Jareth rematerialised on top of the highest tower in the Castle Beyond the Goblin City where his wife was waiting for him.

"Well?" she demanded, standing up quickly from where she was seated. She was dressed in a fabulous gown, which would have been the height of fashion in 18th century France. It was made from peach and ivory silk and decadently embroidered with thousands of tiny pearls. She gathered her skirts as she stood, flashing her ankles demurely as she faced her husband.

He nodded and grinned.

Seeing his conformation a radiant smile grew across her face as she threw her hands up and danced around excitedly. "It's happening" she sang "after all this time, its finally happening." A matching smile appeared on Jareth's face and he lifted his wife into the air and spun her around. As he put her back down he looked over to where she had been sitting, there was a large silver bowl, half filled with water placed upon a white cloth. Arranged around the bowl were several jars of brightly coloured sand, azure blues, crimsons and bright shades of yellow.

"Have you obtained a reading yet, my dear?" he enquired as he tenderly brought her hand up to his lips for a gentle kiss.

"Not yet" she replied "I was just about to begin."

"May I observe you?" he asked, noting his wife's surprised expression; it had been many many years since he had last requested this. Despite the unexpectedness of his desire to watch her he did not believe he would be turned down, his wife rarely refused him.

"Of course" she acquiesced before ritually kneeling down in front of the bowl. She picked up a jar of startlingly white sand and poured it into her other hand, she then repeated this process with every other colour that she had around her. As Jareth watched intently she let the grains slip through her fingers and into the water, it immediately changed colour and she peered intently into the shapes forming. Jareth was mesmerized by what he saw, random images which made no sense to him, it was an art he had never mastered; he just didn't have his wife's patience. He soon got bored of looking over her shoulder and started to ponder how he could improve his labyrinth, the last girl had managed to get all the way through, and it was verging on embarrassing. He had definitely decided to make the walls move faster and begun to ponder whether he should do away with the helping hands. After all they were far too damn helpful in his opinion. Then his wife finally looked away from the bowl.

She stood up, more gracefully than the last time and it was his turn to demand of her "Well?" his voice rang out through the night.

"I could see nothing" she confessed "the future is hidden from us."

"It's not the first time that our path has been concealed my dear, it probably means nothing." He reassured her, though he wasn't convinced himself, and by the expression on her face neither was she.

"Nothing will go wrong this time" he reassured her again "I promise you that."

Some events, whether for good or for bad were meant to happen. When the armies of their enemies had risen up against them so long ago she had been unable to foresee it, again with the death of their son, when there was no changing the future his wife's gift was blocked. They could not see the future and there was no changing it. He voiced this last thought to his wife and she accepted it. Normally she rallied against things she could not change, she hated to feel powerless, very rarely did she simply have the wisdom to accept them.

He offered her his hand and she smiled as she accepted it. The rare moments of tenderness between the couple would have shocked most who knew them; it was generally assumed that theirs was a marriage of convenience, though nothing could be further than the truth. Hand in hand the pair descended the stairs back down into the castle.

True to her word; Sarah mentioned nothing of their plan to Beth, though she did feel a slight pang of guilt keeping things from the older girl, who had once been so kind to her. Sarah's feelings were alleviated when she found out that she was not the only one keeping secrets.

Beth was walking along the platform with Catherine, a good natured red-head who had been a scullery maid in Edwardian England; she was slightly older than Beth and had always been one of Beth's particular confidantes. The two girls were discussing something earnestly, though Sarah, who was dangling her legs off the platform couldn't hear what they were saying. As the pair walked past her, their conversation ceased as they smiled at the younger girl and they didn't take it up again until they were out of earshot.

Sarah, who was a naturally curious girl, wondered what they were talking about; it was obviously something that they didn't want her to hear. However she dismissed any real suspicion from her mind, they were probably talking about David and didn't want it to get back to him, or perhaps Beth had another appointment with the Goblin King. She tended to be quite secretive about it these days; she was a nice girl and didn't like to rub David's face in it. Sarah didn't feel the need to tell David about Beth's liaisons with the Goblin King, David's face tended to tighten whenever his name was mentioned, and Sarah had no desire to bring up old wounds.

David had been more like his old self recently, since they had formed their, to be honest slightly sketchy, plan he had been more purposeful. The void that had appeared when he had left Beth had finally been filled. He had been incredibly busy over the last few days, constantly sneaking off in the hunt for the man that could lead them into the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. Yesterday he had cheerfully informed Sarah that his hunt had been successful and that he had found the old man's hut. It was located in the forest near the Bog of Eternal stench, though was a safe distance from the bog and more importantly wasn't downwind. He would take Sarah there tomorrow as soon as she had finished her duties; much to her dismay it was Sarah's turn in the kitchens and she would be expected to help prepare the morning and afternoon meals. Sarah didn't really enjoy cooking; even when she'd been at home she'd never really enjoyed helping Karen in the kitchen. And it was worse in the underground. She'd never understood how much she'd taken a dishwasher or a microwave for granted. The encampment's kitchen was inside the only room in the old monastery that still had a roof. Sarah hated working in the kitchen as she had very few culinary skills to speak of, and because of her lack in expertise in the kitchen she was generally called upon to do the menial tasks such as peeling potatoes or fetching wood for the fires that heated the ovens. However there was a good point about her kitchen work, which was the gossip. While spending time in the kitchens, everybody enjoyed a good chat and it was nice to get together with the other girls, even if she was the youngest. She had missed their companionship recently, having spent so much time with David.

However today Sarah was anxious to be finished. She hurried through her chores with a vigour that very much surprised Marianne, the encampment's chief cook. Eventually she let Sarah head off early, to Sarah's extreme gratitude. As soon as she was finished she shimmied up the ladder and ran along the platform to David's room.

"I'm here! I'm here! Let's go!" she called as she burst through the door.

Into a room where David and Beth were discussing something earnestly, though as Sarah noisily entered the room they both went silent. Sarah kicked herself mentally, why didn't she have the good sense (or manners) to knock and wait for an answer, like most normal, reasonable adults? What must Beth think she wondered? The encampment was already rife with rumours about David's supposed relationship with Sarah.

"I am so sorry!" Sarah cringed as she started to back out of the room, slowly making apologetic faces to David, who rolled his eyes behind Beth's back.

"Don't worry Sarah" the older girl smiled. "We can leave it for another day, and I have things to go and sort out anyway."

"You sure?"

"Of course" Beth smiled at her more warmly than she had for weeks; though she seemed distracted, "you seem so anxious to get to wherever you're going…" she trailed off questioningly.

"Oh, it's nothing important" Sarah replied breezily, feeling slightly uncomfortable about how easily that the lie had just slipped off her tongue. "We were just going to go for a walk. David's found this really cool plant he wants to show me."

David joined in quickly "It's been growing from the purple acorns. I think that it's an intermediary life form between the acorns and a tree."

"Oh, really?" To Sarah's surprise Beth actually sounded interested in David's plant talk. Normally when he started rambling on to Sarah her normal reaction was to try really hard to suppress the urge to gag him. She looked out of the window for a few minutes, watching Ben dragging a large bag across from the storage bunker to the kitchens, pausing every few minutes to wipe the sweat from his brow; it was an unusually warm day.

When she tuned back into David's conversation he was discussing the finer points of cross-pollination and even Beth was starting to look slightly bored. So Sarah decided to rescue them both. "David, shouldn't we be heading off now?"

Soon the pair were traipsing through the forest at a safe distance from the bog of eternal stench.

"It was nice to see you and Beth getting along so well" Sarah commented innocently.

"Leave it Sarah" was the growl she got in response.

"I was just saying."

"Well don't" he snapped.

"What did she want anyway?" Sarah was pretty curious about this, David and Beth both went out of their way to avoid each other whenever possible, and the fact that she would seek him out for a conversation was pretty unusual.

"She didn't say, she was acting rather oddly though, if you ask me." Said David, in a tone that warned Sarah that the discussion was over.

They continued walking and Sarah was eyeing up the large cobwebs apprehensively. She really really didn't want to think of the size of spider that made those. However she couldn't stop herself, imagining how it would creep along, and as she shuddered she saw something dark and hairy in the corner of her eye. She couldn't help herself. She screamed. Then turned to see something resembling a deformed squirrel scampering up a tree, chattering to itself, completely oblivious to the trouble its presence was causing.

As David could see that Sarah was in no immediate danger he wasn't overly disposed to be comforting. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded.

"I thought I saw a spider" she replied and as she said it she realised first of all what an idiot she was and secondly she sounded like a completely pathetic girly girl.

David just laughed "Oh Sarah, you are such a ninny."

She rolled her eyes inwardly at herself. Sometimes she was such a fool. But she carried on walking, taking care to stick close to David; it was still possible that one of those spiders could make an appearance. After they had been walking for little over an hour they arrived at a tiny ram-shackled hut. It was so old and tilting at such an alarming angle that Sarah wondered how it could possibly still be standing.

"Is this it?" she asked, not relishing the thought of going inside.

"Yup. Shall we knock?"

As David approached the house Sarah had the opportunity to have another good look. It was short and squat made from dark wood with a mossy roof. Though she was no expert, Sarah suspected that it was goblin architecture; it had that slap-dash look about it.

She watched from a slight distance as David banged on the door and it was opened by a man in dark velvet robes with dark hair. But despite the appearance of youth from a distance, as she grew closer she could see that his brown hair was riddled with grey. His face had the fine lines of age, and the look in his eyes. The blue orbs were haunted, he looked so deeply tired.

"Yes?" he demanded, blocking the entrance to his home as he eyed the strangers suspiciously. It had been a long time since anyone had called upon him.

"My name is David, and this is Sarah. We're from the encampment."

"The encampment you say?" he paused thoughtfully, "well you'd better come in." He threw the door wide open and walked back inside, not pausing to see if they were following. Sarah and David glanced at each other and he took her hand in his as they crossed the threshold.

Inside was the most incredible arrangement of oddities that Sarah had ever seen. Except where the fireplace, windows and doors were, every inch of the room was covered in shelves. On the shelves were things Sarah couldn't even begin to understand the significance of: rolled up pieces of parchment, leather-bound books, a stack of crystals, jars of brightly coloured sand and to Sarah's disgust, what appeared to be pickled goblin heads. There were also several tables in the room, every single one of them covered with piles of books and stacks of parchment. The books and papers had also overflowed off the tables and onto the floor, so Sarah and David had to slowly make their way across the room, trying not to knock anything over.

"Do take a seat" their host gestured, to two wooden chairs by the fire as he sat in the third. When they were all sitting comfortably he spoke "Well then what can I do for you?"

"What's your name?" Sarah asked on impulse.

He looked surprised "It's been a long long time since anybody asked me that. A long long time" he repeated to himself. He paused for a moment, as if trying to remember "Russell" he told them, the name passing his lips for the first time in decades "they called me Russell. I was a viscount you know" he added thoughtfully, it had meant something once upon a time. It didn't anymore. He looked at Sarah, a clarity coming over his mind "why are you here?" he demanded.

"We need information" Sarah explained "about the Goblin King and Queen."

"You came to the wrong place. I wouldn't cross them for all the world. And even if I would, I'm no scholar. There were men and women who dedicated years of study to their majesties and even they only had a limited understanding."

"You used to live in the castle though?" David pressed and Russell nodded mutely. "Can you tell us about the library there?"

There was a look of astonishment on Russell's face "Well you could certainly find any knowledge that you would seek there."

"We want to get there and preferably without being seen" said Sarah "and that's why we need your help."

"There's a tunnel. It goes from the Goblin City straight into the castle. None of the goblins know about it." As he spoke he went and pulled out a couple of pieces of parchment from 2 random piles and brought them over. One was a map of the Goblin City, the other a floor plan for the Castle. "The tunnel comes out here." He tapped above a room on the castle "and the library is here" he pointed out another nearby room. He then went on to explain how to find the entrance to the tunnel in the Goblin City.

"So you two are from the rebel encampment?" Russell later enquired as he put a soot covered kettle over the fire and proceeded to make some tea. "Well, I never thought that lot would prosper you know. Still living in that drafty old castle I suppose?" Not waiting for an answer he continued muttering to himself.

But David interrupted him "What castle?"

"So you don't live there then?"

"No" replied David "But what castle?"

"Well it's obviously of no importance. What was the weather like outside by the way?"

"Its fine" Sarah told him impatiently "but you have to tell us about this castle."

"You have to understand you see" Russell said urgently "things were so much different back then. Not like things are today. The humans, we were all divided into two groups. Us, and we lived in the Castle Beyond the Goblin City and the wishers, who dwelt in the Castle on Mount Fornost."

"Is it still there?" asked David "and how would we find it?"

"Just follow the main road north out of the Goblin City, until you reach Mount Fornost. Then you climb it until you reach the stone circle, after then you want to march east for half a day, eventually you will see the castle."

"Thank you" said David gratefully.

"But wait" said Sarah slightly confused "So you didn't wish anybody away? The how did you end up in the Labyrinth?"

"I most certainly did not wish anybody away! I could never do such a dreadful thing." Sarah and David looked away, both ashamed of their actions, but he didn't notice and continued "I was born within the walls of the labyrinth. As was my father and my father's father, and my father's father's father. For over a thousand generations my family have lived in the labyrinth, and nobody has ever wished anybody away" he told them proudly.

"Then how did they get into the labyrinth?" Sarah asked impatiently "surely somebody wished somebody else away in order to get here."

"Did you say it was windy out?" Russell asked vacantly "I had hoped to go for a walk this afternoon."

"No it's not windy" she said brusquely "How did they get into the labyrinth?"

"Why they came through when the world was split. My people have been the loyal followers of the Goblin King and Queen since the beginning of time. I thought you knew that."

"We didn't" said David.

"Then when you reach the library I suggest that you read up on your history."

"Thank you so much" said David politely, but we really should be going."

"Would you like to come back with us?" Sarah invited impulsively. She didn't like the thought of leaving him all alone. Nobody should be alone, not if you could help it.

"No, I like it here" he replied "And I couldn't possibly…No. I like the solitude." With that he turned from them dismissively.

They left Russell's feeling happy with their success, and more importantly with copies of the maps of the Goblin City and the location of the library. Tomorrow they would go.