CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Conscience of the King

"The play's the thing,

wherein lies the

conscience of the king."

-Hamlet, Act 2, scene ii by William Shakespeare

Sarah stepped cautiously of the narrow stone tunnel, unwilling to catch the eye of any stray goblin that might be passing by. She had spent a few hours down in the tunnels beneath the Labyrinth, and her time to reach the Goblin King's castle was drawing very short. Sarah pulled out her compass to reorient herself. The needle spun around once briefly before stopping, quivering slightly in the after effects of its sudden stop.

Drawing the hood of what little was left of the Goblin King's cloak over herself; Sarah bent her head and started to make her way in the direction the compass needle pointed, one hand resting delicately on the hilt of her sheathed sword.

The caverns she walked through were large, though not as large as the one that held the Goblin King's castle. There was no natural light in here, save for the spindly threads of light that forced their way through the deep cracks in the stone ceiling high above her head. The Goblin City was immense, and looked as though centuries upon centuries of buildings had been erected on one another, creating a mish-mash of architectural styles and forms. It was at once discombobulated and orderly, much like the Labyrinth that preceded it.

Sarah tried her best to skirt the city, preferring to slip from shadow to shadow rather than risk getting lost in the maze of streets and corridors that made up the city of the goblins. She must not raise the alarm.

It seemed as though luck had finally decided to favor Sarah that day that was until she nearly stepped onto a goblin that had been lurking in the shadows of the city.

The goblin let out a hiss and jumped up to his feet, prepared to meet his foe. Sarah and the goblin stared at one another for a few moments, neither daring to move. Suddenly, the goblin dashed off in the direction of the city, shouting something that sounded not unlike a warning call. As soon as the goblin had dashed past her, Sarah began to run, forsaking the safety of the shadows and instead running out in the open where the ground was more level and her path clearer. Before Sarah could take more than a dozen steps, there was a clanging of a bell, and a clamor of sound began to rise from the Goblin City as its inhabitants prepared themselves for attack. Sarah cursed and began to sprint, her cloak whipped furiously in her wake, and her sheathed sword thumping a steady beat against her thigh as she ran.

The clanging of the bells of the Goblin City gave way to bleating horns. Sarah whipped her head around, looking behind her to see if she could see any goblins emerging from the depths of the city. None were forthcoming, and this made Sarah nervous. She tried to peer thorough the dim light ahead of her to see if she could see a host amassing, but she was unable to see much.

Sarah pulled out her compass again to check if she was moving in the right direction. Sarah looked up as she skidded around a particularly large stalagmite that was squarely in her way, and her heart sank. There, not thirty yards in front of her stood a respectably-sized host of goblins, all armed to the teeth with bony plate mail and lethal looking devices that were surely designed for nothing but torture.

The goblins stood in front of what looked like a large metal gate, which was currently drawn open.

Sarah slid to a stop and contemplated the host in front of her. She was quite obviously outnumbered and hopelessly outgunned. Did the goblins really mean her harm, or was this yet another trick by the Goblin King, designed with the intent of frightening her off and to delay her further?

"Goblins!" Sarah cried out, trying to bolster up what little was left of her courage, "What is the matter? May I pass?"

There was a outbreak of noise as the goblins began to discuss Sarah's words with one another, which eventually died down when one particularly nasty looking goblin spoke back.

"You may not pass, Lady Sarah. His highness the Goblin King has decreed that you are not to be allowed to reach his castle."

"Do you mean me harm? Is that why you have amassed an army?" Sarah called back, one hand gripping the hilt of her sword. She did not draw it, however, unwilling to provoke the ire of the band of goblins unless it was absolutely necessary.

The goblins conferred with one another once more before one called out.

"His majesty says you are not to be harmed, only that we needs must ensure that you do not pass through to his castle."

"Excellent," Sarah muttered under her breath. Then, she charged, running full-tilt towards the goblins, who were taken aback by her sudden attack. A few of the more battle-worn goblins recovered first, and proceeded to lower the heavy portcullis which sank steadily, closing off the end of the tunnel. If Sarah was unable to make it through…

Sarah put on a burst of speed, running straight at a group of goblins who stood in her way, but quickly dove to either side of her, not wanting to be run over by the girl who was clearly mad enough to take a goblin horde head on. As she hurtled over the goblins, she wrenched an iron pike from one of the smaller goblin's grip.

Sarah dove under the descending portcullis, which crashed shut just moments after she had made it through. Sarah quickly rolled to her feet and ran over to the large chain that snaked up into the rock above her head and quickly threaded the iron pike through a few of the chain links, effectually disabling the gate for long enough for Sarah to get a head start on the goblins.

Sarah turned and ran, ignoring the angry shouts of the trapped goblins behind her. A horn sounded once more, and Sarah knew that the goblins were probably dispersing to bypass their disabled portcullis through the numerous secret passageways that inevitably dotted the caves.

A dot of light appeared at the end of the cave that Sarah was hurtling down, growing larger and larger as she ran.

Sarah was momentarily blinded by the sunlight that assaulted her eyes when she exited the cave. Rubbing her eyes, Sarah tried to regain her sight, blinking rapidly as her eyes grew accustomed to the light.

There, on the other side of the large cavern sat a sight that made Sarah's heart thump faster: the castle of the Goblin King. She was so close now!

Grinning, Sarah set off through the trees, heading directly for what was to be the end of her very long and very tiring long journey.

Jareth paced restlessly in his throne room, his hands clasped behind his back and his brow furrowed from an intense onslaught of thought.

She had found the source of his greatest shame. She had stumbled across the room of souls. He had not meant to send her down that path. She should have never found the door in the ground. Why had she not gone down the passage way to the right as she had done before? What had possessed her to turn left? Why did she take that chance? Jareth knew that it had been a dirty trick to pull, but she had been so close to exiting the Labyrinth, and he could not bear the thought of her defeating him. That was, of course, before he had decided to tip the scales even more in his favor. But still, she should not have been able to access that room. His wards had proven to be no obstacle at all for her. She had passed through them as a hand sweeps away cobwebs.

Jareth stalked up to the dais and sat heavily upon his throne, clutching his head in his gloved hands.

The Goblin King had not realized the implications of stealing humans and keeping them in the magical realm when he had placed his curse. As the first few stolen Guillemin children began to grow old and die, Jareth had noticed something that he had not intended. Just as their physical bodies had been trapped in his kingdom, so were their immortal souls, prevented from moving on after death because they could not find their way back to the human realm.

Jareth had felt the first slight twinge of remorse when he had discovered this, immediately trying to find a solution to this problem, pouring over any and every tome that touched on the subject, and consulting with the wisest and most clever minds in the realm. However, it was to no avail. As the years went by and the souls of the deceased Guillemin children began to accumulate, the Goblin King had come to the realization that the curse had inadvertently bound their souls as well. Jareth had not allowed himself to feel guilt over this fact. He hardened his heart and strengthened his resolve, not letting the affairs of petty humans affect him. It was their punishment for being born a Guillemin. Fate had been indiscriminately cruel to both sides.

And just then, to make matters even worse, a goblin guard stumbled into the throne room not moments ago to warn him that the girl had suddenly arrived in the Goblin City and was currently defeating its defenses with ease. She would reach his castle in a matter of minutes. He had not intended for Sarah to reach this far, and yet, perhaps it would be for the best. He had prepared for every outcome.

She thought that she would defeat him by merely reaching his castle and finding him in the throne room.

Jareth let out a harsh laugh, letting his guilt and misgivings slip away, replacing them with his familiar mask of cruelty and pride. There was a rush of magic and the Goblin King was suddenly attired in his intimidating goblin amour, the black metal polished to a high sheen.

Little did she know: she had lost the game long ago.

Sarah stumbled as she ran through the sparsely forested land that surrounded the Goblin King's castle. She could see the turrets of the castle glinting in the late afternoon sun, the banners waving merrily in the breeze.

She was so close…

It was odd that the goblins did not offer her more resistance. It was strange too that while the Labyrinth was a mire of tricks and defenses for the Goblin King, the grounds surrounding the castle were not protected at all. Perhaps the Goblin King did not ever have anyone make their way out of the Labyrinth? Something was not right here. It was far too easy.

Before Sarah could mull over the matter too much, she broke through the tree line, gasping for breath. She slowed from her sprint and looked up at the castle that loomed high above her. Her ordeal was nearly over.

Sarah walked up to the staircase that lead to the front steps and paused to unsheathe her sword, unbuckling the scabbard and letting it fall to the ground. The sword had not been much of a defense against the Goblin King this morning, but Sarah felt safer with it. It was one of the few things that she could use to defend herself against the Goblin King, other than her mind and her words.

Sarah took a deep breath and began to ascend the stairs, her heart thumping in time with her footsteps.

Up, up, up, she climbed, until Sarah stood before the great wooden doors of the castle. Sarah leaned forward and pushed against one of the doors, which creaked open. Sarah was taken aback. Why had the Goblin King not bolted the door? What was going on? He could not have given up so easily; it was against his character.

Sarah looked at her compass as she entered the foyer, and started down the hall in the direction that the compass pointed, trusting it to lead her to the throne room. Though she had been there before, Sarah had unfortunately not been privy to its location due to the scheming tricks of the Goblin King. However, Sarah remembered the look of the doors, ornately carved out of mahogany with great brass handles in the shape of an owl in flight. Sarah followed the compass as it lead her through the castle, through hallways and doors and up and down a multitude of staircases.

Sarah turned the corner and ran down a short hallway that was floored with marble dark as ebony. She stopped short as she recognized the set of doors that marked the end of the passageway. Large, carved from mahogany, with brassy handles in the shape of an owl with wings outstretched.

Gripping her sword tighter, Sarah stepped as noiselessly as she could up to the door and took a deep breath as she grasped the handle.

The door swung open noiselessly at Sarah's touch.

AN: So I told myself when I woke up this morning that I was not going to forget to post this chapter before I went to work, lest I forget to post it at all! Well, here we are, dear readers, early Saturday morning with the new chapter! How I wish FFnet had an automated posting feature like Tumblr! Anyways, hope everyone likes the new chapter! I love all of the reviews all you lovely readers have been leaving lately, and I'll get to responding to them very soon! It always makes my very happy when I get the email notification that I have a review! Also, I'm going on vacation next week, so I'll do my best to remember to post my chapters on time, but no promises! (Especially Tuesday's chapter, which is the greatly anticipated final showdown!)

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.