Chapter 2, A Confrontation

"Hoggle? What? H-How did I get here? Why am I in the Underground?" Sarah looked around the room pinching the bridge of her nose between her eyes, she had a killer headache.

"Um, well Sarah, King Jareth done broughtcha here and said you'd be visiting for a while. Yous was unconcious sos I putcha in bed. He didn't say nothin else." Hoggle scratched his head in an innocent manner. Jareth, of course! Who else? That bastard kidnapped me somehow and brought me here..but why? And why drop me off at Hoggle's unconscious? Something'sup. Sarah pondered these thoughts a moment before responding.

"Hoggle, it's great to see you. It's been so long, and I'm sorry but I have to go. I have to figure out what's going on." Sarah got up and walked across the room towards the door. She'd almost reached it before Hoggle cut her off.

"No! Sarah, yous can't leave." He had his arms spread across the door as if he was some sort of magical barrier.

"Why the hell not?" Sarah was getting irritated now.

"Because it's not safe! It can't be safe...Why else would Jareth bring you to me and not to the castle?" This was apparently Hoggle's assumption.

"I don't know why, that's why I need to ask him." She reached for the door, ignoring the dwarf that stood in her way and went outside to face the Labyrinth, and the Goblin King.

Jareth sat in his throne, with one leg draped over the arm and swinging the other in a lazy motion. Goblins were bounding about, reeking the usual havoc. Though it was loud and riotous, Jareth's mind was elsewhere. He was worried. He knew Sarah was in the Underground, she had appeared the same as the rest. He hadn't planned this to happen, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. In his panic he brought her sleeping body to the gardener, he knew they were friends. He thought that perhaps being in the company of him, she wouldn't be so angry when she woke. But of course she would be, she was Sarah, His Sarah. He noticed himself smile at the thought, this dragged his attention to other things. What would happen when she woke up? Would she try to leave? Or would she come to him? What would he do when he saw her? Would he see rage or relief in her eyes?

"My darling Sarah, how you turn my world." With the flick of his wrist he summoned a crystal, as he peered into it, images from the night before played through his mind.

He spotted her instantly, her porcelain skin glowed compared to the lot of sleeping mortals. He knelt down beside her and brushed her hair away from her face. He merely starred, for what seemed an eternity, taking in every detail of her form. She was beautiful. He was pulled from his daze when he noticed she started to stir. He wasn't prepared for this, he didn't know she would be there. He picked her up and transported them both to Hoggle's cottage. He told the dwarf she was visiting and had had a long day and needed her sleep. Once back at the castle, he pondered the consequences of what he had done.

Back to reality, he brought an image of Sarah into the crystal. She was walking. My dear Sarah, where are you going? He wondered. He widened the view and saw her approaching a large gate. She's already made the second gate? What a clever girl. I wonder where she's going... He looked up from the crystal and shouted, "Hoggle!" The dwarf appeared before him in a poof of glitter.

"Yes? Your majesty." He gave an exaggerated bow. The king knew the creature cared little for him, and merely sneered at the display.

"Tell me, Hogwart, where is your dear guest?" He watched Hoggle shift uncomfortably.

"She left." He tried to give the king a firm stance.

"And where has she gone?" He sneered.

"Why do you care, your the one who brought her to me!" He saw from the sudden change in Jareth's demeanor that, that wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"I care because she is the Champion of the Labyrinth, and a guest in my realm! And further more any interest of the King is hardly a concern for the likes of the gardner!" Although he wasn't quite yelling, the fury in his voice was enough to silence the entire throne room.

There was a long pause. "She's coming, here. To see you." Was Hoggle's reply, defeat weighed his voice.

"Now was that so hard?" He said with a snake's grin before poofing him back to where ever he was. So, Sarah is coming to me...This good be something of fortune, or more likely, a complete disaster... Jareth took another look in the crystal. She's already well past the second gate. She should be here within the hour, I can wait... He sat for a moment tapping his finger before tearing his gaze from the crystal and smashing it to the ground leaving a puff of glitter. When the smoke cleared there was nothing but sparkles and a lonely riding crop.

Sarah walked along the stone path of the labyrinth. It had been five years since she last saw these walls, and yet she felt as though it had only been yesterday. She was strangely at ease here, she should be confused, afraid, and pissed off. Yet, she felt none of these things. She was simply walking along as if it was part of her daily routine.

"Care to spare an old man some coin?" Came a voice from behind her. Sarah turned around to see a lowly man in a heap of cloth and a wide hat. Sarah slowly approached the man, weary of what happened the last time this happened.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any money. Where you here this whole time? I didn't see you when I first walked by." She tried to get a good look at his face, but it was masked by the shadows of the hat. She knelt down to see him better.

"It's hard to see nothing isn't it?" He didn't move. What a sad creature, she thought.

"Somethings aren't always as they seem, it only means people have to look a little harder." She replied with a friendly grin.

"You are a wise woman." He said, tilting his head slightly. Sarah's smile widened.

"I've done a lot of growing up these past years." She reached for her bracelet. "Like I said, I don't have any money, but maybe this is worth something." She unclipped her bracelet and dropped it in his cup before she stood to leave.

"You have a large heart Madam." He said to her.

"And maybe one day I'll learn how to use it." She snickered before turning to head towards the castle.

"Excuse me miss? You are mortal are you not?" He called out to her.

"Uh, yea. Why?" She turned, a confused and interested look on her face.

"There are no mortals in the Underground, aside from runners. I can tell you're not a runner, so you must be here for the festival...Which leads me to ask, why are you so far out in the Labyrinth?" She took in his words like a vacuum. What? This man must know what's going on here, why I'm here. Her stance became serious as she turned around to fully face the hooded figure.

"Care to explain further?" She asked him. She tried not to seem angry, but the stern look on her face and the way her body tensed said otherwise.

"There is a festival, every ten years. The Labyrinth chooses a select number of mortals from the Aboveground. Mortals who are linked to the magic of this place. It chooses these mortals, and if their sole accepts it, the Labyrinth takes them to the Underground to become a part of this world. But the Ball isn't until tomorrow. Forgive me, it is no place of mine, but I'm just confused as to what you are doing out here." There was silence for a moment as Sarah's brain digested everything she had just heard. Well, that pretty much explains everything..Everything except for Jareth...If what this old beggar said was true, then Jareth hadn't kidnapped her, and none of this was his fault. Although she was still angry about all this, she could no longer blame Jareth for it. As she came to this realization she lost focus. Without a path, without a goal, she couldn't remain calm about everything that was happening to her. Up until this point she had been focused on the sole fact that Jareth was responsible and she would make him undo it one way or another. the idea of ripping him to pieces was all that kept her going. And now this? What was she to make of her new situation?

"You said something about there being a -Ball tomorrow?" She finally asked.

"Yes, it is a most grand event in which all of the Underground celebrates its new inhabitants." He calmly replied.

"And how do I get to this Ball, which I have only just now found out exists?" She demanded.

"That I do not know my lady, I am but a lowly beggar." He shrugged. Sarah couldn't be mad at this man, not with all the information he had given her. She leaned against the wall of the Labyrinth in thought. She couldn't go to Jareth now. While she still had questions, she still didn't understand why he had brought her to Hoggle's. And the theory that it might not be safe for her seemed more and more possible. Refusing to worry herself further she decided to return to Hoggle's cottage. If it was true, if there was a Ball the next night, she was sure she would find her way there one way or another and get the answers she needed.

"Thank you, you've been loads of help. I'm sorry but I have to go now." She quickly turned and headed down the path from whence she came, a flustered mess of both contentment and confusion.

Jareth watched as Sarah returned down the path she had come from, Both relieved and disappointed. Part of him wished she had continued towards the castle. But he noticed the anger leave her face after hearing his explanation, and could only be happy her rage was no longer directed at him. As he watched her walk he thought of the Ball, there was so much he wanted to tell her. But she had enough answers to get her through until then. When she was out of site he stood and removed his disguise. He conjured a crystal and with a swoop of his cape, vanished in a sparkling cloud.