Sarah paced the corridor in front of Jareth's closed door. At least, this was the only door of his that she knew about. He probably had several little rooms stashed about the castle in the center of the Labyrinth, but she could only fathom their whereabouts. She wasn't upset that he wasn't including her in the wedding plans that he was making. In fact, she could care less about working on the wedding. Unlike other girls she knew, she hadn't had her own wedding planned by the time she was thirteen. She had spent her afternoons acting out scenes from her favorite book of the moment or random plays.

No, it was the fact that the Goblin King was spending all his time cloistered in some room or another planning a wedding to take place tomorrow. Jareth may be stubborn, manipulative, sarcastic, attractive as sin, and a million other things, but a wedding planner? Granted, he had included her by asking her the most random questions, the foremost being about her father and wedding cake. However, as she had understood it, goblins did not have weddings. Seeing as there seemed to be seldom any females around the place, goblin marriages were rare.

Not that Sarah knew all of Underground by any means. She had spent the last few days while Jareth had been occupied with the wedding learning the paths of the Labyrinth by heart. The Goblin King could come and go as he pleased without having to ask directions. The Queen, or soon to be Queen, should be able to do the same. The Labyrinth wasn't all there was to the Underground. She planned on learning her way around most of the Underground, as much as she could anyway. But she still had to get the paths of the Labyrinth down first. She was digressing within her own thoughts.

A goblin marriage consisted of the pair going before the Goblin King and simply asking for his permission. He'd usually agree, sending them to some other goblin to get it registered. Then, they'd just go home. Sometimes the couple would have a party, but that was their own affair. The only consideration Jareth was giving to this usual custom was to have a public ball in the castle at the center of the Labyrinth after the private ceremony.

This, this was getting out of hand though. Sarah was lonely. Her three best friends were avoiding the castle. She had been going to double-check with Jareth that it would be alright to bring Toby Underground for the wedding, but she didn't care anymore. If he was going to ignore her in favor of this wedding, which was rather obtuse of him, then she was going to do what she pleased. With these thoughts of slight rebellion foremost in her mind, she spun away from his closed door to stalk down the empty hallways to her own room.

Unlike the mirrors Aboveground, this mirror needed no special words or 'spells' to help it connect her to Toby's mirror. It was her luck that he was in his bedroom, though his back was turned to her. "Hey, little brother!"

She had the pleasure of seeing him jump out of his skin. "Sarah! Don't do that to me. It's bad enough that you made me put a mirror up in my room," he said, whirling around to face her in the mirror. "But you don't have to scare me almost every time you decide to talk to me. I still think the Underground getting an email connection would be better. Mom gives me a hard time about enough stuff as it is; the mirror almost pushed her over the edge. So. What do you want?"

"What? I can't just call because I want to talk to you?"

"You've never called for just that before. Do you and Jareth get into a huge fight or something?"

"No, nothing like that. But, you're not going to believe this," she shook her head before running a hand through her once-again long hair. "I'm getting married tomorrow. Me, married, 

tomorrow. It's just a little strange to be thinking about. Especially since Jareth's been planning every thing."

"Wait a minute," Toby raised an eyebrow. "Jareth, Goblin King, Jareth, has been planning the wedding. Which is tomorrow. Wow. That's not what I expected to hear. At all."

Sarah shrugged, though Toby could only see slight movement because of the size of his mirror. "Yeah. Strange, huh? Anyway, I was hoping that maybe you could come down for it? 'Cause I'm not sure if Jareth is letting Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo come. I don't know anything he's doing. I don't even know what my dress looks like. It's just been him in a closed room doing who knows what! Please come."

"Sarah, it's only be three days since you two visited. How can a wedding be planned that fast? Nevermind. I don't think I want to know. Let's see, it'll be a Wednesday. I've got to be in school for a chem test, but if it's in the evening/late afternoon, I don't see why not." He laughed. "Still. You getting married tomorrow only three days after you were here for a visit. What did you do to make him want to have the wedding so soon?"

"You think I'd know?!" Sarah sounded annoyed. "It's been a bizarre few days. I'm sure Lais will help you out with the getting down to the Underground. I should go before Irene comes in to ask who you're talking to."

"Alright. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Toby turned away from the mirror, shaking his head. "Sorry about that, Lais. Family must come first, however."

The little goblin nodded. "Quite agreed, sir. Especially when that family is of the Royal House."

"Now, what were you telling me about? Oh, right! The Bog of Stench?" Toby looked at his tutor expectantly.

Lais rubbed his hands together. "Ah, yes. The Bog. It is the dreamland for a dog and perhaps some little boys. It is full of pockets of mud and dirty streams. The air is foul with the stench of who knows what. It is the most horrible thing ever smelt by a nose, mortal and immortal alike. Never touch the water. If you do, the stench will live on you forever. Do what you like; burn the clothing, wash yourself, nothing will remove that stench."

Toby's nose wrinkled almost involuntarily. "Then what is the purpose of of such a place?"

"Does it need to have a purpose?" Lais asked. "Or can it just exist for the sake of existing? His Majesty, the Goblin King, uses it as a place of punishment. The only known person with the ability to withstand the smell of the Bog is a Dog-fox named Sir Didiymus. We are unsure why this is so, however. It could be his nose doesn't function at the normal level of a Dog-fox's higher capability or at all, or he grew used to the smell in his long tendre as the guard of the bridge. That bridge in the Bog has fallen now. Sir Didymus is a wandering knight-errant once more."

"So, the Bog has no other use besides a place of punishment?"

"Well, actually, it does serve once other purpose. There are some in the world who seem to need Bog mud for something. There are even some who seem to like the smell, Jareth forbid! Guess it proves the Goblin Kingdom as the Crossroad of Worlds."

"What do you mean? How can Labyrinth be a 'crossroad of worlds'? Isn't there only one world?"

"Oh, no my boy," Lais shook his head. "That is another thing you need to learn about magic. If only because of its existence, magic has fueled the creation of many worlds, parallel or otherwise. Sometimes the creator is human, sometimes not. The Underground is a common ground, however. It is there that the veil between the worlds can be crossed, sometimes even lifted, though that is not a good idea. The Goblin King deals with these worlds, it is part of his magic. He keeps them from collapsing in on each other, from confusing one reality for another. People from these worlds often use the Underground as a waystation between worlds. Sometimes they come to consult with the Goblin King. Other times, they need something we possess in our world that is not in theirs. Like the Bog of Stench. Thankfully, there is only one of it in all the worlds."

"So, the Underground isn't just under the Earth? There is only one Aboveground, though?" Toby was trying to wrap his head around this idea. He was beginning to discover that there was more to this magic stuff then he had guessed.

"Well," Lais looked as thoughtful as a goblin could look. "really anywhere besides Labyrinth and the Underground is the Aboveground to us. Jareth, however, seems to think differently. To him, his homeworld, Earth, is Aboveground. All the other worlds are just that, other worlds with their names. He never refers to Earth by name. I think it hurts him. Therefore, he calls it Aboveground."

"Huh. Alright then. Now," Toby said. "can you explain how I can travel between Labyrinth and here?"