As it turned out, what Sir Didymus lacked in height, he made up for in valor and speed. But, if Sam was honest with himself, he doubted he would be able to defeat Jareth, even if he did get a fair amount of skill in the few short hours spent with Sir Didymus. He could honestly say he had little confidence in the meager plan he had set up for himself, but Sam steeled himself and turned to Sir Dittimus, having figured out a loophole in the fox's sacred vow,
"May we have your permission to cross the bridge?" Sir Didymus looked surprised at the question; Sam doubted anyone had ever thought to ask before.
"Well… um…" the knight looked so unsure about how to act. "Yes?" he finally said. Sam grinned.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed, wanting to pick up the small and twirl him around although he doubted that he would enjoy such a thing. Sam was yet another step closer to being able to defeat Jareth. Well, hopefully being able to beat Jareth.
"Finally!" Hoggle huffed, standing up from the rock he was sitting on. Hoggle had been impatiently watching the entire sparring event. Well, not all of it. He had run off quick a ways before actually realizing that Sam and Ludo weren't with him and coming back. Sir Didymus gave him a stern talking to and nearly went into another duel with Hoggle and his honor had been offended. Sam had been able to stop it from going too far before Hoggle didn't really seem to like the fox too much.
Ludo gave Sam and Sir Didymus a large grin as he stood. The yeti had quietly been entertaining himself while Sam and the knight had been fighting with a bunch of rocks. Ludo truly reminded Sam of a small child and the brown beast was slowly teaching Sam that he should enjoy the time spent with her sister. As soon as he got Tabatha back, he was going to be the best brother there ever was.
The thought trailed off as Sam turned back to the bridge, his brow furrowed as he stared at the rickety bridge over the wide bog that still reeked like nothing he'd ever experienced. He cast a questioning look at Sir Didymus, who waved an airy hand,
"Fear not, Dear Sir, this Bridge has lasted for 1000 years!"
Sam cast the bridge a doubting glare. Just because something had lasted for a 1,000 years, that didn't mean that it was going to last for one more, much least another thousand. Still, appearances had been deceiving the entire time Sam had been journeying through the Labyrinth so perhaps this would be another time where the bridge was indeed sturdier than it appeared.
Sam took a deep breath and stepped onto the bridge, after sorely regretting the prior action, if anything, it had aggravated his nerves when the stench clung to the back of his throat. Another step, it shook under his weight. Sam winced, it had definitely been a mistake to even try to cross the bridge. It moaned under him, and the sound of cracking made the blood leave Sam's face. Out of pure reflex, he jumped and miraculously caught a branch as the ancient thing gave way under his weight.
Clinging to the branch with all his strength, he cried out. "Hoggle! Jareth!"
The knight who was standing back on solid ground definitely wasn't going to be much help as he was just staring at the space where the bridge used to stand. Sir Didymus didn't move but said, "It seemed solid enough."
Hoggle and Ludo were standing next to the knight, staring at Sam. The boy wasn't sure how long he could hold onto the branch but it wasn't going to be long enough if his friends didn't act soon or if Jareth didn't come to his rescue again.
He was almost surprised when the king didn't appear, but he heard a howl from Ludo. He almost lost his grip in surprise when a huge grey stone bubbled from the bog, drying itself as it rose from the noxious green pool. Sam allowed himself to fall lightly onto the stone, before gravity did the work for him.
"That's amazing Ludo!" Sam said, staring at the stone below him, still not fully believing what had just happened. It also sort of explained why Ludo had been playing with the rocks while Sir Didymus had taught Sam how to fence. He liked he rocks and they liked him back.
"Canst thou summon up the very rocks?" Sir Didymus asked.
Ludo gave a large grin and nodded. "Sure. Rocks friends." Sam nodded slowly.
"Hey Ludo, would you please summon up another few rocks?" Sam asked and the yeti nodded. He yowled again and a large rock rolled down a hill and into the bog. It sailed through the murk and in front of Sam while another two popped up in front of that one. When Sam turned around, he saw that another three rocks had also popped up behind him, creating a safer bridge across the gap.
A grin on his face, Sam leapt from rock to rock until he had reached the other side. Hoggle was already halfway across when Sam turned around once again to check on his friends and Ludo was beginning to journey. Although the rocks were a bit of a jump for the others, they were the perfect spacing for Ludo who didn't need to reach very far.
Sir Didymus was still waiting on the other side and appeared to be calling for someone or something. Who that was soon became clear as a sheep dog came running toward the fox. Sam realized that Sir Didymus's home must be close to the bridge as he and the dog had appeared from the same area. The knight climbed on top of the dog and set across the bog to join Sam and others.
"Ambrosius, my loyal steed!" Jareth frowned as Sam smiled at the small fluffy dog. Even he had to admit it was cute, as most non-talking animals were. That didn't make Jareth regret his decision to send Sam to the bog. Admittedly, he was not going to express any form of regret, ever. Unless the situation truly merited it. Still, he could have been more tactful when it came to the treatment of Sam. Jareth took his eyes off the orb to think. He wasn't one to wish for tact, he rarely needed it.
Still, perhaps his decision had been a bit too rash and his actions too quick. Hoggle really wasn't competition for Sam's heart and the boy definitely wasn't going to kiss the dwarf. Yet a flare of jealousy still burned his heart whenever he thought about the fact that Sam had been about to kiss Hoggle. Why hadn't he stuck around so he could be the one to earn Sam's affection? He had been the one to truly save Sam's life while all Hoggle had done was dangle a rope from the wall! Jareth crossed his arms and scowled, trying to figure this out; he wasn't entirely sure what to do with his, well, feelings. The word was unfamiliar in his mind. He whispered it, knowing the goblins wouldn't notice him tasting the almost alien word. He wasn't entirely sure that his actions were correct by his part. This was new, something that he couldn't control in his kingdom, and he found it oddly exciting, while simultaneously driving him mad.
I wonder, if my peach will be the right thing to do? Or was it, Jareth could barely consider the option in a land where he controlled all, wrong?
No! There was no way that his spell would be wrong. It should be a dream come true! Well, at least Jareth thought so. He was going to show Sam that he truly was a prince and they were going to dance the night away. Surely that's what every human wanted, right? It wasn't just the girls that Jareth was so used to running his labyrinth.
He bit his lip, still considering his actions. This time the spell was different. He was trying to make Sam run out of time like he had with previous runners but this time he was going to try to win someone's heart. Everyone he had tried this spell upon had enjoyed it and several had fallen in love with him but how would Sam react if Jareth didn't release the spell in time so Sam would still have a chance to win his sister back? What if Jareth wasted too much time enjoying the spell and messed up this chance?
No! This was insane! He was the king of this realm and had claimed many hearts. He could woo Sam while still giving him a fair chance, that would only lead to success. Right?
Jareth sighed and began to pace around his throne. The goblins still paid him no mind as they were busy playing with Tabatha. Never in his life had he been so unsure of how to act. How different was winning a man's heart from a woman's? Surely the desires were similar...
Sam was standing at the top of the hill that rose behind the Bog of Eternal Stench, purging his lungs of the smells he had just escaped. It allowed him to focus on the other problems at hand. Rescuing Tabatha, defeating Jareth, his stomach rumbling. Oh, apparently he was hungry too. Behind him, both Sir Didymus and Ludo were complaining about the same problem, and Sam found himself nodding in agreement; when had he last eaten anything?
"Is that my stomach or yours, Ambrosius?" Sir Didymus asked as the group walked through a dark forest. Sam scanned the area surrounding them, thinking there must be some sort of food located deep in the trees.
"Hungry!" Ludo growled.
"Yeah," Sam whispered, still looking for some sort of food, "but we can't stop now. Maybe we can find some berries?"
How in the world was it possible that there was nothing food like in this forest? Where did the citizens of this realm get their food anyway? Sam hadn't exactly seen any sort of food since he had entered this place.
"Uh, Sam?" The boy looked down at Hoggle, who had interrupted his trying to recall seeing anything edible in this entire kingdom,
"Yeah?" Hoggle presented Sam with a perfect little peach,
"Here." He seemed to be worried about something, but Sam couldn't think of why Hoggle would be, maybe he was still terrified of Jareth. Even as he wondered at what power the king might possess to make Hoggle so terrified, his face split into a grin as he too the peach,
"Hoggle! You're a life-saver!" He took a bite of the fruit, and was not greeted by the flavor of peach. Sure it was sweet, but it definitely wasn't peach. Sam's eyes widened and he looked at Hoggle, unsure of his expression, because he couldn't place his feelings in that moment,
"Hoggle, what have you done?" Sam barely heard Hoggle growl,
"Damn you, Jareth. And Damn me too." Before the world dissolved around him.
Sir Didymus missed this entire exchange, as he was looking out over the horizon at the splendid castle in the distance,
"The castle doth lie yonder, good Sir." He looked around when there was no answer, "Good Sir?"
Sam only heard laughter as a scene blossomed around him, colorfully dressed dancers waltzing around him, giggling behind their almost grotesque masks. Sam took a tentative step forward, jumping in surprise as he noticed his shoes had changed from comfortable converse to gleaming white dress shoes. He shivered slightly and stepped closer to one of the white walls, the mirror adorning it haloed in crystal lamps and delicate silver. At the sight of his reflection, Sam did a double-take.
His hair was done up in a silky quiff that he couldn't have dreamed of attempting. On the left side of his dark hair, individual diamonds glittered in an intricate path to the side of his face, where they shrank into nonexistence. The high collar of his pure white tailcoat brushed the side of his neck, which was also slightly sparkly. Sam's eyes followed the silver lined hem of the jacket, the crisp white shirt under it had a neckline that swooped down like an owl descending on its prey, it was also lined in soft silver, and sheer white fabric that glittered in the light climbed back up to just below his collarbone in delicate dancing patterns. The long back of the tailcoat faded to a whisper of sheer cloth. And naturally, because the ensemble was so elegant, Sam's pants could rival Jareth's. He blushed furiously, causing the tiny flecks of glitter to stand out with more bravado. Damn it, Jareth. Sam looked up in the mirror at the winding white marble staircase and his breath stopped in his chest.
Standing on the top of the perfectly sculpted white stairs was the gorgeous king himself, striking in a dark blue suit that glittered with all the ability it had, a splash of silver hemmed white on his elegant ruffled collar. Sam spun on his heel to see if he wasn't a trick of the light. No, Jareth was standing there in all his majesty, a slight, uncharacteristically warm, smile raised the corners of his lips.
Sam was only aware of two things as he passed through the masked dancers: One, he was the only one in white. Two, Jareth was descending the stairs as if to meet him.
The two met in the middle, and the music changed to accommodate the dance they just started. Jareth was leading, Sam mimicked his graceful movements and the two spun through the colorful crowd, dark blue and white glitter falling behind them, throwing tiny rainbows into the air as they sparkled, drifting to the ground behind the completely oblivious Sam and Jareth. To be fair, neither of them were even aware of the music they were supposedly dancing to.
Jareth was finding the feeling delightful, despite the confusion it brought, of staring into Sam's clear hazel eyes. The only reason Sam wasn't falling into Jareth was the king's graceful dancing, and himself actually being able to keep up, despite drowning in his mismatched gaze. Together they waltzed across the floor, until they had made it all the way back to the staircase Jareth had been waiting for Sam on. Sam almost spun to start another time around,letting Jareth turn him by his right hand which was raised above both of their heads. Just as Sam was about to step out from the turn, Jareth's hand was on his back stopping Sam from continuing the motion. Not letting go of his hand, Jareth tipped Sam back into the arm that had stopped his motion, bringing their intertwined fingers to Sam's other side. He blushed again, which, surprisingly, made Jareth smile as he scooped Sam up bridal style and twirled as he ascended the stairs. Sam tipped his head back and let the music wash over him, he was pleasantly surprised to hear that it was Jareth crooning,
"There's sad love, deep in your eyes" Jareth curled him closer and sang in his ear his voice delicately playing over the lyrics, "A kind of pale jewel Open and closed within your eyes, I'll put the sky within your eyes. There's such a fooled heart, beating so fast in search of new dreams. A love that will last within your heart."
Sam leaned his head against Jareth's chest, a soft smile on face. This was nice. He didn't know that the king had this soft side to him and honestly he liked it. It was nice to know that Jareth was more than a pretty face and tight pants.
Closing his eyes, he continued to listen to Jareth's song. "I'll place the moon within your heart. As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you, every thrill has gone. It wasn't too much love at all. But I'll be there for you, as the world falls down! It's falling, it's falling down, falling in love."
Jareth gently set Sam down on the second step from the top and walked down two steps until they were eye level. Sam was still drunk on the song, his eyes never leaving Jareth's mismatched gaze. He leaned forward, not wanting to be parted from him and Jareth met his halfway, their foreheads now touching. Jareth continued his song, their eyes never leaving each others.
"I'll paint you mornings of gold. I'll spin you Valentine's evenings. Though we're strangers till now, we're choosing a path between the stars. I'll lay my love between the stars. As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you, every thrill is gone. Wasn't too much fun at all." Sam wanted Jareth to just shut up and kiss him already. There was barely any space between their lips and it would take barely any effort to close the gap yet he didn't want to interrupt the song.
"But I'll be there for you as the world falls down. It's falling as the world falls down. It's falling. It's falling. It's falling. It's falling. Falling in love, it's falling."
Finally, the song was over. Sam leaned forward to press his lips against Jareth's but the striking of a clock caused the king to pull away and look around. The smile that had been on his face disappeared and he turned back to Sam with a sad gaze in his eyes. Before Sam could ask what was going on, Jareth had turned away and was walking back the stairs. Sam blinked, wondering what had just happened but suddenly everything started to fade and shimmer. All he saw was Jareth looking back with some unplaceable expression, one that made Sam want to know what was wrong.
Sam started toward Jareth, wanting to reach him and understand what was wrong but the world around him was becoming blurry and it was hard for him to move. Jareth was nearly out of his reach and was disappearing into the crowd of dancers who all stared at Sam with grins on their faces. He had barely made it halfway around the staircase when the world dissolved completely around him and he found himself floating down and landing on a huge pile of junk.
Looking around, Sam wandered how he had gotten here. He should still be in the forest yet he could see one in the distance. Were his friends still in there, searching for him? Why had he been teleported into this junkyard, especially since it was so close to the castle? Surely Jareth hadn't let that happen, right?
"Ow, get off my back!" A voice suddenly growled at Sam. The boy leapt up off the junk pile and onto the dirt. He whirled around and saw a small figure appear from under the junk he had just been lying on. An old hag glared up at him. She was hunched over with an enormous pile of junk balanced on her back. Sam couldn't help but wonder how she was able to handle all that weight on her back but he definitely didn't blame her annoyance at landing on her. She continued grumbling at Sam, who felt as though his head been filled with shimmering white mist. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, all he really understood at the moment was the withered old lady with the heaping mounds of junk on her back was demanding why he didn't look where he was going.
"Umm." Sam found it hard to find the words he was looking for, "I, I was looking..." He trailed off, the woman looked just as confused as he felt. He couldn't shake the idea that he had been searching for something, something important. The woman asked, her weathered voice seemed softer than before,
"Where, where were you going?" Sam shook his head and shrugged, trying to clear his head of the mist that was muddling his every memory, and concealing what he was trying to accomplish,
"I don't remember." She shook her head, wiry grey hair shaking as she added,
"You can't look where you're going if you don't know where you're going." Sam tilted his head to one side, straining to remember, music filled his thoughts and shrouded it from his mind,
"I... I was looking for something..." Was he? Sam thought so. The crone pondered this for a moment, then grabbed his hand and led him to a hollow in the mounds of junk,
"Why don't you try looking here?" Sam let her lead him into the room. His bedroom. What? His bedroom? Where was he? Every question he had thickened the mist, so he sat on the edge of his bed and tried to sort through the thoughts, the haze and the new questions, while the hag hobbled around his room, precarious pile of trash waving as she moved. She plucked a notebook off a shelf, and handed it Sam, who carefully took it, and gently touched the pages,
"Thank you." He wasn't sure this was what he was looking for, but Sam found comfort in its familiarity. It seemed to clear the haze, if only a little bit.
The woman continued to shuffle around his room handing him various objects and naming them in her scratchy voice and how important they were, blankets, slippers, old stuffed animals, books, more notebooks, but Sam was only half paying attention, he was slowly turning the pages of his notebook. He paused at the last entry. In his sloppy handwriting was a name he recognized. Gareth. He repeated it in his mind, mulling it over, it rang a bell. Gareth, Dareth? No, Jareth. Jareth. A thought cut through the shimmering mists and lyrics in his mind, the goblin king and his mismatched eyes, a dance, Tabitha.
"Oh, and here's your little bear! Isn't he so cute!" the hag said, placing the bear on the pile of junk that now sat on his lap.
"All this stuff is worthless," Sam murmured, standing up and causing all the stuff to fall onto the ground. Why was this woman trying to fill his life with these things when he needed to go rescue his sister and get revenge on a certain king for messing with his emotions. He also believed that Jareth still owed him a dance.
"What?" the hag yelped, looking insulted.
"It's all worthless!" Sam declared again and immediately whirled around and marched out of the door. He could hear the hag hurrying after him, spluttering about how none of things she had given him were worthless and were, in fact, priceless possessions that he should appreciate. Sam ignored her as he climbed onto one of the piles of junks and looked around, hoping to see his friends or something familiar.
Looking ahead, he saw the great wall that he had exited earlier in his journey, when he had first arrived in the castle. Excellent. He was close and soon he would rescue his sister.
Sam sprinted away toward the wall, scanning for the large wooden doors he knew where somewhere. As he ran he saw two familiar faces that caused him to grin.
"Ludo! Sir Didymus!" he called as he ran and the two figures turned around.
"Sam! It's lovely to see you dear boy, we've been looking everywhere for you!" Sir Didymus declared.
"Sorry guys, I was… a bit busy," Sam replied, feeling bad for having abandoned his friends. To be fair, it hadn't really been his fault, it had been Jareth's. That was another thing he needed to tell the king off for; how dare he threaten Hoggle like that and make Hoggle drug his friend. In all honesty, it made the king less attractive and it pissed Sam off. He huffed and turned to his friends,
"Where are we, anyway?" Sir Dittimus pointed toward the horizon,
"We are almost there, good sir! The gates of the goblin city!" Ludo growled his assent, indeed Sam saw the gates he had found in the beginning of this endeavor. He placed a hand on the borrowed sword at his hip and narrowed his eyes at the palace, he was going to have to teach Jareth to not mess with him like that, and get Tabitha back. Sam took a deep breath and started in the direction of the gates, his friends along side him, brushing a few stray flakes of glitter off his shoulder. It only ended up on his hand. He glared at the horizon, way to ruin the effect.
It honestly didn't take long for the group to make it to the huge doors with the utterly pointless chains on the front. Sam stared at the chains for a moment before pushing the doors open and revealing the large stone arch that lead into the Goblin City.
Wooden carts and white stone houses greeted the trio as they stepped into the city. Sam heard Ludo shuffle behind him and turned around to give him a calming glance. The gentle creature held out a hand for Sam for to and Sam led him forward into the city.
As they were about to enter, two metal halves swung forward, forming a gate to prevent them from entering. However, that wasn't even the worst part. A mold of a humongous robot formed the door and an uneasy feeling settled over Sam. Was this how the goblins defended themselves?
The mold came together and Sam revealed that it wasn't actually a mold at all once the arms of the robot began to move. Red eyes blinked to life and it growled at the trio. A wave of fear swept through Sam and his hand went to his sword. Unfortunately, he doubted that his small but sharp piece of metal would do much damage.
Ambrosius began to bark as the robot let out another growl. The robot glided out from the metal wall that had trapped it and stamped forward. They all began to back up as the robot stepped forward and Sam realized just how tall the creature was, probably 12 feet tall.
The group continued to back away until Sam suddenly heard a twang of metal. He turned around to see metal spikes had popped out of the ground and narrowed his eyes. Where had those some from and what was even the point of them? The ends didn't look sharp but… the sides of the metal might be an issue. Even if Sam could get over them, it was unlikely that both his friends could.
The golem swung its giant axe downwards, attempting to slash the trio but horribly missing. Sam narrowed his eyes at the mechanical giant, trying to figure out a way to disable it, something. It was huge, but very clearly not fast, nor precise in its attacks. He looked around, thinking as Sir Dittimus tried to coax Ambrosius from his hiding place. Perhaps 'coax' was the wrong word, Sir Dittimus was shouting at his dog about his cowardice, and to stand and fight, his yelps at his steed a stark contrast to Ludo's resonant and uncertain growls that slowly ran thick claws through the air as he stared at the massive gatekeeper.
It swung its axe again and again missed the trio, Sam threw his head up to see where the mechanical thing would attack next, but something else caught his eye,
"Hoggle!"
The dwarf was running along the top of the wall that separated the group from the Goblin City. Sam turned back to the golem that had managed to get its weapon caught in the doorway and was stuck swinging it back and forth, repeatedly hitting the stone. The golem managed to get its weapon free by swinging downward but at that point it was already too late.
With a mighty yell, Hoggle jumped down and onto the golem. He grabbed onto on the horns that made up the golem's head and hung there for a few seconds. Fear struck Sam's heart as he watched his friend dangle there for a few moments before righting himself and pulling the golem's off, which fell to the dirt with a clang. Instead the robot was a small goblin, who looked shocked at seeing Hoggle on the golem's shoulder.
"Eh, get out of there!" Hoggle declared as he jumped into the robot and shoved the goblin out of the way. The goblin fell out of the robot with a scream and landed on its face at Sam's feet. Before Sam could help the small creature, it had already darted away.
"My turn now!" Hoggle said as he steeled into the seat. Gripping the two levers in front of him, he began to move them up and down. "Eh, how do you drive this thing?" The levers moved the arms around randomly, causing the axe to nearly hit Sam and Ludo several times.
"Be careful!" Sam shouted up to Hoggle.
"I'm trying!" the dwarf shouted back. "Where's reverse?"
Sam was about to shout that this was a robot not a car when the machine started to spark due to something that Hoggle had touched. Realizing that the robot was probably about to blow up, Sam called for Hoggle to quickly get out of there before he got hurt.
Scared, Hoggle managed to get the axe stuck in the stone archway before he jumped out the machine which was being to smoke. Hoggle also landed on his face as the machine shot out large, blue sparks the froze.
"Hoggle, are you alright?" Sam asked, crouching down next to his friend.
"I'm not asking to be forgiven. I ain't ashamed of myself. Jareth made me give you that peach. I don't care what you think. I told you I was a coward. I ain't interested in being friends," Hoggle declared as he sat up.
Sam rolled his eyes at Hoggle. "I forgive you Hoggle."
Hoggle looked up, surprised. "You-you do?"
"And I commend you!" Sir Didymus said. "Rarely have I seen such courage. You are valiant, Sir Hoggle!" Sam smiled at Sir Didymus; the knight could be crazy at times but he had a good heart.
"Huh- I am?" Hoggle asked.
"Hoggle and Ludo are friends," Ludo added.
"We are?" Hoggle asked. Sam couldn't help but wonder if every creature in the labyrinth was lacking in social skills. Jareth didn't know how to properly ask someone out, Ludo was bullied and had growled at someone trying to protect him, Sir Didymus was ready to fight anyone and everyone and apparently couldn't smell, and Hoggle didn't understand kindness. Well that worm had been nice. He should really go and pay him a nice visit. Actually, he probably should have gone and had a nice cup of tea and asked the worm how to defeat Jareth. That may have been a better plan than just wandering around but at least Sam had made several new friends out of the experience.
Sam snapped out his thoughts, remembering something important. He unhooked Hoggle's jewels from his waist and handed them back with a smile. "Thanks for all your help, Hoggle and I'm sorry about taking your jewels."
Hoggle took the bag back with a grin and looked up at Sam. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get that rat who calls himself Jareth!"
"Right!" Sam agreed standing up.
Sir Didymus had returned to trying to get Ambrosius to come out. "It's safe now Ambrosius! There's nothing to be afraid of."
The dog slowly came out of his hiding place and allowed Sir Didymus to climb back onto his back.
Sam pushed the metal doors open to reveal the bleak landscape of the Goblin City. Sam felt a wave of pity for the creatures that had to live here but pushed those feelings aside for the moment. He had a little sister to save.
The tan buildings were scattered across an uneven street, and the windows didn't have any glass in them. Doors the color of mud stood ajar, and an unsightly yellowish fountain trickled atop crooked cobblestone, and a cat mewled in the distance. Aside from that, there was no sound, and the silence was unsettling. Sam and his friends crept into the city, stillness only broken by slight movement from the fountain, and a blur of motion in the far corner of the street, too far and fleeting to be identified.
The goblin that had run away arrived, breathless at Jareth's throne room,
"Your Highness!" It wheezed, tripping over its words as it tried to finish a coherent thought, "Your Highness! The-The boy! That boy who ate the peach and forgot everything!"Jareth sat up in his stone throne, moved from his daydreams at the mention of Sam,
"What of him?" The goblin answered in its squeaky voice,
"He, the monster, Sir Didymus, and the dwarf are on their way to the castle!" Jareth had two reactions simultaneously, the first one he said out loud, good thing too, as it was the most in character,
"Stop him. Send the guards, hide his sister. Do, something!" He didn't want to see Sam, he wasn't sure if he had acted appropriately given his situation, and although this quality was oddly endearing, Sam's taking his words with a grain of salt could be infuriating. Especially since he wasn't as easy to read as his goblins. Indeed, it would be much simpler if he had just stayed in the junkyard. But, on the other hand that wouldn't have been fair. That led to the other reaction, a little secret happiness that he might be able to set the record straight. After all, what did he really do wrong? It's not like he threw a snake at him... Jareth grimaced, nevermind, he did do that. He had to resist the urge to flop onto his throne and try to puzzle out human emotions, and how to deal with his own. He glared around the room, it was empty. It looked like he was the only one tardy, Jareth frowned slightly as he allowed himself to fade away to his own tasks.
Meanwhile, Sam was in a fairly good mood. The goblins must all be the castle so that meant that the group had an easy journey in order to get to the castle. Well, perhaps it wasn't the best since they would probably have to find a way to get through the goblins and they would be in an enclosed space.
Sam didn't want to jinx them yet but he honestly still thought that the journey was going to be easy. And the universe just had to prove him wrong.
Suddenly around the corner, the pounding footsteps could be heard. Sam whirled around to see several goblin soldiers marching forward with a cannon.
"Company, halt! Lancers, ready!" one of the goblins commanded. "Cannon, fire!"
Smoke burst from the cannon as it shot and Sam didn't see where the shot landed as the shouts of charge and rushing goblins grabbed his attention. Within moments, the group was surrounded and Sam was searching for a way out of the situation. Fortunately, there was a small gap behind them.
"Come on!" Sam shouted as he ran through it. He caught a glimpse of his friends horrified faces as they ran away from the goblin army. He honestly wasn't so worried since the goblins appeared to be fumbling around, trying to organize themselves. Either the goblins weren't a strong army or they actually didn't wish to harm anyone.
Sam shook the thought away as he located a small opening between two of the houses that was covered by a plank of wood. He skidded to a halt and motioned for his friends to duck through the opening while he held the plank away.
Sir Didymus whirled around as Ludo and Hoggle crawled into the hole. He gave a battle cry and tried to rush forward to fight the goblin soldiers who were about to follow the group. However, Ambrosius was not in the mood for a battle and immediately turned tail and ran the other way.
"No, not that way! You're going the wrong way! The battle's behind us!" Sam heard Sir Didymus cry as Ambrosius ran away. Knowing that the furry stead would keep the knight, Sam quickly followed Hoggle and Ludo through the hole.
Running down the streets, Sam, Ludo and Hoggle managed to avoided all the soldiers. They nearly ran into some chasing Sir Didymus but Sam managed to stop them in time and despite two groups passing right by them, neither noticed the trio crouched in the shadows of two buildings. Sam waited until the soldiers were gone before motioning Hoggle and Ludo forward, following the soldiers from behind. The strategy worked surprisingly well since no one ever turned around and Sam, Ludo, and Hoggle were able to creep around the streets without too much of an issue.
Sam lead his friends into back into the center of town with the peeing foundation. Unfortunately, there was a group of goblins waiting for them with a small cannon. Sam's eyes widened as the cannon fired but missed as they ducked. He was even more horrified when he heard a small voice from inside the cannon ball squeak, asking what he had hit. He supposed that knowing someone was inside the cannon ball was a little better than having to wonder why someone had made the ammunition with arms and legs but not by much.
Whirling around again, Sam set off down another side street, hoping that it would actually lead him to where he wished he go. Running through several streets, Sam rounded a corner only to have a cannon blast greet him. Falling to the side to avoid the blow, he crashed onto the step of a house. Quickly getting back up, he motioned for Ludo and Hoggle to followed.
"Come on, in here." Sam called as he entered the house.
Hoggle easily followed but also pointed out a problem, "How's Ludo gonna get in here?"
Sam didn't actually have an answer but Ludo apparently did. He tore off the front part of the house as if he was opening a door and slipped inside the house. However, the house was already being surrounded by goblin soldiers and it was only due to the fact that Ludo had hit several of them with the wall that they didn't immediately break into the house.
Ludo climbed into the top part of the house and removed the roof of the tower. Seeing his friend up there gave Sam a sudden idea.
"Ludo! Call the rocks!" he called. Ludo gave Sam a strange look but did as he was asked. The yeti's yowls echoed through the city as Sam and Hoggle batted the goblins away from the windows inside the house. Soon enough, a loud rumbling shook the ground and Sam smiled, knowing that it was the rocks.
The goblins immediately panicked once they realized that huge boulders were rolling towards them and fled. The rocks filled the entire city, chasing the goblins around and opening up a path straight to the castle.
"Come on!" Sam cried as he exited the house. Setting off again, the trio ran through the city, nearly getting hit by stray cannon fire once but somehow they managed to reach the steps of the castle.
"Sir Didymus!" Sam called and turned around to see the fox running toward them.
"Coming!" he called. Sam smiled as his friend climbed the steps to meet them at the top of the stairs. Turning around, he faced another set of doors similar to the ones he had seen over by the junkyard. Two large wooden doors faced them with large chains acting as decoration while also making it slightly more difficult to open the door.
Between Sam and Ludo they managed to get the doors open and were met by the an empty throne room.