race arrived too. Children of other races. Then there were other species who just filtered in over the years, creatures like the marsh lights, the trolls, and your furry lummox of a friend."
"Ludo. His name's Ludo."
"Whatever. Eventually, the Labyrinth became what it is today. It has been growing since its arrival and changing daily. The wild magic still manifests itself."
"What about Daedalus?" Sarah asked curiously.
"He's still around here somewhere, tinkering away at things. He designed the castle's plumbing, not to mention the goblin's mechanical armaments. He has a human's fascination for engineering and science. I'm sure that you would quite delight him, with your knowledge of the modern world."
"He's still alive? But that must have been thousands of years ago. Wait—you must be thousands of years old, too!"
"I'm afraid so." He flashed her a flirtatious smile. "I like to think that I look quite good for my age."
Sarah was quiet, mind a little boggled. She couldn't imagine a life extending hundreds of years, much less a few thousand. Doing the math in her head, she realized that it would be around 4,000 years.
Yikes.
"So there's the story. Shall we begin with your lesson?"
The girl gaped at him, a bad habit that she was developing. "What? You tell me that the Minotaur actually existed, and you're older than the Roman Empire, and now you want me to concentrate on doing magic? No way. My brain is fried for the day."
"Oh, please. You won't get out of it that way." He stood. "Hold out your hand and produce a crystal. This time, I want you to put magic into it..."
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Two agonizing hours later, Sarah had three pears to show for her work. They weren't even good pears; they were dry and tasteless. Damn pears. She retreated to her room and collapsed onto the bed, as was her custom.
She was planning something. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't. Maybe it would backfire horribly. No point in not trying, though.
Sarah was going to play hooky. Eat lunch, stride out the door, and wander into the Labyrinth... it couldn't be that hard, could it? The afternoon lesson wouldn't be for another three hours or so. If she made it back before then, so be it. If not... Jareth could find something else to do. The way she saw it, Sarah deserved a break. Even at school, she got the weekends off. So there.
After eating, she traded her slippers for the sturdier boots. She was her brown outfit, the plainest of all the gowns she had. Not exactly practical, since it was still silk, but good enough. She donned the necklace too, sliding it around her neck. The pendent hit her mid-chest, sliding into the front of her bodice. Perfect, really; she could pull it out when she needed to, but she wouldn't be flashing it wherever she went either. Very discreet.
Phase One of Operation Let-Me-Out completed. Phase Two initiated.
The walk from her room to the bottom of the staircase was easy enough; it was going past Jareth's study, and then toward the throne room, that set her on edge. He could be anywhere at the castle, but those two spots seemed the most likely. Sarah tip-toed past the door with the carved goblin head, trying to keep her boots from clapping against the hard floor. It was closed, but she wasn't taking any chances.
When she reached the doors at the bottom of the second staircase, she put her ear against the wood to listen for movement.
A stethoscope would be useful, she thought, thinking vaguely of spy movies. Or a cup. I actually have a cup. Guess that'll have to wait for next time. Assuming that Jareth doesn't fry me when he finds me gone.
The coast appeared to be clear. She eased the door open slightly; it squeaked loudly and she winced. Okay. No running feet, no questioning glances. No chattering goblin noises either; apparently court was not in session. Sarah slipped through the doors and fast-walked towards the castle entrance, which she remembered from her first visit to the Goblin City.
The rocky streets spread out before her, creatures bustling along on their errands. Mostly goblins, coming in and out of houses, but other things too. Who would have thought that this place was so cosmopolitan? No one seemed to notice her, so Sarah set out at a brisk walk, head held high.
This was something she had learned from traveling the hallways at school: if you walk as though you belong there, the security guards will never ask you if you have a bathroom pass. Anyways, it's not like I'm doing anything bad right now. This is my free time. No reason not to take a walk.
People paid more attention once she actually joined the crowd. Not only was she a good foot (at least) taller than most of the city's inhabitants, she was dressed in silk. She was human. Her hair was braided with a gold ribbon. They also recognized the Sarah, the human girl who had beaten the Labyrinth and mysteriously come to live with their king again. The fae sent her sideways glances, double-takes, and whispered to each other from behind their hands. The smaller goblins yelped and jumped out of her way, making Sarah feel distinctly uncomfortable, almost as much as the staring did. Most of them kept a wide space between her and themselves, leaving an empty space in the street around her.
Even Jareth didn't get this much attention. He had to kick goblins out of the way when he walked.
Sarah was naturally reserved when she wasn't on stage, preferring to watch events from the shadows and the sidelines. She always had friends, and recently she had Aaron, but the general masses of humanity had never much looked her way. Definitely not the shining throng that made up her school's Elite. Now she had the Fair Folk vying for her attention, Jareth... doing what ever incomprehensible thing he was doing, and the subjects of the Goblin kingdom looking upon her with awe and fear.
Was it any wonder that the Underground made her nervous? It was so much more comfortable to sink into oblivion at home.
The edge of the city was a welcome retreat, but that left the entirety of the Labyrinth stretching out before her. Sarah knew that she wanted to go to the Otherwood, to pay Meggedy a visit and see the foundlings with her own eyes. That was important to her, for some reason, to see the children that her brother had almost joined. She would feel better to know they were well cared-for. She would think better of Jareth for it. And if he was to be believed, it wasn't even his choice to steal the children. The Labyrinth demanded it. Not that it would make him any less of an ass. He does that just fine on his own.
So. She'd have to ask for directions. Sarah looked around for a likely candidate, probably not a goblin. They weren't known for their wits. She spotted a something that resembled a troll; if it was one, it wasn't the swampy variety. It was carrying a pack on its back and holding a stave, so she figured it would be well-traveled. Approaching slowly, she cleared her throat as she neared.
"Excuse me," Sarah called shyly, not sure whether to add a 'sir' or 'madam'. The troll looked from side to side and fixed its eyes on her. She nodded to it politely. Its mouth opened slightly.
"Me?" It rumbled in a gruff voice. Sarah nodded again.
"Yes. I was wondering if you could give me directions to Addie Otherwood's home?"
"Uh," it said. Sarah waited. "Urk. 'S in th'east side of th'Otherwood."
"Where's that?" she asked patiently. "I haven't been here very long. Sorry."
"Cross the river from the Fiery Forest. If yuh pick it up over there--" he pointed behind him, where Sarah could see a narrow river flow, "--it'll take yuh to the woods. 'S'all over there. Th'Otherwood's a bit... nicer. A path'll take yuh 'tween the trees. Uh." It seemed bewildered by its own eloquence, blinking at her rapidly. "Prob'ly the kids'll be out. See yuh first." It stopped abruptly, slamming its yellow-toothed mouth shut.
"Thanks," said Sarah gratefully, a little unnerved herself. She had the strange feeling that the troll would shriek and jump if she suddenly yelled 'boo'. It couldn't be frightened of her, could it? Would the weirdness never end? "Is it far?"
"Not most of the time," it said cryptically. Then it bobbed up and down moved off at a quick shuffle, stave swinging wildly back and forth. Sarah turned to the river. He didn't say which way to go, exactly, but he had pointed in that direction. Might as well go that way.
It was a surprisingly nice walk; the Labyrinth's twisted, turning pathways didn't approach so close to the Goblin City. She could glimpse them over a hill, which sent her spine creeping, but she was well away from them. The river was bound on one side by the walls of the city, and on the other by a grassy bank and a dusty path. She traveled the path and looked behind herself often... just to make sure the path was staying put. The heart of the kingdom seemed relatively stable, but she wasn't taking any chances.
Half-an-hour at a good pace brought her to a line of saplings, the edges of the forest. She could see the same vegetation emerging on the other side of the river, but it was darker, more twisted, looking almost diseased. The Fiery Forest. Ugh. No way I'm ever going there again. Hopefully this side of the river will be more hospitable. Didn't the troll say it was nicer?
The trees grew larger, taller than her, light turning green as it filtered through the leaves. Sarah smiled wryly, feeling more than a little like Red Riding Hood. No basket and no red, of course, but the woods looked like just the kind to have wolves hiding in it. Wolves, or Robin Hood's troop, or a bewitched castle. Perhaps a dwarf's house, or a tree holding a golden goose. The trees were a little too perfectly shaped, the spacing just right. This was more like an archetypal Forest than the mere gathering of trees that graced her park at home. No wonder the Otherwood rated capitalization.
She continued down the path, which grew fainter and fainter as she walked on. By the time she had lost sight of the forest's entrance, it had dwindled to a mere gap in the vegetation. Disturbing, that. Sarah was rather paranoid about getting lost, nowadays. It was a sensation akin to vertigo, twisting around and around and not recognizing anything...
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, counted to five, and opened them again. There was still a path at her feet, something providing her with direction. She found that her hand was clenched around the pendent of her new necklace, the sharp curves digging painfully into the flesh of her palm. She let go of it and tucked it back into her bodice, not quite sure how it had found its way into her hand. Jareth said it wouldn't prevent me from getting lost, she remembered mournfully. It could protect her from everyone in the kingdom but herself.
A quiet giggle erupted to Sarah's right, followed quickly by an unmistakable shushing noise. The familiar noise drained the tension from her body. It was something she heard often from Toby and his playmates, a quick vocalization of pure glee. Not without a little mischief, though. A thoroughly human noise.
"Don't bother hiding," she called out, her loud voice echoing in the broken silence. "I have eyes in the back of my head. I can see you over there." Sarah was used to small children. They were easily impressed.
"Plassa!" growled a high voice. "Why do you always have to follow us?"
"Sowwy?" replied an even higher voice, that of a younger child. The giggler.
"Go on!" said the first voice irritably. A figure rushed out a bush next to Sarah, less than hip-high. It skidded to a stop in front of her, looking up with a sweet smile. It was a little girl with wispy carroty hair in pigtails, freckles sprinkled lightly across her nose.
"Hi," Plassa chirped. She might have been around three or four. Sarah felt her heart melt into warm red goop.
"Hello," she replied softly. "I was looking for you."
"Me?" squeaked the little girl, happily.
"Yep. I was looking for the foundlings, and I guess you must be one. I think that I owe you a piece of chocolate for that."
A sound of rustling in the bushes. Sarah grinned.
"Chocolate?" Plassa's eyes lit up. "Gimme!"
"Certainly. But you have to show me the way to Addie Otherwood's house."
"Oh. I..."
Two other shapes whizzed out of the bushes, stopping behind the little girl. They were two boys, around seven or eight. They both had thick black hair and olive skin. Identical twins.
"We can help!" said the one on the left promptly. "Plassa's too little. Benedict and Antonius, at your service, my lady."
"Which is which?"
"I am Antonius," said the one on the right. "The elder by thirteen minutes. That is Benedict." Antonius wore gray and Benedict wore brown.
"I suppose all three of you could show me the way, and I'd reward all of you at the end of the journey. Fair enough?"
"Yes!" cried Plassa. "Chocolate!"
"Right this way, madam!" said Antonius briskly, gesturing frantically at Sarah to follow. Apparently chocolate was a rare treat; Sarah couldn't remember even getting that worked up about it as a child. Potato chips, maybe, but not candy.
Plassa's hand found its way into Sarah's.
"Come on," she said emphatically. "It's close."
Sarah followed, feeling like she was on an adventure. Enthusiasm is catching.
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A/N: Well, I didn't quite get to everything that I hoped, but oh well. It's late and I'm tired. I apologize for any un-caught typos. Also, for the record, I'd just like to say that David Bowie has the second sexiest voice ever. Er. Alan Rickman gets number one, hands down, but Bowie is a close second. listens to TVC-15 and dances around madly.
Since this is the author's note at the end of the chapter, I'd like to once again thank my reviewers for giving me their input and letting me snicker evilly at their predictions. Hee hee. Ophelia Eternal, Eleanor Rose, Solea, Moonjava, Awhina, Velf (Flirty-flirty? Hmm, I like that...) , draegon-fire(My lips are sealed!), Bex drake, Mav1, Kathleen(If I confirmed that, I'd have to kill you. But good guess...) , SP777(I'm blushing!), cali-luv, Lady Sethia (Aww... tear... )and Porphyria's Lover(There's lots of really excellent Labyrinth fanfic out there. Go for it!)
All of you guys make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside! Group hug! :-)