Through The Eye Of The Clock Dragon
"Elphie, where do we go from here?" Fiyero's voice cut through Elphaba's thoughts as they trekked. Her mind had been in a spin since her apparent melting. She had said goodbye to the only friend she'd ever known, probably never to be seen again. At least... not in Oz. Not that she particularly minded... Oz had lost its gleam and glow a long, long time ago, if it had had any in her lifetime to begin with. Entering the Dragon Clock, she and Fiyero – who was still in Scarecrow form (how in all creation was she going to turn him back?) - had seemingly entered a portal to another realm. She had heard whispers of such things, but had never thought she'd encounter one... the only one she knew of with the power to conjure a portal to another realm had been Madame Morrible... and in doing so, the horrid old bat had killed Elphie's sister – inadvertently? Possibly, but Elphie was not about to turn back and ask the old witch.
"I don't know, Fiyero..." She said, glumly. Her feet were beginning to hurt, and she really wished her broom had not been taken. Thankfully, she had brought the Grimmerie. She wasn't about to let the Wizard get his hands upon it again. "I don't even know where we are." She looked around. Their surroundings were very different from the open plains of the Vinkus, with stone walls, gnarled old faces carved into them. Elphaba wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw the eyes of the carvings following the two travelling companions as they made their way through the many winding tunnels.
Suddenly, several voices boomed, echoing through the stone corridors, making the two jump (Fiyero jumped so high, his hay-filled body flopped uselessly to the ground and Elphie had to help him back up). "Don't go on! Go back while you still can! This is not the way! Take heed and go no further! Beware! Beware! Soon it will be to late! For the path you take will lead to certain destruction!"
Elphie stared. It was the … rockfaces (!) telling them to heed their warnings. What kind of place was this to have magic so powerful? "Where are we?" She addressed the nearest rockface. "What kind of land have we found ourselves in?"
The rockface merely looked at her for a very long moment, before its mouth opened. "Take heed of our warning! Else you don't survive!"
Elphie raised her eyebrows. "And what would a face carved in stone know about survival?" She crossed her arms over her chest, Fiyero standing somewhat behind her, watching the rockface become, for lack of a better word, stony.
"There's no need to be rude. I'm only doing my job." It said, it's voice echoing. Elphaba lifted her chin, her mouth set in a stern line.
"Well, there's no need to be so ominous." She replied, curtly. "If we could find a way out of here, we would... now, if you're not going to help, but hinder, then I suggest you keep your … mouth... shut."
The rockface stayed silent, as if used to being told off, though Elphaba couldn't imagine why. Who on earth would want to be down here, anyway? Was this all this strange land was? One of stone and halls? Where was the sun? The sky? She sighed, turning to Fiyero. "I think we'll have to find our own way from here..." She murmured. "These... things aren't going to help."
"They remind me of the Wizard's trick... the large head." Fiyero said. "You don't suppose we've crossed into his original realm, do you? I certainly hope not."
"No." Elphie shook her head. "He told me he came from a place called Kansas. This place isn't at all like what he described."
"He may have been lying to you, Elphie... he's done it before." Fiyero sounded quite wise for a self-confessed brainless being.
"Perhaps... but we shall see." Elphaba allowed a smile to cross her features and she took Fiyero's straw-filled hand in her own and they walked along, before coming to a long, dark tunnel. To the right, it was a dark, inky black, with no light getting in or out. To the left, there seemed to be a small patch of grey light filtering down from the side. The pair decided that it was better to be able to see each other than not, and so headed toward the lighter end of the tunnel, coming to a ruined wall and a cast iron ladder which lead to a small circle of light, far above.
"You go first." Elphaba said. "I have to tote this book, and it will be slow going."
"No, Elphie... You go first... that way, if you fall and knock me down, you'll have something soft to land on." Fiyero smiled. "I maybe brainless, but I'm far from useless."
Elphie returned his smile. She still found it hard to accept when people were so nice to her... The only people who had ever been nice to her were Fiyero and Glinda and Dr Dillamond... and two of those people she would never see again. Turning toward the ladder, she gripped the rungs as tightly as she could with one hand and slowly, ever so slowly, made her way up the ladder.
+
It took time, but soon, both the green-skinned witch and the scarecrow were climbing out of a large, ornate pot in the middle of what seemed to be a massive, royal courtyard. Helping Fiyero regain his balance on solid ground, Elphaba took in her surroundings. It seemed to be a maze, of sorts... though at least it was outside. Was this a realm of nothing but mazes?
Far above, an owl (or was it an Owl?) flew in the darkening twilight of the sky. Elphie turned to Fiyero and bit her lip. "Which direction would you go in?" She asked.
"Me?" Fiyero looked around as well, his patchwork face set in a confusing expression. It made Elphie sad that, although her spell had kept him from being killed, it had changed him completely, if not utterly. "Perhaps... that way?"
Elphaba turned to where he was pointing. There was a small gap in the hedges. It was as good a way as any, and the girl smiled and nodded. "Let's go, then."
As they were about to go, a noise behind them caused Elphaba to turn and look behind her. A gnarled, aging man sat behind her, a long necked bird atop his head. Surely he hadn't been there before? She would have noticed him, right? She cocked her head to one side. Fiyero, for the most part, stayed silent, unsure of what to make of this strange land and its seemingly strange people.
"Ahem." The man cleared his throat. "A girl!"
"Another!" Said a squawking voice. It took Elphie a moment to realise that the second voice was coming from the bird atop the man's head. "Another girl! Another friend!"
Another? Elphie thought, but decided to set aside her wonders for the time being. "We're not from here," She began, unsure whether she were talking to the man or the bird. "Could you possibly help us through this... maze?"
"Maze?" The Wiseman chortled. "This is much more than a maze, Miss Green... this is the Labyrinth."
Elphaba was not impressed, but Fiyero's soft fingers in her shoulder, she sighed slightly and squared her shoulders. "The Labyrinth? I'm not familiar with it. And my name is not Miss Green... it's … Fabala." She winced slightly as she used the long-forgotten nick-name her father had once called her, before Nessarose had stolen his attention away from her with her difficult and decidedly far more interesting birth. The Wiseman's eyebrows piqued enquiringly.
"And who is this?" He looked toward the Scarecrow at her shoulder.
"My friend." She answered.
"Aha! Another and another friend!" The bird squawked with laughter. "Another, another! Just like the last time!"
"Hush!" The Wiseman grumbled. The bird seemed to grin.
"Another!"
"Quiet!"
"Sure."
"Are you quite done?"
"Eh... yes." The bird fell silent. Elphaba and Fiyero watched the amusing exchange of words between the two strange figures and began to move slowly backwards. If things were bad in Oz, then this place was positively bonkers, if this was what all the inhabitants were like. The Wiseman rattled his money box that had been produced from the folds of his cloak.
"Where is it you want to go?" He asked. Elphaba and Fiyero looked at one another, stopping in their escape. "For simple minds, the way forward is sometimes the way back." The witch and the scarecrow looked confused, but the Wiseman said no more. His eyes closed, and a snore issued forth from his moustache. The money box rattled.
"All you're going to get from him, Green Girl." The hat said. "A stimulating conversationalist, isn't he?" It squawked with laughter. "Please leave a contribution in the box, thank you, kindly."
"I'm not about to leave any contribution." Elphaba snapped. "He didn't help me at all. Good day!" Taking Fiyero's hand, the witch wheeled around and they made their way to the opening that Fiyero had pointed out before. The hat watched them go.
"Maybe not as dull as the other one." It murmured.
"What was that? What dare you say about the Queen?" The words were spoken by a new voice; a lilting melody to it. The hat jerked haltingly from its seat upon the Wiseman's head and turned its long neck at 180 degrees to face the terrifying wrath of the Goblin King.
"Uh..." It squawked. "Nothing... I say nothing about Queenie, your Majesty."
"I should think not." Jareth smirked. "Should you not want to become the centrepiece of a grand feast, I suggest you keep that blabbering beak shut." The bird snapped his beak shut and watched fearfully as the Goblin King disappeared from view, following where the strangers had gone.
++
What seemed to be hours later, Elphaba and Fiyero sat upon an exposed tree root, exhausted and hungry. The forest was full of strange noises, and the pair huddled close together for warmth, for despite the thick blanket of steamy heat that invaded the thick foliage, the witch felt quite an icy chill. There was no food, seemingly no water, nothing to appease the grumbling of Elphaba's belly.
"Sleep, Elphie." Fiyero said softly. "It's been a long day."
"Has it only been a day?" She asked. "It feels like so much longer." But, she rested her head against the man's straw filled thigh, and despite the emptiness of her stomach, fell into a doze. Fiyero, unable to sleep (what need for it? He was almost completely straw... and besides, he didn't have eyelids anymore.) kept a watch over the woman he had fallen in love with. Despite her changing him, he felt no ill will, understanding that she had done it to save him, and had not known exactly what spell she had been casting. He allowed one hand to stroke her long, dark hair.
A twig snapped somewhere nearby. Fiyero looked up from his musings to see an old beaked beggar making its way through the trees, hunched over a stout walking stick, tin cup in hand. He remembered seeing some Animals back in Oz who did this, those who fought against the segregation and kept their voices, though rarely used. He wondered idly if the Wizard's laws reached this far past the Vinkus.
"Alms... alms for the poor." The voice was raspy, as though from disuse. Fiyero felt his heart plummet. They were still in Oz after all. "Alms for the poor." The beggar continued, noticing the straw man and the woman in his lap and making its way forward. "A mighty surprise in these parts! A mobile straw man and a tree elf! A rare sight indeed... rare, rare, rare."
"I beg pardon, good sir... but we have nothing to offer you." Fiyero said. The beggar's eyes gleamed. "We're travellers on the road from -" He felt Elphaba's hand grip his knee. He shouldn't tell this stranger of their travels... what if he were in leagues with the Wizard? "The... the road from Quadling country..."
"Quadling? Quadling? Never heard of it." The beggar stated. "Less it be a state of mind, Mr Straw Fellow?" He seemed to grin. "And you, fine miss... I know you're awake. Sit up. I'm not all that bad."
Elphaba reluctantly opened her eyes and sat up.
"Well, well, well... if it isn't young Elphaba Thropp." The beggar stated, his bright blue eyes appraising the girl. Elphaba frowned. How did this beggar know her name?
"How...?" She began to ask, but the beggar began to tremble. With a flurry of movement, the pauper became unbent, shirking off the old robe and standing straight and tall, dressed in finery, a wild head of blonde hair framing his face. His skin was pale, his eyes bright blue and strange, the smile on his face a mere smirk of indifference.
"How? How do I know of you?" Jareth smirked, shucking off the robes and beak completely. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me." Elphaba challenged gamely. "I've heard a lot of strange things in my life."
Jareth's smirk widened. "How is your dear mother?"
Elphaba's face seemed to set in stone. "My mother is dead." Jareth's face betrayed no emotion, but his eyebrows did quirk slightly.
"I apologise for my blithe comment, then." He said. "A fine woman was Melena. A joy in the royal courts of our land."
Elphaba's eyes narrowed. "According to my childhood nanny, my mother was a tart." She said. "She never loved me. When she lived, she barely took care of me, and would rather nibble on pinlobble leaves and drink cheap wine rather than even look at me or my sister. She died giving birth to my brother."
The man bowed his head. "Say what you will about your mother not loving you, Little Fabala..." He smirked as she recognised her childhood nickname, uttered for the second time in as many hours. "She cared enough to wish you into my care for a time, if only so that you might be cured of your... verdigris."
"Who are you?" Elphaba couldn't fight her curiosity any more.
"Why, to think you don't know... but I do suppose that your father stamped out the thought of... what does he call it? Ah, yes... the pleasure faith." Jareth chuckled. "I am Jareth."
The name zinged through Elphaba's mind, lighting some darkened, long forgotten corner of it. Jareth... why is that name so familiar? She looked at him, frowning. Fiyero looked from the strange man to the girl with confusion etched upon his calico face. He was far too confused to understand what was going on, and figured the best course of action was to see how this … meeting... played out.
"You really don't remember, do you?" Jareth sighed. "Frex never did like me... oh, he could never get enough of our father, nor our Grandfather, Eminent Thropp or the splendid castle we lived in... but the lowly siblings? Pah!"
Realisation began to dawn upon Elphaba's face. "Siblings? You... you are my mother's brother?" Jareth's chin inclined, one eyebrow piqued in an amused fashion. "But... but you said 'royal'... my mother wasn't royal! The only royalty in Oz..."
Jareth's face split into an amused grin. "Is the Ozma regent, yes, I know." He snorted. "I was born there, I should know." He clasped his hands together. "Your Great-Grandfather, although Eminent, was once a Prince of this very kingdom. But, before we get too waylaid with a family reunion, I implore you to join me at the Castle. There is a hearty meal for such weary travellers, and a place to rest, if you'll indulge me." With the flip of a hand, he produced a crystal bauble, balancing it and rolling it over one hand. "Will you care to join my wife and I?"
Elphie and Fiyero looked at one and other. Elphie didn't want to trust this... showboating being who claimed to be her uncle, but she felt she didn't have a lot of choice... besides, the promise of food and a bed called to her enticingly. Fiyero, on the other hand, would follow her anywhere, whether it was with this strange man, or on their own.
Jareth's eyes narrowed. "I might warn you that food in this forest is scarce. My offer is far more profitable to your health."
Heaving a great sigh, Elphaba looked Jareth in the eye and nodded once. Jareth's face split into a grin and he threw the crystal at their feet. Within moments, the two companions found themselves within what appeared to be a huge soap bubble, raising from the ground and floating gently through the trees and over an expansive maze (No, Elphie reminded herself. Labyrinth.), an owl flying silently beside them, as if to guide the bubble toward the large stone castle found at the centre.
~!~
A/N: I realise I haven't written any fiction for some time now, but this idea has been bugging me for a few days... I have no clue as to where it's going, and I don't know how long it will be between updates... I'm a bit rusty on characterisation, so forgive me if they don't seem to be entirely true to form xD
Anyway, I hope you like this little piece... we'll see how I go, hmm?