Hi again, thanks for all the reviews.
Sarah would not give up. Cederick could not have the satisfaction of besting her, she decided, and even if Jareth managed to bargain her from the old king, it would not be before she was broken and used – possibly not even alive. She had to escape before then and before he came back to claim her body. She shuddered – the mere thought of being touched and worse by that lecherous old man was unthinkable.
She moved her arms and legs, testing how much she was able to move, and though she had been tied up harshly with her hands behind her back, she could still wiggle around a bit. She tried to get the talisman off her head first, but she could not find any way to move her hands that far up, and she had no luck trying to scrape it off against the floor. She managed to reach the ties on her ankles with her hands, though in a very uncomfortable position, but the rope was very tightly bound and after several minutes of trying to undo the knots, she had to pause. Maybe she had something to cut the ropes, she thought, and considered the contents of her pockets, while she rested a moment, though she knew she was carrying very little. Some sketches of shapes she wanted to be able to do someday. A bracelet of Hoggle's, she'd never had time to return. And the tracker crystal.
Sarah was able to reach down and get the crystal out, and for a moment she considered whether it would be possible to break it so cleanly that the edges would be sharp enough to cut the ropes. But that would break the magic as well, and maybe it could be used in another way. She held it close and thought hard about what she needed. She couldn't call Jareth – it was unlikely Cederick had his hide-out anywhere near the castle and the speed of the crystal was not very great. It might take many hours for it to reach Jareth and then he had to find her afterwards. So she needed someone close by. It couldn't be someone or something that was intelligent enough to reason, for then they would be too afraid of Cederick to help her. But it still needed to be someone who was able to either cut or bite through the ropes, or who could take the talisman off her. Sarah thought of Hoggle's bracelet and remembered his words about the fairies being little thieves on the lookout for shiny things. The talisman was shiny.
She shook her head – no, that couldn't possibly work. But a minute after, when no other plan had come to mind, she decided to at least try.
"Tracker crystal," she started. "Find fairies and then come back here."
The crystal immediately rolled across the floor and then found a crack in the wall to roll through, so it disappeared from sight. She hoped the fairies would be interested enough in the shiny crystal to follow it back here, but it was really a long-shot. A plan B was probably in order, and she started on the ropes again, resting every other minute to spare her head and avoid getting nauseated and passing out.
Ten minutes later, the ropes were as tight as ever, but a little tinkling could be heard across the room. The crystal rolled back into sight, and following it with great swoops and dives were two small blond fairies who were trying in vain to lift it, even though it was clearly much too heavy for them. Sarah gasped – it had really worked. Now she just needed to get them interested in the talisman instead.
"Tracker crystal, come here," she called, and it rolled obediently back into her hands. The two fairies looked annoyed and made some angry tingling noises at her, but she smiled her most friendly and disarming smile at them.
"Hi, little ones," she called, "would you like my necklace instead? Pretty necklace! Sparkly necklace!" She moved a bit to make the talisman catch the light, and the two fairies came closer and buzzed around her, their tingling sounds more friendly. One of then flew down and looked closer and then tugged at the string around her head. The other one flew down as well, and a moment later they were involved in almost a fight to be the first one to get it off her. It wasn't easy, but after a lot of effort, one of them managed, and then flew out through the window with the other one chasing closely after and tingling furiously.
Sarah didn't waste a second, but immediately concentrated on turning into an owl again, and this time nothing stopped her. As she had guessed, the ropes fell loose about her, and she wiggled out of them and flew to the open window to peek out. The last thing she wanted was to fly right into Cederick's arms or be spotted by the raven. Outside was a dense gloomy forest, and the sky was filled with dark clouds. A rumbling of thunder could still be heard in the distance. She looked carefully left and right, and then flew the short distance from the window to the gnarled trees in the forest, where she quickly hid behind the foliage. Her head pounded furiously and she was almost dizzy flying just this little distance, but she knew she couldn't rest – she had to get far away before anyone noticed her absence. She hopped from branch to branch to the top of the tree, but when she was finally able to get her head above the leaves, the Labyrinth stretched around her in all directions, the visibility was poor due to the heavy clouds – even with her owl eyes - and there was no sign of the Castle anywhere. She realized she must be in the furthest end of it, and her heart sank at the thought of the long distance she would have to fly. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to think straight, and then she threw herself into the air and flew in the direction of where the clouds were darkest and where she could see a faint glimmer of lightning. If the thunder was Jareth's doing, that is where he must be.
Sarah flew for what seemed like hours, and she glanced nervously behind her every other moment to see if she was followed. Her speed was not very good, so if Cederick could sense which way she had taken, he would easily be able to catch up with her. Beneath her, the forest turned to desert and then to swamp as she passed different sections of the Labyrinth, and finally, she was able to see the towers of the castle in the far distance. Still very far away, but the sight alone gave her hope.
Just at that moment, she heard a screech behind her, and when she looked back, she saw a dark foreboding silhouette against the sky. It was flying straight at her with twice her speed, and even though she tried to fly faster, it still gained on her quickly. Soon after, she recognized it as Cederick's raven, Bertram, and she panicked, knowing that the raven would be sure to attack her, even if she turned back to human form. If owls could have cried, she would have, but instead she just beat her wings even faster, although it made her dizzy and close to fainting.
Too busy keeping track of the raven to look where she was going, she was suddenly startled when another bird flew down from above her and passed her close by – hooting angrily. A snowy white barn owl, which seemed to glow in the darkness. She recognized it instantly and let herself close her wings and fall towards the ground, making an awkward landing in the middle of a stony clearing between high Labyrinth walls. She turned quickly back to her human form and looked up, just in time to see the white owl lash out at the larger black raven, which squawked and shook its head dismissively. After a moment's hesitation, the raven turned around and flew back in the opposite direction and the barn owl spiralled downwards and landed just a short distance away from her. Immediately after touching the ground, the owl turned into the Goblin King in his glittering black and sinister outfit, and the look on his face made her take a step back in apprehension, despite her relief at seeing him.
Jareth strode towards her with the cape billowing behind him; his face contorted in fury and his magic almost visible as sparks around him.
"You dare defy me again?" he hissed. "You agreed not to run away, and this is the thanks I get for being nice to you?"
Sarah stumbled backwards and tried not to faint. He thought she'd run away and left of her own free will? "Jareth, no, it isn't what you think," she stammered, but he did not seem to hear her at all.
"Well, if you do not keep your promises, then neither will I," he snarled and closed the distance between them in seconds. He grabbed her roughly and then his lips were on hers – hard and demanding. She gasped in surprise, but then a storm of sensations consumed her as her magic flared up against his and sent a rush of scorching heat through her body. She arched against him and opened her mouth to give him access, and as she yielded to him, she could feel his grip loosening and becoming gentler, though he still held her tight. Every nerve in her body was on fire, and she clung to him as he explored her mouth hungrily, feeling lost, feeling something was missing, but unable to determine what. He pressed his hard muscular body against hers and backed her up against a wall, grinding his pelvis against hers, and she gasped in surprise, not only at his actions, but also at the fierce stab of pleasure that coursed through her. Then he moved a gloved hand upwards and accidentally grazed the large bruise on her head, and all the pain and dizziness slammed back with a vengeance. With a soft cry, she let the darkness claim her and felt him hold on to her as she fell.