Chapter Eight

Excursion to the Oubliettes

Sarah stood leaning on the thick stone rail of the back terrace. The soft lowing of the many creatures of the Underground echoed across the vast valley. Orange light flooded the ground and laced the trees as the sun finished its journey down.

Her back faced Jareth, who was walking down the shallow stone steps to reach her. Instead of interrupting her pensive thoughts, he stood next to her and took in the view. The air smelled of oak and the rising chimney smoke in the goblin city. Sarah did not blink as he scrutinized her face, then looked back to the valley. It was now late October and the chilly air seeped into every corner. Jareth covered her hand with his own. Even through his leather gloves he could feel that she was cold. He was frighteningly reminded of the time she had eaten the poisoned plum.

"Come inside, Sarah."

She finally flickered her eyes and turned automatically to him. There was no light in her face, none of the usual happiness that radiated from her essence. It had been this way for several months now. She had given up her studies in the library and took to pensive thought. Jareth could easily see that it was destroying her.

"You cannot do this anymore. You cannot blame yourself for what has happened, surely you must see that it is not your fault," Jareth led her toward the door and she obeyed silently. Every day it was the same. He stopped abruptly and turned her to face him, her eyes still downcast. "What can I do to make you understand?"

Sarah stood silently for a moment and then turned again to walk inside. Jareth caught her tightly and forced her to look at him. He saw a mixture of surprised fear and despair in her features. He relaxed his grip, "Sarah, you are worrying me. I fear for you," he took her hands and her gaze fell again to the ground. "You need something to distract you-"

"Why? So I can forget about him?" she interrupted bitterly.

"No, my dear, so that you can bear the inevitable wait." Sarah's eyes welled with tears, pushing Jareth to the brink of yelling.

"You do Toby no good by allowing your spirit to break. You have shown no interest in your magic lessons, that won't help anything either. You must know how to defend yourself if you want to defeat Andromeda-"

"But if I defeat her I will kill Toby."

"Not if Toby unbinds himself. Once he understands fully what has happened, he can free himself and you can then defeat her safely. We have gone over this before."

"It seems so pointless. Nothing ever changes, there is nothing new to do-"

Jareth pressed a hand to her lips, "And that is why I want you to busy yourself with something. You would enjoy having something to do. Come, let us go have dinner."

Sarah attempted to brighten herself so as to enjoy Jareth's company. She hated to admit that she was intrigued by the possibilities of a distraction. They ate dinner quietly, Jareth relating his day.

Jareth swallowed a bit of bread, "The vampires are troubled. Erick has been preying on Southern Europe again and the Council cannot keep him restrained. They have asked me if I would provide a chamber for him in the Labyrinth, but I fear allowing mortals to run the risk of vampire attack. I have been scouting remote areas of the oubliettes where we can banish him safely."

"Have you found anything?" Sarah replied with slight interest. The vampires fascinated her.

"I was only able to scout for an hour today after meeting with the Council. I plan on setting out again tonight after dinner. I was wondering if you might join me."

Sarah set down her spork, "In the oubliettes?"

"Yes. I would enjoy the company and you could use a change of scenery. I promise it wont be more than an hour. I found a few possible locations but they are underneath a Fae town so I would prefer something more remote."

"Yes, I will join you. What should I wear?"

"Something durable, we will have to do a lot of walking."

They finished their meal and Sarah hurried off to change clothes. Now she found herself digging about in her own closet opposite Jareth's. Since their anniversary night Sarah had moved into Jareth's bedroom, however she had been in far too preoccupied a state to entertain their evenings together. She put on black tights and a purple leather bodice that fit her form to the hips and then fanned like a cape in the back, rather like a dress. The laces tightened themselves up each side and she slipped on some sturdy black boots. In one of the drawers she found two black leather gauntlets which she fastened to her wrists.

Jareth was waiting on the edge of the bed, already dressed in his typical kingly attire. Tonight he wore the earthy leather cape that fastened with the Goblin insignia and uneven lapels. It was always comfortable for journeys into the Labyrinth. The sight of Jareth waiting for her to join him in adventure suddenly struck Sarah as incredibly cute. She couldn't resist cracking a smile as he cocked his head to one side. With a laugh Sarah ran her hand through his glorious hair and made it even messier.

"You look happier already. Let's away," he wrapped an arm around her waist and a whirlwind of black glitter brought them into a remote and walled area of the Labyrinth. As far as Sarah could tell in the moonlight, they were enclosed in a large square.

"We must enter here and then travel westward. I think there might be a good detaining chamber closer to the river. Here," he pulled away a patch of ivy, revealing a niche with a deep hole. "I will go first, then I will tell you when to jump."

Sarah watched him jump down the hole and heard him land about fifty feet down. "Alright, come along," he called out of the hole. Hesitantly, Sarah closed her eyes and stepped over the threshold. She fell quickly, but not fast enough to hurt herself when she landed. It reminded her of the sensation of breaking free of a crystal.

Jareth stood comfortably in front of her, his face illuminated by the torches that were now igniting throughout the oubliette. It looked exactly as the one she had been in years before. They began to walk westward in silence.

"Here we go again," she muttered. Jareth turned around and gave her a sarcastic look, then kept walking. Even on their outing she felt ruled by her little brother. Even though she loved him, he certainly did get in the way sometimes.

Sarah was examining everything closely, attempting to learn the passageways. She halted abruptly when she noticed a peculiar trail in the dirt, as if a crystal had rolled through area. She followed the path with her eyes and smiled when she saw a discarded blue disguise that had at one time concealed a king.

"Jareth," she caught his arm, "look there. Seem familiar?"

He followed her gaze and laughed, "Ah yes, another memory," with three swift steps he stood in front of the blue cloak. "I was here, waiting for you to enter with that bumbling Higgle, or whatever his name was. And I believe," he turned back around to face her, "You were standing just there. I must admit I was rather jealous of Hogwart."

"Oh really? Why was that?" she was curious to hear his explanation.

"I'm not sure. At the time I remember wishing he would disappear."

Sarah laughed, "Ironic that the man who grants everyone's wishes could not grant his own."

"But then I came toward you, like this," he stepped toward her menacingly, "And I felt better once I had you cornered. I didn't understand why," he leaned an arm on the wall behind her and examined her face.

Sarah's heart was pounding fiercely, exactly as it had then. He certainly had a special charm over her. Their faces were so close now, she felt overwhelmed by his eyes. She leaned her head forward to kiss him but he moved his head to the side of her neck and whispered, "Then I do believe I teased you for being presumptuous."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, pushing off the wall to continue their walk but Jareth barred her way with his arm and gave her a quick kiss.

"Come on, we still have to find a spot for the exile. Maybe just up ahead-" Jareth led her around the corner and they continued their search. It was nice to be exploring again.