No sooner had they emerged from the Well than they were accosted by Hoggle, Leija, and Turnok.
"Sarah!"
"Milord! Mi'lady!"
"Are you alright, sire?" Turnok asked anxiously.
Jareth nodded wordlessly. Sarah noticed that he was quite pale. Whatever delusion she had helped him escape from had been just as bad as her own, if not worse. And the way he had looked at her…
"What were ye thinking?!" Hoggle exploded, "Ye had just escaped! What if ye had been caught in yer own dream again?!"
"But I didn't," Sarah interrupted, hoisting herself over the Well's lip. She smiled. "Besides, if I had taken too long, I know that you would have come in after me, too."
"No I wouldn't have," the dwarf muttered sulkily, crossing his arms.
"But Hoggle," Leija said gently, "You had just said that if Lady Sarah didn't come out in two minutes, you were going to go find her."
Hoggle lowered his gaze and mumbled something unintelligible.
A whine caught Sarah's ear, and she looked down to find a familiar shaggy pooch wagging its tail.
"Ambrosius!" She laughed, "When did you get here?"
Turnok shook his head.
"The mutt must have tracked our scent. He slunk in as soon as you disappeared back down the Well."
Ambrosius went to work licking her hand. The girl stooped down to pet him.
"I'm glad you're alright, too."
"I hate to break up this lovely little chat," Jareth said suddenly, "But we have to keep moving. Unless anyone wants to fall into another of Edorin's little traps? No? Alright then. This way."
With that, he began walking down the nearest corridor. All of them exchanged looks, and followed after him. He seemed to have recovered from any distress he had sustained in the Well; however, the girl saw him glancing at her over his shoulder when he thought she wasn't looking. From the way he reacted when she woke him, and the way he was sneaking looks at her now, Sarah could tell she had featured in his nightmare. How, or to what extent, she did not know.
Why would I be in it? She wondered. Sarah suddenly remembered what Jareth had said in the oubliette.
You could have acted like it was a hard decision, you know.
But why? Had he really taken what she had said that hard? It wasn't as if he had meant it. It wasn't as if he had meant it…had he?
No, of course not, don't be stupid, Sarah chided herself, That couldn't be it. More than likely, it's just that he's never had someone turn him down flat before.
Normally, she'd feel good about taking his considerable ego down a few notches, but for some reason, this time, she felt guilty. It was because of that look. He had seemed so hurt. Of course, that was before she had let it slip that he was handsome. She had actually admitted, to his face, that she thought he was handsome. Oh, God, why had she chosen that word…?!
"'allo there!"
Sarah froze, causing Hoggle and Leija, who were behind her, to stop as well. Jareth frowned, obviously thinking that Edorin had changed something else on him.
"What was that?" Turnok asked, unnerved by the apparently disembodied voice, "Who's there?"
"Down 'ere!" the cheerful voice ushered, "An' a bit to the right!"
Following the voice's directions, they found the source; a small worm with tufts of blue hair and a snug red scarf was sitting on an outcropping of brick.
"Is that…a worm?" Hoggle said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's right," the worm replied, "But me mum had some caterpillar in her, on her father's side." Taking notice of Sarah, he added, "Why, you're the young lady I met just last week! Sarah, wasn'it?"
"Uh, yes, sir," she said, a bit surprised he remembered.
"Ha ha! No need to be so formal! Name's William!" He said enthusiastically, before turning and calling out, "'ey! Cora! Cora! Come on out! There's someone I want you to meet!"
Soon after, another worm appeared at the opening of the hole William stood beside. This one was pink, and was wearing a white apron.
"Bless my soul!" she cried, "If I'd have known we'd have so many guests, I would've made some crumpets!"
"Cora, this young lady 'ere is Sarah," William explained eagerly, "She's the one I told you about. Beat the Labyrinth, she did."
"Ahhhh!" The pink worm said, beaming, "Lovely to make your acquaintance, dear!"
"Pleased to meet you, too," Sarah said politely, "But…what are you doing so deep in the Labyrinth? I thought you lived just inside the gates!"
"We used to, but we moved," Cora replied.
"T'was not safe anymore, what with the trolls an' all," William added, then cast a loving look at his wife, "Plus, we needed more room for the baby."
"Baby?" Leija gasped.
"We're expectin'," Cora said happily," A'course, we didn't move here all by ourselves."
The blue worm quickly nodded.
"No, a gentleman fox helped us. He warned us 'bout the trolls, an' carried us an' our furniture all the way here. He was quite kind."
"Very kind," his wife agreed.
At hearing the mention of a fox, Hoggle started. It hadn't escaped Sarah's attention, either.
"What was his name?" She asked quickly, anxious to have any word of her friend.
"He didn't mention his name," William said, "I think he was in a bit of a rush. Said he had to go defend the city. Fancied himself a knight, I think."
"Didymus!" Sarah exclaimed, looking at Hoggle.
"Aye, it has to be him!" The dwarf said in agreement, "How many fox knights are there?"
"Not many," Turnok said gruffly, "Up until recently, I thought there were none."
"If Sir Didymus is in the Goblin City, chances are Ludo is there with him!" the girl said excitedly, turning back to the two worms, "Thank you very much, but we have to go now."
"Are you sure you can't stay for tea?" Cora pressed, moving to her husband's side.
"I'm afraid we can't," Jareth replied, being strangely courteous, "Thank you for the offer, but we're in a bit of a rush ourselves."
"Well, if you're headin' for the city, you'd best be careful," William warned, "There's a lot of trolls that way, I hear."
At this, the blond Fae clenched his hands into fists, but stayed silent. Sarah nodded to them gratefully, and, together with the others, resumed their journey towards the castle. The narrow corridor they were in led to another, and another. To Sarah, they looked nearly identical. She wondered how on earth the Goblin King managed to navigate them. She was about to ask, but noticed the expression on Jareth's face. He looked distant, and troubled. Not wanting to disrupt his thoughts, she decided against it. Instead, the girl fell back, and sneakily managed to pull Hoggle aside.
"Sooooo…?" She asked, grinning.
"Eh?" the dwarf said, momentarily pulling his attention away from a certain blond gnome. "So what?"
Sarah nudged her head towards the object of his affections.
"Anything…going on?"
"I don't know what yer talkin' about!" Hoggle sputtered, his face turning red.
She, however, wasn't buying it. On the contrary, his reaction only served to convince her further.
"You like her, don't you?"
"I most certainly do not!" The dwarf argued, looking indignant, "Sure, I saved her from those furry things, and been watchin' out fer her, and nailin' that Turnok in the knee when he speaks bad 'bout her, and picked her that one rose…and…"
Realizing he wasn't making a good argument, and that Sarah was grinning ear to ear, he finished weakly, "…and so what if I do?"
The girl tucked her arms behind her back.
"Oh, nothing, I just never thought you'd melt into goo because of a pretty face."
"Leija ain't just a pretty face!" Hoggle replied, wringing his hands, "A'course, she's got one a' those too, but…she's sweet and clever, and has those big, beautiful eyes, and smells real nice…"
Smells nice. Sarah suddenly recalled how Jareth smelled, that intoxicating woodsy aroma of pine and rosemary. He had beautiful eyes too; the fact that each was a different shade only made them more stunning. And clever? He had practically written the book on cleverness!
Sarah became painfully aware of her thoughts, and quickly stifled them, trying to concentrate back on what her dwarven friend was saying.
"…an' she's just the right size!" Hoggle sighed.
At this, the girl couldn't help but laugh. He blushed harder, and cried out defensively, "Sure, a human would think that's funny, but yer kind are a gem a dozen! Ye know how hard it for a dwarf to find someone his size?!"
Sarah just laughed harder.
Meanwhile, at the front of the group, Turnok had been working up the courage to approach Jareth. He had cleared his throat a few times, but the Fae had either been too consumed by his thoughts to notice, or had decided to ignore him. Finally, the captain of the guard spoke up.
"Ah…sire? May I speak with you?"
The Goblin King glanced at him. He swallowed, and began nervously.
"Well, uh, your majesty…a little while ago, by the Field of Squash...when you were arguing with Sarah…Leija said something…"
Jareth raised an eyebrow.
"What did she say?"
"Oh, it's p-probably nothing!" the goblin stammered, "It's just that…well…and I don't believe her of course…I was just…and she might have just gotten hit in the head with a rock in the Field…"
"Spit it out, you fool!" The Goblin King demanded in irritation.
Turnok gulped.
"…L-Leija seemed to think that…that you cared for the girl."
The annoyance on Jareth's face instantly evaporated, replaced by an expression of utter shock. He stopped to stare at Turnok for a few moments, before forcing himself to keep walking. Mistaking his stunned silence as confirmation Leija was wrong, Turnok relaxed, and continued idly.
"Don't worry, your highness. Leija didn't breathe a word of this nonsense to anyone but that dwarf and myself. Of course, I knew at once it wasn't true. I mean, honestly! How ridiculous! As if you'd fall for that stubborn, ugly human…!"
The Goblin King screeched to a halt, causing his subordinate to crash into his legs. Jareth whirled around, his face contorted in such furious rage that the goblin saw himself die a thousand deaths in his lord's mismatched eyes. Turnok went as white as a ghost, which was only natural, considering he planned on becoming one soon.
A second later, Jareth's pitiless foot lodged itself in Turnok's ribcage. He crumpled to his knees, putting his head in perfect range for the Fae's boot, which hadn't quite satisfied its vengeance.
Sarah, Hoggle, and Leija, who had joined them out of curiosity, were just changing the topic when the captain of the royal guard flew over their heads. They watched in astonishment as he slammed face-first into the brick wall behind them and, in classic cartoon fashion, slid slowly to the ground.
"Nice aim," Hoggle admired.
"Oh Turnok, what did you say now?" Leija murmured exasperatedly, leaving them to check the goblin's vitals.
"Whatever it was," Sarah sighed, shaking her head, "I'm sure glad I wasn't the one who said it."
Hey everyone! A couple people have asked me how long this fanfic is going to end up being, and judging by my outline as it is now, I'm gonna guess it wraps up around Ch. 17 or 18. That could always change, though. Sure hope you liked the chapter! If you did, or if you didn't, remember to leave a review! *glances at Jareth, who is now holding a chainsaw and revving it threateningly* Um…pretty, pretty please? *sweats*