CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Empire of Dust and Ashes

"And so it came to pass

that the players took their final places,

making ready the events that were to come.

The madman sat in his empire of dust and ashes,

Little knowing the glory he would achieve,

While his savior looked upon the wilderness,

In hope of changing his inevitable fate.

Far away, the idiots and fools dreamt of a shining new future,

A future now doomed never to happen.

As the earth rolled onwards into the night,

The people of that world did sleep,

And shiver,

Somehow knowing that dawn would bring only one thing…

The final day!"

-Rassilon, From the Doctor Who Series Four special "End of Time"

When Sarah awoke that morning, she was quite sure that she was even more tired than she was before she had slept. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up as the sun tipped over the top of the Labyrinth walls.

"Come on feet," Sarah said to herself, willing herself to action, "last day to run the Labyrinth, and it seems as though I've hardly made any headway. Time grows short."

As Sarah walked along the stone paths of the Labyrinth, the sun rose steadily, eventually peeking over the tops of the stone walls that surrounded her.

Suddenly, the air around Sarah began to shimmer and Sarah belatedly realized that she was under the influence of some sort of magic. Before she could do so much as open her mouth to protest, there was a flash of light, and Sarah felt the ground beneath her feet move.

Sarah blinked and took in her new surroundings. Her heart stopped. Unless she was very much mistaken, it looked as though she was back at the beginning of the Labyrinth. She was standing next to the giant wooden doors that she had passed through just two days ago. What on earth had just happened? What kind of vile trick was this?

"Good morning, Sarah."

Sarah shrieked and whirled around and found herself looking at the person whom she wanted to see the very least at that moment.

The Goblin King.

"What-what did you do?" Sarah cried, balling her fists and advancing on the smirking Goblin King. "You-you…you cheat!" She was wild with anger, her composure quite shattered. She had expected the Goblin King to fight for his right to keep her, but this; this was nothing short of a dishonorable trick.

"What I must," he said, waving a hand dismissively through the air.

"Have you no concept of honor or morals?" asked Sarah bitingly, trying and failing to resist giving into the urge of trying to physically maim her tormentor. She drew her sword, and swung it at him.

He knocked her blade aside with the back of his gloved hand, dismissing her just as easily as if she were a bothersome fly.

Before Sarah could swing her arms up to try to slash at him once more, the Goblin King quickly wrenched the blade from her hands and turned it on her, settling the point of the blade neatly at the base of Sarah's throat, just above the breastbone.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, where are your manners?" he said disapprovingly, as if he were disciplining a naughty child.

"I might ask the same of you," replied Sarah, trying to calm herself. She made mistakes when she let her wits be overthrown by her passions. Time was short, and she could not afford to let herself be led into further trouble by the Goblin King's taunting. Best to keep a level head.

"Why, I am only doing what is best for you, dear Sarah," said the Goblin King in a show of faux concern.

"And who are you to decide what is best for me, Goblin King?" asked Sarah acidly, staring daggers at the source of all of her frustrations. She knocked aside her blade, echoing the actions of the Goblin King from earlier.

"You are mine, Sarah, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that today ends in my favor, even if that includes bending a few rules. I have warned you not to defy me, and I shall remind you of my warnings now. This is my Labyrinth, and it obeys me. My will is law here, and everything will go according to how I want it to go."

Jareth smiled at Sarah, who clenched her teeth, willing herself to stay silent. He inspected her blade, lifting to up to test the balance and to look at how it was honed. His eyes flicked up to look at Sarah.

"You have not the slightest chance. Give up now and I shall forgive you for all of your defiant rebellion."

"Never."

"Pity. I guess that I will have to try to persuade you further." He looked pensively at Sarah's sword once more and spoke, affecting an offhanded tone. "I wonder how your beloved baby brother is doing right now. I think that a trip to the Labyrinth might do him some good. His sister is being awfully disobedient and I think that he needs to see an example of what happens when one defies the Goblin King."

He looked up at Sarah, and grinned wickedly at her, watching as the blood drained from her face, her anger replaced with horror at his implied suggestion.

"I hate you."

"That does not matter. I will have an eternity to change your mind once you fail to reach my castle tonight."

"That's what you think," said Sarah disparagingly.

The Goblin King laughed. "Enough chatter, run along, my dear. You know it is further than you think, and only mere hours remain until you are truly mine forever. Good luck."

Laughing some more, the Goblin King tossed Sarah's sword down in the dirt at her feet and then disappeared, leaving Sarah alone at the beginning of the Labyrinth, more angry and disheartened than she was the first time she had made her way through those doors.

Sarah screamed in frustration and beat her fists against the wooden doors of the Labyrinth.

She spun around, leaning on the doors as she sank to the earthen ground, burying her head in her hands. The little hope she had when she had woken this morning had fled as surely as it had come. How on earth was she supposed to find her way though the Labyrinth once more and get to the castle of the Goblin King before sunset when it took her so long before? It was an impossible task.

Sighing, Sarah lifted her head and wiped away her angry tears.

It would do her no good to sulk. She had little time as it was, and quite a bit of ground to cover in that time.

Sarah rose to her feet, sweeping her sword up out of the dust as she rose. Had anyone been watching Sarah at that moment, she would have struck the watcher as the epitome of the downtrodden heroine: her clothes rent, her spirits crushed, her possessions few, and her burdens many. Sarah had learnt a great many things since walking through the doors of the Labyrinth, and not all of them pleasant, but she had grown as a person nonetheless. She could not-nay-she would not give up. She would not give the Goblin King the pleasure of an easy victory. If she was to lose to such a being as the Goblin King, Sarah would be sure to make such a end that would be worthy of her own convictions. She would not allow her soul to be lost in the Labyrinth along with her body.

As the sun rose, it cast beams of light down through the boughs of the trees that made up the walls of the section of the Labyrinth at the entrance. Sarah reached for her compass. She was lucky that the Goblin King did not know of her gift from Queen Mab. It would make her second journey through the Labyrinth easier.

Sarah watched as the needle spun round and pointed to the left. Sarah frowned. When she had entered the Labyrinth two days prior, she had traveled to the right. Had she been wrong to choose that way? The compass was pointing steadily to the left, leaving Sarah with no doubt of the direction it wanted her to travel. Should she take the chance and follow Queen Mab's compass? True, it had lead her in the right direction before, but it had also lead her indiscriminately into the clutches of the incubus.

She had to make a decision immediately; she had no time to waste. Steeling herself, Sarah walked quickly to the left, letting the compass lead the way for her.

She followed the compass for some time without incident, trying to keep up a quick and steady pace. However, after an hour or so, Sarah stopped suddenly, confusion washing over her. The needle of her compass had suddenly started to spin around in a frantic circle.

Sarah spun around in a circle, mimicking the movement of the compass needle, looking around for her path.

The Labyrinth around her looked just as same as the rest of the Labyrinth that she had passed through. Surely that was not what the compass meant by spinning in a circle? There must be something else that the compass meant by spinning in a circle…but what?

In her determination to follow the direction of the compass needle, Sarah somehow tripped and landed sprawled in the dust. Growling, Sarah was about to push herself to her feet when she noticed what her feet had probably tripped on. There was an iron ring sticking out of the dust.

Suddenly, Sarah understood what the compass had meant by spinning in a circle. It did not have the capability to point down.

Sarah grasped onto the ring and wrenched it upwards, displacing earth and rock as she lifted the trap door that she had stood upon not moments before.

Sarah laughed humorlessly as the gaping hole in the earth opened up before her, her mind thinking back to the last time she had ventured underground in the Labyrinth. All in all, it had not been a very pleasant experience. Stone steps lead down into the darkness.

Glancing at the compass once more, Sarah watched as the needle spun, groaning as her conclusion was confirmed. Drawing forth both her firebird feather and her sword, Sarah stepped down into the darkness, the feather lighting her way and her sword assuaging her fears.

Down, down, down, Sarah walked, seeing naught but stone, soil and tree roots. She walked in endless circles as the staircase wound further down into the depths of the earth, the compass needle spinning slowly with her progress.

After what had seemed to be an hour, Sarah finally made her way to the bottom of the long stair, the air far cooler than it had been on the surface of the Labyrinth.

Sarah tucked the firebird feather behind her ear and pulled the tattered remnants of the Goblin King's cloak securely around her shoulders and hefted her sword more securely in her hands.

Sarah strode though the cavern, tearing apart the darkness with the light from her feather. The part of the underground Labyrinth that Sarah was traversing was quite unlike her previous excursion into the earth. Instead of a maze mimicking the one above the earth over her head, she walked down a single neatly hewn stone tunnel, which bore a high ceiling. The earth below her feet was quite dry and was relatively even and free of obstructions. It was a little too perfect. The neat order of it all made Sarah quite nervous. After a few days in the wild uncertainty of the Labyrinth, such normalcy was now deemed alien in her eyes. Surely this boded ill for her journey.

Sarah pulled out her compass once more and looked at it. The needle pointed resolutely down the long tunnel, steady and unwavering. Sarah tamped down her fears and continued on, picking up her pace to a steady jog. She could not see the end of the long tunnel, and since she could see no other pathways leading off of the main tunnel. She had but one way to go.

She continued on in this manner for a while, stopping every now and then to slow her pace and to catch her breath. The stone walls around her had not changed, nor had the end of the tunnel grown any closer.

As Sarah jogged along, the air around her grew perceptibly colder, and Sarah could not suppress the shiver that ran down her spine. She felt as though she was no longer alone.

Sarah stopped in her track and spun around to face the path she had just traversed, hand on the hilt of her weapon, ready to attack anything or anyone that meant her ill. However, no phantasms, monsters, or Goblin Kings drew forth from the shadows. She was seemingly alone.

Sarah pushed her fears away with some difficulty and started to move again, this time moving a bit quicker, running through the tunnel instead of jogging.

She was able to forget about the strange sensation that she had felt after a bit, instead concentrating on keeping up her rapid pace.

Something in the tunnel before her changed, and Sarah narrowed her eyes in an attempt to discern who or what she was running towards. Whatever it was, Sarah must not shirk or show any fear. There was no longer any time for fear. Sarah picked up the pace, deciding to face her foe directly, rather than prolong their meeting. However, Sarah's fears were unfounded, as the foe that she was preparing for was revealed to be nothing but a doorway, a great stone arch that stretched to the ceiling of the cavern, ornately carved with glyphic runes and a text that Sarah was unable to read. Peering through the opening revealed a large, circular room, dotted with strange blue lights that seemed to ebb in and out of existence. Sarah steeled herself for the worst and stepped through the doorway, once again feeling the sudden chill and the sensation that she was not alone.

Ssssaarrrahhh…

Heart beating madly, Sarah ripped her sword from its sheath and prepared to meet whatever new horrors the Labyrinth had in stock for her.

Ssssssssssssaaaaarahhhhh…

"Who is there?" Sarah called, brandishing her sword. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Something was incredibly wrong here. It was as though a thousand different voices hissed her name, calling out to her through time immemorial.

Sssarahhh…

"Stop it!" Sarah cried, cringing back from the unwelcome sound. "Who are you? What do you want?" She nearly dropped her sword out of fear and exhaustion, her nerves fraying at an alarming rate. The orbs of blue light added to Sarah's distress. Was it just her imagination, or were the orbs reacting to the mysterious voices that were whispering out to Sarah?

Guillllleminnn….

"How do you know my name?" Sarah asked wildly, looking around for the source of the voices, but to no avail. "Show yourself!"

Suddenly, one of the blue lights to Sarah's left flared brighter, swelling larger and larger, blossoming into the shape of what appeared to be a human. Sarah took a few startled steps backwards, nearly stumbling clumsily over her feet and falling to the ground. The action of the one orb seemed to trigger the rest of the spheres into movement. Human forms unfurled around Sarah, still infused with the shining blue glow of the orbs that they once were. She was surrounded.

Sarah looked at the figure before her, and her heart stuttered and she nearly lost all her courage. The human figure that she was staring at was somehow strangely familiar, as if a remnant from a half-forgotten dream. It could not be…it was simply not possible…

The ghostly figure of a young woman stood before Sarah. It was plain that she would be uncannily similar in looks to Sarah were she not a shade of the past. Sarah could only stare in shock and astonishment.

Sarah…

The figure spoke, though her lips never moved. It was as though the voice came from all around Sarah, permeating the air and drifting in towards her from all sides. Sarah shivered once more.

"Yes, I am Sarah," she replied, trying to keep a level tone to her voice. There was no use to panicking now. She was surrounded and she did not know what these things could do. It was best to try to talk her way though this situation.

I-I have forgotten my name, the creature breathed, her ethereally glowing hair floating gently in some inhuman breeze, but I have not forgotten who I am. You know me.

It was not a question, and Sarah trembled slightly at the hollow sound of the spirit's voice.

"Yes, I-I believe that I do," Sarah replied, slowly sheathing her sword. What good would tempered steel do against beings of light and mist?

I am she who started all this, the shade said, I am the Guillemin who denied the hand of the Goblin King.

"You…" faltered Sarah, unable to form any words. What could she say? She had thought as a youth of the harsh words she would say to her ancestor if they could ever meet, to scold her of her horrific lapse in judgment, to warn her of the implications of her actions, but now when she was actually in a situation where she could repeat her rants, words failed her. It was one thing to curse the air, quite another to berate another conscious being for mistakes long past. Sarah knew without quite knowing that her ancestor was fully aware of what her actions lead to and that the burden of such knowledge did not come lightly. It was a moot point.

Yes, the young woman said. She looked around her at the other human shades that dotted the room and gestured with a ghostly hand. And these are the people whose lives I turned upside down because of my foolish words on that night. The lost Guillemins.

Sarah looked around her at her ancestors, a little taken aback at the number of ghostly forms that permeated the room. It was hard to physically quantify generations of stolen children when merely looking at a family tree. Seeing them there, in that room, their glowing forms illuminating and filling the space, it struck Sarah just how much the Goblin King had taken away. Not only children, but lives as well, potential futures that were in an instant doomed to never be, a thousand million possibilities of human existence that were extinguished in one hasty act, journeys that began and ended with the petty whim of the Goblin King.

It was unfair.

"But how are you here?" asked Sarah, "Did the Goblin King do this to you?"

Yes and no, said the young woman, We are the remnants of those who were taken by the Goblin King. Though I myself was not taken, the curse of the Goblin King ensured that my shadow would be locked here forever so that I may know the folly of my ways, though I knew what havoc I had engendered as soon as the words left my lips on that night so long ago. We are souls. Unlike other souls, we cannot pass on after death. We are human, from the human realm. Because we are now in the faerie realm, the magical realm, our souls are not permitted to move on. It is against nature. And so, we are trapped here, though not by the design of the Goblin King. He took our bodies, his world kept our souls. I do not think that this was his intent, though he certainly knows that this has happened as a result of his actions. His own follies…

Sarah's ancestor trailed off, as if aware of the irony of her words.

Sarah's blood ran cold. She had thought that it was impossible to hate the Goblin King any more than she did after what he did to her and her family. She should have known that there would always be something more that the Goblin King could or would do that would make her hate him even more. She had thought that he was capable of at least a modicum of human emotion and decency of morals, but she was incredibly wrong on that matter. He was a monster; a villain of the foulest kind. How could anyone possess the necessary cruelty and lack of empathy to keep lost souls trapped in the magical realm forever, doomed to never find peace? Surely one's spirit would be so black and tainted that any action one made to keep lost souls would damn it forever. He knew of their suffering, and yet he did nothing.

"How can I free you?" asked Sarah, "How can I help your souls to move on? It is not just that you are to be stuck here forever!"

No, replied the spirit, It is not, but that is how it is.

"But it's not fair! Tell me, how do I free you? How can I let your souls be free to return to our world?" Sarah cried out, trying to shake the lethargy off of the souls of her ancestors.

Win.

The word came in all around Sarah, assaulting her with a barrage of emotional tones. Some said it sadly; some said it with anger, and others with a surety that such a thing would be all but impossible. Sarah's head swam with the influx of tones. Beating the Goblin King to win her own freedom was one thing. Beating the Goblin King against all odds and probabilities of fate to win her freedom and the freedom of all of her ancestors forever tormented by the curse of the repugnant fae was quite another. The heavy mantle of expectation and doubt settled over Sarah, burdening her with uncertainty of her own success and the painful knowledge of what would happen if she should fail.

"I will," Sarah said, half-trying to convince herself of her hopeful probability of success. She looked around at her ancestors, the ancestors whose fates had somehow intersected with hers.

I know you will, said her ancestor, nodding solemnly at Sarah. Now listen closely, Sarah, time is short and even though you are very close now, you still have a very long ways to go. I shall tell you how. Continue along the tunnel, Sarah, said the spectral young woman, pointing across to the other side of the cavern, walk 300 paces and then stop and turn to your left. Walk straight towards the wall. You must not balk at this. You will find yourself at the end of a long, narrow tunnel. Follow this tunnel and you will come out at the outskirts of the Goblin City.

Her ancestor looked at her queerly for a moment, as if she wanted to say more, but it passed, and she merely replaced it once more with her mask of severe despondency.

Her ancestor did not think that Sarah could do it! Sarah's heart fluttered painfully at this realization. For the first time, Sarah contemplated the possibility of losing, of failing to complete the Labyrinth on time. It ate at Sarah and broke down her securely-built defenses. Doubt crept into her mind, tainting it with its dark touch. She looked hopelessly at her ancestor, hoping for some other bits of wisdom, some secret with which she could surely defeat the Goblin King.

Unfortunately, the spirit merely said Good luck, and began to shift, turning into the ethereal orb once more, her audience with Sarah now over.

And with that, Sarah strode across the chamber and continued directly down the tunnel, counting her paces as soon as she passed through the archway. She did not dare to look around her as she crossed the room. She did not think that she could bear to stand the looks of her ancestors, all of whose futures now rested heavily on her shoulders.

AN: Sorry for the lateness of the chapter, dear readers! This chapter took a bit of a turn that I had not expected when I had first plotted out my story. I felt the need to show even more of the repercussions of the Goblin King's actions, and to make him at once a bit more pitiable and a bit more malevolent. Jareth did not fully foresee what would happen because of his actions and choices and some things happened that repulsed and hardened even Jareth. And now that Sarah has seen this as well, everything is laid bare and not all the pretty words in the world could make Sarah forget about what she has seen has happened to her family.

Disclaimer: Labyrinth and its characters do not belong to me. Quotes from the movie belong to Henson, Froud, and Lucas. Quotes from the book belong to A.C.H. Smith.