Jareth gave her some free time then, but as soon as she went back to the underground labyrinth, he knew it and gave her another job: the cleaners. Luckily she was the one who didn't have to tread. Once again Sarah realized things were not what they seemed... the cleaners weren't dangerous at all! Younger goblins made fun of them, ran in front of them and stopped them with their own bodies - the machine was constructed in such a way, that touching any living object stopped it immediately. Mostly it stopped so fast that Sarah ended up flattened against the front disc.
Each time she was free, she hurried to the underground labyrinth. Too many corridors, too complicated, too many strange angles... But Sarah didn't want to give up. OK, the research was not too thrilling, but it was fun. There was no end to the amount of corridors that were available. She tried to draw a map, but it was a slow and painful process. Luckily there were some things down there that could help her, some special points - like rusty armor or several skulls. Once she found a pile of diamonds... she wasn't very sure they were real diamonds, or just a kind of strange glass. They were very beautiful, shining in so many colors when she put the lamp closer. It was amazing. Also she found a small stream; the water seemed to be completely black, running from the ceiling straight to the floor. These things helped her a lot.
Jareth was sitting on his throne and thinking about that new girl. Stubborn, she was. And still he couldn't help loving her very much. There were so many strange things about her. He had been far away when she came, but he had felt it - he always felt new goblins coming. And nobody had wanted her on Earth, nobody helped her. Poor little girl. But how little she really was? Sometimes she acted like an adult. A very stubborn adult. And she had tried to hid from him... as if she were embarrassed... The way she looked at him when he sent her to Escher room, it reminded him of another girl... another girl WITH THE SAME NAME and WITH THE SAME LOOK IN HER EYES... it couldn’t be! It couldn’t be! Could it? He jumped from the throne.
"Researching again?" he asked her mockingly, when Sarah turned the secret panel and left the underground. She almost jumped. Of course she didn't expect anybody there, especially not him. *Is it her or not?* he thought. She was frightened, but looked at him in such a way... his heart almost stopped. "I've got another little job for you. Dod has been sick recently, I need somebody to replace him."
"Yes, your majesty," she bowed. "I'll replace him immediately."
Jareth smiled and turned to leave.
"Your majesty?" she called in a little voice. "I don't know what Dod's job is."
"Oh, you don't. He works as a cannon ball." |
