...Jareth laughed softly. "It isn't as easy as that, Kate. You are
Sarah's relation, after all."
Kate didn't like the sounds of this. "W...what do you mean?"
Jareth folded his arms over his chest and gave her an amused little
smirk. He seemed to be getting great delight over watching her
squirm. Kate realized that the man - if she could even remotely call
him that - who stood before her now was exactly like Aunt Sarah had
said he was. The arrogance, the coldness, all of this combined made
up the infamous Goblin King, who had tormented her aunt and Uncle
Toby so long ago. Kate had always wondered why her aunt hadn't stayed
in the Labyrinth, hadn't accepted Jareth's offer. As a child, he had
seemed both heroic and mysterious, both good and evil. He was
something to be frightened of, warned against, and yet at the same
time utterly captivating. Yet now as she stood here, she realized
that maybe she should have listened to her aunt's warnings.
"You...you can't keep me here!" She cried. "You have no reason. I am
nobody to you..."
"You are Sarah's niece," Jareth whispered softly, as if that answered
everything. He was staring at her in a way he hadn't before, his eyes
searching her face intensely. Kate had the feeling that he was trying
to look into her very soul, as if by doing so he could find some
small trace of her aunt.
"Look," she began again, calmer this time. "I am no good to you. I'm
not Sarah and I never will be. I'm not anything like her, really."
Jareth cocked a brow. "I'll be the judge of that, my dear."
This rendered Kate momentarily speechless. She had no idea what to
say to this man, who himself seemed to have a very clever answer to
practically everything. She had just opened her mouth to speak when
Jareth snapped his fingers and she found herself in another room.
This had to be the Throne Room. Kate blinked a couple times, slightly
dazed. It was strange, going from one room to the next in a split
second. She didn't think she liked it very much.
Shaking off the odd sensation, she looked around the room. It was
large and everything in it was gray stone - gray stone floors, gray
stone walls. There was an ornate throne-like chair at the far end of
the room, and Kate guessed this was where Jareth ruled.
A thought struck her suddenly, that since her arrival in the
Labyrinth, she hadn't seen a goblin. In all the stories Aunt Sarah
had told, the kingdom had been full of them. Yet the castle seemed
quiet, and surprisingly empty.
"So, Kate, what do you think of my humble abode?" Jareth whispered
from somewhere behind her. She thought she felt his warm breath on
the back of her neck, but when she turned around, he was seated in
his chair, holding a long cane with a small crystal atop it.
"Where are all the goblins?" She asked, her eyes searching the
corners of the rooms for any sign of them, but all she spotted were
some cobwebs.
Jareth's jaw tightened. "Around. I shouldn't think a young girl like
you would be interested in those creatures."
"Some of them were my aunt's friends," Kate went on softly, more to
herself than to him. "I would expect to see them here. It's funny,
I've forgotten their names."
"But you haven't forgotten mine."
At this, Kate flushed pink. The Goblin King was giving her a knowing
look, and she wondered exactly how much he knew about her. Probably
way too much.
As if reading her mind, Jareth said, "A girl dressed in scarlet silk,
in a room filled with strangers who don't even see her. She searches
for something - someone - though she doesn't even understand. It's a
dream, but not just any dream, you see. Because this dream comes from
deep within her, and it's all her hopes and fantasies combined."
Kate took a step back. "How do you know about that?" She demanded in
a shaking voice.
Jareth shrugged. "I told you I know everything about you."
"That is personal. It's my dream. How dare you get inside my head
like that."
Jareth tsked. "Temper, temper."
"How dare you!" She said again, because she couldn't think of
anything else to say. She felt hot tears welling up in her eyes, and
she hated herself for it. She refused to shed them. She refused to
ever let the Goblin King make her cry.
Rising slowly from his throne, he took a few steps toward her. "I
know more than you could ever imagine," he taunted. "I - "
All of a sudden, Jareth doubled over, pain contorting his face. He
groaned softly.
Kate stood there watching him a moment, a mix of fear and surprise
coarsing through her. Jareth groaned again, nearly crumpling to the
floor. Taking a step forward, Kate asked, "Are you okay?"
"Guards!" He bellowed. The doors of the Throne Room burst open a
three goblins rushed in. They were short and fat, with warts covering
their faces and crooked little teeth pointing here and there.
"Get her out of here!" He yelled.
At his command, all three goblins grabbed Kate by the arms and
roughly pulled her from the room.
She struggled a minute. "Hey, wait! Stop!" She screamed, but it did
no good. They dragged her down a long hallway and threw her into a
room, slamming the door shut behind her.