Another one-shot I wrote. This is a bit more descriptive than Prince and Princess. I also want to say any Harry Potter and Labyrinth fans that I have 3 challenges on my profile and livejorunal. If you want to write one or all of them, be my guest, just read the little note under it, or go to my homepage at livejournal.
Have fun.
It was a nice, warm spring day. The blue sky was clear, and birds were chirping happily. The park was filled with different kinds of families, giggling children and their dogs.
One family looked different to all other ones. The father, a tall man with short brown curly hair, crouched down to pat a white, shaggy sheepdog. A woman sat next to her husband, wiping off crumbs that fell on to her peach-coloured skirt. She shook her head, her short, blonde hair shaking, as she silently frowned.
Not too far away from the couple, a young girl, who probably wasn't any older than twelve or thirteen, played with a skipping-rope. Jumping up and down as she used her arms to swing the white rope around her, and her long, dark hair jumping along with her. Green eyes held concentration as she jumped.
Her focus broke just as the dog ran up to her, begging for attention.
She giggled. "Merlin, you silly dog," she smiled. Merlin jumped, excitingly, his shaggy tail wagging behind him. She patted his head as he calmed down.
"Sarah," she heard her father say. "We should pack up in the next ten minutes, ok?"
Sarah sighed, and nodded reluctantly. It's not fair, she complained, mentally. She hung her head, her hair covering the sides of her face. She felt Merlin nudge her leg; she crouched down and scratched behind his ears.
Ten minutes passed quickly, and before Sarah knew it, she was in the car on the way back home. Looking out of the window, she became captivated by the nature, passing many different trees, plants and flowers as the car drove. It was absolutely beautiful. So many things she could see herself doing, her imagination ran wild. She could see herself playing with fairies in a field, the scene switched and Sarah saw herself in a forest, surrounded by all sorts of creatures.
The scene vanished when the car stopped. Sarah's father stopped at a shore. It was a brick building that looked really old. The blonde woman stepped out of the car.
"Dad, why are we here?" she asked, looking out of the window.
"They're having a sale. The shop is closing down soon, and your mother wanted to buy some books."
Step-mother, she corrected. Sarah glanced at her father through the mirror at the front of the car. "Well, since the books are on sale," she said slowly. "Can I have a look around and maybe buy something?"
"Sure thing, sweetie," he replied, kindly. "You still have your money from chores?"
She nodded. "All thirty dollars of it," she grinned.
"You can go in, then," her father finally said.
Sarah pulled out the money from the bag she had in the car, and then followed her stepmother into the old store. Many people were in the store, searching for books that caught their interests. Others were lined up in a line at the check-out counter so they could buy their books. She saw her stepmother browsing for cooking books a few shelves away.
There were so many books to choose from. Even though it was a small store, they sure had a lot of books. Sarah saw a sign that read Fantasy. She walked over to the book case and browsed through the titles and blurbs.
Fantasy was a subject that always intrigued Sarah since she was a little girl. Dreaming of, some day, becoming a princess or a mermaid, or wanting true love, to be whisked away by Prince Charming on a white stallion. She even dreamed that she was a witch, good or evil, that had magic she could use, to fly on a broom stick into the night-sky.
She looked over the titles that seemed familiar, like Wizard of Oz, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She loved them all, and had copies of her own in her bedroom.
She went to another shelf and searched. After browsing book after book, Sarah decided to give up and try a different subject. As she was leaving the isle, from the corner of her eye she spotted a small red, leather bound book.
She went closer and saw the title. The Labyrinth, it was called. She turned the book over and noticed that there was no blurb. That's unusual, she thought. She then looked at the cover again, and examined the pages.
"Ah… you found The Labyrinth," a British accented voice purred behind Sarah.
She turned around and a tall, lean man stood before her.
"Excuse me?" A frown appeared on her young face.
"The Labyrinth," he replied, his long, slender finger pointed to the book in her hands.
"Oh," she said before she looked down at the book. "Have you read it?"
He nodded, smirking. "Yes, I have and it's my favourite."
She looked into his eyes, feeling enchanted by the blueness. His left eye, though, looks like it's a different colour, but actually his pupil is dilated, which appears to be a different colour to people looking at him from afar. Her green eyes then travelled to his short, blonde hair that sat on top of his head.
He was a wearing a white button-down shirt, and long black pants, simple but professional. Sarah noticed that he was wearing a name tag. It revealed his name was Jareth.
"Um… Jareth? I noticed that there was no blurb on the back… do you know what this book is about?" she asked, shifting awkwardly.
The handsome man looked at the book thoughtfully and grinned. "Do you know what a labyrinth is?"
Sarah bit her bottom lip. "I think… isn't it like a maze?"
He nodded, and continued. "Well, this young girl, a little bit older than you, wishes away her baby brother to the goblins--"
"Goblins?" Sarah interrupted him, looking disgusted.
He nodded, and chuckled gently. "Yes, goblins. As I was saying, she wishes away her brother, and she soon gets visited by the King of the Goblins, who is a keeper of a labyrinth in his kingdom."
Sarah's eyes widened at the word 'King'. So it involves royalty, she thought.
Jareth coughed slightly to get her attention. "The Goblin King tells the girl that she has thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth before her baby brother 'becomes one of us'."
A confused look appeared on her face. "What do you mean by 'one of us'?"
Jareth grinned, and shook his head. "You have to read it yourself."
Sarah looked at the book in her hands. She touched the cover, and looked up to him.
"Why is it your favourite book?"
He shrugged. "It's… magical, full of adventure."
Sarah suddenly smiled at the words he said, it was definitely what she was looking for. She scanned the store and her eyes fell on her stepmother who had gone to a different shelf.
"Did you want to buy the book?" he asked, and he gained her attention.
She glanced at him. "Do you work here?"
He shook his head. "No, I actually own it; years ago my parents did… before they died. Now I run it with my sister."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sarah apologised. "To be honest, my mother died a few years ago. She was an actress, you know?"
"Really?" he asked, intrigued.
She nodded. "You'll probably know her from a movie, Linda Williams is my mother."
He smiled, and nodded. "Yes I do," he paused. His eyes brightened. "You're Sarah Williams, Linda's daughter," he realised. "I'm sorry about your mother, too."
She nodded her head, accepting the apology.
"So, did you want to buy the book?" he asked again.
She nodded, and Jareth motioned to her to follow him.
They arrived at a different check-out counter.
Jareth scanned the book, and looked at the computer screen next to him. "That will be sixteen dollars and thirty-two cents."
Sarah handed him a twenty dollar note, and he gave her back three dollars and sixty-eight cents. We waited till the receipt was down before putting the book in a plastic bag.
"My dad said that the store was closing down, why is that?" she asked him.
Jareth handed the plastic bag to her and receipt. "My sister and I are going back to England. We've been in America ever since we were teenagers."
"Will you be setting up a store in England?" she asked him, hope appeared in her eyes.
Jareth shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe one day," he replied.
Sarah smiled at him. "I hope it works out for you."
He smiled back, and clasped his hands together on the counter.
"It was nice meeting you, Sarah Williams," he said.
"And it was a pleasure meeting you… Jareth," she giggled, her cheeks went red as she had to look at his name tag.
"Enjoy the book. I know you'll love it," he said.
Sarah nodded. "Bye."
He just smiled as she walked to the door. She turned around once more and waved, then left the store.
Outside, Sarah got into the car, still smiling.
Her father noticed. "What are you smiling about, missy?" he asked as she buckled herself in.
Sarah sighed, longingly. "I think I found my dreams."
Knowing her father wouldn't know what she was talking about; she knew that he'll leave it at that and ask no questions.
A few minutes later, Sarah's stepmother stepped in the car, and her father turned on the car, and drove.
Sarah got one last look at the store that she discovered her dreams in. She then pulled out the book in the plastic bag. She opened the front cover and a piece of paper fell out. It read:
Believe, and never give up on your dreams. And remember nothing is what it seems to be.
J.
She stared at it, confused. She then noticed the small 'J' at the end. She turned around to look behind her, and saw a faint figure walking the other direction.
She looked down at the note again. Never give up, she smiled.
The End.