It's Only Forever

The Journey's Beginning

 Jareth caught up to her at the bottom of the hill, moody and snappish. "Didn't you hear me? We can't get in without an invitation from —"

"Does it look like I'm listening?" she snapped back. At his owlish glare of reproach, she sighed. 'It would be more beneficial to try being reasonable. "Look, we have to try something. We can't just mope around in the middle of the desert feeling sorry for you. I want to save my friends, don't you want to save your goblins? Don't you want your throne — your powers — back?"

His lips tightened into a thin line, and he looked at the wide span of the Labyrinth before them.

"I thought so," Sarah said before he could reply. She looked at it as well, trying to figure out where the door had been last time. She recalled asking Hoggle upon first meeting him then, only for her mind to be diverted to wondering how he was doing at that moment. What was going to happen to him and the others?

"The door is here." Jareth's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked to the blank wall that he was pointing to. "We can't get in."

"If there's one thing I learned from going through this Labyrinth..." Sarah said thoughtfully, walking up to it. "It's that nothing is ever as it seems." She held up her hands, holding them against the door, searching around for a handle. She remembered the door had opened outwards the last time, so when she found the handles hidden by moss and grabbed hold of them, she pulled the door open with ease. The Labyrinth was opened wide to them.

"That's not possible..." Jareth said softly, glaring at the open area around them in suspicion.

"I guess you don't understand your own Labyrinth as well as I do," Sarah replied in a sing-songy voice. She had been right! It felt great! She stepped through, not surprised to see that both directions — whether right or left — looked as though they went on forever. Easy... she just had to sort of walk alongside the wall to find one of those openings... perhaps go to the right as she had before, and feel along the far wall for the one she'd found before with the kind worm.

As she started to do just that, Jareth grabbed her arm.

"This isn't safe, Sarah. We need a plan!"

"Oh, really? Well, how about you stay back here? See if you can find a safe way to get the Labyrinth back, while I go the hard way."

"You can't go through it alone," he warned, "there are many dangerous —"

"I did it once before, and I started out alone —"

"That was different! If you were in any true danger, I would have saved you —"

"I don't believe that with the way you were acting —"

"I'm trying to protect you —"

"I don't need protection —"

A growl sounded...... Jareth and Sarah paused, breathlessly listening for it — whatever 'it' was — to make the sound again...... It sounded again, off to the right of them, and Sarah instantly bolted to the left. A roar deafened the air, and she heard Jareth start running. The padding that was far behind them had to be whatever monster was now following them. She chanced a glance over her shoulder to see something that looked part-lion and part-goblin gaining on them with terrifying speed. With the feet and tail of a lion, the rest of it all goblin-looking... it was absolutely ugly.

"What is that thing?" she asked Jareth as his long legs caught up to her.

"How would I know?" he returned, running quickly but yet keeping a steady pace next to her.

She gaped at him, "You didn't know this thing was in your Labyrinth?"

"If it ever has been, it's never shown itself — it must have been brought in by whoever stole my throne!"

'Great... a guard dog.'

"I told you we should have waited to come up with a better plan!" he shouted. "There's no knowing what sort of creatures outsiders will bring in to take control!"

"Oh, stop! I get it now! I was wrong, okay?!" Sarah retorted as she ducked under — and hopped over — branches that twisted and turned in so many directions, she worried she'd eventually lose focus and trip over one of them.

Jareth focused his attention at a focal point in the distance and said, "All right. When I say 'jump,' we're going to hurtle into the wall on our right side!"

"Is there an opening there?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yes!... Now, ready... set... jump!"

Sarah closed her eyes as she threw herself into the wall, bracing for the impact just as she slammed into it. Jareth hit into it after her, and she watched as the thing ran past them at full speed. The opening branched into two other different directions, but she stood where she was, trying to catch her breath.

"Th-Thank you..." she said quietly, holding her hand to the stitch in her side as she breathed deeply. "I don't think... we could have... continued running... for much longer."

He nodded, "We'd best keep moving if we're going to get through this Labyrinth without getting eaten."

She gave a light laugh, finding she now had no reason to retort. She'd gotten them into the Labyrinth despite his wavering faith in entering the ever-changing maze, and he'd saved her with his quick thinking despite her stubbornness. If she wanted to find her way out of the Labyrinth, they had to get to the center to kick out whoever had stolen it. To get to the bottom of the mystery, she'd have to work together with him. There was literally no other way.

"Lead the way, Goblin King."