Chapter Five: The Last of the Dreamers

'I'm worried, Robert. It isn't like Sarah to go off like this without telling anyone!'

'I know that! But she's an adult, she doesn't have to answer to us for what she does!'

Karen swung away from her husband with a look of disgust. 'I am fully aware of that,' she stated icily. 'But I am sure that you are also fully aware that Sarah isn't that irresponsible. No one knows where she is. Aren't you at all nervous about what could have happened to her?'

'Of course I am!' Robert snapped back, but then met Karen's eyes miserably. 'I can't bear to think about it.'

Karen sighed slightly, frowning. 'Has she heard from Linda this weekend?'

Robert returned a puzzled look.

'You know whenever Sarah hears from her mother it always upsets her,' Karen continued. 'I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened.'

'I really don't think that hearing from Linda would make Sarah go running off somewhere,' Robert objected.

'Sarah is still completely in Linda's thrall, you know she is! Do you really think that Sarah would have wanted to become an actress if she hadn't been so desperate to impress her mother? I don't know which is worse; the fact that she can't see it, or the fact that you won't see it!'

Toby pushed himself away from the banisters as the raised voices grew louder, and walked slowly up the stairs. It was, he felt, distinctly unfair. Sarah had vanished and now his parents were rowing about it. Toby closed the door to his room and flung himself onto his bed. And whenever Sarah's mother was mentioned, everyone started acting very strangely, he had noticed. He had only ever met Sarah's mother once: it had been at a play that Sarah had been in. He remembered someone with a lot of make-up and perfume and very shiny hair who had hugged him very hard, and he remembered how quiet Sarah had been around her – not like herself at all. Sarah was meant to be spending the week with them – after all, it had been his birthday that she had come back for! Toby rolled over onto his stomach and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Pushing himself up on his hands, he studied his reflection. He was tall for his age and slender, with slightly unruly blonde hair. But the only things that Toby actually liked about his appearance were his eyes. There were one or two kids at school who tried to tease him over them, but on the whole everybody thought that they were cool. Toby turned his head from side to side experimentally, watching how the two different colours shifted and changed. He sighed. It really wasn't fair for Sarah to have disappeared like that. He stretched out a hand and picked up his crystal globe. He liked playing with it – it was oddly calming. His eyes roved over the room, coming to rest on the Escher poster on his wall and stared at it, mesmerised, for some moments. Then he shook himself. Places like that couldn't really exist; not on this earth. And yet…

His gaze strayed back to the poster. And yet at times those dreams seemed so real. Toby turned his attention away from the poster and started to hunt through his pile of books. He needed something to distract himself with. In the middle of the pile, he found one that he had appropriated from amongst Sarah's belongings. It was an old book, the cover was worn and coming away from the spine, but there was a certain mystique about it that Toby loved. The Labyrinth. He opened the pages with reverence, savouring the slightly musky scent they gave off as he turned them. Now there was a place worth visiting!

'I once danced with the Goblin King!'

Sarah's words echoed through his head. Half of him shrugged them off, but the other half… The other half was desperate to believe. One hand was still clutching the book, the other was manipulating the smooth, cool crystal. Without thinking, Toby raised the crystal and gazed into its depths. All of his dreams of worlds beyond the one he was living in, all of the imaginings he visualised in the park suddenly came pressing close upon him. And the one person who would really understand what he was feeling had gone, taking her fantasies with her. Still gazing into the crystal, the words that had been forming in the back of his mind ever since his conversation with Sarah sprang to his lips.

'I wish that I could see the Goblin King, right now.'

There was silence. And then in a violent gust of wind, the window burst open and Toby was nearly blinded by brilliant, shimmering dust that filled the room.

'Wishes are very dangerous, boy. You should be careful.'

Toby stared in disbelief at the man who had appeared before him – quite literally appeared, as there was no entry into the room save through one small window. But as Toby raised his eyes to meet the stranger's, he felt a jolt like electricity running through him. The fragments of a song, long forgotten, filtered through his mind; the sensation of flying through the air, but being safely caught by a firm pair of hands. And the eyes that were exactly the same as his.

'Who are you?' Toby breathed at last.

The man smiled slightly.

'You disappoint me, Toby. I would have thought that I'd left more of an impression on you.'

'You know my name,' Toby frowned and then looked up again. Vague recognition was forming deep in his memory. 'You…You are the Goblin King,' he said at last, uncertainly. And then, as if from nowhere, a name sprang to his lips. 'Jareth.'

The man smiled. 'At last. I was beginning to feel most offended.'

Jareth's eyes swept the room, resting momentarily on the Escher poster. He turned away from it with an amused smile and stared down at the blond-haired boy sitting on the bed. Toby still wore a slightly dazed expression and was gazing back at him in wonder.

'I don't really… I seem to remember,' he murmured in incoherent sentences. 'You know me, don't you?' Toby asked, his voice suddenly taking on a harder, more eager tone. 'You really do know me?'

'Of course I do, Toby. I know you… And your sister,' he added after a pause.

Sarah! For those few minutes, Toby had completely forgotten about her and the fact that she seemed to have disappeared with as much ease as Jareth had appeared in his room. Unless, of course… He recalled the look on Sarah's face and the way she had laughed when she had said those words.

'Where's Sarah? Is she with you?' he demanded.

A shadow fell across Jareth's face and Toby heard a sharp intake of breath. There was a long pause before Jareth finally met Toby's inquiring look.

'I don't know where Sarah is.'

ooOoo

One could not simply say that time passed in the Underground. Time moved in a way that was beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. But it was easily understood – and manipulated – by the ruler of this land. The ten years since Sarah had left the Labyrinth had passed by in a second. Passed by in eternity. It was all the same to Jareth. He sat, as he so often did, draped over his throne, his fingers playing dextrously over the smooth surface of a crystal. In its depths was an image, one captured many years ago, of a beautiful girl running through the endless passages and corridors of the Labyrinth. Jareth sighed and dismissed the vision – the crystal itself evaporating as though it had never been there. He had watched over her from a distance, and for the most part he had been patient. But as the years had passed it had become more and more difficult to keep away. So many nights had been spent in silent vigil outside her bedroom window, and so he had seen her grow and mature into the woman she was now. And the temptation to approach her again had grown. But that was not the right way: she had to be the one to call to him when, and only when, she was ready. For a while he had summoned up her image in the crystals that showed him anything and everything he wished them to. But even that had proved to be too much of a temptation, too painful to continue with. And so he contented himself with watching the old, familiar image of Sarah in the Labyrinth itself.

A small noise at his feet caught his attention and he glanced down. A small Goblin was snuffling to itself whilst timidly polishing the toe of one of his boots. It was, Jareth reminded himself, a gesture of affection. Or something. But no matter how many times he pleaded for, demanded or ordered their absence, the Goblins would always come creeping back into the throne room a few minutes later. The creature at his feet paused in its activities and looked upwards, meetings its master's gaze.

'Out,' said Jareth wearily.

It continued to stare at him.

'Yea Gods! Do they actually enjoy being threatened?' he wondered incredulously, not for the first time.

'If you don't get out now, I'll tip you straight into the Bog of Eternal Stench,' he stated, barely able to inject the requisite amount of menace into his voice. The Goblin, however, seemed quite content that the natural way of things had been carried out, and so scuttled out of the room. Jareth sprang to his feet and strode across to the massive window that overlooked the Labyrinth. He inhaled the cool, sweet air and let his thoughts drift out, bridging the gulf between the Underground and the realm of the mortals. All their dreams, their subconscious desires, floated through his mind. If you have ever walked through a wood when there is a slight breeze, you will have heard the soughing of tens of thousands of leaves, and so was the sound of the mortals' voices to Jareth. And in the middle of this, silence fell. Jareth opened his eyes. He could feel his whole body tensing, waiting for something. Someone's mind was reaching out from the other side to find his. A soul that he recognised as easily as he would his own.

Sarah.

His breath caught in his throat as he stood, waiting, longing for that one word which he sensed she was about to utter. His name. The one thing that would take him instantly to her side. And then, just as suddenly, it was gone. It took some moments for Jareth to regain the sense of where he was. For those few seconds, nothing had existed outside of Sarah. She had been reaching out for him - he had felt her desperation. How could that emotion have evaporated so quickly? Jareth turned all of his concentration – his great power – toward Sarah, his mind reaching out to hers in the darkness. Nothing. He had always been able to sense her when he had reached out to her, but for the first time he could not find her.

His hesitation lasted only a few seconds and then Jareth conjured a crystal. It hovered in the air in front of him, shimmering in the delicate light of the Underground. As he stared into it, the crystal turned black, as though filled with dark, swirling clouds. Jareth flinched slightly, a sudden, sharp pain shooting through his head. He felt as though an enormous, heavy pressure was pushing down on him, but if he could just push a little harder he would find what he was looking for. The crystal itself was pulsating erratically and Jareth had to keep tight hold of it to prevent it from careering wildly around the room. Then, finally, he saw it. The image flickered for a few seconds and then died as quickly as it had come. The crystal turned black once more and shattered. The tension in Jareth's body was released and he staggered, only just managing to support himself on the sill of the huge window. He raised one hand to his head, gently massaging his temples. But the only thing that was in his mind at the moment was what he had seen inside the crystal.

It was … unbelievable. Impossible. He had seen Sarah. Sarah as she was now: older, even more beautiful than before. But she had been walking through his castle, next to himself. The pain was replaced by a feeling of terrible, icy dread. It was many years since Jareth had offered anything in the way of a prayer, but now he did – praying to all the beings he could think of that what he feared had happened to Sarah wasn't the truth.

'It wouldn't be that easy,' he murmured aloud. 'She wouldn't be persuaded to come away so easily. Unless she wanted to come away. Foolish girl!' he added vehemently, conveniently forgetting the fact that until that moment, he had spent the past ten years hoping that she would wish to return to the Labyrinth. Jareth paced around the room. What had she been thinking of? Well, he was quite certain that a short time ago she had been thinking of him. But what of before that? He would need to speak to someone who had talked to her frequently over the last few years. He ran his mind briefly over the likely candidates. Ludo? He dismissed that idea at once. As reliable as Ludo was, any conversation with him took three times as long as with anybody else in the kingdom. Hoggle. Jareth wavered slightly. The dwarf would probably be able to tell him what he wanted to know, but despite vague improvements in their relationship, they were still not what could be termed 'friends'. Which left Sir Didymus. Jareth heaved a sigh. It would be a trying conversation with the excitable little creature, but there was no alternative. There was not the faintest ripple in the air as Jareth vanished from his throne room.

He reappeared some miles away in the heart of the Labyrinth. The Bog of Eternal Stench. He hated this place. It had once been a beautiful glade full of flowers and sunlight. Now it was just… Well, it was the Bog. Jareth placed a cautious foot on the bridge and, when confident that it would take his weight, stepped onto it fully. Almost at once, a tiny figure sprang out in front of him.

'Halt! It is my sworn, sacred duty that none shall crosseth this bridge without…' the fox trailed off as he realised who was standing there. 'Your Majesty!' he exclaimed, executing a low, graceful bow. 'I am deeply honoured that thou shouldst grace this humble-'

'Yes, yes, never mind about all of that,' Jareth interrupted impatiently.

'But I should pay my respects to my liege when he appears before me!' Sir Didymus replied, bowing again.

Jareth closed his eyes for a few seconds, battling to keep his temper under control. 'I will take it that you've paid them. You're honoured, I'm grateful, the end. Yes?'

'As you wish,' Sir Didymus muttered darkly.

'Now, listen to me,' Jareth continued. 'I need to ask you something. When was the last time you saw Sarah?'

Sir Didymus raised his head sharply and looked into Jareth's eyes.

'The Lady Sarah?' he asked in a surprised tone. Jareth nodded. Sir Didymus was rather surprised by this request. In all the time since Sarah had left the Underground, Jareth had never once asked about her. It was common knowledge that he watched over 'The Girl Who Ate the Peach', as the Goblins called her, but he never spoke of her. Sir Didymus had kept his own counsel on the subject. For years he had attended to his duties around the kingdom and then, one day, Jareth had instructed him to befriend a young girl who was making her way through the Labyrinth. And he had remained Sarah's friend ever since, although he had never told her that the reason he had given her his help in the first place was because Jareth had ordered him to. That too had been Jareth's order – that she should never be told of that.

'It is many months since I last spoke with the Lady Sarah, sire. She was in good health when I saw her,' he replied carefully.

'Did she…' Jareth hesitated. 'Did she mention that she had any desire to return to the Labyrinth?'

Sir Didymus' eyes widened slightly. 'No, Your Majesty. She did not.'

Jareth frowned. 'Did she – has she ever spoken to you of me?'

The fox hesitated again. It was almost impossible to read Jareth's eyes at the best of times – at the moment they were perfect ciphers. Even so, Sir Didymus was intuitive enough to recognise that something was desperately wrong with the King. He had been in Jareth's service for as long as he could remember (which is, by the way, far longer than any mortal can remember) and had come to know many of his master's moods. This was one that he had never seen before, and it unnerved him. It concerned the Lady Sarah, which frightened him all the more.

'My Lady has not spoken of thee to me, my liege,' he replied delicately. 'And we have not made mention of thee to her, as was thy command.'

Jareth sighed, inwardly cursing himself.

'You should have taken better care of her,' an accusing voice spoke in his mind.

'Is the Lady Sarah well, sire?' Sir Didymus ventured after some moments had passed.

'I don't know,' Jareth replied vaguely and then pulled himself together. When he spoke again his voice was steady, commanding. 'There is a strong possibility that the Labyrinth is in great danger, Didymus. I may need to call upon your services in the next few days.'

Once again, Sir Didymus bowed low before him. 'I am, as always, at thy disposal, my liege! Until then, I will remain at my sworn duty to defend this bridge against all comers!'

Jareth glanced at the ramshackle bridge that spanned the Bog and was reminded of a question that he had wanted to ask the fox ever since he was a child. 'Er, Didymus…whom exactly did you swear this sacred duty to?'

Sir Didymus gazed at the King in astonishment. 'Why, my liege, to you!'

'But I didn't… Oh, never mind!'

Sir Didymus remained staring at the space that Jareth had inhabited a few seconds before and then turned. If there was to be trouble in the Underground then they would have to start making plans now. He needed to find Ambrosius.

ooOoo

Jareth appeared back in his throne room with more questions in his mind than when he had left. The dread that he had started to feel earlier had only increased during his conversation with Sir Didymus. He gazed out over the expanse of the Labyrinth.

'Oh Sarah, Sarah. What have you done?' he murmured.

Time progressed and Jareth spent many hours focusing on his crystals, his mind spanning vast tracts of space and time as he searched for an answer. Around him life in the Underground and the land of the mortals continued as normal. Until, unexpectedly, he felt another call. A new voice, but also one that he recognised. He heard the longing and the frustration, and without a thought stretched out to meet the mind that was struggling to find his. And then the words came through clearly.

'I wish that I could see the Goblin King, right now.'

To be continued...