A/N: I do not own Labyrinth
HAUNTED
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The water in Sarah's bath was starting to grow cold, and the bubbles were long gone. She was not eager to get out, and risk running into him again. She had already decided that there was no way in hell she was going to join him for lunch, so she took a deep breath, and sank down beneath the water. Maybe if she dawdled long enough, he would just forget it, and let her be for a while.
A firm tug on her hair had her back on the surface, sputtering and shaking the water out of her face. She looked around to see a tiny, ancient goblin releasing it's grip on her hair.
"Time to get out, Lady. The king wants you now," the goblin said in a high, squeaky voice. It scampered over to a chair, and seized a large, fluffy towel, and came back to the edge of the tub, holding it outstretched in it's little arms.
"Tell the king that I don't want to see him," she said stubbornly, crossing her slippery arms. The little goblin's big brown eyes grew even bigger, and it shook it's head. It had a thick mane of white hair, that flew around wildly as it was shaken.
"No, no, no, Lady. Swimp will get in trouble if she doesn't get you ready. King Jareth will bog me!" she said, her voice taking on an octave Sarah would have never thought possible. She felt bad for this little goblin. It certainly didn't deserve to be punished because of her. She sighed, and slowly got out of the tub, and wrapped the towel around herself. Swimp smiled, and seized her hand, leading her out of the bathroom. She held the towel firmly around herself as they passed through Jareth's room. She was pulled into her room, and pushed down onto her bed.
She watched in fascination as the little goblin moved around her room, quickly grabbing various garments. She swaggered back over to the bed, her small arms piled high with clothing. She threw it down, and pulled Sarah back to her feet. Swimp handed her a pair of white lacy pants, which she pulled on quickly. Quick as a flash, Swimp had a corset around her middle, and was pulling it tight.
"No freaking way! Take this medival torture device off me," she choked out, as Swimp pulled tighter. She could feel the goblin tieing the strings, and she looked down at herself. Her waist had shrunken considerably, giving her an unatural shape. She could scarcely breathe, and she felt lightheaded.
"Sorry my lady, his majesty insists," Swimp said, thrusting a chemise at her. She sighed, and pulled it over her head. The old goblin smiled, and handed her a white silk gown. She carefully stepped into it, and pulled it up. Swimp jumped up on the bed, and fastened the buttons running up the back. She then hopped back down, and led Sarah over to the vanity, and sat her down before the mirror. She grabbed hold of the short, damp locks, and began twisting them, weaving them to the back of her head.
"I don't see why Jareth cares so much about how I look," she mumbled as Swimp started powdering her face. The little goblin smiled, took out a stick of eyeliner, and starting applying it.
"His majesty has rules, milady. Even Princess Karei had to follow them."
"Princess Karei? Who's she?" Sarah asked, trying not to blink.
"King Jareth's sister, of course. We aren't 'sposed to speak of her anymore, but I took care of her since she was no older than you, Lady. She was very good to Swimp, never hit or kicked me," she said, gently brushing glittery white eyeshadow onto her eyes. Sarah was surprised. She couldn't picture Jareth as a big brother, carrying a baby around, playing games with a child.
"So what happened to her?" Sarah asked after allowing Swimp to apply red lipstick.
"She left, decided to become mortal. It hurt Jareth, it did, he was never the same again. He didn't say it often, but his little sister was very dear to him." Swimp reached into a drawer, and pulled out a pretty tiara, made of delicate silver leaves. She set it gently on Sarah's dark head. "Have a look, Lady. Swimp will take good care of Jareth's pretty lady, she will."
Sarah rose, and inspected herself. The gown was beautiful, with long, flowing sleeves, and a low cut, square neck that showed the tops of her breasts. She had to admire her hair, how Swimp managed to make it look so elegant was beyond her. She gave the goblin woman a weak smile, causing the little creature to beam. She grabbed Sarah's hand, and led her out the door, and down the twisting stairs...
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Karen was beginning to get the feeling that she and Linda were lost. She knew the Labyrinth frequently changed, but they still seemed to be going in circles. She felt Linda's hard golden eyes on her, and turned her gaze to the dark haired woman. "Yes?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"How's Robert been doing?" she questioned, looking away from her pointedly. Karen sighed. Her worst fears seemed about to be realized.
"He's fine. We've been very happy the last three years," she said, trying to keep her voice devoid of emotion.
"I'm glad. I hurt him so much, he deserves someone like you," Linda said, not bothering to hide her distress, "I left him and Sarah to run off with a handsome, wealthy stranger like some... over priced hooker, I deserve everything that's happened to me."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Linda. Jareth can be very charming when he wants to be. He's clever, and knows just how to tempt you, how to make you do whatever he wants. You aren't the first woman to be taken in by him, Linda, and you won't be the last."
Linda kept trudging along; there was obviously something else that was bothering her. She stared at the ground, glancing over to her companion every few seconds. "Karen?" she finally asked.
"Hmm...? she said, staring at a crystal she had just summoned.
"About Sarah... does she... does she hate me?"
"Why would you ask something like that?" Karen asked, staring at her.
"Because I abandoned her. She was still so very young, and she had to spend the most difficult time of her life without her mother."
Karen looked at her, her eyes not really seeing the woman before her. She remembered the day she and Robert got married, Sarah's disdain for the new edition to her family. She would never as long as she lived forget the words she had said to Robert's mother when she commented to Sarah about how glad she should be to have a new mother. She had said "Daddy has a new wife, I do not have a new mother."
"No, she doesn't hate you," she said finally, "If anything, she hates me, but she doesn't hate you."
Linda seemed to cheer up a bit, but took notice of Karen's sudden sullen face. "I didn't really think so. Sarah's a sweet kid, she doesn't really have it in her to hate. Especially not someone who obviously cares about her." Karen smiled a bit, and looked around at the stone maze all around them.
"I think we're lost," she said, much to Linda's horror.
"You're kidding! I thought you said that you'd been through this thing before!" she shrieked.
"It's been a few hundred years, I was ten."
"Well, you might have mentioned that!" Linda snapped. Karen kept looking around, trying to locate the castle. She didn't recognize this part of the Labyrinth, but the walls were too high to see exactly were the castle was. She heard a low growl coming from nearby. Linda obviously heard it too, because she grabbed on to Karen's arm with frightening grip. "What on God's green earth was that?" she squealed.
"If I know Jareth, it's probably some big nasty thing that wants to kill us," Karen said casually. Linda's eyes grew wide, and she tightened her grip on Karen's arm.
"Get us out of here! Let's find the kids and get out of this hell!" she squeaked.
"All right, all right, just let me think. I can't transport unless Jareth takes down the barrier, and he'll only do that if he needs to leave the castle..." a gleam suddenly appeared in her eyes, a smirk on her lips. Linda noticed it, and got excited.
"You have a plan?"
"Yes, but first we need to trigger an alarm."
"Why would we do that?"
"If Jareth finds out we're here, and we evade his guards long enough, he'll eventually have to come get us himself. And to do that, he'll have to take down the barrier. When he does, we go to the castle, grab Toby and Sarah, and we're gone before he knows what's happened."
"Brilliant! Now how do we trigger an alarm?"
"We need to find a goblin..."
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Nuala appeared in front of Nevine's dilapidated shop, trying not to breathe in the fumes. She hadn't been here for years, not since her apprenticeship with him ended. She only hoped he could help her.
She pushed aside the curtain covering the door, and stepped into the cramped, overly warm shack. Hundreds of bottles and vials of various shapes and sizes were littering every surface, his cart was pushed up into a corner.
"Who's there?" a creaky old voice called from the back room. The tall, thin old man lurched into the shop, and looked at his customer. His wrinkled face lit up with a smile. "Nuala, my girl, how good to see you! It's been entirely too long!" he said, giving his former protege a warm embrace.
"It's good to see you too, Nevine, but I'm afraid this isn't a casual visit. I need something from you."
"Of course, of course, take your pick. Anything you want is free, no charge."
"That's very generous of you, but I couldn't do that..."
"Nonsense! I don't charge old students!"
"I need the cure for the Immortality Draft."
Nevine frowned, and looked around sheepishly. "I'm afraid I don't have any of that, Nuala. My last three bottles were stolen two days ago, and as you know, a new batch takes seven years to brew."
"Stolen? Do you know who stole it, where I can find them?"
"I did get a look at them, as a matter of fact. It was a goblin," he said casting her a sidelong glance.
"A goblin?"
"And three guesses who probably sent it..."
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A/N: All the pieces are starting to fall into place for the final showdown. Will Jareth reign victorious, or will Karen and Linda snake Sarah and Toby from right under his nose?
Leave a review, and find out soon. If not... well who knows?