Green. Everything was green.
He blinked. Green...no, that wasn't right. It...it should be dark. The world couldn't be green, that didn't make sense.
His vision cleared and he was greeted...by sunlight? No. No, it was night. The sun didn't shine at night.
Did it?
Looking around, he found himself laying in a field. In the distance, he could see a castle set high on a hilltop overlooking what appeared to be a maze. A maze...no, that had happened three years ago. What was going on?
Scrambling to his feet, he stumbled towards it.
As he approached the entrance to the maze, he realized with a start that this...this was not the place he thought it was. Nothing looked as it should have. Where was he?
Looking desperately around, trying to gain his bearings, he noticed a dwarf standing, silently watching him, near the entrance.
"So," the dwarf said, "ya made it. Been waitin' fer ya."
"I'm sorry...you've been waiting for me?" He'd never seen the dwarf before. How could someone he'd never met have been waiting for him?
"Not me, HIM." This was getting more confusing by the minute. "Well, go on! Don't just stand there starin' at me! Get going!"
He blinked. "Going? Going where?"
The dwarf scoffed. "To the castle, a'course! Where'd ya think?"
"H-how do I get there?" As soon as he said it, he realized how stupid that was. Of course, he would get to the castle through-
"The maze, a'course! Ya gets to the castle through the MAZE!" The dwarf was pulling his arm, shoving him through the door. "Good luck!"
He shook himself off and looked around. Two paths...one decision. Left, or right? He took a step to the right.
"Don't go that way!" a small voice cried.
Startled, he looked around. Seeing no one, he shrugged it off and continued.
"Not that way!" the voice cried again.
"Who are you?" He looked around wildly, still not seeing anyone.
"Down here!" the voice replied.
Looking down, he saw...a little blue worm? "Did...did you just...speak?"
"Aye!" The worm looked pleased, if, of course, a worm COULD look pleased.
"You're a worm. I've seen many fantastic things in my life, but never a worm who could speak. What are you?"
"I'm just a worm," the creature replied. "Would you like to come in and have a cuppa with the missus?"
"No, thank you, but no. I must be on my way."
"If you're sure?" He nodded. "Alright. But, don't go that way."
Taking advice from a talking blue worm...that sounded like the best way to get to sent to the madhouse. "Why?"
"Well, if ya go that way, it'll take ya straight to that castle." The worm shuddered. Shuddered...worms couldn't shudder.
Well, they couldn't talk either, so at this point, who was he to question a worm's abilities?
"That's where I need to go. Thank you." With that, he started off down the path again.
Minutes, hours, days later, he came to the castle. At the door stood two guards. "Halt!" one of them cried. "What business have you with the Goblin King?"
"Goblin King? I've no idea who he is, but I was told to come here," he answered.
"By whom?" the other guard demanded.
"The dwarf at the entrance to the maze."
The guard raised his helm and peered at him. Looking him up and down, he nodded once, twice, then turned to his companion. "Ah, it's him. He's been waiting for this one, he has."
The other guard nodded sharply and stepped aside, waving him through. "Go on then, ye've kept him waitin' long enough."
"Thank you. But...where do I go?" This was so very odd. Each of these creatures seemed to know who he was and why he was here, but not one of them had clued him in yet.
"Through these doors, down the hall, last door on the left, ya can't miss it," the first guard instructed. "Now, off with ya!"
Following the guard's instructions, he hesitated briefly at the last door on the left before resigning himself to his fate and pushing open the door.
On the other side of the door, lazing about in a large stone chair, twirling three crystal balls in his hand, was a...man? His feathery blond hair stuck up at odd angles, reminding him of The Boy. At the sound of the door opening, the man looked up, and he took notice of his oddly coloured eyes. The man grinned, revealin a set of pointed teeth, and leapt off his seat, the sleeves of his poet's shirt billowing slightly as he did.
"Severus Snape!" the man greeted him, grabbing his upper arm with one hand and his hand with the other. "Welcome to my castle!"
"Th-thank you," Severus stammered out, "but who are you?"
The man bowed as he responded. "Jareth, the Goblin King."
Goblin King. "I've never heard of you. I didn't know the Goblins had a king."
"Well, YOUR goblins don't. These ones, do."
"What?"
Jareth shook his head. "Come, come. I've been waiting for you."
"So I'm told. Why?" He pushed his black hair away from his eyes as Jareth pointed him towards yet another door.
"It's time, my friend," the Goblin King replied.
"Time for what?" Nothing had made sense since he came to in the field. The field... "I'm dead, aren't I?"
Jareth stopped in his tracks and heaved a sigh. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, my friend, you've made it here to my castle."
"What does that mean?"
Jareth put his hand on the handle of the door. "It means, my dear Severus, that you are, indeed, dead." With that, he pushed open the door...and shoved Severus through.
Severus blinked as his eyes were once again met with a harsh, white light. Turning, he saw Jareth still behind him, smiling. "Where are we now?"
"Turn around, Severus, and thank me later." was all the response he got.
Turning again, he found himself face to face with a pair of beautiful green eyes. "Lily..."
Smiling, the redhead enfolded him in her arms. "Hello, Sev. We've been waiting for you."
Behind her stood James Potter, smiling as well. "We've seen all you've done, Snape. Thank you."
Pulling himself away from Lily, he turned back to Jareth. "I don't understand. I've done horrible things. Why...?"
Moving forwards, Jareth clapped him on the back. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, Severus. That is why."
"I don't understand."
"You have all eternity to figure it out, mate," James said, laughing, as he led the still confused Severus towards a cottage, Lily and Jareth following behind.
I know this is choppy and doesn't make much sense, but I'm posting today and I'll clean it up later. Apparently, it takes the deaths of the Goblin King and Severus Snape to pull me out of my three year writing funk.
RIP David Bowie and Alan Rickman
It's only forever, not long at all ~Aideen