Back in the castle, the first thing Sarah noticed was how the shadows in the room had changed and lengthened. "Damn him, he sped up time," she hissed, and hurried out of her rooms to where Hoggle awaited her, shifting from one foot to the other in impatience. They fled back down the stairs, only pausing at the door to the audience chamber, where the little boy was tended by goblins. One of the larger ones gave him a bottle, while four of the small ones held him up to drink. None of the taken children were ever harmed, so it had to be cow's or goat's milk.
Della and Thiel were somewhere else, and Sarah felt awful for neglecting their guests, but she had to get back to the runner before Jareth did something else to sabotage her. At least he'd warned his parents, and they understood that the runner had to come first.
Sarah followed the twinge that told her where the runner was – in the hedge maze, now, and close to the forest. Hoggle led her along tunnels and shortcuts, but she found that the kingdom itself opened the way to her. Umardelin wanted her to do this.
Her entrance this time was a little more dignified. They caught up to the runner just as she entered the forest, the walls looming above them. "Sorry it took so long," Sarah said, chagrined, as they approached. "The king's been messing around with time."
Amelia shied away from her. "Yeah, right. Get lost. I know who you really are."
Hoggle groaned and buried his face in his palm; Sarah just looked quizzical. "Of course you know. I'm the girl from the book. Amelia, what happened?"
Her face was full of betrayal, as only naïve youth could muster. "I saw him. He told me the truth. I should've guessed from the dress. You're not here to help me; you're gonna marry him and be the Queen."
Twenty minutes. I was gone twenty minutes. How in the hell can he cause so much chaos in twenty minutes? Sarah ground her teeth at that thought. It would likely be best to just to acknowledge his interference, but it was impossible not to vent a tad. "That slimy low-down back-stabbing interfering sonofa … no, I like his mom … jackass." She looked up at the sky, knowing he was watching via a crystal, and called aloud, "I should've known you would spin it in the worst possible light!"
Amelia looked at her with anger and a touch of curiosity, still. Sarah sighed, swearing vengeance for this. True, she should have known better and not ceded her advantage, but leaving Alix waiting could have caused it own issues. Regardless, now she'd have to deal with the fallout. "Okay, look, what he said is technically true. Yes, he and I are … yeah, we ended up together. But, Amelia, that doesn't have the first thing to do with me helping you. He told you exactly what he wanted to make you dismiss me. It's easier to get under your skin that way. I remember his little tactics: remember, he used them on me." The smirk that came to her lips at the memory came too easily. "In all of this, the tattle-tale bastard did neglect to make one thing clear: I am the Underground's Champion. He was just the free bonus, of his own choosing. I'm not going to be queen because I agreed to marry him. The truth is that I'm going to be queen because I solved the Labyrinth on one more than one occasion, and chose to stay."
A warning tingle across her tongue let her know she was approaching the limit of what Umardelin would let her say. All right, then. Boundaries understood.
Sarah took a step forward, holding out her hands. "Look, Amelia, I'm being as honest with you as I possibly can. I've already told you that I want you to win. Let me help you. I told you, the surroundings change from runner to runner. There's things that I can help you anticipate…"
Amelia wavered. "Why would you stay with him, anyway? I mean, yeah, he's hot. But he's evil, he steals children!" At that, Sarah gave her a sympathetic smile and opened her mouth to try to explain a little. Oh, it's a lot more complex than that, little girl.
"Only children that were wished away," said Jareth's voice just she was gearing up to try to defend him, and both of them startled to see him lounging along a tree branch above them. He spun a group of three crystals negligently in one hand, grinning down at them both. "It's hardly theft to take what is offered."
Her gaze was daggers when she swung around to face him, already feeling the hectic warmth of fury in her cheeks. If there had been anything breakable nearby, she'd be shying it at his huge, gloating head. It was too easy to remember then just how much she had hated him back then, the arrogant fop. At a moment like this, it was too easy to forget the recent past. "You have a point, but you're still a conceited, gossipy bastard," Sarah growled at him. "I would say you get points for taking advantage of my absence, but I knew you'd pull something like this. That's your typical modus operandi. Some things never change, your majesty."
"And some things do change, my lady," Jareth purred, swinging down from his perch with negligent ease. He never even faltered in spinning the crystals. "Such as yourself, and what you wanted from the Labyrinth. Once you only wanted to escape. Now you choose to remain and rule."
"I rule under my terms, Jareth, which means I can help the runners, if they're worthy," Sarah shot back. Amelia's intensity seemed to mark her as someone who'd immediately regretted wishing her son away, and as a social worker, Sarah had been trained to keep a child with his family if at all possible. She didn't believe the little boy was in any danger with Amelia; the young woman's mother-love was intense, and sincere.
He only scoffed. "Worthy? It is the run that proves them worthy, or worthless. I have little hope for this one." Jareth gave Amelia a disdainful look, but Sarah noticed that the girl braced up under it, in anger, rather than wilting. Good for you. Never let him win.
Meanwhile he paced closer to her, still smirking. "And as you well know, Sarah mine, I take every advantage of you. As often as physically possible."
As much as it set her off to have him attempt to undermine her with implications to their nocturnal enjoyments, Sarah made herself bank it to return his wicked grin. "Words are words are words, Goblin King. Speak all you like; taunting in front of her about what has come to pass between us changes not at all the fact that you have no power over me," she murmured with a piercing look. She knew that he would not enjoy that at all, all too aware that there would be consequences to him. It was petty to use it, truly, but it was looking like someone needed a reminder of just why Umardelin chose her.
Jareth flinched, but recovered to growl at her. "Ah, but Sarah, you have granted me certain powers, even as I granted some to you. And whether you like it or not, some of that power is over you." He flicked his hand at her, one of the spinning crystals leaping from his grip to expand like a soap-bubble. Sarah saw the opalescent sheen of his power, and instinctively reached for her own magic to defend against it.
Golden met iridescent, and burst into sparkles that littered the ground. "Not quite power enough," she crowed, baring her own teeth in a grin.
"Oh? I never meant to defeat you, precious," Jareth laughed. "Now, where is that runner of yours?"
"Shit!" Sarah snarled. Of course Amelia had run off in the middle of their confrontation. "Hoggle, a little help here?"
"The dwarf took his leave, too," Jareth informed her. "I wouldn't be surprised, if I were you. And now, to get back to the castle and watch that runner…"
That had her glaring hatefully at him, knowing she needed to catch up with Amelia, but warning him off, nonetheless. "You can watch, but you'll leave her be," she retorted. "I mean it, Jareth. We don't know what's already waiting for her. Don't make me fight you. I've beat you on this before; you know that."
"Sarah, Sarah," he sighed, shaking his head. "I will do my job as King of Umardelin. That, you cannot change." And then he turned himself into the owl, flying back to the castle.
Sarah sent curses in his wake, and stamped her way to the nearest tunnel.
…
Jareth landed in good humor at the castle, heading to the audience chamber to look over the child. Much to his surprise, he found his mother seated on the hay-strewn floor, the babe in her lap … and a throng of goblins around her. The little boy was tugging at Della's long golden hair and cooing happily. "Welcome back, son," Della chuckled. "You were conspicuously absent when this one needed changing, I notice."
"Some duties are best left to the goblins," he said, then added, "You'll ruin that dress, and Father will moan about it for weeks."
"Tch. As if I haven't magic enough to clean and repair it before he even sees it," she said easily. "How goes the runner?"
"That's precisely what I've come to see," he replied, stepping down into the central pit. It was easier, there, to summon a large seeing crystal, and all the goblins clustered around him as he watched.
The girl was in the forest, hopelessly lost. Good … for a given value of good. Jareth glanced again at the boy. He was bright-eyed, round and rosy-cheeked, despite the fact that his mother was not too much past the age Sarah had been when he first met her. Once it was common for women to become mothers that young, but in recent decades 'teen pregnancy' was spoken of with shame and concern.
Still, the boy was clearly happy and healthy, which spoke well of the young woman's maternal instincts. Or perhaps those of her own mother, who knew? The child was loved, and would be missed if the runner failed.
Jareth could only sigh. She had the hubris to wish her child away, she must win him back. And his role had always been clear: antagonist, adversary, villain. Even when he only appeared to offer the deal, they immediately knew him for their foe. Sarah seemed to be carving out her own role in opposition, and Umardelin was letting her.
As if his thought summoned her, one of the heavy flagstones grated aside and Sarah climbed into the room, dusting herself off. "I never thought I'd say this, but you need to send the cleaners through more often," she grumbled, swiping cobwebs off her shoulders. "Also: you're an ass."
He'd had about enough of that, and Jareth glared at her with opalescence in his eyes. "I am a King," he retorted, and the words echoed in the room, making poor Matilda flap her wings in consternation. "I do what is needful in my realm, Sarai."
Her chin had gone up at his assertion. "And the Labyrinth decided that I'm Queen, Jareth," she shot back, striding toward him. "This one deserves to get her son back. Look at him, look at her – I know what abuse and neglect look like, and this isn't it! So get the hell out of my way, or so help me, I'll…"
Unfortunately, from the moment she pronounced herself queen, Sarah had fairly glowed with righteous determination – and golden power. Jareth could only respond one way to her eternal defiance, his own anger boiling hot at her obstructions.
He seized the front of her gown, yanked her close, and kissed her, hard.
Sarah's furious words died against his mouth, before resurfacing in a growl as she bit his lip. He tangled his free hand in her raven hair, savoring the hot live tension of her, feeling her resistance and her desire wound around each other. Only with Sarah was it ever like this. Any other woman who tried to defy him – Lyselle in particular – only seemed petulant and petty. Only Sarah burned this fiercely, until he didn't mind being singed so long as he could warm himself at her flame.
She tugged herself free of him, punched him hard on the shoulder, and then kissed him again. Jareth laughed against her mouth, gladly, and Sarah shoved him away. "Dammit, you, fighting is not foreplay!"
"Actually, based on the evidence…" Della said, letting the sentence trail away, and reminding them both she was there.
Jareth groaned. "Mother, must you? In Sarah's realm they have a word for your consistently ill-timed interruptions."
"Shut it," Sarah muttered, elbowing him. She knew exactly what he had in mind. "Sorry, Della."
The fae queen rose, and the bits of hay and thankfully-unidentified dirt fell from her dress as she did. "Passion is rarely unwelcome in a relationship, as I well know. You amuse me, children." Her eyes sparkled with mirth, making it an in-joke and not lofty disdain.
Sarah held out her hands for the boy, and Della gave him over gently. Jareth watched as she looked the child over, noting the same things he had: clear evidence of good, loving care. It did surprise him how she cooed under her breath to soothe the little boy, and how her bold features softened into a gentle smile. She is good with children, he thought, and then shook his head. In her line of work, Sarah had to be. The girl who'd been so frustrated with her brother had grown into a deep tenderness.
And no wonder she was protective of the goblins. She saw them all as children, and did not realize most of them were adults now. It was rather difficult to tell, given the variety of their sizes and forms – Jareth himself still did not always know at first whether they were male or female.
Sarah looked up at him now, her eyes glinting fierce. "See? She loves him. Someone takes damn good care of him. We're not keeping this one."
Jareth scrubbed a hand over his face, sighing in frustration. "Sarah. I want her to win. And not merely to silence your sharp-edged tongue."
For a moment she could only blink, as Della beside them smirked and crossed her arms, watching with interest. Jareth took advantage of her bemusement to continue.
"I was being quite literal. I am doing my job. What yours will be, is between you and Umardelin. My role is adversary. I am the opposition against which the runners struggle; I am the Labyrinth's test personified. It is what they and Umardelin expect.
Sarah cocked her head at him. "Didn't you tell me, all through my last run, how you weren't my enemy, weren't the villain, weren't the bad guy? Over and over again?"
"Point to her," Della put in.
"Mother, hush," Jareth grumbled. "That was true, Sarah. In your case, all my efforts only made you more determined to succeed. There is a difference between evil and opposition."
Her eyebrow went up, and he scoffed at her. Time for a little more truth, bitter thought it would be. "Sarah, you know damned well that I am not evil. I shall take you round the goblin city and introduce you to Idirus, who is still spotted from the burns his mother and stepfather gave him with cigarettes. Or Zipar and Lirik, who are still spindly from being starved near to death. Or Lotacem, who lived all her life in a closet – except when her parents wished to sell her to perverts."
He saw her face go stony, and she held the little boy just a little tighter. There was hellfire in those green eyes of hers, and Jareth distantly thought the next such runner would find the Queen more frightening than the King, if they were foolish enough to pursue. More softly, Jareth continued, "The words need not always be precisely the same. If the child yearns to go somewhere, anywhere, else, and the parent or caretaker wishes they'd never been born, or never laid eyes on them, or simply wishes them gone … the goblins can intervene. And in those cases, the Labyrinth and I are not the piece of cake you experienced. Those skeletons in the oubliette are not mere props, Sarah."
He saw her throat work as she realized just what he meant – that he had killed, and considered it righteous, and neither apologized for it nor regretted it. Lotacem in particular, he'd listened to her mother scream for days, and never felt a drop of pity. It was a fitting punishment, though the oubliette was larger than the closet where she'd confined her child.
To the fae, who could not have children as easily or as often as they wished, such abuse was an abomination. And in Sarah's queasy expression, Jareth saw that she understood his wrath and vengeance completely – even as she herself was constrained in daily life by the rule of law. "What will you do if the runner is no fit guardian, Sarai?" he asked softly.
"Then I'll react accordingly," Sarah replied softly, cuddling the little boy closer. She'd been looking down as his soft innocent face as Jareth spoke, and with her words she met her king's gaze. "If they're shit-heels, well, they'll be dealt with. But if they're worthy … I got help. So should they."
He shrugged. "Did I ever say you could not aid them? No. Umardelin itself will stop you from going too far, but you may be guide and ally as your friends were to you. I will not ask you to do otherwise. But I will oppose you, Sarah. I must. It is my duty."
Sarah gave a wan little smile, and a quiet chuckle. "I'd expect nothing less. You are an ass, anyway."
"Not quite as magnificent an ass as yours," Jareth replied, smirking.
That did get an honest laugh from her. "I love you," Sarah said, and made the words acceptance of his role and forgiveness for transgressions against her own moral code – which he did not share.
"I'm so glad you've settled that," Della said.
They'd both been so intent on each other that they'd forgotten, again, that she was observing them. Jareth and Sarah both looked around, blinking owlishly at her.
Della clapped her hands briskly. "Well. If your runner is lost in the forest, and you've both stopped sniping at one another, perhaps you can spare an hour or two for fittings? Sarah, you have a coronation gown. And son, you do have a new suit of clothes yourself."
That startled more animation into Sarah, and she looked at Jareth sidelong. "Sure, if you'll keep an eye on his majesty for me. Just because it's his job doesn't mean I'm going to let him get away with stealing a march on me."
"Fine," Jareth said, with an exaggerated bow. "I will accept supervision to prevent further interference, but only if you do so. Mother, find Father for me and ask him to keep watch?"
Sarah scoffed. "So you're sending the man with me to a dress fitting? Great."
Della chuckled. "You chose me to supervise Jareth, likely because I can outfly him," she pointed out. "That leaves Thiel to watch over you. I assure you, he's no more interested in your underclothes than I am."
From the doorway came Thiel's voice. "I heard my name, but you seem to be discussing clothes, so surely you aren't seeking me."
"Poor man," Della chuckled.
