Due to a horribly cruel twist of fate, my copy of Labyrinth was destroyed a couple days ago. As a result, I'm writing the rest of the bits about the Labyrinth and castle themselves pretty much from memory until I can get another copy. It shouldn't be that big of a deal because I've seen the movie more times than is probably appropriate. Point is, if some parts of the Labyrinth are out of order or a line gets misquoted, etc., please let me know and I'll fix it.
As Sarah stood within the entryway of the Labyrinth, she couldn't help but chuckle at herself.
"Somethin' funny? 'Cause I don't see nuthin' funny about what we're doin'," Hoggle grumbled beside her.
"Not funny, really. It's just that it looks exactly the same. Not a stone out of place." The walls were indeed just as she remembered. The same foreboding dimness to the corridors, the seemingly endless appearance of the path from left to right, it even smelled the same, earthy and dank. "I don't know I just expected… something different." Sarah couldn't even explain it to herself, but somehow she felt that everything was different this time around. The goals were similar… but somewhere between kissing the Goblin King and standing in this Labyrinth again, something about the process became less black and white.
"Sarah," Hoggle said, grabbing her hand so she'd look at him. "Ya don't have to do this, ya know. I know the others wouldn't want ya to risk yourself again. You can leave right now," he pleaded.
Sarah steeled herself against the smell and kneeled down to hug him. "Hoggle," she said, her arms still around him, "I would never be able to forget about you guys living the way you are. I'd be constantly thinking about the fact that I could have saved you and chose to be selfish instead." She leaned back, her hands still on his shoulders. "Do you understand?" Hoggle nodded, but hung his head sadly. Sarah forced a cheerful smile on her face, jumped to her feet, and said flippantly, "Besides, I beat him once before. I'll do it again."
Hoggle heaved a great sigh and said, "I guess you're set on it. We better get movin', then." Hoggle turned right and started to jog down the corridor, looking back once to see Sarah following quickly behind him, her hand reached out to run along the left wall. "Don't do that, Sarah," he said, stopping.
"But I have to, to find the opening."
"I know where the openin's are. Ya don't ever go touchin' things in the Labyrinth."
Sarah snatched her hand back and searched the face of the wall, looking for a threat. "What's there that could hurt me? It's just a wall."
Hoggle huffed in frustration. "Didn't you learn nuthin' on your last trip? There's not anythin' that's just anythin'. Now come on."
They proceeded down the path until Hoggle stopped dead in front of a seemingly ordinary portion of wall. Sarah smiled and held out a hand to Hoggle before he could step forward. "I did learn some things, Hoggle." She didn't even hold her hands in front of her as she walked toward the illusion of a solid wall, emerging into another corridor. As Hoggle followed, she looked back at the wall behind her. "Wait," she said to him and moved back to the opposite wall in the first corridor.
"Sarah, we don't got time for this!" Hoggle whined.
Sarah ignored him and crouched down to look at a brick near the bottom of the wall, jutting out like a ledge with a little hole next to it. "Hello?" she called. Nothing but silence greeted her. "Hello?" she called again, putting her face close to the small hole. She glanced back at Hoggle, who was anxiously looking back and forth down the corridor. Low, so he couldn't hear, she leaned in close and said, "'Ello?" But no worm came out to greet her or offer any advice. Sarah frowned in disappointment and turned back to Hoggle, turning right down the new corridor as she passed him.
"Where do ya think you're goin'?"
Sarah looked over her shoulder, but kept walking. "Don't worry, Hoggle, I remember this part. The worm told me to turn right here."
"Sure ya turn right if ya want to be wandering around the tricksies for half your time. Ya turn left to get out of the stone maze and go towards the castle," Hoggle said.
Sarah's brows drew together. "The worm lied to me?"
"Sarah, everythin' in this place is meant to trick ya in one way or another... Probably, it was just tryin' to save ya from the king," he added to try to cheer her up.
She smiled at his transparent effort and followed him as they headed the opposite direction down the new corridor, her confidence slightly shaken.
""""
Jareth dissolved the crystal in his hand with a smirk. With the dwarf guiding her, she'd already cut at least three hours off her last run, if things went relatively smoothly from there. Just as he settled back into the throne, footsteps echoed in the entryway. His wards weren't tripped, so whoever it was must not have meant him any harm- a rare thing these days. He waved a hand to dismiss the guards as Councilwoman Maireen strode into the room with a smile.
Jareth's curious expression changed to a smile as he said, "Councilwoman, it's a pleasure to see you."
"Maireen, please, your majesty," the woman said with a bow. Once in front of Jareth's throne, she said, "At your request, I've come to witness your human's run through the Labyrinth."
Jareth blinked, but said, "Of course, thank you for coming so quickly. Sarah Williams has already begun, I was just watching her progress when you arrived."
"Your majesty, tradition dictates that I interview the human before she run—"
"To ascertain whether she could survive the ordeal, but I've done that already," Jareth interrupted. "You've always been reasonable, Maireen. I know you'll believe me when I say that there has never been a human more able to be Goblin Queen," he said with a confident grin. Jareth was a playful king, always had been, but when Maireen studied him, she could see a new seriousness waiting to emerge in him. "I will set up a viewing chamber for you, the goblins will wait on you whilst Sarah is in the Labyrinth."
Just as Jareth was about to summon some goblins from the kitchen, the ward at the gate shoved a warning into his mind. He gathered his defensive magic around him as he felt his father's magic permeating the grounds. When Tiernus entered the room with Councilman Kennan on his heels, Jareth was prepared for anything. What he was not prepared for was the sight of his mother following meekly behind Kennan, her head bowed and her hands clasped in front of her. Jareth's brows drew together.
Tiernus strode forward confidently, but once he saw Maireen, his face reddened with anger. "Goblin King, Maireen, I'm here, along with Kennan, to witness the girl attempt to solve the Labyrinth," his voice was all forced civility.
"Councilwoman," Maireen said pointedly.
"What?" spat Tiernus.
"I would prefer that you address me as Councilwoman."
Jareth glanced back at his mother before he spoke up, "Your majesty, I already have a witness. Maireen has graciously agreed to observe Sarah's run. I certainly appreciate the gesture, but you needn't have bothered coming here." His voice was dripping with sarcasm, which only served to make Tiernus's face even redder.
"Fine," he growled. "Councilmembers, is there any law, either ancient or recent, that limits the number of witnesses allowed to observe a run?"
Maireen said, "No law, but it would traditionally be left to the Goblin King's discretion."
"And the Goblin King is under my rule, at least in matters such as these," Tiernus finished triumphantly, his face back to its normal color.
Jareth was about to retort, but Maireen caught his gaze and gave him a slight shrug to say, There's no point fighting it. Jareth took a calming breath and gave his father a curt nod.
"Excellent. Please arrange for Kennan, your mother, Maireen, and me to have a viewing chamber."
Maireen cleared her throat. "I would like to remind everybody that the run of the Labyrinth is an intensely personal thing for the Goblin King or Queen and the potential mate. We are here to objectively observe, not to interfere. As long as Jareth stays within the parameters of the laws governing the Labyrinth, we cannot intervene." She stared hard at TIernus and Kennan until they both acknowledged her speech with a nod.
""""
As they made their way through the brighter tan corridors, Sarah felt unease creep up her spine. "Hoggle," she said, nervousness seeping into her tone. "I haven't been in this part of the Labyrinth before."
"If I'm bein' honest, I try not to be in this part most of the time. It's the most direct way to the castle, but ya pay a price for the time saved," Hoggle's voice was lowered as if he feared something was listening, though there was nothing in sight but deceptively light walls.
"What price?" Sarah rubbed her arms, trying to dispel the goose bumps that had risen along her skin. They weren't from cold, but from an unshakable feeling that she was being followed and watched, that danger was right around the corner. She couldn't help but think that any moment some monster was going to burst from around a bend and attack. Every now and then, she glanced behind her to find nothing but the endless passages.
"The closer ya get to the castle, the more the Labyrinth tries to stop ya. Last time, ya skipped a lot of it by goin' through the Bog and the forest. Do ya notice anythin' different?"
Sarah took another searching look around her, absentmindedly running her hands along her arms in front of her. The walls looked the same as she remembered when she was trying to mark her way through the maze with lipstick. "It looks the same," she said.
"Looks ain't anythin' to go by down here. What does it feel like?" Hoggle said impatiently.
"It feels… hostile," Sarah finally landed on the perfect word to describe the negative waves washing over her from the walls.
Hoggle nodded and said, "Yup. It's doin' what it can to make you wanna turn back. The trick is realizin' that feelin' ain't comin' from inside you."
Sarah relaxed slightly as she thought over Hoggle's words. To her relief, the nervousness started to dissipate as soon as she realized that that feeling wasn't her own. She smiled and said, "I'm so glad you're here with me. With us as a team, there's no way we can lose." The nervous feeling was still there, but now it was just a niggling impression in a corner of her mind.
Hoggle forced a smile at her, but mumbled under his breath, "We've barely started."
Hoggle moved expertly through the twists of the Labyrinth, moving as fast as his little legs could carry him. Soon after beginning, Sarah had to remind him that since she had a guide this time around, they probably had time to spare and didn't need to move so fast. His winded pants were tugging at her protective instincts for the dwarf. Once she was satisfied that their pace wouldn't put Hoggle into an early grave, she took a deep breath and asked, "Hoggle, what happened while I was gone? Apart from… you know." She waved a hand in the air around him, indicating his dip in the Bog.
"Well, we was basically livin' in the forest, Didymus, Ludo, and me. We only got rumors from goblins about what the king was doin', we tried to stay outta his way most times." Sarah could understand that. Hoggle's voice dropped to a near whisper as he said, "He was in a right temper that night after you won. Dropped every one of us into the Bog. Then he left us there to find our ways out- the bottom is real soft and kinda sucks ya in… some of 'em didn't make it."
Sarah's mouth dropped open at the cruelty Jareth showed in leaving his citizens to drown in that putrid swamp. "I can't believe he would do that just because you guys wanted to be with me." Sarah actually felt sick to her stomach as she remembered the kiss she'd shared with the king in his chambers. She'd known all along that he was a snake, but he was still charming with his easy smirk and smooth voice. In minutes, he took advantage of her stupidity and made her forget what he was. Well, she wouldn't forget again, she promised herself. She just had to make it through the Labyrinth and then she'd never have to see him again.
Hoggle stayed silent, remembering that day, how his screams mixed with the others' as they fought for their lives in that foul muck. After a while, he noticed Sarah's brooding expression and tried to lighten both their moods. "But you gotta tell me what you've been doin' up there! I always hoped ya were happy."
Sarah smiled at him. "I was happy, Hoggle. I missed you guys, of course, but I had Kyle—" she stopped short at her thoughtless mention of her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, she supposed.
"Kyle?" Hoggle asked.
Sarah sighed. "My… boyfriend, but I don't think that's what he is anymore." Hoggle seemed perplexed by the word, looking at Sarah with a blank stare. "Like a mate, I guess," she clarified.
Hoggle's eyes widened. "You had a mate?"
"No, it wasn't as serious as that. It's different for humans, I suppose. But I liked him… a lot." Something from earlier caught at her memory and before she could stop herself, she asked, "Hoggle, is there a Goblin Queen?"
Hoggle blinked. "No, why d'you ask?"
"Well, it's just that when we were in Jareth's room, the goblin said the queen was waiting for him..."
"Must've been his mother, the Fae Queen. The goblins are sayin' she's been visitin' pretty often."
Sarah was flabbergasted. "Mother? Wait, there are other kingdoms besides this one?"
"Sure." Hoggle said like it was obvious.
Sarah shook her head and said, "I assumed the Underground was just the Goblin Kingdom—"
"That's your problem, Sarah. Ya take too—"
"Too many things for granted, I know," she interrupted. She was just about to ask about the other kingdoms when Hoggle grabbed her hand and stopped suddenly. "What is it?" she whispered, automatically going on the alert.
"I thought I heard somethin'," he mumbled. They both stood still and listened intently. After a couple minutes, Hoggle let out a breath and said, "Let's keep movin'."
"How many people have run the Labyrinth, Hoggle?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know. I ain't allowed to learn histories, but I been here my whole life and you're the only one I've seen."
Sarah chewed that over for a while. She'd thought that there were many runners before her, and probably a few since. After all, didn't Jareth have to steal children to keep up the goblin population? She didn't know the mechanics of goblin reproduction, but that's how it worked in her book. The nasty Goblin King stole unwanted children to turn into goblins, but then a hero saved them. Maybe it was just that most children didn't actually have heroes to come to their rescues. You have to be pretty desperate to wish away a child to a supposedly fictional villain, so it made sense that most people wouldn't choose to try to solve the maze. She had been at the end of her rope with Toby, but she knew immediately after that it had been a stupid mistake made by a selfish girl, a mistake that the Goblin King was only too happy to take advantage of.
Speaking of the Goblin King, "Do you think it's odd that we haven't seen him yet?"
"Who, Jareth?" Hoggle said, "Just be happy about that."
"I am, it's just that last time he seemed to always be here, throwing obstacles at us, you know? I wonder why he's holding back this time."
Hoggle's eyes darted around and he sounded nervous as he said, "He's probably makin' you think it's safe, then he's gonna throw everythin' at us at once."
"How very clever of you, Hogfilth," came a deep, smooth voice from behind them. Hoggle seemed to jump a foot in the air in fright, and Sarah shrieked, more at the sudden movement from Hoggle than Jareth's appearance behind them. Jareth chuckled at their reactions, then crossed his arms and leaned against the stone wall just behind them, the picture of ease.
Sarah felt a pleasant warmth rise up in her chest at the sight of him, but quickly squashed it with anger, both at him and at her self. Jareth cocked his head to the side and drawled, "Did I just hear some remarks questioning my management? 'Holding back' was the phrase, I believe."
Hoggle spoke up, "No, no. We was just sayin' how grateful we was that—"
Jareth held up a hand and said, "That will do, dwarf." He took a step closer to Sarah and she could smell his spicy scent through the dust of the Labyrinth and Hoggle's stench. "Well, Sarah. Happy to be back?" he said with a wide grin.
"Leave us alone, Jareth," Sarah snapped.
He tsked, "Now, is that any way to greet your king?" He leaned into her, and she resolutely stood her ground. His mouth brushed her ear as he said, "I keep wondering about that kiss, Sarah. I'm not sure you want me to leave you alone."
Shame was quick on the heels of a shiver that ran through her at the feeling of his breath on her ear. She hated him… but, God, he knew exactly how to slither under her defenses. She gathered her wits and forced her eyes to stare straight ahead, which was right at his shoulder. "Your majesty, I would rather have all my limbs torn off by Fireys," she said.
He chuckled, his breath moving some strands of hair over her ear. With him standing so close, she couldn't see or smell or hear anything that wasn't Jareth. "I rather like your limbs, Sarah. But if you think you need a challenge…" He took a step back, leaving her feeling almost cold without him there. With his eyes locked on hers, he raised his left hand and snapped his gloved fingers. He disappeared completely from the corridor and revealed behind him a giant metal contraption in the form of a man, but instead of legs it was moving on two tracks, much like a tank, and it was clanking and grinding towards them at an alarming speed, swinging a huge axe as it bore down on them. It looked like the huge robot that guarded the gate to the Goblin City, but scaled down to fit inside the walls of the Labyrinth.
"Hoggle, run!" Sarah shouted and took her own advice, sprinting in the opposite direction. She took the first turn she came to, darting into an opening in the wall on the right. The metallic clanking and groaning drew closer. She hid behind the wall and peeked her head out, looking for Hoggle and finding him not too far behind, but the robot was gaining on him. Her heart hammered against her chest as she screamed, "Hurry, Hoggle! Over here!"
When Hoggle was close enough, Sarah reached out and grabbed his shirt, pulling him towards her and out of the path of the robot. It went whizzing by barely two seconds after Hoggle's feet left the corridor and they took a few seconds to try to control their breathing. Just then, the sound of metal screeching across stone reached them, and Sarah and Hoggle looked at each other in horror. They peeked out to see the robot slide to a halt, spin its head around to look back at where they were hiding, then grab its own waist with both hands and lift, turning its torso 180 degrees before dropping it back on its tracks. It came speeding back towards them. Without thinking, Sarah grabbed Hoggle's hand, turned and ran, straight into a wall of grey, glittering mist so thick she couldn't even see Hoggle. The only reason she knew he was standing beside her was the feel of his hand in hers. Sarah felt the itching nervousness return, but the more she fought it, the more it turned to genuine fear. Eventually it turned to blind terror. With a scream, she fought off whatever it was that was gripping her hand and bolted further into the mist.
We're in the Labyrinth! I can't tell you how much I would love to see some more reviews. Thank you!
And for anyone savvy enough to understand the reference, the robot is supposed to look a bit like the T1 terminator from the Terminator movies, but less futuristic.