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Sarah threw herself onto her bed burying her face in the pillows. She was a blubbering mess.
She had no idea how she'd made it back to her room so fast.
Once she'd left the dining room, she had raced through the halls and taken the first turn she came to. Somehow, it immediately led to the Escher room, and the first archway she took led to the corridor outside her bedroom.
It didn't really matter. She was away from him now at least.
God, how could he say those things to me?! I hate him! I hate him! I hate him! She screamed in her head, sobbing harder.
You don't hate him. Another more reasonable voice whispered from the back of her mind. You're just mad because you know he's right.
Sarah sat up and wiped her arm across her eyes.
No! No, he's not right! And even if he was, how could he humiliate me like that?! Couldn't he tell that I didn't want to talk about Toby or how I got back in the Labyrinth? Her other voice argued.
Alright, so he shouldn't have brought it up, but maybe he didn't realize he was embarrassing you. Maybe he didn't do it on purpose.
Sarah sniffed. She hadn't thought of that.
But he is right and you know it. Her kinder half continued. You did accept responsibility for wishing Toby away but not fully. You still put as much of the blame on him as you did yourself.
The brunette pulled her knees up to her chest as a fresh load of tears streamed down her face.
A sudden knock at the door made her flinch.
"Miss Sarah? It's Gookie. May I come in? I've brought yer friends."
Sarah rubbed her eyes. She didn't want her friends to see her this way, but they were the only thing that could cheer her up right now.
"Come in." She croaked.
The door swung open and Hoggle marched straight ahead of the group to her side.
"Damn that rat!" He muttered. "Who does he think he is making you cry like that?! What a cad!"
The dwarf pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to his human friend.
"Thanks Hoggle." She said, dabbing her eyes and cheeks with the hanky.
"Sawa sad!" Ludo grumbled.
"I'm okay, Ludo." She reassured the beast with a quick smile. "I'm just embarrassed, that's all. You see, guys, the reason I'm back here is because my nephew, Michael, wished his sister away to the goblins. Since he was too young to run the Labyrinth and I couldn't run in his place, the only thing I could do was trade myself for my niece's freedom."
"Oh, my lady." Sir Didymus said, his tone sympathetic.
"I was too ashamed to tell you guys at dinner, so I tried to keep talking about something else. Anything else! But then he had to go and bring up the twins!"
"You ain't got nothin' to be embarrassed about, Sarah!" Hoggle insisted. "He was completely outta line! It's bad enough he stole yer brother, but then to find out that Toby's life is so difficult now because of the magic residue, it's absolutely repulsive!"
"He's such a jerk." Sarah said, unable to help herself.
"Yer darn right he's a jerk!" The gardener agreed. "He's a selfish, hateful, mean-spirited old-"
"NOW WAIT JUST A DAMN MINUTE!" Gookie suddenly shouted, catching everyone's attention.
"How dare ya talk about the king like that?!" She snarled, advancing on Hoggle.
"I'm afraid I must agree with Miss Gookie, Sir Hoggle."
"Sir Didymus?" Sarah asked in a surprised tone.
"Forgive me, my lady, but I am a soldier in his majesty's army. I cannot tolerate such dissension."
"But…you fought against the entire goblin army last time I was here!" She protested.
"Aye, tis true; I am honor-bound to help a lady in distress, but my true loyalty lies with the king. He is a wise and noble lord and I could never speak ill of him."
"Yeah!" Gookie agreed, still glaring at the dwarf. "He's also the kindest fey I've ever met! He made me Miss Sarah's personal servant! He's generous, he's merciful, and he's honest! Nobody knows that better than ya, Hoggle. Ya just won't admit it cuz yer nothing but a big, fat coward!"
"Ouch!" Hoggle yelped as she then poked him hard in the chest with her finger.
"Gookie!" Sarah admonished.
The female goblin turned away from Hoggle and stared into her mistress's eyes.
"I don't wanna be rude Miss Sarah, but ya shouldn't judge the king when ya don't even know him. I think ya should apologize."
The woman was aghast.
"The king has done so much ta make ya happy." Gookie added. "He invited yer friends ta dinner, he gave ya this beautiful room, and all yer pretty new clothes. He even made sure ya had all yer old outfits and books and music!"
"Music? What music?" Sarah asked, puzzled.
Her servant walked over to the left side of the windows.
Nestled in the corner was an object Sarah hadn't noticed before. It looked like a cross between an old-fashioned radio and a fancy wooden armoire. A built in clock with thirteen hours on its face, ticked silently on the top of the strange device.
Gookie reached up and twisted one of the gold knobs on the front and Sarah gasped out loud as a song from one of her favorite musicals filled the air.
The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat
If you offer me pheasant I'd rather have grouse
If you put me in a house I would much prefer a flat
If you put me in a flat then I'd rather have a house
If you set me on a mouse then I only want a rat
If you set me on a rat then I'd rather chase a mouse
Gookie twisted the knob again and the song changed.
Sometimes you get so lonely
Sometimes you get nowhere
I've lived all over the world
I've left every place
Please be mine
Share my life
Stay with me
Be my wife
The song changed again.
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
Gookie twisted the only other knob on the radio, shutting the music off and turned to face Sarah again.
"He's not a perfect man, Miss Sarah, but he's not what ya think he is either. Ya should really give him a chance."
Sarah was absolutely speechless. She could hardly believe it.
Gookie and Sir Didymus were right.
Jareth had done so many wonderful things for her and she hadn't really appreciated them. It becoming was quite clear that there was much more to the Goblin King than meets the eye.
"I think Miss Sarah's had enough excitement for one day." Gookie suddenly proclaimed, breaking Sarah's train of thought. "Time ta say goodnight ya three!"
"Good evening, my dear lady. Pleasant dreams." Sir Didymus bid with a theatrical bow.
"NIGHT SAWA!"
"Good night." Hoggle uttered, still eyeing the goblin female warily.
"Alright now! Shoo, shoo!" Gookie hissed and herded the trio out of the bedroom.
About an hour later, Sarah had washed and changed into a delicate, white silk nightgown.
Neither she nor Gookie had spoken a word since Hoggle, Didymus and Ludo left.
Not that Sarah thought the she could put two words together at the moment anyway. She just had too much on her mind, like what she was going to say to Jareth tomorrow morning for starters.
She climbed into her soft bed in a daze and sighed in satisfaction. She felt like she was laying on a cloud. She'd been too upset to notice before.
"Gookie? Can I ask you something?" She inquired as the goblin affectionately tucked the sheets and blanket around her.
"Of course, miss."
"Why did Jareth do all these things for me?"
Gookie considered the question for a moment.
"Well, I ain't an expert, but if I had ta guess, I'd say it's cuz…he really cares about ya."
Something akin to bliss flickered in Sarah's chest.
"But don't ya worry yer little head about anythin' else tonight. Ya get some sleep now. Tomorrow will be much better, ya'll see."
Gookie the hopped down off the bed and snapped her fingers dousing the flame-crystals overhead before scurrying over to the radio and twisting the knob once more.
The soft nostalgic tune of the music box Sarah owned as a child drifted through the darkness. Its tinkling lullaby soothed her mind and in less than a minute, she fell asleep dreaming of a grand ball and a man with wild blonde hair.
A/N: I think this is my favorite chapter so far! I just love how Gookie's developing. What do you guys think? Please review and me love you long time!