Sarah realized after a while that she had no idea where she was. The euphoria after the confrontation with the Goblin King had blinded her, leading her to walk aimlessly for minutes in a completely random direction. Now, she found herself in the middle of what could very well be a deep forest—alone, lost, and with no point of reference.
Her arrogance had once again landed her in a complicated and potentially dangerous situation. There were trees everywhere and not only it was impossible to know where she was going, but it would be easy for anyone to spy on her and attack before being detected.
"I should have at least paid some attention to the path. Now, I don't even know how to return to the lake and ask those stupid bushes how to get to the castle," she scolded herself. But even at that moment, a hint of pride remained. "It was worth it to see Jareth at a loss for words for once."
He had to be really angry.
"I don't care if he's angry or not," she tried to convince herself. "He has the bad habit of appearing and disappearing as he pleases, without considering the feelings of others."
"I have no room in my heart for such a ridiculous feeling," the Goblin King had said.
Sarah blinked. Why were those particular words coming to her mind? She should focus on finding the right path...
But it was of no use; she couldn't shake it off. She had to resign herself to the sad reality.
"Well, I guess there's no point in trying; I have no idea where I am. I can only keep walking until I stumble upon some clue that points me in the direction of the castle."
And that would allow her to direct her attention to much more interesting thoughts.
"He's incapable of love."
"But he has a heart," she argued with herself. "If he can hate, he must be capable of love."
It seemed like a valid argument, but her mind decided to counter it.
"Perhaps he can love, but he can't love you."
She couldn't dismiss that possibility, as much as she disliked the idea. But why did she dislike it in the first place?
Sarah stopped in her tracks.
"Am I in love with him?" she asked the forest.
As expected, there was no response. And perhaps she should consider herself lucky, bearing in mind she was asking such intimate questions to the nothingness.
She had to ponder for a while before answering her own question.
"I felt... I felt drawn to him because he was so different from anyone I had ever known... or maybe 'fascinated' is a more appropriate word. And when I convinced myself over all these years that I had created him to be my perfect lover, I ended up believing that I loved him in some way. But it was just an illusion. I don't know him, so I can't love him. And the only reason I'm still thinking about him right now is that any information I can gather about the Goblin King could be vital to defeating him."
She nodded in agreement, satisfied with her own explanation. And began walking again, her confidence largely restored.
"I think I'm finally on the right..."
But before she could finish her sentence, she was falling again.
"I hate you, you stupid Goblin King!" she exclaimed as she hit the ground.
At least it wasn't a long fall. Now she was inside some kind of hole dug into the ground, probably some sort of animal trap.
But she knew she couldn't blame Jareth for her latest blunders. If she had been paying attention to where she was stepping instead of daydreaming about him, she could have easily avoided that unpleasant situation.
She looked around, but unfortunately, the walls of the hole were frustratingly smooth, clay like. There were no rocks, stones, branches, or roots—nothing to grab onto.
"I wonder what kind of animal this trap was built for. It's a huge hole," she thought uneasily.
It was not a comforting thought at all.
"I should focus on..."
The ground around her began to tremble. For a moment, she feared it might be an earthquake, but the tremor was too rhythmic, too orderly to be natural. There was a pattern—it sounded like... footsteps? But what kind of creature could generate such a tremor just by walking?
"A creature I'd rather not have the pleasure of meeting," Sarah whispered.
The footsteps stopped when the creature reached the edge of the trap. Though she couldn't see it, its long, menacing shadow cast over her betrayed its presence. A metallic hand reached towards Sarah, and she recognized it.
"I remember you. The last time I saw you, you were guarding the gates of the Goblin City... but Hoggle destroyed you," she said, bewildered.
Jareth must be truly furious to have resorted to that thing.
"You can't end the game this way! We made a deal!"
Perhaps wasting time shouting at the mechanical goblin wasn't the best idea, as it seized the opportunity to grab her.
"It's not fair!" she cried, embarrassed by her own reaction. She hated losing, especially when so much was at stake.
The mechanical hand pulled her out and gently placed her on the ground.
"But... why?" she stuttered.
The head of the mechanical goblin opened, and Sarah finally saw who was inside. It was none other than Hoggle.
The dwarf landed on the ground with four small hops on the now-inanimate giant, and she rushed to greet him with a hug.
"Hoggle! Are you okay? I thought the Goblin King had punished you. Oh, Hoggle, you have no idea how happy I am to see you again."
At first, Hoggle couldn't respond—perhaps because he was taken aback by his intense feelings due to that long waited reunion, or by the warmth of her words. But most probably because she was barely giving him any room to breathe in her tight embrace.
"It's alright, it's alright," the poor dwarf managed to say at last. "I'm also glad to see you."
Sarah realized his discomfort and let go of him. She also noticed a tenuous flutter, not far from them.
"But you shouldn't have come to rescue me. He'll seek revenge, I'm sure of it."
"I had to borrow his guard to escape from the castle; he was going to be angry with me anyway," Hoggle shrugged, acting as if defying the Goblin King and rescuing a damsel in distress were hardly worth mentioning.
Sarah had to summon all her willpower to not hug him again.
"Look at what you've become, Hoggle. You must be the bravest creature in the whole Labyrinth."
Hoggle avoided her enthusiastic gaze, and started leading the way back towards the castle.
"Do you really think so?" he asked after a while, as if being considered brave was a source of shame rather than admiration.
"Of course, but I would never admit it in front of Sir Didymus," Elisabeth chuckled.
"I've missed your laughter," Hoggle said, seemingly surprised by his own reaction. He quickly regained composure and added, "And what was that diabolical thing that nearly impaled me moments ago?"
The dwarf was right; Sarah had completely forgotten that she was still holding the book when she had hold him so tightly before.
"Oh, sorry, Hoggle. It's just a book. I brought it with me because..." She hesitated, fearing that the information might be dangerous for her friend. "No, it's better if you don't know anything about it. I need to do this alone."
He couldn't hide his disappointment. "I see... I thought we were friends. And friends don't keep anything from each other and always lend a helping hand. Or at least, that's what they say... But if you don't want my help, I suppose that's fine..."
"It's not about that, I wouldn't offend you for anything in the world. You've done much more for me than I deserve, but now the best thing you can do is hide and—"
"Yes, the dwarf will hide like the coward he is," Hoggle said, turning his back as if ready to leave in the opposite direction. "The King was right..."
Elisabeth could have killed Jareth with her bare hands at that moment. How dare he humiliate Hoggle like that? Why did he always feel entitled to scorn everyone's feelings?
"You're not a coward!" she said holding his hand to retain him. "And you shouldn't listen to a single word that arrogant little man says. He's too in love with himself to appreciate anyone else's worth."
"He said a repulsive little beetle like me could never appeal to you," the poor dwarf confessed, facing her.
Sarah leaned in and brushed her lips against his in a brief, gentle kiss.
"I would never kiss anyone I didn't like," she told him. And she truly meant it.
Hoggle remained strangely silent, and Sarah thought it best to part ways there. Any further time he spent in her company, or any additional help he could offer on her quest, would weigh against him in the King's judgment.
"Be careful, Hoggle. You're my friend, and I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. If he finds you, tell him you were just taking me to the castle to please him. I'll understand."
And she left, leaving Hoggle as still as the lifeless mechanical goblin behind him.
He remained in the same position for a long time, long after he had lost sight of her.
"So this is what a true kiss makes you feel like," he finally said.