A/N: So this is a miracle getting this up today because I'm so overwhelmed with excitement, anticipation, and general freaking-out-ness since The Hobbit premieres TONIGHT. Whew. Love that a bunch of you responded to that and enjoy Middle-earth as much as I do! Or at least somewhat as much, haha. I was totally that kid in class writing Middle-earth runes on my papers when I was bored, then going home and learning Elvish. Heh. Anywaaaay...I'm getting more excited about this story now that things are beginning to move and as the conflict rises. And considering the chapter after this one...
Deepest thanks to: The Queen of Water, mearra, boybandelflover, XXPay4XtraShippingsXX, Kaytori, PheonixBreaker90, ButterflyOnTheWall, Alexandria Keating, gothicrocker2, Kinzichi, willowrain, BadWolf49, Mikume-chan, and CompleteBookworm2.
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty: Don't Tell Me Truth Hurts
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A few minutes down the left path with Jareth leading and Sarah was convinced she still would have gotten lost if she'd taken that way instead of the one the blue worm suggested. He knew exactly where he was going and the labyrinth didn't shift around him as it had her every time she turned her back. It almost seemed to open a direct path before his hastening feet. The dark brown and gold shifted to a more natural colour of stone, and the towers of the castle loomed straight ahead in the distance.
"Where is Hoggle?" she asked when Jareth suddenly stopped.
He had changed into shades of black leather that morning before going before the Sidhe Court and stood like a dark statue surveying the creation of his own hands. "The wretched creature confers with the other dwarf somewhere in the hedged portion where you once spoke with the old wise man," he answered. "There is a courtyard with a case of stone steps with a statue at its peak, and that is where they sit."
"Why don't you just go there like you always do instead of walking all the way?"
"Because, Sarah, I sense something has happened with the coming of this unwelcome visitor and wish to see for myself if anything is amiss. Now, no more questions. Just keep quiet and stay close to me."
Well, it made sense, but she still didn't understand what was really going on. The king certainly was not in a mood to divulge. She hoped it was just paranoia and not actually anything dangerous like a ploy of Fiachna's to somehow get to them within Jareth's own realm. Couldn't something just be what it seemed for once? Hoggle could be silly, but would he really be foolish enough to permit a suspicious character into the labyrinth?
Down the stone pathways they walked for another spell of silence, occasional glimpses of other turns and open courts in gaps in the walls on either side: statues pointing the wrong way, tall bushes, or dead ends. Jareth came to another halt in front of a bare wall that towered over them, but in a moment a wide chunk of it began to swing open as if it were a door. Beyond it lay the green hedges of the second phase of the labyrinth.
It was so odd for Sarah to be back and see the familiar scenes of the magical place that haunted her dreams years after she'd visited and had adventures here. It didn't look any different just like Jareth's face wasn't aged a single day more.
Speaking of the infamous Goblin King: that very man rounded on her so suddenly that she nearly ran into him. Of course he didn't mind the close proximity, but he held up a finger to his lips in request for silence. His eyes held her for a few moments before he turned around and confidently took two left turns and then a right. It was as he vaguely described. Reaching up to the height of the trimmed hedge wall were stone steps like one side of a pyramid, a slight sheen to them in the direct sunlight, and a statue at the top sitting in a chair; but the figure looked suspiciously like Jareth with the sharp features and lean build so familiar. It looked like the king when he sat regally on his throne before he relaxed and slouched into a more comfortable position.
On the second broad step sat two dwarfs. Hoggle faced the opening where Sarah and Jareth entered into the squared off space while his companion had his back to them. Hoggle's eyes grew as large as dinner plates, and he began wringing his hands while his mouth parted as if to speak but closed quickly again. His hazel gaze darted between his master and the other dwarf as if wondering if anything could be done to salvage the situation without being immediately tossed into the Bog of Eternal Stench.
Sarah was slightly worried on his behalf and didn't know if he would get out of punishment this time.
The unknown companion turned his head to see what had Hoggle gaping so fearfully. A mop of shaggy black hair hung down to his shoulders, the crags of his face were deeper even than Hoggle's, and his eyes were black like obsidians. A crease of worry formed on his brow when he saw the reason for the other dwarf's consternation.
Jareth stood just in front of the arched hedge opening, a hand on his hip and a gleam of wrath in his eye. His face was hard and his aura like a storm cloud waiting for the precise moment to loose its fury.
And all of it was directed at poor Hoggle.
"Y-your Majesty," he stammered as he leaped to his feet and clutched at his brown leather vest desperately.
"Hoggle," Jareth bit out with careful precision and sharpness, in his anger not forgetting the name, "whatever possessed you to directly disobey me yet again? Is your wish for a punishment so great you will never be the same afterwards? Because that is what will come for you."
"N-no! No, your Majesty! I...I can explain." He motioned towards the darker dwarf. "H-he needed somewhere to rest from his journey a-and I couldn't turn away one of my own kind who just wanted to talk with another dwarf. He don't plan on staying long, I swears. His name's Gerdol. He doesn't mean any harm."
"Doesn't he?" Jareth said in an icily calm voice that sent shivers down Sarah's spine. She could only imagine what it did to Hoggle. He took another step forward and finally regarded the black-haired dwarf with that hard gaze. "You may have fooled this fool here, but I see everything. Strange coincidence you happen to show up here while the lord of the realm is away and try to become bosom companions with its gatekeeper." Another ominous step. "What did the Raven Mage desire for you to accomplish? To find a way inside, to plant some of his magic, or to search out a weakness or flaw that could aid him?"
Gerdol did not cower like Hoggle, but he did hunch a little and stare warily up at the angry Fay. "I'm sorry your Majesty, but I don't know the Raven Mage and wasn't planning to do no harm. Just wanted a bit of rest for these feet. I'm sorry to have displeased you so. I'll leave right away if you wish."
"No," said Jareth with an air of decision. "I have a better plan for you. Both of you."
Sarah placed a hand against the stiff leaves of the hedge beside her instead of going forward like she wanted to and placing it on Jareth's arm in hopes that his fury would abate enough to avoid any rash decisions. She knew Hoggle had made a grave mistake, but she didn't want him injured. What if this Gerdol turned out to be harmless? Then all of this was for nothing. But just in case the dark dwarf was something more, it would do more damage to reveal any connection between her and the Goblin King. Fiachna didn't need any more ammunition as it was.
But what could she do for Hoggle? She could only watch as the scene unfolded.
Gerdol rose to his feet. "Your Majesty, please. Let me just leave and I'll be no more trouble."
In response, Jareth reached out a hand where one of his crystals appeared. They looked so innocent, but one never knew what they might do. That action made Hoggle groan and hide his face while Gerdol finally showed subtle signs of fear.
"No matter what lies you weave," said Jareth, "I will not believe them. I know why you're here. And I will not allow you to leave or to roam free, and so it leaves me with one choice."
The crystal dropped to the ground and rolled towards the dwarfs. Hoggle took a few stumbling steps backward. It reached Gerdol first and slithered into chains of iron that wrapped around his ankles and then his wrists. Some of them lashed out and caught Hoggle as well. Both of them ended up toppling to the ground and struggling against the cold iron that held them at the king's will.
Sarah gave a cry of horror at watching her dear friend be bound in chains. This time she did rush forward, but Jareth's long fingers suddenly gripped her arm.
"No, Sarah. There is a price to be paid for disobedience, a disobedience that could easily have cost your freedom or your life."
With that she could not argue, but her heart ached for the poor dwarf.
"To the dungeons with both of you," Jareth commanded. With one final glance at her, he added, "Remain here. I will return for you shortly."
And with that he released her arm and waved it in the air. All three of them vanished, leaving Sarah alone in the labyrinth. She stared at the empty space their three bodies had just occupied, but none of them returned. She collapsed on one of the steps and pulled her legs up closer to her chest as she waited. It had all happened so quickly, and she still wasn't sure how she felt.
"Oh Hoggle," she whispered to herself as she crossed her arms over her stomach and huddled forward, "what have you done?"
A few minutes passed in which the stillness engulfed her and time seemed to stretch on for hours. It struck her how quiet and lonely a place it was when you were utterly alone. Just as she wondered if she might wander around the area a little, Jareth appeared out of the air in front of the opening in the hedge. The black leather fitted to his body had a dark appeal, but right now all she could think of was the anger inside of him that needed to be doused and quickly.
"Come, Sarah," he spoke. He reached out a hand.
"How long?"
He frowned in confusion at her question.
"How long will you keep him in the dungeons?"
An abrupt sigh burst from his lips, and his hand dropped back to his side. "So are you going to oppose me in my decision now? Tell me how unfair I was?"
She did not miss the edge to his tone. She rose to her feet and felt a renewed boldness. The Goblin King could be fearful at times, but to her he had become a man who was lonely yet powerful, a being full of magic but also of dreams for himself beyond the ones of those around him. And she knew he would never hurt her.
"Jareth," she said softly, "it wasn't unfair. I'm not a child anymore. Hoggle is my friend, but he did do something very dangerous considering what's going on. He didn't know everything that happened with Fiachna, though, and just was told we were all to be extra careful because of another Fay. I'm not sure why he decided to disobey your orders, and it was wrong of him. I just would like to know how long you're going to keep him locked up."
The creases in his forehead smoothed out, and his eyes lightened. "Indeed...you truly are no longer a child." He offered his hand yet again without a word of request this time. Sarah looked at it and walked forward, feeling as though this meant more than a simple joining together of hands. It was as though he tested her yet again in ways she did not fully understand, as though he waited to see if she really would obey him as he asked seven years ago.
When she rested her small white hand in his, he firmly encircled it with his gloved fingers and pulled her through the arch back out into the passages of the labyrinth. Then he released her.
"A hundred years seemed a good enough time to keep him locked away," he said after they began walking side by side between the walls. "Maybe fifty."
Sarah looked at him sharply. "You wouldn't. That is far too—"
"No, it is not. That dwarf could have cost me everything. Rotting in the dungeons is a better fate than he could have hoped. I am not in jest, Sarah, and I mean to keep him there a very long time."
"But that is still far too long!" she insisted as her frustration built up in her chest. "He shouldn't have let Gerdol in, but that doesn't mean you can lock him away for a hundred years.'
"And why not? I don't think you fully understand the consequences of his actions, my dear." He stopped to stare down at her and lean into her space. "That dwarf was sent by Fiachna himself, and if we had not come sooner his work could have been accomplished. What that could mean is either taking you away to the mage, killing you, or bringing destruction to the labyrinth and my entire kingdom. It is no small thing. Even now I am not sure if he already did something that could affect us all...that could affect you."
Sarah stood her ground and crossed her arms over her chest. "I do understand. Really, I do. But there is something else I learned when I was no longer a child: people make mistakes all the time." Her voice lowered. "Even you, Jareth. All I ask for Hoggle is for mercy. When people make mistakes, it's our job to forgive them and have mercy on them because we mess up a lot too."
She knew what she was about to say would most likely upset him, but it had to be said.
"And you, Jareth? Shouldn't you be thrown into the dungeons as well then? Because you put me in danger too, remember. Isn't that why you kept blaming yourself for not protecting me from being hurt by Fiachna's attacks?"
As expected, that hardened his eyes into blue gemstones, and he pursed his thin lips; but he was at least hundreds—if not thousands—of years old and did not throw any kind of fit even though it was clear her words had pierced straight through all his defences. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff wondering if a sudden gale were about to push you over.
But it didn't.
Jareth looked away and turned his shoulder to her. "I will return you to the castle at once."
And with those words she found herself in a moment back in her room with the silver lights, the deep plum linens, and windows looking out over the kingdom. She sighed and sat in one of the windows to look out over the labyrinth where she had just been.
"And here things were going so well," she murmured.
The door opened and Mary came bursting in. Her cheeks were flushed and her breath came heavily as if she had just run through all the castle to get there. She immediately noticed Sarah in the window.
"Sarah!" she cried. "It is good to see you alive and well! There has been quite a to-do in this place, and I was afraid somethin' had happened to ya. The goblins are terrible about rumours and such, so you can't believe a word they say most times, but I had to come see if you were all right. You are all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine," said Sarah, although she didn't turn to look at Mary. "But at the same time I'm not enjoying all the trouble my well-being is causing. My life being in danger has put everyone else in a bad place too. I don't like it."
"Well, you can't help that! Having people who care about you is worth the trouble, you know." The elderly woman put her hands on her hips and watched the young woman with a keen eye. "So that's why they have prisoners in the dungeons? I didn't even think we had dungeons after all these years, but now we do. Who is down there?" Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. "Is it that Raven Mage himself?"
Sarah snorted. "No, definitely not. That creature wouldn't let some prison bars or iron chains hold him, that's for sure, and there would've been a much bigger 'to-do' as you put it. I wish it was though. I'm tired of running from a shadow and having to hide."
"Doesn't matter if you're tired," said Mary. "You just got to do it for your own safety, but also for the safety of others."
"It's my friend Hoggle the dwarf down there. He let another dwarf into the labyrinth and into the Goblin Kingdom without Jareth's permission. Jareth is already on edge after what happened on Midsummer's Eve, so this just pushed him over the edge I'm afraid. Or close to it."
"Ah, I see. I'm sorry, dearie." Mary came forward and put a warm hand on Sarah's shoulder. She patted it. "So this put another wall between the two of ya? You disagreed on the dwarf's punishment?"
"In a way. I don't know what to do. It's just...things were...right."
Sarah drew another deep breath and released it slowly past her rosy pink lips. She ran a hand through her long dark hair, the familiar motion automatic while she got lost in thought. There were important choices to be made in the next few days, and she did not want to go into them without preparation.
Mary tugged at her long grey braid. "Then go make them right again. You two have disagreed before."
Sarah finally turned to look at her, a gleam of hesitance in her green eyes and a bit of blush to her cheeks. "Uh, Mary...he almost kissed me."
"Well why didn't he? Fool man."
"Mary!" the young woman exclaimed. "You...What? I don't think you heard me right..."
"Oh I heard you perfectly well. I'm not that old! It's about time."
Sarah spluttered and couldn't find the proper response. It wasn't at all what she expected Mary to say. "Hoggle is chained up in the dungeons, Mary, and you're worried about him kissing me?"
"It's not about Hoggle. Don't you see? If he's so angry, it's because you were at risk; not to mention his own life and the state of this kingdom. From what I know—which isn't a great deal—he's never had so much that's important all at risk like this before. It's enough to frustrate even an ancient being like a Sidhe."
"I see that," Sarah said as she looked back out the window with a distant gaze, "but it's no excuse for cruelty or losing control. He's right to be angry about the things going on, but I'm just afraid he is taking it out on Hoggle."
"And that's why I'm glad you're here! You balance him out and stand up to him when he needs someone to do it because being a king for hundreds of years can get to your head since you get used to being obeyed even if your judgement's a bit off. He's good, but that doesn't mean he has moments of temper or selfishness."
Something that had been tingling at the back of Sarah's mind unspoken and pushed aside came forward now that she was with another human in this magical world. It was made starkly clear at the Summer Solstice amongst all the immortal Tuatha de Danaan and when the spiteful Seraphina saw fit to degrade her for her mortality.
"Mary…how long have you been here?"
"Oh, lass, it's been a very long time. I've lost track of the exact years, but it's been somethin' about sixty years or so. Or almost sixty. My! Tells me age doesn't it?"
"So you've aged…normally."
"What do you mean?" Mary frowned in confusion. Then the frown smoothed away instantly as it dawned on her. "Oh…I see. You wonder if our kind age any differently in this world. As you can see, it's the same here in the Underground. I…I'm sorry."
Sarah hung her head and clutched at her knees. The news was not surprising but still unwelcome. Her doubts reared their hideous heads up above the other thoughts racing around in her mind, and the decision looming over her every day and night seemed to loom greater. If her life was to be so short in comparison to Jareth's, could she really choose him only to grow old and die in so short a time in his perspective? Would that not break him more than if she chose to leave it all behind to return home? As much as they'd danced around these topics, she knew she would have to ask.
"But," Mary continued softly, "there have been, eh, rumours."
"What sort of rumours?"
"Rumours of the past from other Fey kingdoms that on occasion one of their immortal kind would choose a bride or groom from the Aboveground—our world—and bring them here. It's said that some of them didn't age and had become like their Sidhe spouses, but only the Sidhe themselves know the truth and the secret to those legends. They refuse to allow any other beings to know, especially any from our land."
A faint pulse of hope coursed into Sarah's chest, and she raised her head. Could it be possible? Was there some way to cast off the short years of mortality in this fantastical realm? She'd never desired immortality to avoid the sting of death, but things had changed now that her heart turned to one who would live forever.
"You'd have to ask the Master," said Mary with a shrug. "All I've heard is just rumour."
"Then I guess I will," said Sarah. She slipped off the window sill and brushed off her skirts. "Mary, thanks for listening and for saying what needs to be said. It's good to have counsel like yours in a place like this where there aren't many to talk to. I dearly love my other friends, but they wouldn't quite understand like you do."
She threw her arms around Mary and hugged her tightly. Mary hesitated at first from astonishment but eventually wrapped her arms around the young woman. Tears pricked her eyes after going most of her life without human contact. It brought a sense of release to feel a kind embrace from another.
"Now I'm going to go see Hoggle and see if he's all right," said Sarah as she released the old woman and wore a genuine smile on her face.
"Good. Go and see him. And don't forget to make things right again."
"I won't."
Sarah hurried out of the room and searched for a goblin who could lead her to the dungeons where the prisoners were. It wasn't until she almost reached the throne room and main hall that she ran into one...literally. The little creature had rushed around the corner and smacked into her legs. She gave a small cry as it fell back on its rump with a loud grunt.
"Greit!" she yelled. "I haven't seen you since the first day I came back!"
Sure enough, it was the extremely short goblin with a round belly and large dark eyes. His stubby little fingers tugged at his leather shirt as he craned his head back to look up at her. He seemed shocked to see her.
"Lady! What are you doing down here?" he said with his gruff voice.
"Looking for the dungeons. Do you know where they are?"
Greit glanced from side to side and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. Why'd you want to go there? Not very nice down there, not at all."
"My friend is in there. Can you take me?"
The squat goblin scratched his hairy chin and toed the ground as he considered her request. After a long pause, he shrugged again and threw up his hands. "Eh, I guess so. Follow me!"
So just as he'd led her to her room on that first day, he walked at a pace that seemed rather hasty for his stubby legs and brought her to a stairway far from the throne room. He motioned down the steps and waited for her to start descending them, but she stopped to look at him.
"Thank you, Greit. Hopefully I'll see you sooner than before."
If goblins could blush, he certainly would have. He bowed his head, muttered something in return, and scurried away out of sight. Sarah faced the shadowed stairway leading down into the dungeons and began taking them one at a time, her footfalls echoing faintly on the stone. Once she reached the bottom, there was a door with a goblin guarding it: an iron helmet on his head and a spear in his hand. He obviously was surprised to see her since his eyes grew quite large.
"I'm here to visit Hoggle the dwarf," she said with purpose and a raised chin.
"Uh...right. Just through here." The tall goblin opened the door and pointed. "Should be on the left somewhere."
Sarah started when the door closed behind her as soon as she walked through, but she saw the goblin's eyes peering through a small window in the door. Instead of cells with bars and locks, the dungeons seemed to be more unique than that: a few dark oubliettes were in the ground beneath with their yawning black holes the only indication of their existence. Sarah remembered falling into one in the labyrinth and how the encompassing darkness had worried her for a minute until the dwarf showed up with his light. Now if she could do the same for him, she would give so much to do it.
There was only one more to the left. She took one of the torches along the wall and raised it over the entrance of the oubliette. "Hoggle? Are you in here?"
"Sarah?" a hoarse voice called up out of the shadows.
NOTE: Hmm, what's the fate of this other dwarf and for Hoggle? Was it really Fiachna? And will Jareth and Sarah work things out? Guess you'll find out next week! I apologise for longer delays lately, but we're getting to the more complex area of the story and I'd rather take more time and do it the best than try to put it up quicker. I'm sure you would all agree :).
Reviews? Reaching 200 would be kinda awesome...