Author's Note : Yay, I'm so glad I got another chapter in today! And now in this one, as you know, I've finally reintroduced our famous Goblin King! Yeah, at first I was considering waiting a few chapters before inserting him into the story, but then I thought that it might get too boring if we only focused on Sarah and Hoggle and not on…well, the best character in the entire original movie! So yeah, David Bowie's officially here again, and will be around in the chapters to come (as long as I keep thinking up fun ways to incorporate him).

Anyways, to conclude, as always, reviews/follows/favourites are appreciated. 3

Author's Note: So…I don't know how well fanfictions usually do at the beginning, but to me it seems that what I've got so far for this fanfiction is pretty good. I'm so glad that people are liking it so far, and I can only hope for more new fans in the near future! Here's hoping that I've also got the characters' roles down correctly, since I do want this to be at least semi-realistic. Yep. Well, enjoy another chapter!~

Chapter 3 – Grizzald's Message

Sarah didn't know a thing about the labyrinth, although she had already determined quickly enough that she didn't like the labyrinth fairies, one of them having bit her as soon as she came near enough to touch it. Hoggle had reacted with a chuckle, muttering something that sounded like "Just like last time," and then they had moved on.

Once inside the labyrinth, Sarah couldn't say she liked it any more than the fairies on the outside. She felt like a mouse trapped in a maze, the walls around her tall, unending, and imposing, like a puzzle that she was supposed to try and solve, but with consequences. At the beginning, there were only two direct pathways, one right and one left, both of them looking as though they'd be difficult to navigate through, what with thorns and vines and various other forms of plantation littering the ground. But Hoggle, who seemed to know what he was doing and where he was going, had led them down the path to the right until eventually they came to a narrow opening in the wall. Hoggle had crawled through this opening with ease, although Sarah, being larger, had a bit more difficulty squeezing through. Once out on the other side however, she began to regret their choice of direction, seeing that the labyrinth was in fact as confusing as it had looked from a distance. In front of her were five pathways in five different directions to choose from, but all of them looked exactly the same: dull, stony, and as if they led nowhere. Hoggle chose the fourth path from the right, confidently striding forward as though following a string of thread or something that Sarah just couldn't see. Finally, after some time had passed, they came to another opening off the side of the path, this one showcasing nine different pathways to choose from, aside from the one they had just come from.

Hoggle stopped and looked around them, scratching his head. "Should be this way…" he muttered, trying to act casual about it.

Sitting down on a nearby bolder, Sarah looked into Hoggle's face, for they were now at the same height, and furrowed her brow in frustration. "This isn't getting us anywhere!" she complained, messaging her ankle that had gotten caught in a vine earlier on. "Every path looks the same, how can you tell your way around?" The truth was, she too could sense that Hoggle was getting confused, and she didn't like the feeling one bit of not being sure where they were, or even being sure that Hoggle was sure, based on how the dwarf was now looking bath and forth between the paths as though watching a Ping-Pong game.

"I just can, ok?" Hoggle growled, taking another look. "I've been in here a hundred times, and it's always the same way, but this time the path seems to be changing. I don't know why."

Sarah suddenly became alert. "Are you serious? So you don't know which way we're going?"

Hoggle looked at her sheepishly. "Well, not exactly as good as before, but I still know—"

"You know nothing, Hoggle," came a raspy voice, startling both of them and making Sarah stand up in alarm. Then, from the third path from the left, a short figure came walking towards them, only, as he got closer, Sarah quickly determined that he was not a dwarf like Hoggle. It was also short, but not as squat, and had a long, pointy nose, not a fat one like Hoggle's. His eyes were beady, though not unfriendly, and he had pointed ears and almost no hair at all. He was also dressed in an embroidered vest and velvet pantaloons and wore no shoes, but regardless looked as if he was someone prestigious and important. The way he eyed them seemed to suggest that he had quite a high opinion of himself as well.

"Grizzald!" exclaimed Hoggle, suddenly very stiff, his eyes wide.

The goblin—for it was a goblin—smiled, revealing a set of sharp yellow teeth, and bowed particularly to Sarah as he greeted them formally. "Indeed, I am Sir Grizzald Badbreath III, chancellor to our beloved Goblin King: His Majesty, Jareth. I come bearing a message for you, Hoggle, and, of course, for our lovely new guest." He nodded to Sarah, eyeing her up and down.

Sarah squirmed uncomfortably, but Hoggle stepped forward. "You stay away from her! What's Jareth want with her, anyway?"

"Now, now, no need to get testy about it," Grizzald apprehended, wagging his finger at the dwarf. "I simply want to communicate a message; that is all." Then, to Sarah: "Our King bids to welcome to his labyrinth, milady, and wishes to let you know that, should you wish to arrive at his castle faster than you would with this useless dwarf as your guide, you need only call upon him and he shall provide you a special escort. After all, he would like for your stay here to be pleasant and entertaining."

Sarah blinked uncertainly, looking from Grizzald to Hoggle, who still stood very much at attention, somewhat scared of the goblin, it seemed. "Uh, tell him 'thank you', but that I'm fine with Hoggle as my guide."

Grizzald gave another bow. "As you wish?"

"And what about the message for me?" Hoggle piped up apprehensively.

Grizzald eyes him coolly, dropping his smile. "He said, and I quote: 'You ungrateful, imbecilic traitor! Come anywhere near my castle or ever leave the labyrinth again, and I'll see to it that you end up in worse places than the Bog of Eternal Stench! Remember: your days are numbered!' Naturally, he hopes that you'll understand."

Hoggle gulped, while Sarah stared on wide-eyed, unsure of how the same person could have issued a message so pleasant and then…something that sounded more or less like a death threat. She glanced down at Hoggle for one moment to see how he would react, but in that moment Grizzald chose to disappear, and when Sarah looked back up again, he was gone.

"Hogw—Hoggle?" she asked uncertainly, preparing to lean down and touch the dwarf's shoulder to rouse him.

"I'm alright," Hoggle assured her gruffly. "I'm fine. Just that Jareth thinks he's so tough that…well, be best get going, anyway. Long way until we get where we're headed, you know."

"Where exactly are we headed?" Sarah asked, deciding to forget about her encounter with Grizzald, since she'd already decided not to accept Jareth's 'invitation'.

"The Great Library," Hoggle said significantly, and then led them towards the path furthest to the right. Sarah had no idea what exactly they might encounter next, but at least she knew to avoid the third path to the left if they ever found themselves at the same crossroads again.

"Did you deliver the message?" Jareth asked as soon as he sensed Grizzald's presence just outside the entrance to his throne room.

"Y-yes, M-majesty," Grizzald practically squeaked, after he deemed it safe to enter. Just this news already seemed to put his master in a better mood though, making it safe for the goblin to venture closer to the throne.

"Good work, then," Jareth replied casually, yet again taking out another one of his magic balls and toying around with it. Grizzald, like many, knew that these were, in many ways, the source of their master's powers, and something he would never allow anyone else to touch. Of course, he had given two of them to Sarah, one as a gift when they'd first met, and the other as a poisoned peach that had sent her into a world of dreams. The third one, the one that he'd tried to offer in order to trap her in the goblin world, she'd refused, a grave insult in itself, and ever since then Jareth had been more protective over them than ever before. Everyone figured that he probably had thousands of the balls in store somewhere, but that didn't matter. Like every child was precious to its mother, like every breath of air was precious to life: that was how precious each and every ball was to Jareth.

"I am m-much honoured by Your Majesty's favour," Grizzald said with a grin. "Anything for you, sir, anytime."

"Good, then perhaps you wouldn't mind to run another little errand for me," Jareth suggested, his eyes still on the ball he was balancing.

"M-my lord?"

Sniffing, Jareth began to roll the ball around on the back of his hand, as usual completing a series of gravity-defying motions with it. "I want you to follow them, the girl and Hobbit—"

"Er, it's Hoggle, sir," Grizzald said.

"What?" Jareth snapped, turning to face him at last. Only, unlike most times when it would have been a great honour to be regarded by Jareth, Grizzald deeply regretted it, since this time it was in anger.

"N-nothing, Majesty, only his name's Hoggle, not Hobbit," Grizzald said in barely a mumble, staring down ashamedly at the ground. The only reason he bothered to correct Jareth at all was not because he had a death with or anything, but because he remembered how often people had gotten his name wrong, calling him "Grizzly Bear" or "Gerald" or something like that, and how it was really the only thing to upset him. Even when people called him simply "Badbreath" and assumed he had bad breath as well it didn't bother him, since it was better than having his name mistaken altogether, but otherwise he prepared to be addressed correctly—he could only assume that Hoggle would appreciate it as well, whether he was the enemy or not.

Jareth stared at him silently for a few minutes, as though contemplating what manner of death would be the worst one to inflict upon him and then, strangely, smiled. "I see that you are in good humor today," he commented.

"M-majesty?"

"Continue that way, and you'll find yourself in the deepest darkest dungeon come nightfall."

Grizzald gulped. It was better than getting yelled at, but, then again, it wasn't. That was the scariest thing about Jareth, now that he thought about it: his king was at his most sinister when he was unusually calm. That just about explained why he was so calm during his entire time of dealing with Sarah, but then…

"Yes, my lord. I promise it won't happen again," Grizzald vowed.

Jareth went back to toying around with his ball. "As I was saying, you're to follow them wherever they go, and report to me at any chance you get. If they do something odd, meet someone unusual, or even get too close, you're to summon me at once. The failure to do this will land you a one-way ticket to Platform 5. Understood?"

Grizzald gulped. "Perfectly, Your Majesty."

"Then go."

And, in a flash, Grizzald was gone, having hastened to follow his master's orders. Although, privately, he thought that there was no reason to have him specifically follow them. After all, with all his powers, he could see and go anywhere in the labyrinth, and not get caught! For Grizzald, getting caught was a far greater possibility. It just didn't make sense.

But, then it occurred to the goblin that there might be some other reason for having him follow around the mortal girl and the traitorous dwarf. And, although he had no idea what this other reason could be, he did know that Jareth was using him, and purposely not telling him. Was this all a part of some more sinister plan, perhaps?

If so, the goblin didn't want to know about it. It was bad enough that he was being sent on two errands out of the day, neither of them following his initial job description of 'chancellor', so the last thing he needed was to know that he was being employed as a common puppet as well.

Although, it sounded like just the thing that Jareth would do.

Author's Note : Oh, I'm sorry for the shorter chapter on this one, but, looking back, there really wasn't all that much to happen, aside from Grizzald being tossed around back and forth. I guess that the OCs are the ones getting tortured in this, I guess, but it's better than having any harm come to Hoggle. Yet.

As to the mention of 'Platform 5', that will be explained perhaps much later in the book, but keep it in the back of your mind, okay? Hopefully it'll be another good little creative idea of mine as an addition to the story.

Next chapter, which is when Sarah and Hoggle with arrive at 'The Great Library', should be longer than this, for sure, but, sadly, and just as a heads-up, I'm not sure how much of Jareth I can include in it. Again, he'll definitely be prominent in the later chapters to come, but, just like in the movie, I'll be focusing on more of Sarah's adventures near the very beginning.

If anyone's beginning to wonder about other original Labyrinth characters like Ludo and Sir Didymus, they'll also be present, but just…not yet. Everyone's patience will pay off though, I promise!

Reviews/follows/favourites, anyone? :)