This is a retelling of the movie, from Sarah's POV. (Which basically means we don't see the silly dancing and side conversations.) It is slightly AU, as I never did particularly like the beginning, or the ending. It always felt like they were cheating when they set the movie up the way they did. So basically, aboveground=changed, underground=same, with different dialogue.
It should also be noted that this particular poem ('cause, yeah, it's a poem) is nearly 49 pages long, and I'm still not even halfway done. It should also be noted that I would not even begin to post this anywhere had it not been for the fact that I was denied publishing rights on it. (I did it the legal way - get permission from the liscence holders, in this case Jim Henson Company, then start peddling it off to publishers.) They liked the idea, but didn't really see a potential market for poetry.
So, everyone gets it free now.
Enjoy.
Sarah's Folly
Part 1: In Which I Learn Magic Is Real
By: Ceris Malfoy
So. Once upon a star-lit night,
I heard a distant voice.
It whispered to me precious dreams
and said to make a choice.
This voice: so sweet, so pure, (so cold),
sent shivers down my spine.
As long as it kept whispering,
I knew the choice was mine.
The choice was easy, no thought required:
give up my squalling brother.
All the voice did want from me,
was to take the little bother.
Like a movie, the scene played out;
I saw with my mind's eye:
the spirit of domestication with
the King, the babe, and I.
I opened up my foolish mouth,
bewitched, ensnared, and sure.
I said my foolish, wicked words
and let them ring a lure.
I called upon past children changed:
those twisted goblin-things.
I turned my head and walked away
to dream of fauns and kings.
Then came to me a sound most chill:
the silence of the dead.
Where were my only brother's cries?
I was quickly filled with dread.
I walked into the void of night;
everything silent and still.
Yet in the dark a sound came through,
an uneasy, echoing trill.
I reached my brother's oak-wood crib
and paused in shock and fear.
For no babe was to be found within,
though his gurgles I could hear.
The void echoed with taunting voices;
movement vaguely seen.
I twisted, turned, and leaped about,
praying this was a dream.
Lightning flashed and wind did blow,
the void imploded with song,
and from a fluttering, snow-white owl,
his towering form grew long.
My breath stopped short, my heart beat wild,
as he cocked his golden head.
He smiled a victorious smile at me;
his mismatched eyes flashed red.
O! Wondrous King so bold, so fair,
the night doth beckon to your call!
Time herself would lay before you,
should you ever have the gall
to call upon her ageless form
and beckon her to you.
And like sweet Time, I could only wish
that you would want me, too.
I closed my eyes and shook my head;
now was not the time.
My dreams of loving kings gave way
to guilt for my selfish crime.
"P-please," I stammered, my mind still seeming numb.
"Where did my brother go?
I did not know the story's truth:
I really miss him so."
"Liar," he purred, voice a sensuous dance.
"You knew what you said was true:
my story is legendary, but yet no myth.
Why should I give him to you?"
His sneering response made me pause,
uncertainty within my heart.
Had I known deep down within me,
what those words would start?
"Oh, please, Fair King," I begged,
my voice a brittle squeak.
"Take pity; I need my baby brother back."
I tried not to look too meek.
He laughed at me: such wicked laughter!
Then twisted his hands just so.
A crystal formed from thin air and
betwixt his hands did flow.
Back and forth and forth and back,
entranced I merely stared.
"Do you want it?" he asked me then.
An offer he prepared.
"It will show you wondrous things
no mortal has yet to dream!
Just twist it so, and look within,
and wait until it gleams."
He held it out and looked at me,
mismatched eyes sincere.
I merely looked at him, my guilt so strong:
from my eye a tear.
"Then forget the babe," he whispered soft,
but it echoed in my ear.
My heart gave a painful lurch,
as I gazed upon that sphere.
"Oh Wondrous King, I thank you for the gift,"
I started, still entranced.
I wrenched my gaze away from his,
"But I really must advance."
His eyes flashed red a second time,
his hand did turn a bit.
Where once a crystal gleamed and shown,
a serpent now did sit.
"Be silent," he hissed, his anger clear
he threw the snake at me.
I got the message, loud and bold:
I was no match for he.
"I'm sorry!" I cried and shut my eyes,
knowing the plea in vain.
But still I had to try again,
before I went insane.
"I want my little brother back:
he must be so scared.
Please, I beg of you, let me have him!
I know that I have erred."
He shook his head and gestured once
my window became a door.
A twisted world of sand and glass
did I now stand before.
"Are you sure that you want to fight?
Forget the babe and leave!
The way is dangerous for you to pass:
what can you achieve?"
"Wondrous King, I can not explain,
but know what I must do.
He is my blood, my kith and kin:
this challenge I'll get through."
He shook his head and laughed at me,
and pointed at a clock.
It hung on nothing and I gaped at it,
not prepared for the shock.
"You have thirteen hours to solve this maze.
Be quick! Be sharp! Be brave!
You'll need some luck and all your wits;
loose and you'll be my slave."
The thought did naught but make me sure.
I needed to best this game!
For sure the King was fair of face and voice,
but his heart was not the same.
"It doesn't really look that hard,
I'm sure I'll make it through."
I gazed upon that spiraling maze
and thought my words were true.
"It's further than you would dare to dream,"
he whispered in my ear.
I looked over my shoulder and
I felt a spark of fear.
Those mismatched eyes were watching me.
My God, they were so near!
The left eye glaring emerald,
the right a blue so clear.
I held my breath; he held my gaze and
ran his fingers through my hair.
I felt my knees begin to tremble:
the power of our stare.
"You better hurry, darling girl,
for time is running on.
Dally much longer here, sweet one,
and soon it will be gone."
I jerked out of my love-sick state,
and prepared to give him hell.
But like the mist he faded out;
laughter a ringing bell.
I was dismayed to find him gone,
yet overjoyed all the same.
Like fire and ice he burned my heart;
a discordant, uncomfortable game.
With heavy heart and stubborn mind,
I started down the trail.
I had no choice. I started this.
I had to win, not fail.
I should warn you, this will not be updated frequently. I have two more sections completely written, and another two that's in progress, but I'm nowhere near done. I have the first three sections already on my dA, but as it's mainly an art sight, I haven't gotten much feedback.
Again, this is solely from Sarah's P.O.V. I definitely will be playing around with the dialogue, though it will be essentially the same thing. Descriptions and characters may change slightly as well - especially the Bog of Eternal Stench and the goblins.