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Jareth's Heir	By : TristramKnight Category: G through L > Labyrinth Views: 4419 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the story or characters from Jim Henson's 'The Labyrinth', nor am I making any profit from this work.

Chapter 3 – Reunion

            Toby looked up, bewildered. This man with wild platinum hair in a billowy white shirt and skin tight black pants was the Goblin King? He looked nothing like the Prince Charming character portrayed in his book. He looked more like a rock star – makeup and all. He quickly glanced at his sister to see her reaction. Her eyes and lips narrowed when the king addressed her. She looked as if she had something rude to say, but was trying her hardest not to say it.

            “Jareth,” Sarah spat, glaring daggers in his direction.


            “Don't act so excited to see me, Sarah. I might get the wrong idea,” he chuckled, rising from his thrown and approaching her. “And who is this young man? You look so familiar,” he said, gazing curiously at Toby.


            “I'm...um...I'm Toby, sir,” Toby murmured, casting his eyes down to the floor.


            “THE Toby? Isn’t this a surprise? You've grown quite a lot. You're practically a man now,” the Goblin king teased.


            “I'm only 8,” Toby replied, feeling his face heat up. 'How does everyone here know me?' he wondered.


            “It's been 8 years already? How time flies. What have you been up to in these past eight years, Sarah?” Jareth inquired, smirking as he turned his attention back to the woman.


            “Nothing in particular,” she ground out. The King was enjoying this spectacle way too much for her taste.


            “Obviously you've been up to something. I'm sure those bruises and cuts didn't appear by themselves,” he said as he knelt down and took her chin between his thumb and forefinger.


            Sarah yanked her chin out of his grasp and huffed, “Some of us don't have goblins or magic to do our fighting for us.” When Jareth raised a finely groomed eyebrow in response, she sighed. She wasn't doing herself any favors by acting this way. She was here to ask for help. Acting like a petulant super-bitch wouldn’t help her much.

            “Actually,” she began, sitting up and looking him square in the eyes, “these injuries are a result of why we're here.” There was no response, so she continued. “Erm, something happened, back home. They, uh, these people broke in and Toby – well, he wished us here,” she said, giving the most simplified version of it.

            “So, in fear of your life, you fled to my kingdom for protection,” the Goblin King goaded. He was having such fun with this, and when Sarah's face darkened in a scowl, he knew he'd hit a sore spot.

            “I didn’t do anything. Toby made the wish, and he didn't actually expect the wish to come true. You tend to do crazy things when you're afraid for your life,” she retorted.

            Jareth looked over at Toby, who was quietly watching the exchange between the two of them. He didn't see any indication that Toby disagreed with what Sarah had said, which prompted him to ask his next question. “You mean to tell me, that after all you two went through 8 years ago, he didn't expect the wish to come true?”

            Sarah glanced over at her little brother and deadpanned. He looked confused, and a little upset. She had hoped that any mention of him being there 8 years ago wouldn't come up. Of course, Jareth was never one to make things easy on her.


            “He doesn't know,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

            “Doesn't know?” the Goblin King repeated in intrigue. 'He doesn't know' could mean so many things. Judging by the looks on both of their faces, he suspected there may be a great deal which her little brother didn’t know, which made him want her to elaborate even more.

            Sarah hesitated for a moment. She glanced back and forth between her incredibly confused little brother, and the Goblin King who had a transparent look of curiosity on his face. She knew he understood what she meant, and she told him so.

            “I honestly have no clue what you mean, nor do I think we'll be progressing any further if you don't explain yourself,” he replied, his form the picture of innocent yet demanding scrutiny.

            It was like having her arms twisted behind her back in the most painful of ways. On the one hand she could keep her secret, but she wouldn't get what she wanted from the sneaky, under-handed Goblin King. On the other hand, if she spilled the beans, he may grant her the wish to go home, but Toby would probably never forgive her for her past sin. It was a hard choice, and she weighed her options for what seemed like forever to the other people in the room. In the end, she figured this was the only way, and she could only hope that Toby would quickly come to understand and forgive her.

            “He doesn't know that he was ever here,” she explained, hoping against all hope that he wouldn't make her go into detail. Her hopes were futile.


            “You mean to say that he doesn't know you wished for the Goblins to take him away forever?” the King probed. The look of loss on her face, and the horrified shock on her brother's proved it all.

            “No,” she replied quietly.

            Sarah heard a scuffling sound next to her, and looked over. Her brother had jumped to his feet and headed for the doorway. A clumsy goblin scrambled up to restrain him, but Toby pushed him out of the way and ran down the stairs. Two more goblins proceeded to chase him, but were stopped in their tracks when the heard the smooth, deep voice of their King.

            “No – let him go. I'm sure he needs time away – let's not deny him that, shall we?” the King said, never once taking his eyes off of Sarah. “Besides, my dear, you and I have catching up to do.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            An hour later, Sarah stormed down the stairs of the castle in a fury. Things had not gone as she had planned. First Toby ran away after Jareth had exposed her secret. Then she was forced to sit idly on that stone floor and answer the man’s inane questions. After fifteen minutes of inquiries about how much she'd missed him, and taunts about her friends from the Labyrinth, she finally got down to business.

            “I was hoping you'd be able to send Toby and me back home,” she told him.


            “Why would I do that?” he replied. “You've trespassed into my Kingdom, barged into my castle, tried to pick a fight with my guards, and now you expect me to send you home? I'd be within my rights to throw you into the Oubliette with your friend Hugger."

            “Hoggle - and like I already told you, we came here by accident. Toby didn't know the wish would come true, and he only made it because he was scared. Trust me, if I'd known he was going to do it, I would've stopped him. The only reason we came to the castle was because you're the only person I know who can send us back home,” she snapped back.


            “Be that as it may, this isn't like last time, Sarah. I didn't bring you here to save your baby brother. You are trespassing into my kingdom whether or not you intended to. This alone gives me the right to punish you as I please," he menaced, a wicked smirk gracing his face.

            “But...” she began. He cut her off before she could go any further.

            “However, I find myself in a generous mood. I may return you to your home, but only when I deem fit. This is not negotiable. The goblins may only travel between worlds at my behest, so do not think you can bully them into taking you. They fear my wrath far more than yours. Until that time, instead of throwing you in the Bog, I will allow you and your brother to stay in my castle and live in comfort.”

            “Comfort, yeah, right. I always find myself at home among chickens and foul mouthed little goblins,” she snorted.

            The Goblin King frowned and chastised her. “I think you'll find it more comfortable than the Bog. I'm being very generous here, Sarah. You will be free to come and go as you please, as long as you meet a single condition, of course.”

            “What conditions?” she asked, suspicious of anything he had to offer.


            “Well, it's in regards to your brother. I require three or four days out of the week with him. He will probably spend most of the time in the study with a private tutor. I'm sure you'll agree a boy his age still requires an education in mathematics, language, and the like.” He noticed her preparing to speak, and raised his hand in an unspoken demand for silence. He continued on before she could interrupt. “I think you'll find that this is infinitely preferable to a life in the Bog.”

            Sarah clenched her teeth in silent rage. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to tell him exactly where he could stick his offer. She wanted to call him a heartless tyrant, and tell him that he could go to hell. She wanted to do so many things – but she did not want to go to the bog, nor did she wish that fate on Toby.

            “Even if I agree, you still have to get Toby to agree, too. After what you did, I doubt he'll be very cooperative,” she told him, with a look of smug triumph. The more roadblocks she could throw at the stupid prick, the better.

            “I don't have to get him to do anything. It will be your job to convince him to do this. If he declines, of course, then I'll be forced to throw you both in the bog,” he announced, returning her smug look with gusto.

            She wished he would do the world a favor and keel over. “Fine, I'll see what I can do,” she told him, turning on her heel and leaving. Jareth watched silently as she proceeded down the steps. His eyes were contemplative, almost as if he were scheming something.

As Sarah stormed down the steps towards the entry hall, she noticed a group of goblins surrounding the still bound Sir Diddymus. “Cut him loose,” she ordered them. They looked at her like she'd lost her mind, and she repeated herself with a more threatening tone. “Cut him loose, now!” she growled. Her request was still ineffective, and she was reaching the end of her patience. She made a move towards one of the guards when a voice rang out behind her.


            “Do as she says,” Jareth commanded, glaring at them to speed up the process. As they removed the gags and ties from Sir Diddymus, Jareth strolled up beside Sarah and leaned in close to her ear.

            “It always helps to say please,” he whispered. He smirked as she turned her head away and crouched down to help her friend.

            “Cowardly swine! Had I been on my toes I would've defeated the lot of you!” the fox cried.

            “Don't worry, Sir Diddymus, it's all over now. Let's just go find Toby. Did you see him run out?” she asked.

            “I believe I saw him run out and to the left – perhaps to the south side of the city,” he informed her. “Don't worry milady, my tracking skills are equally as proficient as my fighting skills. We'll find him in no time.”

            “I certainly hope so,” she muttered under her breath as they left the castle. She didn't even bother to respond when Jareth heckled her to “come home before dinner”. Sir Diddymus climbed onto the back of his trusty hound, and they made their way to the south side of the small city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Toby wasn't sure how long he'd been running. Every muscle in his legs screamed at him to stop, but he kept going until his legs finally gave out. He tumbled to the ground, narrowly missing a sleeping goblin who, upon Toby's fall, woke up and yelled obscenities at him before turning over and going back to sleep. Toby didn't care about the foul-mouthed goblin, nor did he care about his stinging palms and scraped knees. He sat up and looked around. He didn't know where he was. He was surrounded on all sides by dilapidated buildings. The scent of fried chicken wafted out of the house next to him. If he strained hard enough, he could even hear the high-pitched conversation of the occupants.

            “Says he saw a girl, he did. Same one he saw back when he was a castle guard. You know – the one who wished away her baby brother and beat the Master's Labyrinth. Pretty thing, she is. Her baby brother was with 'er, too – or so Icky said. He's still a little 'un, but a hell of a lot bigger than he was before,” said an anonymous female voice in a thick English accent.

            So it was true. Sarah really had wished him away. Was he such a terrible little brother when he was a baby? What if she had failed? What would have become of him? A million different questions raced through his mind, and all the while the sky grew darker and cloudier. He was finally snapped out of his contemplative reverie when a huge clap of thunder shook the ground, and the sky lit up with a terrifying display of electricity. The clouds burst open with a torrential rain that beat upon the dusty earth with fervor. He slowly climbed to his feet, wincing and hissing at the pain in his knees and legs. He had to find a place to go.

            As he stepped out of the ally he was in, he looked around. The streets were devoid of all life – save for a chicken or two squawking and scrambling to find a place for shelter. He turned to the house next to him and debated with himself. Should he bother asking for help? Would they even let him in? Another bright lightning bolt ripped through the sky, and a tumultuous clap of thunder reverberated through the ground. The wind began to pick up, and he made up his mind as a screaming chicken blew past his head. If he didn't get somewhere quickly, he'd be blown away, too.

            He approached the door and knocked gently. After a moment of no answer, he knocked again, this time a little louder. The door swung open to reveal an ugly female goblin in a dirty pink dress and equally dirty (and somewhat bloody, he noted) apron. “What do you want?” she asked irritably in a voice he recognized as the voice from earlier.

            “Um...sorry to bother you,” Toby began, remembering to use his manners to ask for a favor. “Could I please stay with you until the rain stops. I've got nowhere to go right now.”

            A chicken ran past him and tried to escape the storm by running into the house. She kicked the thing out of the doorway and into the middle of the street before it could even set foot through the door.

           “Bloody chickens – always a pest,” she snarled. She eyed him carefully, before stating, rather than asking, “You're the little'un that came with the girl.”

            He nodded quietly, before ducking again to avoid a small branch. It just barely missed his head.

            “Well then, I suppose you can come in for a bit. As soon as the weather dies down, it's out you get, though,” she said, stepping out of the way to let him through before forcing the door closed behind them. She locked it down for good measure.

            He had been eying the squat, food-laden table in the corner of the room when she spoke to him again, this time to chide him. “Now don't you go expectin' us to feed you. We only let you in to get out of that hell of a storm.”

            “No, ma'am, I wasn't expecting anything. Thank you for letting me stay here,” he said, ignoring his growling stomach. The scent of the food made his mouth water, and he looked away from the table to avoid any further torture.


            She pointed to their right at a small wicker couch with plush looking off-white cushions. “You can sit there 'till the storm ends,” she told him. He obeyed, speaking only to thank her again. He sat and quietly observed the small house he took up shelter in. The ceiling was quite low. The ceiling was a mere half an inch from the ends of his curly blond hair, and he only stood a little over four feet tall. A fire roared in small fireplace across from the couch. To his left, in the back corner of the room was a small staircase that led to the second story. The diners sat at the table diagonally across the room from him. The small circular table somehow managed to have enough room for 6 little goblins. They laughed and joked as they tore into the fried chicken carcass before them. None of them addressed him, but he was not forgotten. Every once in a while their beady little eyes would flicker over in his direction, but when he returned their gaze they would turn their attention back to the food and the dirty jokes another goblin was telling.

            His eyes rose to the ceiling as he heard the wind pick up in ferocity yet again. He sighed and sat back against the cushions of the wicker sofa. Clearly he was going to be here for a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Jareth had been watching the progress of the siblings as they made their way through his Goblin city. Toby could run far and fast for a boy his age. His physical fitness was impressive. He chuckled when the boy fell flat on his face in some god forsaken alleyway in the southeastern corner of the city, not too far from the southern Labyrinth gate. He contemplated going and collecting the boy before he got himself lost in the city – or worse, the Labyrinth. He decided against it, finding it so much fun to watch these two run amok. He was curious to see how the reunion between Toby and Sarah would go when they found one another. Would he scream? Would she cry? Will forgiveness be given? He already knew Sarah regretted what she did with every fiber of her being. That much was obvious when he’d come to collect the boy the first time It amazed him to this day how relentless she was when the person on the line was someone she loved. Most people just gave up.

            'Speaking of Sarah,' he thought. The scene in his crystal flickered, and Toby disappeared from view. He was now watching the progress of Sarah and her annoying fox friend. They were mere blocks away from where Toby had fallen, and slowly heading in his direction. Every other minute Sarah would cup her hands around her mouth, and her lips would move. She was calling for Toby, but it was pointless. There was too much clatter in the goblin city to be heard from such a distance.

            The wind picked up a little, turning from a breeze to a moderate wind. It felt a bit heavy, and smelled somewhat moist, almost as if it carried a hint of rain.

            He looked away from his crystal to the kingdom outside the window he was perched in. 'Damn it, not again,' he mentally snarled as he watched the clouds form over the Labyrinth and the Goblin City. If ever there was a clear indicator of how out of control this situation was, the violently spontaneous weather events were as clear as it could get. A warm morning would give way to a snowy afternoon, or a dry spell would instantly turn into a flooding rain. The weakening of the Labyrinth was not just affecting its inhabitants, it was affecting the whole ecosystem. Rain began to fall heavily, and soon the once bone-dry ground was slick and muddy. No doubt there would be another flood.

            He peered back into his crystal, this time a frown on his face. The fox was tugging at the girl's hand, as if trying to pull her somewhere safe. She pulled her hand back and shook her head, before continuing on the path they had been taking. She kept calling out, but he doubted her voice could carry over the wind that was pushing her back so forcefully. At this rate she would get herself and her fox friend killed, and that did not bode well for his plans. The view in his crystal switched again, and this time he could see Toby resting on a dirty little wicker couch in a goblin home. Across the room 6 goblins dined heartily, while Toby watched hungrily. Jareth frowned – his subjects really had no manners. The crystal in his hand disappeared, and he stood up abruptly. Clearly he would have to go and collect the two, seeing as Sarah was willing to risk life and limb to find her brother. It was a good quality, in his opinion, but a foolish one.

            He turned on his heel and when he came to an about face he was crouching in the home that he was viewing a few seconds ago.

            The crunch of a boot against the dirt alerted everyone in the little house that someone else was here. Toby turned his head quickly and nearly fell off the couch when he saw the Goblin King crouching just a few feet to his left.

            “Your Majesty!” shouted a few of the goblins, who crawled out of their chair and groveled. The King’s expression clearly indicated his irritation, and they knew immediately he was displeased with them. He glared at them coldly before turning to Toby.

            “Toby, come with me back to the castle,” he said in an authoritative tone.

            Toby's gaze switched back and forth between the family of Goblins, and the intimidating king before him. He was hungry, tired, cold, and he wanted to leave this place – but what would happen to him if he went with the Goblin King? Would he lock him in a dungeon?

            As if he could read minds, the Goblin King's face softened almost imperceptibly. Jareth stretched out his hand in offering and said, “You will be given a large dinner and escorted to a room for the night.”

            “What about Sarah?” Toby asked, his anger was not strong enough to keep him from worrying about her.

            “She will receive the same treatment. First we must go and collect her before she kills herself looking for you,” the king answered, his hand still outstretched.

            “She's looking for me?” he inquired, genuine surprise written all over his face. He stood and approached the Goblin King, raising his hand carefully and letting it hover a short distance from the ruler's hand.

            “Of course, she's you sister. It’s what she does.” the king replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He quickly took hold of the boy's hand, and without even so much as a good-bye, the King and Toby vanished, leaving 6 gaping goblins in their wake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “My lady, are you sure you don't want to find shelter?” Sir Diddymus asked while helping Sarah off the ground. She had slipped in the mud and fell flat on her back, screaming in pain as her head made contact with the muddy ground. As soft as it was, the impact on her already injured head hurt like hell. She stood up and felt the back of her head, which was currently hurting as bad as she had when she woke up outside the Labyrinth. When she looked at her hand she could see streams of red being washed away from her fingers.

            'Lovely, my wound re-opened,' she groaned inwardly.

            “We're close Sir Diddymus, I know we are,” she said, looking around. She had no idea just how close they were. A mere 100 ft. further and she have found herself standing directly in front of the house Toby had been in just moments ago.

            “But my lady, it will be difficult to track him in all this rain. The smell and the tracks have already washed away. Besides, you're injured. We should seek help for you immediately. I'm sure young Toby is fine. He's probably back at the castle by now,” he reasoned as he climbed back up onto his sopping wet steed.

            “Tell you what, you can head back to the castle and see if he's there. If I don't have any more luck in the next five minutes, I promise I'll stay and wait for you to come back,” she said, pointing at an empty doorway sheltered from the wind rain by a small overhang. After much deliberation, the fox sighed and responded. “Do you promise that you will stay there if you do not find him?” he asked. She nodded in answer and the fox shook his head in exasperation.

            “Very well, Milady. This goes against my better judgment, but I can see you're passionate about this, so I will agree to your terms,” he shrugged.

            “Thank you, Sir Diddymus, you're a great friend,” she laughed, giving him a quick hug.

            “Stay safe, Milady, I will return soon,” he bid her farewell, and galloped in the direction they came. When he was hidden by the curtain of rain, she continued down the path they had been going. She stopped dead a moment later when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

            “You won't find him, Sarah,” Jareth called, his voice strangely clear despite the roar of the falling rain. Sarah turned to her right to see Jareth standing underneath the cover of a doorway.

            She scowled at him. “How do you know?”

            “Because, my dear, I have already collected him myself and have taken him back to my castle. Now if you're quite done drowning yourself in this downpour, I suggest you allow me to take you back as well,” he instructed.

            “I'm a big girl, I can make it back on my own,” she countered, turning on her heel and heading back in the direction of the castle.

            Behind her, the Goblin King allowed himself an undignified roll of his eyes. In a split second he was gone from the doorway and standing a hair's breadth away from Sarah. She stopped immediately to avoid colliding into him, but had no such luck. The immediate withdrawal of momentum from her quick pace threw her body off balance and she fell into the man in front of her. He caught her in his arms and trapped her firmly against his body. Though her arms were pinned, and she was still off balance, she attempted to squirm out of his hold.

            A low chuckle caught her attention and she looked up at his face. She saw him looking down at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes and a sly smirk on his face and she blushed angrily. His grip on her became a little firmer, and the unreadable expression in his eyes turned into what she saw as amusement. “I'm afraid, my dear, that you don't have a choice in the matter,” he drawled. She felt an odd tug at her belly button, and suddenly her muddy environment disappeared. Its place had been taken by the front hall of the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            The second after the Goblin King had grabbed Toby's hand, Toby found himself standing inside a large entryway. The large chained doors from earlier were now shut tight against the storm. Shadows were banished to the corners by glowing candles hanging from a chandelier and from the walls. He felt the king release him, and took a step or two away from the man.

            A small goblin lady scrambled over to them and bowed before the King. He addressed her with a tone in his voice that commanded immediate obedience, as if time were money and he was almost broke.

            “Frilla, go and fetch Cavin immediately. Tell him his presence is required in the front hall, and that he is to check up on the welfare of this young boy, and a young women whom I'll be bringing about shortly,” he commanded. The goblin bowed and muttered, “Yes, Your Majesty,” before disappearing into thin air.


            They waited in complete silence for 5 minutes until a tall, thin man with fair skin and long black hair appeared at the top of the steps. His sterling-silver eyes swept from the face of his king to the face of the boy next to him. He continued his approach, stopping five feet from them to bow to the king.

            “My Lord, I take it this is the boy you wanted me to look at?” he inquired as he righted himself.

            Jareth nodded, and replied, “This is him, and there's a girl on the way. I want them examined and healed immediately.”

            The man nodded, before setting down a large black bag that Toby hadn't noticed earlier. Crouching down on one knee, he looked Toby square in the eye. “Good evening young man – what is your name?” he asked.

            “Toby.”

            “Toby, is it? An excellent name. My name is Cavin, I am the healer in this castle. Whenever you are feeling ill I am the person to come to,” Cavin said. He peered at Toby's palms and knees and 'tsked' twice. “I can see you've had a lesson in gravity. Show me your palms, please,” he instructed.

            Toby lifted his palms and the healer gently held each hand as he closely examined them. A few seconds passed before he instructed Toby to sit on a step so that he could examine his knees. After the examination, Cavin reached into his black bag and pulled out a small bottle of yellow liquid, a rag, and what looked to Toby like a set of tweezers. He poured the liquid onto the rag and used it to clean the tweezers, being careful not to miss a spot. Without diverting his attention from his task, he addressed the King who had not yet left.

            “The wounds are minor, but they have dirt and other debris in them and need to be cleaned out before healing. Other than that, this boy is in good condition,” he said.

            The King, obviously hearing what he wanted to hear, vanished without a word. He reappeared a few minutes later completely wet and holding an equally soaked Sarah. As soon as he saw his sister, Toby made a move to stand up, but Cavin grabbed his shoulder firmly and forced him to stay down. He had already cleaned 3 of Toby's injuries and was working on the fourth. Toby wished he would go a bit faster so he could get up. As if he could read minds, the healer set the tweezers and rag down. “Well, now all that's left is the healing part,” he told Toby. Instead of bandages, as Toby had expected, Cavin rested his hands a fraction of an inch above his knees. His knees began to itch something terrible, but he knew better than to scratch. The feeling slowly faded into a pleasant tingling sensation, and a few seconds later it was all over. Cavin pulled his hands back to reveal two well healed knees peeking out from large bloody holes in his jeans. Toby's surveyed the work, his eyes widening in complete surprise. There was no scab, no pain, and not even a scar. It was as if he never got hurt in the first place.

            “Now your hands,” Cavin said, reaching out with his palms turned toward the ground. Still in shock, Toby raised his upturned palms to Cavin's hands. As the insane itch began in his palms, the skin on his hands began to regrow. He watched in amazement as the wound scabbed, then the scab gave way to pinkish skin. The pleasant tingling feeling took over as the pinkish skin took on Toby's normal skin color and complexion. Almost as soon as it had begun, it was over, and Toby was staring at perfectly healed palms.

            “Wow! Did you just....was that magic?” he asked excitedly. Cavin smiled and gave a short nod in reply.
            “Sarah, did you see what he did? I don't have any scrapes any more...he just poofed them away!” Toby said, jumping up from his seat on the stoop and launching himself towards his sister, his anger at her forgotten in excitement. Sarah, who had detached herself from the Goblin King the moment she regained her sense of balance, had held back from going to her brother at the Goblin King's behest. Or rather, he grabbed her by the arm and refused to let her go until the healer had completed his work. She met her brother halfway and dropped to her knees to hold him in a tight embrace.

            “Sarah...can't...breath,” Toby gasped, pushing against her chest. She let him go and placed a hand on each side of his head.

            “Don't you EVER run off on me like that again. Understand?” she scolded, more out of worry than anger. Toby's expression changed from surprise to guilt, and finally to anger in a matter of seconds.

            “Sure, as long as you promise not to wish me away ever again,” he bit out, the reason for his flight coming back to his mind with full force.

            “That was a long time ago, I was different then,” she told him quietly. As much as she wanted to let her little brother know that she could never be sorry enough for her past mistake, she didn't feel much like sharing it in front an audience.

            Said audience was currently watching the scene unfold, one with a look of quiet amusement, and the other with genuine curiousity. Toby huffed angrily and looked down at his feet.

            “Yeah, well...you still shouldn't have done it,” he finally said. He was still angry, of course, but this was his sister he was talking about. This is the girl who cooked for him and cleaned the house and yelled at his teachers when they gave him detention because he had fought back against the school bully. It would be hard to stay mad, but he was going to try, darn it.

            “I know, and I'm sorry I did it,” came Sarah's regretful reply.

            Someone cleared their throat and both Sarah and Toby's attention turned toward the source of the sound. It was Cavin, who took a step forward and smiled amicably.

            “I'm sorry to disturb your exchange, but I can't help but notice that you've sustained injuries,” he told Sarah. “I have been ordered to see to your well being, so if you don't mind, I'd like to assess your injuries so that I may deal with them as soon as possible.”

            “I'm fine, really,” Sarah replied, still holding her brother.

            “Liar, you've got blood in your hair. Your head is still bleeding, isn’t it!” Toby exclaimed, pulling away from her and trying to get a better look.

            “It's not that bad,“ Sarah protested.

            “Cavin will be the judge of that,” Jareth interjected. “Frilla,” he called to the small figure in the shadows. The goblin came forward and bowed to him again, waiting for whatever command he was about to give. “Take Toby to the kitchens, see that he has a full meal. Then show him to one of the guest rooms in the west wing. Draw his bath and get him a clean set of clothes” he ordered. Frilla nodded enthusiastically and trotted up to Toby.

            “Come,” she said in a high pitched voice, taking Toby's hand and tugging it a little. “I get you dinner.”

            Toby looked at Sarah, then back to the little goblin. Should he go? He was hungry after all, but couldn't he wait for his sister?

            “Toby,” the goblin king said sternly, “your sister will be fine. She'll be along shortly.”

            “Go on, Toby,” Sarah encouraged. “Go get some food, I'll see you in a bit.”

            Toby nodded and let Frilla tug him along a corridor to the right. Sarah stood up and watched them disappear around a corner. She could still hear Frilla talking about the food she would make for Toby. At least one being in this castle seemed happy to have them here. Or maybe Frilla was just a rare specimen of her kind. Perhaps she was the only goblin in the whole of the Underground who didn't have a foul mouth and equally foul manners?

            A hand placed gently on her shoulder brought her attention back to the room. Cavin had closed the distance between them and now stood looking at her with warm eyes – or as warm as one's eyes can get when they were the color of sterling silver. “If I may?” he asked, seeking her permission to inspect her.

            “Sure,” she acquiesced with an unsure tone. “I really am fine, though,” she added, as if it would deter him. Cavin, who was presently examining her head, chuckled. He brushed close to the wound on the back of her head and she let out a low hiss of pain. He apologized quietly and moved around behind her. He carefully parted her hair and examined the damage.

            “May I ask how you got this wound?” he questioned.

            “Um...I was pistol whipped, I think,” she said.

            “What a strange whip to leave such an odd laceration. What kind of whip is this 'pistol whip'?” he asked curiously.

            Sarah laughed, but quickly stifled it. She had forgotten about the huge culture difference between the Underground and her world. “No, it means hit with the handle of a gun,” she told him.

            Jareth, who had been quietly observing the scene, immediately spoke up. “What were you doing that involved a gun?”

            “The break in, remember? People usually don't break into another person's house without a weapon of some kind,” Sarah reminded him. 'Especially when they're there for the sole purpose of hurting you,' she added mentally. That was need to know information, though, and the Goblin King didn't even make it on the list of people who needed to know.

            “Let me guess...you decided to take the armed intruder on, like the typical heroine,” Jareth sneered.

            “Actually, if you must know, I didn't decide to do anything of the sort. I was trying to get out of the house and call for help, and it didn't work out so well,” she stated irritably.

            “Obviously,” he remarked.

            Sarah's face flushed in anger and she opened her mouth to retaliate. Before she could utter the first syllable of her retort, however, Cavin interrupted her.

            “I'm going to clean your wounds now, please hold very still,” he requested. His right hand held the same tool he'd used to clean Toby's wounds moments ago. Sarah did as requested, wincing occasionally when he had to dig a little deep to get the dirt out.

            “Surely being hit in the back of the head of a pistol wouldn't leave this much debris in the wound,” Cavin said. It was a statement, but Sarah heard the question underneath it. 'How did your wound get so dirty?' was what he was really asking.

            “I fell in the mud a few minutes ago,” she explained. She didn't see him nod in understanding.

            When the healer was sure he'd cleaned the wound sufficiently, he placed his palm to the back of her head. “You'll feel some discomfort, but this will be over quickly,” he assured. Sarah made a little noise to indicate she understood, and waited – tense and a little impatient – for what was to come next. She put on her brave face when she felt the wound begin to heal. When the uncomfortable itch gave way to a tingling sensation, her entire body visibly relaxed and she almost let out a sigh of relief. The entire process took a little under a minute.

            Cavin moved around to face her and lifted his hand to her face. “I can heal this as well,” he said, referring to her busted lip.

            “No, no, that's alright,” Sarah almost shouted, jumping back from him. Why did she feel uncomfortable all of the sudden?

            “Are you sure? It will only take a moment,” he said, his elegant black brows knitting together in concern.

            “It's not a big deal – I'm a fast healer anyways. It'll be gone in a few days.” she assured him, taking another step back and giving him her most convincing smile.

            “Very well then. If that's what you choose...” he trailed off, looking up at the King, who nodded silently. If the King wasn't going to press the issue, then neither would he.

            “Well then, if I have fulfilled all that was required of me, then I'll take my leave now,” the healer said, putting things back in his case. He faced his king and bowed deeply.

            “My lord,” he said quietly. He stood up and turned to Sarah.

            “Good Night, Miss,” he said, performing a small bow.

            “It's Sarah...just Sarah, no miss,” she said as he stood upright.

            “Well then, Good Night...Sarah,” he smiled, then turned and left the way he came.

            “If you're done flirting, I'll show you to the kitchen,” Jareth jeered as Cavin disappeared from sight.

            “Wow, the high and mighty King of the Goblins is jealous over little old me. I’m flattered…really,” she stated sardonically as he began walking in the direction Toby and the goblin had left earlier.

            Jareth’s stride did now slow or waver as he continued toward the kitchens. “You flatter yourself. I was simply remarking on your wanton display. If anything, it is unflattering.”

            Sarah stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw hanging in complete shock. Was he calling her a flirt? A whore? What exactly was he trying to say? His implied accusations sent her head reeling and she couldn’t possibly comprehend what part of that exchange could possibly come off as flirtatious or loose. She clenched her jaw shut and continued following him, dead set on ripping his sorry hide a new one. Words such as “misogynist pig” and “fucking ass hole” tumbled around in her brain until she was struck with a moment of clarity. He was trying to get a rise out of her. Taunting people was what this man did best, and she was willing to bet he got off on it. Well, two can play at that game, right?

            “So are you jealous because I can talk to a guy that’s better looking than you without insulting him? Or are you just jealous of him, period?” she taunted.

            At this the Goblin King stopped in his tracks and whirled around to face her. Behind him the smell of roasted meat wafted through a doorway. She could hear the faint voices of her brother and the goblin he had left with. They had already arrived at the kitchens.

            Gleeful at her triumph, she glared at the Goblin King, but faltered at the look in his eyes. She didn’t expect him to be happy with her retort, but she didn’t expect the look of cold fury in his eyes.

            “I don’t know what disgusting habits they teach you mortal girls, but here there is a certain etiquette that is expected of guests,” Jareth seethed, ignoring Sarah’s disdainful snort at the word “guest”. “So let me give you a quick lesson in manners, girl. You do not insult your host, nor fraternize with his help. You forget that I can still throw you into the bog, and the only reason I haven’t already done so is for the sake of your dear brother. However,” he paused, raising his hand to her face only for her to flinch away. He clenched his hand and returned it to his side.

          “You make it very tempting, Sarah, and even I can only take so much before I give into temptation. So I advise you to restrain yourself in the future. Am I clear?” he asked.

            Sarah glared at him at moment, shaken a bit from the force of his threat. She nodded slightly before raising her head, determined not to show exactly how shaken she was. “Crystal,” she answered.

            “Good girl”, he replied, assuming his normal teasing persona. “Now go join your brother in the kitchens. When you are ready to retire, you will take the room across from his,” he explained, before stalking past her with an air of dominant finality.

            When he had disappeared from sight, Sarah let go of a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding. She closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down. When she had managed some form of composure, she continued her treck towards the doorway. The sight that greeted her brought a smile to her face and instantly drove all thought of the previous moment away.
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Jareth's Heir