You can adjust to just about anything, granted you don't struggle against it. Sometimes you have no choice. You can get used to not waking up to somebody, wrapped in the warmth of their arms. You can get used to not passing somebody you used to see everyday.
You can even get used to a new world.
David had gotten used to not seeing Beth the moment that he opened his eyes every morning. It had taken weeks of bleary eyed confusion, wondering where she was. When he opened his eyes now, he expected to be alone. And he was.
Sarah had gotten used to her new home. She knew and had finally accepted the fact that there was no way for her to return to the aboveground. It didn't mean that she liked it, or that she wouldn't have sold her soul to return to her parents, with a baby in her arms, but she was now using her energies to improving the encampment, rather than trying to escape it.
Part of her still hated herself for what had happened, and when she went to visit Toby in the city she was still wracked with guilt. He no longer recognised her face, this happened to all the Goblins, David has assured her, they simply forgot their previous lives.
All the members of the encampment have been through this transition, once they realised there was no way for them to return home or to change their loved ones back they started working towards making the encampment a safer place. After all, everybody needs a home, even if it is not the one you would have chosen.
Two months had passed since Mary had been laid in the ground and life had moved on. Alice, who had witnessed the scene of her demise, was now returning to her normal state, though she still seemed to be rather shaken up. She also seemed rather lonely, missing her best friend. Beth did her best to keep her company, though Sarah suspected that it was half to keep an eye on Alice and half to distract herself from the absence of David. On the other hand, Sarah was rarely out of David's company these days, leading to all manner of speculation throughout the camp; however there was nothing to it. There was no attraction between the pair, they were simply becoming the best of friends, and many of the activities that Beth had once planned had now been taken over by Sarah.
She was finally enjoying some well earned peace and quiet, sitting on a patch of soft grass in the ruined monastery, soaking in the early summer sun, when a shadow fell over her face.
She glared up at whoever was blocking her light, squinting in the brightness. "Do you mind?"
"Nope, not one bit" David replied cockily. "Come on, get up, I've got something to show you."
"What now?" she groaned, "I only just got to sit down"
"Trust me, you want to see this!" he assured her.
Sarah didn't trust him; in fact she was highly sceptical that he had anything that she actually wanted to see. Last week he'd shown her some 'amazing' toadstools with the ability to completely heal burns. However the only side effect was that they smelled like the Bog of Eternal Stench.
Seeing the unconvinced look on Sarah's face, and remembering how unimpressed she'd been with last weeks toadstools he decided to reassure her. "It's nothing weird! I promise."
She sighed impatiently as she stood up, still not convinced "Why don't I believe you?" she replied jokingly, and she started to brush the dirt off her jeans and shirt, glancing across the clearing for somebody who she could inform of their outing.
Beth was watching with a frown. It was understandable that she was jealous, Sarah concluded, after all, it wasn't that long ago that it would have been her that David would have been dragging into the woods. "We're just going for a walk" Sarah yelled across to her "Be back in a couple of hours, okay?"
Beth nodded and turned away.
Since their break up there had been an unofficial dividing of the camp into Beth's side and David's side. Everybody still spoke to each other but Beth had become fairly withdrawn from certain people, and Sarah was included in that group. Not that Sarah really minded, after all David was her best friend. Sarah had realised that recently Beth had noticed how close she and David had become and the older girl had stopped confiding in her. However David's closeness more than made up for any distance on Beth's part.
The forest really was beautiful this time of year; Sarah smiled to herself as she followed David down a small winding path. The sunlight poured through the trees, providing nourishment for all kind of wildflowers and exotic-looking plants. David was whistling cheerfully and seemed to be more relaxed than he had been since Sarah's arrival in the labyrinth. As normal he wasn't overly chatty, but he broke the silence to answer Sarah's queries into how much longer the trip would take and to point out trees that he found interesting or useful. They were walking deep into the heart of the forest, much deeper than Sarah had ever previously ventured. The paths were becoming more and more unclear and more than once Sarah began to wonder if they were losing their way, but David continued, unconcerned and he seemed to know where he was going, and as Sarah didn't think she could find her way back she had to trust him. And she did, with her life, if need be.
The forest was becoming lighter and more airy, compared to the part of the forest that they were currently in the area containing the encampment felt constricted and oppressive. As Sarah and David wandered deeper and deeper into this part of the forest she could feel her worries peeling away like pollen floating off onto the wind. A soft breeze blew her hair into her face and she lazily pushed it back, feeling better than she had in months, though this contentment niggled in the back of her mind. The sad thing was, she reflected, was that she was coming to see the labyrinth as home. Her memories of the aboveground were becoming hazier and hazier, she could still remember her mother, father and Karen, but she was forgetting things too. The exact lines on her father's face, her mother's tinkling laugh and her step-mother's warm smile. They were all now passing beyond recollection.
Her thoughts were interrupted as David pulled aside some low branches and ushered Sarah under the brightly coloured leaves, which tickled her neck as she ducked below them.
"We're here," he announced.
It was like something out of a dream. They were standing underneath an old oak tree at the edge of a forest glade. The sun was warm on Sarah's face, but there was a deliciously cool breeze, which was causing the flowers to nod and whisper gently to each other, and if she hadn't known better she could have sworn that they were gossiping about her. But Sarah, who had loved "Alice and Wonderland" when she was younger, had asked Beth and David about the existence of almost every creature in the tale, and although certain plants here could watch you, none of them could talk. A pair of rabbits scampered around playfully, blissfully unaware that they were being observed, until one of them glanced towards where Sarah was standing and they fled in terror from those intruding into their peaceful world. Sarah stared in awe, for it was the most beautiful place that she had ever seen.
"Oh David, it's...magical!" she sighed, before breaking into a huge smile as she watched the fairies that had now arrived dart from flower to flower, looking for nectar to take home to drink with their evening meal.
"You ain't seen nothing yet, kiddo" he smiled back at her before nodding at the far side of the clearing.
Sarah's eyes widened in astonishment at what lie before her.
Even years later on her deathbed, the memory of what she saw that afternoon still brought tears to her eyes, and though she would visit that clearing many times throughout her life she never forgot that feeling the first time that she laid eyes upon them. Two unicorns stood shyly under the shade of a large tree, venturing out into the sunlight cautiously, whickering to each other softly. They were so white that the sun seemed to reflect off them and they appeared to be almost bathed in light. It was a heart breaking beauty though, for nothing could ever compare to these magical creatures.
"Aren't they incredible?" David whispered to Sarah conspiratorially, a huge grin on his face, and Sarah found the expression mirrored on her own.
"I've never even imagined anything like it" she replied, saddened as she watched them slowly walk away and then vanish into the thick undergrowth from whence they came.
"This is to be our secret!" he suddenly rounded on her and she'd never heard such firmness in his voice before, "Only the two of us can know, I've never shown anybody this, not even Beth."
"Of course David, but why?"
He sat down on a dark log, covered in acid green moss and Sarah perched next to him.
"These creatures, they're so innocent, so pure, unlike the rest of the creatures here. If the Goblin King and Queen were to find them…I don't know what they would do."
"The Goblin King doesn't know they're here? Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"I guess it is a bit strange, I always figured that they were brought through from the aboveground with the rest, by accident I guess."
"A mistake…" Sarah spoke thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I suppose."
"If the Goblin King and Queen are capable of making the mistake of carrying unicorns without knowing it…We need more information…" she trailed off.
"But why?" David looked puzzled.
"Because knowledge is power," she said decisively "And we don't have any."
"Power?"
"Or knowledge, for that matter" she replied wryly.
A light flashed in David's eyes "Before us, before the encampment, I mean. There were a group of people who lived in the castle. With the permission of the King and Queen, of course. But then something happened. One of them did something, I don't know what, maybe they offended or threatened the Queen, like I said, I don't know the details. But they killed them, every last human in the castle, save one. He's practically mad now. Lives on the borders of the forest near the Bog of Eternal Stench. And I once heard him speak of a room, an enormous room filled floor to ceiling with books."
"A library!" Sarah whispered her eyes shining with possibility.
"Many of the books, written by humans for generations, detailing the entire history of the Labyrinth, as well of that of the Underground and even the Goblin King and Queen."
"We need to find this room. We need to find directions on how to get there."
"And how to get into the castle unnoticed, we can hardly stroll up to the door and ask for permission to peruse their library and look for weak points, now can we?"
"And then we have to get there."
The walk back to the encampment was mostly undertaken in silence as both David and Sarah were lost in their thoughts, pondering on the possibility of breaking into the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. To David's knowledge, no such feat had ever been embarked upon. As they reached the borders of the encampment Sarah broke the silence.
"We should ask Beth for help. Nobody knows the labyrinth like she does."
"No" David's tone was forbidding "she's the last person we should include in this."
"I think she could really help us on this."
"Trust me, she wouldn't. She would interpret this sort of action as war mongering, and she is desperate to prevent any conflict between us and the Goblin King. You do understand the relationship between Beth and the Goblin King?"
"No, nobody's told me anything. It does appear to be slightly odd though."
"Beth and King Jareth have a unique…" he paused, searching for the right word "arrangement. When the encampment needs something from him, and we frequently do, or if he needs placating over something she… I don't know how to put this. She…" he paused again "She offers herself to him"
"You mean she sleeps with the Goblin King?" Sarah's face wrinkled up in horror, which melted away seeing the pained look on David's face.
"It's done for the good of the encampment Sarah, not because she wants to, I want you to remember that next time you see Beth. She's sacrificed a lot for us."
"Including you" she half whispered to herself, as reality dawned on Sarah "That's why you guys broke up"
"Beth and the King Jareth's arrangement was formed long before I entered the picture, and Beth refused to change a perfectly good alliance simply for the sake of my feelings. And I couldn't stand by and watch her go to him any longer."
"Oh, David." Sarah sighed as she wrapped her arms around him "We'll fix this, somehow we'll make it right."
In the meadows beyond the forest containing the encampment in the long grass, near the spot where Sarah had first encountered the Goblin Queen, laid Beth, basking in the golden afternoon sun. Alice had offered to come with her, but Beth had declined, wishing for solitude so she could gather her thoughts.
She missed David.
She hadn't seen their break up coming and it had hurt, gut wrenching and tear jerking. When he had said he'd had enough she didn't believe him, after all he'd said it before. And now she really missed him, but she was too proud to say so. It would change nothing. She could not break off her liaison with the Goblin King and David would not take her back unless she did.
Her musings were interrupted as a shadow fell over her face, blocking out the sun. Beth jumped as she realised that a figure was standing over her.
"Hello Jareth" she said calmly, regaining her composure.
"Beth." He greeted her almost mechanically as he sat down next to her. His long legs bending in powerful arcs, the silk of his grey britches clinging to his every curve, his black shirt, unbuttoned to almost his waist, moving softly in the wind.
"What do you want?" she asked, almost not caring.
"Why Beth, what makes you think that I want anything?"
"Past experience" she muttered, more to herself.
"Beth, I'm hurt. Perhaps I simply wanted to gaze upon your beautiful face, hear the lilt of your voice." He paused wickedly "I heard you and your little boyfriend broke up" He remarked as if speaking of the weather.
"Why are you here Jareth?" Beth sighed, already tired of his games.
He turned and looked at her, his eyes meeting hers.
"I think I'm in love with you."
Beth burst out into hoots of laughter. All the pent up stress and anger was let out as she doubles over until her sides ached and there were tears in her eyes at Jareth's declaration.
"No you don't" she told him when she finally stopped laughing.
"Well I might" he replied petulantly.
"Don't be ridiculous Jareth" she told him "you don't even know what love is."
"Well it never really seemed like and interesting subject to study" he said, inspecting his nails as if the conversation bored him. "So why did you and your man decide to part ways then?"
Beth glared at him "Wouldn't you like to know."
"It wouldn't have anything to do with me now would it?" He feigned innocence, "Or perhaps he has a newer model, from what I've heard."
"I hope you're having fun!" she told him angrily.
I'm just full of the joys of spring.." he replied, "Little birdies flying around…lambs skipping…new life and all that…"
With that remark, he simply disappeared.