Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing Labyrinth or Jareth related (dang).
Well hello there my fine followers! I'm sorry i couldn't update sooner, but I just got caught up with school, work, and extra curricular stuff...but I adored the response from last chapter! I tell you all the time, but you really don't know how much I appreciate you all ;D
Uber shoutouts to my phenomenal reviewers: Kami74, Black-heart-green-eyes, Buggus264, The Queen of Water, fare-thee-well, Kypriothe, guest, shm429, Joesette, PugLover830, Georgina, and A Gumshoe! As per usual, please accept a basket of freshly baked brownies on my behalf ;)
Also, major shoutouts to: vampsydney, XxXdawnXxX, sunshinekatie1996, black moon inu, Celtic Harmony, Ebony eyed wolf, and xx99soccerz! For you, I have painstakingly baked a chocolatey brownie so that thou mayest eateth chocolate goodness ;D
And last but never least, to those who took time out of their busy day to read my story, I made a special trip to provide you all with my brownie mix, enjoy!
Chapter 10: Vines and other Creeping Things
Jareth watched as his Sarah was dragged away from him. Cursing under his breath while the thorny vines dug into his skin, Jareth's eyes gleamed angrily. Slithering up his legs and around his torso, the vines were beginning to squeeze the air out of his lungs.
A low ache could be felt softly thrumming in Jareth's mind, growing increasingly painful the further Sarah was wrenched his presence. At first, the Goblin King dismissed it as mildly irritable, but it wasn't until he heard Sarah's bloodcurdling scream for him that Jareth felt the mind-blowing anguish that pounded against his skull.
"Sarah!" Jareth ground out between clenched teeth.
Closing his eyes, Jareth called upon his kingly magic. Quickly, the temperature in the orchard dropped and Jareth's mismatched eyes flashed. A flurry of feathers shot up into the air, leaving the space where he had been standing empty. Flying in the direction that Sarah had been yanked towards, the golden barn owl heard satisfying thunks as vine after vine collapsed to the lush ground.
Panning his vision across a particularly long stretch of undergrowth, Jareth sighted the fast moving foliage pulling a Sarah-sized clump...an unmoving Sarah-sized clump.
Tucking his wings under himself and plummeting into a steep dive, the extraordinary barn owl opened his talons and sliced through the creepers that had been holding tightly onto his beloved's delicate ankles. Curbing his momentum, the pale gold owl swooped back around and landed on the ground next to Sarah's immovable form.
In a flash of light and glitter, the Goblin King appeared on his knees frantically looming over Sarah.
Reaching his gloved hand out and turning her head towards him, Jareth noticed a large gash running down the side of her face.
"No no no no NO...Sarah, wake up! Sarah?!" Jareth screamed hoarsely. Where were all those irritating goblins when he needed them?
Her face had scratches sporadically placed as a result from stray twigs that had been on the ground. Dirt and blood from the wound on her forehead matted her long brown hair.
Why was her face so pale? Surely that can't be a good thing...why wasn't Sarah breathing?
Jareth's insides clenched in terror. From the time he had landed by her side, the excruciating pain had vanished from his skull, but now it felt like a vise was gripping his heart. They had to leave the orchard as quickly as possible. The scorching sun was setting, and with the forest falling into disrepair, who knew how many vines and other creeping things might turn up.
Glancing quickly from side to side to make sure they were sufficiently alone, the Goblin King gently put one hand under Sarah's injured head and the other beneath her peach-stained knees.
Wide-eyed he rose to a standing position. Jareth took a step as he simultaneously transported them to his castle. Completing the step on the cold stone floor of one of the spare bedrooms, he was surprised to find it disturbingly quiet. Pushing that concern to the back of his thoughts, Jareth gently laid Sarah on the luxurious bed.
Summoning a crystal out of thin air, he brought it to his lips and whispered a single word on the delicate surface before touching it to the crown of Sarah's head. Seeing her gashes close and fade made the pressure on Jareth's heart ease slightly.
Collapsing into a nearby chair, Jareth slumped over and placed his tawny haired head into his hands. Sarah had lost a lot of blood. Inhaling deeply to control his shuddering breaths, the Goblin King found that he was shaking. Shaking with worry...and anger.
Slowly, he raised his head from where his hands had been holding it, and glared unseeingly into the air before him. Whoever was responsible for her injuries would pay dearly. The bog was too good for whoever had ordered the vines to drag Sarah mercilessly through the Woods.
Imagining what could've happened had he not gotten to her soon, a small tear leaked out of the Goblin King's hazel eye. Not noticing as the tear slid further down his cheek, Jareth stood up from the chair and sat upon the edge of the bed.
Although the scratches had been wiped away from her face, the blood and dirt were still there. Staring at who he considered to be the most beautiful woman in all the realms, his heart broke as he saw all of the color drained from her person.
Bending down to caress her cheek, Jareth's eyes gleamed with unshed tears.
"Sarah, wherever you are, come back to me..." Leaning so that he was positioned just over her lips, Jareth shut his eyes and one of his precious tears fell on her pale cheek. "I love you." He whispered softly onto her lips before crossing back to the stiff-backed chair.
Oh yes, whoever was responsible for harming his Sarah would be wishing for the bog before he was through with them, he thought darkly.
Meanwhile...
It was dark. So dark that Hoggle had begun to forget what the sun on his face felt like.
He remembered attending to the plant life out by the Labyrinth's entrance and being concerned about the wilting flowers. Here in the Underground, plants were everlasting so the small brown patches that had been spreading up to the petals, really concerned the dwarf. What Jareth would say when he found out was not an event that Hoggle desired to be present for. Shuffling towards the pond to fill up his spray bottle, all he remembered before being unceremoniously tossed into this pitch-black pit was a flash of red and a toothy snout.
A few days later, Hoggle had received another unwelcome surprise. Not to say that Ludo was unwelcome, but the dwarf didn't particularly enjoy being a landing mat for falling fluffy monsters.
Just when the two friends were beginning to lose hope, their foxy companion dropped in.
"Verily! My brother and Hoggle, thou hast no idea how merry our reunion makes me! Alas, how I had hoped it would be under more favorable circumstances...", Sir Didymus's voice grew melancholy before cheering right back up. "Nevertheless, I bring fortunate news!"
"Wells hurry up, I ain't got all day!" Hoggle stammered.
"My Lady hast returned to the Labyrinth to perform a most noble rescue!" Sir Didymus exclaimed optimistically.
"Sawah?" Ludo asked questioningly.
"Yea my brother! The valiant champion will save us!"
Hoggle thought about this for a moment. Something didn't add up. "If Sarah's come back, wheres is she?"
At this the knightly fox faltered. "Alas...we were separated upon our entering through the looking glass." Sir Didymus looked utterly downcast at his admittance of losing track of their most beloved friend.
"Damn." The dwarf muttered under his breath. "So just hows we supposed to get out of this dark damp pit?"
Sir Didymus cocked his head and looked confusedly at Hoggle. "A Pit? No, our situation is more dire than a simple dripping pit. Nay, we art in a dark and damp oubliette."
Immediately, Hoggle perked right up. "An oubliette huh? There's always tricks to thems...but beware of the broom closets." He said absentmindedly while feeling around for a small plank of wood.
Whoop whoop! Chapter 10 down! Please please please PLEASE let me know what you all thought of the Sarah/Jareth interaction and Hoggle's experience by reviewing! Not only does it provide me with some serious food for thought, but it also seriously brightens my day ;)