Chapter Four
Sarah's dreams were chaotic. Full of voices crying for help, the sensation of being watched, and endless falling…
She woke with a start, body immediately complaining with aches and pains from the previous night, and—
Oh.
The events and sensations rolled over her mind, and Sarah flushed, looking around. There was no Goblin King in sight.
She lay there in the bed for a time, blinking slowly as her thoughts came together and separated from what had felt like days of dreams. Rubbing her eyes free of sand, Sarah slid from the covers and padded over to the fireplace, glancing at the clock.
Four o'clock. She blinked. If that were accurate, she had slept at least twelve hours. Perhaps more. Were days twenty-six hours long in the Underground? "I wi—"
She stopped herself. Of course, she wish she knew, but something about speaking those two words again, now? After everything that had happened?
Following the call of her body, Sarah went to the bathroom and performed her ablutions. A closet full of Jareth's clothes was attached, and she picked through it until she found something suitable. They were close enough in size that it worked. The boots were far too big, so she went barefooted but otherwise wore black leggings and a white shirt with a red and black brocade vest thrown over it. She used the brush on the vanity on her hair, brushing it until it shined and lay straight and glossy against her chest.
Despite the change in clothes and grooming, she still looked like she had just been ravished. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips dark and swollen.
Turning from her reflection, Sarah went into the main room and began to explore, but soon found that the one thing she was looking for, food, was not to be found.
She could smell it, though. Roast meat and fresh-baked bread. Somewhere, not too far away.
But still, she hesitated with her hand on the door that she presumed led to the rest of the castle. What would be out there? She had asked no questions of substance, so caught up in the moment that she had lost herself to Jareth's arms.
There's no way out but through, she reminded herself, turning the carved golden handle, the door swinging inward on silent hinges.
Revealing two guards stationed on either side, both startled at her sudden appearance. There was a clatter of armored plates as the two snapped to attention. "Your majesty," they said in tandem.
Sarah stepped through the door and looked between the two. They were goblins but not so short in stature as many of their brethren. Intelligence shone keenly in their expression. About five feet and quite broad, both had wide faces reminiscent of a boar, tusks curling from beneath their upper lips.
The door closed silently and locked. Sarah tried not to look startled by it, raising her voice to ask, "Where can I find the king?"
They glanced at each other, and then the one on the right, in red armor, said, "His Royal Highness is in a court meeting."
Sarah glanced behind her at a hall that led to a wide staircase down to where she could not discern. "Will you take me there?"
The left, in blue armor, spoke this time. "I can escort you, your majesty."
It was the second time they had used this honorific, but Sarah did not let her surprise show; she nodded instead. "I would appreciate that."
The guard led the way, sword swinging at his side, and Sarah tried not to let the surroundings astound her. She had seen precious little of this castle on her last trip to the Underground, and she felt that it had been more of a pre-ordained route, the tourist view of the castle beyond the Goblin City.
This was the real thing.
Portraits and scenic vistas in gorgeous rich oils hung on the walls, and windows open to the cool breeze. Miniature potted fruit trees grew nectarines, pomegranates, peaches, and cherries. Ferns in wide shallow pots at their side made the hall seem like a forest and art gallery combination.
There were benches here and there, but by and large, the area was left clear, the sandy-colored flagstones cold beneath her feet. She could smell food even stronger now, and her stomach growled.
"What's your name?" she asked her guide after another moment of glancing around.
"Isaac, your grace," he said, his voice a growl and slurring as he formed the words around his tusks.
Sarah studied the back of his helmet, then asked, "And how long have you served the king?"
"All my life, your grace, as have we all."
She wondered if 'we' meant the goblins or all the court. She did not ask.
They finally finished with the corridor of fruit trees and art for the hall to expand into something more like a receiving room, with pillars and columns taking up the space before them. Sarah tried not to be wide-eyed but wanted to marvel at it all. How fantastic it was. How beautiful.
Everywhere were carvings of herbs and flowers, goblins and fairies.
There were people they passed now, too, most of them of the goblin variety. Some were no taller than Sarah's knee and scurried with a critter quickness that she smiled to see. They all looked busy, and none seemed to notice her. Several carried flagons of wine or casks of beer, and all those who were seemed to be heading in the same direction as her and Isaac.
Tempting though the tray of tarts was carried by a hobgoblin to her right, Sarah did not pluck one off. She was still unsure about fairy food after her previous experience, even though her stomach was screaming at this point for her to feed it.
Sarah had been spending the last several weeks with Karen actively dying in the next room, and though they had the money to hire help, they rarely did. A nurse came once a day for six hours, but the rest of the eighteen had been entirely up to Sarah.
It had been exhausting, and she had spent six hours asleep, usually preferring rest to nourishment.
She had barely eaten for days, and the weeks prior had been like a strict diet.
And after the events of last night?
Sarah had almost convinced herself to go for a tart after all when Isaac stopped outside a wide set of doors. They were shut but opened silently to admit one of the wine bearers. Her escort spoke to the guards standing outside the door, and after they eyed her a little, they nodded and motioned to let her pass.
Lifting her chin and fingering the talisman at her throat that matched the one Jareth wore, Sarah slipped through the doors to find herself at the back of a wide receiving room.
It was massive. More than double the size of her college theater, which sat almost a thousand. Soaring columns dominated the edges, leading to sweeping arches that supported skylights that let the late-day sun shine bright through colored glass.
This was not the throne room Sarah had seen with her friends, which was certainly not the same throne, but there was no denying that was what Jareth was lounging on now.
He had not seen her yet, his head down as he studied a long sheet of parchment. His face was expressionless, but his eyes rapidly moved as he read.
Sarah moved around the back and the room's edges, staying behind the columns. Isaac had left her to it, because he was no longer in sight.
The room was filled with the same-similar creatures as the night before at the bonding ceremony. Some of them were massive, taking up a fifth of the percentage of the available space just on their own. Looking up and up, she found a face that looked as though it were carved from the side of a mountain, with small ruby eyes that fixed on her immediately.
Sarah stared back, and the mountain gave a sidelong smile before returning attention to Jareth.
The Goblin King threw the parchment to the side and spoke loud enough that he could be heard throughout the room, which had excellent acoustics. "The ambassador has brought us a treaty, and I believe it in our best interest to take it." His gaze cut across the room, and Sarah slid behind a column before it could fall on her. One of the goblins nearest her, standing along the side wall, tilted their head, curious amusement in their yellow eyes. She lifted her finger to her lips silently, and the creature nodded.
Jareth's voice came again. "The trolls say that they command the mountains now and evermore, but they will allow for the passage of our horde through their realm without resistance. They will even assist us where they can. We will be able to forge ahead with our intended goal."
Sarah's ears perked up. What goal? Was this something about what he said last night, about an empire to withstand time?
"This is the last remaining holdout between us and the Summerland. They will not be able to withstand us now."
There was a general murmur from the crowd, which had been quite still until then. The sound was excited but had an edge of trepidation.
"Some of you doubt, still, after everything? After all I have done to prove that the prophecy is true and that we live in its times?" Jareth laughed, and Sarah shivered. She began to slide around the pillar, catching sight of him again. He was pacing up and down the dais, animated and gorgeous.
Stop getting so distracted.
"The unconquerable will be seized," The Goblin King said, sounding as though he were quoting something important. "Both in deed and heart."
There was another murmur from the crowd, and Sarah leaned further around her hiding spot.
"What has happened since she first came to us?" Jareth asked as though he were a professor at a lecture. Or a politician giving a rousing speech. "The Underground has come alive again. Starting with her run, and now? You have come from the woods and glens, the gardens and fields. Tell me, does it look as it does from the sky?"
There was a chorus of shouted responses.
"The winter roses are in bloom!"
"The thousand-year oak is green."
"The magic is back!"
"We feast, we sing!"
I was wrong, Sarah thought, watching him play the crowd. He's a general marshaling his forces.
His expression was hard and victorious as he shouted back to them, "And with the prophesized one in our court, who could stand against us?"
"No one!"
"The Summerland is ours!"
"Too long the fae have ruled you all, and why?" Jareth cried. "Because they hold the seat of power, but not with her—" he pointed to Sarah, who jumped as though she had been shot. "At our side."
The room erupted in noise, but she remained rooted to the spot, staring back at Jareth, who quirked up the corners of his mouth in the slightest of smiles as though he were challenging her.
Well. She had risen to many challenges.
A multi-kingdom war against magical forces where she played a yet-to-be-understood role of great importance?
Not something she had come across before, no, but then…
The only way out is through.
Sarah stood straight and proud, and when the Goblin King made way for her clear, she moved with no haste to his side, taking his gloved hand in hers. They raised them, joined, toward the ceiling.
The court of the Underground lost its mind with raucous cheers, stamping their feet or taking to the air with their excitement.
One burst into flame and combusted instantly, only to erupt naked and screaming happily from the knee-high pile of ash. Those around him slapped him on the back, and he crowed, pumping the air with new pink fists.
A dryad shifted into a tree and back, then stayed in a sort of half-form with a crown of branches at her head, fairies hanging from them and giggling as they did cartwheels and summersaults, sprinkling brilliant glimmering dust. The dryad did not seem to mind and, in fact, seemed to encourage the dangerous little creatures.
When the noise finally died down enough to be heard, Jareth spoke again, his voice thunderous. Their hands were still clasped, lowered now to their sides. "Ours is the right side of history. We will be victorious!"
This time, when the crowd bellowed, Jareth tugged on her hand, pulling her toward the back of the dais his massive gold and silver throne sat on. She eyed it as they passed, noting how similar it was to their pendants. It looked almost alive, as though it could bite.
She wondered if it could.
"Did you think I would not know you were there?" Jareth asked when they had exited through a door to a modest-sized chamber with a table and chairs enough for six people. "I can feel everyone in my kingdom, and I especially want to know where you are."
"I figured it was a fifty-fifty chance you knew," she admitted, pulling her hand from his.
He paused and glanced down at her feet, waving his hand to give her a pair of boots the same as his own, but these fit her like second skin. "I should have thought to provide you with a wardrobe," he mused off-handedly, catching her eye and giving a crooked half-smile.
"Your clothes fit okay. At least I wasn't wrapped in a sheet."
Jareth grinned and beckoned her on. They went through the next door into a hall, nodding to the guards, who both bowed.
The hall was wide enough that they could walk side by side, and they did, passing guards along the way who gave tilts of their helmeted heads.
A long rug was sweeping before them, cream with silver and gold designs. Birds and flowers. No windows here, but plenty of artwork to get her eye caught. All the same, her head was buzzing with all that had just transpired.
"What happened back there? I think I need some answers."
"You shall have them," Jareth assured her. "I remind you that I requested some of your time, which you have granted. I need some of it now."
"What does that mean?"
"That we're at war, precious, and that requires much of a king's attention." He stopped them where they were, reaching out to grasp her shoulders. "I can arrange for anything you wish. Do you want books? A tutor so you know more of our history? A guide to the castle? I ask that you wait until this evening, Sarah mine. Then I will be yours, and all your questions can be answered."
She gazed at him and tried not to feel he was giving her the brush-off.
He had a point. He was royalty. Only—
"You said you were fae, but in there just now you said—"
"Please," he interrupted. "This evening. Everything. I promise."
She sighed. "Very well. What about my friends? Can I visit them?"
"Of course. You'll find Hoggle in the gardens. You," he gestured to one of the nearby guards, who seemed the least like they were eavesdropping. "Take our lady Sarah to her friend and anything else she asks of you."
"Sire," the guard snapped to, bowing deeply and lifting their visor. It was, she was somewhat surprised to see, a human-looking woman with red hair and freckles.
Jareth bent and kissed Sarah, the motion so swift that she barely reacted before he pulled away, smiling regretfully before striding back down the hall the way they had come.
Sarah watched him go for a moment, then turned to her escort. "What do I call you?"
"Neira, your grace." The woman's smile was hesitant. "This way to the gardens."
Neira bowed again and led them further down the hall, though they took one of the first available doors on the left. They had passed many of these along the way, and there was little to distinguish one from the next.
The moment they were through, the scent of food grew thick. Sarah stumbled, her stomach giving a lurch of protest and her body washing over with fatigue that was all lack of fuel. "Wait," she said, stopping them in a richly appointed sitting room. Where were they? "I need something to eat. Can we make a detour?"
"Of course," Neira said, inclining her head. She had removed her helmet and had it tucked under her arm, revealing a thick braid of hair and a face that would have been beautiful if not for how many times her nose had been broken and the scars across one brow and down her cheek. "The kitchens are just through here," she motioned to the next door.
Their noise reached Sarah as soon as they were through and curving down a ramped corridor to the cavern-like kitchens.
Fires dominated either end of the room, with pots and wrought iron apparatus. She would have little clue what to do with sitting near the flickering flames. Long tables where various creatures were hard at work on multiple dishes took up the center of the space, two rows. People called out, "Behind!" or "Hot pot!" as they moved through the room, which almost seemed dance-like.
Neira beckoned at a nearby maid, who curtseyed and gave Sarah a wide-eyed stare. "Our lady requires a meal."
"A picnic basket, if you have something like that?" she asked, unable to do anything under the stare of the maid and others nearby but standing straight and looking as dignified as possible while her stomach was screaming its complaints. "I'm going to see some friends. It would be nice to share."
A cook had finally noticed the little group of still people and heard her words. "You shall have all that you require, my liege!" he cried.
The kitchen went quiet for a moment, all eyes on her.
Sarah swallowed.
Then, within a minute, a picnic basket had been prepared with the speed of an assembly line. Small meat and potato pies, apples, cheese, a knife for cutting, a bottle of wine, pastries, sweets, and several other confectionaries, all stuffing the thing full.
Neira took the basket when Sarah reached for it. "I'll carry it for now, my lady," she said quietly.
Sarah nodded, clearing her throat to address those who had made it. "I appreciate your efforts."
The kitchen at large seemed to relax, and as soon as she began to turn back the way she had come, they started back into their bustling work.
Neira paused at the top of the ramp so Sarah could fish out a croissant, tearing into it without much care for the crumbs that fell to the flagstones. She could have eaten a dozen, but this one relieved her hunger. "Sorry," she said, covering her mouth with her hand as they continued, her mouth full.
The guardswoman smiled and shook her head. "Nothing to worry about, my lady. The gardens are just through here," she motioned to a wide windowed door, which showed a vast green walled garden, and Sarah pushed through it.
Immediately, she was brought back to the first time she had set foot in the Labyrinth. It had all seemed strange and frightening, yet something about that scent. Magic.
"Sarah?" She turned to find Hoggle hobbling toward her, his expression drawn down. He glanced between her and the guard, then the basket of food. "What's going on?"
She tried not to be stung. His voice was gruff, as usual, but—"I wanted to say hello. To you, and Ludo, and—"
"Yes, well," Hoggle brushed off her words. "You didn't care much for saying hello's after you conquered the Labyrinth and had your fancy party."
Sarah withdrew as though she had been slapped. "I—I was fifteen, Hoggle. I didn't know if…" she glanced at Neira and back to her friend, then decided on the truth. "I was afraid that if I called for any of you, he'd come too."
Hoggle snorted. "But he came anyway, and you accepted anyway. What were you thinking?"
This time, it was Neira who drew up. "Our lady is prophesized—"
"Piffle," Hoggle shot back, then motioned at Sarah. "Can you come with me without a guard, or will you have a babysitter?"
She bristled. "I can do as I please."
Another snort. "So you say. Well, come on. I'll take you to the others."
Sarah grabbed the basket, which Neira relinquished after a soft tug. It was heavy but nothing absurd. She slung it onto her arm and nodded. "Thank you. I'll go with Hoggle from here."
"You'll be back by nightfall, my lady?" Neira asked anxiously, her hands twisting before her.
Sarah smiled. "Yes. I'll send word for you when I arrive."
Neira bowed, and Hoggle rolled his eyes. "Are you coming or not?"
She followed him, taking a path out of the main part of the gardens and into winding ways of smaller, more secluded landscaping plots. Trees often towered above them, casting them in dappled sunlight, and she thought the gardens were part forest.
"How are Ludo and Sir Didymus?" Sarah asked as they pressed on.
"You'll see soon enough," he grunted, keeping a grueling pace.
Sarah frowned at his back. "What's your problem? If you're angry with me, out with it."
"Not here," he said, glancing around with obvious suspicion at the nearby shrubberies. "You'll hear my jawing soon enough."
They veered to the left, straight for one of the walls, but Sarah trusted her friend, and he lifted a wall of ivy to reveal a carved stone door that she pushed open easily.
They stepped into an alleyway, narrow and strewn overhead with laundry lines. Hoggle closed the door with a soft click and, extracting a massive ring of keys, picked the right one and locked the door. "Wouldn't do to leave that open for just anyone," he said in his gravelly voice, then reached for Sarah's hand. "Come on."
She gladly took it, and her friend pulled her out of the alley into a marketplace bustling with goblins and their kin of all sizes. Fairies buzzed like swarms of flies or locusts overhead, occasionally dipping down to snag a chunk of fruit from an unsuspecting goblin. They would rise triumphantly with the dripping fruit, and Sarah smiled at the display despite herself.
"You always were too taken with fairies and all that," Hoggle complained, tugging her along.
They passed stall after stall of incredible wares. Some looked like displays of pure refuse, something straight from the piles outside the city walls. But more were glittering copper pots and plates, utensils, and cups. There were jewels and ropes of chain in silver, mostly, but some gold and copper here, too. Piles of pistachios, figs, pomegranates, almonds, heaps of cashews, and barrels of honey. Casks of fine wine and mead, the owners of which were tempting the passers-by with little sample servings. Sarah wanted to reach for one, but Hoggle pulled her onward.
Bolts of fine cloth, silk velvet, lace…
Rows of glistening pastries.
Piles and heaps of ripe fruit.
Everywhere, there were goblins, some of whom seemed to recognize Sarah as they would stop and point, gaping openly at her.
Yet Hoggle pulled her forward, glaring and snapping at those who would stand in their way, and Sarah had the impression that he was far more well-respected than she had ever known.
They left the market and went through part of the city to some more moderate-sized homes. Made of curved stone and four stories tall, this one was narrow but had a tall enough door even for Ludo to get through. "In here," Hoggle said, pulling his keys out again and unlocking the blue-painted wood. "And be quiet."
Sarah moved tentatively into the shadowed space. The ceilings were a little low, considering the height of the door, and her hair caught on some cobwebs. She brushed them away, hoping they had been uninhabited, and looked around the little parlor the front hall led to.
Ludo was stretched out on a massive couch that he made look diminutive with his bulk. He was turned away from her, sides rising and falling with deep sleeping breaths.
Sarah smiled to see him but backed out of the room and followed Hoggle's frantic gestures to the back of the house.
In the back was the kitchen, and Hoggle took the basket from her, doing an inventory of what she had brought. "Very good. This will suit him well. He's always hungry when he wakes up, and when he's hungry, he's foul-tempered."
"Who, Ludo? He's not eating all of this, is he?" Her stomach gave an audible growl.
Hoggle laughed and handed her one of the meat pies. "Have one while you can because he'll eat all this and look for more. I just hope someone stocked the pantry since I last visited."
He turned to one of the narrow doors set between cabinets of china. Sarah watched him while she took bites of the flavorful pie. It was still warm enough that it steamed when she broke the crust. She forced herself to take small bites and asked, "Where is this place? What's going on with you and the others?"
"Now you think to ask questions?"
"I always ask questions, but then people give enigmatic answers and distract me with irrelevant conversation," she cut back, taking another bite that was mostly lamb. It was so well-seasoned that she wanted to groan in appreciation. "So," she swallowed half her bite. "What is this place, and what's going on? Talk to me."
Hoggle mumbled something about impetuous girls and broken promises, head deep in the narrow pantry. She rolled her eyes and tried not to feel stung by the remarks. Then he returned with a satisfied grunt, shuffling over to her and pushing another pastry and a pie in her direction. "We're well-stocked. Go ahead and have your fill."
"Well, thank you for inviting me to the food I brought," Sarah responded blandly, but she finished up the one pie crust before reaching for the next. The one was more like a vegetable samosa, and she could not help a grunt of appreciation. "Are you going to start talking?"
Hoggle pulled a stool out from under the countertop with one foot, then kicked out another and gestured to it. Sarah sat as he did, so they faced each other with the counters bracketing them on either side. "Sir Didymus is upstairs, but he's probably sleeping, too. Of all of us, I'm the only one that, by and large, escaped Jareth's wrath after your conquest of the Labyrinth."
Sarah blinked, then set down her half-eaten pie and reached for the flagon of wine. She uncorked it and took a good swallow, gasping a little as the alcohol burned her throat.
"Tell me everything, Hoggle. Start at the beginning."
Hello, hello!
This one took me a little longer, but work has been kicking my ass. Our already small team has gotten smaller by three people, and the load is enormous.
I'm also working on several projects in tandem right now. This is number 8 out of 9 WIPs.
Sarah and Jareth sure do have a lot to discuss starting in the next chapter...
If you enjoyed, please leave a contribution in the little box. It makes an enormous difference and I treasure every message.
Special thanks to LovelyAmberLight for taking a look at this chapter before posting.
Thank you so much,
~CrimsonSympathy