Pandora

"Her love awaits me on the distant shore

The river flows between us

Crocodiles on the sandbars" (Anonymous Egyptian)

"What should I do about this?"

The morning light flickered pleasantly within the mirror but gave no answer. Recently her father had come into some wealth, his great uncle, whom no one had ever seen, much less heard of, had died, leaving her father lands, and title in Spain. Sighing Sara turned from the mirror to gaze out at the countryside before her. She pondered her new life, thanks to her grandmother's uncle she now lived in a beautiful mansion in the Spanish countryside. Although the movement had been fast and unsettling, Sara now considered the mansion her home and spent much of her day walking through the extensive gardens and oak lined avenues.

However there was one place she did not dare to tread, in the Southern Gardens far behind the Rose Garden there was a gate covered in ivy connected to a wall equally as concealed. She could see what was behind the gate from the outdoor ballroom on the roof of the manner; it was in fact a Labyrinth with a stone gazebo at the center. Although she was curious, she could not shake the irrational fear that something truly dreadful had been sealed within. The key to the gate was nowhere to be found and Sara could say only a very little in Spanish. So it seemed that her Labyrinth would be just beyond her reach, not that she had the courage to enter.

Sighing once more Sara languidly stood and dressed. She lazily pulled the White Sundress over her head mussing her hair a bit as she did so. Then stepping out to her balcony she took a moment to feel the breeze and sun on her skin. Below the servants were busy preparing for a ball her father was giving that night in honor of his meteoric rise to the aristocracy. Suddenly memories of the masquerade she attended while in the Labyrith were fresh in her mind. Shaking her head she moved from the window and paced about her room a moment. Then with silent resolve not to spend the day pining in her room she moved toward one of the larger portraits decorating her walls. Feeling the Frame a moment she then bent back the portrait to reveal a door. She'd found it when she was looking around the manor her first night and since had found it a particularly effective way of avoiding her Stepmother.

She walked through the passage into a long sun filled corridor that culminated with the presence of two doors: the one on the right led to a winding stairwell and a door that would drop you into the middle of the rose garden, the door on the left led to a crimson bed chamber, and another passage way that led to one of the guest bedrooms. Sara liked to imagine that the previous lady of the house held midnight trysts here but it seemed improbable, she had heard from the servants that spoke English that the master and his mistress were very much in love. Sara paused and looked out the window at the labyrinth again with a longing look, then shaking her head she turned from the window, swung open the door on the right, turned the handle, sped down the stairs and into the secluded rose garden.

The sun had now reached its full height in the sky and Sara had to close her eyes to adjust to its brightness. Slowly opening her eyes she took in the sight around her. Fully bloomed red rose bushes lined her view until she saw her destination, a small stone gazebo adorned by climbing roses. This was her favorite retreat. She walked to the bench, sat, and felt underneath it and took out a small red book, feeling the words of the title gently she knew the truth contained within the pages. Sighing sadly she laid flat whispering regretfully,

"You have no power over me"

She let the book drop to the ground as she lay knowing the world she had fallen in love with was too far out of her reach, the man…

"Jareth"

Like a soft kiss the name floated from her lips, she covered her mouth, closed her eyes and prayed she hadn't done something terrible, but no one came. "Of course he wouldn't come"

"So this is where I find you?"

Sara opened her eyes to her stepmother glaring down at her.

"Sara what are you doing? You look a positive mess you know your father is expecting us to look a certain way tonight. Go upstairs immediately and get ready we can't have the press finding you in that state!"

Sara wanted to slap her across the face for her cruel words but she could not bring herself to actually do it.

'Why can't they just leave me alone' she thought bitterly but rose anyway and followed her wicked stepmother back into the mansion; where she was greeted by her ladies maid, Magdalena.

The short, round, elderly woman rushed Sara back to her room, stripped her, and then threw her into a bath of what once was warm water. Shivering, she proceeded to wash her hair and body not noticing the owl watching her from the tree outside her window. Magdalena did, however, and shooed it away

"Magdalena?" Sara asked thinking the woman had gone mad.

"Perdóneme por favor lo pierdo fue un pájaro impar que mira en la ventana." (please forgive me miss it was an odd looking bird at the window) she spoke while helping Sara into her bath robe.

She then preceded to towel dry her hair as Sara tried to translate what she had said.

'Pardon, please something window something bird something'

"Bird!" she exclaimed scaring Magdalena half out of her skin, and rushed to the window, but she saw nothing.

"¿Pierde sara es usted bien?" (Miss Sara are you alright?)

Suddenly Sara realized how strange she must have acted just then. With color staining her cheeks at her actions she sighed,

"perdóneme, yo quiero pájaros" (sorry, I like birds) while looking at the ground.

'what a lame excuse, I was just so excited that it might be' Sara thought dejectedly.

Magdalena grabbed her by the wrist and sat her in front of her mirror, her smile indicating that she did not mind her odd behavior in the slightest. Sara smiled back, even if they had a hard time understanding each other verbally, Sara felt Magdalena knew what she wanted. Grrowwlll and obviously right now that was a sandwich.

'I forgot, I haven't eaten anything since dinner last night.'

"puede tengo alimento ahora" (may I have food now) although she had stumbled slightly when speaking she realized that she was starting to understand the language better.

"El alimento? ah por supuesto usted debe estar muriendo de hambre pobrecito que usted es! iré y le conseguiré algún almuerzo. preocupa no seré ido no mucho tiempo y entonces nosotros le podemos hacer hermoso para esa ramera de una madrastra que usted tiene"

Then Sara was alone again. Magdalena had spoken too fast for her to understand anything she was saying, but she hoped she was going to get food. Sara stood and walked carefully toward her balcony and tightening her robe around her stepped outside, looking for the weird bird that Magdalena saw.

'I might not have even understood her correctly'

"I'm going crazy. Jareth, just appear if you are going to." She yelled in agitation.

She looked around for some sign of his presence but saw none. She searched the grounds again just if by chance she had missed something but there was nothing not even a hint of glitter. Sighing sadly she closed the door to the balcony and began to towel dry her hair again.

Several hours of primping, curling, and lacing later Sara was ready for the ball, Magdalena had excused herself moments before and now Sara was looking at herself in the mirror. she admired how the off the shoulder sleeves made her shoulders square and how the large skirt accentuated her tightly bound waist. The deep red suited her dark hair and pale skin but she was the most proud of her hair; Magdalena had curled her long hair into tiny ringlets which then were pinned into a bun at the back of her head. Sara had taken a few curls out to hang down past her shoulder drawing attention to her long bare neck.

'I don't look to bad if I do say so myself' she thought picking up a tube of deep red lipstick.

She applied the sultry red lipstick and noticed right away that it made her skin look whiter. Being pleased with her appearance she stepped out onto the balcony again, and looked down below at all of the guests who had already arrived. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't nervous even though she had been training for this night since she arrived in Spain. Since she was the only blood female alive she would have to lead the dancing. The only problem was that she didn't know anyone.

'I wish he would appear tonight' she thought and although she meant it she could not bring herself to say it aloud.

A knock on the door brought her back to her senses it seemed she could not postpone destiny any longer. She went to grab her fan and found a black lace mask with a note wrapped around it. She carefully untied the note,

Sara,

Choose wisely.

She smiled, grabbed her fan, the mask, and was gone.