CHAPTER V

AN IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION

Glossy ebony wings ruffling in the breeze, he carefully righted himself on the branch. His gaze fixed on her window, he watched her movements.

He'd seen how she'd peeked out a moment earlier to look for him, perfectly aware her meager human eyes couldn't find him unless he wanted to her to see him.

Perfectly aware that everything was going according to plan. Well, not that plan, but his plan. The one he'd carefully hatched within that larger, greater scheme he was meant to be perpetrating. And perhaps going according to plan was a bit generous of an overview, but everything was working out the way he wanted, and that was near enough.

Moments after she'd looked toward the stormy sky trying to find him last night, he'd zeroed-in on her troublesome little brother to pop up within earshot of him. To squawk at just the precise second that the boy would hear him, too.

Would hear the wrongness of his presence in their world.

He couldn't count on her precious friends convincing her, but if her darling Toby said something to worry her, that would be all the push she needed, wouldn't it? Oh, it had worked beautifully.

And it was working, he thought, an all too human-like sound of amusement rumbling in his feathered throat, echoing strangely within his beaked mouth.

She was returning to the realm of dreams.

The realm she still thought somehow crafted by her own mind ….

Oh, he could not wait to see how she would crumble, how easily she would be at his mercy once she knew the truth.

Maybe she would even ask for—no, beg for—his guidance.

His head jerked up, the scent of Labyrinthine magick winding the air. This was it. She was entering their world again.

A sound of haughty self-satisfaction escaping him, he willed himself back across the realms.

Now, all he had to do was find that pesky, smug little shit Jareth before she did.

Or, perhaps better still, permit her to find him—to lead the smarmy bastard to believe there was some hope. Let her remember why she'd turned away from him in the first place.

Surely Jareth with his very-Jareth tendencies would push her away all on his own. And he would allow it. He would gleefully watch as she was pushed further into the Labyrinth than he knew she should ever go.

—

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

—

The sound of the gates closing behind them felt just as final, just as condemning—though Sarah wondered if she were being a bit dramatic there—as they had when she'd been sixteen. But she'd been alone then. Lost. And though she hadn't admitted it to Jareth's face until the very end of her last excursion here, scared.

She remembered that moment so clearly. She'd reached the center of his Labyrinth, as was his challenge, after all.

"Where's Toby?"

"He's safe. In my keeping."

"You're not keeping him."

"Oh. And why not?"

"I've come this far. I'm here."

There went the echo of his smooth laughter, rumbling through her and doing things to her heart she blatantly ignored for her own sake as much as for Toby's.

"Sheer luck," he said with that dismissive smirk of his.

"I'm here. Give me Toby back."

"You have understood nothing. You have answered none of the Labyrinth's riddles. You don't even know what the questions were."

"That wasn't our bargain," she responded, trying to force a note of indignation into her voice, but she couldn't deny wondering what he'd meant. What questions? She'd solved the Labyrinth by getting to the center, hadn't she?

He tossed back his head, laughing once more, seeming delighted by the vague confusion also present in her tone. "There, just as I told you. You have understood nothing."

Sarah realized in that moment there was one thing in all of this that she had understood. Him. She might not have figured out whatever extraneous nonsense he'd hoped of her for whatever reason, but she had beaten him in this. She had made good on her part of their bargain, and for some purpose of his own, he trying to avoid keeping his part of the deal.

"You're wrong. I have come to understand one thing very well. You're just putting on a show of confidence. It doesn't take me in anymore. You're frightened, Jareth." How strange it felt to speak his name while talking with him face-to-face.

How oddly intimate it suddenly made the entire thing.

Gratefully, whether or not he'd noticed, he didn't give an indication—she had no idea how she'd have reacted if he had.

That dismissive smirk vanished, his resulting expression more somber than she thought he'd be capable of mustering. "So are you."

"Yes."

Giving herself a shake, Sarah cut the memory off there. Though she still puzzled over what questions and answers he'd been talking about that day, right now she didn't have the patience with herself to think on the words that had followed their mutual admissions of fear.

Nor did she have the luxury. And if she believed for a second he'd give her a straight answer when they found him, she might ask him to explain himself.

Which was a cosmically large and glaring if.

The center of her palm tickled and held up her hand. Her gaze landed unerringly on that star shape in the center. They'd been walking for several minutes already; shouldn't it have begun to fade by now?

"Something troubles you, My Lady?" Sir Didymus asked, and she snapped her head up at the question to gape about at her friends.

Yes, they had been walking, but she'd paused and was completely unaware that she had stopped. They'd clearly noticed she had fallen behind and turned back around to face her.

With a sigh, she looked about, noting how the high walls of the Stone Maze looked precisely as they had a decade earlier. She wondered vaguely if she might cross paths with that adorable little worm with his funny tufts of blue hair again.

He'd been so sweet and helpful …. Though, come to think of it, he was a worm who lived inside the walls. How had he expected Sarah to come inside to 'meet his missus?'

In his scramble to be polite, the dear little thing probably hadn't considered the impossibility of her taking him up on his offer. After all, things weren't always what they seemed here, maybe he had his own reasons for believing she could've?

She shook off the thought. "No, nothing. I'm just wondering where we should start." It wasn't a complete fib, as she had no idea where to begin looking for Jareth.

Oh, she realized, as Hoggle winced, Ludo shrugged helplessly, and Didymus reminded her in a quiet whisper that they hadn't the foggiest idea, which was why her aid would be so crucial in their venture. All right, she might not know where to start herself, but they did have an advantage over her last trip here.

Something that would be even more helpful in a Labyrinth that wasn't altering itself without its ruler's consent.

With a derisive laugh at herself, she pulled the map out of her back pocket. What she was about to propose wouldn't sound quite so daunting now that she had something to show them the way.

Well, provided the twisting pathways and hidden nooks didn't go swapping themselves around again before their intrepid party reached their destination.

"I suppose we should head back to the castle, first." She gave a shrug as she unfolded the map across her open palm. Cognizant that was where they had started looking for him and not wishing to hurt Sir Didymus' pride by suggesting he had missed something, she proceeded brightly but cautiously, "It's been a few days, maybe looking around with fresh eyes will reveal something that wasn't apparent last time."

Hoggle's impressive brow furrowed. "Sarah—"

She shot him a glance, pleading for him to go along with it. None of them had any idea how much time they had, but whatever amount it was would be even less so if she had to soothe the knight's wounded ego.

Sir Didymus for his part did not seem to notice the interaction. His long, whiskered snout raised in the direction of where he presumed the center of the Labyrinth to be, he inhaled long and deep through his nostrils as he apparently considered her reasoning.

"I do believe you're correct, My Lady."

Her shoulders sloped a bit with the uncoiling of an anxious knot that had tickled through her. They had only just begun their journey; it would've been bad to start off with bruised pride and internal panicking. Nodding, she at last dropped her attention to the map.

Sarah's gaze followed along the lines of the Stone Maze, recognizing where she'd walked—and how far—when she'd encountered the worm. Blue, she'd call him, she decided on a whim, at least until she met him again and could ask his name.

"Wait a minute …." Bringing the map a bit closer, she narrowed her eyes. The optical illusion passage where she'd gone right because Blue had told her to never go that way when she'd started walking left showed her something she hadn't noticed before.

Something that, given how small the details of the map were, she might've glossed right over had she not been looking for it specifically. Or were this her first time through.

He probably had sincerely thought he was helping her, that no one—especially not anyone who seemed so clearly like they didn't belong in the Labyrinth in the first place—would want to go to the goblin king's castle. And she breathed out a laugh about it now as she followed along the left side of the path with the tip of her finger. The path he'd told her not to go.

It cut right through the mazes and forests and gardens and obstacles.

It led directly to the gates of the goblin city.

All she had to do was lead her friends back to the illusory wall and through and they'd be on their way. Provided nothing changed between now and then, she grimly thought once more.

This time she kept the map clutched in her hand as she nodded to Hoggle, Didymus, and Ludo. "This way."

As she turned to start trooping through the Stone Maze again, the sudden—and literal—lifting of a weight from her back startled her. Though her hand still clutched the strap, she looked up to find Ludo holding her duffle in one massive hand.

"Oh!" Giggling at her own nervous reaction, she let go of the strap and nodded again. "Thank you, Ludo. I think I forgot I was even carrying it."

Despite her surprise, the immediate lightness in her step that resulted from the loss of that burden energized her. And not too late, she considered, noting how the sky overhead was darkening. The only time she'd experienced night in the Labyrinth was that unfortunate moment of waking in the Junkyard, which still wasn't too pleasant of a memory—sure, the Firey Forest had been dark, but that had only been because of how thick the leaf canopy overhead had been. She didn't like to remember how easily she'd nearly forgotten her purpose when the Junk Lady had handed her those perfect replicas of her possessions ….

So while it made perfect sense to her why a starry sky over their heads would bother her, that awareness did nothing to alleviate the unease stealing through her. There was a flashlight and some fresh batteries stuffed away in her duffle, but that had been a precaution she was really hoping she wouldn't have to resort to utilizing.

Eager to shave off some time, she started down the passage at a jog. She wanted to sprint, and while she knew Sir Didymus could keep up thanks to Ambrosius' sure and fleet-pawed strides, neither Hoggle nor Ludo were built for speed.

Every several feet, she looked down at the map to be certain she wasn't overshooting. Each unbending, unchanging expanse of walled path looked the same as any other.

At last she drew to a halt, winded but pleased the map showed the magical wall hadn't changed before they reached it. Though, as she looked around, she didn't see Blue anywhere. Maybe it was too late in the evening for him.

Finding her companions looking about the walls surrounding them in confusion, Sarah gave them an encouraging smile and gestured toward the camouflaged opening.

"Here," she said, waving for them to follow her as she stepped through.

—

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

—

The gates of the goblin city stood open, the wide streets with their short, squat buildings beyond appearing ….

"Empty?" Sarah said in a quiet breath as she crossed the threshold.

It wasn't as though she expected all the goblins to be gathered in the streets waiting to welcome her with open arms, but the feeling of loneliness that invaded her senses as she stared about at the vacant hovels was thick and weighty. Even the massive interior gates that, when closed, would form the mechanical monstrosity Humongous were still—motionless as they gaped wide, no longer of the capacity to stop anything from invading. She'd been anxious when she'd first set foot in this place, but now?

Now she was actually scared.

"Where is everyone?" she asked with a shake of her head as she started moving through the street on quiet footfalls. "I mean, I know you said the goblins were searching for him themselves, but … all of them?"

"No," Hoggle said, puffing out his chest and taking up a position as though he was leading the way, his stubby arms swinging madly as he trooped. Once he hated walking through this city, and he didn't make it a habit to travel through here since their battle, but simply being back reminded him of their victory.

Hoggle didn't feel big or important often, but he did when he walked through those gates.

"Don't worry, My Lady," Sir Didymus confided to Sarah in a whisper when she arched a wary brow at the dwarf's change in demeanor, "Sir Hoggle behaved in much the same manner when we happened through here a few days prior."

"Ah," she whispered back with a nod.

Hoggle blessedly didn't hear them muttering about him. "Not all the goblins are fighters," he explained as they followed him toward the castle's entrance. "The ones who won't be much help looking for 'im went into hiding. Or got taken into hiding by the others."

She stopped herself from asking if Jareth could be in hiding with them—that wouldn't make much sense, since his disappearance was why they had left. While she wasn't the biggest fan of goblins, she recalled them being lively and boisterous. How sad that they should be tucked away somewhere in fear like this. A quick glance about confirmed that they'd even taken the chickens with them.

The quiet, desolate city, the night sky closing above them, the castle looming ahead.

Sarah swallowed down a sudden helpless little bubble of fear. She hadn't let fear ever stop her before, she wasn't about to start now.

Giving herself a sobering shake, she lifted her chin and hurried after Hoggle through the castle's gates.

Though she was only familiar with the entrance hall and the throne room—and the dreaded Escher room up in the spiraling tower beyond—she knew there was far more to it than she'd seen.

As they all piled into the hall, she stopped. Her instinct had been to run up and around and up again until she reached the throne room, just as last time, but that was precisely it. It was because that was what she'd done, where she'd gone, last time.

The building smelled of soil and damp stone … and farmland. A bit like she'd always imagined actual medieval castles probably smelled, actually. Taking in a deep breath, and aware they were waiting for her to make a decision on their next step, she whirled to face Ludo, Didymus, and Hoggle.

"Um …." She looked to each of her friends in turn before offering a nod to no one in particular. "I normally wouldn't suggest this," she said, mindful of every book or show she'd ever read or watched in which this was suggested—it rarely turned out well, "but we can't waste time here if there's nothing to be found. So … we should split up."

—

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

—

We'll meet back in the throne room, since she had no idea how they could tell the passing of time, and despite her reluctance on this idea, the deserted castle didn't hold any unexpected dangers, she'd concluded, when we're done searching our floors.

Which was probably how she'd ended up in a room that … well, was like some glam rock star's walk-in closet, if she were being wholly honest. Jareth's wardrobe. If she hadn't known he was vain before ….

While she didn't suppose there would be any actual clues in here, she couldn't help wandering the room, with its silvery mirrors, gilded nooks, and rows of glittering fabrics. So, it hadn't been her imagination he'd been appealing to, he really did have a taste for looking like some sort of flamboyant Renaissance-era fae prince. Well, she supposed, he sort of was, so maybe that made sense. Everything glinted and shone so prettily beneath the light of magical flames spilling from sconces placed high along the walls.

She came to a set of shelves carved into one wall that's sole purpose seemed to be for housing a rather impressive collection of gloves.

Reaching out tentatively, she slipped a single glove free from its place. She hadn't seen him without them even once, had she? Even at the end he'd held up that final crystal offering in grey-clad fingers.

Though she didn't quite want to, Sarah ran her other hand delicately over the surface of the glove she held, appreciating the soft, supple texture of what felt like doe hide beneath her skin. Even less did she want to ponder on his reasons.

Maybe he just liked the look of them? Maybe he didn't like touching things with his bare skin? Maybe … Her head jerked up at the thought, but … maybe he was hiding something?

Looking back over her shoulder despite that they were supposed to be searching separately—though she knew she'd have heard any of her friends approaching—she set the glove back in its place and held up her palm. She didn't want to cause them concern and though she had no idea what it meant, she knew they would immediately worry once they saw how it troubled her.

Dropping her gaze to her open hand, she felt her heart sink. The star was still there.

Yes, she could definitely see herself taking to wearing gloves if this didn't go away. She couldn't imagine all the questions people would have when they noticed her 'strange scar,' because frankly it didn't look like a scar at all. It was too …. Sarah frowned. Too perfect. Too obvious it was a star. She recognized now that the press of her earring into her skin would not have been enough to cause this and she couldn't begin to imagine where it had come from or how.

Yes, she thought with a sigh as she dropped her hand and went back to her purposeful wandering. She could understand Jareth's glove fixation if he were hiding some mysterious—or more likely, given his clear hang up with his own appearance, unsightly—mark.

Her mind drifted back to the memory she'd so deliberately cut short back in the corridors of the Stone Maze.

"You are cruel, Sarah," he said, dancing along the uneven walls and twisting staircases, drawing her eyes to him in spite of herself. "We are well matched, you and I. I need your cruelty, just as you need mine."

Ignoring the nonsense about cruelty—she was already aware she wasn't always very nice, but that hardly made them alike, did it?—or the idea of them needing anything from one another, her brow furrowed as she whispered those words to herself, "We are well matched, you and I."

Walking backward to reach the treasure trove of gloves once more, her eyes narrowed in thought. "I understand you, and whether I like it or not, we're not so different. So why can't I figure out where you …."

After a stammering heartbeat, Sarah found herself sinking slowly to her knees. The breath in her lungs stilled and she could feel the weight of the air around her pressing against her skin as a line of thinking unfurled like a ribbon, glossy and fragile and needing all of her attention to gather back to her.

Jareth's ego. That's what this was all about. His pride. He was used to being strong, to having power. To his subjects expecting all sorts of bravado and extravagance and pompousness from him, and if he'd told her anything about himself directly, it was that he was all about living up to expectations.

And now he was weak.

Reaching out once more, she almost couldn't help herself as she plucked a single glove off the lowest shelf. Examining the finely detailed black leather with her gaze, she understood. She'd been correct the other night when she'd thought of him as a wounded lion, though she hadn't mentioned it at the time, because she didn't want her friends to believe their task any more daunting than it already seemed.

Correct that he hadn't gone missing—he secreted himself away somewhere.

Moreover, a breath thundered out of her and she blinked around but could no longer see the fine shimmering clothes on all sides of her, he was leaving his subjects with their memories of him when he'd still been strong. He would want them to forget he'd ever started showing weakness.

Though her legs felt a bit like jelly with her realization, she pushed up to her feet and wandered back through the wardrobe.

Vulnerable as he was now, he would want them to forget.

Reaching the spiraling staircase, she hurried to the throne room, practically stumbling as she called for the others to head there if they weren't finished up yet.

He wanted to be forgotten, she thought, her heart screaming at the uncharacteristic sadness of it.

By the time she nearly tripped over her own two feet into the room, Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus were all there. Ludo and Hoggle looked flushed and winded, Ambrosius panted heavily but seemed exhilarated by all the running, and she realized they'd all still been in the middle of their searches, too. And here she thought her distraction with the Goblin King's impressive glove collection had taken up so much time.

"I think I know where he is," she said, catching her breath, only seeming to realize now that she still clutched his glove in her hand, yet decided against dropping it, "but I haven't seen it labeled on the map."

Before they could ask where, she turned her attention directly on Hoggle. He knew other ways there, ways that didn't mean falling through the very disturbing tunnel of the Helping Hands. Provided Hoggle's other ways weren't compromised by the Labyrinth's current identity crisis.

While the potential of Jareth changing the entrance locations to cover his tracks was possible, she knew it wasn't likely. Not in this case—not when he thought no one could figure out where he was hiding.

"How do we get to the Oubliette?"