Okay, I have returned, still Goblin Kingless, and ready to post once more! I would like to thank my beta, who got this back to me within just a few hours so I could post it for you guys! Thank you, DarkMoonFox!
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When Sarah woke up she was momentarily confused by the painted leaves on the ceiling above the bed she was laying on, until the previous day caught up with her and she pulled a pillow over her face. She groaned loudly into the silk covering before sitting up and running a hand through the wild tangle that was her hair, a sigh slipping from her lips.
"First I wish myself to the Goblin Kingdom, then I had to go and be completely stupid with its king. Great job, Sarah," she muttered to herself as she climbed off of the bed, glancing over at where Ripley was sleeping before heading into her closet to get dressed.
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Sarah and Jareth were standing in front of the doors to the former's new bedroom, having taken a walk through the castle after finishing dinner. To Sarah's surprise the Goblin King had been nothing but respectful as he pointed out different rooms, not once making a smug comment or shooting her one of those smirks that just screamed "I'm amazing in bed!"
Their easy conversation had suddenly taken on an awkward air as they paused outside Sarah's doors, Jareth's determination to act the gentleman warring with his urge to push Sarah against the doors and kiss her. Especially since she kept biting down on her lower lip while staring at his mouth. Just as the king was getting ready to bow and excuse himself for the night, Sarah reached out quickly and grabbed the front of his shirt in a tight grip. Eyes wide, Jareth found himself being yanked down into a rough kiss. Being male, Jareth wasted no time in reciprocating and tangling his hands in Sarah's hair, his body moving forward to press hers against the wooden doors. The second he had her pinned though, Sarah's body tensed up and her lips froze for a second, giving the Goblin King time to gather up his wits and step back from the mortal girl. A quiet groan escaped him as he saw her run the tip of her tongue over her kiss swollen lips and he ran a hand through his hair. Sarah started to take another step towards him, hands lifting to reach for him again, but he quickly took several steps back and held out a hand to halt her movements.
"I cannot, Sarah. Please, no more right now," he pled before turning and striding (fleeing) down the hallway towards his own bedroom. He did not see the hurt and confused expression on Sarah's face as she turned to go into the room where she curled up on her bed.
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Sarah came out of her closet ready for an awkward day in the Goblin King's castle, wearing a long sleeve navy blue shirt and dark jeans. Paired with no nonsense sneakers and her hair swept up in a ponytail, she set off for the doors to her room, only to stop at the sight of a white card on the floor just inside the door. Picking it up, her mouth twisted into a frown at the sight of elegant script.
Sarah,
I am headed for the Kingdom of Seers today and will not be available to you. I have ordered you a guide who will meet you in the throne room. Do try not to get hurt again.
-Jareth, King of the Goblins
Sarah could hear the smirk in his last line and scoffed to herself while storming from the bedroom, heading towards the kitchen. As she walked, she attempted to imitate Jareth and managed very poorly, "Do try not to hurt yourself again, Sarah. It would be suuuuuch a pity. Hmpt, it's a pity you aren't here so I could shove my boot up your ass. Despite how nice it looks…"
Sarah wrenched the door open to the kitchen and sent the goblins working inside screaming and running for cover behind various sacks of flour and vegetables. Sarah blinked at the white cloud that puffed up when one goblin jumped into a sack in an attempt to hide. As she noticed the goblins all shaking or staring at her with wide fearful eyes, her anger melted away and she sighed while moving to kneel on the ground.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just looking for something to eat," she said with an apologetic smile. The goblins continued to stare for another long minute before a few inched out of their hiding places and scurried over to Sarah.
"The lady be wanting toad cakes?" one asked, causing Sarah to grimace and shake her head.
"How about toast? Is there bread?" Several goblins smiled at her request before tossing rolls of bread at her while laughing loudly. After a particularly hard roll smacked into her nose, Sarah stood up and gave her best teacher "You are in trouble" glare. "You stop that right now or you'll be put in time out!"
"Time out? What's time out?" a goblin called out, a piece of bread still clutched in one hand.
"Time out is where you sit in a corner and stare at the wall until I say you can get out again. And you aren't allowed to get up, because if you do, you have to start the whole punishment over again!" Sarah explained while placing her hands on her hips. Several pieces of bread fell to the ground as the goblins stared at her in shock.
"Just sitting?" one asked.
Sarah nodded.
"No gameses?"
Sarah shook her head. The goblins looked horrified and a few came to clutch at her legs and shoes.
"Please don't time out us, Lady! We be good, promise!"
Sarah smirked and raised one eyebrow, "Well then… if you want to avoid a time out I suggest you start cleaning up this mess."
The goblins quickly leapt into action and started to quickly sweep up the flour and pieces of bread that were scattered around the room. Sarah watched for a few minutes before snagging a piece of bread that hadn't been thrown and leaving the kitchen. She popped pieces of bread into her mouth as she headed for the throne room and luckily was done by the time she got there, because she was immediately swept up into a tight hug by Ludo.
"Sawah! Sawah friend!" the beast rumbled.
"Yes, Ludo. We're friends. Now please put me down," Sarah gasped out, taking a huge breath when she was set back on her feet.
"My Lady! How good it is to see thee again, and looking more beautiful than last we saw each other!" a high, familiar voice called out. Sarah smiled and knelt down to sweep the little fox creature into a hug, similar to what Ludo had done to her.
"Sir Didymus!"
"Aye, my Lady fair," the knight said at an even higher pitch.
Sarah put her friend down and smiled widely at him, squashing the urge to scoop him up for another tight hug. "Are you two my guides?"
"Aye, his Majesty gave us this task and we shall not fail, no matter how hard or if it requires my life in the end!" Sir Didymus pledged, causing Sarah to laugh quietly.
"I hope there will be no need for that noble sir," she told him, then pushed herself to her feet. Much happier now that she had her friends around her, Sarah was looking forward to the rest of the day. "Tell me though, where is Hoggle?"
"Hoggle is beyond the Labyrinth, fighting the scourge of fairies that threaten to overrun the lands, My Lady."
"Let's go see him then, shall we?" Sarah asked, then swept past them without waiting for their answers. Didymus and Ludo hurried to catch up with her, with Didymus clutching his sword with one paw.
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Several kingdoms over, in a larger castle than the one Sarah was staying at, a window opened just in time for a barn owl to fly through. The owl shifted a few feet off the floor until it became the form of Jareth, who gave the window opener an amused smile.
"Thank you mother."
The woman waved her hand flippantly and made her way back to the table she had recently stood up from, and sat down to continue to eat. "We made a place for you Jareth."
Rolling his eyes over the fact that of course his mother, Queen of the Seers, had known he was coming in time for breakfast, Jareth made his way over to the spot that had been 'his' as a child.
"I don't suppose I need to tell you why I have come," he mumbled before flashing a grin across the table at a young woman with mismatched eyes like his own. "Greetings, Amantial."
"Morning Jareth," she greeted with a grin of her own and a wiggling of her fingers.
Jareth narrowed his eyes at how she looked much too happy for how early it was in the morning for her and leaned forward slightly. "Should the kingdoms shake in terror when you leave the castle today? You look much too happy. What are you up to?"
"Up to? Me? Nothing," Amantial said with a smirk that she tried to cover by drinking from a goblet.
"Your father has gone to deny yet another marriage request from the Centaur Prince," Jareth's mother informed him while standing up, her hands brushing wrinkles from her skirts. "It seems he is quite fixated on your sister."
Jareth's eyebrow raised at the information before he shook his head, "I wasn't aware anyone in the Underground was unaware of Amantial's determination to marry a Dryad Prince."
"He is aware. He just doesn't care," his mother said before turning and leaving the room, calling over her shoulder, "Come now, and let us talk about your Sarah."
Jareth ignored his sister's yelled out question of who Sarah was in favor of hurrying after his mother, knowing the Queen didn't wait on anyone. He followed her down the hall, the only sound coming from her rustling skirts that no matter how elegantly she walked, still made noise. She led him into a room that was only lit by a few fairy lights and sat down in a throne, brushing her dark hair over one shoulder. The Queen then turned equally dark eyes, made to look cruel in the paleness of her face, upon him with a knowing glint shining in their depths.
"You want to know what I see about her," she stated, not having to ask what Jareth wanted. At his unnecessary nod, the Queen smiled, the dark red she painted her lips with making it look like a parody of a deep wound. Jareth had always hated when his mother smiled like that as a child, though it was a feeling that did not go away with the passage of time. "I see her death."
Gloved hands clenched at his mother's words, delivered in an amused tone, and he took several steps forward, forgetting his usual uneasiness that came with one of his mother's predictions. Catching himself in time, Jareth stood in front of her with his lips pressed together, knowing if he let a single word slip out, the Queen would quit talking. She seemed amused by his hostile stance and shook her head with a condescending air before continuing. "I suppose you'd like to hear more? Hmm… Her death will come in an agonizing blow, delivered to her by the one who loves her the most."
The Queen smiled once more and snapped her finger, conjuring a cup of tea which she sipped at while Jareth continued to stare at her. "Oh, dear, I'm finished now. That's all you'll be learning at this time."
"You have to tell me more. When, why, how...why," Jareth said while sitting down on a chair across from his mother, who shook her head at him.
"I don't have to tell you anything, Jareth."
The Goblin King's eyes narrowed before he nodded and stood up. Giving the Queen a small bow, he turned and left the room, ignoring her called out warning.
"Watch out for the vase!"
Jareth made his way back to the dining room where Amantial was still sitting at the table, reading a letter. Still angry about the lack of information he had gotten, he did not see the vase next to the door until it was too late and his elbow bumped into it, causing it to crash to the floor.
"Son of a-"
"Crude words will not fix the vase," his sister cut in before he could finish the curse, then smiled as he shot a glare in her direction. "Oh my, someone is in a bad mood. Didn't get any good news about this Sarah person?"
Jareth was about to make a snippy comment when he paused and gave his sister a smile, "No, but would you like to meet her? I'll extend an invitation to my castle if you'd like."
Amantial blinked before giving her brother a wary glance, "And what do you want in return, dear Jareth?"
"That when you are in my castle, you keep an eye on her. She's mortal and has a tendency to fall into dangerous situations."
"Deal," Amantial replied, her curiosity to find out who Sarah was overriding her natural wariness when it came to her brother's deals.
"Please come at your convenience," Jareth told her before shifting into an owl and soaring out the window. He still had one more place to go before talking to Sarah about the night before.
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Sarah, Sir Didymus, and Ludo were wandering through the Labyrinth, with the two creatures letting Sarah lead the way. Every time they came to a trap or decision that had to be made, they made Sarah be the one who took it on. So far she had gotten them chased by a giant boulder that Ludo eventually howled away, released a hoard of Gnomes that stabbed at them with sharp rocks that ripped through Sarah's jeans and into her skin, and almost gotten them trapped in an oubliette. Luckily Ludo had been far enough back to not be in danger of falling in the dark hole and had reached out to grab Sarah around the waist. Sir Didymus clung to her leg as the Rock Caller pulled them to safety and let go once the hole closed up to look like sturdy stones again.
"Well now, My Lady, that was an adventure," the little fox creature said.
"I can't do it, I just can't! This place makes no sense at all!" Sarah shouted and sat on the ground, arms crossed like a pouting child.
Sir Didymus frowned at the words before he gently laid a hand on her arm. "My Lady, thou art making mistakes because you aren't looking at the Labyrinth as what it is. It's a puzzle that one solves, not a corridor to be ran through blindly. Take a look at those opening there, try to figure out which is the best way to go."
Sarah looked at the two openings he was pointing at and frowned. They both looked exactly the same to Sarah's eyes. She was about to say so when her stubborn side kicked in and she stared all the more harder at the passages, trying to figure out the trick. It took well over five minutes for her to realize the stones in one passage were bigger than the others, despite both passages being the same height. After that it took only a minute to figure out one passage was thirteen large stones high while the only was made of nineteen smaller stones. Remembering Jareth's continued use of the number thirteen, Sarah grinned and hopped to her feet, heading for the opening made of larger stones. Sir Didymus smiled to himself and followed after her silently, letting her bask in her small victory. Sarah was quite pleased with herself and used the same technique for other passages as they traveled the Labyrinth, until they came to a large door that blocked their path. She turned around to choose another way, but was dismayed to find out that the path had shut behind them.
"Well… I guess through that door is the only way forward," she said and walked up to the imposing block. Seeing no handle, she reached up to knock, then squeaked when a small opening appeared in the door and two beady eyes stared out at her.
"What do you want?" a cranky voice called out to her.
"I want to go through, of course!" Sarah replied.
"Of course, of course," the voice mocked before sighing. "Well you have to answer the riddle to get the door to open."
"So say the riddle."
"There are four brothers in this world that were all born together. The first runs and never wearies. The second eats and is never full. The third drinks and is always thirsty. The fourth sings a song that is never good," the doorkeeper recited, his eyes narrowing through the small opening in the door. "So what are they, huh?"
Sarah frowned and started to think about the answer that seemed to stump even Sir Didymus. Ludo never had a chance and started to swing his arms around, watching as Sarah knelt down to whisper with Sir Didymus.
This riddle was going to take them awhile…
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The barn owl landed in front of a dingy castle with a look of distaste in its mismatched eyes, and shook its feathers out before shifting into the well-known form of the Goblin King. The king strode to the double doors and lifted one hand to knock on the wood, eyebrow raising when the door swung open before he could touch it. Fixing his expression into one of polite indifference, Jareth made his way into the castle and up to the woman on the large throne across the room. He gave a tight bow in her direction, grimacing when she smiled widely at him.
"Why Jareth, such a look upon your face. Who comes to visit their fiancé with such an expression?" the beautiful blonde woman asked him, her fingers curling around the arms of her throne. Jareth winced at the word that bound them together before giving her an apologetic look.
"I have come to end our betrothal, Mizumi, as is my right as a King. We are no longer children whose parents dictate who we will socialize with and I do not wish to be bonded with you," Jareth used his best 'king' tone while still trying to sound kind, not that it seemed to matter to the instantly enraged Queen who sprang from her throne.
"How dare you! This arrangement was decided upon over one thousand years ago! You will not dishonor me by breaking it now!" Mizumi raged while walking towards the Goblin King, several cups and goblets flying through the air around the room. Jareth allowed her to storm up to him and rolled back slightly when her hand came up to strike him across the face. "This better not be because of that mortal girl Aboveground. Do not think I did not hear about your love for her."
Jareth smirked at Mizumi, shaking his head slightly. "I can honestly say that I am not in love with any mortal girls who live Aboveground. And you know that I never lie, Mizumi."
The blonde queen narrowed her eyes and stepped back, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "I do not accept this. You will see that you are making a huge mistake in this, Goblin King. You will come crawling back to me, begging for my hand one day."
"That will never happen," Jareth murmured before turning on his heel and leaving the room, shifting into his owl form as soon as he reached the doors. Now it was just the flight back to his kingdom that separated Sarah and him.
The flight was long and it was near nightfall when he landed in front of his castle, one hand waving away a crowd of goblins that immediately surrounded him. Once they dispersed enough, Jareth summoned a crystal and spun it a few times before looking into it, gaze falling on Sarah who appeared to still be in the Labyrinth. Chuckling quietly to himself, Jareth pulled enough magic to him to move him from the castle to standing behind Sarah in a cloud of glitter.
"So tell me Sarah, how are you enjoying my Labyrinth?" he whispered quietly into her ear as he leaned closer to her. She jumped and whirled around, hands reaching out to start slapping at him wildly. Eyes wide in surprise, Jareth caught her wrists and held them tightly. It was only then that she really looked at him and an expression that was a mixture of shock, anger, and embarrassment came over her face.
"Oh. My. God. Never do that again! I thought you were a serial killer or something! I almost had a heart attack, you jerk!"
Jareth grinned at the realization that he had startled her enough to cause such a reaction and shook his head. "Oh my, I can't have that happening, can I?"
"Oh, shove it with that amused, I'm better than you because I'm the Goblin King Tone, you smarmy ass," Sarah hissed out, yanking her wrists out of his grasp. Jareth had to laugh at her pathetic glare and shifted to lean against a nearby wall.
"Language, dear Sarah. Also, when a king asks you a question, it's polite to answer it."
"I… what quest-"Sarah broke off at the remembrance of the question that had sent her into her panicked slapping and sent him another glare. "I was doing really well at it before but now this stupid door is here and I can't figure out the damn riddle and the stupid doorkeeper won't give me a clue!"
The Goblin King looked highly amused as he looked over her shoulder at the bored looking eyes of the doorkeeper. "What is the riddle?"
"Oh, now His Majesty is gonna help you out, girly? My, my, what friends you have. Very well, listen closely. There are four brothers in this world that were all born together. The first runs and never wearies. The second eats and is never full. The third drinks and is always thirsty. The fourth sings a song that is never good."
Jareth thought about it for a few moments before smiling and looking back at Sarah. "Would you like to know the answer, my dear? Or would you like to think on it some more?"
Sarah pressed her lips together before crossing her arms. "I'll figure it out myself, thank you."
The doorkeeper broke out in laughter and called out to Jareth, "You might as well get comfortable, Sire, this one isn't the sharpest."
Jareth sent the doorkeeper a glare before moving to sit on the ground, leaning back against the wall again. Sarah sent him another glare before she sat down as well, though against the opposite wall. She started to chew on her lower lip as she went back to thinking about the riddle, giving Jareth the opportunity to glance around them. It seemed that Sir Didymus and the Rock Caller were curled up asleep near the wall that must have sprung up behind them when they came down the passageway and Sarah's little goblin friend was nowhere to been seen. Curious, Jareth cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Where is your pet goblin, Sarah?"
Sarah glanced up at him and frowned. "Ripley isn't a pet, he's a friend. And he wanted to go visit his family today while I went exploring."
Jareth made an affirmative sound and summoned a crystal, which he began to roll over his hands. After a few minutes it seemed Sarah could no longer ignore him and watched the crystal's movements.
"What's in that one?"
"Why don't you come and see?" Jareth said with a smirk that widened when Sarah glanced around them before scooting over to his side. She kept a careful distance between them, which amused Jareth as he stopped the crystal and held it out to her. She stared at it carefully before giving him a confused look.
"Is that water?"
"It is."
Sarah frowned and watched the crystal for a bit longer before she grew bored and turned her gaze to the darkening sky above. Jareth glanced at her before turning the crystal into a flame, which danced along his fingertips. It recaught her attention and the king smirked at her fascination with the magic that he easily wielded. As the Labyrinth around them started to fill with shadows, Jareth found his gaze continuously being drawn to her face, the fire sending shadows to play beautifully across it. She kept glancing at him as well, her eyes falling on his mouth often before she would shake herself out of whatever trance she fell into and firmly turn her gaze back to the fire. As her tongue moved out to wet her lower lip, Jareth groaned quietly and let the flames go out, causing her eyes to snap to his face in surprise. He answered the questioning look that started to fill them by running a cold, gloved finger across her lips before following it with his mouth. Her breath seemed to catch when his lips brushed over hers and he smiled right before she pulled back with a frown turning down the sides of her wonderful mouth.
"Last night… you didn't want to…" Sarah said quietly, her eyes dropping down to her lap. Jareth silently cursed himself before using two fingers to turn her face back towards him.
"Last night was different, I fixed what I had to today so that I could do this." Jareth quickly covered her mouth with his again, one hand moving to her neck to keep her close. He hadn't needed to fear she would pull away again as her hands made their way into his hair, gripping the wild strands gently. Her lips parted at the swipe of his tongue, allowing him to taste the uniquely Sarah taste for a few wonderfully, torturous seconds before she pulled back and stared at him with wide eyes.
"I figured it out!" She exclaimed, much to his bewilderment.
"Sarah?"
"The water in your crystal, the fire you were playing with! They were your clues!" Sarah pushed away from him and got to her feet, running over to the door. "The answer is water, fire, earth, and wind!"
"Oooh, smart one, aren't you?" The doorkeeper said sarcastically before the door swung open to reveal the rest of the passage. Sarah glanced over her shoulder proudly to see Jareth staring at her with an unbelieving, yet entirely amused expression. As she realized that she had abandoned him in the middle of probably one of the best kisses of her life for a riddle, her face flooded with color and she covered it with her hands.
"Jareth… I am so sorry. It just…came to me and I had to…" she trailed off with a muffled groan. Jareth laughed and stood up, brushing imaginary flecks of dirt from his clothes.
"Yes well, you figured out the riddle. May I bring you back to the castle now?"
"Please do. I need to go curl up in bed and die," Sarah moaned out as Jareth smirked and shook his head. After tossing a crystal at her sleeping companions that sent them back to their beds, Jareth reached out and tugged her hands away from her face. Amused at the blush that was still present, he leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. At the touch of his lips, magic swirled around the two of them and when he leaned back again, Sarah noticed she was standing in front of her bedroom doors. The Goblin King gave her a smirk and patted her cheek before disappearing in a swirl of glitter, his voice teasingly echoing through the hallway.
"Until tomorrow, Sarah."
Sarah just groaned again and slunk into her room, collapsing face first on the bed. Had anyone been listening they would have been highly amused at the muffled words that came from her.
"Stupid, stupid, lost your chance for possible sex with the Goblin King for a riddle. You're such an idiot, Sarah."
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That was actually one of my favorite riddles, so I had to put it in. I might put other riddles in the story later on, so if you want to send me a few, feel free! I might just add them in and give you a shoutout!