*I do not own Labyrinth*

I shall not forget you! I have no good excuse beyond life and the chaos that it brings. Please forgive my delay and enjoy this next instalment of my little tale.

Chapter Nineteen

Wished away's

Sarah sat, knees tucked under her chin and felt sorry for herself. Time quickly became non existent in the small stone room. Left with no other choice than to remain in a bizarre state of timelessness, Sarah found out rather quickly, how disconcerting that state was. The watch on her wrist was long ago rendered useless. Most likely culprit was the dive into the lake she had been subjected to upon her arrival. And so Sarah could not even take comfort in watching the hours tick by. Overwhelmed with her own fears and emotions she just sat in a bizarrely numb state for an unknown amount of time.

A blind assessment of her surroundings proved quickly how hopeless her current position truly was. The space she was in was quite small. A few steps from one end to the other, nothing of note within the stone room. Unlike the last time she found herself in an oubliette, this one proved impossible to escape from. Hoggle's door trick would not help her here. Though she had searched all the edges, there was no door, and no dent in the wall to put it in.

It was a simpler time. An empty smile crossed her face in the darkness. "Simple, piece of cake." Sarah whispered, replaying the memories the only pastime in the darkness. Not wanting to focus on her current predicament, she thought about her past experience in the labyrinth. This proved somewhat enlightening, the perspective of adulthood and more life experience lent a new view on her memories. In hind sight her run through the Labyrinth was not so bad all things considered.

Sure, she had been mislead at every turn, but she had made some life long friends. Sure she had been chased by that horrible "cleaners" but they had made it out in the nick of time, lending a greater confidence in herself that had been lacking before.

"Truth is, that time was a defining point." She whispered into the nothingness around her. When life got difficult she would often find herself reminded. I have survived a Fae kingdom and defeated the evil king of the goblins!

The new perspective on that "evil King" hurt now though. He wasn't evil, he was just doing his job. He was so different behind the wall of his villain persona, that she now felt strong feelings for him. The memory of their kiss reminding her that it went both ways.

Now she was being held, unable to escape, and may never see him again. A large wet tear landed on her hand, pulling her mind back to the stark reality that she was trapped and her current state of despair was not helping her.

"So what do we know?" she asked the darkness. "I'm the prisoner of a queen with Daddy issues..." A prisoner to be used again Jareth, her mind helpfully added, Sarah sniffed angrily, wiping at the offending wetness. "Trapped, and calling to Jareth isn't working" She was almost ashamed to admit the amount of times she had tried that in that first few moments. "What do I have?" Sitting up a little straighter Sarah patted down her pockets and located a small pocket knife and little else, "I have a knife." she noted on the dismally small list of what she had in her mind. The image of her stabbing at the queen with her small knife was almost laughable...

"I always wanted to be the heroine of the story" she sighed in a self mocking kind of way. "Stupid stories," she complained. The entirety of her messed up life could be traced back to stories and a selfish wish made because of them.

Rubbing at her face Sarah remembered how much she wished, so many years ago, for change. To be wanted, to feel needed. For some kind of adventure outside of her dull life. At the young age of fifteen she had wished away her half brother. Now in her frustration she yelled the words into the darkness. "I wish the Goblins would come and take me away right now!" As the sound of her own words echoed around her Sarah moaned into her hands in angry frustration.

A loud and incredibly congested sniff filled the silence with its gross rumble. Sarah froze, she knew she had not sniffed, yet she also knew she was alone? Removing her hands did little for her eyes, the inky darkness was as thick as ever. "Hello?" she asked the darkness.

"Hello," Echoed back to her.

"What, who are you?" Sarah wondered in a mild state of shock.

"Goblin, " a surprisingly squeaky voice began, there was a clank, then a thud. "Skeeve" the voice added.

"A Goblin?" Sarah wondered, "your name is Skeeve?" she added, more than a little surprised, she had explored the entirety of the space. More than once. All she could suppose was that the goblin had better night vision than her and had simply avoided her as she explored?

"Yup," it said, another loud sniff came from the darkness.

"Were you always here?" Sarah wondered, "Where did you come from?" she added, as her confusion shifted to excitement.

"Nope," it began, there was another clank "Came from the dudgeon," It added and then a small leathery hand grabbed hers, Sarah jumped in shock, pulling away from the touch. There was a loud sigh and the small hand grabbed her again "Time to go." it said.

"Go where?" Sarah wondered, this time resisting the desire to pull away. Then what it said sank in, "wait how?" She wondered.

There was a now familiar sizzle pop and a wave of dizziness. Light burst around her and Sarah wobbled, blinking at the sudden change.

When she was at last able to look around herself without feeling ill, there were Goblins everywhere! Hundreds of small faces turned up at her, filling every space around her in a messy kind of pile. "What happened, where are we?" she asked, full of excited wonder at how easy it was to escape her prison!

"Took you," Skeeve announced.

One of the larger Goblins at her side huffed and folded its arms, "In the dungeons!" it said.

Sarah could almost feel her heart sink into the pit of her stomach, "The dungeons?" she complained, looking down at her rescuer in dismay who was surprisingly short and lumpy looking. Her rescuer was beady eyed, the color of swamp water, with a nose that was huge for his size of face. On his head was a helmet that was too big and shoulder armor that was too small. The helmet slipped from his head and hit the shoulder armor with a clang as he moved. Its small eyes looked around in a most forlorn and tragic way, "Yep," Skeeve sighed. Then with no further explanation flopped to the ground.

Sarah scanned the space for a door and was not surprise that there was none visible. Suddenly wanting to scream in frustration at the thought that she had escaped one prison for another, and this one was crowded! "But, why did you bring me here?" Sarah Complained as her fleeting moment of hope smashed.

A tiny little goblin that had wings fluttered near her face. "You asked" it huffed, eyes rolling in emphasis.

Say your right words... whispered through her mind. It was in that moment that it dawned on Sarah that she had not asked the King to take Toby away, but rather the Goblins.

"So I just ask, and you take me away?" she wondered, hoping for more than a three word answer.

"Yep," at least three said at once.

"Oh, well" Sarah looked around, "why here, can I ask you to take me somewhere else?" Sarah asked, hoping for a yes, or even a maybe.

"Wished aways go t' da Castle!" Said a medium sized goblin, this one had at least a dozen pencils and pens sticking out of a mess of hair. He, or maybe she? Sarah couldn't tell with Goblins, looked very frazzled.

"You always take um, wished always, to the castle dungeons?" Sarah wondered as she sat down, nearly sitting on a medium sized goblin in armor that was too small for it.

The Pencil and pen goblin promptly pulled out a pen and paper (though where the paper came from Sarah had no idea) and stood in front of her, "Name!" it huffed.

"Um Sarah," With all the dutiful dignity of a toddler playing house the goblin scribbled her name on the paper.

Skeeve shook his small head. "Wished aways go to the boss," At that Sarah perked up, but the downtrodden look let her know without being told that, for whatever reason that wasn't possible.

"Age!" the Pencil goblin demanded next.

"Twenty two." she answered absently, her focus still on her kidnapper, "Then why didn't you take me to the, um boss?" she asked.

Skeeve chewed on his large bottom lip, apparently contemplating this question deeply. As time stretched Sarah began to suspect a complication.

"Preferred method of transformation?" the Pencil Goblin asked next.

"I, what?" she wondered, before the pencil goblin could reply to her confusion Skeeve spoke up again.

"Boss magic, in two places at once. So we stay between."

"Oh, I see." Sarah said, not strictly untrue. Based on what Jareth said about them both having a claim to the kingdom it did make some sense. "Skeeve can you take me anywhere else?" she tried next.

Skeeve just sighed deeply, a sad pout on his leathery face, "Nope, stuck here."

The pencil goblin wiggled between her and Skeeve looking thoroughly put out, "Preferred method of transformation?" he insisted again.

"What do you mean?"

"Wished away's get transformed when their runner fails." he informed her.

Sarah blinked in surprise, "I, I don't want to get transformed!?"

Pencil and Pen goblin chewed (and ate) at his pencil for a moment, clearly unsure about this. "I'll put pending" he said, giving the paper a scratch with his chewed up pencil.

More than a little confused Sarah own frown deepened as she scanned the open space of the dungeons, "So, the queen she just, locked you all up?" She asked Skeeve while scanning the downtrodden faces around her.

Skeeve picked up a small pebble and began tossing it between his small hands his helmet clunking in tune with his small game. "Yep," he sniffed again, "Doesn't like us."

Sarah's heart curled in on itself, looking around at the many creatures that crowded the large room, despite their odd little faces and grotesque shapes and sizes, every face was sad. Every chin down and eyes cast to the floor. There was an almost palatable heaviness in the air. "Does the king, Jareth, like you?" Sarah wondered.

The change that occurred at her simple question was almost amazing. Bright eyes perked up, many sat up strait or even stood, all eyes on her, a few even smiled. A chaotic round of their many voices providing a resounding yes in at least a dozen different ways.

Sarah couldn't stop the happy giggle that escaped at their sudden mood shift.

"Lady boss?" one of them asked, though she couldn't be sure if it was male or female the small thing pouted impressively with its enormous lips.

"Yes?"

"Is Kingy not coming back?" it said as huge tears formed in its muddy brown eyes. At its question all eyes were on her, ranging in all colors of the spectrum but all looking up at her like puppies that had been kicked too many times but still hope for a pet.

Sarah could almost feel her heart break at the sight. "Oh, no, no he is!" she assured them, "He's back, I came with him."

"Why Ain't he here?" a rather stout one, with horns that pointed opposite directions, asked.

Sarah swallowed against her suddenly dry throat; it wasn't as if he had shared his plan with her. All he said in parting was to stay with her friends. Had he not thought it possible she could be kidnaped? Her emotions wobbled suddenly between annoyed and hurt. It wasn't like she had much of a working knowledge of the Labyrinth either.

"Lady?" Another asked this one as skinny as a bean pole, with a helmet and breastplate on him that was at least three sizes too big. "Will he loose?" great big tears stood in its copper colored eyes.

So many faces looked at her, their faces sad, but the smallest glimmer of hope could be seen too. They seemed to wait for her reply, balancing on a swords edge between despair and hope.

Shoving aside her own fears, in the face of so many distraught little Goblins Sarah forced a smile. "Right!" she said clapping in an effort to focus. A moment ago she had felt like progress was made. Then it was all lost again. Once upon a time an old man with a bird on his head told her, "Quite often young Lady, it seems, like we're not getting anywhere, when in fact. We are."

Taking that as solid advice, despite the dubious character that gave it to her, Sarah focused on the task of finding a way out of the dungeons at the very lease. "Sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves wont help, what we need is a plan!"

With a cheer they all seemed to take heart at this announcement. "What does the Lady boss want?" the small creature asked.

Sarah stood again pointing at one of the few Goblins that had wings she called "YOU!" It look surprised but came close, chewing at a wilted carrot it blinked bright eyes at her. "I want you and any one else with wings to fly to the ceiling, I want you to look for any sign of a possible escape. Any door, crack or possible way out, can you do that?" The small creature saluted her wilted carrot still in its hand, face as serious as a goblin could look and flew off.

Turning to her kidnapper she took his small leathery hand. "We need to get out of here and help the Goblin King, to do that we need to get out. I want you to pick three of the best sneakers to look along the edge of the room too. Any crack, hole, door or window that we might use you come tell me."

Skeeve puffed up his small chest and nodded once, before following her orders. Quickly he had a small group following him around the room.

It was not much but maybe, just maybe, she could figure something out.

*end*

**Up next, Hoggle fears for his life and a certain group of Fireys end up surprisingly helpful. Jareth gets more than a few surprises and even more setbacks in his own plans.**