Where She Belongs 9

A Labyrinth Story.
Years after visiting the Underground, Sarah finds herself locked away in a mental asylum. Magic is the reason for her being there, but can it also be the reason for her escape? Rating may change. JarethxSarah.

Chapter Nine: Objects

           The room they entered was bare, and much plainer than the last. Walls of brickwork built a square around them that felt, to Sarah, quite enclosing after the last room they were in. Indeed, the only thing inside the room was a wooden table, a number of objects placed in a line upon it.
           Under her breath, Sarah commented, "There seem to be an awful lot of rooms in here that have only one thing in; surely it'd be better to move everything into one of them and do something else with the empty ones? Isn't it a bit of a waste of space?"
           Elle rolled her eyes, a gesture unseen by Sarah or the Goblin King.
           "Space works differently here, Sarah. Nothing is a waste, so do not take things for granted," Jareth replied quickly.
           Elle cleared her throat, and both the Goblin King and Sarah looked her way only to find her standing behind the table in the centre of the room. Taking it as their cue to join her at the table, Jareth led Sarah forward, before moving around to the side of the table Elle was standing at.
           "Put them in order of importance; first, obviously, as the most important," Elle said.
           Sarah looked down at the objects that she'd barely even glanced at before. Given a cursory look, they appeared to be just a number of ordinary objects; but that couldn't be the case, could it? Putting them in order of importance for everyday use would be easy... But Sarah remembered not to take anything for granted, Jareth had just reminded her of that after all. Perhaps they don't want what I think is important; just what is important... she thought.
           "I may just be over-thinking this, but when you say 'order of importance', who's order of importance do you mean?" Sarah questioned.
           Elle smiled, her eyes glinting slightly as the grin reached them.
           "Clever. It will do you well."
Her smile faded however, as she added, "Put them in order."
           Just before Sarah turned back to the objects, she asked, "Um, before I do, what am I putting them in order for?"
           Elle smiled again and her eyes now flickered to Jareth, who answered, "You're going to run the Labyrinth again, Sarah."
           Sarah blinked twice before replying, "S-sorry, I'm what now?"
           "That is your test, Sarah, your final test," Jareth continued.
           She was stunned. Why would she run the Labyrinth again? What could that possibly achieve? A small part of her was also wondering what would happen if she didn't make it though- surely expectations would be high after she'd managed to conquer it once before...
           Still a little stunned at the thought of running the Labyrinth again, Sarah asked, "So... so what about the objects then?"
           "Choose first; we will explain after," Elle interrupted, before Jareth could speak.
           "Right," Sarah muttered under her breath.
           Guess I'll just go with my gut then... Sarah thought, a frown coming to her features. She looked back down to the objects in question, their meaning something totally different than she'd initially thought. They must have something to do with my running the Labyrinth again... It only makes sense...
           There was a small necklace with a thin chain of gold and five coins made of a metal that Sarah had never seen before; she guessed that that must be the currency of the Underground, though for some reason she had never pictured Goblins using money. But Sarah also guessed that she would probably have to use both the necklace and the coins in some sort of trade, so they might probably be invaluable.
           She saw two theatre masks, comedy and tragedy, yet she could only guess as to what function they might have in helping her run the Labyrinth again. Next to that was a rope which was clearly not intended for her to use to climb over walls; Sarah was pretty sure that cheating wasn't a good thing to try in the Labyrinth. But she did remember how useful the rope Hoggle had used to pull her out of the forest and away from the Fireys that were determined to have her head was; so she couldn't dismiss that.
           The next object was a very familiar-looking little red book, that's cursive, silver writing read 'The Labyrinth'. As important as that book could have seemed, Sarah had memorised it years ago; what could that particular copy contain that hers hadn't? Besides, she reasoned, I don't need to remember the words anymore, I gave him his power when I came here...
           Beside that, Sarah's eyes settled on a perfectly un-bruised peach and she couldn't help but frown. Picking it up and rotating it slowly with her fingers, Sarah looked up to Jareth.
"How am I supposed to trust this peach, when, of the last two you gave me, one of them drugged me and the other killed me?" she asked cautiously.
           Expressionless as he replied, Jareth said, "The peach is no more than a peach; but, if you are uncertain about believing me, then by all means, why not put it at the bottom of your list?"
           "Hm," Sarah replied, still frowning as she set the peach back into its previous place.
           The last object on the table for Sarah to turn her attention to was a small statue, carved out of what appeared to be a strange type of marble. It was a statue of a barn owl- one that distinctly reminded her of when she'd first met Jareth and the transformation he had made. Perhaps... perhaps he's the barn owl? Sarah thought, still wondering at the implications of that theory.
           After a while more of pondering her decisions, and how potentially valuable they could be if she picked correctly, Sarah looked up at the Goblin King and his mysterious friend, her expression set.
           "You've made your choice?" Elle asked, her coal eyes expectant.
           Sarah nodded.
           "I have."
           "Then position them in order."
           Sarah did as she was told and picked up her first object; the small statue of the barn owl. Jareth's eyebrow rose as she placed it in front of them and it seemed that he could barely repress his smirk. Sarah didn't miss it as she proceeded to place the rest of the objects before them. That's definitely him, then, she thought, pleased with herself for guessing as such.
           Next were the coins, the rope, the masks, the necklace, the book and, finally, the peach. Sarah looked up at the two, hoping to see their reactions to her choices. She had no such luck though, and received only two masked gazes in return for her efforts.
           "Okay, so now what?" she asked, trying to hide her disappointment at seeing nothing of what they thought of her decisions.
           "Simply? Nothing," Elle answered bluntly.
           Sarah's brows creased together as she said, "What? So, was there any point at all in what I just did?"
           "Yes," was all that Elle replied with.
           Sarah was about to say something, but Jareth interrupted her.
           "As a citizen of the Labyrinth, you are entitled to these objects to aid you in your next test."
           "Right, next test, running the Labyrinth, I get it. So... when?" Sarah asked, a little frustrated.
           "When we decide," Elle replied.
           "Did you never learn to hold your tongue, Sarah?" Jareth enquired flatly.
           "No; I didn't. If I had then I wouldn't have been locked up in the Institution for my not-so-crazy-after-all ravings, now would I?" Sarah retorted hotly.
           A cough from Elle distracted her from Jareth and the feeling of almost anger growing in her.
           "I might just remind you, Sarah, that Jareth is now your King as well as mine. Despite what you may have thought or said in the past, he does have power over you; and you ought to show respect," Elle said matter-of-factly.
           Sarah just stared at her almost uncomprehendingly. Had she just been scolded? Like a child?
"Apologise," Elle said, or more like ordered.
           Sarah blinked and looked between Elle and Jareth. Both of their expressions were totally serious. A moment of silence past before Sarah finally spoke, her expression betraying the fact that she didn't think she should be saying what she was about to.
           "Sorry," she said, her voice no more than a whisper.
           Sarah knew that she was being childish, with the way she spoke and folded her arms too. But perhaps she was like a child to them; she didn't know how old they were, after all. Added onto that was that she was new to the Underground- or, at least, to obeying its rules and laws.
           "Very mature, Sarah," Jareth said dryly.
"Now, if you would mind acting any less the stubborn little girl that you used to be, we shall move on."
           After shooting him a less than impressed look, she nodded. Jareth headed for a door that had, once more, newly appeared, and Sarah trailed after him. Elle, Sarah noticed, did not move except to pick up the statue of the barn owl and twirl it slowly between her fingers.
           "Safe travels," Elle said, not even bothering to look at them as they disappeared through the door and into an adjoining corridor.
           The Goblin King rolled his eyes at her remark; he always found it interesting when she said things like that. There was utterly no point in her wishing them well; it made no difference to him. As the door closed behind them, separating Jareth and Sarah from his strange friend, Sarah piped up.
           "Um, Jareth?"
           "Hm?"
           "She's not, like, your sister or anything, is she?" Sarah ventured.
           "No, Sarah. Remember, the two of you have met before; and you've never met any of my family," he replied simply.
           "Right..." she said, crossing that idea from her imaginary list of possibilities.
"So what now?"
           "Can you not just wait to find out, Sarah? Didn't you ever like surprises?"
           "Not since I ran your Labyrinth; some of those surprises weren't exactly friendly."
           "Some?" he asked, intrigued.
           Catching herself, Sarah almost couldn't hold back a blush.
           "Maybe I'll tell you later," she said quickly.
           "I think you should tell me now."
           "Can you not just wait to find out, Jareth? Didn't you ever like surprises?" she replied, turning his own words back on him.
           He frowned at her.
           "That is not amusing, Sarah."
           Grinning, she replied, "And patience is a virtue, Goblin King."