CHAPTER 3
"I'm dreaming, I have to be. This can't be real...I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming..."
Near trembling, Sarah's hands crept up to her face shielding her sight from the familiar landscape before her. She knew it was childish, but perhaps if she wished hard enough maybe the universe would take her side for once and she'd wake up, head on the desk with a question sheet stuck to her face.
"Come now, Sarah I thought we'd already established that you're 'not in Kansas anymore'."
Whipping around at near lightning speed, Sarah glared heatedly at the Goblin King as he laughed. Hands now by her side and fists clenched, she could barely find the words to speak. Too much had happened at once for her to think straight and she could all but physically feel her emotions pulsing through her.
"You think that's funny?" she hissed through gritted teeth "Take me home. Now."
Simply smirking in response, Jareth studied the young woman before him, her anger mere amusement to him. He watched in silence as she attempted to stare him out but could not help but take sideways glances to her surroundings. It was surreal –like a memory from a dream and almost exactly how she remembered it.
"I'm waiting."
"Well you may be waiting a long while then, my dear."
Sighing inwardly in frustration, Sarah turned, moving closer to the naked tree nearby tempted to reach out and touch it, just to prove that it was real. However she could feel Jareth's eyes on her and not wishing to give him even the slightest inch of satisfaction, she simply stared into the distance, her gaze falling upon the castle situated in the centre of the vast space. Surely he can't expect me to run his Labyrinth again? The thought ran through her head silently. But would that be the better option? At least the Labyrinth was somewhat familiar and she wouldn't be going anywhere with him. Tucking a piece of windblown hair behind her ear, Sarah could not help but let her mind wander to thoughts of the Labyrinth the first time around. So many twists, turns and traps she was surprised she had managed it at only fifteen. Well, I did have help I guess. Heart sinking, her mind stopped dead. I had help...Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus, how could I have forgotten?
"My friends, wha-"
"It's warmer inside, you know."
Finally breaking his silence, all mirth from Jareth's expression had faded and was replaced with one of slight boredom, if not intrigue- she was so very interesting to watch. He did not look in her direction as he walked past her waiting only for the confused gasp that she would emit within the next five seconds. Unsure as to what would happen next, Sarah turned as he walked and found the sight she was greeted with was not the castle in the distance, but the stone throne room she had seen once before towards the end of her climactic journey.
"How did you..?"
Ignoring her, Jareth simply sat upon his throne, leg cocked up on the arm in arrogance leaving her to stare at him, dumbfounded. Unlike most of the time, the room was now empty, with Jareth ordering away his minions in light of the arrival of his visitor. However, he also could not help but notice how clean it was whilst it was lacking goblins and small animals. His thoughts were broken by Sarah's words, her jaw now off the floor and her gaze hard.
"What happened to my friends?"
Feigning ignorance, Jareth's lips upturned slowly into a cold smirk. It was just too easy to torment her, something he would gladly continue.
"Friends?"
"Yes, Hogg-"
"Oh, you mean Hedgewart, the monster and the little dog?"
Sarah rolled her eyes. Clearly he was just being difficult.
"They have names, you know."
"Had names."
Certain she had heard him wrong, Sarah said nothing as her mind worked slower than her ears.
"What do you mean? " Had names? Surely he couldn't mean- "Where are they?"
Jareth's eyes flashed with amusement at her desperation, a sneer forming upon his face as he faked indifference.
"Calm yourself, Sarah."
Resenting the fact he was enjoying her ignorance, Sarah tried in vain to tame her agitation, eyes closed as she controlled her breathing. He is playing with you Sarah, trying to see what will make you tick – don't give into his torment.
But what if he isn't? Her mind replied unwillingly. Her words were slower now, more composed. She was no longer a child and therefore would not act like one. She prayed he would do the same.
"Where are they?"
Rising from his seat, Jareth stood upon the top step looking haughtily downwards.
"Well, they committed treason by helping you didn't they?"
"So?" Sarah exclaimed, exasperated at his demeanour. He was like a cat toying with a mouse before eating it and the last thing she wanted to be right now was the mouse.
"Well you see Sarah, in the Underground treason is punishable by death."
"You're lying."
"You underestimate me, Sarah."
Blinking like a deer in headlights, Sarah struggled to comprehend the words just spoken at her. He was lying, he had to be. But the wide eyed expression and foul smirk painted on his face spoke otherwise. It was at that moment when Sarah begun to feel pure hatred bubble up inside her, something like she had never even dreamt of feeling before – how could he possibly be so cruel?
If only she could have spoken, or even just seen them one last time - then what? Her mind asked her. You forgot them, you let them down. Was she any better than him? They'd still be alive if I had my way, she thought, angrily. But they may as well have been dead to her - the last contact she had made was nearly three years ago, no way to treat friends. Finally, she found the words to speak.
"You're a monster."
Jareth could not help but ask himself why he was enjoying this so much. He had brought her here for her to adore him, yet all he was doing was angering her further. But he knew that he loved the fire inside her and after all, total submission from her would mean no fun for him. He descended down the stone steps with ease and more grace a prima ballerina would show in her lifetime and stopped short of Sarah. He relished in her involuntary steps backwards, his installation of fear sending jolts of electricity through his veins.
"Come now Sarah, you are being ungrateful. Please understand that you are my guest and I will give you everything you could ever want. "
He extended a hand to reach out to touch her hair but thought better of it, turning his attention to the nearby window, his gaze falling over the city below them.
"You will live like a Queen in a world you've always dreamed of and all I need from you is to bow to my will.
"I won't."
Jareth laughed coldly.
"Is that so?"
And finally, Sarah snapped. Eyes blazing and mind on fire, her words fell out of her mouth a tinge of hysteria hidden in their syllables.
"You're a cruel, vile man who acts like a spoiled child and seems to care for no one but himself. Hell will have to freeze over twice before I'd even consider staying here and I certainly will never 'bow to your will'. You disgust me."
Jareth's eyes flashed with anger but it subsided as quickly as it had been created and was replaced with the familiar self satisfied smirk the he was so accustomed to. Sarah's defiance was childish but understandable, of course she had no idea what lay in store for her.
"You are still mine, Sarah."
"I am not YOURS!"
Anger clouding her judgement, Sarah reached out to slap the man before her, eager to cause him pain, but Jareth was too quick; grabbing her wrist sharply, inches away from his face. Eyes wide in disbelief and fury, Jareth simply stared down, tightening his grip and unable to speak.
Unsure of what she had just attempted, the sinking feeling in Sarah's stomach had just intensified beyond belief leaving her a shadow of the wilful person she thought she was moments ago - even she recognised that she had crossed a line. After what seemed like a lifetime Jareth finally released her yet he did not drop his gaze, his unequal eyes boring into hers.
"Fine. If you wish to act like an animal, then you will live like one. Tolbas!"
Jareth's stare lifted and looked beyond Sarah at the new arrival in the room, Sarah turning to do the same, a small choke of terror caught in her throat as she did so. Stood behind them both was a person she had never seen before, not during her first time in the Labyrinth anyway. He was dressed in chainmail with an armoured shoulder plate and a sword attached to the holder on his waist.
He was easily as tall as Jareth but unlike Jareth's svelte physique, Tolbas seemed to be nearly twice the size – chest broad and arms wide. His hair was blonde also, but a more normal shade and cut short resembling the Second World War soldiers Sarah had seen in her history textbooks. But what perhaps was his most intimidating feature was his face.
He could have been perceived as handsome, maybe even beautiful but the thick, ugly, red scar that descended angrily down the left side of his face, dragging the corner of his mouth slightly down with it prevented it for being so. And his eyes; so cold and gray, for some unknown reason Sarah almost felt pity for him.
"Take Sarah-" her name sounded forced, like acid on his tongue and as if he were fighting back another word "-to the West Oubliette. Three days will perhaps teach her a lesson or two in manners."
And suddenly Sarah could feel a less than gentle grip on her arm, her body being dragged away from Jareth and the smug look painted onto his face. Before she could even comprehend what was happening or even try to form a coherent sentence she was being led through the stone archway, the door closing loudly behind them.
As they walked Sarah could feel the grip on her arm loosening slightly, but not enough for her to breakaway just simply enough to lessen the angry bruises that would appear the next day. Sarah tried to keep her gaze ahead of her, making mental notes of the twists, turns and steps they had gone through but after 15 minutes she knew she had attempted the impossible. The silence was thick, only the echoes of their footsteps bouncing off the walls – it gave her a chance to think. She was sure she had been to an oubliette before and it had been Hoggle who had explained it to her. It's a place for people to forget about them. Was he just going to leave her there? Weren't you listening? He said three days, her mind scolded. But still, three days was a far too long time to be left alone in the dark. Would it be cold too? As her brain began to kick into survival mode she had missed the fact that they had come to a stop, an open door facing her. She looked up to Tolbas beside her, trying in vain to meet his eye, perhaps to appeal to his more human side but he simply kept his stare ahead pressing his hand in between Sarah's shoulder blades and pushing her through the open door and into the darkness.
She did not fall, but Sarah stumbled awkwardly into the shadows as he pushed her, whipping back around at the last small glimmer of light.
"Wait, no-"
But the door slammed shut. She did nothing for a few seconds, listening carefully for returning footsteps but soon sadly realised they were not coming back.
The darkness was horrific.
Even as she stood motionless she could feel it beginning to creep around her, swirling like an ocean, rising higher and higher until it began to choke her. Moving blindly, Sarah took small tentative steps in the hope of orientating herself but came quickly into contact with a wall any direction she chose. It could not be bigger than the pantry back at home. Sarah sat down slowly upon the stone floor and wept. She had not cried for years, she had not even cried at the death of her grandpa, something her stepmother had branded her 'stone cold' for, but this was too much. And what of her Father? How would he feel when his only daughter had just disappeared for no reason whatsoever?
It's not fair.
As the time passed, her eyes dried and began to adjust to the tiny space thanks to a small ray of light descending from above her. That must be the other way in, she thought sullenly. She had come through that way last time after receiving little help from the so called 'helping hands'. Falling on her knees sure did hurt a lot. Her mind began to backtrack over those events, the image of two strange two headed creatures behind shields appearing. Rubbing her face in fatigue, Sarah could not help but laugh weakly at the ridiculousness of the two door riddle. One of them leads to the castle at the centre of the Labyrinth, and the other one leads to certain death.
And then it struck her, she had chosen wrong all that time ago. The door she had chosen had led to an oubliette which, after time would have led to certain death – if not for Hoggle. Sarah winced inwardly at the thought of her friend, she would need actual proof before she would believe Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus were gone but still, the idea chilled her to the bone.
Three days passed without event, Sarah finding that the only way to crush the boredom and lack of social interaction was by going over her calculus notes in her mind. She would get an A for sure if she left this place. If. But three days without food or water had made for poor concentration with Sarah discovering her head span more than it stayed still. With a stomach ache like she had never felt before and a mouth dryer than the Sahara desert, Sarah laid sprawled out across the stone floor, too weak to move simply watching the strange shapes dancing in front of her in the dark. She could see Toby playing with a toy fire truck, eyes lighting up as he did so. His 'vroom vrooms' and 'neenaws' couldn't help but put a smile on her face, she did love her baby brother so.
"Come here, Toby.."
But then he was gone and instead, she was presented with light, too bright for her eyes. She found she was no longer cheek down on the stone floor but propped up, an arm snaked around her waist preventing her from being united with the ground once more.
She could hear voices too but they were muffled. Sarah was sure she was underwater, but why? Was she dead? What happened last that she could recall? There was her room, then her Father, then Jareth..
"I think that's enough. Please take her to a room in the East wing."
Sarah was sure she was being spoken about but it did not matter anymore, her head felt like it was made of lead and her body was no longer within her control. Her eyelids began to droop and then, nothing.
A/N I have been overwhelmed by the amount of favourites and story alerts, literally cannot thank you guys enough! I am off to Ireland now until Monday for a wedding (in which I am singing at, eep!) and will start on chapter 4 when I return. Please don't forget to review, I'd love to know what you think :)