Chapter5.

Toby watched the gnomish little man hobbling in front of him, leading the way down the long passageway. "There are not turns, no entrances," he commented darkly. "I thought a Labyrinth was filled with turns and entrances."

"It is," a small voice chuckled.

Toby looked about; trying to see who it was that had spoken. "Who said that?"

"'Allo," a tiny wormlike creature with large eyes popped its head out from between the bricks closest to where Toby was now standing. "'Allo," it repeated in a cheery voice, its large eyes looked at the boy with interest. "What 'ave we here?" He looked over at Hoggle and frowned, "Hoggle," he gnashed his teeth. "What are you up to?"

Hoggle waved a warning hand at the smaller goblin creature, "Not a word Alfie or I'll be tellin' your missus what you been up to…"

The worm's mouth dropped in astonishment at the unveiled threat. "Cor!"

Turning to the boy, the gnomish goblin gardener saw the reaction of suspicion being turned on him. It was uncanny just how closely this child resembled the Goblin King. "Don't mind him," Hoggle blithely waved a hand, "He's just one of the many busybodies who live here."

Toby had his doubts; there was something about the worm that gave the boy a feeling of needing to be more cautious with his dealings with this gnomish little man. "Really," his left brow rose into his hair line, making him look even more like the king. "I see…" he turned to the worm, "What did you say about there being entrances?" he addressed the little bluish worm politely, and gave the gnome the cold shoulder.

"I said there is…" the little worm shook his head side to side.

Toby gazed back at the long corridor he and Hoggle had just come through; "I've got to get through the Labyrinth," he explained to the worm as if they were lifelong friends, "And there are no turnings, or openings, or anything." he blinked rapidly. "It just goes on and on."

Hoggle cleared his throat, warning the worm to keep still, the worm ignored him, "Ooh," the worm said, "You ain't looking right, you ain't. It's full of openings. It's just that you ain't seeing 'em, that's all." His voice was cheery and full of warm friendliness. He chuckled, good naturedly.

Toby scratched his head, "I don't see any opening."

"That's cause you ain't lookin at it right," the worm repeated. "There's an opening just across there," the worm went on. "It's right in front of you."

"Alfie," Hoggle gargled the name out, threateningly. "I told you to stay out of this…"

"Ignore him," encouraged the worm, "Go ahead, its right there!"

Toby blinked, "I don't see an opening," he murmured as he shuffled forward expecting to run into a solid wall. Instead he moved into an opening to another passageway. "There is an opening," he gasped. "Wow!"

"Can't take anything for granted here," warned the worm giving a dark warning glance to the gardener. "Not anything!"

The little towheaded boy held out his hand and observed how the optical illusion had fooled him. "Wow, that is sooooooo cool." He looked back at the worm that seemed to be having a staring contest going with Hoggle. "Thank you."

"Yer welcome lad," the worm said without taking his eyes off the gardener. "Next time ye come through you should stop in for tea and cake…"

"Next time," Toby asked cocking his head to one side, "I don't think there will be a next time."

The worm shrugged, "Well off with ya lad," he said encouragingly. "Oh and why not try the path way to the left?"

"No," Hoggle stormed, "That path is blocked," he growled.

Toby doubted it, the gnome had a reason for wanting to take him to the right, and Toby was certain the little man was up to no good. He peered down the new path, "It doesn't look blocked." He shrugged, and turned to the right, "But if you insist," he started down the same path his sister had taken years before, just as cheerily.

Hoggle glared at Alfie, "You almost ruined everything!"

"Did I," Alfie asked innocently. "Imagine that."

"Bah," huffed the gnome as he hurried down the path after the boy before he could lose sight of him.

Alfie looked over his shoulder at another little goblin creature, "Murphy, you'd best be off and tell the king old Hoggle's up ta no good." He shook his head, turning back to the wall that Toby had just passed into, "Poor little tyke… all alone with that gardener…"

--

Jareth fumed, what right did that girl, that infernal girl have insulting him? Sullenly he leaned on the trunk of the tree he had appeared beside. Feeling the same pain and agony he'd felt when Sarah had caused his endless puzzle room to shatter and pull apart. Wearily he closed his eyes, pouting and feeling the dry sob in his chest. How could she be so beautiful one moment and so cruel the next? Didn't she understand that she was breaking his heart?

"Sire," a quiet voice spoke up.

Jareth opened his eyes and saw Murphy at his boot, "Report," he sighed.

"The boy has passed Alfie's place~ Sire, that Hoggle person is with him, and up to something." The little goblin wagged a finger at the King in warning. "He tried to get Alfie not to talk to the lad…"

Pulling at his chin, Jareth gave thought to what Hoggle could be up to, "Did the boy seem concerned, or vexed or even upset?"

"No," the little goblin with large saucer eyes smirked, "That boy seemed at home." He slapped one hand to his leather leggings. "Why he marched into the Labyrinth bold as a prince!"

"He is a prince," Jareth sighed, "My little prince…" his sadness returned. "Keep tabs on them; I've got to return to the castle. I'll meet you and them at the tunnel." He handed a small coin to the goblin, "Well done, Murphy."

Murphy removed his feathered helmet and bowed deeply, "At your service, Sire;" Then swiftly rushed off again to keep tabs on the King's boy and the gnomish gardener.

Jareth took a deep breath, blew it out and exhaled all his tormented thinking. He then waved a hand and transported himself back to the castle.

--

Toby was enthralled, thrilled at being able to now wander down the winding paths that were indicative of the nature of a Labyrinth. While an older child or an adult might be put off by the slimy walls, or the ooze or the funky smells, Toby was not. Quite the contrary, he was as excited as if he'd just won a round of chutes and ladders off of Sarah! The colors of the moss and lichen and molds on the walls seemed very pretty to the little boy of six. The fragrances, while a bit earthy for some tastes seemed to electrify and stimulate the boy's imagination.

"This is soooooo cool!" he exclaimed as he sped up his pace. "Have you ever in your life seen anything like this?"

"I live here," grumbled the gardener, "See it all the time, it ani't nothing to write home about."

Toby stopped moving and turned to look sadly at the little man who had brought him into the winding maze of corridors. "You don't like it here," he lamented, "Such a pity."

Hoggle's eyes popped, that was the king's phrase, and this child used it all too well. "P~P~Pity?"

Toby smiled, not friendly, not vicious, not anything really, just a smile; "Look about you Hoggle, this is awesome~ It's every little boys dream." His eyes were wide and pleased and full of enthusiasm.

"This place," Hoggle asked looking about him disparagingly. "This is no dream, it's a nightmare!" He pointed to the wall, "It's slimy, it stinks and it's full of traps… The fairies bite, the plants grab ya and hold you upside down til ya can't thinks straight~" he continued to rant. "Half the time you don't know who to trust and the truth is… No one.. ya can't trust a bloodly soul here…"

Toby looked at the old gardener with sympathy, compassion, and forgiveness, "You're looking at it with grown up eyes… but for a kid; like me… this is sheer heaven." Toby turned and walked on.

Hoggle's shoulders slumped, "You're as daft as your sister," he muttered. "She thought this place was a piece of cake…"

Toby was far enough ahead of the gnomish little man that he had not heard him, "Come on Hoggle, I'll race ya through the stone maze ahead…" He prepared to run when a sound halted him in his tracks. It was music, strangely happy music playing on the air; seemingly coming a long distance. "What is that," he asked absentmindedly. "I know that~ song." His head began to bob to the rhythm of the music. "Why can't I recall the words?"

Hoggle looked toward the castle; he'd not heard that song in a very long time. He'd only heard that song once before, and somewhere deep down inside, he knew with every fiber of his being that the song was not a good omen. "It doesn't mean a thing," he lied briskly.

The blue eyes of the boy narrowed as he looked at the little man. "That's a lie, Hoggle, and you know it." The gardener only sputtered, Toby pivoted, and looked toward the castle. "I remember that tune… and being happy when I heard it… but it's all…so foggy." He placed a hand to his head, as if trying to force himself to recall.

"We should move on," urged Hoggle. "It doesn't pay to stand still here too long."

--

Jareth had appeared at the front gate, he paced back and forth, debating whether or not to enter. He was sure Sarah was going to demand fetching the boy right away, and he was not ready or willing to do that just yet. He was even more unwilling to be victimized by Sarah's temper. Pinching the bridge of his nose he began to wonder the sanity of wanting that girl. He was still infuriated and annoyed that she felt she'd the right to make any comment to him about his upbringing. What did she know of being a Fae, or a Royal for that matter? She was nothing more than the ungrateful child of an actress.

Still, he had to admit that his little stunt of making that particular chair appear was … ungracious at the least. He could not truly blame her for not wishing to be seated in the shards of glass that were now embedded in to the grain of the wood. It had been a bad-mannered uncivil and disrespectful move on his part, and he was only too aware of it. "I don't know why I did that," he said aloud to himself. "I wouldn't truly wish harm on her, not really…" he paced a bit more aware that goblins on the pathway in front of the castle were watching as discreetly as a goblin knew how. "She just seems to know how to make my blood boil…" Leaning on the wall beside the heavy doors he took a long breath. Knowing he could not stay outside the castle forever, and he was only putting off the inevitable.

--

Sarah watched the cleaning crew with a critical eye. "When was the last time you used a broom," she questioned one goblin who was sweeping or pretending to sweep up a mess off to the side of the throne.

"If you don't like the way I'm doing it, you can sweep this up yourself," he growled back irately. His insulting tone was met with approval by the rest who snickered nastily.

"And deprive you of the rewards of your loyalty?" she questioned, not fooled by the attempt to get out of work.

Beady goblin eyes peering down long pointed noses turned on her, "What would you know of loyalty?" demanded one of the goblins as he tossed down his cleaning cloth. "I recall you wished away your own brother… how loyal is that?"

"Not very," Sarah agreed without shame. "But I learned from my mistakes."

"Sure you did," another spoke up as he went back to washing the surface of the keg off. Years of grime and spillage coming up in the wet rag in his hand. "That's why you were about to make the biggest mistake of your life."

"Second biggest mistake of her life," the first one corrected. "Her biggest mistake was turning down our King…"

Sarah opened her mouth, ready to protest, but then snapped her mouth shut again. She had to admit; even she thought the goblins were right. Turning down Jareth had been a mistake, and if it had not been for the fact that she'd been so hell bent on getting Toby back home she would have made different choices. "Keep cleaning," she quietly commanded moving to the chair from the ballroom. Jareth had left it where he had made it appear. It was not only covered in glass, the glass from the shattered crystal ballroom was imbedded into the pretty white and gold chair. Her hand reached out to touch the back rail gently. One of the few things in the ballroom that had not had a pretty but corrupt appearance, it still carried the scent of candle wax, and perfume. Her hand traced the bamboo shaped spinals, and she lamented the destruction of the soft blue material that had been its seat cover. For the seat too was slashed by the shards of broken glass. A leather clad hand slipped over hers, she could feel his warmth as he moved closer to her and bent to speak in her ear.

"I apologize," he whispered in an emotional rasp, "It was cruel and thoughtless, and I'm sorry." His gloved hand closed about her fingers gently. "Forgive me."

Sarah looked at his hand before turning, her green eyes warmed as she looked at his sincere features. "I was wrong too," she whispered back, "I'm sorry."

His hand didn't move, but remained on hers as he looked into her sad eyes, "Sarah," he whispered. In that moment he might have granted her any wish, any within his power.

"I don't want to fight with you," she whispered urgently. "I just can't seem to help myself…"

Feeling a warmth surge in places he'd never experience warmth before he took a long raspy breath, "I know…" he pulled back from her, his hand moving slowly away from hers. "Your brother and the dwarf are past the first walls; they have seen the worm and are on their way."

"Is he alright," Sarah asked trying not to sound desperate.

"So it would seem," Jareth mused, "It has been reported to me that he marched into the Labyrinth bold as a little prince."

The image amused Sarah as well, "That sounds like Toby," she snickered lightly.

Jareth looked at the crew of goblins who were making progress at a snail's pace, "I see you've kept them working," he commented gently. "I'm sure that was no easy feat."

"They are not happy with me," Sarah agreed moving to stand beside the King, "They really didn't like getting the pig out of here…"

Looking down and to his side, he smiled softly at the young woman. "You should have let me use magic," he teased quietly. "We'd have a nice clean room by now."

Sarah looked up, a bit shyly. "But they would not appreciate it." Her voice trembled slightly. "Some things you have to~ experience to fully appreciate."

Pivoting, he gazed down into eyes that had the most elegant shading. "Sarah," he warned darkly with his signature smirk, "You've not yet truly experienced me."

A shiver, deliciously enticing and ever so pleasant, coursed through her at a pace that was like quick silver. "Sire," she blushed.

The hand that had moments ago been wrapped round hers moved to her face, caressing her cheek. "Don't defy me," he teased gently using words she'd remember. "Don't fight what is predestined. We will experience each other." He felt her quiver, and hear her breath quicken. "It is as predictable as the sunrise."

"Is it," she questioned, not challengingly, but softly, with reserve.

"Even before you ate the peach you were mine," he moved closer, now waiting for her to make a move.

Lips parted, and she gazed at him, "Be careful what you wish for Sire," she warned brazenly. "You just might get it…"

"I fully intend to "get it" Sarah," he purred. A faint glow warmed her cheeks as the blush spread. He had heard his father refer to this as "maiden's Glow", "I shall treasure you," he added hoping it would bridge the delicate subject being spoken of.

"You don't know what you're getting into," she warned gently. "I'm not always pleasant.. Or pleasing."

"I'm well aware," he inched closer, his hand now fondling her long swanlike neck. He inched forward, and then moved to stand behind her, his hand possessively stroking her throat. "I have no doubt we'll be at each other's throats from time to time." Long thing fingers flexed and tightened slightly, his breath was now on her ear, "Think of the fun we'll have making up…" his voice growled enticingly, answered by a soft growl in the throat held by the King. "I am a moth to your flame." He closed his eyes preparing for her denial and protest.

"No, you're gasoline to my fire…" she murmured.

Jareth took a breath, pulled her closer, "What a lovely way to burn," he crooned.

Sarah sighed, her head moving to his shoulder, as if this were the most natural interchange and conversation. Her lashes fluttered and then her eyelids closed. "I don't want to fight," she moaned slightly as her eyes opened once more and her face turned sad. "But Jareth…Toby.."

"Is safe," he promised drawing her back to lean against him once more. "And will remain so."

She felt his warmth, and his desire, "We can't…" she whispered trying to tamp down the flames he'd ignited within her.

"WE can," he crooned.

"No," she shook her head.

His teeth found her ear lobe, "Yes," he murmured.

"Not here, not now…" her voice begged.

His breath came in a long groaning exhale. "When then," he asked in a monotone groan.

Sarah turned, looked at him with quivering lips. "When Toby is here, safe and sound under your roof…."

"I have your word?" he narrowed his gaze, unflinchingly.

"Yes," she nodded. "You have my word."

He stared at her lips, "I'm afraid I must demand a bit of collateral." The hand at her throat migrated upward forcing her chin to rise as he lowered his chin. Inches from her lips he paused, his eyes met hers with a challenge; "Your move Sarah." He purred.

It seemed an eternity, each staring into the eyes of the other, unflinching, unwavering and resolute. Suddenly the electricity betwixt them exploded and the green eyed beauty lunged forward. Her lips hungry on his and her hands pulled him closer. A second wave of sound erupted out of the king's throat. Sarah felt the wall pressing against her back where she didn't remember a wall. His mouth was as hungry, as urgent and as demanding as hers. Now both his hands held her, one still locked on her throat, the other planted firmly in the small of her back. Her hands were knotting in the fabric of his ruffled shirt, as her lips parted under his.

Jareth's head pulled back, so swiftly they were both taken aback. He stared at her, panting like a voracious lion. Sarah leaned back on the wall, equally out of breath, but hands still gripping his shirt. Looking down the King smiled triumphantly, "Want to know what I ask in interest?"

"It'll be worth it," she gasped out breathily before swallowing hard and begging softly, "More.."

Jareth swooped down, capturing her eager and agreeable lips under his own. This time his tongue invaded the sweet territory of the moist cavern behind her lips. Moments later he fought his own urges to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off to his bedchamber. He pulled back took a long ragged breathe, stared at her with hungry eyes before turning. He started to walk toward the main entry of the castle.

"Where are you going," she whispered breathlessly, finding herself sliding down the wall.

"To bring the kid home," he said without looking back. "Save my place…."

"No problem," she promised, closing her eyes for fear of begging him to forget the baby….

Goblins watched the king stalk out of the room, looking more feral and virile than they'd witnessed before. They turned then in unison to look at the girl clinging to a wall for support. One gulped and then went back to his chores, the rest followed.