A/N: Moving right along...

"I thought you said that goblins didn't eat cooked things."

Sarah stared at Gookie with a confused frown on her face.

When the goblin female had served the food and realized that the king hadn't shown up yet, she'd decided to keep her mistress company until he arrived. For the past minute, she'd had been munching on the bread rolls while the human sat patiently with her untouched plate in front of her.

Gookie swallowed her mouthful of baked dough.

"We don't, miss. We goblins are carnivores."

"But you're eating a roll!"

"I know it, Miss Sarah. That's just a little quirk of mine."

"You're confusing me, Gookie."

"Sorry, miss." The goblin squeaked bashfully. "Some of us goblins are strict carnivores, but there are quite a few of us that have one or two random, non-meat preferences."

"Like me for example, I like bread! Always have. Don't know why, I just do." She said scarfing down another small loaf. "But nothin' beats the taste of raw meat, miss!"

Sarah paled.

"Or even better, live-"

"Okay, Gookie! I get it, thank you." The brunette said hastily, not wanting to ruin her appetite for the delicious looking lemon-glazed salmon and rice on her plate.

"That friend of yers, Sir Didymus, he's been known ta enjoy a watermelon from time ta time."

"Really? That's interesting. Does Ludo like anything besides meat?"

Gookie shook her head.

"I ain't never seen Ludo eat nothin' but mutton and tree bark. Ya know, I'm surprised ya didn't notice, that's what he was eatin' last night, miss."

She's got a point. Sarah thought. I didn't notice. I guess it's because I was talking so much. I didn't even notice this room!

The dining room was certainly grand.

The walls were carved, polished oak with scarlet fabric decoratively hung around the corners. A gold and red paisley-like pattern was painted on the twenty-foot-high ceiling. The long table and chairs were of the same carved oak as the walls and two giant, gold candelabras sat on the table, illuminating the entire space.

"Yetis love tree bark." Gookie commented, drawing her mistress's attention again.

"Yeti?" Sarah was puzzled for quick moment. "Oh yeah, that's right. I never really thought about it before; Ludo isn't a goblin, is he?"

"Nope! He's much too big."

"What about Hoggle?"

"Hoggle ain't a goblin either." The goblin's voice grew soft. "He's a dwarf."

"Does he have any special food preferences?"

"Sugar-free lemon cake with hot chamomile tea." Gookie said automatically.

Sarah blinked at her servant.

"That was pretty specific."

The tips of Gookie's ears turned pink and she coughed a bit on her bread.

"W-well he's the only dwarf in the Labyrinth and word gets 'round."

Sarah peered at her, barely managing to hide a suspicious smile.

"Why is Hoggle the only dwarf here?"

Gookie shrugged indifferently but didn't meet her lady's eyes.

"Most dwarfs live in the kingdom of Brimir. It's a long ways south from here. Hoggle lived there in a cottage for a long time as a florist."

Sarah stifled a laugh at the image of gruff old Hoggle surrounded by daisies and butterflies.

"He grew the flowers in his garden and then sold the bouquets at market." Gookie continued. "One day, he went out ta the woods, searichin' for a new wild flower he could add ta his collection, and he came across a patch of willygillows."

"Willy what?"

"Willygillows." She explained. "Their magic flowers that grow only in the Underground. The look like bluebonnets, only white. Anyway, he started ta dig them up when a troll jumped out of the bushes and attacked him."

Sarah's eyes widened in horror.

"Luckily, his majesty just happened ta be passing through the forest at that very moment, but he could only help if Hoggle said his right words and became the king's loyal subject. Ya see, trolls are wild, nasty things. They eat anythin' that moves and once they've made up their mind about eatin' somethin', ya have ta kill them ta stop them. His majesty would get imprisoned for killing a troll in another kingdom, but if Hoggle was his subject, he could legally protect him though any means necessary. So Hoggle agreed."

"What happened then?" Sarah asked, fully engrossed.

"The king saved Hoggle and took care of that ugly troll." The goblin female said with a morbid grin. "Then he brought Hoggle ta the Labyrinth and since we don't have many flowers here, the king made him the groundskeeper instead."

Wow. So Hoggle really does know how kind and generous Jareth can be. So why is he so scared of him? Why did he help me so easily after Jareth saved his life?

Sarah's stomach gurgled, interrupting her thoughts.

"What's keeping him? The food's getting cold." She wondered aloud.

"The king should be here any minute." Gookie said calmly. "The meeting probably just went on longer than the he expected."

"He isn't in trouble, is he?" Sarah asked, trying to apply what little she knew about politics.

"Oh no, miss!" Gookie assured her before her eyes went out of focus for a second. "At least, he shouldn't be. The trade was made fair and square."

"Trade? You mean my trade? Is the Ambassador here because of me?"

"I expect so, miss." Gookie's tone turned sour. "The Fey Council must've sent Arkus sniffin' 'round ta check up on the king."

"Arkus? Is he the Ambassador?"

"Yeah, that's him. Rotten vulture." The servant's eyes suddenly widened and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh dear! I shouldn't have said that. Please don't tell the king I insulted the Ambassador like that, Miss Sarah. It ain't my place ta say such things, even if their true, it's still rude."

She started to tear up.

"Oh please don't tell him I've been rude, miss, please!"

"Calm down, Gookie." Sarah soothed, though her brows were furrowed in befuddlement. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."

The goblin sniffled, but smiled gratefully.

"Gookie? What's the Fey Council?"

Her friend crossed her arms and glared, unseeingly, at the table.

"They're the high law in the Underground. They live across the ocean ta the west, in the kingdom of Annwyn. That's where the king was born."

"S-so, Jareth's a…fey?" Sarah had read about fey in a mythology course she'd taken in college.

"Yes, miss." Gookie said, cheering slightly. "The finest that ever lived."

Sarah knew she shouldn't be surprised, but she couldn't help it, for some reason.

I mean I always felt that he wasn't human, but I just never thought of him as being part of a completely separate species…

"Gookie," she spoke after a moment of thoughtful silence, "why is Jareth the only fey in the Labyrinth?"

Gookie looked stricken.

"H-he's the k-king, miss." She stammered.

Sarah shook her head.

"That's not what I mean. You said that you guys don't mix much with the other kingdoms. If that's true, then why is he here? He's not a goblin. Why did he leave his home? Is there something wrong with the Fey Council?"

The gobliness gulped.

Sarah leaned forward, sensing something dark and terrible.

"Did something happen to him, Gookie?" She whispered, her voice deep with concern.

The redhead suddenly clenched her jaw and lowered her eyes.

"Please don't ask me, miss." She said in a quiet voice.

"It ain't my story ta tell…but I will say this," she raised her determined face to Sarah, "the king is a good man, miss, and trust me, the Labyrinth is the only home he's ever known."

Sarah gazed into Gookie's soulful red eyes, marveling at the faith in her words, but before she could utter a single word in reply, the dining room doors swung open and she jumped in her seat as the Goblin King strode into the room.

"I'm so sorry I'm late." Jareth said sincerely, and quickly took his place at the head of the table. "You must be famished, precious."

He gestured to her plate.

"Please, bon appétit."

Unable to get any words to form past her slack jaw, Sarah merely nodded. As she reached for her silverware, Gookie gave her knee a comforting pat, before scurrying out of the dining room, leaving the couple alone.

A/N: I actually meant for this chapter to be a lot longer, but Jareth and Sarah have a TON of talking coming and Gookie just stole the entire first part of this scene, so I went ahead and let this stand alone as a chapter. More to come soon! Please review! Even if you just leave a smiley face, it makes me so happy!