Aila Keil belongs to me, Aila's motorbike belongs to my dad, and most other characters belong to the makers of the Labyrinth. A few more might belong to me, though.
*~*~*~*
Sarah Williams leant back in her chair on the plane and sighed, not caring about the strange look she got from the person seated next to her. She was flying to live with her Aunt Aila for sixth months, sent by her father, who was in turn prodded and poked by Karen, her stepmother. Aunt Aila had had to be prodded and poked to, though over the phone, not in the physical way Karen had. Aila Keil was a dreamy, laid-back, fun-loving woman who was not in any way able to sufficiently meet the demands of a teenager. Or at least that was her father's argument. She was his sister, though about thirteen or so years younger, and that made her incapable of anything, in John Williams' eyes. But Sarah knew better.
She hadn't seen her young, lively aunt much in the past years, but Aila had told her much about herself. She was a small-time author, writing fantasy stories around a daytime job as a courier for the post office on her motorbike. Sarah smiled as she remembered how the woman always crossed her eyes when she spoke about her day job. Apparently her boss was always telling her to get a car, even a small one. Aila, of course, always told him 'when I get a bit more money', even though she was well-to-do. And had no plans on getting a car. Almost seventeen, Sarah didn't have her driver's license yet, but she planned on talking Aila around, because her aunt was more easygoing than her father, who had turned red the last time she had mentioned it.
"Attention passengers, we are now landing." A voice blared over the speaker above her head, and Sarah jumped. The flight had only taken an hour, and she had been dreaming about what the next six months was going to be like. Was Aila going to go all adult-like when she had Sarah to look after, too? She hoped not.
*~*~*~*
Aila Keil waited impatiently in the small airport, watching the plane land. Sarah was coming! The 28 year old woman was a little on the short side, and had cheeky mahogany eyes and midnight black hair, with a single purple streak that earned her 'chats' with her boss. But the big sook was too chicken to sack her, and plus she did her job well and quickly. Thanks to her trusty red Kawasaki ZZR1100 motorbike, her most prized possession. She was going to take Sarah shopping as soon as she got here, to buy her niece a helmet and leather jacket to wear on the bike. Til then, though, they had to take a taxi.
She bounced on her heels, eyes still glued to the plane coasting up the landing strip to the gate, a little anxious, a little nervous. What would Sarah think of her? Aila was as free as the wind, just barely able to quench the desire to ride straight out of town and into the horizon. To quench that desire, she usually paid the next week's rent. The other times, she re-streaked her purple part, and roared extra loudly into work on her bike, and was of course called into her boss's office. But still, part of her agreed with her older brother. She was in no shape to be taking care of her almost seventeen year old niece for half a year. Well, she would just have to try.
And what would Sarah be like? Was she like the photos? Or completely different? In the photos, Sarah Williams was a smiling, carefree, dreamy girl, just like Aila herself. But from what John and his new wife Karen had told her, Sarah had started acting strangely. She often locked herself in her room, and they heard voices coming from behind the door. Other times, the girl would say something about 'goblins' or 'Sir Didymus' or 'Hoggle', then clap a hand over her mouth and mumble 'Uh, I meant..." and change the subject.
Aila was worried. She knew exactly what her niece meant. In fact, she knew more. Jareth, the Goblin King, was a good friend of hers, and had told her everything about Sarah's visit. He was still madly devoted to her, and had been delighted when Aila had told him about her niece coming to visit. Jareth had started visiting her when she had tried to wish away John, her older brother. He had laughed and mocked her, saying that he would take her brother away if she made it through the Labyrinth. Aila had made it, barely, but instead of taking John away, Jareth only laughed again and told her that wishing didn't work with older siblings.
The young Aila had flown into a fury and destroyed part of his Labyrinth, taking her pocket knife and freeing various beasts he had kept locked up, including a dragon who had taken a liking to her, and had also set on fire quite a bit of the leaf matter in the last part of the Labyrinth. Jareth had arrived in time to throw a crystal up, which burst into a torrent of water. The water put out the fire, wet Crystalwing enough that she couldn't breathe fire anymore, and drenched Aila to the bone. Jareth, of course, hadn't even got splattered, and raved at Aila until her saw that she was shivering madly. He had stopped, frowned, sighed, and taken her home.
From then, he had started visiting every so often. At first it was to apologize, then to 'make sure she was all right', then he hadn't bothered to find an excuse. They had become friends, good friends. Jareth had helped ease the pain of John's obvious dislike and taunts of her.
"Flight 706 has landed. Passengers are disembarking," announced the flight attendant, opening the double doors to let people out. Aila forgot her past worries, and slipped through the gathering crowd, ignoring their protests, to meet Sarah.
*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*
Sarah Williams leant back in her chair on the plane and sighed, not caring about the strange look she got from the person seated next to her. She was flying to live with her Aunt Aila for sixth months, sent by her father, who was in turn prodded and poked by Karen, her stepmother. Aunt Aila had had to be prodded and poked to, though over the phone, not in the physical way Karen had. Aila Keil was a dreamy, laid-back, fun-loving woman who was not in any way able to sufficiently meet the demands of a teenager. Or at least that was her father's argument. She was his sister, though about thirteen or so years younger, and that made her incapable of anything, in John Williams' eyes. But Sarah knew better.
She hadn't seen her young, lively aunt much in the past years, but Aila had told her much about herself. She was a small-time author, writing fantasy stories around a daytime job as a courier for the post office on her motorbike. Sarah smiled as she remembered how the woman always crossed her eyes when she spoke about her day job. Apparently her boss was always telling her to get a car, even a small one. Aila, of course, always told him 'when I get a bit more money', even though she was well-to-do. And had no plans on getting a car. Almost seventeen, Sarah didn't have her driver's license yet, but she planned on talking Aila around, because her aunt was more easygoing than her father, who had turned red the last time she had mentioned it.
"Attention passengers, we are now landing." A voice blared over the speaker above her head, and Sarah jumped. The flight had only taken an hour, and she had been dreaming about what the next six months was going to be like. Was Aila going to go all adult-like when she had Sarah to look after, too? She hoped not.
*~*~*~*
Aila Keil waited impatiently in the small airport, watching the plane land. Sarah was coming! The 28 year old woman was a little on the short side, and had cheeky mahogany eyes and midnight black hair, with a single purple streak that earned her 'chats' with her boss. But the big sook was too chicken to sack her, and plus she did her job well and quickly. Thanks to her trusty red Kawasaki ZZR1100 motorbike, her most prized possession. She was going to take Sarah shopping as soon as she got here, to buy her niece a helmet and leather jacket to wear on the bike. Til then, though, they had to take a taxi.
She bounced on her heels, eyes still glued to the plane coasting up the landing strip to the gate, a little anxious, a little nervous. What would Sarah think of her? Aila was as free as the wind, just barely able to quench the desire to ride straight out of town and into the horizon. To quench that desire, she usually paid the next week's rent. The other times, she re-streaked her purple part, and roared extra loudly into work on her bike, and was of course called into her boss's office. But still, part of her agreed with her older brother. She was in no shape to be taking care of her almost seventeen year old niece for half a year. Well, she would just have to try.
And what would Sarah be like? Was she like the photos? Or completely different? In the photos, Sarah Williams was a smiling, carefree, dreamy girl, just like Aila herself. But from what John and his new wife Karen had told her, Sarah had started acting strangely. She often locked herself in her room, and they heard voices coming from behind the door. Other times, the girl would say something about 'goblins' or 'Sir Didymus' or 'Hoggle', then clap a hand over her mouth and mumble 'Uh, I meant..." and change the subject.
Aila was worried. She knew exactly what her niece meant. In fact, she knew more. Jareth, the Goblin King, was a good friend of hers, and had told her everything about Sarah's visit. He was still madly devoted to her, and had been delighted when Aila had told him about her niece coming to visit. Jareth had started visiting her when she had tried to wish away John, her older brother. He had laughed and mocked her, saying that he would take her brother away if she made it through the Labyrinth. Aila had made it, barely, but instead of taking John away, Jareth only laughed again and told her that wishing didn't work with older siblings.
The young Aila had flown into a fury and destroyed part of his Labyrinth, taking her pocket knife and freeing various beasts he had kept locked up, including a dragon who had taken a liking to her, and had also set on fire quite a bit of the leaf matter in the last part of the Labyrinth. Jareth had arrived in time to throw a crystal up, which burst into a torrent of water. The water put out the fire, wet Crystalwing enough that she couldn't breathe fire anymore, and drenched Aila to the bone. Jareth, of course, hadn't even got splattered, and raved at Aila until her saw that she was shivering madly. He had stopped, frowned, sighed, and taken her home.
From then, he had started visiting every so often. At first it was to apologize, then to 'make sure she was all right', then he hadn't bothered to find an excuse. They had become friends, good friends. Jareth had helped ease the pain of John's obvious dislike and taunts of her.
"Flight 706 has landed. Passengers are disembarking," announced the flight attendant, opening the double doors to let people out. Aila forgot her past worries, and slipped through the gathering crowd, ignoring their protests, to meet Sarah.
*~*~*~*