Chapter 3~ What To Do

Sarah woke up the next morning, warm and surrounded by light-more light than in the oubliette. She got up slowly, noticing she was wearing blue jeans, brown, slip-on shoes, and a white, decorate vest over a white blouse. Her own clothes! But why? Was she home? Sarah looked at the clock.

"Oh, no." She groaned. Thirteen hours, she thought. Not twelve; thirteen.

"Sarah?" A muffled voice made Sarah freeze, her heart pounding.

"Who? Where are you?" She circled the room-Jareth’s Throne Room, she knew-and saw…it couldn’t be, could it? "Hoggle?" Sarah ran to her friend, who seemed to be just standing in the middle of the Throne Room. "Oh, Hoggle, I-" she ran to hug him, but just as she reached him, Sarah ran into something. Something hard, but…invisible.

Soon, she saw Ludo, and then Sir Didymus atop Ambrocious.

"My Lady, you’re awake!" Cried Didymus happily. Sarah nodded and approached the invisible barrier. It was smooth to the touch, clear, and round. Familiar…

"No!" Cried Sarah. "You’re-you’re trapped in one of The Rat’s crystals." She looked around, biting her lip. "And there’s nothing I can break it with."

"How Sarah get back?" Ludo questioned.

"I was pulled through my mirror by-"

"By yours truly!" Jareth stood in one of the many archways. "Good morning, Sarah." Sarah turned away and leaned on the crystal.

"Ludo, call the rocks," she whispered.

"He already tried that-it didn’t work!" Hoggle whispered back. "I don’t know what he wants, but he has it planned out, alright." Sarah nodded again.

"No secrets," warned Jareth. Sarah spun around and faced him.

"Why have you imprisoned them?" Inquired Sarah. "They’ve done nothing wrong."

"Because of what the mortals Aboveground call ‘Plan B’." Jareth walked over to the crystal and leaned against it.

"Plan B?" Repeated Sarah. She stepped back. "What was Plan A?"

"The oubliette, of course."

"Why did you give up on Plan A so fast?"

Jareth sighed and walked to his throne, staring at the clock.

"No reason," he muttered. "Sarah, remember how you told me yesterday that you wouldn’t marry me?"

"Yes."

"Well, I decided that, since your friends mean more to you than I do, perhaps you’d like to see them killed. At your expense, of course." He laughed rottenly.

"You wouldn’t."

"Wouldn’t I?" Jareth slumped in the throne. "Sarah, you have no idea what I’m capable of doing-what I will and won’t do." Sarah stared blankly at him. She knew all the cold stares in the world, or the Underground, for that matter, couldn’t make him change his mind.

"What can I do?" Sarah immediately regretted asking that question. There was only one thing she could do.

"Sarah, have you lost your sense already?" Jareth knew what Sarah was thinking. He smiled and waited for Sarah to bargain with him. Sarah bit her lip again and fought back the tears welling up in her eyes.

"If I marry you," she steadied her voice, "will you let them go?" Jareth sat up.

"Yes, I’d let them go."

"Don’t trust him!" Hoggle thrust his hands up against the crystal. "Sarah, we’ll be fine." Sarah still bit her lip. Her brain failed her, and there wasn’t anything else she could think of to do. We’ll be fine. Sarah didn’t believe Hoggle. If she did leave, Jareth would kill them. But she couldn’t leave-and she would rather be trapped in an Oubliette forever than leave her friends behind for Jareth to kill them.

"Don’t trust him!" Hoggle repeated. Jareth approached the crystal and touched it. Suddenly, Hoggle shook violently, moaned, and fell to the floor. No one moved.

"Hoggle!" Sarah let the tears fall down her cheeks. She pounded on the crystal, trying hard to break it, but stopped, her fists sore and red. She whirled around to face Jareth, who sat back on his throne, no expression on his face. "What did you do to him?!" She screamed, sobbing so hard she could barely see.

"Nothing, he’s just in shock. Get it? Shock?" He laughed at his own joke and watched Sarah as she slowly sat down next to Hoggle. She knew Jareth was watching her, not caring. The only thing he did care about was making her his wife. And that can’t happen. Sarah told herself. I would never marry such a horrible person. What I have to do is get out of here and find someone to help me free my friends and help Hoggle. Sarah, stop it! Stop crying right now! How are you going to help Hoggle and the others if you can’t even think straight?

Sarah forced herself to stop crying, and glanced at Jareth. He was still on his throne, watching her, but nothing more. Suddenly, she remembered: the archway. The one Jareth had stood in earlier. It led to where she had desperately tried to find Toby among the stairs-both upside down and right side up. If I can just make it past that archway, maybe…maybe I can go back and get help…

Before she even knew what she was doing, Sarah was running for the archway. She only looked back once, right before she went through it, to see Jareth’s surprised face. "Guards!" Sarah heard him call. "Go after her!"

Sarah ran faster, and stopped abruptly. Everything had changed! There weren’t any staircases, no passages, hardly any space to walk on. It had all changed. Now, there were holes-everywhere. Holes, and little space in between them.

"She went this way!" Cried a Goblin. They were getting closer-she had to…to…jump. I’m not going to do what I did with Toby. She told herself. I’ll be careful this time. So here goes…

Taking a deep breath, Sarah jumped over the first hole. She almost lost her balance, but steadied herself, and looked back. The Goblins entered the room, saw Sarah, and immediately the Head Goblin gave orders.

"You-go that way! You-go this way! I’ll go straight! Move it!" The Goblins spread out, ready to jump; ready to catch her.

Sarah jumped again, this space between smaller than the last. Once more she looked back. The Goblins nearly caught her arm, but she jumped yet again, careful where she stepped.

But all her efforts where in vein, because though she had her balance, Sarah didn’t jump far enough, and fell, screaming, into darkness below.

She wasn’t sure how long she fell, or where she fell to, but Sarah felt someone grab her arm.

"Got you!" Cried the voice. "And you thought you could escape!" Sarah was lifted, safe on ground, and, taking one look at who had helped her back up, Sarah fainted.