Chapter 1
The Past
Nov. 3rd Nikki, Age Seven:
"You know," Jarry said with a mischievous smile towards Nikki, "Downstairs in the basement there's a wrapped up mirror from when your mom was a kid. If you look into it and call for friends, magical creatures will appear…"
"Really?" Nikki asked excitedly staring up with sparkling eyes at her special playmate, Jarry.
"Really," he said with an endearing smile and a knowing look.
"Will Jarry be sad if Nikki looks now?" Nikki asked her friend guiltily. If it would make him sad, then despite her new curiosity, she could wait.
Her friend gave another smile, "I will not be sad, dearest Nikki, now please, go and enjoy," he said giving her a small, gentle push towards the door. She smiled at him, her eyes lighting up at the new adventure, and gave him a big hug. She waited for him to hug back before running through the door and bounding to the garage.
When she got there she found the mirror almost instantly, propped against the back wall. She tugged at the brown paper but couldn't break through the heavy tape.
"Jarry, Nikki needs help!" Nikki whispered quietly to herself, and like magic the tape and paper fell away to the floor.
"Thank-you!" Nikki said to the air of the garage, before peering into the mirror.
"Friends?" she asked, after seeing nothing but the garage in its depts. suddenly, a big hairy beast, a dwarf, and a fox-dog thing appeared.
"Sarah!" they all cried happily. Nikki looked at them confused and shook her head.
"Sarah's my mommy! I'm Nikki, who're you?" She asked the mirror with a smile. They all looked at her uneasily.
"H-how did you find this mirror, little girl?" the dwarf asked.
"Jarry told Nikki, do you want me to get mommy for you? Nikki'll show her you!" She said excitedly, running off and dragging her mother back into the garage.
"Mommy, the magic's know you! Nikki shows you!" Nikki said with a smile. When she got back, she smiled at the three still in the mirror.
"Sarah!" they chorused, all smiling brightly. Nikki watched something pass on her mothers face, something she couldn't understand, before she looked down at her.
"I don't see anything Nikki; play times over, time to eat…"
Sarah then took the brown paper and recovered the mirror, before pulling a protesting Nikki into the kitchen and making her lunch.
The next time Nikki went back to look into the mirror, it had vanished, as though into thin air…
Eight Years Later:
"'Allo," came a voice from nowhere. Nikki paused her tirade over her hair to stare at nothing in particular as she contemplated whether she had really heard anything at all. Nikki pulled her hairbrush from her hair with a final yank and gave her room a searching look with a raised eyebrow. Nothing was out of the ordinary, she was still the only one here, yet she could have been sure she had heard a voice!
"'Allo!"
There it was again! Nikki slammed the brush down and gave her room a hard stare. She was the only living creature here, except her black cat, Apollo. She gave the sleeping cat a suspicious look before crouching down next to the slumbering feline.
"Did you say hello?" she asked the cat seriously, though her voice held amusement at the obvious answer.
"No I said 'allo,' but that's close enough," Nikki jerked away from the voice with a gasp, it had come from right next to her!
She stared at the windowsill with wide eyes. Sitting on it was a worm, a blue worm, a blue worm with a red scarf! Nikki gaped at the worm openly; her mouth opening and closing soundlessly, completely and utterly dumbstruck did not even begin to cover it. Was it possible that the worm just talked?
If so, she had just met a magical worm! Her eyes suddenly shown with stars as she stared down at the magical creature. A huge smile crossed her face as she leaned in for a better look.
"You're a worm aren't you?" she asked breathlessly, her eyes sparkling.
"That's right," it answered with a smile. The worm had smiled!
"What are you doing here?" she asked, not that she minded, not in the least, actually. Sure, she had never expected her magical experience to involve a worm, but she was not complaining. She suddenly had something magical, something magical all to her own! Something real, not in a book, not in her head, real, solid, true.
"We need you Sarah, the king and his Labyrinth's in trouble!"
A disappointment so crushing that Nikki literally fell to her butt washed over her. Of course, how could she have ever been so stupid? Her mother always stared at her in a knowing, pitying way whenever she spoke of fantasy things. She should have guessed her mother had something to do with this; her mother was perfect in every way, so why should she not be magic too? She was an actor, a visionary, everything Nikki wished to be. Yet with her near identical looks to her mother, and her one less than perfect speech impediment, she was always cast aside.
"I-," Nikki stared at the little worm soberly, her face had fallen from its elated state to that of despair, "I'm not Sarah. I'm her daughter, Nikolaia."
Nikki sighed as she reached forward to grab the worm, "Call me Nikki, I'll take you to Sara-"
"-Watch me tail now, will ya!" the worm called thrashing its tail away from her outstretched hand, "If you touch that seal, you'll be transported to the Labyrinth!"
Nikki stared at the little thing with shocked, wide green eyes, not expecting the outburst. Slowly, she tilted her head to the side and carefully examined the very end of his tail. In black, an intricate, almost tribal looking drawing had been placed on the little tip of his tail. If he had not mentioned it, she never would have noticed such a small mark. She would be quite impressed if someone had actually done it by hand.
"Sorry, I'll be careful," she told him, grabbing him around the middle and placing him in the open palm of her hand.
"Be careful," she warned him, nodding to his tail, as she headed for her door and shut it behind her. The blue worm nodded his head and kept his tail poised high as she stomped down the stairs.
"Mom!" you have major explaining to do!" Nikki yelled as she reached the bottom step. Nikki heard her mother's exasperated sigh all the way from the kitchen.
"I already told you that Jean left those cigarettes here last night!" Sarah huffed, walking into the living room where her daughter had just entered.
"Oh no, not that at all, I know you're a freaking addict! What I meant was something from a lot longer than one night ago. On the other hand, who knows? Maybe all those late nights with Jean were really you sneaking off to the Labyrinth!" Nikki remarked sarcastically, swishing herself back and forth, as she made each new stabbing point towards her mother...
Sarah's eyes went wide with shock. She shook her head dumbly, hoping to elude the inevitable. She knew her daughter would not quit until she knew the truth, but maybe if she worked fast she could fool her a little longer…
"You can't fool me," Nikki practically read her mother's mind. Sarah gave her a startled glance and Nikki's eyes narrowed.
"I have proof it exists, so tell me what you know about it," Nikki said with a half-hurt, half-angry look at her mothers denial. Her mom knew her secret longing for magical things. Her room could be a magical haven for passing mystics if one would just show their face! Then again, her mother was good at keeping things secret; she kept her hidden lover secret for five years before dad found out. Before daddy left Nikki forever…
"Nikki I- I really have no clue as to what you're talking about, I-"
"-No clue? No clue! If you have no clue than how do you explain this!" Nikki shouted shoving her hand forward and brandishing the blue worm straight under her mother's nose. How dare she deny her knowledge when she so obviously was involved!
Sarah couldn't see exactly what was shoved under her nose; she could only tell that it was blue and red. She backed a step away to get a proper look and gasped at the smiling, tiny blue worm.
"'Allo' Sarah, mighty good too see you again!" the little worm beamed, "Your daughters your spittin image, swore she was you for the longest!"
Sarah tried to speak, but words failed her. For fifteen years, Sarah had managed to keep the Labyrinth a secret from Nikki. The last time she had seen anyone from the Labyrinth was the day Nikki was born, and she had invited Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Dydimus to see her. After that, Sarah tearfully broke all connections with the Labyrinth. She even went so far as to hide her vanity mirror in the garage, wrapped up so that no one could look in-
-or out.
"Mom-"Nikki couldn't finish her sentence. She was so hurt that her mom could keep something like this from her, obviously, there was more to this than just a talking worm. Nikki wanted to know it all.
"Nikki I-"Sarah started, and then faltered. This tiny blue worm had memories rushing back to her at the speed of light. Suddenly, she was light-headed, and she fell back into the couch. Nikki glared at her and plopped down next to her.
"Explain, now!" she commanded.
Sarah gave her a pleading look, praying she would understand. She recoiled at her daughter's hardened stare, and shrunk into the couch.
"Nikki… When I was fifteen, I wished the goblins would take your uncle Toby…and they did."
Nikki stared at her mother in horror, "How could you wish uncle Toby away!" she cried appalled. Uncle Toby was one of her favorite people in the world, the only one who ever believed in the magic she did. How could her mother have been so cruel?
"Nikki, please! I was angry and young; besides, I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident!" Sarah defended herself; she really had not meant to send him away.
"When they took him I met the Goblin King, and he said if I could get through the Labyrinth in thirteen hours, I could get Toby back. Well I did, and we both left safely, I kept in touch with the friends I made until you were born, then I broke my connection to the Labyrinth. I didn't want what happened to me to happen to you; I wanted you to be normal, to find something real to go after. Quite ironic that you became everything I wanted to stop you from becoming…"
Sarah's eyes had become glazed and far away. Nikki stared at her for the very first time with a fiery hatred.
"So it was all a lie? The things I used to see in that mirror weren't my imagination. They were real! How could you lie about that! How could you?" Nikki accused her mother viciously.
Sarah's far away eyes came to rest slowly on her fuming daughter, "If I told you they were real, what would you have done? Called them here? Better yet, would you have called the Goblin King himself? Nothing good can come from him, only pain and suffering, he stole your uncle, Nikki!"
"You asked him too!" Nikki retorted on her mother, "You asked him and he came through for you! It's not his fault you slipped up, and it's not fair I have to suffer because of it!"
"Suffered? When have you ever suffered from the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked her slowly.
"I told people what I saw in the mirror mom, and I told them about Jerry too! And never once did you back me up!" Nikki screamed standing up and almost dropping the blue worm, "Not once! Even though you knew it was all true!"
Sarah stared at her daughter in shock, "I know I lied about my friends, but I never lied about him. He really was an imaginary friend."
"Mom, the guy could lift me up and carry me around the room, he did it a lot!" Nikki said in a knowing manner, resisting the urge to yell again. Nikki would not lose this battle with her mother.
"It doesn't matter Nikki!" she turned her attention to the worm, "What matters is you go back and tell whoever sent you I cannot help you anymore, any of you. I've grown up, and I-"
Sarah took a deep breath, "I don't believe in you anymore!"
Nikki stared at her mom in horror, "Mom! They need your help, how can you say no?"
Sarah just shook her head, "You'll only get hurt if you get involved, Nikki. I'm still paying for it; I truly wish I'd never met the Goblin King."
She gave a bitter laugh as she walked to the stairs, "It's the only wish he wouldn't grant me…"
Then she slowly climbed up the stairs and Nikki heard her door click shut. Nikki stared where her mom disappeared in disbelief, how could she not help her friends? She looked down at the saddened worm on her palm and sighed. The worm looked up at her and shook its head.
"This is not good Nikki, the king needs Sarah's help, without her…" he cut of his sentence. As though the result of finishing it would be too horrible to bear. Nikki looked down at him sadly before her eyes traveled back up to her mother's door. She could clearly picture her mother hunched over her bed, trying hard to keep her composure before she broke down into a million tears.
Nikki's eyes narrowed, she had made her decision. She walked steadily up the stairs straight to her room where she locked the door. Quietly she set the tiny blue worm on her bed and giving him the 'one moment' finger, before going to her closet and pulling out her favorite shoulder-strap bag. Quickly she went around the room and pulled out two spare changes of clothes and under garments. Shoving them all in her bag, she crossed to her vanity dresser and pulled out her hairbrush and a few clips and ties. That done, she carefully snuck into the bathroom, grabbed her travel kit, and two rolls of toilet paper, before running downstairs quietly and grabbing three water bottles and some granola bars.
Nikki re-locked the door to her room and shoved everything she had grabbed into the remaining room of her bag. She pulled the front of her hair back in a clip and motioned to the silently watching worm to turn around. She changed into her favorite medieval-like shirt and a pair of jeans and her sneakers. At the last second, she grabbed the book she had been hiding under her bed and shoved it in her bag as well…
Three years ago, Nikki had found the book and discovered it to be a diary of her mothers when she was her age! An hour after finding it her mother had thrown a fit and went on a cleaning spree to find it; Nikki had thrown it on top of her dresser, where her mom could not see, and pretended to draw. Nikki still could not understand why she hid it from her mom, but she did, and she had yet to read it.
Nikki always knew it must contain something incredibly important and had never felt right about reading it. Now, with a sure guess as to its contents, she was ready to concur it from cover to cover. She turned to the worm, her bag slung over her shoulder with a fierce determination, and smiled.
"You sure you want to do this, your mum seemed pretty sure of herself…"
Nikki shook her head, "My mom can't help anyone, even if she wanted to. She's not strong enough mentally anymore, dad leaving really messed her up, and besides…"
Nikki smile soured, "Everyone says I'm Sarah's clone, I'm used to being in her shadow," her eyes suddenly sparkled as her look brightened.
"So I can handle taking over her job, and I promise to do it better!"
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Okay this is my first attempt at writing a fanfic. Please review and tell me what I can improve on, I know its kinda cheesy' Sorry, I'll try to do better chap.2!