The large room had a high ceiling and sandstone walls, and one end had a tall broad window made out of narrow panes of what seemed to be stained glass like in a church, though Sarah couldn't see the colours clearly as it was dark outside. Torches on the walls and a large fireplace made the room seem warm and inviting and it was clearly a bedroom, dominated by a large oaken double bed, complete with curtains and a red bedspread. There were two doors leading away and Jareth let go of her and gestured towards them.
"The wash room is that way, the other one leads into the castle. Don't go out there tonight – no one knows you are here, and it might not be safe for you. I'll have the goblins bring you something to eat from the kitchen – you look like you really need it."
Sarah had been frowning at the mentioning of dangers in the castle, but the thought of food made her realise how faint she felt.
"Thank you," she said, but then remembered something even more urgent"… what about Hoggle? What have you done with him? Can I see him… please?"
The Goblin King narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I'll think about it. First, you need food and sleep, and then we can talk. I'll have someone bring you to me tomorrow."
Sarah wanted to protest and argue, but she had promised herself ever since she took the decision to call him, that she would not be disrespectful, not displease him – who knew what he would do to her or Hoggle, if he got angry.
"Yes, …Your Majesty," she whispered and he raised an eyebrow and grinned at her.
"Sarah, I'm not going to hurt you, there's no need to sweet-talk me." His voice grew deeper and more velvety as he continued: "To you, I'm just Jareth – for now…"
His eyes caught hers as he raised his hand and slowly traced her cheek from her ear to the tip of her chin, and his fingers felt unnaturally warm, almost burning her where he touched. She stood perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe, but then he sighed and turned away.
"Good night, Sarah." His black cape curled around him, as he turned to leave, and she stood perfectly still until he closed the door behind him. Then she felt the tears coming, and slowly sinking to the floor, she broke down in tears, sobbing quietly and releasing all the tension she had been building up the past hours.
Every day since she ran the Labyrinth, she had known deep inside she would one day return, because the situation with her dependency on Hoggle was just not going to last forever. She had not thought it would end as abruptly as the arrest had been, but it had of course been lurking in the back of her mind all the time. That was the reason for the backpack that was already packed and the letter to her father written well in advance.
Her condition and frequent contact with Hoggle had ensured that she never even tried to put the Labyrinth behind her and constantly lived a double-life – in High School a normal teenager, alone in her room a prisoner living from day to day and hording food in the closet, never knowing whether Hoggle would be able to come that day or not. As the weeks and months passed, she realized the limitations this placed on her – meals and snacks were such an important part of most social activities – dates, going out for pizza, birthday parties, Thanksgiving, and now she was unable to join in. She hadn't really had any close friends before going to the Underground, but now that she had to make excuses all the time, she drifted even further away from her classmates. She began spending most of her time in her room, chatting on the internet, where she found lots of useful tips from anorectic girls on how to pretend to eat without actually eating. Using those tips, she managed to stay one step ahead of her father and Karen, so she could hide the truth from them and avoid causing worry. She also read a lot, wrote small stories and drew pictures of the creatures, she had met in the Labyrinth – goblins, her friends, and most of all, the Goblin King.
Slowly she had realised that this would impact her entire future. She couldn't go away to college, once she graduated, for that would mean she would have to leave the room and the mirror – it was unlikely she could have this set-up in a common dorm or have the privacy to actually call for Hoggle. She couldn't go on long vacations, since she had to bring all the food with her. Even the trips to her mother were kept to weekends only, although her mother had been truly hurt the first time she cancelled their usual long summer vacation. She had no idea of what to do with herself after graduation, but being used to taking one day at a time, she had pushed the decision ahead of her, and maybe something would turn up. And now something had.
She had had plenty of time to think about the Goblin King. The more Hoggle told her about him, the more of a mystery he became to her. Hoggle had known and served him as a Labyrinth guardian for decades, and in all that time, he had never seen him with another one of his kind, only with the Goblins, human Questers walking the Labyrinth or other guardians like Hoggle of various races. Jareth had never talked to anyone about himself or his past, and although the goblins might know some more of his secrets, they never said anything useful, being unable to have a decent conversation with anyone due to their short attention span and childlike minds.
The Labyrinth, Hoggle described as huge – far larger than she had imagined or seen when she was there. There were all kinds of mazes in it – some relatively harmless like the ones she had been in, and others more dangerous where you could get truly hurt, if you weren't careful. Vast deep lakes with rafts stretching across it as pathways. Stone mazes with secret trapdoors where you could get lost forever. Places with dangerous intelligent guardians like minotaurs, giant serpents, spiders and gremlins, who would maim or even kill an intruder. He said some of these were never used for Questers – the humans walking the Labyrinth trying to get a wished-away child back - but were only there for enemies trying to get close to the City beyond the Goblin City. Others were actually used for Questers, but only the ones that Jareth seemed to have taken a particular disliking to.
Hoggle had still been afraid of Jareth, like most of the other guardians in the Labyrinth, because he had seen the power the King could wield when he was angry. The Bog of Eternal Stench was just the threat he used casually against the guardians, but he had never actually thrown anyone into the bog – only the surrounding area like he did with Ludo, Hoggle and Sarah. The guardians hated being transported there, because it took so long to get back to their own part of the Labyrinth, but they were not physically harmed by it – as long as they were careful not to touch the water. But when Jareth got angry at a Quester, it was a terrible sight and Hoggle would only recount the barest of details to her, looking pale and frightened and quickly changing the subject. The small goblin army was just a prop used for questers, more of a joke than anything else, being hopelessly disorganized and ill-equipped. The ones arresting Hoggle seemed to have been some of the smarter ones, she mused.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and tears, and two rather nervous-looking goblins entered the room – one carrying a large jug and a mug, and the other one a tray with a steaming plate on it. Sarah's stomach grumbled at the sight of food, and she tried to compose herself and got to her feet.
"Your dinner, Lady Sarah," the smallest goblin said and they placed it on the small table next to the bed, before they ran out again, not waiting for a thank you. It looked dull and grey, not really appetizing, but for Sarah, just having a warm meal was a rare treat. A cloud of dust rose from the bedcovers, as she sat down on them, and she could see a heavy layer of dust on the table as well. Apparently this room hadn't been used for ages. She carefully peeled away the covers, which were thick and lavish – they had at least protected the bed sheets beneath them, so she would not have to sleep in all that dust. Touching only the new tray, she returned to the food and dug in. She would need to be strong for tomorrow and the confrontation with the Goblin King.