Disclaimer: Regrettably, I still do not own Labyrinth or its characters.

Chapter Title: from "Woman King" by Iron and Wine

Her return through the red door brought with it a shallow whoosh and a dizzying rush that left her struggling for balance when she again landed on solid ground. It took a moment for her to orient herself, and for half a heartbeat, she imagined she could hear the clock striking midnight and Toby snoring softly in his crib. She thought often of that night, of how happy she had been, but she did not long for it. That was far away and long ago, and there was no use pining away over something so far gone.

As she came back to herself, she saw that she had been delivered to the front gates of the castle. The sun was sunk low in the sky, signaling that she had been gone for several hours at least. Her eyes travelled up the length of the castle wall, its peaks and towers growing hazy in the fading light. This time, the encroaching darkness did not frighten her in the least. Slipping inside, she picked out the hall that Arden had lead them down the night before, identifying it by the incessant rattling from overhead. She paid it no more attention than the buzzing of a fly.

The one thing she did notice was that the castle was curiously quiet. Had the goblins already been locked away for the night? Did they even need to be anymore? Sarah had not felt any different after the labyrinth had accepted her token. It could be that nothing had changed, that the goblins were still being held under the Queen's spell. What if more needed to be done? She was not sure she could handle much else. Pleased as she was to have completed her task, she could not ignore the steady ache in her arms or the sluggishness of her steps. All she really wanted was to sink down onto the floor and take a well-deserved nap.

But rather than fulfilling her desire, she plodded the rest of the way to the throne room, pausing at the door when she heard sounds from within. There were voices, dozens of them chattering over one another. The general atmosphere sounded to be one of excitement, but whether that was a good thing or not was yet to be seen. Risking being seen, Sarah opened the door a hair's breadth and peeked inside. Goblins. Goblins lining the walls, and clambering over steps, and dancing in splendor. She could see already that they were drunk on merriment. Their eyes were no longer misted over with rage; for the first time in years they were free to be the happy creatures she had once known.

Sarah shut the door and pressed her back to it, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. She was completely unsure of what she was feeling. It was obvious now that her efforts had not been in vain, but that only made her realize just how much responsibility she had agreed to shoulder. The citizens of the Goblin Kingdom were expecting a leader. They needed someone who could assure them that, after so many years of darkness, there were lighter times ahead. And she was not at all sure that she could be that person. What if she walked in there and they rejected her? What if they could sense just how much she had changed since her days as Champion of the labyrinth?

You have changed, but now for the worse, she had to remind herself. Her jaw squared, knowing that she could not wait out in the hall forever. She glanced down at herself; the goblins would be getting quite a show. Excepting a small portion around her waist, the pretty silver color of her dress was disguised with muck and small splotches of blood. The near constant sting around her neck told her that the rose had more than left its mark and that she likely looked like someone who had just barely escaped a hangman's noose. She considered using the magic now at her command to clean herself up, but quickly thought against it.

No, better that they see you like this. That way they won't have any false pretenses later on. Bearing that in mind, she turned and pushed her way into the throne room.

Several seconds passed before the first goblins realized just who had entered the room, but when they did silence spread over them like a strong wind bending blades of grass. Sarah took two full breaths before she began to cross the room, her skirt stiff with dried mud. She held her chin high in an effort to spare herself the sight of their laughter. But as she approached the throne, a curious thing began around her. The goblins were bowing. Bowing to her more specifically. Wherever she passed, the creatures that were nearby would drop to one knee and lowered their heads. Their gangly bodies made it a graceless gesture, but the sentiment still hit her square in the chest.

Sarah paused in her march turning around and around to look at each of the figures bent before her. It did not seem right that they should lower themselves before her. She was only a mortal girl with no real power of her own. Just a girl in a sullied dress that did not quite suit her the way it would the blue-blooded royal it was probably meant for. Yet it was clear that the goblins saw none of this. They had accepted her as their all-knowing superior, and were ready to do her bidding. And there was something about knowing that that made her stomach twist.

"Please, all of you, stand up," she addressed the crowd, waving them all to their feet. Uncertainty written on their faces, one by one the goblins stood, glancing at each other with nervous eyes. Desperate as they were for some means of showing their admiration, they began shouting their praises.

"Long live Queen!"

And "Yay for Lady Queen!"

And "Bestest Queen ever!"

Sarah was overwhelmed with their affection, but still she could not accept it. "Quiet, quiet please. I need to speak to you all." She affected as much authority in her voice as she could, and when at last there was silence, she began.

"None of you should bow to me. I certainly don't deserve it. The truth is, I'm part of the reason you're in trouble in the first place. And I would understand if you hated me for that. But I don't think you hate me; from what I just saw, I'd say you see me as some kind of savior. And I'm not. I have no idea how to be your queen or how to run this kingdom. In fact, there's only one person I can think of who does know how to run things around here."

She stopped a moment, allowing that information to sweep over her. It was odd to speak of the Goblin King in complementary way. He was an adversary after all. But even in her minimal time in the labyrinth, she had seen that there was a sense of comradery between the king and his subjects. They were obviously loyal to him, willing to brave the dangers of battle at his command. More than that, though, was that the goblins had always seemed content under him. They laughed along when he taunted her and reveled in whatever mischief he bid them enact. Whatever else could be said of him, he did belong in this kingdom. He belonged in all the ways that she did not.

"So…I'm going to do whatever I can to get the Goblin King back. Because you deserve to be led by someone who knows what they're doing." Her speech was followed with beats of silence that stretched on into a full minute. Sarah fidgeted with her hair; the adrenaline of speaking before such a crowd enough to keep her from noticing that it was plastered to her head.

The quiet was broken by a slow, steady clap coming from the foot of the stairs. Will was looking at her with an impressed gaze and a half-smile. Arden stood just behind him, as close as he could come to slack jawed while still managing to maintain some dignity. She approached them both, allowing Will to wrap her in a hug that left her slightly breathless. The gesture flicked the switch on the rest of the crowd, the goblins bursting into even more shouts and cheers than before.

Arden opened and closed his mouth twice in his struggle to articulate his surprise. Finally, he settled with: "I cannot believe you are alive."

"Yes, you made your thoughts on the subject of my vitality quite apparent beforehand," she retorted in a somewhat snarky manner. Using the advisor's own elevated form of speaking to mock him gave her more than her fair share of sick satisfaction.

"I for one," Will stepped in to resolve the mounting tension, "Knew that it would be impossible to get rid of a pest like you so easily."

Sarah pretended to laugh at his joke while aiming a light punch at his shoulder. Soon though, they were separated by the masses of adoring subjects who were offering mugs of dark ale or a chicken for her table. Some of them even scraped the mud off her dress and spread it across their foreheads. And all the while they were chanting, "Queen! Queen! Queen!" so loud that it left her ears ringing.

"Please," she piped up to correct them, "I'm not a queen. You can just call me Sarah." Her declaration only served to incense them all the more. Now they positively shrieked her name at every opportunity, leaping towards the ceiling to try to get a look at her.

"I bet you never imagine having adoring fans quite like this," Will shouted above the uproar.

"What?" she called back, unsure if she had heard correctly. But Arden interrupted before Will could repeat himself.

"Perhaps it would be best to stow the idle chatter until after you've cleaned yourself up." Sarah opened her mouth to protest his tone, but then realized how desperate she was for a shower. She nodded her assent. "Good. We can meet up in half an hour to discuss how best to execute the promises you have made to the citizens of the Goblin Kingdom."

"Right," she agreed, her nerves grinding as she thought of how public an assurance she had made. She looked to Will for reassurance, but he only shrugged and gave her shoulder a light squeeze. She made to go back to her room, when Arden stopped her once more.

"And Sarah," he said pointedly, "I must admit: I'm rather impressed."

She raised an eyebrow at the backhanded compliment. "Thank you," she allowed. Arden inclined his head to her in a show of deference before turning away. "And Arden," she called, stopping him at the door. "It's still 'My Lady' to you."

Not giving him a chance to respond, she gave him her back and breezed out of the room, grinning to herself all the while.

Sarah rested her chin against her knees as she lounged in the tepid water of the Goblin King's bathtub. The water had long ago turned murky—an inevitable byproduct of a shower-less facility—but still she could not bring herself to get out. Getting out meant facing her responsibilities. It meant actually setting out to do what she had come here to do. After facing so many obstacles already, it seemed impossible that the time had finally come. In less than twenty minutes, she would be laying out plans to rescue the Goblin King.

Sighing, she sank down in the tub a bit more. This was so like her. Making promises she had no idea how to keep. She was excellent at finishing the tasks she undertook, but getting started had always proved a daunting task. How was she to begin the process of extracting a king from the clutches of his decidedly deranged sibling? I just had to go an open my big mouth, she thought, stretching out her foot to idly turn the faucet on and off. The alternating rush of water was soothing in some strange way.

"Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be…" she murmured to herself. Her head tipped back, resting on the edge of the tub as her hair dripped onto the black and white tiles. She rested there for another moment before rising all at once and hoisting herself out.

At least now I'm clean and clueless.

She returned to the main room with a fuzzy towel wrapped around her torso, her mass of dark hair left out to air dry. She combed through it with her fingers as she explored what the various chifferobes and dressers in the room had to offer. Mable would certainly not be in a rush to get her back in one of her designs any time soon, so she would have to make due with whatever she could find. Amidst her search, she came across a particular wardrobe that made her feet freeze and her breath catch.

Spread out before her were all of the things she had seen the Goblin King wearing on her first trip. It was all there, staring out at her, blazing through her memory like a reels of film being played at high speed. Her fingers came just shy of the feathered cape he had worn when last she saw him, but she could not quite bring herself to touch it. So she relented to stand there, frozen in tableaux, with the items that brought her back to the most transformative experience of her childhood.

"Jareth," she breathed out in a rush. Her back tightened; she had not meant to say his name aloud. It made her feel exposed, and she had to look over her shoulder to make sure no one had heard. But she was alone and free to say his name as often as she liked. If she liked. She had never had occasion to say it before and had been quite content to think of him only as the Goblin King, one-time kidnapper of her baby brother. It was easier to think of him that way. As nothing but a nameless monarch that it had fallen under her to rescue. If he had a name then he became a real person, someone who was depending on her for their safety and security. Someone whose well-being she could become actively invested in. Yes, it was definitely safer to continue think of him as the King of the Goblins and nothing more.

But that did not stop the name from resonating through her mind, tickling at her tongue as it begged to be spoken again. It was a peculiar name to pronounce, she noted. The end syllable was all but completely foreign to her, almost making her feel as though she were speaking with a lisp. Ja-reth. Ja-reth.

"Jareth," she said with a bit more verve.

"What about him, dearie?" Sarah jumped and spun around, coming much too close to spraining an ankle in the process. Mable was standing at the door, as permanent a fixture there as the bed or the window. In her hands was another dress, yellow this time, with an empire waist and cap sleeves. Sarah frowned at it.

"Nothing about him. Is that for me? I really don't think I should wear it after what I did to the last one."

"Oh nonsense," the goblin woman huffed, sufficiently distracted by Sarah's self-deprecation. "Besides, it's only fitting that a queen be properly dressed."

"Mmm," Sarah hummed. Her attention was back on the wardrobe, Mable's words floating through her ears like background music. This dress was just as lovely as the first, but some part of her still felt that she was not meant to wear it. It was certainly a dress made for a queen; the kind of garment that any woman of fashion would long to wear. But it was not right for her.

It is a queen's dress. And you are not a queen. She had admitted as much to the goblins, and now she admitted it to herself. Whatever magic she beheld and whatever position of power she had been thrust into did not make her a queen. And no amount of fine dresses would change that. Nor did she want it to. She did not come here to play the queen with powdered cheeks and cotton candy hair. She was here to play the knight in shining armor come to rescue…not her prince. He was not chivalrous enough for that. He was a king in the best scenario; a dragon in the worst. But rescue him she would, just as she had vowed. And just as she had shown them earlier, it would not be nearly as pretty as it was in a fairytale.

"Mable," she called, not taking her eyes away from the closet. "I'd like you to help me dress in something a little different tonight."

"What in the Underground do you think you are doing?" For once, Arden's voice was raised beyond the point of propriety. His upper lip was trembling, and his face was flitting between various hues of red and purple.

Sarah smirked innocently. "I was under the impression that I would be planning how best to rescue the Goblin King." Ignoring the advisor's obvious displeasure, she strode past and flopped down into the throne. He stared at her, aghast and on the verge of fuming.

"You will do no such thing while you are dressed like that."

"Is there something wrong with the way I'm dressed?" She glanced down at her figure, draped over the throne as it was. Mable had managed to find her a pair of fitted black pants that would fit a woman's frame, as well as some knee-high boots that stretched over her calves as smoothly as butter. But it was her top that Arden seemed to reject most adamantly. She wore the burgundy shirt and black leather jerkin that she had last seen in the Escher Room, the ensemble lacking only the sickle-shaped pendent and the gloves. Even without them, though, Sarah knew she cut as imposing of a figure as the Goblin King himself.

"There are several things wrong with the way you are dressed," Arden snarled, "The least of them being that it is highly improper for a woman in your position."

"And what position is that?" she shot back. "As potential savior of the Goblin Kingdom?"

"As an interim queen, you should don only the finest gowns."

"I would agree," she replied, standing once more so that she could look him directly in the face, "But you're not asking me to be a queen."

Brushing past the shocked advisor, she began looking over the map of the Underground that had been spread out on a low, oak table. There were more kingdoms than Sarah could have imagined, and they were as many and as varied as countries on a globe. Some bore names that sparked fond memories from childhood myths, others were too complex for her to even begin to pronounce. But there was only one that she needed to concern herself with, and that was the Kingdom of Beasts. It rested north of the Goblin City, bordered by a great mountain range depicted on the map by miniaturized peaks. It formed a crescent-shaped barrier of protection around the flanks of the castle, leaving only one possible point of entry…

The door swung open, distracting her from her train of thought. She looked up to see Will entering the room, followed on either side by an armored goblin. His face lit up when he saw her, becoming more animated and expressive. "Cool look, Sar," he said, rubbing the velvety fabric of her shirt between two fingers.

"Oh, thanks," she replied bashfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Wearing the Goblin King's outfit in front of Arden had been a kind of joke meant to annoy him, but facing Will, she understood how easy it would be to misinterpret the choice. It could suggest a degree of intimacy. And there was certainly nothing intimate between her and Jareth.

"I'd agree, m'Lady. It's a fine choice indeed." Sarah looked down at the goblin to Will's left. He was taller than most, reaching to about the height of her hip. He had a white, handlebar mustache with the rest of his hair tucked under a helmet with two curved horns on either side. He stood before her in eagerness, and she knew without having to ask that he would do whatever it took to please her.

"Thank you, sir. Do you have a name?" she asked.

The goblin man seemed to grow taller being addressed by her. "I am General Borg, m'Lady. First commander of the Goblin Army."

"Excellent to meet you Borg. I'm Sarah." She turned now to the second goblin, "And you are?"

His eyes widened, the pig-like snout of a nose wiggling a bit. "Windle, m'Lady. I'm just a foot soldier."

"Good, I'm glad to have both of you. I'm going to need your help a lot over the next few days." Her gaze fell back on the map. "Speaking of which, what does the squiggly line in front of the castle mean?" She had noticed it earlier and wondered at its purpose. It spiraled outwards from a point at the center, like the eye of a tiny storm.

Arden approached then, glancing over her shoulder to see what she was pointing at. "That is a symbol indicating the position of a labyrinth." Her head snapped up to stare at him blankly, praying that she had misheard him.

"A labyrinth?" she hissed through her teeth.

"Yes," Arden returned, gloating now. "A labyrinth. Similar in structure to a maze, but leading to the center rather than to the end."

"I know what the difference is, what I want to know is why you didn't tell me about this sooner!" she fumed at him. This was intolerable. She had expected to face difficulties, but another labyrinth? She had barely made it through the first one with her head still attached to her body!

"It's really an obvious assumption. A labyrinth is an excellent way to defend against attack," the advisor shrugged. He was getting far too much enjoyment out of riling her.

"Well excuse me for not anticipating the royal family's evidently deep-seated trust issues," she bit back. "You know, I'm doing all of this as a favor to you. You could at least do your job and advise me on these things."

"Oh, am I your advisor too? Funny, I distinctly remember my contract being made out to the Goblin King."

Sarah shook her head, chewing at her lip a bit. "If that's how you feel, I'm sure I could find you a much more suitable position to fill. Perhaps one in the Bog of Eternal Stench."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet?"

They had moved progressively closer to one another, and now found themselves standing toe to toe. Sarah puffed out her chest to show just how serious she was, while Arden opened and closed his fist, seemingly fighting the urge to give her a slap on the wrist. It was possible that their altercation could have become physical, had not they been interrupted at that precise moment.

"Will you two knock it off? You're wasting everyone's time arguing."

Sarah's attention immediately shifted. She had almost forgotten that Will was still standing there. A light blush crept up her neck when she realized. I seem to have been forgetting about him a lot recently, she mused. And it was true. They had not spoken just the two of them since her return to the Underground. She felt doubly guilty when she took into account that this was his first experience with the place. He was probably more overwhelmed than she could imagine, and she had done nothing to reassure him. Some best friend she was turning out to be.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Will." She made to squeeze his hand, but he pulled away from her before she could reach.

"Let's just get this thing planned out," he said stiffly. She nodded, swallowing the tightness in her throat.

And so they planned, long into the night. Arden proved helpful for once, as did Borg and Windle. It was decided that the latter of the two would accompany them on the journey, while the former stayed behind to guard the Goblin City against possible retaliation. The thought of such a course of action made her sick, but she supposed it was best to consider every possible outcome. However, there were certain scenarios that seemed so preposterous that she felt herself dozing off in the middle of them. Each time she was on the verge of slipping away, though, Will would nudge her with his elbow, bringing her back to attention. She was thankful for it at first, but as the night dragged on, her head began drooping more frequently and Will's jabs became much sharper.

The clock had struck 13 o'clock by the time they had set everything in place. They would set out at dawn to brave the new labyrinth. Much to her dismay, it was the only way to reach the castle outside of scaling a mountain. She did her best to keep her wits about her; she had done this before after all. How different could it be? But even as she tried to encourage herself, her hand reached up to feel the string of scabbing holes in her neck. If the Queen of Beasts's token was any indication of her power, then Sarah was in for a lot more than a few false alarms.

She was on the point of moping back to her room for what was sure to be a night of fitful sleep, when Will caught her arm. Her eyes focused on his grip, concerned. "What is it?" she asked, trying to meet his gaze. But he was watching, waiting for the others to disperse before he spoke.

When at last they were alone, he said, "I think you should send me home. To the Aboveground."

Sarah could not help her mouth falling open. She shook her head, confused more than anything as to why he was asking this of her. "Send you home? Will, what are you talking about?"

"I think it would be for the best—"

"But that's ridiculous!"

"Please, let me finish," he warned, giving her a stern eye that made her clam up. "I'm not doing anyone any good here. I don't know anything about goblins, or beasts, or how to solve a labyrinth. I'll be in the way more than anything."

"Don't say that," she said, her voice no stronger than a whisper.

"It's true. What good am I in all of this? I'm Wimpy Will, remember?" he said it with a joking tone, but Sarah could tell that he was far from laughing at himself. This was a real issue that he had been carrying with him this whole time, and she had failed to notice it.

"I can't send you back. I won't. Not without me."

"Sarah-"

"I won't do it, Will! What do you have to go back to? Hmm?"

"I have a job."

"You're a lifeguard in the summer. That's months away. What about until then? You'll hang around at home with your dad until he gets so drunk and angry that you have to hang out at Burger King until he passes out at 2 a.m.?" She was rambling now, and she knew it. She should not be saying these things. But he had thrust her into a state of panic, and her mouth was no longer under the control of her head.

Will remained silent for some time after that. Her words had not gone unnoticed, and she could only watch as he silently worked through his varying degrees of anger. "Send me home. Now." His voice was so devoid of emotion that it cut her to the bone.

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"Stop it, Sarah! Just-" he paused, lowering his voice. "Just send me home."

Tears were blurring her vision now. Real tears of genuine emotion. She did not want him to go. Could not let him go, in fact. Hoggle, and Ludo, and Sir Didymus were missing, and she had no idea how to find them. He was her only friend in the world. The only person she could count on to be on her side no matter what. He believed in her even when she did not. And she knew—knew as instinctively as she knew how to write her name in the dark—that she would need him in order to make it through the labyrinth. However useless he thought himself to be, she needed to have him with her.

"No," she told him.

"Damn you," he seethed, turning away as if he were unable to look at her. She did not care. He could try to hate her all he wanted, so long as he stayed with her. It was a selfish thought, she was aware, but she would not be able to go on alone. And with so much riding on her success, she could not afford to let something so within her control fall to the wayside.

"You told me to come back here," she reminded him again, "And you agreed to come with me when I asked. Now, we're in this for the long haul, so I suggest you and I both get some sleep so that we're ready to head out in the morning."

She walked away then, bothered not at all that she was being harsh with him. This was her kingdom after all. And for the next three days, she would do whatever it took to ensure that it stayed standing.

Far beyond the walls of the Goblin Kingdom, lurking in the shadow of frosted mountains, lay the Palace of Glass. It was magnificent structure, rising large and frightening out of the frozen earth. A gentle snow fall ghosted down, dusting it with the lightest coating of ice, making it twinkle like the faint outlines of stars beyond the clouds. And within the white-washed walls of the castle, seated in a throne surrounded by furs and the melting wax of a thousand candles, sat the Queen of Beasts.

It was late, even for one as infused with the blood of owls as she. But something had woken her; a disturbance powerful enough to pull at her heartstrings and lurch her out of bed. It was not a feeling she recognized, but rather one that she had been anticipating. Despite the discomfort, it caused a sly smile to sneak its way across her angelic features. It was time to check in on her little challenger.

Settling into her throne, Delicia called forth a crystal, letting it spin on her fingertips for a moment. She did not want to appear overeager, though there was no one there to watch her. In her own time, she allowed the crystal to slow, revealing to her the image she had called forth. Her eyes narrowed, fixed on the dark haired girl within. Though she was hardly a girl anymore. Her face had lost some of its roundness, giving way for other assets to emerge. The Queen chuckled at how mortals could change so drastically in such an infinitesimal amount of time.

She watched on as the girl went about making plans for her daring rescue mission. It was impossible to hear any of it, of course, but just the sight of her dedicated plotting was enough to bring a spark of excitement to the Queen's core. It was clear that the girl had succeeded in removing her token, which meant that everything was moving along in exactly the way she wanted it to. Arden offering his help was an obstacle that she had not foreseen, but he could be dealt with later. The important part was that the girl had agreed to take on the impossible task of rescuing her dear Goblin King. Delicia allowed a giggle escape her lips; how easy this was going to be. And how fun.

Tucking her legs underneath her like a small child, she conceded to let the crystal roll back and forth across her hand. "Come to me, precious Sarah," she crooned at the spinning orb. "Let's see what you can do."

A/N: And with that, I officially declare the introductory arc of this fic closed. I know, five chapters of build up seems excessive, but it will be worth it now that we get to move on to actual plot. Especially since (spoiler alert) we'll get to check in with everyone's favorite Goblin King next chapter.

Thank you all for your continued support of this story, and I'll be back next week!