Jareth stared at Sarah, perplexed. Where were the recriminations, false bravado and overconfidence he had anticipated out of Sarah? He had been braced for a round of protests and choruses of "It's not Fair!" Instead, here she was, sweet, polite, and actually apologizing to him! She had even curtsied, for heaven sake!
Jareth continued staring at Sarah as he tried to fathom this new twist. Was this some new tactic of Sarah's to get him to release her? Jareth considered confronting Sarah, but decided against it. After all, what could he accuse her of; being nice and obeying him, just as he ordered?
Jareth decided to just go forward with his own plans and ignore Sarah's behavior.
When he spoke, his voice was strong and clear, but free of its usual sarcastic overtone.
"You may like to know, Sarah that I kept my part of the bargain. Hoggle is safe and resting right here in the castle. You can even see him later." he said casually." For now, I have other business to attend to. I'm afraid you have come at rather bad time, at least for you, Sarah. This is the week I usually hear petitions and settle disputes for my kingdom. I'm afraid you may find it a trifle boring for your tastes. However, it is my will that you remain here while I do; so you will have to simply endure it."
Sarah suspected that the Goblin King might be trying to bait her, but refused to take it.
Instead, she merely smiled again .
"Oh, I don't mind at all, Your Majesty." she said meekly. "I'll stay wherever you like. If you could just tell me where I should be; after all, I wouldn't want to get in your way."
Jareth indicated a spot just to the right of his throne. Irritated, he took his place on his throne as he watched Sarah looking around. He paused, expecting her to comment.
Sarah went to the spot Jareth pointed to and looked around for a place to sit. Unfortunately, there wasn't one to be found. It seemed the Goblin King had no intention of providing her a seat. Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah could see Jareth looking at her expectantly. Obviously, he was waiting for her to complain or make some comment.
Sarah just smiled and remained silent. Reluctantly, Jareth instructed the Royal
Chamberlain to begin court.
As various goblins came forward with numerous requests and disputes for the next hour, Jareth only half listened. His attention kept straying to the sight of the lovely Sarah standing silent next to his throne. Though he could tell she was most definitely paying attention to the proceedings, she never uttered one word or moved an inch. She merely stood quietly, hands folded in front of her on the precise spot he had indicated earlier. For some reason, he found her position very irritating. Surely she didn't intend to stand all day like that! Sometimes these sessions could go on for hours; Sarah would be exhausted!
As the next hour went on, Sarah's immobility continued to grate on Jareth until he could stand it no longer. He held up his hand for the court to pause and threw a globe behind Sarah.
Instantly, an ornate, padded chair appeared directly behind her. Jareth turned to Sarah as she looked at the chair.
"Well?!!" he said in exasperation.
Sarah looked back at the Goblin King with an innocent expression.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"For Heaven's Sake, Sarah, sit down!!" he ordered.
Sarah fought to hide her smile as she obeyed.
"Yes, your majesty."
Jareth let out a frustrated sigh and signaled for court to resume.
The next few hours of Goblin Court passed without much incident. Jareth had been surprised at how rapidly the day had progressed. Usually, he found the semi annual sessions an absolute hardship to get through since they often bored him beyond measure. By contrast, he had found himself not minding things nearly so much with Sarah nearby. Her very presence had a soothing quality that he found rather pleasing. It didn't seem to matter that they hadn't even talked; just having her there made a difference.
Sarah herself had spent much of the time studying the Goblin King. The incident with the chair only served to bolster Sarah's hopes that Jareth wasn't as indifferent to her as she might have once believed. Now, she could only wait. The day had some positive points though. Sarah had learned that Jareth was actually a good ruler, relatively speaking.
For the most part, his judgments and decisions were astute, fair and well rendered. Still, Sarah had to admit that she had been surprised at Jareth's patience. Some of the petitions were perfectly ridiculous and the disputes, absolutely petty. Sarah knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would have exploded by now in sheer frustration had she been in charge. How Jareth stood it all escaped her.
Unfortunately, one particularly petty case brought the court to a screeching halt. Two goblins were disputing who owned some eggs. One goblin owned a chicken that had wandered onto the property of another goblin where it had laid a clutch of eggs. Now both goblins were claiming the eggs. After two months, they still couldn't settle their dispute, so they came to the King. One goblin brought his chicken. The problem came when the other goblin showed up with the now rotten two month old eggs! The accompanying odor rivaled the great Bog of Eternal Stench! Worse yet, he was so nervous, he tripped as he neared the king. The eggs fell to the floor and broke open, sending a stench into the air that had everyone choking. Jareth looked at Sarah as she vainly tried to cover her nose from the nauseating smell. Still, she neither moved nor complained. The Goblin King had had enough.
Jareth decided to take action. He moved over to Sarah, quickly grabbed her hand and practically dragged her onto the balcony outside for some much needed fresh air. Jareth experienced a pang of regret as they both filled their lungs. He only hoped this incident wouldn't alienate Sarah. So, he was extremely surprised to hear the sound of laughter and realize that it was coming from Sarah herself.
Once free of the awful smell, Sarah had considered the pure absurdity of the situation. Two goblins were so caught up in their petty squabble that they didn't have enough sense to throw away two month old eggs! As if that were not enough, they actually brought the rotten eggs to the King to settle the dispute! Suddenly, Sarah hadn't been able to contain herself any longer. She had started laughing and couldn't stop! Though out of breath, she still managed to speak.
"Two month old eggs and they brought them to the court for you to decide?!! Good heavens! How can you stand it?!! You must have the patience of a saint! I certainly don't envy the person who has to clean up that mess!" she laughed as she fought to regain her breath.
Jareth had to fight hard to keep a smile from his face. He found Sarah's laughter extremely pleasing and was even tempted to join in. Normally, this type of thing would have thrown him into a rage, but Sarah's humor had tempered his anger. Still, Sarah's comment gave him a flash of inspiration.
'Why, Sarah, what an excellent idea!" he said with a dark gleam in his eye.
Sarah stopped laughing at the rather evil grin that was now on the Goblin King's face. Curious, she followed him back to the Throne room door as he summoned the two goblins in the egg case.
'You two dunderheads have totally disrupted my court today!" he raged." Moreover, you have befouled and stunk up my throne room so much that we can't even continue! That is why I think it only fitting that the two of you spend the rest of the day and all night if necessary, scrubbing my throne room until it sparkles! By the start of court tomorrow, I want this throne room gleaming, do you two understand?!!"
The two terrified goblins nodded as Jareth turned to the chamberlain.
"We will resume tomorrow. Dismiss everyone until then."
Jareth turned his attention back to Sarah.
"It seems this session of court has ended a little early. I can have Atta take you to Hoggle, if you like. I have some other things that need my attention, Sarah." he said dismissively.
But, as Jareth turned to leave, Sarah spoke up.
"Umm, your majesty? I was just wondering…" Sarah stated hesitantly.
"Yes, Sarah?" the Goblin king inquired.
"Well, you see, I lost something rather important to me." Sarah continued. "It's a locket. It isn't very valuable but it has great sentimental value and I can't seem to find it. I was wondering if you might have seen it or might know if someone had found it."
A wave of jealousy gripped Jareth as he saw Sarah unconsciously touch where the locket had been. Jareth had noticed it the night before, but had sent it away along with Sarah's other things. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and dripped with sarcasm.
"Oh, are you missing it, Sarah?" he snidely asked. "What was it, a gift from some admirer or a lover's token perhaps?"
Once again Sarah confounded the Goblin King as he saw her wince and then mysteriously tear up at his hard tone. When her voice came, it was very soft and thick with unshed tears.
"No, it wasn't anything like that." she replied rather sadly. "It was simply a gift from my mother. It was the last thing she gave me before she died".
Jareth instantly cursed himself for his foul temper. One moment Sarah had been laughing and full of joy, now she was on the verge of tears and it was all his fault. Quietly, he tried to make amends.
"I'm sorry; I didn't know. I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you, your Majesty. I'd be grateful." she replied.
At that moment, Atta arrived to conduct Sarah to Hoggle.
Jareth watched her go regretfully, feeling like a complete cad. Sarah had behaved exactly as he had set forth in their bargain all day; never once questioning him or complaining. Though it had confused him, she had upheld her part of their bargain completely. In return, he had been arrogant, hurtful and made her unhappy. Somehow, he had to find a way to make it up to her.