Chapter Five: Whole Again
The barrier warped. Jareth grabbed at his throat, coughing violently as he stumbled and hit against the wall. The world seemed to stretch this way and that all around him. The floor didn't seem to stay level as vertigo took a heavy hold of him. Tilting the world far too harshly. Spinning it to force him to his knees. And it worked.
He crashed down, slamming his knees on the hard stone floor. But he could hardly feel it through the shock that sliced around in his neck. His vision blurred, but not because of his condition. He could see part of the Upperground super imposed over his own surroundings. Crystal Moon, what the hell had happened! Then predictably came the voice of reason.
Another of the Sylph line. She whispered to him, her voice filled with sorrow. Decapitated by a flash blade. Jareth squeezed his eyes shut. A flash blade. A sliver razored disk that was excellent for quickly cutting down an enemy at mid range, when you're out of swords reach and an arrow would be to slow. It was one of his favoured weapons. So much so that he had gained the weapons name as his title.
Do you know how many are left? He focused on the barrier. Then, with great effort, he pulled his realm to one side and pushed the Upperground to the other. He was used to doing this, but again it was far too easy.
I'm afraid not, but judging from the weakness the barrier is showing, it can't be more than five, though three is probably more accurate.
The king squeezed his eyes shut. So few from such a noble line? How had so many families been destroyed without them even noticing hat was happening? Not so long ago, perhaps a century or two, Sylph blood had been easy to find in any country. There had been almost one thousand lines stemming from the Sylph King. Perhaps the two World Wars of the Upperground had eased the work for the murdering Aboveground denizen that now plagued them.
Sarah's a descendant of the Sylph King, he sent to his sister. But no doubt she'll be left till last.
How do you know this? Jareth could easily feel Celeste's shock at his statement.
She's the last of her line. Her family died in a car crash and only she survived because my Labyrinth awakened the magic within her. She'll be the most powerful one left so the Hunter won't want take any chances with her.
The Hunter? An appropriate label for this monster, though one far too glorifying. Then after a pause she whispered to him again. I think you should step up your courting of this mortal yet immortal girl. The more time she spends in your presence the better. I doubt the Hunter would even attempt to attack her with you at her side.
I'm casting a spell on her when she sleeps next so that I will be alerted if one sharing our heritage nears her with the intention to harm her.
Hmm. A good plan, but do you think we should rekindle the squad and bring this issue to the attention of the other kingdoms? Her question was unsure. She knew hat the other monarchs would say to such a claim, even though they could not help but feel what was happening to the barrier. He would have to convince them, and in doing so become what he once was.
We should defiantly bring my squadron back into action, but it will take a more severe rip in the barrier to make the pathetic young rulers of the other Kingdoms to see sense. Silently she agreed.
Magic flooded the Elvin Dwarfs senses. The rush of it made his head spin in the most wonderful way possible. He could feel the life in everything. Pulsing and strong. Vibrant yet subtle. And not just near him. Everywhere! Every creature! Every Kingdom! Every stronghold! Of it was so good to feel again. Then he felt the very thing he had spent fourteen centuries searching for.
His body.
Right under his nose. Here in the Goblin Kingdom. Well hidden in the place that he never would have gone without being forced to. An underground cavern. About twelve miles to the north west of here he stood now. It was alive, it was healthy, it was so much more powerful than the pathetic vessel he inhabited now. There was no decay of its flesh, no weakening of its magic, the hair and nails hadn't even grown. But there was one difference. One very useful difference.
It had gotten stronger. As though he had been honing his magic all this time. But even if he had been that would never have explained such a dramatic increase in strength. There were crystals all around it. He could not quite label them, but they must have had some hand in this dramatic swell in his body's magic.
Breathing slowly he roamed the area with his newly returned Elvin senses. Steep and uneven land. Rocky and difficult to navigate. At least for this body. He would need help. But who could he ask to do this with him? Certainly not Jareth. He did not want that particular King to know until he returned to the Labyrinth whole again. Definitely not Celeste. She had not even seen him in this hideous form. He ruled out Ludo and Sir Didymus straight away. He would someone who could take this seriously and those two were still children by his standard. There was no way of contacting any of the others from the long disbanded squadron he had been a member of. So that left only one choice. Sarah.
Asking for her help was not a bad idea at all. She was used to adventure and loved the Underground. He could easily rely on her assistance and she would revel in the opportunity to get away from her life, if only for a few hours. Not only that but he would be able to give her the ring he had made for her and being in the Underground was infinitely safer than being in the Upperground. It was far more difficult to break through into this realm than into its sister. It was also quite suicidal for one of the Aboveground denizens to come into a realm where Jareth would easily be able to pick them out. Not to mention that the beast who was hunting those of her ilk would not be looking for her in the Underground.
There was just one problem. Though he would be able to bring her into the Underground quite easily, he would need Jareth's permission before he even attempted to do so or he would automatically be killed because he did not have the monarch of the Kingdoms permission. That had been the law of the Underground since the end of the war.
So, with a heavy sigh Auranar left the jewellery crafting room and set off in search of Jareth. It did not take him long to find the King. He was sat on the floor in a corridor not far from where he had been working, leaning against the wall rubbing his neck. It was not a particularly kingly position; then again his expression of an irritating but bearable pain wasn't very regal either.
"Jareth?" The Goblin King looked at him with a raised eyebrow, clearly showing annoyance at something, probably him. But what he had done he could not fathom. Perhaps it was just a 'pick on the Dwarf thing' day.
"When did I give you permission to address me in such a familiar manner?" Now it was the Elvin Dwarves turn to raise his eyebrow. Only his gesture was offered in confusion. "You called me Jareth," clarified the King. Ah, that would explain his annoyance. Jareth loathed to think that the pathetic creature before him had once been his proud friend. Well, if all went well he would have his friend back by the end of the day.
"My apologies yer Majesty." Despite the polite and respectful words, there was no trace of respect in his voice. Strangely enough Jareth saw this as reason to smirk, rather than reprimand him.
"What is it?"
"I've come to ask for yer permission to bring the little lady into your realm for half a day or so."
Jareth looked to the Elvin Dwarf in both interest and slight confusion. "Oh really? Whatever for?" he asked in an overly smarmy and arrogant voice.
"I thought it might cheer her up a bit to see more of the Underground than your Labyrinth. She's always been interested in it. Not t' mention she'll be safer here than in her own realm since any of the vermin from the Aboveground would have t' be either down righ' daft or completely mad to enter a realm where you have power." The Goblin King raised a suspicious eyebrow then sighed noncommittally.
"For some reason I get the feeling you have an ulterior motive behind this, but I've got far too much to worry about to care at the moment. Very well. I grant your request. She may stay for as long as she wishes." It was a mammoth task not to jump for glee, whether or not this body would allow it.
"Thank you, yer Majesty," he replied, battling down a ridiculously large grin before turning away and leaving.
What he did not see was a rather large smirk elegantly place itself upon the lips of the King he left behind.
Sarah had never been so thankful for a day off in her life. And for the first time in years she did not feel like writing. She was restless. She wanted to be doing something to take her mind off what Jareth might think of her Manuscript. She had just finished getting dressed in a pair of very practical dark jeans and a simple navy button up shirt, with the top few buttons left undone. There was no jewellery, no makeup nor anything else that could be considered decoration.
She was just about to leave her rather cosy (the nice way of saying cramped) apartment to try and find some sort of physical activity to occupy her time hen she heard a familiar voice with an unfamiliar edge to it. "Sarah? Sarah are yeh there?"
"Yep," she called back as she made her way from her door to the mirror above her desk. "Hi Hoggle." The Dwarf smiled at her, but she could not help feel that there was something different about him. Something confident and perhaps stronger. Perhaps she was just imaging it.
"Do yeh have work today?" he asked brightly. Far too brightly for him. She shook her head in reply.
"Do you wanna come and help me find something in the Underground? It'll give yeh a chance to explore. And Jareth said he'll leave us be while you're here." She frowned. Of course she would want to go, but why did something feel so . . . off about the way he was acting and speaking? "Oh! And I have a gift for you."
"Hoggle," she sighed in exasperation. "You didn't need to do that. Of course I'll come and help."
His smile widened to an almost impossible size at her agreement and she could not help but smile back, even though she knew that her smile would fall short of his. "Okay, just put your hand on the mirror an' I'll do the rest." With a slight nod she complied and spread her finger against the reflective glass. She felt an odd tingling rush through her body, making her shiver at the foreign feeling. It wasn't unpleasant, quite the opposite actually. It was just unusual.
Slowly she felt and watched her hand start to sink through the mirror as though it was water, but without the wet part. She felt a tug on her arm as she watched the mirror ripple like a pebble slashing into a still pond. The without warning she found herself being yanked through the glass roughly. With a startled cry she was pulled off the ground and hurtling through air. Then she banged her knees as she hit the dusty ground of the Underground.
Slightly dazed and defiantly confused she stumbled to her feet to take in her surroundings. "Err, sorry 'bout that Sarah. I'm not used to bring people into this realm."
"That's okay," mumbled the writer as she gazed around in awe. It was just as beautiful as she remembered it being. She was stood by a small and oddly clear pond. The ground she was standing on was a neat pathway covered in fine yellowish dust that somehow stayed on the path instead of being blown about. To her right there was the slow transaction from lush grassland to thick and enchanting forest and to her left the grasslands continued with the thicket that edged the Labyrinth and the magnificent maze itself in the distance. The sky was a gorgeous pale blue with the oddest hint of purple to it that for some reason suggested the end of dawn rather than the start of dusk. And the Sun. It was easy and bizarre to gaze at. For a start it was silver and trimmed with fiery crimson. It was one of the strangest but most alluring things she had ever seen as it sat low in the morning sky.
The oddest sensation of home seemed to well within her and she found herself smiling a rare true smile. Any who looked at her would have easily confused her for some obscure member of a royal family somewhere, such was the ease with which she set herself into her surroundings. Not only that but she could feel something that she had not felt on her other visit to this wondrous world. It was as though she was a part of all the things around her and it made her feel so very alive.
Still looking to the Sun she let out a sigh of contentment. This was where she belonged, no matter where she was born, no matter that she would never be able to stay in this dazzling place. She still belonged.
"It's a different colour in each Kingdom, the Sun. You can tell where you are in the Underground because of that." Explained Hoggle, obviously taking note of her interest.
"Is it this beautiful in the other Kingdoms?" She asked in awe.
"That depends on your opinions. I think it's more beautiful in the Elvin Kingdom than anywhere else. But others think that the dark Sun of the Vampire Kingdom looks better." She looked to him and saw the smile her wore at her almost child like amazement.
She smiled back, blushing. It was like being a child again, getting to know the world for the first time. Then she frowned as the Dwarf started to rummage around in his pockets. "Here in the Underground there are allsorts of holidays. There is one to honour sisters." He paused as another smile lit up his face and he pulled something out of his pocket, keeping it hidden in his hand. Sarah watched him with great interest as he went on explaining. "During that holiday it's customary for the brother, or the other sister, to give their sister a piece of jewellery to wear at all times until the day that honours brothers comes around. And because you're like sister to me, I gots yeh this, well. I made yeh this." And with those words he opened his hand and held it to her.
Her eyes widened in utter amazement. In his palm was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was made of an unusual dark blue metal she had never seen before that shimmered like a cut crystal in the light. It feminine and delicate despite being quite large and it had a heavy ebony gem set into it for decoration with a discrete hinge on one side. "Hoggle! I can't accept this! It's far too extravagant! It must have taken you ages to make it!"
"It did, but I made it for you, and if yeh don't take it and wear it all the time like tradition says I'll get offended." She could feel her eyes filling up at the sentiment but fought not to cry. Sometimes, well, a lot of the time it was hard for her to remember that someone still cared about her. But she doubted that she would forget this in a hurry.
With an exasperated sigh she shook her head. "Okay. I accept it. But it really wasn't necessary for you to go through all of this trouble just for me." The Dwarf made a show of rolling his eyes at the young woman.
"Nonsense," he insisted as he gestured for her hand. She held out her right hand to him and he slid the ring onto her index finger. It was a perfect fit. "I enjoyed making it for yeh and I wanted it to be special since yeh mortal and this holiday only comes around once every two hundred years.
Finally they set off in search of whatever Hoggle was looking for. They took there time on the journey so that Sarah could marvel at what she saw and as they travelled Hoggle told her as much as he could about the Underground. About its different Kingdom, its traditions and its amazing landscape. He lingered on the Elvin Kingdom for longer than the rest and the note of nostalgia in his voice easily told her that it had been his home once and that it had been his favourite home. He explained the time difference between the Upper and Underground and about the magical barrier that separated the worlds. And he seemed to delight in telling her of the myths and legends of the places he had visited, most of which contained creatures far more impressive and enchanting than Dragons and Centaurs. Yet when she pointed this out Hoggle simply laughed and said the Centaur Kingdom was lovely in winter and the Dragon Kingdom was impressive and very intimidating in a terrifying way, though the Dragons themselves are lovely people and would gladly give anyone a ride through the air as long as they had the funds for it.
They stopped at what Hoggle assured her was midday and he surprised her by getting a picnic ready supposedly out of no where. When she asked him how he had managed that he simply winked at her and said "Magic". The food was one of the few things she could class as normal through out the day, though it did taste considerable better than what she would have expected had she been in the Upperground. The conversation lulled while they ate and Sarah used the opportunity to better take in her surroundings.
They were now sat at the base of a weird sort of rock pile with moss and grass sprouting across and between the large pieces of rubble. Though it should not be considered beautiful, that was the only word she could think of to describe it. Perhaps it was the way the golden sunlight, somehow formed by a silver Sun, poured over the odd formation, or maybe it was because the sight was so new to her eyes. But it was truly beautiful to her. She spotted a cave near the top of the rocks and had the feeling that they were heading there. It would explain why Hoggle needed help. Some of the rocks were larger than he was.
"I guess that's where we're going?" Hoggle looked up and smiled slightly.
"See why I need yeh help?" She giggled quietly and nodded before standing up.
"What are you looking for anyway?"
"Something of great importance and value to me. It's taken me fourteen centuries to pinpoint its location, it's one of the reasons I've travelled so much." Sarah froze mid stretch. That had been Hoggle's voice, but it certainly had not been his accent or his mannerisms. She looked to him with a raised eyebrow, but he didn't seem to have noticed anything wrong so she simply shrugged it off and put down to her imagination.
"Why has it taken so long for you to find it?"
"When it was stolen it was very well hidden. I was starting to think that it was in the Upperground." There it was again. The lack of Hoggle like attributes. That was going to drive her crazy if it kept up. "Shall we set off? The climb will take a while."
"Err. Yeh, okay." After her next blink the picnic had disappeared. She raised a questioning eyebrow but her only answer was for Hoggle to whistle and look away innocently.
There climb began in earnest with Sarah climbing on top of the first large rock then holding out her hand to help Hoggle up with her, and that was how the climb progressed. It was hard and tiring work that left little of their breath left for talking so they struggled on in silence unless they were advising each other of foot holds. The closer they got to the caves opening the more determined Hoggle seemed to get. He had a fiery and unwavering gleam to his eye that suggested he would find a way up himself if Sarah became too tired or even got injured. It was both unsettling and heartening to see in the often somewhat cowardly and unsure Dwarf.
It took hours to reach the top and because of her supportive role in their climb Sarah was overly exhausted and readily collapsed on the uneven and immensely uncomfortable level in front of the caves entrance. Her breath heavy and rapid, forcing her chest to heave and her muscles burned from the prolonged use. Hoggle seemed almost as fatigued as she felt but he was staring hungrily into the cave.
The mouth of it was a foot or two higher than Sarah was and that seemed to be the average height in the caverns beyond from what she could see. The sandstone walls glittered in the light reflecting just enough of it back to dimly light the whole cave. She could see that it twisted to the left a few yards in so she had no clue what lay beyond that bend.
"It's a single tunnel. There aren't any intersecting it. I'm going ahead. Catch up when you've got you're breath back." She nodded feebly at the Dwarf and he smiled at her before disappearing into the tunnel, leaving her to try and recover on the rocky ground. She was so very tired. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up in a week. Her eyelids were so very heavy. A quick nap wouldn't hurt would it? Hoggle had told her that there wasn't anything dangerous in this part of the Kingdom. Her eyes slowly began to drift closed, following the flow of weariness, and she didn't bother to fight against it.
We she opened her eyes she was very surprised to see that it was dark. The moonlight was soft and clear as it bathed the world in silver light, adding a striking but gentle glow to everything. With a smile she searched the sky. Hoggle had told her that their was crystal moon that was always full and she wanted to see it before she went in search of the Dwarf. Before she found it her gaze drifted over countless stars . . . All of which were the green of a gleaming emerald. Finally she found the moon.
It was the most stunning thing she had ever seen. It was as perfect as the crystals she had seen Jareth conjure only it was so much more breath takingly pure. Words failed to describe its luminescence and she felt her heart skip a beat just from laying her eyes on it. The light it gave to the land was cool but not cold. It was more like the welcome breeze on a hot summer's day.
Hoggle had told her that it had healing powers to those ho had not been born under its light, but she had never expected them to start effecting her. She could feel herself slowly starting to accept what had happened to her family, accept it and come to terms with it. She felt her spirits lift away from their dark depression, then an idea came to her. It slowly wound around her mind until it blossomed into a new story, as story different to what she written before. A story with a happy ending.
Smiling she quickly climbed to her feet. And cried out in pain. Mumbling a fair amount of expletives to herself she bent back until she heard her spine give a satisfying crack then shook out the stretch with a pleasant sigh of relief. Now to find Hoggle. He had quite the head start on her so she would probably see him on his way back, unless the cave opened up at the end of the tunnel.
Still smiling she set off to find the Dwarf. The cave was colder than the night outside but it wasn't too bad. She was too interested in the odd quality of light to care about the temperature. The sparkling minerals of the cave walls reflected the moon light throughout the tunnel so that everything looked to be blue. Again she took this in with the glee of a child being allowed to go exploring on their own. Occasionally she saw clusters of gems on the walls or where the wall and floor met and these grew in frequency as she went along. The light had faded somewhat when she reached a cavern where the walls and ceiling were completely covered in the gems she had seen on her forty minute walk. Then she saw something the nearly broke her heart.
A stone stature in the centre of the cavern. It reached around midway up her thigh, was carved in old fashioned clothed, including a cap and billowing shirt and had a very real cluster of jewels at it hip. Not to mention that it was undeniably ugly.
A shaking hand made its ay to covering her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. Fearfully she approached the statue. The first tear spilled from her eye. It was him. "Oh Hoggle," she wept as she dropped to her knees beside the badly carved stone. "Please not you too. I've lost too many people. Not you as well."
A hand placed itself on her shoulder. She tried to spin around to look at her assailant, sure that it was the one who had done this to her friend. She lost her balance and fell on her arse then scrambled back when she saw the man who was with her. "What did you do to Hoggle you bastard!" He was tall, no doubt taller than Jareth, with dark hair and eerily light eyes. His skin was pale and his build was strong. He had high cheek bones and elegant face, but by far the most striking thing about him was his ears. They were so pointed that their tips reached over an inch above his head. He smiled at her, obviously trying to be reassuring.
"Sarah, I used to be Hoggle." Her jaw fell as she stared at him in shock. It couldn't be! "This repulsive statue has been my prison for over fourteen centuries and my real body is what I was searching for, what was stolen from me." He kicked the statue over with little more than disgust. All Sarah could do was shake her head in dumb shock. "I'm finally whole again and I can never thank you enough for helping me." His voice was so proud, so gracefully spoken. She heard a hint of what Hoggle had began to speak like in his words.
"Who are you really?"
"My true name is Auranar, Hoggle was simply what I felt I was. It's Elvin for "gargoyle". I was an Elvin warrior and protector of the Seer. And now I need to take up that mantle again."
"How do I know you're really who Hoggle used to be?" She asked frantically. She needed proof. "Tell me something only he and I would know."
A wicked grin spread across the Elvin's face and a mischievous glint came to his eyes. "Our running joke after you defeated the Labyrinth, Jareth in drag." Her shoulders started to shake as a mental image of the Goblin King wearing a ball gown and high heels assaulted her. She began to snigger. The sniggering soon became giggles as the image of Jareth did a twirl. Then full blown laughter erupted from both of them as they shared a mental image of the fearsome and imposing King curtsying before Sir Didymus.