Disclaimer: All Labyrinth characters are copyrights of Jim Henson Productions and affiliates. I claim no ownership of copyright.
Chapter 3: Another Confession
Sarah walked out of the small movie theater, her gazing drifting from one person to the next as they passed her. Everyone seemed content from watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off, save for her. 'It was a funny movie,' she thought to herself. 'But...it can't compare to what happened last night. And it doesn't help that I was alone...'
When her stepmother had given her money to go out, Sarah had no clue as to what to do. The movie sounded like a good idea at the time. Yet, there was a desire growing deep inside. 'I want to go back...so badly.' Trying to hide her sadness, she hurried away from the business streets and back towards the park.
|
The sky was becoming more and more cloudy with gloom, the rain ready to pour at any minute. But Sarah could not think of anything else but the Labyrinth, and her only friends that resided there. "What do I do?" she asked her rippling reflection in the lake. "I miss them already...Ludo, and Didymus. And Hoggle..." A few tears fell from her eyes into the dark water. "I need you." |
* * *
His ears pricked up as he heard her voice. "Sarah?" Hoggle spoke aloud. He had been sneaking from window to window in the city, keeping as little of his face visible as possible as he tried desperately to find Sarah. Having said the words, he felt them drawing his body towards her. He saw a field covered with trees, and a lake. There was a girl there. "I'm coming, Sarah."
* * *
Sarah hastily wiped at her cheeks. "Pull yourself together, Sarah," she told herself aloud. Taking a breath, she peered down into the water again to examine her face, her eyes widening at the reflection she saw beside hers.
"Hoggle?" She was so happy that she wanted to reach into the water and grab him into her arms, but restrained herself, lest his image disappear. "Is that really you, Hoggle?"
He smiled back at her, "Yes, it's me."
"How did you end up out here?" Sarah asked, confused.
"Didymus and I were worried about you, so I went looking for you while he went to find Ludo."
"Worried? Why?"
His eyes couldn't meet hers as he tried to speak. "Jareth...he still reigns in the Underground."
Sarah's face was expressionless as she nodded. "I know..."
"What?" Hoggle blinked. "But, how?"
"He came to me in a dream...he told me that everything that had happened was planned from the start."
"Well, that's not true," Hoggle spoke defiantly.
"No?"
"Of course not." Hoggle wished he could come out of the reflection to comfort her. "Jareth may scare me, and he may have planned for me to lead you astray in the Labyrinth...but your being my friend was never planned. I've never had a friend in my life until I met you Sarah..." he voice went soft as he saw her smiling down at him.
"Thank you, Hoggle," she spoke warmly.
There was a pause as Hoggle felt his cheeks flush. "Well, come on then. Let's get back to your room and meet up with the others."
"I'll be there as soon as I can!" Taking one last look into the water, Sarah stood up and hurried back to her house, running as fast as her legs would carry her.
His heart fluttering with a sigh, Hoggle disappeared from the lake.
* * *
Jareth would have laughed if not for his current owl form. "Perfect," he snickered to himself. "Everything has fallen into place as I thought it would."
He took flight as Sarah started running, wings flapping silently as he followed. "Poor predictable Sarah," he sighed. "I'll save you from this tired, boring life you lead."
In the furthest reaches of his mind, a voice thought, "Maybe then, she'll save me too..."
* * *
"Where Sarah?" Ludo growled softly as he and Sir Didymus waited in the dresser mirror.
"I don't know, Sir Ludo. I hope that she's alright..." They had been waiting in the room for a long while now. He had not told Ludo about Jareth, or Hoggle's feelings, but merely that they needed to see Sarah right away. Ludo had been so excited that he was howling her name by the time they arrived. It had taken all the strength Sir Didymus could muster to quiet him before anyone noticed.
"Sir Hoggle, where could you be?"
"I'm right here," Hoggle laughed as he startled Didymus.
"Don't DO THAT!" Sir Didymus panted. "If I'd been armed, you would have been fatally wounded!"
Hoggle rolled his eyes murmuring, "Feh.."
 |
A door opened and closed
quickly downstairs. "So you found her, then?" Sir Didymus smiled
with approval.
Hoggle merely nodded, his eyes watching the doorway for Sarah's entrance. Sarah smiled as she entered her room to find her friends in the mirror. Locking the door behind her, she sat at the edge of her bed and spoke aloud. "I've missed you guys so much. I need you."
|
In an instant, the three were swept from the mirror and into Sarah's room. She hugged them all at once in a tight embrace. "I'm so glad you came looking for me."
"Are you alright, my lady?" Sir Didymus asked, taken aback by her affection.
"To be honest...no. I've been thinking all day about what happened last night."
Hoggle added for her, "Jareth visited her in her dreams after we left."
"So," Sir Didymus mused, "he's already started..."
"Started what?" Sarah wondered, looking between Hoggle and Sir Didymus.
Sir Didymus looked up at her seriously, "My lady, Jareth is trying to get you to return to him in the Underground. We didn't want any harm to come to you, so we wanted to tell you right away."
Sarah turned away from them, biting her lip. Jareth knew her feelings before she had. He knew that she wanted to go back to the Underground. 'Is that such a bad thing?' she asked herself. 'Wouldn't I be happier there? More than this plain world I live in now?'
"Sarah?" Hoggle brought her back from her reverie. He seemed sad as he watched her, as if he too knew her thoughts. "Are you...wanting to return to the Underground?"
It took a moment for Sarah to nod. "Yes."
"But why? Aren't you happy here?" Sir Didymus asked.
"I thought I could be. I thought that it would be enough to live in this world and at least maintain contact with yours. But...where's the sense in that? The Underground has the kind of life that I've wished for. Toby is safe now, so I can make the decision I considered when I last faced Jareth."
Ludo, no longer confused, finally burbled happily, "Sarah come back?"
Offering a smile to him, she nodded. "Yes. I have to come back."
Hoggle tried hard not to frown. "You know what this means, don't you?" Sarah looked at him as he continued. "You'll...you'll have to ask Jareth to take you back there. He's the only one who can do it."
"That's right." Didymus agreed. "Are you sure this is what you want, my lady?"
No matter how much she searched inside her, the answer always came out the same. "Yes."
 |
A flutter outside her window
announced the presence of a white owl outside. Sir Didymus growled at its
scent, but tried to calm himself in front of Sarah. "It's him."
Hoggle stumbled backward, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I...I guess we should leave them alone then..." Sarah looked towards Hoggle, hesitant to see him leave so soon. But she made no gesture to stop then. "Very well then," Sir Didymus conceded. "My lady..." He removed his hat before Sarah, offering a sweeping bow as he backed away. Ludo murmured Sarah's name softly as he followed Sir Didymus. In seconds, her friends disappeared, and Sarah was left to answer the beckoning owl outside. |
"Come in, Jareth..."
To be continued...