Sarah screamed. There was a swift noise next to her ear, and then the minotaur had an arrow protruding from its head. It stood there for a second then fell backward, Sarah falling on top of him.
While lying on top of him, Sarah examined the beast. Her pale hands reached out to touch the black feathers of the arrow shaft, when a voice called out, "Are you alright?" Sarah turned around, scrambling off the body of the slain monster.
A boy stood at the end of the street. He held a cross bow in one hand and started to walk towards her. Sarah was kneeling in the snow watching him. Her head hurt badly and her vision was slightly blurry. Her hand reached up to the feel the moist spot on her head. She responded softly, "I'm bleeding". It was colder then she remembered and she realized her coat was almost soaked through from the snow.
The boy kept walking forward. The moonlight illuminated him now and Sarah could see he was young; maybe the same age as her or a little older. He was pale and had long dark hair. He was dressed in a black sweatshirt and tight black jeans with work boots. 'Where had he come from? She had never seen him before in town. She'd never seen a Minotaur either.' Sarah's thoughts were confused and she became dizzy again. She was about to lie back in the snow when the boy ran up and knelt down besides her.
"Hold on there. Let me see your head." He said sternly. She looked at him; he had grey blue eyes and smooth skin. He looked unreal, unreal like the Goblin King. His pale face had haunted her dreams for the last four years. Just thinking of him seemed to call her away. She concentrated harder on the pain and the cold and the stranger in front of her. Sarah struggled for words.
"You killed it". "Am I back?" "How did you find me?"
Sarah's words seemed unreal. Was she really back? Had it always been this easy? Why hadn't she packed pain medication?
The boy looked at her coldly, and then smiled warmly. "The beast? Yes, he would have surely devoured you. You are in great danger. I heard you scream, so I came to assist you. And no, you're still in the Aboveground. However, it would be best if you came with me. We need to get you somewhere safe. That is…if you don't mind a bit of an adventure".
Sarah nodded and let the boy lift her to her feet. They started walking down the street. Sarah's head hurt and she could still see the arrow protruding from the minotaur's head in her mind's eye. The vision should have scared her, but instead it filled her with a sense of sorrow and pity. It was probably her curiosity and experiences with Ludo that gave her this feeling. Sarah reminded herself that not every beast was friendly. Still the image stuck in her head.
The boy was surprisingly strong and seemed to swagger through the snow with no problem. He had one hand around Sarah's waist and the other casually holding the crossbow. Sarah on the other hand was sloppily walking and trying to touch her head, which felt cool and sticky in the night air. Suddenly she stopped, giving her a whole new headache and almost pitching her head first into the snow. Stabilizing herself, she turned to her beautiful savior and said, "Wait. Hold up, I'm not going anywhere with you".
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"Good Sarah! I knew you were a smart girl!" Jareth exclaimed from his tower room. He had been watching Sarah's situation with the same intensity as before. His crystals were wonderful, but for the last hour they had been tormenting. He'd watched Sarah's situation unfold helplessly. He'd seen the monster come into her life. However, just as it had looked like all was lost, everything had changed.
She had outright refused him. And while still in the Aboveground! There was nothing he could do. Laws that even "he" would not dare break protected his Sarah.
Jareth had stood up in his excitement and it was now that he checked himself in the mirror. He was the Goblin King. He was not a teenage boy in love. How many women had he bedded since he had least seen Sarah? Sarah had never tried to make him part of his life so why should he be concerned with making sure she was part of his? No, he had only been concerned because for a moment he had thought that monster would have his way with her.
Now she was safe. Now he could stop. It was over. She would grow old, and he would never. She would find love and normal dreams and never know that she had escaped a great danger. This thought weighed Jareth down and he looked into the mirror at his two mismatched eyes. He would never marry. He would never fall in love. These things he was so proud of. He could have any female he desired. Still, Sarah had never seen him. It's not like he opened up to every goblin he met, but he did wish that as she got older she'd realize she missed out on more then just an evil villain.
Now in this moment when the danger had passed, the Goblin King dramatically vanquished his crystal and admitted to himself, "she did not really come back for me at all". With this he left his room, slamming the door behind him. The only sign that he had been there was the ridiculous amount of glitter all over the floor.
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Sarah knew the instant she said those words something had happened. The boy turned to her with such a look of horror and anger she felt terrible. Sarah knew he must have misunderstood her. She continued, "No. I mean I'm not going anywhere with you until you explain where we are going and tell me who you are".
At this his pale blue eyes seemed to soften and Sarah watched, as his whole body relaxed. So strange she thought, the whole scene reminded her of when she had defeated the Goblin King. She tried to make sense of this, but his reply interrupted her thoughts.
"I'm sorry, I should have explained. My name is Joshua. We're going to the Underground".
Sarah stared at him, "My name is Sarah…and what is the Underground?"
Joshua looked at Sarah and began to laugh. She got the distinctive feeling she was not in on the joke. The boy looked so young, but he laughed like someone much older. It disturbed her. Still, he was so beautiful. He could've been a cross from this world and the Labyrinth. And she really had to work on being more trusting. After the labyrinth, Sarah had been cautious of everything. This time on her adventure there was no baby to save and although the minotaur was a very real danger, Sarah still felt she should try to enjoy herself.
Joshua finally stopped laughing and tried to regain Sarah's attention, "Well, you'll see soon enough. Don't worry, you'll be a lot safer then you are up here and we can take care of that wound". With this he pulled her forward. When they reached the end of the street they walked into the woods. Sarah was now clasping her head to keep dirt from getting in and in a futile attempt to stop the headache she'd had since she woke up.
Joshua pulled something from a bag tied under his sweatshirt. He opened his hand. It was glitter. At this Sarah gasped and tried to run away. She would not be surprised if the Goblin King had sent someone to get his revenge on her.
Joshua grabbed her and they fell to the forest floor. Now on top of her he pinned her with one hand while still clasping the glitter in a fist. "What is the matter now?"
Sarah looked up at his face aware of her head in the dirt and how close he was to her. She controlled herself. "Are you working for the Goblin King?'
Joshua again laughed and this time got up and pulled her to her feet. He smiled at her and said, "That is a being I would never work for, and would never work for me". He brushed the glitter out of her hair and smiled. "The glitter. Is that what scared you?"
Sarah nodded, feeling like a young child and being completely mesmerized by his presence.
"It's what we all use to get back and forth. It's very useful and much easier then some of the other possibilities. There are those who…are very partial to it though". He smiled again, then turned from her.
Sarah watched as he threw the glitter into the air and created a portal. Unlike the one from years ago, all she could see was swirling mist and dark forests.
Now Sarah started to hear snickers. Snickers that sounded a lot like goblins. Then she heard screeches and yells. They sounded like angry goblins. She felt little hands grabbing her coat and pulling her back toward the road. Sarah looked at the portal. It did not look inviting. But then, she had wanted an adventure. And this boy had saved her. Still, the goblins, what could they possibly want? Sarah tried turned to see them.
She had no time though, because Joshua was grabbing her and pulling her through the portal into the Underground.
Author's Note:
Wow. Thanks for the wonderful reviews. I hope everyone likes where the story is going. Please let me know what you think! Hope everyone is having a good holiday season.