Chapter Three

Old Friends

Sarah lay in bed with a wet face cloth on her forehead and a bottle of extra-strong Headache-Eze on her bedside table.

It was ten o'clock and moonlight was filtering through the leaves of the tree outside her window. But Sarah could not appreciate the beauty of it tonight; her mind was still reeling with Jareth's voice. He was certainly not being as obliging tonight as he was yester eve. He was relentless.

Sarah suddenly sat bolt upright in bed. She couldn't take it anymore.

She went to her vanity and sat down in front of the mirror. The reflection that Sarah saw in the mirror was nothing less than horrifying; she was deathly pale from lack of sleep and constant headaches, her grey eyes were dark and fearful, her long brown hair tangled and tussled from lying on her bed all afternoon.

Sarah took her brush an drew it through her hair a few times, making it look passable, then she straightened her nightgown and put on her dressing gown. She sat back down in her chair and faced her now slightly better looking reflection.

'Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo- I need you.'

In a flash, all of Sarah's labyrinthine friends appeared in her mirror.

'My Lady, thou art not looking well. Is something the matter?' Sir Didymus asked hesitantly.

'Well, I'm in my senior year of high-school, my stepmother hates my guts and I have the Goblin King screaming in my head, which really hurts, by the way. Yourself?' Sarah tried to appear light-hearted.

'His Majesty is in your mind?' asked a confused Sir Didymus.

'Apparently. I don't know why he's doing it, but that's why I called you. I need help; he just yells in my head and it's driving me nuts. Do you have any ideas?' Sarah asked her friends hopefully.

'Sawa nuts?' Ludo roared.

'Yeah, seemingly. Maybe he's doing it to punish me for beating him; I knew he'd be a sore loser. And,' Sarah bit her lip apologetically, 'I really am sorry that I haven't called you lately. I've had a lot on my plate.'

'Of course, fair maiden,' said Didymus, bowing.

'Well,' Hoggle began slowly, as though weighing up his words, 'by my reckoning, for his Highness to have the ability to speak in your mind, he would have to have a bit of himself in your world, probably near you.'

'Hmm,' Sarah was suspicious, 'I think you know more than you let on, Hoggle.'

Hoggle shrugged. 'I know only what I hear.'

Sarah pursed her lips, but said nothing more on the subject. 'So…I should be looking for a bit of him?'

Hoggle furrowed his brow (Ludo imitated him). 'Did you bring anything with you, from here, I mean?'

Sarah considered. 'No, I didn't bring anything.'

'Then perhaps the king left something here himself,' Didymus interjected.

'But what would he leave?' Sarah mused.

'Cwystal, cwystal,' Ludo thundered (he never really could pronounce 'R's). He had stopped imitating Hoggle.

'One of his crystals? Maybe…I'll look, but I haven't seen anything like that. But if any of you see him, could you please tell him to keep it down while I try to sleep?' asked Sarah hopefully.

Hoggle smiled. 'I'll see what I can do. Goodbye, Sarah.' He ran out of the mirror.

'We should take our leave too, my brother,' said Sir Didymus, leading Ludo away. 'Farewell, sweet Maiden.'

'Bye, bye, Sarah,' Ludo's voice sounded faint.

'Goodbye,' whispered Sarah.

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