Easter Parade
A Seasonal Labyrinth Fan Fiction.
Author's Note: This is part three in a series of related stories, the first of which is "Let it Snow" and then "The Kiss". Like the first two, this *should* stand on its own, however your enjoyment may be increased by reading the previous entries first. The associations with commonly-celebrated holidays are purely secular and not meant to imply any particular religious affinity held by any of the characters.
Disclaimer: I do not own the concept or characters from the movie, Labyrinth.
When Sarah first broached idea of staying in her dorm over spring break, she was met with universal resistance. Toby reminded her that she had promised to take him to Chuck E. Cheese's, an activity his parents were disinclined to participate in. Her father reminded her of this also, perhaps fearing he'd have to relent and do it himself if she were not at home. He also reminded her of her plans to clean and paint her old bedroom, part of an ongoing effort to make it more "grown-up". Her step-mother was also keen on the bedroom remodeling, suggesting that perhaps when Sarah was at school, she might make use of it for her writerly pursuits. Karen wrote romance novels, most of which tended to feature heroines who rescued a lonely man from the memory of his ex-wife and helped him begin fresh with a new family. Step-children of varying degrees of brattiness were often prominently featured, originality not being a trait that Karen particularly possessed. Sarah sighed when they had all reminded her of why she should come home, but her father, who was currently on the other end of the telephone line, failed to notice.
"Karen has picked out some lovely paint, Sarah, and a very nice little desk too; antique cherry with plenty of room for her word processor." Realizing, perhaps, that this last bit was not especially enticing to his daughter, he quickly added, "We want your room here to be as grown-up as you are, sweetheart." He paused, then said, "You can use the word processor also, if you have any papers to write. Karen bought an extra box of discs just for you."
How considerate, thought Sarah, but kept it to herself because she knew she'd never be able to voice it without sounding sarcastic. "That's nice, Dad, really, but I'd like to stay here and try to get a bit ahead in my studies." She hoped it didn't sound like she was pleading.
She could almost hear her father frowning. His whole voice had a down-turned sound to it when he spoke again. "Of course I can't force you to come home, Sarah, but I am surprised that you would disappoint Toby."
Foul, thought Sarah, dirty pool! He knew Toby was her weak spot. "Well," she stalled, nearly relenting. Her eyes roamed her small dorm room while she tried to think of another reason to stay. "I...uh..." her gaze lit upon the large suitcase her roommate had packed in anticipation of her own imminent departure. An idea struck her and before she could consider it too carefully, she blurted, "he can come here!"
"Come there?" Her father's voice sounded puzzled. "You mean stay with you? In your dorm?" In the background, Toby began shouting excitedly.
Sarah gulped, realizing she should probably have thought this through a bit better. Still... "Sure," she said, with a confidence she didn't feel, "my roommate won't be here and so there'll be an empty bed." She twisted the phone cord tightly about her finger, turning the tip a smooth pearly white. "It'll be fun!" she exclaimed brightly.
"Hmmm," said her father, "that would give Karen and I a chance to take that vineyard tour." In the background, Karen's voice berating Toby to simmer down went suddenly still.
And that's that, thought Sarah. There was no way her step-mother would pass on a trip. She was still mad about Valentine's Day, but even her desire to put Sarah to work with a paintbrush wouldn't be enough to get her to refuse this proposal. She'd probably work the whole thing into one of her books. Vineyard Dreams, thought Sarah, giggling into the back of her hand, Love Among the Grapes. The possible titles were endless. She chortled.
"What's that, Sarah? asked her father.
"Nothing, Dad." Suppressed laughter made her eyes water. She wiped them and sniffed, "I just choked on a piece of popcorn, that's all."
"Hmm...well...if you say so." Her father sounded doubtful, though whether he was unsure over the plan to have Toby visit or her before-bed popcorn, she had no idea. "I'll talk it over with Karen and get back to you tomorrow."
And that is how it came to be that six year-old Toby Williams, on the second Saturday in April, arrived to spend spring break at his sister's college.
"Sarah!" A small cyclone erupted from the back seat of the Williams family's lovingly preserved Plymouth Volare. Sarah had just enough warning to remember her yoga conditioning and plant herself firmly on the cement steps to her dorm before her little brother hit her like a bag of bricks, throwing his arms about her waist and squeezing hard.
"Whoa, Toby, take it easy." She hugged him back and slid one arm free from his embrace so she could tousle his hair. Behind him, their father emerged from the driver's side of the car, duffel bag in hand.
Toby was bouncing with excitement, giving little hops on his toes and letting go of Sarah to spin around her instead. Their father shook his head with exasperation. "He's been like this ever since we left this morning," he told Sarah, navigating past the whirling boy and handing her the stuffed bag.
The front passenger window of the Volare rolled down and Karen leaned out. "Make sure he goes to sleep by eight o'clock, Sarah, and no scary movies before bed." She frowned briefly at her step-daughter as though contemplating the myriad depravities her only son was likely to be exposed to, then smiled and waved gaily at Toby. "Bye-bye, sweetie, have a good time!"
"Here's the list of places we'll be staying." Sarah's father handed her a sheet of paper covered with Karen's neat printing in her signature lavender ink. "We'll be back next Saturday, most likely around lunchtime." He scratched his head and looked uncomfortable. "Karen asked me to remind you that Toby..." his voice lowered to a whisper, "...still believes in the Easter Bunny, so don't, you know, do anything, you know..." he shifted his feet and looked pointedly towards Toby who was investigating some rocks near the dorm entrance.
Sarah raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "I know, Daddy. You don't have to worry." Toby believed in lots of things, some of which were more real than his parents realized.
Karen reached over and tapped the horn lightly. "We'd better get going, dear," she called from the window.
Toby ran over and hugged his dad and waved to his mom, slipping his hand neatly into Sarah's and smiling a wide watermelon smile. Their father laughed and smiled back. "Okay then, have a good time kids." He started toward the car, stopped and turned back to them. "Oh and Sarah, I was thinking..." he glanced back at his wife, impatiently drumming her long, fuchsia fingernails on the car door, "...that we might celebrate Easter a day early, take you and Toby out to dinner when we pick him up next week." The words came out in a rush, as though he expected her to refuse.
Sarah smiled warmly then, a rush of familial love filling her. "Sure Dad, that's a great idea. There's a nice place in town we could try." She gave her step-mother a little wave. "I'm sure Karen would like it."
"Bye Dad! Bye Mom!" Toby waved his free hand, bouncing again in his Spider-man sneakers.
"Great," said their father, and this time he made it back to the car. With a last wave and a few more "good-byes", the shiny blue sedan retreated down the campus drive and Sarah and Toby were left alone.
Most of the other students had already gone and there was a deserted air about the place.
"Boy," said Toby, looking up at his sister, "I thought they'd never leave."
That evening it was warm enough to have the windows open. Toby and Sarah were in their pajamas, drinking hot cocoa and eating popcorn. The sun had gone down in a blaze or brilliant reds and oranges which hinted at a beautiful tomorrow and they had just settled it between them to take advantage of the warmer weather by planning a picnic.
Toby yawned and snuggled back on the bed Sarah had fixed for him, his small body appearing even smaller between the multicolored mounds of fluffy pillows favored by Sarah's roommate. "Tell me a story, Sarah," he said and yawned again.
Sarah smiled as she caught his yawn, feeling relaxed despite the afternoon's wild rumpus. "Okay, guy, do you have one in mind?"
Toby nodded vigorously, small head bobbing like an apple in the sea of pillows. "Tell the Labyrinth story! Tell me about the Goblin King and the time you wished me away!" His blue eyes sparkled with excitement.
Sarah groaned. "Oh Toby, you've heard that a million times and you know the Goblin King. You talk to him more than I do." Oh geez, did she sound jealous? Her fingers tingled and a warm flush crept up her neck. Stop it Sarah. Stop it RIGHT NOW.
Toby sat up. "He never tells me anything about the night you wished me away!" His voice was accusing, as though he believed the adults were conspiring to keep things secret. "He won't bring me Underground to see the goblins or the castle or anything!" A tired, whiny note crept into his normally sweet voice.
Sarah sighed, running the fingers of one had carelessly through her long, dark hair. "I don't like to think about that night," she said carefully. "It was a long time ago, Toby. You were just a baby and I...I...", she struggled to find the right words, "I wasn't very nice to you." She blushed again, hot shame filling her despite the cooling bridge of years.
Toby reached out and clasped her hand, his small fingers surprisingly strong. "It's okay Sarah. I love you more than sprinkles!" He smiled up at her and she couldn't help but smile at him in return. It was a game they'd been playing since he was old enough to talk.
"I love you more than hot fudge!" she teased, reaching out with her other hand to tickle his feet.
Toby giggled and flung himself back into the pillows. "I love you more than marshmallows!"
Sarah laughed and reached to tickle him again. "Well I love you more than ice cream!"
Toby twisted away from her and burrowed beneath the covers. "Well I love..." He suddenly stopped laughing and went still. "Sarah?" he called.
"What is it, Toby? What's the matter?" There was a faint buzzing at the very edges of her hearing.
"What did you say to make the goblins come and take me away?" He was rigid beneath the comforter, waiting for her answer.
"Oh, Toby," she sighed again. "I just wished that they would come and take you away. And they did." She pulled the covers off of his head and leaned down to deposit a kiss on his forehead. "And then the Goblin King brought me to the Labyrinth and I solved it and brought you back home. Okay?"
Toby regarded her solemnly. "But what did you say?"
Sarah blinked at him. "I just told you. I wished that that goblins would come and take you away." There it was again; that strange buzzing like mosquitos hovering just out of sight above her head.
Toby's mouth was set in a stubborn line, his little arms crossed over his chest. "But what did you say?" he insisted mulishly.
Sarah rolled her eyes and climbed off of the bed. "I said, I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now. Okay? Can we talk about something else now? Toby?" She leaned over the bed, poking her index finger in the middle of the pile of pillows where he had re-buried himself. "Toby? You do need to come up for air you know." The pillows gave a shudder and all the lights went dark.
Sarah scrambled for the pillows, flinging them off of the bed. A spicy wind came whipping in through the open window and tickled her nose, making her sneeze. "Toby?" Dread was creeping through the darkness, pulling her stomach down into her feet. "Toby!" Something furry cackled and bounded from the bed where moments before, her brother had been. In the darkness, its yellow eyes glowed like twin moons.
Oh shit, oh no, oh damn it! Sarah straightened up, hands on her hips and green eyes flashing. "Show yourself, Goblin King!" she demanded. "Where are you Jareth?" The wind was whipping her hair about her face and she could have sworn she smelled snow.
"Oh, precious thing," came a soft yet powerful voice behind her. "What have you done this time?"
