Hey everyone! No, I'm not dead, but I feel like I've been run over by a semi. A semi with spiky wheels. On fire. These last two weeks have been a nightmare. First, my laptop exploded in a fiery ball of doom (or maybe it just shorted out, but then I punished it with a sledgehammer). Then, before I could go and replace it, I got a double ear-infection so bad it made the doctor cringe. So for the last week, I've been laying in bed with two ice packs on my ears, laptop-less. All I can say is thank the Lord Almighty for painkiller. But I'm feeling better now, and I finally got around to finishing this chapter! Hope you enjoy it! PLEASE, OUT OF MERCY FOR MY TWO WEEKS FROM HELL, PLEASE REVIEEEEEEEEW!
The two trolls had not been after the Goblin King at all; they were just guards, making their usual patrol. They had just turned the corner when they found a most peculiar little group rounding the same bend. Had the pair been goblins, they probably would have just starred, blinking, at Jareth and his followers for a few moments. But, as trolls were not only infinitely larger, but smarter, than goblins, it only took a second for them to recognize the blond Fae, and raise their massive axes.
"RUN!" Jareth shouted.
Sarah didn't need to be told twice; she ducked, and shoved the others back down the alleyway. The pair of trolls gave chase. Farther down the path, it split into three; Hoggle and Leija continued down the middle one, while Turnok rushed into the left one, and Sarah ran into the right. Jareth didn't have time to make a choice. The trolls were at his heels, and forced him to sprint down the middle. But one of the trolls had caught a glimpse of Sarah down the right alley, and broke from its compatriot to pursue her.
Oh no, the girl thought bleakly, hearing the thunderous footsteps behind her, Please oh please let this not be a dead end!
It wasn't a dead end; not really, anyway. For whatever reason, the Labyrinth's creators had ended this particular stretch with a circular path, like something of a small racetrack. And when the troll chased Sarah into it, they quickly found themselves running an infinite loop. Around and around they went, with Sarah trying at every opportunity to exit, but finding she didn't have enough time, and was forced to take another lap around the track, with the troll in hot pursuit. Fifteen rounds later, Sarah was forced to acknowledge that she was going to get tired before she could get out. And when she got tired, she would slow down, and then the troll would happily lop her head off. She was shaken from this unhappy revelation by a powerful tremor. The girl felt the ground beneath her feet rumble and quake.
The Labyrinth's changing! Sarah realized with a start.
She continued running, scanning for the source of the disturbance. Abruptly, she saw it. An oubliette had opened up a few yards ahead. But where others might have only seen doom, Sarah saw an opportunity. She quickened her pace to a sprint. The pit was in front of her now, and at the last possible second, she leapt into the air. But the troll, who had been concentrating on Sarah, and not the road ahead, was taken by surprise. It dug its heels into the ground, trying to slow its massive momentum. The troll managed to stop at the very edge of the pit at the expense of its large axe, which plummeted into the oubliette. Sarah had already landed safely on the other side, but ran one more lap, until she was back at the pit. The troll was still wobbling about, whirling its arms to keep from falling in. Its red eyes widened when it saw Sarah. Smiling triumphantly, the girl reached a single finger out and poked it. That was all it took. The troll lost what little balance it had, and tumbled into the black oubliette with a roar.
Meanwhile, Jareth had not been so lucky. The troll was still chasing him. Hoggle had pulled Leija down another alleyway, and the black-armored beast had ignored them, continuing to pursue his royal prey. Jareth tried to disregard the troll on his heels, and concentrate on keeping his bearings. He intended to strand it on the bewitched staircase from before, and his plan would only work if he could successfully lead the beast to it. There was a flaw, however, that he had not counted on; all the running had re-opened his wounds. Blood was flowing freely down his leg. The Fae forced himself to keep running. It was throbbing horribly, to be sure, but he knew it was considerably better than what the troll would do to him.
A metallic clang echoed through the alley. Jareth glanced behind him, and saw in astonishment that the troll had stopped. A large rock had hit the creature's head. Snarling in pain, it whirled about, and soon saw its attacker. Turnok had followed after them. The goblin stood, dagger in hand, at the end of the alleyway.
"Over here, you hideous beast!" He cried boldly, "If you want the King, you'll have to go through me!"
The troll snorted, and, seeing no threat in someone so small, turned its attention once more to Jareth. But Turnok was not about to be ignored. Letting out a battle cry, he charged the troll.
"Turnok, no!" Jareth yelled, but the Captain of the Guard paid him no heed.
He jumped onto the astonished creature's back, and plunged his dagger through the joint in its armor, and deep into its flesh. The troll roared in pain, and cast the goblin down onto the stone, his dagger still imbedded in its shoulder. Turnok tried to pull himself to his feet, but wasn't fast enough. The troll was upon him. Seething in rage, it raised its war axe.
Jareth thrust his left arm into the air. A dozen crystal spears burst from the ground and walls. The troll didn't even have time to cry out before it was impaled, and killed instantly. Black smoke billowed from the corpse, and a few moments later, all that remained was its shattered armor.
The Goblin King bent over and plucked the dagger from the remains, and offered it to his subordinate.
Turnok climbed shakily to his feet, and took the blade.
"Sire, you…you saved me…?"
"Of course I saved you!" The Fae snapped, "What did you expect me to do, let that troll chop you in half?! What were you thinking?!"
"Forgive me, your Highness! I did not mean to make you use your magic!" Turnok replied, wincing, "I was worried for your safety, and it…well, it was the only thing I could think of…"
Jareth's face softened.
"You're a fool," He said quietly, shaking his head, "But a brave, loyal fool. And I can think of no one I'd rather have as my Captain of the Guard."
Unaccustomed to hearing praise, Turnok gaped at him for a few moments, before shaking it off and hurriedly bowing.
"T-T-Thank you, your Majesty!"
"There they are!" A voice cried.
The Goblin King and his subordinate turned to see the rest of their group coming to meet them. Hoggle and Leija had doubled back and run into the victorious Sarah, who had insisted they go and find the others.
"You're alright!" Leija cried, hurrying up to them, "Thank goodness! What happened?"
"Looks like Jareth shish-ke-bobed 'em," Hoggle said, grimacing at the tangle of crystal spears.
"And the other troll?" Jareth asked.
"I poked it into an oubliette," Sarah replied simply.
All of them turned to gawk at her. After a few moments, Turnok spoke up.
"You…you really are a strange human, aren't you?"
"Ye just now figured that out?" Hoggle asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jareth was about to add something when his knees suddenly buckled, and he had to grab a hold of the wall to steady himself.
"Sire!" Turnok cried out, rushing to his king's aid, "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Your wound…!" Sarah said anxiously, seeing the blood running down his leg, "It's opened up again, hasn't it?"
"Yes, but…but that isn't it," Jareth admitted, closing his eyes, "It's my magic. I have used too much of it."
Sarah's eyes widened in fear.
"You've used up all your magic?!"
"No, not all," He replied, "But precious little remains. I only have enough left for one more spell."
When the Goblin King tried to stand, his legs once more gave way. But before he could grab onto the wall, Sarah reached out and steadied him.
"Hold on to me, okay?" The girl said, wrapping his other arm over her shoulder.
"That isn't necessary," Jareth protested, trying to pull himself away, "I don't need any help. I'll be fine in a few minutes. I certainly don't need to be carried around by a little human girl!"
"Will you stop being such a dumb ass?!" Sarah exclaimed exasperatedly, giving him a hard stare, "You aren't fine, so stop saying that you are! You're hurt, and a few minutes rest isn't going to change that! I'm trying to help you, damn it, so just hang on and shut up!"
Jareth, for one of the few times in his life, was rendered speechless. Satisfied, the girl shifted his weight onto her, and began walking, with an awestruck Hoggle, Turnok, and Leija following behind.
A few minutes later, Jareth laughed quietly. Sarah looked at him curiously.
"What is it?" She asked, against her better judgment.
"You would have not said that to me before," He replied quietly, smiling, "It's really quite amazing how much you've changed, Sarah."
Sarah turned back to the road. She had changed. She used to complain so often. About her stepmother, about having to do housework, about having to take care of Toby…it wasn't fair, she had said. It wasn't fair.
You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is?
And the truth was, it wasn't. Life wasn't fair. But she just had to deal with it. Jareth had taught her that.
"You've changed too, you know," she said, "You aren't half as mean to me as you used to be."
"Well, you aren't half as annoying as you used to be," he retorted, earning one of her glares. With a note of respect in his voice, he added, "And you're three times as brave."
This remark caught the girl off guard, and made her blush. They continued the rest of the way in silence, while Sarah tried to figure out the reason behind his altered behavior.
Finally, they reached the gates of the Goblin City. From a distance, everything had seemed normal. But the closer they got, the more anxious they became. There weren't any signs of battle, or a struggle of any kind. No soldiers, no weapons…not even a scorch mark. Everything was silent and still.
Leija swallowed.
"It's…so quiet."
"The gates are open," Jareth murmured, his brow furrowing, "And there are no guards. Something is very wrong."
It only took a few steps inside the city to see what the something was.
The city remained exactly the same. The buildings were all undisturbed, the cannons and watchtowers as well. It was the goblins themselves that had changed. They were all there, hundreds of them, and not a single one was moving. Gray guards stood vigilant at their posts. Civilians stood motionless at the well, some holding buckets of water. Bartering merchants stood frozen in time, as well as the livestock they were selling. Every living thing in the Goblin City had been rendered lifeless.
"They've all been turned to stone!" Hoggle exclaimed, shuddering.
Leija hid her face in dwarf's shoulder, stifling a sob. The dwarf put a hand on her back, and did his best to comfort her.
"Everyone…even my men," Turnok choked, staring forlornly at the many soldiers still at their stations.
Sarah swallowed. She had known Edorin was strong, but this? Transforming an entire city into stone? How on earth could he wield such magic? Even as powerful as Jareth had been, Sarah greatly doubted he had had this sort of power. How were they going to defeat the Troll Lord? Did they even have a chance?
She was so consumed by her thoughts that it took a few moments for her to realize that Jareth had pulled himself from her side. Sarah looked around, and soon found him again.
He was standing in front of a stone goblin woman playing with her child. He ran his fingers over the nameless mother's head. Sarah approached him slowly.
"I've failed them," He murmured, bowing his head, "All of them. How could I have let this happen?! I was their king! I was supposed to protect them….!"
"You still are their king," Sarah said firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder, "And you still can save them. When you get your powers back, you can undo the spell and free them."
Jareth was quiet for a little while, and but rose abruptly, pulling her behind him. Sarah soon saw the reason why; trolls had began to empty out of the castle in an alarming rate. And they were heading right for them.
"Everyone, get out of here! Now!" The Goblin King yelled.
But before they could take a step, trolls started to emerge from the entrance of the Labyrinth as well. Left with few options, the Fae turned turned to the two girls.
"Leija! Sarah! Go! Hide somewhere in the city!"
The small gnome girl hesitated, but nodded, and rushed off towards a group of nearby buildings. Ambrosius ran yipping after her. Sarah, however, didn't budge.
"I'm not going anywhere!" She cried stubbornly, "You'll be captured! Or worse!"
Jareth's eyes were beseeching, and filled with fear.
"Sarah, please!"
But by this time, it was too late. The trolls had completely surrounded them. Turnok drew his dagger. Hoggle gripped his hoe, trying his best not to tremble.
A ball of green electricity crackled to life in front of them. Moments later, it grew into the form of the Troll Lord. He stepped forth, and stopped ten feet from them.
"You somehow managed to get past my staircase," Edorin said, frowning.
"Piece of cake," Jareth replied, pulling Sarah closer to him.
The raven-haired Fae's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Is that so?"
Sarah swallowed. It was the same look that the Goblin King had given her a few weeks ago, just before he had summoned the Cleaner on her. But the Troll Lord turned his attention to Sarah.
"I see that you have survived," He said, a trace of surprise passing over his normally emotionless face, "I am impressed. You are remarkably resilient for a mortal. Perhaps Jareth's fascination with you isn't entirely unfounded."
"What are you talking about?" Sarah asked uneasily.
Seeing the genuine confusion in her eyes, Edorin gazed at Jareth, the corner of his lips curling slightly.
"You haven't told her?"
"Don't listen to him," Jareth said quickly, paling.
"Do you know why I was forced to strip Jareth of his powers?" Edorin continued. He dissolved into a crackling ball of sparks, before reappearing behind her.
"It was because of you."
"Me…?" Sarah repeated.
"The Underground belongs to the children of magic," the Fae said coldly, "Our world survives by remaining separate from the human realm. Our very existence hinges on a delicate balance. Mortal influence upsets that balance, and puts our world in danger. Yet goblins insist on polluting our culture with human language, human items, human machines. And their ruler…"
Edorin's icy blue eyes pierced her own.
"…actually falls in love with one."
Sarah stared at him in shock. She turned to Jareth, expecting him to instantly dismiss the claim.
But he did not.
He gazed at her helplessly; the pained expression he wore only served to prove the truth of Edorin's words.
"At least you had a sense of propriety, mortal. Who knows what would have become of the Labyrinth had you accepted. But I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to live."
The Troll Lord turned to his subordinates.
"Kill her. Bring the others to the castle," He ordered. Seconds later, he vanished in a shower of green electricity.
The trolls brandished their weapons, advancing on the group slowly. Mind racing, Sarah looked about wildly, trying frantically to formulate a plan. But she could think of nothing. The trolls were getting closer. Suddenly, she was pulled around, and found herself starring up at the Goblin King.
Jareth wore an expression of remorseful grief. His mismatched eyes were churning with emotion.
She looked back up at him, eyes wide. She was frightened, but he was terrified; he had lost her once, in a dream, and it had nearly destroyed him. He could not bear to see her hurt, let alone suffer her death. He had to save her. Whatever the cost, he had to save her.
"Sarah," He said softly, taking the girl's face gently in his hands, "Go back to your world. Go back to your family and friends. Forget everything…forget the Labyrinth…forget me…and live a happy life."
The Insignia Ring glowed weakly on his finger.
"What are you…?!" Sarah gasped.
Jareth leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing her tenderly. He drew away, and whispered, "Forgive me…"
Summoning the last of his strength, he finished casting the spell. Swirling blue magic erupted from the ring and engulfed her. The Labyrinth began to fade rapidly, dwindling as the spell took hold and pulled her away. Sarah saw Jareth collapse to the ground seconds before her vision was completely eclipsed by magic, and the sensation of flying overwhelmed her.
When the spell faded, Sarah found herself standing alone in her bedroom. It was still night; only a few hours had passed. She stood there in shock for a few seconds, until she realized what he had done.
His last spell…he used his last spell to send me home…
That had been the last of his magic.
Sarah let out a choked cry of horror, and ran over to her mirror. She pressed her hands against it, pushing, trying every last inch to find a way back into the Labyrinth. But it was solid. The portal had been shut.
"Let me in!" She cried out, "Let me back in!"
In desperation, the girl began pounding her fists against it, beating the mirror in vain. Hot tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"You bastard!" She screamed, slamming her fist against the mirror one last time, "Why, damn it?! Why?!"
With that, she sank to the floor, hugging her knees tightly against her, and weeping bitterly. The Goblin King had sacrificed himself to save her. In one hour, Jareth would die.
And she could do nothing to save him.