When the two reemerged from the throne room, Sarah wore original clothing and was pulling her slightly disheveled hair into a smooth tail. The rest of the crew crowded around them. "Did thy finish thy discussion?" Sir Didymus asked with a wink that only Jareth saw.
Sarah nodded, saying, "We've figured out how Toby's getting home."
"Wait, don't you mean 'we'?" Toby asked.
"No. I'm staying here. But it'll only be for three years, Toby. Then you'll be back for good too."
Jareth joined the conversation. "You're to be my Heir. But you can not begin to learn to control the Labyrinth until you're eighteen."
"So finish high school at a normal rate, and then, you'll be here."
"But I don't have any friends there. Come on, Sarah! Let me stay now."
"Toby, when I said I joined drama that didn't mean I had friends. I had maybe all of two friends when I was in high school. Just take fun classes. We'll visit, I promise. Though Jareth will have to be cleaned up." She glanced at him.
"Why not visit at Halloween?" Toby asked, now resigned to returning home. No argument he made would sway them from returning him. Besides, his parents would flip if he didn't show up soon. "That way Jareth can be himself."
"Ah, Halloween," Jareth smiled fondly. "The only night when my goblins can go do mischief in the open of Aboveground."
Sarah sighed. "I guess this means I'll end up in one of Jareth's creations again."
Jareth's smiled turned lewd. "But think of when we get home. How easy it'll be to –"
"Jareth!" Sarah exclaimed. "Not in front of the child. Anyway, there'll be no more of that until you marry me."
"Come on, Sarah. By the time I was his age –"
"When you were his age, dinosaurs ruled the earth."
"Well, you're not a teenager anymore if you haven't noticed."
"Low blow, oh mighty Goblin King! Never bring a lady's age into an argument. It's bound to get ugly. Besides, I'm not old. Not like you anyway."
"Fine, Sarah. But then what was that in the throne room?" Jareth returned to the original topic.
"Oh, that," Sarah waved a hand. "Excess of adrenaline. Had to burn it off somehow."
Toby looked confused. "Alright, Sarah. If you say so…"
"What? I took a psych class in high school."
Toby shook his head. "Anyway. Jareth, can I talk to you for a moment?"
The Goblin King nodded and the two of them retreated to a corner. "Is something wrong Toby?" Jareth asked. "Controling the Labyrinth isn't too bad. You'll have years before you completely take over. I'm not ready to give up all my power to you just yet."
"Nah, it's nothing like that," Toby replied. "But if you and Sarah did what I think you did, not that I need to know, you'd best marry her. What I really wanted to tell you was that before you two visit, you should get her a ring."
"Ring? Why?" Jareth asked, slightly puzzled which was unusual for the Goblin King.
"It's a custom from Aboveground. It shows that the woman is, well in a word, taken."
"Hmmm, I think I might like this custom you Abovegrounders have."
"One more thing, the guy is supposed to ask the parents for permission to marry her."
"What? That's a silly custom. What kind of hold do the parents have which allows them to put these restrictions on their offspring?"
Toby shrugged. "Don't ask me. But it doesn't matter since Sarah had a huge fight with our parents and kind of got herself disowned. I'm just letting you know that there might be some unpleasantness when you two come to visit. Mom will probably ruffle her feathers and get huffy while Dad might be ok with it. He wasn't mad with her, but Mom has always been on Sarah's case from the beginning."
"Ah, I see. Toby?" Jareth looked at the younger boy with a slight smile.
"Yeah?" he answered, wondering if there was anything else he needed to tell him before he left for Aboveground.
"Do I have you permission to marry your sister?"
Toby looked at him in surprise. "If she wants you, then yes."
Sarah looked down at her old friends. "I'm sorry that we didn't have much time to catch up and talk, but I'll be around now."
Sir Didymus took Sarah's hand in one of his paws. "Milady?"
"Yes, Sir Didymus?"
"Art thou sure this is what thou wants, child?"
"Quite sure, but thank you for worrying about me," she said. She bent and gave him a kiss on the nose.
Ludo gave Sarah another bone crushing hug. "Ludo miss Sarah," he mumbled.
"Oh, Ludo," she said. "I promise, we'll see each other again soon."
The furry creature nodded. "Come on, brother." Sir Didymus said, hopping to his usual place on Ludo's massive shoulder. Sadly Ambrosius had passed away a few years ago during their travels. The two "brothers" found that Sir Didymus could travel comfortably on Lduo's shoulder. This was a perfect solution for there was no way for Sir Didymus' short stride to keep up with Ludo's long stride. "Farewell, Milady." "Bye Sarah." The two "brothers" left the castle at the center of the Labyrinth to continue their travels around the Underground.
Hoggle gently touched Sarah on the leg. "Sarah," he said. "Why are you doing this? Not that I care or anything like that. No. I, I just don't think the Goblin King's right for you."
"Oh, Hoggle." She took his hand and led him over to a staircase. She sat on the bottom step, patting the space beside her on the stone step. Hoggle sat down next to her. "Hoggle, that's very sweet of you. But Goblin King, demon, or man, he doesn't frighten me anymore. I love whom I love, no matter what name he has."
"Why does it sound like you are quoting something at me?" he asked.
Sarah laughed. "That's because I am," she answered. "The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle. That's when the prince says that no matter what his lady, who is actually a unicorn in disguise, is called, or is for that matter, he will love her."
"Egh, unicorns are stupid, silly creatures. Not worth all the hype about them." Hoggle said dismissively.
"It's a good book, Hoggle. You should read it if you get a chance."
"Doubt that. I'll be busy with the upkeep of the Labyrinth grounds." He sounded out of sorts.
"Come on, Hoggle. Don't do this. I do love him. And you are my dearest friend. I don't want this to come between us." Sarah looked at him with a pleading expression.
Hoggle glanced down at the stone beneath his feet. He unconsciously rubbed the plastic bracelet around his wrist again. "Well, I don't like it. But maybe I can learn to live with it. So, your dearest friend, huh? That's not saying much."
Sarah smiled at him. "Come on, you know you don't mind. You know you've always got me. All those mirror conversations going to go to waste?"
Hoggle shrugged and then looked at her. "You're strange, little missy."
Jareth and Toby walked over to stand before the two of them. "Are we interrupting?" Toby asked, adjusting the black strap of his backpack.
Sarah shook her head. "No worries, little brother. I don't know how you became so polite," she teased.
He made a face at her. "Much as I hate to stop the fighting," Jareth said, seeming to enjoy interrupting Hoggle and Sarah's conversation. "Toby does need to return home. It is about mid-afternoon of the next day Aboveground."
"Oh, wait till they find out you're not home! Irene'll flip! Why she ever thought she could be a good parent, I'll never know," Sarah sighed, rising from the last stone step.
Toby laughed. "My turn to tell you know to worry, sis. They probably came home at dawn, drunk. Or at least, my mom did. I think Dad is too serious to fully let go. Doubt either of them are up yet though. It's a Saturday so no work for anyone. I left a note on my door saying I went on a walk."
Sarah shook her head. "Only you would think of that. I don't know whether to be proud of you or worried about you."
Toby shrugged. "Does it matter?" he asked. "Just remember to visit. I'm holding you to that. Halloween is next month."
"Very subtle," Sarah answered. "Jareth and I will be there. I can't wait to see the look on their faces."
Jareth glanced at the both of them. "The question is, can I handle two of you? It seems like you might gang up on me."
"Jareth, darling, we are nothing alike. And, of course, we would never gang up on you."
The Goblin King simply shook his head.
"How is the young master getting home?" Hoggle asked, adding his voice to the conversation.
"The moron speaks!" Jareth said, pointing at Hoggle.
"Jareth! No wonder everyone avoids you," Sarah cried. "Hoggle is not a moron. You, however, are getting close to being a jerk. But then, you usually are."
He gave her a bow. "Thank you, my dear. I live to disappoint."
Toby laughed. "You two are perfect for each other. The visit home should be interesting indeed. I do think I should be heading home now though. Remember to visit."
Jareth placed a hand on Toby's shoulder. "Alright, say your goodbyes."
Sarah hugged him and then went back to her place on the step. "Toby, should you ever need me, or Jareth,"
"Or any of us," Hoggle jumped in.
She smiled at him. "What he said, all you have to do is call for us in a mirror and we'll be there. Trust me, it does work. You'll be fine and we'll visit at Halloween."
Toby grinned. "You'd better. See you later, Sarah, Hoggle."
Jareth winked at her and then the two of them faded from sight.
Toby raised a hand as the barn owl winged out of sight into the clouds. Jareth had been right. It was the afternoon, the sun low in the sky. The Goblin King had dropped him off right in front of his door. He fished a small key out of the front pocket of his backpack. He still had Sarah's gown and headdress. He'd leave them in her room for her. He had told her he would lock her room so Irene wouldn't try to clean it out. Once the two of them came at Halloween, she would take it all to the Underground with her.
He let himself into the house, trying not to make too much noise. Not that his parents would notice anyway. They didn't seem to notice much else besides themselves and their own affairs. Sometimes it bothered him, but now it was nice. He seemed to take after Sarah, destined to be a loner.
"Toby?" a groggy voice called from the kitchen. "Is that you?" It was the voice of Irene. She was in the kitchen, trying to wake up with a cup of coffee. Robert was actually up and working on something in his study. He was the one who had seen the note. Neither of them had been worried.
"Yeah, Mom," he said, coming into the kitchen. "Did you and Dad have a good time last night? I heard some stuff about it from Sarah." He sat on one of the kitchen stools.
"That girl," Irene shook her head and took another sip of her coffee. "Still a dreamer. I thought after college she would return and be normal. Figures. Of course she became an actress. An actress! That is not a respectable job. At least not if all she does it theater work. If she had stayed in the movies that might have been ok, but no. After one movie, she quits. Glad she's done in this town. The ball was alright. It was silly, but kind of fun. How was your walk?"
"Alright. I didn't go far, but I sat in the park for a while," he said, lying through his teeth. He was good at it though; it was almost instinctive with him. Lies came as easily as breathing. No one could tell the difference. "I'm gonna go to my room now. I have to finish some homework."
His mother just waved him off. "Yeah, ok, sure. Get everything done before you go out again." She returned to her coffee, not noticing when he left.
Toby kept his promise to Sarah, leaving her still fist-sized folded gown and headdress in her self-proclaimed 'Labyrinth' drawer. He took a look around the room. It hadn't changed much throughout the years. He turned about and locked the door behind him. He slid her room key onto the owl keychain on which he kept his house key. He had gotten it when he was little and obsessed with owls after he had started to understand Sarah's Labyrinth story.
His room wasn't much in way of decoration like posters. He had one or two owl ones, but most of his effort had gone into getting a computer. He wondered if email could work Underground. It would make communication easier then the mirror idea of Sarah's. He'd have to ask the next time he saw them.