Mounted in the throne room was a rather large ball of polished crystal. Jareth used it to project views of the Runner, as the Ughlánas enjoyed watching the hijinks as they encountered the various traps and tricks of the Labyrinth. Jareth could hear the Ughlánas murmuring amongst themselves at Sarah's cleverness, then their giggles as they saw the stones she'd marked being turned.
He didn't pay them much mind, his eyes narrowed on Toby as he studied the boy, searching for something… indefinable.
Toby, oblivious to the scrutiny, reached out and grabbed a Goblin by the nose, tugging with surprising strength. The Goblin yelped but didn't pull away, instead making a silly face that sent the baby into a fit of laughter.
Jareth's lips twitched. There it was… that spirit. The same fierce determination and unshakable spark that had driven Sarah through the Labyrinth. It shone in Toby's bright eyes, even now, before he could speak or walk properly.
"He has it too," Jareth murmured to himself.
"What's that, Sire?" asked Fizzle, the Goblin with the crooked nose, who was still recovering from Toby's grip.
"That spark," Jareth said, more to himself than the Goblin. He tilted his head, his gaze softening. "The stubbornness. The refusal to break under pressure. The same resilience that his sister possesses."
He stepped closer to the child, crouching down beside him. Toby turned his gaze toward him, his round face lighting up as he reached for Jareth's medallion. He let the boy play with it, smiling as the boy waved his arms determinedly.
He tried to ignore the pang in his heart as the thought of having a child of his own flashed across his mind.
"You would thrive here," Jareth said quietly, as if speaking directly to the child. "The Ughlánas already adore you, and the Labyrinth…" He paused, glancing around. "Well, the Labyrinth seems to favor you. That's no small thing."
Toby gurgled in response, his tiny hands touching Jareth's cheek gently.
"Yes, little one… you're for the Goblin Kingdom, no doubt about it."
Around him, the Goblins gasped and murmured, gathering closer to the crystal. Sarah's face filled the orb, her features sharp with determination as she moved through the Labyrinth. She paused at a fork in the passage, holding her lipstick as though considering her next move.
The Goblins giggled, but Jareth ignored them. His gaze was fixed on the crystal, his expression unreadable.
Behind him, a soft sound broke the stillness… a coo, followed by a small whimper.
Jareth turned just in time to see Toby wriggle on his pile of rags, his wide eyes fixed on the glowing orb. The baby reached out, his chubby hands stretching toward the image of Sarah as though he could touch her through the crystal. When his tiny fingers met only empty air, Toby's face crumpled. His bottom lip quivered, and then the crying began. Soft at first, but quickly escalating into heart-wrenching wails.
The Goblins immediately made to soothe the child, shaking their beads, making faces… anything to make the poor thing happy again.
Jareth remained rooted in place, staring at Toby in astonishment. The baby's tears were not random; his cries were deliberate, born of frustration and longing.
"For her," Jareth murmured, his voice barely audible over the din.
It shouldn't have been possible. Sarah had wished the child away. She had offered him to the Goblin King without hesitation… or so Jareth had thought. And yet, here Toby was, reaching for her with an unshakable certainty that she was the one who could comfort him.
"Remarkable," Jareth muttered, his eyes narrowing as he considered the implications. "He loves her."
"Well?" Fizzle ventured hesitantly. "Should we… uh… do something about this, Your Majesty?"
Jareth sighed, dragging a hand down his face. The boy's wails were growing louder, echoing off the stone walls. If this continued, the Labyrinth itself might take offense, and Jareth had no interest in dealing with another bout of its unpredictable mischief.
"Fine," he said wearily, straightening his corset with a resigned tug. "We'll distract him. Fetch the tambourines."
The Goblins froze, then broke into wide grins.
"Music!" one shouted.
"Dancing!" another added, pulling a battered drum from nowhere.
Within moments, the throne room was alive with chaotic energy. Goblins leapt and twirled, their laughter mingling with the clatter of tambourines and the offbeat thumping of drums.
Jareth, despite himself, ended up singing along to the merry tune. Toby's cries faltered, his teary eyes widening as he watched the spectacle. When a Goblin flipped head over heels in front of him, landing in an ungraceful heap, Toby giggled.
The Goblins cheered, taking it as a sign to double their antics. One began juggling rocks, another balanced precariously on a wobbling chair, and a third attempted a somersault that ended in a pile of rags. Toby clapped, his earlier distress forgotten.
Though he sang along, bouncing Toby merrily and raising him up and down to the beat of the music, Jareth's thoughts were elsewhere. He watched Toby's delighted face and couldn't help but recall the look in Sarah's eyes when she had first confronted him. That same stubbornness, that same fire, was present in the boy.
And yet, there was something softer, too… a purity of emotion that even Jareth couldn't deny. Toby's love for Sarah was unshakable, a bond that had not been broken by her wish. It was a strange thing to witness, and it unsettled him in ways he couldn't quite name.
"She wished you away," he murmured under his breath, his gaze locked on Toby. "But you still reach for her. How curious."
Eventually, Sarah would fail. And when she did, Jareth would have to decide: would he let her stay with the child she had wished away, or would she return Above?
Jareth wasn't sure which answer he preferred.
Author's Notes:
This was the 'Dance Magic Dance' scene, which I obviously tweaked a bit to make it readable. No words of mine could do justice to that little number. I fondly recall playing the cassette tape of the soundtrack in my car as I tooled around the San Fernando Valley (the infamous 'Valley' of 'Valley Girl' fame… yes… I was a 'Valley Girl') and singing the lyrics at the top of my lungs. I think I got the point across that Jareth and the Ughlánas were dancing and singing to entertain Toby without just pasting the scene.
I also wanted to establish Toby's love for his sister and the fact that he does indeed look to her as a comforting presence. This confuses Jareth, since (as I've mentioned) his experience with wishers is usually one of neglect, if not outright hostility, and for Toby to actually WANT Sarah is in direct contradiction to what Jareth assumed about their relationship.