Chapter Four
 
"She's *what*?!"

"G-gone, yer Majesty. We went in ta give her food this mornin' an' she was 
jus' gone. We figured it was yer doin', 'till you asked 'bout her."

"You idiots. She's in the Labyrinth, now, and I can't get her!"

"No disrespect, Majesty, but couldn't ya jus' use yer magic ta find th' 
girl?"

Jareth sighed. "How can I put this so you numskulls can comprehend it? The 
'girl' has very strong magic, but she's not trained. There for, her magic 
ability is effectively cloaking her from my perceptions." The goblins gave 
him a blank stare. He knew if he tried to expound upon this thread of 
conversation, their eyes would glaze over, and they'd probably be utterly 
confused for the next week or so. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" It wasn't that he 
took some sort perverse pleasure in screaming at his minions, it was simply 
that they were so inane that it took no less than a shout to get his point 
across. He stalked about the room for a while, trying to think of what to 
do. Firstly, he'd disarm as many of the magical wards in the Labyrinth as 
he could. That should help a little, but there were untold other dangers 
he could do nothing about. He could send the goblins to find her out, but 
that might only frighten her more. He would have to search the Labyrinth by 
himself. Gods! Last evening had been so...perfect. He had actually let down 
some of the unfeeling facade he always wore, tried to show her a bit of his 
heart, and it had all blown up in his face. She had run away...and taken 
his heart. "Damn!"

	She had walked all morning, so she decided to stop for a rest. Her 
body was still weak from her illness...."No, not illness. Face it Amalthya, 
you tried to kill yourself." She glanced around quickly, "And now, you're 
talking to yourself. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I've been walking 
forever, and these tunnels just go on and on!" She sank dejectedly to the 
ground. 

"Hey! watch where you're sittin'!" Cried a squeaky little voice. Amalthya 
sprang to her feet and looked around her. "Here I was, tryin' to enjoy a 
nice li'le nap, and you almost squash me!" The speaker was a mouse, a 
little less than a foot tall, standing on it's hind legs and regarding her 
with beady black eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." This was the first inhabitant of the 
Underground she had encountered since entering the Labyrinth. She noted 
that the brown mouse appeared to be wearing a vest and a small rapier 
belted at his waist.

"What's yer business in the Labyrinth?" He said, cleaning his whiskers with 
his small front paws.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"That's easy. I live 'ere, I do. Names Conner."

"Well, Conner, my name's Amalthya, and I'm trying to find my way out of 
this Labyrinth. Can you help me?"

"If yer tryin' ta get to the castle, you're goin' the wrong way."

"No, actually, I'm trying to get *away* from the castle."

"Humph. Not to many folks try it that way 'round. I c'n help ya for aways. 
'Sides, my nose is tellin' me you got a bit o' lunch in that bag."

"Yes, I do. Here," She said rummaging in the bag for a moment, "will this 
do? I haven't much, I'm afraid." She handed him a thick piece of crusty 
bread. He took it readily between his nimble little paws and gnawed on it 
eagerly. 

"Thank you." He said between mouthfuls "We don't get much good eating down 
here. In fact, we don't get much of anything."

"Is there a way to get out of these tunnels? I kind of miss the sky."

"The only way is up." He said, gesturing to a iron ladder attached to a far 
wall. 

"That's no problem for me, but I can see where you'd have problems. You're 
just not big enough. So, would you like to get out of here?"

"Would I? Y' know how long it's been since I seen the sun?" Amalthya took 
that as a yes, so she bent over and picked up the small creature, putting 
it in the bag on her shoulder.

"Hang on tight. And, Don't look down." With those words of caution, she 
began her accent. The long tunnel lead to a dark dead end. "What gives?"

"Push up. There's a lid on it. Keeps the rain out."

"How considerate. Unfortunately it's also very awkward." She shifted her 
weight and grip to get a hand free, then pushed up on the lid. She didn't 
have much leverage, but it was enough to send the lid toppling off. She 
stuck her head out and saw that she was in a large pot of some kind. She 
set the bag down, and Conner scampered out. Then she climbed out of the pot,
and hopped down. "Well, that's certanly a lot better." She streched her 
muscles, which had become cramped durring the long climb. "I think I'm 
going to stop and eat." She said more to herself, than to her companion.

"What, again?"

"I didn't eat anything before. In fact, I haven't eaten anything since last 
night." Just then a delicious fragrance wafted past. "Mmmm....I wonder what 
that is?" She headed in the direction of the smell, compleatly forgeting 
Conner in her haste. After a short jog, she came to the sorce of the 
fragrance. A tall fruit tree, branches laden with perfectly ripe peaches. 
"Oh, I love peaches. Mom always hated them. Never understood that." Just 
as she prepared to take a bite of the lucious fruit, Conner rounded the 
far corner.

"No, don't eat that!" But it was too late.

End Chapter Four