Chapter Three
Sarah sat in her bed for what felt like hours, deliberating over what she should do next. In all of her Jareth dreams- of which there had been many over the years- he had never asked for her help like that. He had never before seemed so real in her dreams. What was she meant to do with the information he had given her? Was she meant to waltz on down to the local library and magically find whatever cryptic message he was leaving her there? Was she meant to ask the librarian?
She pulled the covers off of herself with a huff and went to the full-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door. Biting her thumbnail, Sarah looked herself up and down. She was wearing her pyjamas, though she did not remember dressing in them after her shift at the bar. Had she really been visited by the Goblin King in her dreams? Or had he really been there? Her mind raced.
And what had that creature been? She had never experienced one of those during her time the Labyrinth. She thought about the reaction of the others in the bar. That had been very real. Perhaps that had actually happened. But then, at some point, she had gone home and fallen asleep.
After a few more moments of deliberation, Sarah cursed and tapped at the glass, "Hoggle?"
No answer came.
She tapped it again, "Ludo? Sir Didymus?"
Nothing.
Should you need us, Hoggle had said, and her heart ached at the thought that her friends had abandoned her. There was oftentimes when she yearned to go back to the Labyrinth- back to the Underground. But Sarah had defeated the Goblin King, and not once had he ever extended her an invitation to visit again. She pondered now on the idea that the powers he had once bestowed upon her were still very much active. It did explain a lot.
Another huff, and Sarah stepped away from the mirror. She went to the bathroom, showered, dressed and prepared for a trip to the library. How was she going to ignore this strange occurrence? Putting aside the fact that it was a dream, of course.
Gosh, she really did have a good imagination.
But still, she always did like to entertain the muddlings of her mind.
She cast a quick glance out her kitchen window and noted that it was still raining outside. She grabbed her hooded down jacket off the hatstand as she left the flat, as well as the little polka dot umbrella that's handle was in the shape of a duck.
The little British town she was currently residing in was quaint and small, and it was the sort of town where people knew each other by name. An elderly couple inclined their heads to Sarah as she passed them getting into their little Fiat, and her neighbour – Bob, she recalled- said good morning. The place had honestly started to get on her nerves quicker than she would have liked, but it was only a ten-minute walk to the library.
"Sarah?" A voice interrupted her as she reached the old library building.
She was thankfully standing under the little overhang above the door when she heard it, but she had to bite her lip in irritation that someone was keeping her from her business. She spun on her heels and had to stifle a groan at the frustration of coincidence.
"Hi, Carl," Sarah managed a smile.
That was another issue with small towns- you often ran into people you just did not want to.
Carl beamed at Sarah as he approached, hands deep in the pockets of his stonewashed jeans. He was very handsome, Sarah thought. His hair was dripping with rain but still stood up on his head, and it made him look like an old-time movie star. All he needed was a leather jacket instead of the parka he wore.
"Fancy seeing you here. Borrowing books again?"
"You know I love a good story."
"Yes, you've mentioned. Speaking of- are we on for tonight? I can make a reservation at Vinnie's down the road," he nudged his head down the hedge-lined street towards the town's centre. Vinnie's was the best- and only- Italian in town, although Sarah had not yet partaken in an evening there.
"Ah, I think so," a little voice in her head cautioned her acceptance. Funnily enough, the little voice sounded a little like the Goblin King. "Yes," Sarah said with a defiant nod of her head, "Yes, I think it should be fine. I can meet you there?"
Carl's beautiful smile grew wider, "Sounds good. Shall we say seven?"
"Deal."
"Okay, great. I'll let you get on with your browsing, then."
"Thanks, Carl…" Sarah watched as he awkwardly spun on his heels and stepped back out into the rain, "Looking forward to it," she called after him, certain that she was being a little too cold towards the chef.
He waved happily in response and continued about his day.
Sarah watched him go for a moment, chastising herself for letting a dream get the better of her. This happened, sometimes, throughout her life. She would dream of that ridiculous, poofy man or her friends back in the Labyrinth, and she would pine for days- sometimes weeks- for the sheer escapism of that long lost world. Had she ever felt so alive since that night, long ago? She had only been a teenager, but in all her gallivanting around the globe, she had to admit she was yet to experience a thrill quite like that again. Would she ever? Sarah supposed, sadly, that was why she was now chasing after strange hints in a dream.
She ignored her sensibility and that there was something very off about all this. She still could not remember getting home, after all, and the sheer realism of the man from her dreams was hard to deny.
Movement caught her eye in the shrubbery by the building, and she caught a glimpse of a pair of pixies dancing in the rain.
"How do you do," she said to them. They giggled in their charming little way as she went into the buildin.
The change in temperature immediately relaxed her senses, and Sarah took a moment to relish in that old-book smell that always greeted her in such a place. That was one nice thing about a library- it really did not matter what country she travelled to, the library would still have that beautiful, tantalising, old book smell.
"Good morning, Sarah," Mrs Crayshum said behind the counter, "After anything in particular today?"
Sarah pressed her lips together and pondered the question, "I'm not too sure today, actually, Mrs Crayshum. I might just have a browse."
The librarian nodded happily and Sarah stepped passed her to venture into the building. She had managed to keep her mind- mostly- off her radio-silent friends and that dastardly King since she had left her flat, but now she was in the library, as instructed, and waiting for her next prompt.
How ridiculous of me, she thought unhappily as she ran her fingers along the spines that lined the 'New Arrivals' shelf (new arrivals, of course, meaning 'books that have been released in the last twenty years'). She glanced up at the signs that pointed to the different aisles.
Horror, Non-fiction, romance-
She lingered on romance a moment, the Goblin King's face filling her thoughts. Sarah was still a little shocked, if she was being honest with herself, at how human he had looked to her last night. It all made sense now, of course, since it had simply been her dreams. But… then again…
Gosh, she had even smelt the troublemaking man when he had sat at the bar. Roses and musk and summer fields…
Sarah shook her head. No. She had had her little fantasies of that man in her youth, and put the idea of romance with such a creature to bed long ago. And yet… had any man ever lived up to the tantalising, intoxicating feelings that Jareth had stirred within her?
She swallowed at the idea of putting something to bed…
"Stop," Sarah grumbled to herself. Get a hold of yourself.
She refocused on the aisles of books.
Romance, no, that could not be right. Cooking, self-help, new age…
What was she even looking for? A woman appeared from the new age aisle and almost ran into Sarah, and she made room for her to pass by. As she kept walking back and forth, her rational thoughts bubbled closer and closer to the front of her mind,- what was she even doing?
"Mrs Crayshum?" Sarah said, going back to the front counter in a fit of frustration.
"Yes, dear?"
What could she even ask?
"Ah… have you had anyone ask for me of late? Maybe a tall broody stranger?"
Mrs Crayshum looked at Sarah like she was completely mad, "Don't we all wish, dear?"
Yes, she was definitely coming across quite mad.
Sarah gave the librarian a sheepish smile and turned back to the books. She was about to go down to the computers at the back of the building to try and Google an answer to her unaskable questions, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her blood grew cold at a sudden realisation, and she swallowed.
What had kept occurring during her strange interaction with Jareth? What had he kept doing? It had dawned on her just before she woke up.
He was quoting something.
He was quoting bloody Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!
Sarah turned and made for the children's books. She felt the goosebumps erupting on her wrists. She was all-of-a-sudden frantic, and when her excited eyes were unable to spy the novel she was after, she skipped briskly back to the front desk to speak with Mrs Crayshum again.
"Sorry, dear?"
"I said, do you happen to have any copies of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?"
"Gosh, I couldn't tell you the last time anyone asked for that. Not with all the films that people can watch instead now," the old woman laughed and clicked the mouse of her computer a few times. Her spectacles stood precariously on the tip of her nose as she slowly read through the information on her screen.
"Should have two copies, love. One in the children's section and one in the classics."
"Thanks," Sarah said, already halfway back towards the children's books. She thought she heard a dismissive 'Americans' from the librarian as she went, but she did not care.
The second look yielded more fruitful, and Sarah picked up the little colourful copy of the old, famous story. She skimmed through it, her excitement quickly starting to dim. In truth, the book had never been her favourite- after all, she had been to a real wonder land, and had seemed to keep her calm far better than Alice ever did. At least she never annoyed any caterpillars (aside from turning down the Worm's teatime requests).
Sarah grumbled annoyances as she put the book back on the shelf.
She was wasting her time.
She stepped back from the shelf and considered the others that lined the children's section. She supposed it would not be a very popular novel these days. Mrs Crayshum was right- there was too many versions of the thing these days. Out of sheer curiosity, she turned back to find the classics and have a look at that version. Sarah found this copy easily. It stood out to her on the shelf, and she slid it out from its place and opened the front cover. It was a hardcover, which was always nice, and an old sketch of the white rabbit graced the front page.
Alice followed that white rabbit, Sarah thought with amusement. A rabbit might have been more fun to follow than a white owl.
What had Jareth said to her in her dream? He had quoted the book a few times. Was her subconscious just playing tricks on her?
She let the front cover rest in the palm of her left hand and made to flick through the book.
Sarah immediately realised her mistake.
It started with a feeling of dizziness, and then a lump in her throat, and then her shoulder-length hair started blowing about like a great wind had picked up right there in the library. Sarah cursed, but her voice sounded far away as the light of the library grew brighter and brighter. She dropped the book and it landed on her shoes, and reached for the shelf to steady herself. Then she realised how painful the searing light had become on her vision, and she raised a hand to shield her face from the onslaught.
She needed to run- to get away from the library and the book.
But it was too late.
Sarah was being pulled in all directions, and the world around her spun in grotesquely jarring motions.
Within moments, the bizarre journey was over, and Sarah was no longer standing in the sleepy town's little library.
Her eyes stung from the light and her hearing seemed shot, but something primal within her told her exactly where she was.
Sarah was back.
