Chapter 6
"Thanks for showing me around town," Crystal said as they walked by the shop windows.
"I've told you a lot about me, but I don't really know anything about you," David said.
"I think I have to show you before I can tell you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well you didn't believe me before."
"What? You mean about you coming from another world? How could I? First of all you look pretty normal to me, and you said this was your mother's home town."
"It is, but she went to the Underground."
"The Underground? In England or do you mean a club or something?"
"No the Labyrinth is in the Underground."
"Boy, it just keeps getting better and better."
"If you come with me, I'll take you there and you can see for yourself."
"Why do you even have to ask? Why don't you just abduct me?" he mocked.
"It doesn't work that way. You have to want to go there."
"Well that's something new."
"Why are you doing this? Why don't you just come with me and I'll prove it."
"No. My whole life I've been lied to. Life is one big lie, and I'm not going to let you or anyone else play me for a fool. Not anymore. I actually thought you liked me, but if that were true you wouldn't try to pull this stunt on me. So you can just take your spaceship and go back to whatever planet you came from."
Janine stared at his angry face a moment more before she turned and ran blindly across the street. At the same time a car ran the stop sign and hit Crystal. David watched in horror as she flew up on the hood then fell over the side of the car which didn't even slow down, but kept on driving, speeding off into the night.
David rushed over to her lying on the ground. He looked around, horrified that there was actually nobody around to help. "Crystal! Crystal!"
"David?" she said weakly.
"We have to get you to the hospital."
"No!" She put her hand on his arm. "I can't - can't go to the hospital."
"What are you talking about? You've just been hit by a car!"
"You don't under - understand. I can't go there. It would be better if I died here than go there."
"But -"
"Listen, if you believe nothing else in your life, believe that I do like you - care for you. I - I haven't lied . . . to you . . . about anything . . . I can't go to the hospital . . . believe me . . ." Her eyes stared into his before she passed out.
David stared at her a moment then looked up to the starry sky. He had stopped believing in almost everything now. Life was a cruel joke as far as he was concerned, but should he start believing now. Especially in this strange girl with her crazy stories. Well, he believed things that had made sense until the moment of truth. Maybe it was time he believed in something that didn't seem to make any sense at all. Who was he to judge what was real and what wasn't, anyway. Her story, her world, actually sounded more right than the place he was in. He decided to believe her. Her eyes had pleaded with him, had spoke the truth of her words, but what was he going to do?
It was after midnight by the time David got Crystal to his house. His parents were asleep. He carried her to his room, which was thankfully on the ground floor. He couldn't believe he was doing this. She was probably going to die right in his room. What would his parents say? He got a damp cloth and washed the blood from her face.
After awhile she woke up. "David?"
"It's alright."
She looked around the dimly lit room and knew they weren't at the hospital, but at his house. "Thank you for believing."
"Yeah, but what about you? You're going to die if we don't get help. What about your powers? You said you could use them in times of great need. I'd say this qualifies."
Crystal thought of the times her mother had used her magic. First she had said she used the power in her father's necklace to save him. Then her book of Labyrinth had helped her save Jareth again. Both times it was to save the life of the man she loved and both times there was a catalyst for help. She was sure her mom could do magic now without a catalyst if necessary, but she had also been very young those first times too.
Crystal was young and though her mother told her she had a magic in her, Crystal was sure she was just an ordinary girl. If she did possess magic ability she was sure she would find the strength to call upon it to save David's life, but what was her own life worth? He didn't love her. He didn't even like her. He was just a good person trying to save a girl's life, but after that there was no future for them and that meant no future for her. How could she go on living without him? She thought of her family and knew she would for them, but the fact remained that deep down she didn't feel the urgency or desire to fight.
She smiled up at him and reached up a shaky hand to touch his face. "I wish we could have known each other better. I'm sorry you couldn't know the truth that I know exists. Whatever happens I want you to know the truth . . . I came here to find you, but I guess it wasn't meant to be . . . for so many reasons. It's funny, but I don't think I can save myself."
"Why?"
"Because I love you."
David was shocked by her admission. "But - how could you? You barely know me. That doesn't make any sense anyway."
"It doesn't matter . . ." Her hand slipped from his face.
She seemed to be drifting off. He put his hands on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. "Stay with me." He thought about what she said. She had come here to find him. She claimed she loved him. Why? He had laughed at her and mocked her. He couldn't understand. This woman, so beautiful, loved him. And now she was dying practically at his hand. He had been too cruel to her. Why couldn't he have believed in her, the one person who had believed in him? She understood him. "You have to tell me what to do."
"It will be . . . alright . . . just . . ."
"What?" He shook her shoulders, but she was unconscious again. He had been an idiot. How could he have rejected her. She was his salvation. Was he was just afraid of getting hurt - of finding out it was a cruel joke of reality? It had seemed too good to be true, and it was turning out to be just that. As soon as he'd found her she was being taken away from him. But it was his own fault. All he could do now was wait until she woke up again . . . if she did. He began to sing.
"All our friends
Now seem so thin and frail
Slinky secrets
Hotter than the sun
No peachy prayers
No trendy rechauffe
I'm with you
So I can't go on
All my violence
Raining tears upon the sheet
I'm bewildered
For we're strangers when we meet
Blank screen TV
Preening ourselves in the snow
Forget my name
But I'm over you
Blended sunrise
And it's a dying world
Humming Rheingold
We scavenge up our clothes
All my violence
Raging tears upon the sheet
I'm resentful
For we're strangers when we meet
Your embrace
It was all that I feared
Halfway sadness
Dazzled by the new
Steely resolve
Is falling from me
My poor soul
All bruised passivity
All your regrets
Ride rough-shod over me
I'm so glad
That we're strangers when we meet
I'm so thankful
That we're strangers when we meet
I'm in clover
For we're strangers when we meet
Heel head over
But we're strangers when we meet
Strangers when we meet
Strangers when we meetStrangers when we meet"
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As Jareth was investigating different areas of the Labyrinth, he felt pain suddenly shoot through his body, for no apparent reason. He confirmed that Sarah was alright, but he still felt uneasy. Maybe it had something to do with the attack on Janine. He decided the sooner he discovered who her attackers were, the better, so he pushed his feelings aside and continued his search.
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Reineth had waited, watching the park through his crystal for his aunt to appear there. It had been too long. She still hadn't returned yet. He tried to locate her, but the crystal was all blurry. He hadn't practiced locating people yet. Finding a place was easier because it didn't move around like a person. Unless that person was The One. Then you'd have a deeper connection that always links the two people together. Even though Crystal was his aunt, he still couldn't get a fix on her without knowing her exact location.
He debated what he should do. He could tell his dad, but he imagined how well that would go over. His dad was so strict about him using his magic responsibly, and then if his grandpa found out . . . It would be better if he went there himself and looked for her. He could bring her back and no one would ever know anything about it. Except how were they going to explain the guy she brought with her, since he knew she wouldn't leave without him? He didn't know why they didn't think of that dilemma before. Well, he'd worry about that later.
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They emerged out of the tunnels into a stone part of the Labyrinth. Janine shuddered at the memories creeping on the edge of her mind about this area, but the stones quickly gave way to forest and then a clearing. Toby turned her around to see the castle in the distance at the far side of a gorge. "It's beautiful!" Janine gasped.
"Yes it is, isn't it." They stood leaning on the stone rail.
"Have you always lived here?"
"No, I've been here for sixteen years."
"Wow, that's nearly as old as I am, seventeen, I think. But your place . . . it doesn't really seem as if you do live here."
Toby sighed. "Maybe it's because I don't feel like I belong. Or maybe it's that some things are missing. There's nothing here for me."
"What about your sister?"
"Yes, I love my sister and I like being with her, but she doesn't need me. She has Jareth."
"Is Jareth her husband?"
"Yes, he's also the Goblin King."
'Goblin King . . .' The words echoed in her mind, but it was her mother's voice she heard saying them. A fearful look crossed her face.
"What's wrong?" He searched her violet eyes for the answers.
"I don't know. I've heard that before. I think my mom told me something about him, but I can't remember." A feeling of dread swept over her at the words 'Goblin King'. She had thought that Jareth was someone who could help her, but this discovery that they were the same person made her uneasy.
"Your mom knew about Jareth?"
"I think her mother told her."
Toby wondered if Janine's mother could have actually wished her teenage daughter away. It was a horrible contemplation. The only other possibility was that her mother had told Janine about the Underground and somehow she had found a way to come here. That still didn't explain why they found her in the state they did. He didn't even want to think about the possibility that her family might have done that to her. Or had it been someone in the Labyrinth? Most likely the goblins.
"I wish I could remember."
"Don't worry. You will."
"You know where I come from, don't you? You came from there too."
"Yes, the people here call it Aboveground. We're in the Underground. The Labyrinth is a part of a much larger world."
"I feel like I didn't belong where I was before."
"Did . . . Did your parents or someone there hurt you?" Janine's hand went up to touch her eye. Toby recalled it as the one with the dark circle around it that he'd healed. He couldn't tolerate people who would attack a woman, or fellow man for that matter, for no good reason. Especially when that person is someone you're supposed to love - a family member, a girlfriend.
In the human world people can hurt other people and be deemed mentally ill and get away with it. Here he could only except what Sireth had done to Jennifer because there was magic involved. The dark magic can possess and take over, but it can also be overcome and eradicated. He had a feeling no matter how many times Jennifer tried to convince Sireth she was alright, Sireth was paying everyday for what had happened with his guilt and remorse. Which was more than he could say for the other people Aboveground, who deserved fates far worse for their deeds, but time and time again they get let off the hook.
Toby took her hand away from her face and held it. "No one's ever going to hurt you again. I promise you."
Janine stared into his clear blue eyes and believed he would do all he could to stop that from happening. Before she realized what they were doing, they kissed. His kiss was passionate by the anger he held for what had happened to her and his determination not to let her life know pain again. Angry at the people who'd hurt her and above all, though he didn't realize it yet, he didn't want to lose her. He needed her.
She met his hungry kisses with her own. Letting out her frustration at her lost memory and her fear at the prospect of reliving a past she was sure she didn't want to know anymore. As well as her anger at the people who'd left her for dead and who were now a threat to this loving good man, who would seemingly lay down his life for her, though she couldn't understand why. Finally she poured into her kiss her need to fill the emptiness in his life and in his heart.
She put her arms around him and he softened his kisses. He didn't want to hurt her. He wanted to show her a gentleness she had never known. Her hands moved to explore his chest under his jacket and he trailed kisses down her neck, then abruptly he lifted his head. He was going to far. This was definitely not the time. There couldn't be any future for them anyway, he told himself. She was just a teenager and he was taking advantage of the fact that she didn't remember who she was.
They stood in each others embrace for a moment, catching their breath. Janine was temporarily stunned from the connection she had felt with him. "We should head back to the castle," Toby said finally. "See if Jareth has found out anything."
"Can we trust him?" Janine asked, regaining awareness and gripping his arm.
"I wondered the same thing once, but I soon discovered I could trust him with my life, and my sister's.
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Jareth and Sarah stood in the throne room which for the moment was free of goblins. Hoggle entered first, followed by Sir Didymus on his loyal steed, then Ludo bringing up the rear. Sir Didymus dismounted then took off his cap and bowed low and graceful. "Your Majesty. My Queen."
Hoggle stepped in front of him. This was no time for Sir Didymus' formalities. "What's this about? The whole Labyrinth's buzin' that your out to gets someone."
"A girl was found in the Labyrinth tied up and in bad shape," Sarah said. "We think some goblins may know something about it."
"Those scum. I never did like goblins."
"What do you want us to do My Lady?"
"We want you to be on the alert. Watch for any suspicious activity."
"Janine's got amnesia for now, but we're afraid they might strike again to keep her quiet," Jareth added. "If you notice anything out of the ordinary, tell me right away."
"No problem. We'll get those rats!" Hoggle confirmed.
"Yeah!" Ludo agreed.
"Yes, I'll just employ one of my many attack plans and get rid of those devils for good!" Didymus barked, waving his staff around, ready for a fight.
Sarah caught the end of his staff. "No. No fighting. Come and tell us if you see anything first, okay?"
Didymus paused for a moment then conceded. "My Queen, for you, anything."
"Alright. Be careful you guys," Sarah called after them.