Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in the movie, Labyrinth, even though I do in my dreams. But that's another story in itself.

Chapter 11

Sarah woke up to find herself surrounded by large pillows in a room that looked as if it had come out of one of her dreams. Had it been any other day she would have been able to sleep soundly but not last night all her energy and thoughts had been focused on the task at hand. Today she would be transported to the castle beyond the goblin city to rescue her friends and the Goblin King. A large weight had been placed on her shoulders but in reality it had been her choice. No she really had no choice, in a way she felt she was meant to do this.

With a sigh she threw off the heavy comforter and slid out of bed. As she stood up she felt the warmth and security of the winged bed drain from her form. She walked to the vanity and splashed water on her face from a crystal bowl that had been left there last night by an unseen sylph.

She walked slowly toward the wardrobe to grab the jeans and t-shirt she had on the day before. As she opened it she saw a few more extravagant dresses held within. She gently caresses the first which was a pale green with intricate bead work throughout the bodice and sleeves. The next was lavender with embroidery on the neck, waist and hem. They were exquisite. She felt a small sadness that she would not be there to wear such beautiful clothing.

She pushed them both aside to reveal another outfit. It was very much like what the sylphs wore. It was made of a light airy material in the lightest shade of blue and unlike the other dresses that possessed bell shaped sleeves this one had tight sleeves that ended at a point. Not really having any other choice being that her jeans and t-shirt were no where to be found she quickly pulled it over her head and noticed that the hem reached below her ankles. She tied the long sash around her revealing her small waist. She had walked over to the full length mirror noticing that the sash trailed behind her like a train. There was a light knock on the door.

"Come in" she called looking away from the mirror.

Konile popped her head in the door.

"Oh, your Majesty, I am so glad to see you are awake." She looked at her from head to toe and smiled.

"You've almost got that right. Here, let me." She stepped forward and removed the long sash. Konile wrapped it around Sarah's bust in a criss cross shape and around her waist to from a large bow at the back.

"Ok, now you are ready to fight."

Sarah looked at herself in the mirror. Indeed she looked ready to fight. From the waist up but she hadn't thought about fighting in a long skirt.

Konile bowed, "Paralda is waiting, you Majesty."

As Sarah was announced she walked into the dining room and was seated to the left of Paralda as the night before at dinner. Paralda stood and took Sarah's hand and placed a kiss on it. "I hope you slept well"

She slightly smiled and nodded. Though, he could tell it had not been a pleasant evening. Soon after they were all seated the servants began arriving with fruits and soft breads.

While everyone was busing themselves with the feast Sarah tuned to Paralda.

"I wanted tothank you again for the lovely dress. But, I'm not so sure I'll be able to fight in it."

"Ah, my Queen. That is your greatest weapon. Don't you see, no one will expect that you can fight. Remember, element of surprise."

"I see" she returned to her breakfast.

She looked around her at all the happy jovial faces of the hundreds upon hundreds of young sylphs. They seemed so carefree. It made her yearn for a simpler time in her life. She saw herself as a teenager laughing, as she shared her secrets in the forest with her friend, Myra. Back then everything seemedso simple.

She slowly turned to everyone seated at the crystal table back to Paralda. He too stared at her with a slight sadness.

"The more time passes the more it changes."

"What changes?"

" Life. Love. You. Everything has a lifespan. Including innocence. I have tried to protect my people from the loss of it. But it is inevitable." He said looking at his plate.

" There is something that I need an answer to. Since I've returned to the Underground. I have been having dreams. Visions of a lovely blue haired girl. She said her name is Nejin and she keeps telling me things about Jareth."

A smile spread across his face.

" Well, Nejin has contacted you. It is very rare to get her attention. What does she say?"

"She says that he has lost hope and that we are all in danger. And that I am our last hope."

His smile dropped .

"Yes, I did not think you needed the extra pressure. But the Labyrinth is dying. It offers the Sylphs protection from all who wish us harm. If there is no Labyrinth then there is no protection for us."

" But Briegal said that it WAS dying because I was not here. Now that I am here I plan on restoring it to its full glory."

Looking around to make sure no one was listening he sent to her,

'The Labyrinth will never return to what it once was. I'm not so sure you understand what the consequences are yet for us. Our entire world rests on your shoulders. The others do not know what will inevitably happen if ÆRNAY succeeds in killing Jareth. The Underground will only be the first step in his course of destruction. He will attempt to return us all Aboveground in order to conquer IT as well. ÆRNAY will not stop until all is in his grasp. The Labyrinth itself was never a part of our world until we were Underground and so it will not survive anywhere but here. And we will not survive without its protection.'

He placed his hand on hers when he saw it was shaking, "If Nejin has contacted you it is for good reason. I suggest you listen to her but pay very close attention to detail for she can be vague."

'Sure, why should she be any different from anyone else in the underground?' she thought to herself.

Paralda heard this comment and almost choked on his wine as he began to laugh.

Sarah, Paralda, Rastrin and Sielke' were standing outside the Mountain Castle readying themselves to be transported into the Goblin Castle.

Paralda spoke to his subjects, "You are our finest warriors. I feel confident in your abilities to keep the Queen safe. After you have retrieved the King and the others, The Queen will call on me. I will transport you back to the Castle where we will need to begin another journey to meet with The High King and Queen. It is obvious they are not yet aware of what ÆRNAY has been up to. I will transport you inside the doors of the castle but you must be stealth and find your way in and out of dungeons without being seen. I shutter to think what ÆRNAY or his son will do to you if you are seen."

"His son? ÆRNAY has a son?" Sarah asked confused.

"Yes, his name is Jacob" Rastrin answered.

Sarah's heart nearly stopped. Now her dream made sense. At first she thought she had dropped a random person into her nightmare. But than a sudden realization struck her.

"I know the way into the dungeons. The only problem is, the door is behind Jareth's throne."

Even Paralda looked up in surprise,

"Well that does pose a problem. I'm sure between you three you will come up with something. Now ready yourselves. And Good luck to you all."

He took one final look at Sarah, 'Please be careful, My Queen. You are our only ray of hope'

A warm tingle went through her, a split second later she and the two sylphs were inside the familiar surroundings of the Goblin Castle.

Both warriors standing on either side of her pulled out their swords in a ready, defensive stance.

"My Queen," whispered Rastrin. "I think we are clear. You must lead us to the throne room."

Pressing herself to the wall she noisily walked to the door of the throne room. Peaking through a small crack and seeing that the room was empty she waved to the sylphs to go through the door. They cautiously walked forward swords at the ready. Watching from the doorway Sarah made sure that no one was coming up on them from the hall. Seeing no one, she stepped through and walked directly to the small, hidden doorway behind the Goblin King's throne. She reached for it and found it was unlocked. She easily slid it open to reveal the same narrow staircase that she had seen in her dream. She felt sudden fear go through her.

'Oh God please let me find them'

She took a deep breath and placed a foot on the first step. Rastrin and Sielke' looked at each other concerned but followed the Queen closing the door behind them. They were plunged in darkness. But before anyone could begin to panic Sielke' took a small round object that glowed bright green. It looked like a jack like the kind that she played with as a child.

She began counting feeling a little more at ease. "29…30…31…" The heavy scent of humidity filled her lungs causing her to suppress a cough. She sat on step 36 trying to get a hold of herself. She was letting fear overcome her. Paralda had warned her that this might happen. She had to be calm and controlled if she was to use magic.

She stood up determined,"37…38…39"

Finally, they reached a heavy wooden door. Rastrin placed his eat to it to hear if any guards were around.

They heard some shuffling and a few grunts.

Sielke' stepped away and gestured for the others to follow. There was as small hallway next to stair case but it was so narrow that they had to press themselves against the wall. Rastrin was close behind Sarah and Sielke' led the way. Sarah noticed the floor consisted of tiny pebbles making the ground very unstable. She nearly lost her balance a few times. She was so busy trying not to fall that she didn't notice the Sylph in front of her had disappeared. She turned to Rastrin who disbelievingly looked past her. He was still for only a moment.

"She is on the other side of the wall. There is an opening just up ahead."

"Can you communicate with her?"

"It is a trait that twins possess here in the Underground."

Relieved Sarah began to quickly move down the hall when her toe struck a rather large rock, she began to fall forward. She had braced herself to feel the sting of thousands of sharp rocks scrape her skin.

She opened her eyes to find herself on a soft ground in front of Sielke'. The young Sylph grabbed Sarah to pull her up.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

Sarah looking somewhat embarrassed at her lack of grace, just smiled and accepted the offered outstretched hand. Rastrin was beside them in an instant.

"It seems we have discovered a secret way into the dungeons."

"Rastrin looked around and began to step forward,

"We'll need to stay together and search, from what I hear there are over 300 cells down here. So we must hurry."

Sarah turned to Sielke' before following Rastrin, " I don't have a sword. What will happen if I am attacked?"

"My Queen, you do not have a sword because you are with us. However, if you feel your life is in danger and Rastrin and I are occupied all you need do is use your magic. No one knows that you have a hold of your magic yet."

They had been looking for a long time. Each would separate only to search the many cells in the hallways. There had to be at least 10 down each one. Sarah again began to feel the tightness in the pit of her stomach. It began to turn into panic. She felt as though she had lost her friends for ever and had to stop and take a deep breath to calm herself.

'I WILL find them. I WILL find them. I WILL find them. I WILL find them.'

She began to chant to herself. They came to another hallway that only had 4 cells but at the other end unlike the other hallways this one was a dead end. They hurriedly separated. Sarah looked into the first and saw nothing but darkness. She quickly moved on to the next where she came face to face with her large furry friend. She was so startled she almost let out a scream. Rastrin and Sielke' came running up behind her.

"Sawah!" came Ludo's deep but sweet voice. With tears threatening to spill out of her eyes she let out a shaky, "Ludo, are Hoggle and Didymus with you?"

Before he could even answer she saw her dwarf friend push past the large beast.

"What are you doing here?"

Sarah looked into his wrinkled face a little hurt by his question and the tone in which he said it. When her gaze rested on his eyes she understood that he was not angry with her but worried.

"Hoggle, I came to help. I knew you were all in trouble when I saw Didymus in the mirror."

"No, no, We is not in trouble . We are taking a vacation from our everyday lives." Hoggle said wringing his hands. " What are you doing here? He asked again only in a lower voice, "Jareth said he sent you a message." Rastrin and Sielke' were working on the lock with a small metal object.

Upon hearing the Goblin King's name Sarah looked around the cell.

" Hoggle, Where is he?"

" He's in the first cell. You's better go get him out. They put iron chains on him."

Sarah gasped and ran to the first darkened cell she had passed. Rastrin came with her leaving Sielke to work on Ludo, Didymus and Hoggle's cell.

Sarah slowly looked through the darkened hole in the wall. Afraid of what she would find. There was nothing but darkness and she could hear Rastrin struggling with the lock. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she noticed off in the farthest cornerwhatlooked like a pile of rags but she automatically knew that this was her Goblin King. Without taking her eyes off the mound, a lump building in her throat a strange calm went through her body and she raised her hand to the lock. A small click indicated that the door was now free to be opened. She pushed it and ran to her fallen King's side.

She knelt next to him listening to the labored breathing coming from him and rolled him over to look into his face. He was pale (far more than ususal) and his eyes had lost that wonderful mischievous quality.

"Sarah?" a raspy non-familiar voice escaped from hisparched and bloody lips.

" I am here." She whispered as she bent down to kiss his forehead. With his head cradled in her lap she began to remove the iron chains from his body. Rastrin tried to help but was also weakened by the iron. She gently placed Jareth's soaked head down and moved next to him. Removing all the chains and carrying them to the corner. She turned to see Rastrin bringing a small bottle with pink liquid to Jareth's lips.

"What is that?"

" It is to return him to full strength" Rastrin said before taking the last sip himself.

She turned to Jareth and saw the color returning to his face. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding and relief began to fill her.

He sat up by his own accord and began to stand. Rastrin took hold of his arm to steady him but Jareth pushed him away.

It took him a few moments but he raised his eyes to Sarah's. She was so happy that she did not notice that cold glare he gave her.

" Why are you here? Did you not receive my message? You Fool!"

Sarah's smile faded. Steeling herselfagainst this tirade, she fired back, " I got your message. But I also got the Labyrinth's message. It needed me. And as far as what I'm doing here. IT SEEMS THAT I'M SAVING YOUR ASS! A simple thank you would have been enough."

Visibly embarrassed at having witnessed this scene Rastrin excused himself stating he was going to see how his sister was faring.

They hadn't looked away from each other for a second, even when Rastrin excused himself.

Even though Sarah was angry with him she couldn't help but look him over and feel relief that he was no longer laying in that corner. For a split second she thought she saw his gaze sweep over her too.

He lowered his eyes a little and less forcefully said, " You shouldn't have come. ÆRNAY is using you to get to me. When Didymus told me he hadn't gotten to you in time. I sent you a dream. I thought for sure you'd take heed. I even caused your mirror to disappear." He paused, " How did you get back?"

"I held the book and the figurine and I was here."

He stared at her and then started laughing.

"That's absolutely absurd!"

" Well I'm here, aren't I? How do you explain that?"

" I always knew that you would find out about your powers sooner or later. So how long ago did you discover them?"

" Only yesterday. I met a young Sylph who told me about them and then Paralda taught me the rest but…"

"What do you mean yesterday? What has Paralda told you?" He paced around Sarah with his hands on his hips, "How are you expecting to fight ÆRNAY if you do not know how to control your magic? We are doomed. I expected more from you, Sarah."

Feeling rage begin to well up inside her she began, " Look…"

" Uhhm, excuse us, your Majesties, but may we have a word with Queen Sarah?" Rastrin and Sielke asked quietly. Pulling Sarah aside.

In hushed tones, "There are no guards, your Majesty. This is too easy. Something is wrong I can feel it. We should call on Paralda now to take us out of here."

Meanwhile, Jareth slowly strolled over to the other cell where the three friends were sitting trying to figure out their next move.

" Hogwart, come here." Jareth said motioning for Hoggle to come to his side. The dwarf hurriedly ran to him, " Yes, Your Majesty?"

Jareth hunched over to talk to him, " It seems we will have to go with the plan. Hopefully, if I disappear my uncle will have no use for her and send her Aboveground."

" But…The Labyrinth will die without her and so will we all."

" Yes, but I'm willing to die so that she may be safe." Jareth looked up at Sarah huddled with the two Sylph warriors.

" Higgle…"

"It's Hoggle!"

" Yes, Hoggle, I'm counting on you not to tell anyone where I am. It's the only way I can keep Sarah safe. She's a clever girl if she tries to find me try and deter her."

He looked up at Sarah. His eyes softening and sighs, "She is lovely, isn't she Heggle?"

"It's Hoggle! And yes she is. She's also stubborn and if she decides to look for you there is nothing that can stop her. Not even me." Hoggle stated and walked back to his friends.

Still looking at his beloved he whispered to himself, "There is no hope for us, my love."

Sarah looked up right at him, their eyes locked and she sent to him, 'I can hear you' she began taking steps toward a surprised Jareth. He then walked closer as well, " How are you doing that?"

She smiled , " I don't know. I think it's the Labyrinth. It must be giving me some of its powers. I AM it's Ruler, you know."

" So, Paralda has told you then. It's just as well. I didn't know how to bring it up anyway."

She smiled at seeing a lighter side of the Goblin King. She walked right up to him. And for a brief moment they looked into each others eyes uninterrupted. She stepped closer reaching for him when he stepped back, breaking their eye contact.

" Yes, we need to find a way out of here. I can transport myself and one other person," he stated while looking directly at Sarah, "but I prefer not to leave the rest of you behind. So it seems we will have to do this the old fashioned way."

" I was hoping you'd say that, cousin." they all turned in the direction of the only way out of this hallway, to see Jacob leading a small army of Fae men.

A/N:

Thanks to all of you, who keep me going and pushing me along. Amethystlainey, Moonjava, Taiki,angelwingz202(I thought I'd lost you), Solea (I can't thank you enough for the encouragement).

There is one more chapter left in Act 1, which I will be putting up next week. After that, I will be going on tour for 1 month. And so I will not be able to put up anything until my return. BUT you all have my promise that I will be writing and typing up stuff on the bus. And I will make up for it when I get back. XOXOXOXO