Hoggle watched as Jareth's expression ran the gamut between outrage, amusement, and a hint of respect. "Really? Then how about upping the stakes?" He turned toward a brass clock, hovering in midair right behind him. With a point of his finger, the clock sped forward, hours of Sarah's time winding away in a few seconds.

Sarah knew it, too. She took a breath, then exclaimed in outrage, "That's not fair!"

Jareth turned back to her, his eyes still flickering between disdain and… admiration. "You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is."

With a somewhat contemptuous look at Sarah, Jareth walked past the both of them, coming to a halt at the archway of the tunnel. Hoggle groaned inwardly… he knew what was next.

"So, the Labyrinth is a piece of cake, is it?" he asked silkily. "Well, let's see how you deal with this little slice." The King made a sweeping motion with his hands, summoning a crystal with a flourish. Then, with all the grace of a dancer, he turned and pitched the crystal down the passageway.

Somewhere in the rumbling, Jareth had vanished, leaving a horrified Sarah to stare at the juggernaut coming towards them.

"Oh, no… the Cleaners!" Hoggle yelled. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her down the passageway.

They ran, ostensibly for their lives. Hoggle knew that the Cleaners would not harm them, but Sarah didn't know that. The Goblins working the pedals behind that huge rotating disk of blades would carefully time how quickly they proceeded. The idea was to frighten a Runner to the end of the passage, where there was a locked gate. Just as the Cleaners got close, a portal would open… a portal to the beginning of the Labyrinth.

Hoggle stumbled, and to his surprise, Sarah actually stopped, helped him up and kept him moving. It shocked him, really… that she would show such concern for him. Before he could think much more about it, they reached the chained gate.

He hoped she didn't hear the amusement in his voice when he shouted, "The Cleaners, the Bog of Stench… you sure got his attention!"

As soon as he said it… he knew it was true. For whatever reason, this girl had grabbed Jareth's attention in a way that no other girl had. Ever.

He waited for the portal to appear, but Sarah moved away from the locked gate. Instead, she examined the walls of the passage, her eyes lighting on an archway to the side that had been blocked. She had no way of knowing it, but that was indeed the way out… assuming you didn't want to go back to the beginning. With a frown of determination on her face, she pushed at the barricade, harder and harder. Hoggle moved to her side, adding his strength to hers. After a few pushes, the barricade collapsed into the side tunnel, he and Sarah falling flat on top of it.

The Cleaners passed by them harmlessly, the Goblins working the pedals giving Hoggle a grin as they went by. Sarah rose up from her prone position, her first question seeking reassurance from him that he was okay.

He spotted the ladder up to the topiary garden, and motioned Sarah to follow him. After an initial bout of suspicion and mistrust, understandable, given that he'd just double-crossed the King, she realized that she didn't have much choice and started to make her way up the ladder behind him.

Sarah's heart was still pounding, though whether that was because of the Cleaners or the King, she didn't know.

Piece of cake. Really, Williams… were you trying to piss him off? Because you did a great job of it.

Hoggle was chattering… something about his position. "I'm a coward," he said. "And Jareth scares me."

Jareth… that's his name…

She couldn't explain the wave of warmth that suffused her with that thought. Nor could she explain how… hypnotized… she had felt, being in such close proximity to him. There was that hum of power, like static electricity, that seemed to arc from him to her and vice versa. Then his scent… it could only be his… cinnamon, spice, and magic.

Speaking of scents, Hoggle was explaining what the Bog of Eternal Stench was. And Sarah was incredulous. A place that smelled so bad… forever… was almost too much to comprehend.

Then again… this whole place was hard to comprehend.


Jareth watched in fascination as Hoggle led Sarah out of the passageway and up the ladder to the topiary garden. He had to admire her spirit… and her resourcefulness. He didn't know if it had been a conscious decision to look for an alternate exit, but he found himself smiling in delight when she'd figured it out.

Then he felt a wave of irritation sweep over him, causing him to tighten his grip on the scrying crystal.

Piece of cake, indeed.

*That's twice she's used that term, and both times have gotten her into trouble. I have a feeling we won't be hearing that again.*

The amusement in the Labyrinth's 'voice' was catching, as Jareth found himself chuckling softly. "It's always fun to see someone's arrogance get taken down a peg or two."

*Indeed it is*said the Labyrinth drily.*But in her case, it wasn't arrogance. The first time, maybe. But that second time… no.*

"Why else would she say something so foolish…"

*Bravado. She was quite scared in that moment. What's interesting is that instead of cowering before you, she kept her head high. She's a brave one.*

"Yes… she is."

*Do you remember the first time you saw her? She was… what… five?*

"Four or five, yes. At that park she likes so much."

The Labyrinth's 'voice' had a tinge of admiration to it when it next spoke.*She beat the tar out of that boy that was tormenting those birds. A boy that was older than her. Larger than her. And yet… without hesitation, she took up that stick and defended them. That should tell you something about her fundamental character.*

He was distracted from that thought as he watched Sarah snatch Hoggle's jewelry off his belt. She held it up, just out of reach, insisting that he honor his bargain with her. For his part, Hoggle claimed that he didn't know which way to go… a lie, of course. Hoggle knew the Labyrinth almost as well as Jareth did. He heard Hoggle's whining complaints, his insistence that Sarah return his things. Finally, turning the words that had been almost a mantra to Sarah, Hoggle cried out, "It's not fair!"

Jareth could see the exact moment when knowledge dawned… just by watching Sarah's face. Her gaze turned inward, a slight smile appearing as she said to herself, "No, it isn't… but that's the way it is."

In that brief second, Jareth could almost see the woman she would become… could almost see what it was the Labyrinth was trying to tell him.


Hoggle watched as her expression changed from petulance to knowledge, then to chagrin. It was a fundamental lesson, in many ways the last one that is learned before adulthood. That life isn't fair. That nothing really is. That sometimes bad things happen to good people, and sometimes good things happen to bad people. It didn't make sense, but then it didn't have to. In a child's mind, things are always black and white, right or wrong. fair or unfair. In the adult world, there are a lot of gray areas. It looked like Sarah was finally learning that lesson.

Sarah was growing up.


Author's Notes:

Okay, I just gotta say it… I laughed my butt off when Jareth mentioned how fun it was to see someone's arrogance get taken down a peg or two… and the Labyrinth's dry, almost sarcastic response. He's still a bit clueless that he's receiving that very same lesson.

Sorry I missed my usual publishing schedule... had some internet issues but they're fixed now.