8. Ludo the Bodyguard
It was the worst night Sarah remembered having in very long time, and she had her fair share of sleepless nights before. The knowledge that Jareth was sleeping right next door was not helping at all. If anything, it only fueled her insomnia, making her to toss and turn for best half of night.
She had wanted him to see that she was no longer the spoiled brat he once knew, and then, in spur of exactly that - childish, spoiled outburst of annoyance - she went and did something that potentially ruined his entire view of her. He probably believed she hadn't changed at all. Why do I even care about what he thinks of me, Sarah asked herself when the sense of guilt and remorse forced her to throw the blanket away with frustrated groan.
The sky was growing lighter, the dawn approaching, and she realized she won't be able to sleep anymore. Wrapped in blanket, Sarah sat quietly, listening Merlin's peaceful breathing and occasional muffled gruffy sounds as he chased something in sleep, until the morning came, the sky, while covered with clouds and not a single ray of sunlight able to break it through, still grew lighter, signalling of the new day.
After the routine bathroom ritual, Sarah picked the gown that matched her mood, very dark blue, which looked almost black in dim castle lights, and left the room, Merlin padding by her side. She was reluctant to face anyone today, considering that the goblins also could share their king's mind toward her now, even if it had been Sir Didymus to deliver the food to them. Deep in thoughts of how to make it up for everyone, Sarah walked down the stairs, when suddenly her downcast gaze met with pair of boots. Does he have some radar set on me specifically, she thought, risking to look up.
"Good morning! Did you slept well?" She forced the pure Hollywood toothpaste commercial smile on her face, trying to pretend nothing happened. Maybe if she will wish for it hard enough, the yesterday will magically erase itself from existence. "Would you like me to make some breakfast?" She offered without thinking.
As soon as these words left her mouth, Sarah realized it had been yet another dumb thing to say. Jareth's eyes widened at such blatant cheek, and he almost passed her by without a word, but abruptly stopped, blocking her path.
"I don't know what you were trying to achieve last night, but listen very carefully now, Sarah!" His angry hiss reminded her of extremely pissed off cobra, his bared pointy teeth completing this comparison. "If I will see as much as your shadow in throne room - or in kitchen - I will personally make sure you will spend the remaining time of your stay in most solitude dungeon cell! And count yourself lucky if I will decide to ever let you out."
"Then send me home!" Something snapped in Sarah, and she grabbed the Goblin kingdom ruler by his shirt ruffles, emphasizing each word with desperate shake. "Send. Me. Home. NOW."
"Si..lence...!" The menacing voice cut her off, while its owner tried to pry his shirt out of her iron grip, the shaking therapy interfering with his speech skills. "You... are... not... going... back... and... it's... for... your.. own... sake!"
"How would you know what's best for my sake!" Sarah was forced to let go of him in fear that he might break her fingers, if she won't release him. "I'm not one of your goblins to order around! Ugh, I should feed you laxatives next time!"
"If I remember correctly, I did not asked you to come." Jareth smoothed the wrinkles on his shirt, already turning to leave. "And I'm not some errand boy to fulfill every whim of yours. You came here on your own. When and if I can spare some time and my magic to return you where you belong, I'll do it, but not on your demands. You forget yourself, Sarah. Now - get out of my sight!" The last sentence was literally screeched at her.
Sarah winced, but did not backed down. Devil was never as black as he's painted, and so she took a deep breath, deciding - now or never - try to apologize and have normal, civilized conversation. "Jareth, wait, please. I just wanted to..."
"Remember once and for all," Jareth sharply interrupted her. "I'm not one of those foolish mortal boys you've been dating. Do not call me by name! It's 'Your majesty' for you! Last time I checked, I rule this land, not you. Is that in any way unclear?" He struggled to ignore how something warm stirred in his chest at hearing her saying his name.
"No, I just wanted to talk to you and...apologize..." Sarah instinctively reached out for his hand in attempt to get his anger placated, and she heard him sucking breath in sharply through teeth from the simple touch, but before she could finish sentence, leather clad hand enclosed around her wrist in vice grip, pushing her backwards.
"And do not touch me!"
And she hoped for any kind of normal conversation. Fine, if you want the war, the war you shall get, I won't beg, Sarah thought, blinking away the tears that for some reason had gathered in corners of eyes, and freed her hand with one sharp move. Just as sharply, she pushed past the king, her shoulder bumping into his with enough force to stagger him into the opposite wall in very un-royal fashion.
"As you wish... Jareth!" Without turning head, she snapped at him over her shoulder, and marched away proudly like Queen. She heard Jareth swearing behind her, but thankfully he did not went after her head, continuing his own path.
She stopped around the corner, breathing slowly to calm down. How did he managed to tap onto her nerves, regardless how determined she was to be the bigger person? Why did every single time when she came face to face with Jareth, her brain refused to act according to her age? It was as if his mere presence stirred that teenage spite in her, despite her best intentions. Sarah slapped her forehead in frustration. How would she ever hope to make it up with him, if most of their encounters went this way? Letting out long, deep breath, Sarah continued to go downstairs, straight to the kitchen, ignoring the king's warning mere minutes after it was given.
Luckily the kitchen staff either were unaware yet of yesterday's incident or they didn't cared, because despite her fear, Sarah got a plate of warm toast, cup of tea and some sausages for breakfast, and with her loot, she went straight to her safe haven - the library - still thinking about Jareth... if she expected him to be the bad guy, well...she got just that. Not that she was picnic herself. On the other hand...laxatives... better not.
Sir Didymus was the first one who discovered that Sarah is nowhere to be found. When, after thorough interrogation of others, it was clear no one else knew her whereabouts either, the trio decided to start searching for her. Of course, her deed yesterday could not be counted as anything good, but they knew their king too well to allow the possibility of oncoming payback, and not one, adorned with puppies, unicorns and rainbows.
"Cor, don't think that rat would harm Sarah." Hoggle had his own theory. "Like it or not, he needs 'er, sooner or later."
"Thou are absolutely correct, sir Hoggle." The knight agreed only partially. "But His Majesty in anger might do first, think later. We shall find the fair maiden."
"I still dunno why she did that? She never said, even when we asked why." The dwarf grumbled as they went from one room to another, not forgetting to check behind the door as well. "And when we found her in library, she look quite scared when we says Jareth could've been hurt, so... me thinks she didn't mean to do any harm, but then why did she do it anyways..."
"Aha!" Sir Didymus cheerfully jumped, interrupting Hoggle's musing. "Of course, she's there! It's the most alike place where to find out fair maiden! In library!"
"Oh, what a genius idea!" Hoggle snorted, but the knight was already hopping away.
"Why, of course!" Without even slowing down, Sir Didymus shouted over his shoulder. "If she's hiding from the king, 'tis the best place! His majesty rarely goes there in these days, so 'tis the one safe haven for our lady! Did we naught seek her yesterday in the very place?"
Hoggle, much like Ludo, was out of breath, trying to keep up with the sprighty knight, so he kept his thoughts at himself, but it did not stopped him from continuing to wonder, what caused Sarah to cause such havoc to make Lucan and his company look like amateurs in comparison.
Sir Didymus was right about Sarah's whereabouts, but his statement in full was not entirely correct. Sarah indeed was sitting in library - she had moved one of small reading tables to the alcove, the now empty plate sitting on it next to small stack of books she had picked today, but not yet began to read, instead sitting with tea cup in hands, pensively looking out the large window. But when the friends approached her, and Hoggle opened his mouth to speak to her, the nearly impossible became very harsh reality.
The library door opened again to let in no one else but His royal highness with following goblin escort.
Jareth appeared to be deep in thoughts, something clearly troubling him - although given the circumstances, it was easier to list the things that didn't troubled him - and he either didn't noticed or chose to not acknowledge Sarah's presence. Hoggle guessed the first option, because as soon as he walked in, Sarah had pulled the alcove curtain close to hid behind it, but it was unnecessary precaution, because Jareth didn't even seemed to notice the trio or his own escort, striding right to the shelf across the room and summoned the ladder with a wave of hand, climbing up to reach the very top, starting to sort through the pile of old scrolls.
Sarah put finger at lips, gesturing to her friends to be quiet, then slipped out of alcove and began to tiptoe toward the door, her friends following.
She reached the door, somehow managed to push it open without making any noise, and already made a step outside, but in meantime the goblins had been lifting books, brushing the dust off them in process. This process was not educational or interest about literature as such - they simply moved books from one place to another. And just when Sarah was about to make her exit, yet another dust cloud reached Hoggle's nose, causing explosive series of sneeze.
Jareth almost slid down the ladders, losing the footing, startled momentarily, and his gaze fell not only on three friends, but also on Sarah who barely held laughter, because Ludo, Hoggle and Sir Didymus froze like statues in whatever poses they were when Jareth's eyes set upon them. And they did not even tried to move as if that would make them invisible.
Sarah risked to look up at the king. Their eyes met, and for one short moment she thought he would smile... but it was only illusion. His face remained stoic, eyebrows raised in silent inquiry, lips tightened. Say something, don't be quiet. But after a minute of silence Jareth looked away and climbed back up the ladder to continue with his task. Sarah bit her lip and slowly left the room, Hoggle and Sir Didymus at last broke through their standstill and followed her steps.
Only Ludo held back for a moment.
He looked up at the king and let out a quiet, threatening growl. He did not tried to busy his brain with the cause of problem - who, why, for what. Ludo only understood that Sarah was sad and the reason was the Goblin king. He wasn't interested or worried about the opposite side or Jareth's own safety. Flashing his mighty fangs toward the king, Ludo finally made his way out, the door falling shut behind him.
Jareth paused, holding worn out scroll in one hand, his eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement and irritation, seeing such disrespectful attitude from the beast, but he had no time to think of it much, when goblins began to brawl over one of books, a very old and valuable historical volume, threatening to tear it apart. With one sharply snapped 'Quiet!', the king silenced them, climbing back down and kicked them all out.
In one short moment, seeing Sarah's eyes, gleaming in restrained laughter, he almost gave in to the wish to speak with her, maybe even make a little joke about her friends and how they froze on spot, but then he remembered why he was angry with her in first place. Moving to the alcove, his gaze fell upon the empty plate and tea cup, showing where Sarah had been earlier. Flicking fingers, Jareth made the dishes to disappear, then picked the books from the small stack, against his better judgement feeling curious to see which ones she found to be of interest of hers. His lips twitched in small smile at her choice - she was clearly interested in history of Underground, Labyrinth and his own people, because all of these books were from that particular section.
Sarah, why do you keep defying me, he thought, trailing gloved fingertip along the back of the books. Is this how they would spend this entire time until situation with Lucan gets resolved one way or another? It was torture to be in same castle with her and not be able to get any closer to her than he did five years ago. And even if he did, what of it? In the end she would return Above, forget about him and continue to live her life as nothing happened. Why should he nurse any false hopes? He had suffered enough.
With such resolution, Jareth pushed the books to the furthest end of table and unrolled the scroll, revealing the map of western Underground, seeking out the best routes for his scouts to Dark Castle.
"Sarah, I know there's no use to ask ye any explanation, but allow me give ye some advice at least." Hoggle spoke, when they settled in Sarah's room. "Try to stay out of that rat's sight, and keep distance from kitchen, eh?"
Sarah grimaced at his words. It was almost the same thing she heard earlier from Jareth, only Hoggle said it more friendly manner. She had curled on armchair in front of fireplace, legs tucked against her chest, while her friends sat on cushions they placed on floor next to her, basking in soft warmth of flames.
"Ludo protect Sawah." The beast growled.
"Protect me? From what...or whom?" Sarah blinked, confused.
"He... bad." Ludo once again flashed fangs, glaring at the door as if Jareth was standing on the other side in battle position.
"Not bad idea." Hoggle nodded. "Let him watch over ya, and keep ya and king safe from each other. Who knows what that rat gets in mind, but he's not bad leader, and I says, we don't want to lose 'im if ya happen to have another nice torment idea in mind."
"You don't think that simplest solution would be to just send me back home?" Sarah suggested, but in response she got triple-voiced 'NO!', and she had to back down, being outnumbered.
The silence fell over the room. In attempt to somehow break it and distract them from the issue with her and Jareth, Sarah recalled her missing jewelry. Delighted to have something else to think about - and be useful in at least something - her friends launched into the search mission.
Sniffing through every drawer, shaking out every piece of clothing, even sniffing all nooks and corners, the treasure hunters were forced to admit that the chainlet definitely was not in this room. Quietly like shadows, avoiding run-in with the king, together they sneaked to the throne room. After thorough examination of it, during which Ludo even tried to tear the throne itself from its base, once again they had to admit defeat.
"I haven't been in many other rooms - only library, kitchen, and... the goblin common room, unless... " Sarah hesitated and glanced at Hoggle. "Unless you pulled it into nose..."
"Nose?" Sir Didymus reached to grab Hoggle's large nose to literally check it, but Hoggle, taking the hint, smacked his paw aside and made such offended face that instantly got Sarah apologizing.
"I need that jewelry of yous less than worm needs shoes." He grumbled.
"When and where thou wore it the very last time?" Sir Didymus dissolved the momentary tension with logical question.
"I haven't taken it off since Irene gifted it to me." Sarah shook her head. She did not removed it even when bathing. It felt like a lucky charm to her for some reason. Now her luck had lessened considerably.
"Ye not show yerself around much, go back to yer room, we goes to check those other places." Hoggle suggested, though by saying we, he ended up meaning himself and Sir Didymus, because Ludo, just in case, escorted Sarah back to her chambers.
But some time later, both friends returned, swearing up and down that despite involving every goblin, elf and firey in searching through the common room and kitchen, the mission failed miserably. The knight stated that the junklady even tried to convince him to take one of old, ragged toys from her junk stack, hoping that it would ease the loss and might cheer the girl up.
"Forgive us, Sarah," Hoggle snorted, "but we did not took that stuff. It looked like junklady pulled it from her...ahem... well, ya know... But it looks like yer chainlet is gone without trace."
"Too bad, but that's alright." Sarah comforted her friends who looked very upset and disappointed for inability to help her. "Don't worry, I'm sure that sooner or later we will find it."
"That tousled..." Hoggle did not finished sentence, but it was clear that he, as usual, had his own opinion about mysterious disappearance.
It did not took long before not only Jareth's, but everyone else's astonishment for Ludo's strange behavior only increased.
Every time when Goblin king happened to be anywhere near, the beast moved unusually stiffly and sideways, step by step. Once, running into the king in doorway, Ludo stopped, pressing huge paws in sides - identically as Jareth did it as well - and did not even tried to make way out of respect to his Majesty. After irate-fueled staring contest, Ludo growled, demonstrating his fangs, and once again made a step sideways, freeing small gap for Jareth to squeeze through, still blocking his back from view completely.
For one second, Jareth thought he saw Ludo having four legs, but then decided it was probably just shadow playing tricks on his eyesight. The goblins, and, of course, their king too guessed that Ludo was hiding something, but so far no one hadn't risked to approach this partisan from behind.
No one, Jareth included, had no clue that it was Sarah, hiding behind Ludo's back. Or rather, she was being hidden against her will, finding such manner of moving around more than annoying, especially because she was anything but afraid to run into Jareth somewhere.
After two days of seeing Ludo's back in close proximity, Sarah was so fed up with it, she settled in her room for long stay. Ludo, of course, followed her and only when she finally convinced him that she's not planning to go out anytime soon, he did shuffled away. Once he vanished around the corner, Sarah slammed the door shut and sighed in relief. Even sitting in library was getting problematic, because it used to be her hideout, a place where to be alone, but as much as she loved Ludo, he was constantly in her face, in case if Jareth would show up.
"M'lady?" An hour or so later, Sir Didymus poked his head inside the room. "Why are thou sitting alone?"
"And what would you want me to do?" Sarah grumbled. "Do you think walking around the castle behind huge, red furry wall is giving me any joy? I can't take it anymore!"
"But...Sir Ludo is protecting thee, m'lady!" The knight replied, surprised.
"I'm no Rachel Marron in desperate need for bodyguard!" Sarah snapped without thinking. "And if Jareth will happen to have desire to touch me with so much as his pinky, I'll handle him myself, thank you very much!"
"But... but..." Sir Didymus tried to find some argument to convince her. "But... he owns magic."
"And I own my fists." Sarah retorted - and she had already put one of said fists in use before. Her friends knew of it very well, though they agreed to keep it among themselves.
The knight searched for right words, but apparently could not find any at the moment. "Who is this Rahel...Malon?" He finally asked a little timidly.
"Famous singer. And it's Rachel. By the way, Marron." Sarah's mood still hadn't improved, and she murmured something about someone in need to wash their ears.
"But what she's got to do with Ludo?" Sir Didymus persistently inquired.
Marron and Ludo? Now that would be a power couple, Sarah thought, a chuckle finally escaping her lips. "She has nothing to do with Ludo." But seeing the knight's unhappy, confused face, she sighed heavily and began slow, patient explanation about movies, how they are made, what are actors, and what they do.
When she had finished the educational lecture, Sir Didymus looked like he either did not understood a thing or expected her to continue. With wide eye and gaping mouth, he silently stared at Sarah - who eventually realized that he's interested in the connection between Ludo and Rachel Marron.
Sarah patiently went on, retelling the plot of the movie The Bodyguard. Sir Didymus' expression changed to deep interested one, even though the girl doubted he actually understood much of what she was telling him.
"So..." He finally spoke, when Sarah finished. "Thee say Ludo is like the noble knight in movie, that... Frank... or whatshisname..."
"Mhm. Frank Farmer, but he's actually fictional character, played by an actor, understood? And actor's real name is Kevin Costner."
"But...if thee doth no wish to be protected by Ludo, maybe I can go and get that Kevin?"
"I do not want to be protected!" Sarah exclaimed loudly. "Not Ludo, nor Costner, not anyone else! I can take a bloody good care of myself and my life!"
Sir Didymus retreated a little bit in fright - yes, he was brave, but Sarah too was a force to be reckoned with - and if they were not friends, now the next logical action would've been disappearing very far away, and so he was even more confused when Sarah suddenly burst in laughter. In her mind, she suddenly clearly pictured how Hoggle and Sir Didymus with Jareth's crystals in hands suddenly breaks into famous actor's house, kidnaps him and takes him to Goblin kingdom and tasks him with playing real life bodyguard to one angry fury. After such, undoubtedly, traumatic endeavor, all L.A. therapists would have full hands of work - as well as Hollywood script writers, because they would have enough ideas for new stories to last for the next decade or so.
"Sir Didymus, don't get me wrong." Sarah looked at her friend, amused. "I don't need protection against Jareth. I'll be fine. Please, tell Ludo to better stick to the king, if I'm around, alright?"
Sir Didymus nodded silently and walked out of room backwards, not letting his gaze off Sarah. He had to find Ludo and pass him message about the change of protection subject. Besides, after soaking up the information about movie business industry, he felt the need to think a little. Alone.
In the meantime, Jareth was not sitting, twiddling his thumbs. While his strategic companion, Sir Didymus, was busy elsewhere, the king decided to finally learn Ludo's secret, because this sideways walking tall boy was slowly getting on his nerves.
The best way how do gain information, was to corner Hoggle who surely knew everything and who could make more than two words per sentence. However, catching the dwarf, which Jareth accomplished in no time, turned to be the easiest part. Getting confession from him, now that was challenge. Surprisingly enough, Hoggle swore up and down that he knows nothing of Ludo's behavioral changes, forcing Jareth to use well-tested threat methods. Sceptic as he was, whether or not the king would pull through with the promise to dip him into Bog, Hoggle eventually decided it was not worth to push his luck too far and unwillingly revealed what...or who was hiding behind Ludo's back.
So, that extra pair of legs was no illusion after all, Jareth thought in satisfaction.
He let the dwarf to make quick escape, and strode off in hope to meet '2 in 1' combination somewhere in castle. His hopes were almost instantly lived up, because Ludo appeared in the end of hallway, coming straight toward the king, once again greeting him with juicy growl instead of polite greeting. Jareth stood in middle of hallway, holding his hand up to stop the beast in his tracks.
"Ludo, could it be that you're hiding Sarah again?" He asked in seemingly nonchalant voice.
Without saying a word, Ludo demonstratively turned his massive backside toward the king, both answering the question and showing his attitude to Jareth who was left gaping in disbelief. I knew that her presence will affect my authority at least in eyes of these three, he thought, irritated.
Suddenly Sir Didymus rushed up to Ludo, and the beast bent even lower to listen what the knight was whispering in his ear. The view in front of Jareth, confirmed that Sarah indeed was nowhere near. Sir Didymus, though, only now noticing the king, jumped away from Ludo's ear as if it had bitten him, quickly spun around and run away. But Ludo... slowly turned around and stomped closer to the king.
Jareth was no coward, but something about this situation made his insides perform somersault. He abandoned idea of further questions and turned to walk away, but Ludo followed close behind. When Jareth stopped, so did Ludo. If Jareth sat down, Ludo stood by his side like huge wall. No amount of scolding or orders had no effect on him. Has he gone deaf all of a sudden, Jareth was only inch away from using magic to get rid of the beast.
Five minutes after settling in throne hall - with Ludo firmly standing right next to the throne - Jareth caught the glimpse of Sir Didymus again, passing by. He gave ear-splitting whistle, making the fox to stop and come back.
"What did you told him?" He nodded sharply toward Ludo. "Why he's following me like shadow? Even my mother hasn't been following me so much since I turned fifty!"
"Ah, Your Majesty!" The knight did not even tried to avoid the answer like Hoggle did it before. "He's only following Sarah's order to protect you from her!"
"A WHAT?!" That was all Jareth could say, because he caught the glimpse of raven haired mistress of Ludo, and in same instant the beast moved right in front of the king, who could not get out of this siege as strange as it was.
As he made a single step, he saw a huge, furry wall that resumed the sideway maneuvers again. But Jareth HAD to speak with Sarah! How dare she order around his subjects, and even worse, they listened to her. That was too much! If I will get rid of this wall, I'll have serious talk with Sarah about this, Jareth gritted his teeth.
Few times fruitlessly attempting to get past the obtrusive guard, Jareth finally prepared to give a solid kick straight into Ludo's backside, but luckily his reflexes caught him before he finished the swing, because Ludo abruptly stepped aside and with target lost, the kick would've knocked the king himself on the floor.
The reason for Ludo's maneuver, very simple - Sarah was gone from the view.
By the sunset, Jareth was close to nervous breakdown, as if he didn't had enough problems to deal with already. He was silently debating very un-noble idea to send Ludo to Lucan, so the beast would stick to his face, because Jareth himself turned to be unable to get free from huge, persistent shadow. And Sarah, as if on spite, circled around the castle more than usual, as if deliberately showing up in same rooms where Jareth was, which meant only one thing - the best part of day, the king was forced to look into Ludo's fur so closely, he would've been able to count the fleas in ginger wool if there were any.
With last bit of strength, Jareth walked into the throne room and collapsed in seat, but Ludo took his position beside the king. But it was not meant for Jareth to look at multicolored world for long, because quick footsteps caught his ears...and Ludo blocked the view again.
Jareth's nerves snapped. He jumped on seat, balancing on armrests, and, propping his head on Ludo's head, right between the horns, shouted on top of his lungs. "Sarah! Get this beast of yours away from me! If not, blame yourselves! Both of you!"
"No one ever taught you that if you want something, learn to use the magic word and say 'please', and preferably in nicer tone?" Sarah glanced up from where she was in doorway, talking to one of goblins, and her eyes widened in slight surprise, then her lips twitched, seeing the sight of Jareth's head peeking above her friend's, reminding her of one other Labyrinth inhabitant with very talking second head... or was it hat? "Your body finally suits your big ego, your highness." She giggled.
By the Underground, why did I let this obnoxious woman in my castle? What I was thinking...if I was thinking at all? Jareth's teeth clenched audibly, glaring at Sarah, his hands itching to make crystal and trap her into another dream...or maybe nightmare this time. That would keep her from trouble, and from making trouble to everyone else.
"Sarah, could you be so kind and tell your... friend... to stop following me for the rest of my life? I can't separate the colors anymore. Please." He added the last word, giving decent effort to sound nice, when in fact all he wanted was to swear profanities which she wouldn't understand anyway, unless she knew his people language, but the tone would've given enough hint of context.
Puzzled, Sarah glanced at Ludo and nodded. The beast fidgeted, then, without warning, made a step aside, because he was not happy that Jareth used his head as support for his own. But Jareth for the second time today nearly lost his balance. For a second it looked like he decided to learn the basics in flying lesson for dummies, this time without taking his alternative barn owl shape.
Struggling to maintain the upright position, swaying wings - sorry, arms - in weird manner, Jareth jumped down from throne, with relieved conclusion that his body submits to the gravity as it should. With only a little unsteady steps, he crossed the room towards Sarah, fuming in double - for her to command his subjects and them obeying her, even if latter part was not her fault directly - and towered over her menacingly.
"And where do you think you're going?" There was no hint of earlier polite tone which was only ruse to get Ludo off him - and it had worked. With satisfaction, Jareth watched her jerking back from his icy cold tone.
"Just having a walk. No big deal." Sarah snapped back, but with much less confidence. The goblin she had been talking to, was long gone, too smart to not even witness whatever was going on between her and their kingy.
"No big deal? Commanding around my subjects is not big deal to you? What else you have in mind to make everything so hard for everyone around you?" Jareth venomously spat. "I'm sure you haven't run out of ideas, have you?"
In Sarah's eyes, the king could read all truth about himself and clear directions where he should go. The girl sighed, giving sour look at Ludo, but then suddenly her eyes widened in something that could only be described as look of pure horror. With no other word, she spun around and run away as if devil himself was chasing her, gone before Jareth could blink.
I'm getting too old for this, Jareth thought, irritated, but also a little curious what had bitten her to send her into such run. Mortals... this one was completely unpredictable human being. If only she was the sole problem, he could deal with it, but he had enough on his plate without her.
Ludo hesitated for a while, then waved his huge paw, and stomped out of throne room, following Sarah. And it was the first time today, when Jareth felt genuine joy and relief.
Well done, Sarah, you finally did it - you completely pissed off the Goblin king!
She couldn't believe that only recently she had thought about making up to Jareth about her latest actions. Upon hearing his yell, she had reacted without thinking with her response, not taking well being shouted at, when there was no reason. Of course, the picture of his head propped onto Ludo's... it had been hilarious, but now Sarah thought she have to say a few words to the knight. Ludo's actions toward her was completely needless, and pointless toward the king. And, most importantly, she never had meant seriously what she said about Ludo sticking to the king. Someone here takes everything way too literally... Suddenly Sarah recalled the conversation with Sir Didymus, and horror washed over her.
Kevin Costner! Oh no, Sir Didymus would not dare to...
Completely forgetting the king in front of her, Sarah run off to find the knight. One of goblins she run into the hallway, told her that last he saw the knight, he went to the common room. Sarah kept running on, hoping to intercept the fox before he actually does take a trip to Hollywood.
Reaching the common room, Sarah skid to halt at doorway, with immense relief seeing Hoggle and Sir Didymus chatting peacefully, and apparently not planning to go anywhere. To not attract their attention, she quietly retreated, deciding that the bodyguard episode ain't repeat soon, and returned back to upper floors. She did passed Ludo on her way, crossing fingers the beast won't follow her again, and while he did stopped to look after her, he did not changed the course.
Once again, Sarah asked herself the question - why she was here? So far it seemed that her only task was to test local royalty's patience, which gave no joy or satisfaction. Everything seemed... wrong. And it deeply bothered her. She and Jareth clearly had gotten off on wrong foot here, and she was mature enough to acknowledge that she was to blame for it. If she hadn't went through with the petty idea about those damned eggs...
Avoiding being seen from the throne room, Sarah passed it by as quickly as she could, heading upstairs, and only let out a breath of small relief when she was back in her room. Once there, she collapsed on bed and stared at canopy above. Any regular human would probably address the matter, talk it through, maybe some mutual shouting would ensue... but Jareth was not human. And Fae could keep grudge for long time.
With a sigh, she forced herself to get up and walk to the bathroom, determined to soak in warm bath to try and get today pushed in furthest corner in her mind. She did not needed another sleepless night, plagued by her own thoughts.
... She was in Labyrinth, running through the passages, desperately running away from something sinister. She couldn't see the danger, but could feel its cold breath against her neck. And each time her run led her into the dead end, trapping her, leaving her alone with the invisible entity that came closer, shadowy hand reaching for her out of the darkness. She cried, pleaded for Jareth to save her, and each time he appeared, standing just few steps away from her, the cold smile on his lips, watching her despair, relishing her tears, and his indifferent gaze was the last thing she saw before the darkness enveloped her...
Sarah woke in cold sweat, breathing heavily as if she indeed run many miles through the enormous maze. Third time through the night she sat awake, after plagued by nightmares, and when she brushed fingers across her face, she felt the tear streaks on her cheeks. For some reason the dream Jareth was the one she had feared to face since returning from the Labyrinth. The dream Jareth was the one her mind conjured, thinking of his possible reaction to her rejection and beating his Labyrinth...
Yet... was this what he was like in reality? Sarah had to admit that while angry and making threats, Jareth never had done anything to actually harm her. He wasn't pleased to see her, but he hadn't been hostile. You always thought of him as villain, and now you did everything to make him one, she thought bitterly, getting up from bed and sought the robe in darkness, wrapping it tight around herself before walking toward the balcony. Did she feared her imagination Jareth so much, she was subconsciously riling himself until he would become one in reality?
Or was it because she feared something else? Some strange feelings were trying to come to life around him, and their intensity terrified her, even if she did not fully acknowledged it. Leaning against the railing, Sarah closed her eyes, letting the cool air caress her skin and slowly dissolving the remains of the nightmare. She knew she would had to avoid the king, at least until she would figure out what she felt, and what to do with it. It was the best way, right...?
She didn't noticed the barn owl, perched on ledge nearby, watching her even after she walked back inside and returned to bed, laying awake for the best part of the remaining night.