Author's Note: Thank you for the lovely feedback thus far. Again, the Dryn and the wyvern (though the term exists) are my own species. My ideas for the library were inspired by J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. Response to reviews after the chapter.

Chapter Three

Sarah.

Her legs trembled as she watched Jareth walk away from her, his back straight and proud, his mocking words echoing in her ears. She felt exhausted. Between advising the goblins, the intimidating meeting with the Dryn, and Jareth's layers of masks, she felt as if she had received a thorough physical workout. She glanced briefly at the imposing throne before settling gingerly on the steps before it. Even with no one near, she wasn't quite brave enough to use the chair of the king.

There, curled alone on the cold floor of the empty throne room, Sarah felt suddenly abandoned. Reflecting on the events of the day, she wondered if she had truly made the right choice in returning to the Underground. Jareth had taken her to his bed readily enough, proving that he still felt at least some kind of lingering affection (or lust) for her, but now he seemed wary, mistrustful, as if waiting for her to spring some grand trap.

Stop it! I'll say the words!

She shivered. And why shouldn't he be mistrustful? She had given him no reason to trust her. None that he would accept anyway. Only time would heal the injured bond between them, though Sarah feared the long years of loneliness after his defeat had greatly compounded Jareth's agony.

Shaking off such morose thoughts, Sarah rose and, remembering Jareth's parting words, wondered how exactly one summoned a goblin to one's bidding.

No sooner had she thought it than, as if by magic (which was indeed the case), a smallish goblin scurried into the throne room. The goblin bobbed a quick curtsey as she neared.

"Lady Sarah! Where'd ya like ta go?" She peered up Sarah with wide, luminous eyes, full of wonder. I imagine I look like quite the fantasy to her, Sarah mused, hiding a smile behind one hand.

"Hello, what's your name?" she asked the goblin girl.

The child (Sarah had decided she must be quite a young goblin) blinked in surprise and took a moment to answer.

"Um. Emily, ma'am. I mean, Lady Sarah." Her eyes widened fearfully. "I'm sorry Lady Sarah! King Jareth said you're a lady, not ma'am." She looked so agitated by her small slip that Sarah immediately knelt beside her and pulled the girl into her arms.

"No, it's okay, Emily. I'm not used to being called Lady or ma'am, so you can call me just Sarah if you like." She heard a muffled sniffle. This had once been a human child, she reminded herself.

"Really?" Emily asked. "You won't yell at me or kick me or..or throw things at me?"

Sarah was mildly appalled. "No, of course not sweetie." She released the goblin and stood up. Emily beamed at her. With her distorted features, it looked almost grotesque, but Sarah smiled back anyway. She wondered bleakly if it was hurt fault Jareth mistreated his subjects.

"So.where'd ya like ta go, ma'am? I mean, Lady-..I mean Sarah!" After a quick nervous glance to see if Sarah was upset, Emily giggled at her own mistakes.

"Hmm, I think I'd like to go..." Sarah hesitated indecisively. Jareth had mentioned a library and some gardens, but she was also curious about the Dryn. Dare she meet them on her own? What about that strange egg they had offered Jareth? She had forgotten to ask him what it meant. She wondered...

But no. She sighed. She'd tested Jareth's control enough today. "...to the library," she finished. Perhaps she would find some books about Dryn, or wyverns.

Emily nodded, strangely solemn. "I know where that is. Follow me!" She trotted off down one of the long hallways, waving her new friend after her. Brushing her flowing hair back over her shoulders, Sarah followed slowly, careful of her long skirts.

At first, she tried to keep track of the route, but the halls twisted and turned and seemed to even wind back upon themselves. Finally she was forced to give up and follow Emily blindly. She wondered how such a young girl could remember her way about this complicated place.

At last they reached a tall pair of engraved wooden doors. Emily stood up on tiptoes to reach the handle and pushed her full weight against the heavy door to throw it open. Murmuring her thanks, Sarah stepped through the entrance.

And froze.

She was vaguely aware of her mouth hanging open. Her hands grasped blindly for something solid to hold onto, the dizzying sight before her having totally destroyed her sense of balance. Finding a chair, she clung to the high back and tried to calm her racing heartbeat. "This," she gasped finally, "is the library?!" Emily was nodding and said something, but Sarah didn't hear the words. Her eyes were still fixed on the astonishing sight before her.

The walls were not flat as walls should be, but instead curved and rippled, as if someone had poured them into place from a great overhead waterfall. At least, she assumed that's what the walls must look like. She could not be entirely certain, as they were all completely covered with books. The room was large, oval in shape (though it was hard to be certain of that also, with the walls protruding at such odd angles), and stretched up higher than Sarah could see. Up and up into the ceiling it stretched, like a neverending, flowing tunnel. In fact, the walls really did look like they were flowing...

Sarah gasped. "Emily! The walls! Are they...spinning?" She forced her eyes to the ground before the dizzying sight caused her to completely lose her sense of balance.

The young goblin was watching Sarah curiously. "They always do that," she said matter-of-factly. "But I don't know why. Nobody does." She watched Sarah a moment longer, as if wondering if this new person might magically provide the answer. Sarah darted a few cautious glances upwards, slowly adapting to the strange sight. As long as she didn't stare too far up the tunnel, she managed to keep her bearings. She cleared her throat and took a hesitant step from the chair she had been clinging to.

"How...how do you reach the books up there?"

Emily's face split into a giant grin. "I'll show you!" She took off running without waiting for a response. With a nervous gulp, Sarah hurried after her.

In the center of the large room was what appeared to be a giant stone well. Without stopping her headlong rush, Emily leapt over the side and vanished into the dark hole. Before Sarah had a chance to really register what had happened, she heard the goblin girl's voice from inside the well. "Up!" she yelled. A moment later, Sarah was startled to see Emily come shooting out of the well, flying upwards at an astonishing rate. She soared up through the tunnel, waving her arms and giggling.

Recovering from her surprise, Sarah waved an arm tentatively over the well, expecting to feel a powerful breeze or some kind of force propelling the girl. Nothing. The well could just be an ordinary decorative hole for all Sarah could tell. She glanced up and saw that Emily had almost vanished from sight. She very faintly heard the girl yell "Down!" and watched as her form began to grow larger again as she plummeted back towards the ground.

Just as she reached the floor, she yelled "Stop!" and Sarah could only stare as she watched Emily float contentedly over the opening of the well. The goblin girl stepped quite calmly from the open air to the lip of the well and then hopped to the ground. She turned to Sarah with a big smile.

"Now you try it!"

Sarah realized her mouth was hanging open again and quickly shut it, smiling reassuringly at the girl. "Maybe later," she replied. "For now, I think I'll just look around a bit. Thank you for showing me here." She knelt down so she was face to face with the child. "I'll call again when I'm ready to leave, okay?"

Emily nodded, understanding that Sarah wished to be alone now. She started to leave, hesitated, then briefly threw her arms around Sarah before scurrying out the door.

Sarah smiled after her, reminded of Toby. A pang of loneliness hit her and she quickly pushed aside the memories of the family she had left behind to return to the Labyrinth. Carefully avoiding the well, she approached the nearest wall and began looking for books on the Dryn.

-break-

After several hours of fruitless searching, Sarah was ready to give up. Her feet and back ached fiercely and the thought of food made her stomach rumble, but she hated to quit without having found a single piece of information. She fell into a nearby chair with a sigh.

"Someone needs to introduce this place to the card catalog system," she muttered in annoyance, "although I imagine that would take up a whole room of its own." She sulked in silence for a moment, contemplating black things that could be done to whoever created such a vast library with no cataloguing and a well for transportation.

Sarah's eyes widened. "The well! Could it be..." Eyeing it warily, she stepped carefully to the edge. Zipping around at high speeds wasn't exactly her cup of tea, especially in these voluminous gowns, but if it could help her find books?

Gathering her skirts carefully in one hand, Sarah climbed up onto the lip of the well. Remembering how Emily had plummeted until yelling her command, Sarah carefully spoke as she stepped forward.

"Up!" she ordered the well as her feet touched empty air. Instantly, her skirts pressed flat against her, ripping themselves from her hands, and she found herself soaring upwards. Glancing down, she saw the floor trickling to a mere pinpoint. "N-no," she stammered. "Down! Down!" The movement reversed and Sarah had a small glimpse of the floor growing larger before her dress billowed up into her face, her hair flying upwards. She shrieked in surprise, flailing against the yards of heavy fabric.

"Down slowly!" she screamed. Instantly, her dress and hair calmed and Sarah wrestled the heavy material of her skirt back to it's proper location, combing her hair over her shoulders. Watching the floor, she saw that it was approaching at a vastly decreased rate. Her racing pulse beginning to slow, Sarah was extremely relieved no one had been around to witness her learning experience with the well.

Gathering her wits, she studied the walls around her as she slowly descended. There had to be some way to find things...

"Dryn," she told the well. No reaction. "Find books on the Dryn," she tried again. Still nothing. "Wyverns?"

Finally something happened. She began to move upwards again, thankfully not at the alarmingly fast rate she previously had, but still at a smooth, swift pace. Sarah watched the ground shrink and swallowed nervously, hoping that magic didn't often malfunction. Her flight drew to a halt abruptly and she looked around nervously. She was hovering in mid-air at a dizzying height. How was she supposed to reach the books on the walls?

With a deep breath, she lifted one foot, moving it forward through the empty air. Gingerly stepping forward, she found the air to be solid. With her eyes fixed on the wall before her, Sarah walked slowly through the open air to the shelves. Once there, she couldn't help but grasp the rows of books tightly before glancing nervously at the gaping hole below her.

"This has got to be the most exhilarating library experience of my life," she gasped, jerking her gaze away from the dizzying sight. Focus, she repeated to herself.

The books in front of her were thick, ancient looking volumes. Sarah's eyes locked on one. Wyverns: History, Habitat, and Heraldry. "Found it," she whispered, elated.

She pulled the heavy book from the shelf. "Heraldry?" she murmured. "What in the world?"

Thumbing through the book, intent on her discovery, she didn't hear the library doors open far below her.

-end-

Responses to reviews:

Xelena: She hasn't been given to them, they just expect that they're going to have her. Whether or not she'll let them remains to be seen. ;)

Xaviere Jade: Thanks! I was hoping that came through. I was trying to make Jareth seem arrogant and imposing, and yet still vulnerable where Sarah is concerned.

draegon-fire: Revenge, ey? Interesting idea! Whether Jareth or Sarah stops the Dryn or whether they get away with their schemes, well you'll just have to wait and see. I hope you'll enjoy where this goes!

Serendipity: Not boring AND not confusing. A double bonus! :) I'm glad you think so, I was rather worried about how that last chapter might be received (not that I don't wonder about everything I post).

if-666: I'm very tempted to make it R or higher, but I'd like to keep more with the spirit of the original movie. It was intended for children, but still had Jareth as the very seductive villain. I guess I'm trying to take that a step farther without going TOO far. Both the wyvern egg and Jareth and Sarah's relationship will be developed more as I go. Please keep reading!

And to everyone else that sent encouraging words and told me how much they're enjoying the story, I hope you continue to enjoy the story. :) I'm definitely enjoying your kind reviews.