Title: Witches' Rites
Author: Yodeladyhoo
Summary: Sarah longs to be with Jareth, but at what cost?
Genre: Fantasy
Pairings: Jareth x Sarah
Rating: T
disclaimer (dĭs-klā'mər): noun
1. (law) a voluntary repudiation of a person's legal claim to something
2. denial of any connection with or knowledge of
syn: disavowal
c.1986, 2007 The Jim Henson Company.
LABYRINTH is a trademark of The Jim Henson Company.
Labyrinth characters c.1986 Labyrinth Enterprises.
All rights reserved, but not by me.
All rights are reserved, but not by me. This short story is a work of fiction. All original characters in this story are based on actual persons. Said persons have been contacted and permission to use their likenesses has been granted. This means, if I didn't speak to you about this, it isn't you I'm talking about. Permission for the use of the non-original characters has not been requested by the author or granted by the licensor. This short story was written for your perusal and pleasure. No compensation, either financial or actual, has been collected or requested.
Plea for Reason: Muses are strange creatures. All it took was one string of dialogue to get this one rolling. I really want to have this completely up for today, being Samhain. It isn't plagiarism if I give credit. Areas in bold are from The Way of the Goddess by Ly Warren-Clarke, published by Prism Press in Bridport, Dorset, Great Britain.
The women struggled down the slope in the dark. The moon, already having risen long before sunset, offered ample light in its height and fullness, yet almost none made it to the forest floor. Although barren of fresh leaves, not all of the trees had relinquished their hold on their foliage. The two had to scrabble and pick their way through the bracken brushes and stones on their way to the lakeshore.
"This would work better with three," the rear guard grumbled. "There's certainty in some numbers."
"I have more faith in the two of us than adding an unknown element to our mix." The younger woman said in response. "Please, I don't have the type of concentration that you have in maintaining my aura."
"One of the benefits of being covened, I suppose," Patt muttered more to herself than for Sarah's ears.
The pair continued down, sliding and working their way down until they reached their destination; a deserted lake deep within a forest. It was large enough to be placed on the map, yet the cove they had chosen was separated from the rest of the shore by dense forest. On the beach drinking in the moonlight was a table of a rock, more long than wide, but no more than four feet. Those who chose to swim out to this secluded beach called it the Mermaid's Perch. There weren't too many visitors or campers this time of year due to the cooler temperatures and the placement of the date within the calendar. The women were certain of their privacy.
Sarah and Patt worked in a comfortable quiet that was borne out of a long understanding of working together. After unloading their packs from their bodies and removing articles from them, the two women proceeded to unclothe themselves and walk silently into the waters that were bathed in the moonlight. Their feet, moving in unison, barely caused ripples in the surface of the lake and they waded deeper into the pool until they were shoulder deep. With an unheard signal, both women ducked their heads under the water as one. They moved as a synchronized unit, their only differences were in the patterns their hair portrayed on the surface. Sarah's long, layered mahogany hair lifted in an exaggerated timeframe, floating wild in the water while Patt's hair formed a concisely defined halo around the crown of her greying head.
Upon resurfacing, they both walked back towards the more shallow water. Patt bent to take the bottle of oil that was left there and proceeded to anoint Sarah. "May the Blessed Mother of All guard your mind, your body, your soul" she intoned while she sealed the thirteen holy portals on the younger woman's body. Sarah's body shivered partly from the magickal invocation and partly from the almost uncomfortably cool October air. After the ripple had passed from her body, she lifted the oil and anointed Patt in the same manner. Patt lifted her head, accepting the flow of power through her shorter stature, raising her arms in acceptance of the Universal power. "O, Great Goddess, we anoint ourselves in preparation for your adoration! Behold and find favour in your daughters!"
They then donned their robes; a plain, midnight blue silken one for Sarah and an ornately embroidered cotton mantle for Patt. Sarah picked up two knives, one with a ram's horn hilt, the other with a hilt made from mother-of-pearl, and a length of rope and proceeded to cast a circle while Patt prepared the alter upon the rock. When all was in readiness, the pair opened the gateways of the Elements, each in their own turn, and asked the Guardians to guide their work this night. The lake replied by rippling the moon's reflection over its surface. The trees around them whispered their approval. The very ground beneath their feet seemed to hum in acceptance of their request as warmth infused the circle. After lighting the candles, the pair faced each other, Patt facing Sarah, the alter behind the younger woman, and Sarah towards Patt, with the light of the full moon reflecting upon her face.
The chanting didn't so much start as it became audible. The voices of the women teased the mantra and the invocations from the surrounding night. Each one used their sacred and secret name, calling upon their Lady and Lord to oversee and assist in their effort, their voices rising and falling into a rhythmic cadence that seem rehearsed.
"Come ye of the Ancient Way!
Come ye of the Sacred Isle!
Hear now the voices of our inner longing.
For we call upon those of the Ancient Wisdom!
Back through the Gates of Time to the Time of all Knowledge!"
The winds picked up, blowing stray leaves across the pebbly beach, but strangely, none passed over the line that was drawn in the earth with Sarah's white hilted knife. As their voices and chanting seemed to reach a crescendo, the lyrics seemed to change. Patt sang the original chorus, while Sarah took up a new stanza.
"I have lit the beacon; be ye guided to this place, made sacred to the Goddess of my Art!
Hear me, all those who would be of my house!
The gulf between the Worlds exists not this night.
Approach all those who are of the Ancient Wisdom!
Come to be with me all those who will of the Art!
The Cup is filled in the name of thee, for I will see and speak with thee and I would see that which is yet to be.
Great Goddess, grant insight and serenity.
Let the light of love guard the sleep of the child.
O Lady of the Unborn cast back Thy cloak and grant to me the sight!"
Their faces showed their spiritual frenzy; eyes shut, brows furrowed in concentration, beads of perspiration working over the ridges and crevices of their foreheads. Their arms, upraised now, exposed from the dark oversized sleeves of their garments, gleamed in the light of the Hunter's Moon. Their cloaks whipped in the tempest that the swirling energies created. One more word needed to be uttered, and it was from Sarah's lips.
"Jareth!"
Suddenly, there was a flash of blinding light; a light so intense it pierced not only the eyelids of the women, but it also flashed brilliantly within their minds. The last thought Patt had was that of any of Sarah's original doubts would definitely be dispelled by this display of something. Both women collapsed from the shock of energy that was summoned by their working.
The silence of the wind and voices was only was accentuated by the sounds of the surrounding nocturnal forest. Sarah was aware of the scream of a rabbit as it met its ultimate end. She opened her eyes. Lying on her side, she could see that Patt has also collapsed in a heap, much as she was. The two women lay head to head, "Like Gemini. How appropriate," Sarah mused to herself. She discovered the Path within herself approximately five years ago. Unsure if this was what the yearning that was inside of her, Patt, a hedgewitch she had met at a Yule gathering, recognized her aura and took her under her wing and guidance. Patt was her mentor, her Crone to Sarah's Maid. Patt guided Sarah through her meditations, her initiations, her first Sabbats. The two women were on a mental and spiritual link Sarah could not imagine existed. It was only appropriate that Patt assist her in this summoning. She only hoped that it was successful.
Slowing pushing herself up from the ground, Sarah sat, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her forehead upon them. Looking up into the night and the forest, she mused out loud. "Well, that was quite a something."
A male voice behind her responded. "That was quite a something, indeed."
Author's Note: I've done it for you. Now, please return the favor. Review. Thank you.