Chapter 2
The trek across town had been a tough one for the three of them, so unfamiliar with the Aboveground. After a while, though, they realized the streets functioned like the paths of the Labyrinth and were able to locate a bus route that would take them to the city in which Sarah was staying for college. Frowning, Hoggle eyed the bus stop and held the others back while he watched how they boarded and bartered their travel costs.
Sighing, he looked around until he spotted what he needed. Motioning for the others to stay in place, he hurriedly crossed the street and stepped inside the small pawn shop. Another gentlemen looked up from a paper behind the counter and rose with a smile on his face. "Morning. What can I do for you?"
He forced a sad smile on his face and tugged on the red pouch at his hip. "I'd like to sell these."
Several hours later, they were fed and stepping off a bus in the town that Sarah now lived. Following the directions of kind strangers, they finally found the dormitory she was rooming in. Looking up at the impressive structure, they followed the student organizer to a numbered door, steeling themselves.
Hoggle took it upon himself to knock.
The door swung open and Hoggle stared, his eyes watering with relief and emotion, at seeing Sarah standing there.
Confusion along with wariness flickered in her gaze as she took the three of them in but she plastered on a friendly smile after a few seconds. "Can I help you?"
"You said...once...if you ever needed us..." Hoggle started, when the others didn't say anything behind him. He swallowed and continued. "Well, Sarah, it seems we need you this time."
Sarah had gone deathly quiet, her eyes freezing as she stared.
When he thought all hope was lost and was about to turn away, he heard her whisper, "Hoggle? Is that you?"
Hoggle nodded and smiled with relief when she hugged him. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to look for you." He replied.
Letting him go, Sarah looked at the other two. "Didymus?"
"My lady," the knight responded as he bowed.
"Ludo?"
"Sarwah" Ludo walked over and picked her up in a warm hug. "Sarwah safe."
Chuckling she hugged him back. "It's good to see you too, big guy." She pulled free of his strong embrace and looked at all three of them. "I can't believe you're really here."
"I wish it were under better circumstances my Lady. We are in need of your assistance."
Sarah looked around the hall and quickly ushered them in her room. "I'm not really supposed to have guys in my room, but we need to be talk in private." She said as she closed the door. "Now tell me what's going on and why do you look human?"
"We had to in order to come here, couldn't exactly go about looking like we usually do," Hoggle tried to explain with a small smile, but it failed halfway in forming. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his brow as he and the others crammed in the small room Sarah called home. "Jareth's been taken. We don't know by who, but we came because we can't keep the Labyrinth unguarded. We have to get him back. Now I'm no fan of Jareth, but he keeps worse things out from the place, so we deal with his mood swings. Have you...ya know...talked to him at all since the whole...event?"
Sarah shook her head. "No last time I saw him was the Escher room. I've seen a barn owl watching me occasionally and wondered if it was him, but I don't know if it was. I really wish I could help you, but I have no clue where to find the King either."
"Fair maiden, thou are the champion. Could you perhaps use your magic?" Didymus inquired.
Sarah blinked, laughing nervously as her eyes shifted between the two of them. "What...what are you talking about?"
Hoggle frowned, glancing back at the others, and Didymus patiently explained. "My lady, you bested the Labyrinth and it's King. In the eyes of the land, you are his equal. You have magic." He motioned for her to use it, explaining how magic worked from what he'd been told, despite not being able to wield it himself.
Sarah seemed unconvinced but closed her eyes like he asked and held out her hand. "Show me the Goblin King...right now," willing a crystal with her thoughts into her hand. She rolled her eyes, thinking it didn't work, and opened them to see the others gawking at her in shock and awe. Looking down at her hand, she yelped and almost dropped the perfectly formed crystal.
What she saw inside had her stomach dropping. There sitting on a dirt floor was the Goblin King. His wrists, ankles, and neck were blood red where the shackles were. She thought she could even see a blood stain on the collar of his shirt. He looked completely defeated and broken. "Jareth..." Sarah said his name as she covered her mouth in shock. She could hardly believe the man in the crystal was the Goblin King "Who could do such a thing?"
"We don't know. All we know is there was a child wished away, Squirt went with the King to get the child, and it turned out to be a trap." Hoggle explained.
"My lady, given the King's current condition, might I suggest we make haste?"
"He's right. It looks like those shackles are iron." Hoggle agreed.
"I don't understand..." she looked back and forth between the two.
"Iron hurt." Ludo cried.
"Indeed," Didymus agreed. "Iron is deadly to most creatures in the Labyrinth, especially a fae like his majesty. If it gets into his blood he could quickly die from it."
"Holy fuck," she whispered, her eyes widening in horror. She looked at the crystal in her hand, feeling helpless. "Show me where the Goblin King is," she asked again, her voice strained.
The image blurred, only for it to reappear just the same. Frustrated, she tried again with the same results. Finally, she wished to see the nearest city road sign.
The crystal image blurred, then a town name appeared with the population. She jerked and sat up straighter, as did all the others.
"Why not just wish us there?" Hoggle asked, but Didymus answered with what was running through Sarah's mind.
"Because we must be cautious, brother. This suspect person was cunning enough to trap the King. We can't risk the Lady falling into the same fate."
Sarah had gone quiet and the crystal images flurried around: images of the town, the terrain, the people. She sat up straight and looked at the others.
"I think I have a plan."
In the cabin somewhere in middle America, Jareth was trying not to move. Moving made the pain worse. The iron had made his skin raw and bloody. He wasn't sure how long he'd been there but exhaustion was becoming a factor as well.
Sighing, his mind went to the one person it always seemed to think of, Sarah. Thinking back on how he had been the last ten years since he last saw her, he began to think that perhaps he deserved his current fate. His kind saw him as weak and now he had let a mere human capture him. The goblins would be better off without such a weak, foolish, heartbroken, King. He just wished he had been able to see Sarah, one last time.
He had watched her in his owl form many times, checking in to be sure she was safe. He could never bring himself to go to her or even send a message by goblin or one of her friends. He had wanted her to be his Queen, and still did. Now that idea was just a dream. He was very likely going to die in this place or wherever his new mistress decided to take him.
Hearing the door open, Jareth looked up to see his captor lead a tall dark-haired woman into the room. "There he is, Miss. The Goblin King, just as I promised."
"Why is he injured?" She demanded as she approached his cage.
"Had to keep him subdued. He's a powerful one, that he is. Tricky too."
"Idiot! Are you trying to kill my new pet?" The woman grabbed the iron rod from the table and opened the cage. "Iron will kill a Fae." Pulling the keys from her pocket, she unlocked his shackles. "Apologies my sweet, good help is hard to find."
Once the last shackle was removed he tried to use magic and found himself extremely weak. No magic came to his fingertips and the woman grinned as she slipped a new collar around his neck. This one was soft and covered with ancient runes. "Who are you?" Jareth demanded as he tried to fight her.
Once the collar was on him, she climbed out of the cage and dusted her legs off. "I'm Ellenor Madison, collector of all fine things, and as of today, you are part of my collection."
