• Jareth gazed intently into his crystal ball, a frown on his face at the sight he saw within, a frown that betrayed his youthful, amiable appearance with years of anger, loneliness and sorrow. All these feelings were for one person: Sarah, the person who had rejected so harshly, whom Cordelia and no other girl was so much like in so many ways and yet unlike for she too was angry sad and lonely. She longed to be appreciated, to be noticed, to be truly loved by someone.

    He had pitied her for he too longed for these pleasures and therefore genuinely understood her emotions; emotions that gave him power over her so long as they remained manifested within her.

    'So, the chosen ones think that they can get here so easily,' he thought. 'Well, I'll make sure that they never see their precious princess ever again.

    Then aloud he called, "Laugh with me darling."

    Cordelia came away from the window she was staring blankly out of and said, "Yes your majesty," curtseying to him as she would have to any noble gentleman.

    However, not only their voices rang with the music of malevolent laughter. Hundreds of other jovial laughs, goblin laughs, joined theirs as they rejoiced in Jareth's triumph of having kidnapped Cordelia and put her under magical influence to keep her here in the castle of the Goblin King.

    Elsewhere in "Goblin land", Robyn arose from her slumber and was immediately overcome by a wave of nausea. (The nausea was caused by the foul stench around her which hung thick in the air. The other children were soon awakened, and nauseated, by this same pungent odor.) Robyn flipped through the princess' book, which she had slipped into a pocket of her travelling clothes, searching for what this stinky place was called.

    "We're in the Bog of Eternal Stench, so be careful! It says here if you step in it, you'll stink forever!" she called out to the others who were scattered around her.

    "Phew! You can say that again," Jasmine called back.

    "Is everybody here?"

    "Yes."

    "Is everybody okay?"

    "A little shaken by this smelly place but otherwise we're alright."

    "Good to know."

    "How do we get out of here?" asked Giselle who was not very fond of, or accustomed to, bad-smelling places such as this.

    "I think we landed on some kind of island," Sam replied, "so we should look for a bridge, stepping stones or something of that nature."

    "I don't care what they are so long as they get us out of this stinky place."

    After surveying the island in its entirety, it was clear that they'd landed on a desert island with no way off.

    Suddenly, they heard a distant roaring. Tony clung on to Robyn for protection for he was afraid. "What if it's a monster?" he said in a quavering voice.

    "Hey! Look at this," Toby cried.

    He pointed to the stones that seemed to be rising up from the depths of the swamp all by themselves. Everyone was amazed at this peculiar phenomenon which seemed to be caused by the strange, spooky roaring.

    Then, just as oddly as it had started, the roaring ceased abruptly. "Come on," said Giselle. "Let's get out of here before those rocks try to go back into the swamp again, and, believe me, I don't want to be there when that happens."

    Having crossed the Bog of Eternal Stench, with help from the weird roaring thing, the children continued on their way, guided by the princess' book, towards the goblin city and their princess, when suddenly a great, lumbering creature was walking right toward them. The younger children shrank behind Robyn as she boldly said, "Excuse me, Mr. Giant...uh...Thing (She did not know hat to call it.) My friends and I are on our way to the goblin city and we can't find our way. Would you be kind enough to help us, please?"

    The creature replied in a deep, but friendly, voice, "Ludo help. You are friend?"

    "That's right Ludo. I'm Robyn, and this is Jasmine, Sam, Tony, Giselle and Toby."

    "Robyn. Robyn and children are friends."

    "Yes, but can you help us?!" asked Sam impatiently. "I want us to be somewhere instead of nowhere here!"

    "Oh Sam, don't be such a grump," said Toby. Then he inquired, "Ludo, can you take us to the castle?"

    "Sure. Ludo help new friends."

    Now with a guide in tow, Robyn, Jasmine, Giselle, Tony, Toby, and Sam set off again to seek Cordelia with newfound courage.

    "It was sheer luck that the chosen ones landed so close to the castle and sheer chance that that monster just happened to be passing their way! It just has to be!" ranted Jareth as he stomped about the throne room in rage and frustration.

    "Oh, what's troubling you your grace?" inquired Cordelia in a comforting tone, placing her soft hand upon his broad shoulder.

    "What's troubling me?!" he replied, casting her hand aside with a wave of his and lowering his voice. "The chosen ones are advancing quicker than I predicted. Someone must be helping them! They must be!"

    "Why don't you set an impediment in their path, something to keep them distracted, even if just for a little while, so you can have more time to devise a plan for us?"

    "That's a perfect idea," he said, his anger replaced by thoughtful playfulness, for he was rather fond of toying with other people. "I know just the thing."

    To be continued...(Just what is he going to do? Stay tuned and find out.)