Chapter Six. Dance

Jareth's need to see her in the flesh went beyond anything he had ever felt before. He couldn't stop himself, he flew across the Labyrinth in his owl form, dancing on the wind, his alert eyes peeled for a glimpse of the raven haired girl. Jareth circled the outskirts of the Labyrinth first- the first hurdle of the never ending maze but try as he might he just couldn't see her. Desperately he strained his eyes, feeling the panic welling up in his chest, a sensation that was completely new to him. In his head he knew that the elves were contained to the other side of his Kingdom, many leagues away but his heart couldn't believe what his head tried to tell him. Surely she couldn't have gotten inside the second ring already? He asked himself, many greater men and women had fallen at the first hurdle, wandering the endless path that led nowhere and ended nowhere, stumbling till they fell as skeletal beings beyond any form of recognition. Unless... she had help, help he himself had forbidden every subject in his kingdom to give. Who was this girl to not only flout his rule so easily but also convince other to do so also and face his wrath? At this point Jareth felt willing to believe anything and he quickly changed his path, passing through the invisible barriers that split the two sections, like the walls between the worlds, but thinner, less absolute, they were walls within walls within walls.

It was there that he spotted her, a small dot on the blank scape of the Labyrinth's stone quarter. A small part of his brain was thinking about the impossibility of her progressing so far in such a short time- a larger part seemed to be caught up in relief, his lungs took in the first breath he felt like he had inhaled since the elf had spoken of her- Sarah was safe. The emotion swelled through his body like a tide. He barely caught himself in the air before plummeting down to earth, landing heavily in his human form just around the corner from where she was standing. Jareth could hear the soft tones of her voice and using an orb, pushed it through the wall to make a window through to the other side. He could see her now, though she still couldn't see him. She looked lost and afraid but there was a height to the way she stood that he hadn't seen before. She seemed taller, older, more aware of this new world around her. It changed people, the Labyrinth, although not always for the better. In the distance the castle stood. It looked deceptively close from here, another trick of the windows between the worlds. Jareth reached out towards its looming silhouette, drawing on his powers and pulled the sounds from the castle down to them so ever so faintly, Sarah could hear the sounds of a baby crying. "I'm coming Toby." She spoke aloud to herself but Jareth heard the determination in her voice. Good, he thought without meaning to, the sooner she gets into the inner circles of the Labyrinth the better. In a second thought he explained to himself that it was so he could get her in his control faster. However his first and most immediate thought, which he tried desperately to push away- was for her safety. With that mulling in his mind he morphed once more into a beautiful barn owl, stretched out his wings and took off into the sky.

Landing swiftly through the window straight into his throne room Jareth walked through the hoards of goblins who bowed down to him as he went before them. Returning to whatever revelry they had been involved in immediately after he had passed. Jareth slumped down onto his throne, the noise of the room was a cacophony of yelling and crying. He put his head in his hands trying to think for a moment, clear the fog that seemed so intent on clouding his thoughts with images of Sarah. Jareth kept glancing up at the clock every few seconds, impatiently working out how long she had left. His head was full of her face and her eyes. Impatiently his foot tapped the side of his throne as he tried to act calmly when his insides were churning with anticipation, excitement and dread all at the same time. The baby was standing in the middle of the room, he could hear it screaming. Unusually this was bothering him, because it was her brother? He wondered, usually no one came for the babies and then they turned into goblins before he really had anything to do with them. The goblins took care of the whole baby stealing business. He had had no part in it for a long time, until now- until Sarah.

It was too much, the noise and the hustling, the goblins were nothing to him anymore, he needed her with him. This realisation was startling but also exciting. He jumped up suddenly full of energy. She would be his queen, they could rule the underground, with the child as a goblin she had no reason to return to the world above.

Suddenly filled with fervour, blood pulsing through him and an itch to whist the girl up to his castle, he swept across the room to an unsuspecting goblin and grabbed him by the neck, "You remind me of the babe"

"what babe?" the goblin squealed, cackling Jareth threw him away,

"babe with the power!"

"What power?" asked a goblin in the corner,

"power of voodoo"

"Who do?"

"You do"

"Do what?"

"Remind me of the babe.." The goblins belted out a round of raucous laughter that shook the room. "Quiet" Jareth shouted, although laughter was playing around his haughty lips, "A goblin babe" a stony silence held as he laughed alone… "Well?" They took the hint and again laughter filled the air and the playful mood in the throne room reached its peak. Enjoying the moment, and thrilled that he had finally formulated a plan, Jareth began to sing, a lively melody that made the goblins cause chaos- It was rare that Jareth was in a good enough mood to sing but when he did- it was momentous.

"I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry. What could I do? My baby's love had gone, and left my baby blue. Nobody knew what kind of magic spell to use."

The goblins, rejoicing in the fact that their King was finally out of his strange morbid mood joined in, "Slime and snails. Or a puppy dog's tail. Thunder or lighting.

"And baby said." Jareth pointed to the baby and to his intense surprise and delight it made a soft Gagaing noise. Thrilled he reached out and lifted the baby into the air, "Dance magic dance. Dance magic dance. Dance magic dance. Put that baby spell on me. Jump magic jump. Jump magic jump. Jump magic jump. Put that magic jump on me."

"Slap that baby. Make him free!" sang the goblins. Jareth sat with the small baby on his lap, laughing at the goblins who in their momentary exuberance had begun dancing and drinking in a party that seemed likely to last all night. He looked carefully at the little boy, seeing some of Sarah in him and wondering how long it would take before they were both a permanent part of his world. "In 9 hours and 23 minutes" he murmured to the little boy, "you'll be mine." The goblins laughed at this- what they considered a certainty, they had no idea of the implications behind his innocuous comment. All they saw was another goblin to join the ranks. Jareth was filled with nothing but happiness, such as he hadn't felt in a long time, not since he had first caught sight of Sarah in the world above, she was here, she was in his Labyrinth and soon she would be his. "I saw my baby, trying hard as babe could try. What could I do? My baby's fun had gone, and left my baby blue. Nobody knew what kind of magic spell to use." He put the baby back down and danced around the room while the goblins chorused together their harsh voices disturbing the entire city;

"Slime and snails. Puppy dog's tails. Thunder or lightening."

"Then baby said… " Jareth interrupted,

"Dance magic dance. Dance magic dance. Dance magic. Put that baby spell on me. Jump magic jump. Jump magic jump. Jump magic jump. Put that magic jump on me."

"Slap that baby. "

"Make him free."

"Dance magic dance. Dance magic dance. Jump magic jump. Jump magic jump. Put that baby spell on me."