Chapter Six: Q & A
Jareth opened his eyes to darkness and waved a hand. A dozen stubs of candle came to life, swathing the oubliette in yellow light and brown shadows, which twitched under Jareth's glare. He found the door propped against a wall. He removed it and cleared a space in the middle of the floor. Then he dropped it flat on the concrete and bent down to pull it open. He sat down and swung his feet over the edge, into the emptiness beyond. He closed his eyes for just a moment, grabbed the edge of the door, and shoved himself into the pit, pulling the door closed behind him.
***
Sarah and Jeremy ran into a dead end, breathing heavily, sweat trailing down their backs. They turned just in time to see the brick monster catching up with them.
"No!" Jeremy wailed, "this can't be it! I have to save Brian!"
Sarah swallowed down the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry about Brian," she whispered, "and I'm sorry I was angry at Jareth, and I'm sorry I broke the rules..."
Jeremy backed up against the wall as well, leaning on it with Sarah, watching the brick monster approach them. Suddenly, the wall behind them tilted down and the ground beneath their feet tilted back, and Jeremy and Sarah fell into the dark space beyond.
With a whump, they found themselves on a pile of old wooden swords, frayed capes, thick blankets, and broken crates. A dozen candle stubs were lit around the room, so they were not in utter darkness when the floor and wall tilted back to their rightful place, sealing Sarah and Jeremy in.
The Goblin Queen breathed a sigh of relief and rolled off the blanket she'd landed on so that her face was against the floor. "Thank you," she whispered to the Labyrinth. "Would it be too much to hope for my powers back?" She sat up painfully and took the crystal out of her pocket. "Jareth," she whispered.
The light within the crystal bent and contorted for a moment, but then there was only darkness. Sarah frowned at it. Either I don't have my powers back, or Jareth is in a place where there is no light.
"Ow." Jeremy stood up and rested his hands on the small of his back. "What was that anyway?"
"What was what?" Sarah asked, stowing the crystal back in her pouch as she got to her feet. I can't just whisk him off to the castle, she thought to herself. That would break the rules and get my powers taken away again - if I even have them back now.
"What I landed on," he squinted down at the ground. "It almost looks like a doorknob."
Sarah walked over to him and lifted the door off the ground. "Good job, Jeremy. You found exactly what we needed." She smiled at him.
"We needed a door?" He asked, skeptically.
"Yes. This is the oubliette." Sarah marched over to an empty space of wall. "The tunnels around us are dangerous, but they're the only way out that I know of." Still, I don't think there's a rule against me traveling with him.
"Ah," Jeremy watched her prop the door against the wall and pull it open. "Um, Sarah, how many times have you been in this oubliette thing?"
"Um," Sarah tried to count in her head while checking down each direction of the tunnel, "I think this would be the third time." She stepped out into the dimly lit area, looking up at the moonlight that spilled through a grate in the ceiling.
"How many times have you been here, to the labyrinth?" Jeremy asked quietly as he walked cautiously through the doorway.
"Well, I was only brought here twice because of a wish," she answered hesitantly, turning to the left and walking forward.
"Uh-huh." Jeremy caught up and walked beside her, matching his steps to hers. "And how long have you known Jareth?"
"Well, we met the first time when I was in high school, so I guess it's been a long time." Her eyes darted side to side, trying to watch every part of the tunnel at once.
"Did you know he was the Goblin King when he asked you to marry him?" Jeremy's voice was low and level.
"I don't think it really matters what he does for a living," Sarah's response was stiff. "He loves me. And I love him."
"Sarah!" Jeremy stepped in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Do you know what you're doing? You'll be trapped down here for the rest of your life!"
The Goblin Queen sighed heavily. Well, it was going to come out sometime, she told herself. "Do you mind if we walk while we have this discussion? There are a lot of dangerous things in these tunnels and the longer we stand here, the more danger we're in."
"Only if you promise to answer every question truthfully." Jeremy stepped aside and they continued forward.
"Of course." Sarah sighed again. "I've actually been living here for three years now, and if you've noticed, I've come to visit home once a year for several weeks at a time each, and then I made a special trip with Jareth to your wedding just a little while ago. So it's not like I'll be trapped with no way out. In fact, if I wanted to, I could leave and never come back. Jareth's made that very clear."
"Then why do you stay?" Jeremy ran a hand through his blond hair. "What happened to college and acting and – and your whole life?"
Sarah smiled. "This is my life. I like ruling the goblins with Jareth, and you don't need a college degree down here. You don't even need a high school diploma, really. I love my life here, even if Jareth and I have a fight every now and then. Every day is an adventure."
"But that's the way life is on earth, too!" Jeremy protested. "There are adventures everywhere you look! Watching Brian, for example, now that's an adventure unto itself."
Sarah laughed. "Yes, but you don't have goblins on earth, do you?"
"Why would you want goblins in your life anyway?"
She shrugged. "They make me laugh."
"People can make you laugh, too, Sarah." Jeremy reminded her in a fatherly tone. "You can't just throw your life away for some fancy-dressed rock-star goblin!"
The Goblin Queen scowled. "I'm not throwing my life away, and he's not a goblin. He's a human."
"Then how did he get to be the king of the goblins?" Jeremy demanded.
"Long story," Sarah told him through gritted teeth, her steps speeding up as they went.
"And what about you? I suppose you're going to be the Goblin Queen?"
"I already am." Sarah admitted with a flip of her hair. "The goblins named me that on my second day here."
"And you and Jareth," Jeremy pressed, matching Sarah's quickening gait. "How close are you?"
"We're engaged. You know that."
"Uh-huh." Jeremy eyed Sarah's stomach. "You've been engaged for two years. When's the wedding supposed to be again?"
"Next summer. After I finish – or would have finished college." She glanced up at him, not stopping or slowing down. "You can't tell anyone about this, Jeremy. Everyone else thinks I'm at college. That's the whole reason we've waited so long to have the wedding. Jareth wanted to do it the same week he asked me, but I refused. I want it to be something I can invite my family to and not have them all thinking I'm getting married for any other reason besides that I've fallen in love with a truly wonderful man."
"What, you're going to bring them all here?" Jeremy waved his hands at the tunnel walls.
"No, of course not! We're going to get married in the park near Dad and Irene's house. In that cute little Japanese pagoda-thing, by the pond."
"And I suppose a goblin is going to read the vows?" Jeremy quipped.
"Actually, we'd asked the Wiseman, but you don't know him. Yet," she added thoughtfully. "Aha!" She ducked her head under a low beam and stepped into a side room. "Here we go!" She immediately began climbing the tall ladder with Jeremy close behind her.
