Forty-two minutes later…

"I'm coming, Sarah!" cried Hoggle.

She had been in Labyrinth less than an hour, and she'd fallen off a ledge, which towered over the Bog Of Eternal Stench. It seemed that the Labyrinth's course had changed a quite bit since the last time she visited, including the Bog. The oozing green swamp seemed a lot more ferocious than last time. It's slime was bubbling so high that she was afraid it was going to touch her. The weather also seemed more bracing than she had ever known it to be in the giant maze, as the wind swayed her back and forth.

"Help!" she shouted as she desperately tried to pull herself up from the rocky ledge.

"Grab me hand!" Hoggle yelled, as he tried to extend his dumpy upper limb for her to cling on to. "The Bog's getting higher!"

"It does that?" she screamed.

"It does now! Won't stop 'til it's got yer! Can't yer feel it pulling yer down?"

"Is that what it's doing! Oh, help me Hoggle. I don't want to smell bad for the rest of my life!"

"Your too heavy!" he shouted. "And the force of the Bog ain't helpin'!" He yanked her arm as much as he could, but the Bog's might was too strong for the little dwarf. Sarah tried hard to struggle herself up, but it was impossible. Her feet were dangling right over the swamp. It kept on rising until the odour was practically insufferable. She screamed every time she looked down, imagining what it would be like to reek of decomposed fish, human faeces, rotten flesh and stagnant water for the rest of her life. She just couldn't bear it.

"Please, Hoggle!" she beseeched once more, which put the dwarf under a vast amount of pressure. He knew he'd never forgive himself if he didn't find some way of rescuing her, so he gathered every remaining muscle in his undersized body and pulled with all his might. He wrenched her so hard, that his jewelled bracelet snapped from his hand and descended straight into the Bog. All of a sudden, the green ooze began to lower. They watched as the bog gulped it up and belched until his beloved bangle was no more. Hoggle sighed.

"Oh, that was me best piece of jewellery!" he moaned, mourning the loss of the tatty wristband Sarah had given to him all those years ago. She rolled her eyes at him. There she was dangling from a ledge, and he was grieving over a bracelet! "Look, Sarah! The Bog's going down! It was me bracelet. It must think that it's got you!" Hoggle declared. As the Bog went down, the vigour of its pull went down with it, and Hoggle quite easily managed to haul Sarah up to safety. Once, she was safe, they both collapsed against the far wall. "Not so bothered about me bracelet now. As long as you're okay" proclaimed Hoggle.

"Oh, thank you Hoggle! You saved me! You always save me! You're such a hero!" Sarah leaned forward and planted a kiss on Hoggle's cheek, which caused him to blush. When she turned her back to him, he lightly touched his cheek, as if she had given him something very special.

Still, what Hoggle and Sarah did not know was that they were indeed being watched the entire time. For just a few twists and turns away from them, a shiny crystal ball hovered in thin air. Into the ball gazed the Goblin King, who sat alone in a small room located inside his castle. Of course, Hoggle wasn't going to take her home - he knew that. Maybe that was exactly what he wanted. What he didn't want, however, was for Sarah to kiss him. It disturbed him deeply, for reasons he did not quite understand. He thought back the words that he said to Hoggle five years ago; "if she ever kisses you I'll turn you into a Prince…Prince of the land of Stench!".

Oh, and wasn't he just going to stick to that promise!

"Now, I knows you wants to go explorin' some more, but I really do thinks it's best if you go home now, Sarah, just so's you don't get in any more trouble" advised Hoggle, while they strolled through the misty forest. But he could tell Sarah wasn't really paying attention to his words. She was too engrossed in the enchantment of the Labyrinth. He watched her as she marvelled at the trees, and the way the sunlight twinkled through them. As much as her curiosity aggravated him, he couldn't help but find her innocence rather lovely, especially the way her eyes always widened at the sight of something new. He watched as she reached out to touch a golden leaf, but became surprised when it grew legs and began to scurry away. She smiled in amusement, before turning to face Hoggle, who stood watching her with his beady eyes.

"Oh, Hoggle. Don't look at me like that. What about our plan to defeat Jareth? Don't you want to get your freedom from being his slave?" she posed, annoyed that her friend had become even more of a coward than she had known him to be.

"O' course I do, but… well, here's a thought; why don't we just continue our plan at your house? Then we won't be breaking any of Jareth's rules. I can bring the others over, if you like?"

"You're not going to give up, are you?" she sighed, to which he shook his head. Maybe he had a point. Jareth did seem pretty angry, and it made sense to devise a plan in a place where he wasn't always watching them. Besides, she knew how to get back to the Labyrinth now, so she could return another day, when Hoggle wasn't watching over her every step. "Okay then, let's go home," she said.

"Alright!" Hoggle jumped up with relief, and began to lead the way back to the Labyrinth's entrance, with Sarah trudging slowly behind him. "Hurry your horses!" he barked, his little legs tottering as fast as they possibly could through the gigantic maze.

She didn't understand what the big rush was. If Jareth was going to harm them, surely he would have done it by now. Nevertheless, she did as the dwarf told her and dashed around the hedges and stone walls until they reached the great iron door which would lead them to safety. They pushed it open at the same time. Only it wouldn't move; not one bit.

It seemed that Sarah was trapped!

"What's going on, Hoggle? Why won't it open?" she questioned.

"Allow me to answer that" spoke a stern voice from behind them, and they jolted around, shocked to see he Goblin King, who leaned casually against one of the side walls. Sarah fixated her eyes on at the man, who now dressed in sparkling crimson from top to toe. He changed his clothes more than she changed her own underwear! For a second, she wondered what his wardrobe was like, and what his most extravagant outfit was. For some reason, she imagined him clothed in a suit made entirely from bacon, but the thought disturbed her so she shook her head and went back to gazing at the figure that stood in front of her. "Oh, don't gawp at me like that, Sarah. I knew you would still be here. Only, I didn't think you'd give up so easily. Couldn't you have formed a secret alliance somewhere in my Labyrinth, and hatched your plan to turn all of my loyal goblins against me there?" he asked, smiling heinously. They didn't know what to say to that.

"Jareth, just let the girl go home. That's all she was going to do. We ain't makin' a plan no more!" insisted Hoggle, who flinched with his every word, knowing that he was not going to be let off lightly.

"I specifically told you to send her home straight away, Hodgepodge! But instead you had to take her gallivanting about the Bog Of Eternal Stench! It won't be hungry for hours now! But when it is…guess who'll be the first on to satisfy it's appetite!" Jareth threatened.

"Please forgive me, Master!" Hoggle threw himself down at Jareth's leg and began to grovel, to which Sarah rolled her eyes at her cowardly friend.

"Not this time, Hoggle. You have betrayed me one time too many, and you must learn your place." Jareth kicked the dwarf away from his leg and picked off the ground up by his ear.

"Hey, leave him alone!" cried Sarah, who ran up to the two of them and tried to yank Hoggle away from Jareth. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size for once, hmm? Oh, I remember! You always lose against people your own size, don't you, Jareth!"

Suddenly, he dropped Hoggle to the floor, and took a step back. His expression was that of humiliation, and for a second Sarah felt that maybe she had crossed the line. Then he glowered at her intently for a few seconds, before swinging his cape round, turning his back and strutting away.

"Wait! What do you expect me to do now?" she enquired. He turned back.

"Whatever you like. Stay with your friends, devise an evil plan - I don't care. But you will not be leaving this Labyrinth; not now, not ever! For speaking so cruelly to me, you have become one of them. You may live in the forest area where Hogbrain's hut is located. You may gallivant about anywhere in the woods, but you are forbidden anywhere near my castle or the heart of the Labyrinth." He spoke in a low tone, through gritted teeth. It seemed that her words had really affected him, and now she regretted them.

"You can't do that!" she yelled.

"I think you'll find I can. You belong to me now, Sarah. You are my slave" he grinned.

"W…What are you going to do to me?" asked Hoggle, immediately regretting the question.

"You! Your punishment is simple enough; guilt. This girl will become so very sick and tired of living here that she won't be able to stand it. Now, how would you handle having that on your conscience?"

Hoggle gulped with fear. The thing he hated most was guilt, especially when he felt guilty about Sarah.

After Jareth had said all he had to say he disappeared again.

"Don't listen to him, Hoggle. You don't need to feel guilty. We'll find a way out sooner or later," Sarah assured, but Hoggle knew that with the Goblin King watching their every move, escape would be impossible.