Hoggle grumbled to himself with every step that took him closer to the Fiery Forest, and to Sarah.

If he'd been asked his opinion when he'd first met the King, Hoggle would have had a similar answer to what he would give now. Jareth, King of the Goblins, was a scary individual.

He hadn't even been a grown man when first Hoggle had laid eyes on him. Neither had Hoggle, to be truthful… he was still just a kid at the time. His family were part of a small Dwarven clan that lived in Iftanzel, eking out a living with mining, smelting and plumbing. For centuries, the Fae there had given little attention to the various beings that lived in their lands, at least until the Goblins rebelled. Once that happened, and the Fae had lost their laborers, they started looking to others for their raw materials and their construction projects. Hoggle's father, a skilled plumber as well as someone with innate mining skills, had been drafted into the Fae's service, along with Hoggle's mother. His father had never told him what happened during that time, he only knew that at some point in the middle of the night, he and his sister were bundled up with everything they could carry and whisked off into the dark. He'd only asked his father once… where was Momma? His father's answering expression told Hoggle everything he needed to know.

How long they ran, Hoggle didn't know. Apparently, his family wasn't the only ones fleeing the Fae, and they quickly formed a small traveling caravan. There had been talk of going North, to the Steelshank Dwarves who had carved out a kingdom in the Steelspine Mountains. But it was unlikely that they would let Hoggle's family or any of the others in.

The decision had been made to proceed East, with the hope of finding an area they could settle, far from the Fae. The journey was long, and a hard one. They encountered various creatures and monsters, wizards and sorcerers… all of which gave Hoggle more fuel for his nightmares. At some point, he remembered getting sick, heard his father muttering, then heard a sweet voice singing to him. He remembered vaguely feeling a tingling sensation, and the next day, he had recovered. He came out of his father's tent with wide eyes, taking in the sight of the Labyrinth and the multitudes of people bustling around it. Goblins they were, both Greater and Lesser. The Goblins had magic, which made Hoggle a bit wary, but that wariness exploded into full blown panic when the King of the Goblins walked up to their tent.

Jareth was young then… nearer to manhood than childhood, but young nonetheless. He was dressed simply, in garments that were functional, if unornamented. He spoke in crisp tones with a hint of humor, bantering a bit with Hoggle's father. He appeared to be rather friendly, for a King.

But he was also a magicker.

It came off him in small, faint wisps that glowed blue. It bent the air around him, making it shimmer slightly. Even the Fae, who also had great magic at their disposal, didn't give off such an aura of power. It was enough to frighten Hoggle, no matter how nice the lad might have seemed on the surface.

And over the years, as his father worked closely with the King on the construction of the castle, Hoggle's fear grew in leaps and bounds. He didn't understand how his father could have such a level of trust in a magical King, especially after what their family had gone through at the hands of the Fae. His father had explained that they now had a home, a Kingdom of their own that would protect them. But at what price?

At some point, Jareth had picked up on Hoggle's antipathy toward him. At first, he seemed… hurt… but eventually began to treat Hoggle with a mocking disdain. Hoggle did his job as ordered and did his best to stay away from Jareth as much as possible. For centuries, they'd managed to maintain a somewhat professional relationship, even if it was peppered with verbal slings and arrows now and again.

Until Sarah.

For the most part, Jareth avoided the Runners, at least in person. He'd observe the Runs, triggering traps and watching the results with the same amusement that the rest of the Labyrinth denizens did. Once in a while, he would put in an appearance, usually to mock the Runner or otherwise turn them in the wrong direction. Thus, it didn't surprise Hoggle all that much to encounter Jareth in the tunnels.

But the encounter surprised him, nonetheless.

There was an undercurrent of… something… in that little episode, between Sarah and the King. It wasn't lust, exactly… Sarah was too young to experience much more than the beginning pulls of that type of feeling, and the King… well, Hoggle had seen Jareth's lovers come and go over the centuries and the way the King was acting with Sarah didn't match up with the way he charmed his occasional bedmates. He didn't think that Sarah elicited the King's interest in that way.

But now… he wasn't so sure. When Jareth had cornered him, there was something in his eyes that gave Hoggle chills. Those chills turned into full blown spasms when Jareth had commanded Hoggle to give Sarah one of the enchanted peaches.

The peaches were a trick used from the beginning. Runners were usually hungry at this point in their journey, so it took no real effort to get them to eat one. The peach would sedate the Runner, lowering their mental defenses and invoking a dream state. At that point, Jareth would send out a living dream crystal, which would envelop the Runner. Hoggle didn't know exactly how it worked, but it would read the Runners, extracting their fears, hopes and dreams, and present a hallucination tailored precisely to that particular Runner. The idea was to get the Runner to face the consequences of their act, to perhaps elicit some self-reflection, or so Hoggle was told. The Runner would live a dream, at least for an hour or so, and hopefully wake with a better understanding of their faults and what lay in store for them if they didn't make fundamental changes.

But Sarah didn't need that. She was already undergoing that change, had already understood the consequences of what she'd done. And she was so sorry for it that she was (at least in her mind, anyway) risking great harm to save her brother. Hoggle could sense the self-loathing bubbling under the surface of her thoughts, the frantic regret, the fear. Not fear for herself… she really didn't care at this point what happened to her… but she feared for her brother. For her parents, who would have to endure the loss of their child. Throwing Sarah into the living dream crystal wouldn't be a lesson at this point. It would be torture.

And Jareth wanted to do it anyway.

Hoggle tried to protest, but the King wouldn't hear of it. There was a frightening gleam in Jareth's eyes when he'd given Hoggle the peach, one that changed to a bit of mischief mixed with disbelief when he'd realized that Hoggle actually felt something for Sarah. For some reason, this seemed to annoy the King, that Sarah would have any feelings of friendship for him, and Hoggle could see the little wisps of magic that always floated around Jareth turning an angry red.

Almost like… he's jealous or something…

And that didn't make any sense. Why would Jareth be jealous of Hoggle? Why would it bother the King that Sarah had kind feelings towards him? Unless…

Unless he wants her for himself…

The very thought made Hoggle's blood run cold. He would never have believed it before, not even with his dislike of the King, but now… he couldn't help but wonder. Goblins hated the Fae with every fiber of their being, hated their tricks, hated their arrogance. And yet here was the Goblin King himself, taking a trick out of the Fae playbook and using it against Sarah. It made him sick.

Jareth seemed to ignore Hoggle's concerns, even mocked him for it. Mocked the idea that Sarah could consider Hoggle her friend. That she could see value in a person as lowly as him.

"Hoggle, if she ever kisses you, I'll turn you into a Prince."

Hoggle turned toward him, dread in every cell of his body. "Y—you will?"

"Prince of the Land of Stench," Jareth replied with a laugh.

That laughter was still ringing in Hoggle's ears as he ran away.

Hoggle had made his way to the enclosure near the Fiery Forest, using the many hidden passageways within the walls of the Labyrinth. His gut was still churning from his encounter with the King.

The Fierys… now there was a freak of nature if ever there was one. They'd come to the Labyrinth a few hundred years ago and were given a small stretch of forest within the maze to make their home. They were odd-looking creatures, with beak-like mouths, spindly limbs and bright orange hair. They were a lot like the Lesser Goblins, mischievous and full of relatively harmless energy. They also had a way of mesmerizing the Runners by getting them to dance.

One of the many tricks the Labyrinth employed to shave time off a Runner, the Fierys would entice the Runners to join in with the fun, and most Runners, spellbound by the energy around the creatures, were all too happy to agree. It usually only lasted an hour, sometimes less. The Runner would eventually remember what their mission was, and move on, only they were quite exhausted from the encounter. It had the effect of slowing them down even more.

And sometimes, if the Fierys were feeling especially playful, they'd start tossing their body parts around.

Hoggle had no idea how it was even possible… whether the Fierys were some sort of manifestation of a collective consciousness, or if it was just a strange magic, but the Fierys could literally detach their limbs (and even their heads) while still retaining movement. It had the effect of horrifying their 'victims', usually inspiring them to run back towards the entrance of the Labyrinth. Judging from what he could hear in Sarah's voice as she ran through the forest, she hadn't been taken in by their spell but had been horrified at their detachable extremities.

They chased her right toward his position, calling out invitations to have her own head removed and tossed around. While Hoggle knew that they wouldn't do anything of the sort, Sarah had no such assurance, and she ran as if her life depended upon it. The look of utter gratitude she bestowed upon him when he'd stood on top of the wall and tossed her the rope wrapped around him like a warm blanket. Instantly, she seized the end of the rope, climbing the wall nimbly as the Fierys laughed and teased her.

She made it to the top, her thankful smile so bright that it was almost a light source on its own. He shooed the Fierys away and started to lead Sarah along the wall towards the spiral staircase.

"Hoggle… you've come to help me!" she said, a flood of affection in her voice. She spread her arms out, enveloping him in what was probably the only hug he'd ever received from someone that wasn't family. For a moment, Hoggle reveled in the unfamiliar sensation of warmth and friendship that radiated from that hug. But then… before he could stop her… she leaned in, intent on giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"No… don't kiss me…" he cried, remembering what Jareth had said.

Too late. The moment her lips touched his cheek, the floor dropped out beneath them.

Ohh crap.

Author's Notes:

I thought I'd throw a little history between Jareth and Hoggle into the mix. Hoggle was always wary of him, and his insistence on proceeding with the peach trick just made things worse.

Was it a little unfair on Hoggle's part to judge Jareth so harshly when they met? Yeah, probably. But Hoggle was a kid, one who lost his mother and his home. Who had to run in the middle of the night and had gone on a journey that showed him (over and over again) the dark side of magic. His fear of Jareth is understandable, especially when we consider that he didn't know him.

And again, we have to remember that the Othánas we have come to know and love are absolutely scary to most of the residents of the Underground (that title was taken by the Strigoi later, when they were discovered). Hoggle first met them only a century and a half after the Rebellion (which cemented the brutal reputation the Goblins had). To him, they are mythological, magical, savage beings… and their appearance (at least the males) is very intimidating. Just because we know that they are honorable, loving people doesn't mean that Hoggle would have known that.