"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 2
By Aiijuin
*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. I am not trying to steal other character names from people's fan fiction, but I cannot think of a better name to use for Jareth's alter ego in my story. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth".
This is rated M for some harsh language and adult situations and dark themes.
**Please be advised, I am repairing the massive grammatical errors that were made during the first seven chapters of Sky's Eclipse. This is a progressive cleanup and resubmission, in order to make the story more pleasant on readers' eyes. Thank you! 09/10/2009.
Chapter Two: What's Said is Said.
Jareth couldn't stop thinking about Sarah, lately.
Actually, Jareth had never stopped thinking about the "one who got away". Sarah had utterly defeated him. Not just his Labyrinth, but she had rejected his offer, and turned down his love for her. He was spurned. He wanted revenge.
Was it revenge he desired? Thought Jareth as contact juggled several magic crystals about in the palm of his hand.
He broke his gaze at them and stared out the window of his throne room. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had last seen his Sarah. He wanted to hurt her, like she had hurt him. Still, he couldn't bring his feelings into manifestation and clarity these days. So, he sat most of the time, and continuously spun the crystals in his hands.
A goblin snored loudly on the floor by his feet. The throne room was definitely lacking gusto and livelihood these days. Jareth had diminished into a dismay of depression. However, his beauty had not faded, and his golden-spun hair still wisped about his face. A beetle crawled up on the snoring goblin's nose and a chicken swooped in quickly to pluck it off. The sleeping goblin awoke in terror to the unpleasant sounds of fluttering feathers and shrieking clucks.
Truly, this was the most exciting event to happen in years, since Sarah had been there!
The action was enough to break Jareth's allegorical daydreams. He snapped his fingers and a light flickered into his eyes.
"That's it!" he exclaimed.
The goblins lined up in ranks for inspection. They were never sure if Jareth was going to ready them for battle or begin a song and dance, but either way, they desperately sought more action!
Jareth began to pace the floor and mutter, "I can't bring her back to me, unless I find a way to lure her here."
Thinking he had been speaking to them, several of the more attentive, but less perceptive goblins nodded. They completely misunderstood the concept of muttering.
"There's only one way to bring her back to me," Jareth commented, "She'll never leave her family trapped within these walls. All I have to do is trick them into entering my Labyrinth. Afterwards, I'll approach Sarah and present her with a new challenge to liberate them. Maybe I can get the "baby" to wish himself away this time."
The goblins nodded in unison.
"Of course, I'll have to change the rules. Perhaps make it harder by creating new enigmas. I'll design it so she can't possibly win………I know!" Jareth clapped his hands and laughed loudly.
The goblins jumped up and down in anticipation. Their armor clattered loudly, and several cheers were echoed throughout the fortress of stone.
The King turned to a little goblin named Gröeg, and made a request into his pointed ear. Gröeg rubbed his hands in anticipation, nodded, and giggled wildly.
Jareth swung his cape around himself, grabbed his staff, and announced loudly, "My dear goblin denizens, it is with great regret that I must bid you all adieu for a short while. I have great matters of importance to attend to. Do not fear, for I shall return when the clock strikes ten! When it does, I shall present to you: An illustrious prize of conquest!"
The goblins scratched their heads, not sure what their king has just told them, but it sounded important. They continued cheering and a few began blowing darts at the chickens.
Jareth transformed into the great white barn owl and flew out of the window of his castle, while Gröeg disappeared in a cloud of smoke and leaving behind an utterly, awful stench, as goblins typically do.
Things remained earsplitting in the king's throne room, until an anonymous, and not too bright, goblin asked, "Where did he go?"
Silence filled the room as the goblins pondered the whereabouts of their king. It might never have ended until Jareth's return… except at that moment, something unexpected happened!
Sarah Williams appeared within Jareth's throne room. Being escorted by two larger goblins, she looked nearly unrecognizable. Sarah was mud covered and dripping everywhere. At first, the goblins deliberated that Jareth had returned.
Of course, the matter of confusion was cleared up quickly after Sarah had realized that she was not in New York City anymore and promptly requested to see the Goblin King.
Now, Jareth's loyal subjects knew he would never ask to see himself. But, because none of the present goblins knew where their king had gone, none of them could answer Sarah truthfully. They all stood around looking confounded for several hours while scratching their heads and licking their lips.
Sarah waited for a concise answer, but once the sun had set outside, she finally gave up trying to pursue Jareth's whereabouts.
After a while, Sarah glanced at the thirteen-hour clock on Jareth's throne room wall. She was curious to know how much time had passed since she first arrived. The hour hand was nearly at the one, and the minute hand had just left the thirteen. It had been that way hours ago! It hadn't moved at all!
No, wait! Sarah looked again. Time had been passing so slowly, it was hardly discernable.
Jareth must have reordered time, She thought.
Sarah Williams desperately wanted to find a nice warm bed, and change into something comfortable. She was exhausted, and found herself actually wishing for Jareth's return. Not to mention, she was a bit apprehensive about falling asleep in a room filled with various goblin-folk, especially after sundown.
Sarah knew she had already made a huge mistake with her misplaced wish. In her mind, she could, already, hear Jareth saying from echoes of the past, "What's said is said."
Her feet were tired and her ankle ached. She looked at the floor of the throne room. It was covered with chickens, goblins, and barrels of ale.
No room here, Sarah thought.
She looked at the only available seat in the castle, which seemed to be reserved for the Goblin King.
Nothing of it, Sarah shrugged.
She knew she was already in enough trouble when 'he' returned, so Sarah figured, "What more could it hurt if I sit in his throne as well?"
The goblins were unusually groggy and didn't pay any attention to Sarah's actions. Slowly, the quietness of the room took hold on her. Sarah propped her head in her hands, and before she knew what had happened…. she fell asleep.