• "Sarah?" inquired Tony of Ludo as they rushed down a hallway towards the throne room.

    "Yes. I should have guessed," said the disembodied echo of the Goblin King's voice. "You were always one for protecting lost little children. You were also the one who helped them out of the place of your banishment: The Bog of Eternal Stench."

    "You were that spooky roaring we heard?!" asked Robyn.

    "Okay, now I'm really confused," said Sam. "If Ludo is the young woman who told Tony the prophecy, how ocme he doesn't fit the description of what Tony said Sarah look like?"

    "It is because I wanted to protect you and not be suspected by his majesty," Ludo said in a girl-like voice that sounded unfitting for a big thing like him, but still just as gentle. "It was because I couldn't bear to see him kidnap another innocent child. It was because...because..."

    "Because you cared about them," finished the voice, whose owner was materializing before them with Cordelia sprawled limply in his strong arms. At the same time, Ludo was enveloped in shimmering smoke. When the smoke cleared, instead of Ludo standing in front of the children, there stood the young girl who had first told Tony about Cordelia's abduction.

    She was beautiful, delicately proportioned with rosebud lips and hair that cascaded down to the middle of her back like a dark brown waterfall. The white gown she was wearing contrasted perfectly with the Goblin King's ensemble: a jet black, high-collared cape fastened with a golden amulet, black gloves, which seemed to caress his tapering fingers, an austere shirt that swirled with the colors of a midsummer sunset, black leggings that drew attention to his slender legs, and shiny black boots that shined with light from the sunset outside the window.

    Jareth placed Cordelia gently on the floor and turned to the children. He kneeled down so he was eye level with Robyn. "Robyn, beware," he said. "I have been very generous with you and your friends up until now..."

    "Too generous evidently!" he finished and he unleashed a crystal sphere from his gloved hand directly toward Sarah. Sarah was cast backward against a pillar. The other children rushed to her side.

    "Generous?" questioned Robyn. (It took all her remaining strength to keep from running to Sarah's side.) "What have you done that's generous?-"

    "Everything!" the Goblin King answered, anger finding its way into his voice.

    Lowering his voice, he continued, "Everything that your princess has asked of me I have done. She requested to be taken away of her own free will. I took her. She obsessed over, nay idolized, me; I was magnificent. I obeyed her command to send the Chilly Downs to hinder your progress. I have practically turned my world upside-down and I have done it all for her! Isn't that generous?"

    Robyn responded by removing the princess' book from her travelling clothes and flipping through its pages. "According to this," she said as she fervently tore throught the book, "Sarah took you on in the past."

    "Much has changed since that time. We have both learned many things and become more powerful, or, in her case, more beautiful."

    "However," Sarah said meekly, sitting up slowly for the impact of the crystal with her body had hurt severely, "you still have not learned how to keep a stolen child in your possession."

    "What would you know if she is a child or not?! She is here with me; she wants to stay here! You cannot, will not, bring her home!"

    "I can't but I'm sure that the children can. After all, they have something that you will never possess."

    Those were her last words before she fell back to the ground and closed her eyes, her rosebud lips in a satisfied smile. The others threw themselves about her, uttering sounds of mourning and shedding tears of sorrow at the loss of such a noble and loyal friend. Robyn felt her eyes flood with tears as she rushed to Sarah's side.

    Surprisingly, not only the children wept for the tragic passing of this gentle and compassionate companion; the king got down on both his knees, buried his face in his hands, and wept for her. "If I had known it would come to this," he sobbed, "I never would have loved you.

    "But, I couldn't help myself. You were too beautiful both in appearance and within. I kidnapped an innocent baby knowing you would come to my castle to fetch it back. Alas, my efforts did not yield the desired result. You overcame my challenges and refused to love me."

    Tony came slowly across the room, against the warnings of the other children, and put his hand on the king's shoulder. He consoled him thusly: "You only wanted love."

    Jareth look up into Tony's face, slightly embarrassed that a mere child should see his own face stained with tears. "Yes," he replied. "Your princess reminded me so much of Sarah.

    "What's more, she was lonely. She wanted attention, someone to appreciate her accomplishments, her wisdom, but most of all herself."

    "Cordelia was lonely? How come none of my friends could tell that was so?"

    "She did not want you to worry about her. She wanted to be strong for you-"

    "When really she was trying to hide her feelings so as to make it seem like it didn't matter that she wasn't cherished as much as she wanted," finished Robyn, laying her hand on the king's other shoulder. "My guess is that you waited for the opportune moment to intervene and give her what she desired most: the love and respect of a person."

    "Sadly though, I could not perdict when she would lose the desire to stay, so I placed a spell upon her."

    Tony spoke up. "If you have to keep her under a spell in order to prevent her from leaving, it's not worth it."

    The King of the Goblins stood up and said, "You're right, even though I feel guilty admitting that fact. However, you may not have her."

    "Why not?!"

    "Because you have to say the ancient incantation in order to formally break my spell."

    "Incantation?!" exclaimed Robyn. "I think I may have found it!"

    The other children sprinted over to her, eager to learn the spell that would send them home with their beloved princess. They spoke the words together: "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, we have fought our way here to the castle beyond the goblin city to take back our princess whom you have stolen. For our wills are as strong as yous, and her kingdom is as great. You have no power over her."

    Epilogue:

    The first rays of dawn streamed through the window as Cordelia rose from her bed. She found Sam, Jasmine, Giselle, Robyn, Toby and Tony lying on the floor with smiles on their tired faces.

    She nudged Robyn, who sat up. "Robyn," said Cordelia, "I had the strangest dream. I dreamt that goblins came and kidnapped me, but then you came and rescued me from the Goblin King. It was only a dream but it all seemed so real."

    "You'd be surprised how real it was," Robyn responded, rubbing her back. "Oh! I have something for you. Here, with all of my love."

    Robyn produced Gawain from her satchel and handed him to Cordelia, who hugged them both tightly as tears spilled from her eyes. One by one, the other children awoke and ran over to the two girls to join in their joyful embrace.

    That's how they remained for a few moments in silence. "Come on!" said Tony finally. "Let's go tell everyone the good news."

    "They'll never believe us, but right now, I could care less," said Sam as they ran out the door to spread the wonderful news of the princess's return.

    In the distance, the sun rose from behind the mountains, shining with a crystalline brilliance. It was almost as if someone had willed it so, and indeed. Sarah, alive and well, looked lovingly on from the highest mountain's summit as the morning of a day of happiness and reunion began.

    End