The Great Goblin Revolt

Chapter 13

Jareth gripped the crystal ball so tightly in his gloved fingers it was in danger of shattering. His Sarah was in mortal peril and he could do nothing to help her. The coppery-coloured dragon had her in its sights. Slow because of its size, it was nevertheless relentless as it pursued her deep into the forest. With nostrils smoking, it scorched a trail through the trees. She had narrowly escaped a couple of blasts of its fiery breath, but her luck was bound to run out.

The High Queen stood close to her anxious son, peering intently into her own scrying crystal. As Sarah dodged another close shave, their eyes met. Jareth's were filled with desperation and hers with quiet confidence.

"I can't lose her, mother," he whimpered, dramatically clutching at his chest.

"Don't be such a worrywart," Morrigana scolded, "Sarah isn't going anywhere."

He had seen that mischievous glint in her eyes many times before. She was plotting something, he just knew it. His father evidently sensed it too. Elberich glanced up from the reflecting pool where he was seated on a makeshift version of his palace throne. Gathered around him was the Firetop Fae. His scowl of suspicion was met with a sweet smile by his wife. After their many years of marriage, she was adept at feigning innocence when suspected of meddling in family matters. Both of them knew full well that he would risk the wrath of his entire kingdom and a hundred dragons rather than expose any interference on her part. The High King turned back to his uneasy companions and could do nothing except seethe. Morrigana had slipped a protection spell into the drink she gave Sarah, but she would never admit to such an act. Besides, the potion's only design was to prevent the mortal from being burnt to a crisp, winning would still be down to her own efforts.

The sound of a high-pitched shriek drew their attention back to the quest. Fearing the worst, Jareth was relieved to see it had emanated from Lady Callida. Somehow, she had ended up back at the hot spring. She appeared to have got too close for comfort to some fire frogs and was hopping from foot to foot to avoid getting burned. In another part of the forest, Sarah finally managed to get clear of the dragon. However, dodging its flaming breath had sent her hopelessly off course. Glancing around with growing desperation, she tried to find some sense of her bearings. The trees were too thick and high to see anything of the surrounding valley. All she could hear was the distant rumble of the retreating dragon and what sounded like the cry of a wounded animal. The noise might have come from Lady Callida, she wasn't sure. But without anything else to go on, she headed off in the direction of the shriek.

Finding her rival and somehow getting the firebird feather from her was Sarah's top priority. She threw caution to the wind and ran as fast as she could. Her diversion took her around the fire frog infested hot spring and into a rocky outcrop. A thick red mist was seeping out through the craggy stacks of stones. Instinctively, Sarah covered her mouth and nose with the sleeve of her shirt. Hoggle had warned her about the poisonous gases that rose from the lava pits. Ready to run as far away from the place as she could, she spotted what looked like a pair of leather-booted feet poking out from behind one of the rock piles. It appeared that Lady Callida had got herself into trouble yet again. Sarah drew in a clean breath of air and held it as she moved over to where her rival was sprawled out on the ground. The redheaded fae lay unconscious, but still breathing. Grabbing her by the ankles, Sarah heaved her clear of the red mist. She could see the Firebird's tail feather sticking out from under Lady Callida's leather vest, where she'd tucked it for safe keeping. Her conscience would be clear, she reasoned, if she were to grab it and head for the finish line. After saving her rival's life twice, surely she deserved to win. And yet, with her hand poised to take the prize, she hesitated. It felt like theft even though trickery was used to deprive her of it in the first place.

The redheaded fae's eyelids began to flutter and she groaned.

"Oh, my poor head," she whimpered, rubbing at her sore temples.

Seeing the brunette crouched over her, Lady Callida heaved a weary sigh.

"Go on then, take it," she goaded, tilting her chin towards the feather, "I warned you before not to squander your advantage. Don't make the same mistake twice."

"I think what you meant to say was thank you for saving my double-crossing ass," Sarah huffed, rolling her eyes.

Lady Callida's cheeks blushed to match her hair.

"I was running from the fire frogs and I took a bad step. Perhaps it was fate intervening after I left you at the mercy of that dragon," she confessed, glancing away in shame.

Sarah held out her hand. "Do you think you can stand?"

The redheaded fae threw her a look of astonishment.

"What are you doing?" she questioned as the brunette took her arm and hoisted her up.

"I'm helping you get out of this forest and back to where we started from," Sarah said through clenched teeth at the effort of supporting her rival's weight.

The two of them stumbled along, pausing for the occasional swig of water until the trees began to thin out. Lady Callida soon recovered enough to walk unaided. In weary silence, they started to wind their way up the steep rocky path of the hillside. The vibrant red and gold firebird quill fluttered in the breeze where it peeped out of the fae's vest. Guilt pricked at her and she knew she ought to hand it over to her rival. It would be the decent thing to do after everything. However, her kind was self-serving by nature, and then there was the weight of her family's expectations. She huffed with annoyance that the choice was hers to make.

"You're a fool, do you know that?" Lady Callida snapped in exasperation as she trudged behind her companion. "You could have been home and dry by now if you'd taken the feather. I am grateful for all you've done, but I won't give it up," she warned, "and you can't make me."

"What kind of queen do you think you'd make, hmm? The goblins would shove you into the Bog of Eternal Stench before you could blink." Sarah sneered before giving out a jaded sigh; she was exhausted both mentally and physically. The rollercoaster she'd stepped onto a few shorts weeks ago, when she decided to let Jareth back into her life, was about to come to a stop. She could still make a grab for the plume and run for the finish line. The key to unlocking her happily ever after was but a hairsbreadth away.

"I've earned it, dammit," she muttered to herself, picturing the celebrations in Goblin City when she claimed her victory.

Preparing to make a lunge for the feather, Sarah was halted in her tracks by a wondrous sight in the sky.

"Ballybogs and banshees!" Lady Callida exclaimed as a couple of firebirds circled in the air above their heads.

Red and gold plumage glittered in the sunlight as they trilled a sweet song. The two young women gasped and giggled as they watched the spectacular display. Sarah reached out her hand as a stray feather floated down and landed on her palm.

"Thank you," she shrieked to the heavens with joy.

Waving her prize in the air, she sprinted off towards the finish line. Her rival was taken unawares and hitched up her skirt to run after her. The race was on and Lady Callida realised it was within her power to win. She had recovered enough from the poisonous gas to use her magic if she wanted.

High King Elberich, the rest of the nobles, and the festival crowd were already gathered to receive the victor. Jareth bellowed words of encouragement to Sarah, eschewing royal decorum. He was both unable and unwilling to contain his enthusiasm. Lady Callida took one look at their hopeful faces and knew she couldn't ruin their happy ending. The Goblin King whooped with joy as he rushed forth to claim his queen. She held the firebird's quill aloft to signal her victory. There was much cheering as the pair celebrated with a kiss, which lingered a little too long for the High King's comfort.

"Congratulations, my dear," the High Queen stepped forward to interrupt the lovebirds and spare her husband's blushes.

Jareth puffed out his chest with pride.

"Of course, I never doubted that you would triumph," he declared for all to hear his smugness restored.

"Oh, yeah," Sarah threw him a sceptical glance, "You were sweating like a turkey on Christmas Eve the last I saw you."

The Goblin King scoffed at her observation, but at least had the decency to look embarrassed about his temporary crisis of faith.

Elberich accepted the feather from her with all the good grace he could muster. It wasn't the outcome he'd desired but he would abide by it all the same. His only option to invalidate it would be to expose his wife's protection spell, and that was never going to happen. Morrigana had been set on this outcome since she first laid eyes on the mortal girl, he knew that much. The Goblin Kingdom would always be close to her heart and she had strong ideas about who was best to rule over it. For all their sakes, he hoped her instincts would not be proved wrong.

"I declare Sarah Williams the victor and, if she should choose to be so, the next Goblin Queen," he proclaimed.

Jareth was affronted by his father's reluctant tone and had half a mind to summon up his unruly subjects for a proper celebration. However, after his beloved's swift acceptance of the offer, he realised it would do no good to further antagonise the High King. He had got what he wanted, and that was enough.

The Firetop Fae stood around looking glum but were accepting of the result. Lady Callida bore their ire with good grace. Sarah broke away from Jareth's embrace to speak with her.

"I hope we can be friends," she smiled as the redhead nodded and winked in the Goblin King's direction. "Just not the husband sharing kind of friends," she added perturbed by the fae's blatant flirting.

"Spoilsport," Lady Callida teased, poking out her tongue.

Sarah saw she meant no harm and they both broke into a chuckle.

Jareth looked in on the Goblin Kingdom with his scrying crystal. His subjects were already sozzled and he warned Hoggle not to let the key to the wine cellar out of his sight. The little ragamuffins were welcome to drink all the ale they could find, but his prized vintages were off limits until his wedding feast celebrations.

As the last rays of light from the setting sun faded, a dazzling spectacle illuminated the night sky. Golden feathers shone and sparkled in the moon's glow. The crowd around them erupted in a chorus of amazed gasps as the two firebirds danced above their heads. Their merry twirling mirrored the crowd below as the festivities recommenced in earnest.

"Your Union is truly blessed," Morrigana declared with a joyful smile as she linked arms with the High King.

Jareth reclaimed his bride-to-be and led her in a slow waltz, disregarding the fast jig being played by the band.

"All we have to do now is break the news to my family," Sarah smirked as she watched his expression sour.

"I fear I did not make a good impression on them at our first meeting." The Goblin King felt sure his charms could win them around. "I was hampered by that whole Dicky dum-dums business," he grimaced in remembrance of the former rival for his beloved's affections.

"Well, it's not as if they're going to make you go on a quest for Sasquatch fur or jackalope antlers to win my hand in marriage," she quipped.

Jareth acknowledged he'd got off lightly. She had done him proud and proved her worth, not that he ever questioned it. He pulled her in for a kiss truly thankful for his good fortune.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you, my queen-to-be," he let out a contented sigh, "but I'm going to make you so very happy, I swear it."

Sarah gazed at him with adoring green eyes.

"You already have."

THE END.

Well, that's all folks!

Apologies that my writing pace slowed to rival George R.R. Martin's, but I really did struggle to finish this fanfic after Mr. Bowie's death. I was truly touched and very appreciative of all the messages of support I received after posting the previous chapter. I thank you all for your kindness and enthusiasm. It is a case of never say never as to whether I will write another Labyrinth story. I have three unpublished ones in various states of completion. This movie and David Bowie will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thank you all again for your continued support. Best wishes - Mrs. P