Chapter Seven: Anything Out of the Blue

The air tasted sweet as it wafted through Sarah's room. The Labyrinth looked so serene and there was no sound to break the silence. She felt quite happy as she leant against the window, gazing out. Somehow, the fact that Hoggle had been so hostile towards her didn't really seem to matter anymore. Sarah took in another breath of air. Perhaps she would try talking to him again. There was a gentle knock on her door. That would be Jareth. He had been so attentive ever since she arrived – so much so that Sarah hadn't felt the need to contact any of her other friends. And if they were going to treat her the way Hoggle had, then she would rather not see them. She could just spend the time with Jareth instead. The knock was repeated.

'Sarah, are you ready?'

Sarah felt her chest tighten slightly at the sound of that velvety voice. She didn't need Hoggle; she didn't need any of them. She had Jareth.

ooOoo

The girl was sitting at her dressing table, slowly pulling photographs off her mirror before putting them into a drawer. From downstairs, her father called up to her. She answered him, but remained seated at the dressing table, her eyes fixed on the mirror. The image had enveloped Toby's senses to the point that he felt as though he were standing there with her and, at any moment, she would turn around and see him.

'I see that you have found the answers to some of your questions, Toby.'

The voice seemed to come from nowhere and Toby started, looking around in bewilderment. Jareth was standing next to him, but Sarah didn't seem to notice: she was talking to one of the creatures that had appeared in her mirror. The image began to shrink, the whole room rushing inwards, until Toby was left staring at a shimmering crystal. It hovered in the air for a few moments, until Jareth blew on it gently and it floated across the room, returning to its place on the shelf. The fire had burned low, and the room appeared much darker; the corners were full of dense, barely moving shadows.

'She wished me away,' Toby said quietly.

'Yes. But she went through a great deal to get you back,' Jareth replied.

Toby looked up at him. Jareth, he thought with surprise, suddenly looked much older. His clothes had changed to white and pale grey, which only accentuated the unnatural paleness of his skin. There were heavy circles under his eyes and his face looked drawn.

'Sarah suffered much – and sacrificed much – to ensure your safe return,' Jareth continued before Toby had a chance to ask him what had happened. 'You cannot hold against her something that she did at that young age.'

'I don't!' Toby answered immediately. 'I just didn't know about it before, that's all.'

It had come as a shock to see Sarah so different from the way he was used to her being. So unlike the caring, protective sister he knew. Although, Toby had to admit to himself, if he had had to look after a screaming baby, he probably would have wished it away, too. But it wasn't just Sarah that Toby was thinking about. He watched Jareth intently out of the corner of his eyes. Once, about a year ago, he had been in the park – a place he frequented often, much as Sarah had. He remembered that there had been a beautiful, snow-white owl perched on a branch, staring directly at him. Toby had stood absolutely still, hardly daring to breath in case he frightened it away. The owl had suddenly taken off in a great flurry of wings, but instead of flying away, it had landed on his shoulder. He recalled the weight of it, and the warm feathers brushing against his cheek… It had stayed there for some moments before nibbling his ear gently, and then soaring into the air. Toby glanced at Jareth again and wondered – not daring to ask. Jareth was staring into the fire and as a branch broke, sending up a shower of golden sparks, he turned away with a sigh. He looked a little more like himself again and Toby cautiously ventured a question.

'What happened? Where did you go?'

'I felt a rupture within the Underground,' Jareth replied. He noticed Toby's puzzled expression and tried to explain himself better. 'It felt as though something had broken through the barriers around the Underground and was draining some of its power. I had to try to stop it.'

Toby felt his insides contract.

'Is-is that what's happened?' he asked. 'The Underground is being attacked? Then Sarah must've given in.'

Jareth shook his head. 'No, Toby, the Underground is not under attack. Had Sarah given in, Khazad would not wait. I don't know what happened…but something has altered, I can feel it. His way into the Labyrinth is through Sarah's mind, it may be that as she becomes more… attached to him, his power over her grows.'

There was a dangerous gleam in his eye as he said this, and Toby was once again aware of the power that radiated from Jareth. Jareth waved his hand at the fire, extinguishing it.

'Come on,' he said to Toby. 'We've been here long enough.'

They wove their way through the twisting corridors once again, Toby's mind going over everything he had learnt since the Goblin King had appeared in his bedroom. To see himself as a baby, here, in Jareth's kingdom. And to see Sarah as an opponent to this man. It had been like a game that both were eager to win, and yet…

'Why did you help her so much?' Toby asked suddenly.

Jareth frowned as he looked at him. 'What?'

'Sarah. When she was trying to get me back – she challenged you, she wouldn't just give in, but you helped her!'

Jareth had stopped walking now and was gazing down at Toby. 'What makes you say that?'

'Well,' Toby said thoughtfully, 'you were watching everything that was happening, and you have power over everything that goes on here, so you could've made sure that she didn't get to the castle at all! But every time something bad happened to her, something came along that would help her – even after she ate the peach, you put the clock into the ballroom to make her remember!'

'Oh, did I?' Jareth asked, smiling slightly. 'You're almost making it sound as though you're sorry she won.'

Toby swallowed nervously. 'You-you wouldn't really have turned me into a Goblin, would you?'

Jareth's face remained as inscrutable as ever. 'Well, we'll never know now, will we?' he replied before moving down the passage way again. Toby stayed where he was, staring into space, and then suddenly his eyes lit up in a flash of understanding.

'No you wouldn't!' he shouted and ran after Jareth. 'You wouldn't have done it!' he gasped, catching up to the King and forcing him to stop again. 'You wanted Sarah to think you would, that's all! You're not as bad as you like to make out – you're only playing at it.'

Jareth had stood, his arms folded, staring wordlessly down at the boy. Toby fell silent and for one awful moment he feared that he made a terrible mistake, and was about to be condemned to a lifetime of scrambling up the backs of his fellow Goblins to clean the chandeliers. Then Jareth threw his head back and laughed.

'I was right!' he gasped when he had caught his breath, and for the first time, Toby saw true joy in Jareth's face. 'I was right! You really are a lively little chap!' He clapped his hand on Toby's shoulder and steered him along the passages, glancing down at him every now and then with undisguised affection. Toby wasn't sure exactly what it was that had pleased Jareth so much, but he couldn't help but grin every time Jareth looked at him. They had arrived outside of an imposing set of double doors.

'What's this place?' Toby asked.

'The throne room,' Jareth answered significantly.

The doors opened and Jareth swept through them…and then came to a dead-halt, causing Toby to bump into him.

'How many times do I have to tell you? GET OUT!'

Toby heard his exasperated tones, and peered around Jareth's back. They were in a large, imposing room – well, it would have been imposing, except for the fact that it had been overtaken by Goblins. They were involved in various activities, most of which seemed to involve drinking, and chasing chickens around the place. They all froze at Jareth's voice and the volume suddenly dropped away to silence. One of their number, more courageous than the rest, ventured forward and stared up at Jareth beseechingly.

'Please, Y'Majesty, it's been so long since we been here last … and we never see you no more,' it finished sadly.

'You saw me yesterday,' Jareth replied testily.

'What do they want?' Toby asked him.

'They want to tear the throne room to pieces,' he replied wearily. 'I keep throwing them out, get it straightened out again, and then they creep back in. They like to have parties in here.'

'Parties?' Toby repeated in amazement, taking another look around the throne room. It wasn't the place that he would have picked for a party himself – but he supposed that Goblins had rather different tastes when it came to that sort of thing. All of the Goblins had turned their eyes to Jareth, and Toby was left with the feeling that it wasn't so much that they just wanted a party – they wanted their King to be with them. Jareth looked at all of the upturned faces and then sighed.

'Oh, all right !'

The words had barely left his lips before the Goblins let out loud whoops, and continued their celebrations. Toby watched their antics, bemused. They were becoming increasingly raucous, and as they danced around the room, a vague echo stirred in his memory.

'You remind me of the babe,' he murmured.

'What babe?' Jareth replied immediately, that expression of suppressed amusement in his eyes once again.

'The babe with the power.' The words rose to his lips, and he spoke louder.

'What power?' It was a Goblin that had taken up the rhyme now, and Toby realised that they had all started crowding around himself and Jareth.

'The power of voodoo.'

Music was coming from somewhere – a tune that was both strange and familiar. The Goblins were taking hold of Toby's hands, pulling him into the middle of the room; their strange, wild faces filled with excitement. He felt nervous at first, but then saw that they were trying to get him to dance with them. A rich, powerful voice filled the hall, lifted in a song that Toby knew he had heard before. It was Jareth. He suddenly grasped hold of Toby and, lifting him into the air, stood him on the throne. From this vantage, Toby could see the wild capering of the Goblins, Jareth in the middle of them. Of course! This was the song that Jareth had sung to him as a baby.

'Magic dance!'

The Goblins had made him dance then, and now they were pulling at him again with their hard little hands. Toby laughed and jumped off the throne so that he was in the middle of them. They seemed delighted. Toby looked over to where Jareth was leading a chorus of Goblins through a verse that was evidently well known to all of them. Jareth looked as though he was enjoying himself, skilfully weaving his way through the throng – even Toby could see that he was a good dancer.

'Thunder or lightening? Something frightening?'

As though for extra emphasis, Jareth aimed a kick at a nearby Goblin, which went soaring through the air. Toby stared at him in astonishment, and then looked around at the rest of the Goblins – but none of them appeared to have noticed. In fact, some of them were jumping up and down in front of Jareth as though willing him to kick them. When he finally did, Toby watched its trajectory – it crashed into a wall and then leapt to its feet, giggling madly. Toby shook his head.

He had stopped dancing now – the Goblins showed no signs of stopping, but Toby was starting to feel quite tired, and was more than happy just to watch. It was because of this that he noticed the woman enter. No one else saw her – they were all too busy. She stood in the doorway for a few moments, taking in the scene, a smile spreading across her face when she saw Jareth. Toby watched her curiously. She was tall, with blonde hair swept up on top of her head, and very pretty. She started to move through the dancers, and as she did so, Toby saw that some of them stopped and nudged each other. Jareth still hadn't noticed her. The song continued, and the newcomer suddenly took up the refrain, her voice was pure and gentle.

'What kind of magic spell to use? Slime and snails, or puppy dog's tails?'

Jareth spun around and gazed at her in amazement. He seemed rooted to the spot; then suddenly his face lit up and he made his way toward her. They met in the middle of the floor and threw their arms around each other – Jareth lifted her off her feet and whirled her around. The Goblins' dancing was wilder than ever, and Jareth and the woman were spinning around together, laughing. She suddenly took his face in both her hands and kissed him on each cheek. Toby watched them for a few moments and then walked out of the room.

He wasn't sure exactly why he suddenly felt angry with Jareth. Toby didn't pretend to understand the relationship between Jareth and Sarah, but had thought that Jareth liked his sister. And in Toby's world, that meant that you didn't go around hugging strange women. Lost in his own thoughts, Toby didn't notice that the music from the throne room had stopped, nor that there were footsteps coming toward him.

'Toby?'

Jareth was looking down at him – the woman was standing slightly apart from them. Toby glared at Jareth mutinously.

'I'd like to introduce you to someone,' Jareth said, apparently not noticing Toby's angry stare.

'Yeah?' Toby answered with disinterest.

Jareth raised an eyebrow. 'I had thought you had better manners than that, Toby,' he said.

The newcomer was observing this little scene in silence, her eyes flickering between the two, an expression of amusement creeping into her face. Toby had dropped his eyes, feeling slightly ashamed of himself and kicked a loose stone on the floor. He glanced over at the woman – she was very pretty, and Toby suddenly found it very difficult to persuade himself to dislike her.

'Who is she?' he asked Jareth, quietly.

'I am called Delaine,' the woman answered him. 'I believe that you have heard my name before, Toby. In your world, I am known as Delaine King.'

Toby stared at her. 'You- you're Delaine King?'

She nodded, her eyes sparkling. 'I hope you liked your birthday present!'

Out of all the things that Toby had seen and heard so far, this – somehow – was the most incredible. He stood, speechless, looking between Jareth and Delaine.

'But how… Who are… You're not…' he could hear himself babbling, but seemed unable to control his own voice.

Jareth slipped his arm around Delaine's waist and pulled her next to him.

'Toby,' he said gently, 'Delaine is my sister.'

To be continued...