"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 33
By Aiijuin
*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth". This fanfiction is rated M for some harsh language and adult situations. Gavin King is Jareth, the Goblin King, for those who have jumped into the middle of the story. The names: Torok, the Troll King and Eunice St. Clair are characters borrowed from the 1986 movie Troll, but are not used in context with the movie inside my fanfiction in any way.
**NOTE: Story numbering is behind by 1 chapter, because there is a prelude, which is not considered a chapter. Fanfiction . net automatically assigns numbers to the chapters by default, which I have not control over. Thank you!
Chapter 33: A Blessing and a Curse
If I only had my powers, Jareth thought angrily. The notion kept repeating over and over again in his head as he traversed through his own kingdom towards his castle. Being rendered powerless was not a wonderful thing for the Goblin King, especially at this time. He had just spent the last thirteen hours wandering on foot through the Troll Kingdom. Not to mention that he had also walked the entire length of O'Connell's Captivating Carnival before being summoned to the Troll Kingdom. His feet were killing him, and his back ached something terrible. He knew that if Sarah was back at his castle and sitting on his throne, this meant he would have to deal with her strange alter ego again.
He turned to the left at the tunnel where the little blue worm greeted him and offered him a cup of tea. Jareth made a mental note to deworm his Labyrinth walls when everything returned to normal again.
Several stray Fieries were tossing their heads over his peach orchards, until they saw Gavin and harassed him. He made a mental note that creatures with removable limbs had to be destroyed once things had been restored to their ordinary routine.
After four hours, and a lot of muttering, the Goblin King finally arrived at the Goblin City. First, he had to trick the Humongous into looking the other way, so he could get beyond the doors. Then, he was nearly run over by three tiny goblins chasing a flock of chickens. One of the chickens fluttered up at Gavin's face. Finally, Gavin was halted by Sir Diddymus who was riding atop of Ambrosious the dog. Sir Diddymus was insisting that Gavin didn't have clearance to enter into the Goblin King's castle.
After arguing with the talking fox for fifteen minutes about why he had every right to enter into his own castle, he mentioned the name 'Sarah' and instantly Diddymus cleared him as a friend. Jareth made a final mental note to rid his Labyrinth of Sarah Williams's annoying entourage of friends when everything returned to normal.
As Gavin walked through the gigantic wooden doors of the Castle, Sarah was sitting on the throne. Raquel was nowhere to be found, and Hansel was clutching his sister Gretel in his arms while whispering to her. He looked utterly upset and exhausted. Gavin approached Sarah as she sat on 'his' throne, and could see that she also looked exhausted and agitated. She had her face buried in her hands and was, literally, hunched in the throne.
Perhaps Sashya wasn't too far off, thought Jareth, as he recalled Sashya had believed Sarah was ill and needed to be cheered up. Gavin was nearly at the stairs leading up to the Goblin King's throne, when Sarah raised her head to slowly glance at him.
She smiled weakly when she saw him and said, "So, you have returned again. Good. I have need of your services."
Jareth was curious. As Gavin, he asked politely, "What would you inquire of me, my Dear?"
"In a moment my brave warrior, first there are other matters that I must attend to," Sarah replied. She motioned her hands towards Hansel and said, "Boy! Come here!"
Hansel was prodded by thirty goblins that helped him to his feet. Still cradling Gretel in his arms, he asked, "My name is Hansel, Ma'am."
"Very well," Sarah started in a clear and concise voice. "Come forward, Hansel."
Hansel walked until he was standing next to Gavin. He glanced momentarily at the 'human' Goblin King, and then turned to Sarah. He asked with tears in his eyes, "Forgive me, Ma'am, but my sister is dying. She's hardly breathing now. Can you please help her, and I'll do anything you ask!"
Sarah pursed her lips and placed her index finger upon them. She pondered for a moment, and responded, "If I heal her, do you take an oath that you will serve me obediently?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Hansel promised, "Only please hurry! I don't think she'll make it another hour."
Sarah looked deeply into Hansel's eyes and then motioned him closer. He trudged up the stairs, until he was standing right next to her throne. Sarah said, "Say the magic words, Boy, and you're sister will be healed."
Hansel looked confused, until several goblins started a chant, "I wish… I wish… I wish…"
Hansel spoke with a quiver in his voice, "I wish…"
"Yes," Sarah closed her eyes and held up a magic crystal.
"I wish that you would heal my sister…" Hansel continued.
The goblins began another chant, "Right now… right now… right now!"
Hansel finished, "…right now."
Sarah smiled as the crystal illuminated and vanished into the palm of her hand. She took that hand and placed it against Gretel. She placed her other hand against Hansel. At first, it appeared that nothing was happening, but after a few moments, Gavin could see Hansel becoming thinner and Gretel becoming thicker.
Within a minute, Sarah released her hands from the two, and Gretel opened her eyes with a smile. Hansel was still quite large, but not as bad as before. Gretel now appeared a normal weight for a teenage girl her age and height. She looked incredibly healthy, however, Sarah did not. She looked pale and exhausted.
Goblin Queen, indeed, Jareth mused to himself sarcastically. Sarah couldn't even conjure simple spells without looking ragged! Of course, he knew that he couldn't conjure anything right now, even if he tried.
Sarah hunched over for a moment, as Hansel left the platform of the Goblin King's throne. He placed Gretel on her feet, and turned back to Sarah. He beamed enthusiastically at her and said, "Oh, thank you, Ma'am! This is more than I ever could have hoped for! How can I serve you?"
Sarah sat back up and replied softly, "I'm afraid that goblins are terrible housekeepers and I have a dire need for some janitorial services within my castle. You and your sister may begin first thing in the morning. For now, I'll have you escorted to servants quarters within the palace, where I promise to treat you and your sister well, as long as neither of you try to escape."
Sarah waved her hand, and Hansel bowed and blew a kiss at her. Sarah smiled and then returned her attention back to Gavin. Out of curiosity, Jareth finally had to ask, "What of the long-haired, blonde girl? What has become of her?"
Sarah raised her eyebrows, "Are you the man responsible for the girl's condition?"
Gavin made a sour face and replied quickly, "Oh, my! NO! Raquel is the Troll King's problem, actually."
"Then, you may know that I have placed her under the care of a goblin midwife several hours ago. The girl has since delivered a female child, and both mother and child are recovering nicely," Sarah finished.
Sarah rubbed at her temples and perspiration began to drip from her brow. Gavin stood patiently awaiting what Sarah would say to him. After several more minutes, he finally asked, "I'm sorry, but are you feeling well?"
Sarah sighed and then folded her hands neatly into her lap.
She hasn't even changed from that shredded pink gown given to her by Torok, Jareth noted.
Sarah took a deep breath and began, "I regret to say I am not, sir. Do you have a name?"
Jareth almost slipped and introduced himself, but finally corrected, "J- I mean 'Gavin'. My name is 'Gavin King'."
"A King?" Sarah raised her one eyebrow. "Well, Gavin King, I have a task for you."
"And if I refuse," questioned Jareth.
"Nobody breeches into my kingdom and Labyrinth uninvited without receiving justifiable punishment, Mr. King," Sarah began. "Twice now, have you penetrated into the walls of my lands, and traversed your way successfully to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. Now, you have but two choices: One, you may face a fiercesome retribution that will last for an eternity. Or, two, you may accept the task I appoint to you and live a long, prosperous life if you should complete it within the time allotted."
"Fine," Gavin snapped. He wasn't happy about being bullied by Sarah, especially since she now claimed his kingdom was hers and sat upon his throne without his permission.
Sarah gazed deeply into Gavin's eyes and said in a solemn voice, "There is a terrible curse that has befallen these lands. It all began long ago when our kingdom was shattered by a foreign war that was both, purely arcane and horrifically devastating in every way. Although it is unclear what the war was about, I know that the Goblin Kingdom was decimated by the eventual and indirect aftershocks of this war. We were thrust into chaos and confusion that not even I can recall. For shortly after everything began, it ended just as abruptly."
"How do you know that it actually occurred then?" Gavin asked.
Sarah continued, "Because, Jareth and I were separated by this war."
"Oh," Gavin replied rather unimpressed. "How would you know that?"
Sarah responded, "Why don't you go find Jareth and ask him. I'm certain he's powerless and mortal at this moment, so he shouldn't be much of a problem to extract any answers from."
Jareth's eyes widened as he thought, how would she know?
As if Sarah had read his mind, she answered, "Because there is only one throne, Mr. King. And only one great power can sit upon this throne at a time. When Jareth is here, I am rendered mortal and powerless, but while I reign, then Jareth becomes the mortal.
Jareth thought back to the last eight years that he had spent in the mortal realm as Gavin King. There were days that he felt retched and exhausted, while others he was empowered and brilliant.
How long had he and Sarah been switching back and forth? Jareth wondered. It didn't seem possible, because the time when Mike Pierce was captured by Sarah, he had the power to shift Toby and he to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City, while Sarah was sitting upon his throne.
Perhaps Sarah had become vulnerable for those few moments, while she had cornered Mike.
Jareth tried to put the pieces together in his head, but he was so fatigued, that he was unable to find an answer to his own questions. Finally, Sarah finished, "My task for you, Gavin King, is this: You must return to the human lands, and find a man by the name of Jeremy Eden. He holds the solution for breaking this curse upon Jareth and myself, which will free us forever."
Gavin exhaled deeply and asked, "Won't a kiss break the curse?"
"I'm not sure," Sarah whispered sadly. "I'm not sure about anything anymore. There are things that I cannot recall. Most of my memories are locked away from even myself. If you ask me what kind of relationship Jareth and I had with one another, I cannot answer honestly. Were we lovers? Were we related? I wish I knew, but a Goblin Queen cannot grant her own wishes."
"You mentioned a time limit," Gavin reminded Sarah. "What do I have, the usual thirteen hours to solve this puzzle?"
"No, Mr. King," Sarah frowned. "You have until my death."
Jareth startled at this remark. Sarah continued, "If I die as the mortal Sarah, then you have failed your task. If this happens, then I promise that my curse will pass from me to you. As a result, you will have a half-life as I have these many long years."