Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth.
Author's Notes:
1) This is just a sweet holiday, family story. Don't worry, I will return to A Voice So Sweet and Amulet as soon as all these Halloween plot bunnies are taken care of. This story follows more of the style of Time than the two mentioned before.
2) In this story Sarah has forgotten most of her memories surrounding the Labyrinth.
Sarah gaped in horror as her four-year-old brother waltzed through the decorated kitchen dressed in a way she never hoped to witness in her life.
Sarah folded her hands over the jack-o-lantern tablecloth. In her five years of living with Karen she had yet to grasp the concept of decorating for Halloween. It was not that she disliked the holiday, it was only that her own mother never cared enough to take the effort to decorate. The living room was covered in fake spider webs and bat garland as well as ceramic pumpkins lining the coffee table with a scarecrow for the centerpiece. Karen was quite a different person when the holiday season began. She had even constructed the costume her son sported.
Toby smiled at his elder sister, the girl he idolized more than anyone else in his life. He had every reason to look up to her as she went out of her way to make sure he was happy and well taken care of. She even sacrificed an hour of attending her friend's party to take Toby trick-or-treating. Of course Toby had promised her a few pieces of her favorite chocolate bars from his collection. Still Sarah had no idea her brother would come dressed in that costume, the very same one, down to the last detail.
"Oh, you look adorable!" cooed a female voice. The voice's owner, Toby's mother, entered the kitchen with a Polaroid camera in hand.
"Mom!" Toby whined when Karen engulfed him in a hug.
Karen pushed away a few strands from the platinum blonde, rockstar wig from her son's face. She gazed over the makeup that had taken her a few applications as Toby continued to rub his itching eyelids, smearing the designs several times. The light layer of blue sat on the top eyelids with a darker shade filling in the space between the lighter color and his eyebrows. Sticky, black kohl lined the lash line extending past his temples. His cheeks were covered in glitter specks. The glimmering blue cape, much too large for his frame, rested over his shoulders, complementing the elegance of the slacks and regal shirt. Even a replica of the amulet dangled from his neck.
Sarah sat speechless. The resemblance was too uncanny for coincidence. Karen lifted the camera and waited for Toby to give her a huge smile. The camera flashed, temporarily blinding the boy. Karen shook the photograph until the fog formed into the smiling face of her little boy. She smiled at the picture, not willing to let any memories of her children pass her by.
"Can we go now?" Toby asked with a hint of whining in his voice.
"Just a second," Karen replied. She eyed her stepdaughter. "You have the flashlight?" Sarah confirmed with a nod showing the mentioned object in her hand. She returned her gaze to Toby and lowered herself to his eye-level. "Now, Toby, you stay with Sarah at all times. Do not run off. And what do you say when someone gives you candy?"
Toby sighed with a roll of his eyes, "Thank you."
With those words Karen left the room and Sarah stood up. She tugged on her tunic.
"Sarah, we're going to get so much candy I'll be eating it for weeks!" Toby exclaimed.
Sarah giggled.
"Hey, Toby," Sarah said ruffling the boy's wig to which he whined about having it messed up. Her voice hardened, "Where did you come up with this costume?"
Toby smiled. "That doll in your room." Sarah's eyes widened. It had been years since she placed the majority of her toys in a box in the closet. She gave away most of the items, but there were some that were just too personal to part with.
"Oh," Sarah said. She could find nothing more to say. She stood dumbfounded reliving that blurry moment when she met the original owner of that costume. It was so long ago. It baffled her that she could remember the details of that dream so well.
Toby looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Sarah," he said in a small voice.
Sarah lowered her eyes to her brother. "Sorry for what, Toby?" There was no way he could remember the plot of that dream, even if she had used it as an outline for several bedtime stories. Sarah never told him how in her dream he was the one kidnapped by the goblin king. Sarah thought of that dream so many times that she could still make out the basic features of the story's villain. There was something so lifelike about that creature, something that transcended the realm of sleep. Sarah sighed, she was too old to continue believing it happened. If it were not already a famous play Sarah was sure she could make a fortune by writing the novel.
Toby found the strength to lift his eyes to meet with Sarah's. "I didn't mean to keep taking it, but I really like it." Toby squirmed. "And I let Mom use it to make my costume with."
Sarah was about to ask her brother what on earth he was speaking of when it dawned on her. There had been times it looked like someone had been rummaging through her closet. Everytime she checked nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. It now made sense how come her brother's costume looked exactly the way she remembered the actual garments. No doubt she clearly remembered the goblin's features because his appearance was based on the doll. She now remembered the reason she hid the doll in the box for the last two years. Her imagination had truly played one good joke on her during her sleep.
Still it was silly to believe that a dream could be reality. It was even more ridiculous to relive the dream everytime she set her gaze upon that doll.
She put her hand on Toby's shoulder. "It's okay." She winked. "Since you like that doll so much why don't you take care of him for a while."
"Really?" Toby asked while his eyes lit up.
Sarah nodded. "I don't have time to play with him anymore, but I'm sure he would love living in your room."
Toby thanked Sarah by grabbing hold of her hand and squeezing her fingers tightly. That gesture was a bond the two created to thank one another since before Toby could talk.
Sarah clutched the flashlight while Toby grabbed the jack-o-lantern bucket off the table. The two said a quick farewell to Karen then headed out the door.
Toby made an effort to hop down every step on their front porch despite Sarah's warnings. She held her breath with each jump, hoping the cape would not slip underneath his feet. The two stepped down safely in the driveway.
Toby glanced up at his sister. "Hey, Sarah." The mentioned stared down at the younger one. "If I'm wearing the goblin king costume shouldn't you be wearing a white dress?"
Sarah stepped back. "What?"
Toby shrugged. "I just always thought you'd be wearing a white dress and dancing with the goblin king." He smiled at Sarah. "Just like in all the stories."
A vague memory returned to Sarah. She shook the thoughts from her head, yet it still poked at her for the remainder of the night. With every house Toby ran up to and rang the bell she pictured herself dancing in a large, white dress similar to one worn by the doll on the music box she still proudly displayed in her bedroom. She walked aimlessly around a foggy ballroom full of strange people. The music was soft and somewhat on an ethereal level. For some strange reason she imagined the goblin king, a much older version of Toby, a real goblin, taking her by the arm and twirling her around while singing lyrics of a somber love song along with a surreal tune.
Toby returned with a smile on his face while holding up a piece of wrapped candy he received from the previous house. Sarah smiled then the two headed on to the next house in the neighborhood.
Toby insisted he sleep in his costume. Sarah managed to talk him out of wearing the bulky cape to bed. She hung up the cape in his closet then sat in the tiny chair by his bed. Sarah called her friend to notify her that she would be another half hour late. It was a tradition that Sarah tell Toby a bedtime story every night she was home for holiday breaks and no party would come between her and her brother.
Toby turned to his sister. "Hey, Sarah," his tiny voice spoke.
Sarah lifted her eyebrow and smiled waiting for him to finish his thought.
"I had fun with you tonight," Toby stated. Sarah fought back forming tears, even if they would not have been strong enough to fall. Ever since her enrollment in college she saw less and less of her brother. Each time she came home she made sure to spend a good amount of time with Toby. The latter became clingy to his sister each time he had the chance to see her. Sarah knew it was unhealthy, but could not bring herself to part from the boy who loved her so much.
"I did too," Sarah said. She ruffled Toby's blonde hairs. Toby looked more and more like his mother each day leaving neither child resembling their father. "Now, how about this story."
"Sarah," Toby said rolling onto his side. "Can you tell me a story about the goblin king?"
Sarah nearly gasped. It had been so long since she even thought about the Labyrinth. So many times she wondered if she imagined it all. The memories were fading, yet this night was proving to refresh all she questioned for the last two years. It was something the one she used to know as Hoggle—was that his name—told her was a side effect of aging. The two cried in each other's grasp at the fact that Sarah would eventually lose her memory of the Labyrinth and all its inhabitants. It was a price all who chose not to reside within its walls had to pay.
"Sarah," Toby said.
His words pulled her out of her trance. Sarah stared down at her brother.
"Sure," Sarah said. She shifted into a more comfortable position. She figured she would tell the story until Toby fell asleep. That was the usual routine with him drifting into slumber before ever reaching the end.
Toby's eyes widened. He handed Sarah a Snickers bar he snuck from the candy dish when Karen turned her back. Sarah laughed and munched on the chocolate. Toby snatched himself a Reese's Cup and Twix from the pile.
"Once upon a time," Sarah began. She found it weird saying the opening lines to the stories she used to love so much. "There was a goblin king. He was very lonely in a world of subjects who did nothing to stimulate—" Sarah noticed Toby's face scrunched while trying to understand the word. Sarah smiled. "Uh, interest him." Toby's wrinkled brow returned to normal. Sarah lightly laughed then continued, "He soon fell in love with a beautiful human girl."
"Was the girl you?" Toby interrupted.
"Excuse me?" Sarah asked more curious than anything.
Toby sat up. "The girl, I always thought she'd look like you." He smiled at Sarah. "You and Mom are the prettiest girls in the world, all other girls are gross. So if he fell in love it had to be with you."
Sarah placed her hand on top of Toby's. The preschooler always knew what to say to cheer her up.
"Yes, the girl's name was Sarah," Sarah said. Toby snuggled beneath his blanket. "He fell in love with her. But she couldn't be with him because he was a goblin and she wasn't." Sarah pushed her hair behind her ear. Sarah noticed Toby looking at her with wide eyes. She did not wish to scare her brother and decided to change up the plot. "But she loved him back. The only way they could be together was for the girl to prove her love to the king by running the Labyrinth. Her and a few others from the kingdom ran through a fire bridge, a cave of vampire bats, and the Bog of Eternal Stench until they reached the castle."
Toby laughed as he normally did when Sarah mentioned the bog. The first time she told the story she explained what exactly the bog was to which Toby found hilarious. The next morning the family found him playing in the mud he claimed to be the Bog of Eternal Stench. Naturally her parents glared at her for putting those ridiculous stories in his head. Sarah weakly retorted that it was good for his imagination.
"Sarah," Toby interrupted again. "What's the goblin king's name?"
Sarah opened her mouth to answer the name she was certain she knew. Her mind drew a blank. She remembered the night she supposedly met the mythical creature. She recognized his costume the moment she saw Toby wearing an exact replica just an hour before. Still she could not recall the goblin king's name. In fact she had begun to forget his face. Were it not for that toy Toby loved so much she would have forgotten every detail in full.
"What would you like his name to be?" Sarah asked.
Toby thought for a few minutes. "I like Jerry, his name is Jerry."
Sarah nodded. For some reason that name sounded almost accurate to the goblin king's given name. Even with the similar sound, she still could not remember his name.
"I think that's what he told me," Toby said to himself.
"What?" Sarah asked standing up. She stepped over to Toby's bed. "What did you say?"
Toby smiled. "Jerry comes in my dreams." He pumped his fists in the air. "He told me I'm going to be a great king like him one day!"
Sarah sighed. For a second she wondered if Toby remembered anything from his visit to the Underground. Sarah clutched her elbows forcing herself not to laugh for thinking Toby would remember something from a trippy dream she had three years ago. Even if it did seem so real, there was no proof the Goblin Kingdom or the Labyrinth existed. No doubt she fell asleep in her anger and dreamt up this world of fantasy where she almost lost her brother. In the shock of it all she woke, glad Toby was still around. The dream spoke to her, but she was now certain it was nothing more than something her imagination cooked up in her sleep.
Toby placed his cheek against the pillow and shut his eyes. In three seconds time he was out. Sarah sighed, as usual Toby fell asleep before the story reached its end. Sarah smiled and kissed her brother's forehead.
She was about to leave when the goblin king doll sitting on Toby's dresser caught her attention. Sarah picked up the toy and looked into its glossy eyes trying to remember why that face looked so familiar. She could barely remember anything about the Labyrinth, a dream she had when she was a teenager. She felt foolish for believing it was real for so long. Sarah placed the doll in Toby's bed then turned out the lights.
Sarah took one last look at Toby. "Sweet dreams, goblin king."
Happy Halloween everyone!