Well here is the Christmas story I promised you all. It's not as long as Masquerade, but it's sweet.
I hope some of you went and read Phantom of The Labyrinth. I promise it has to do with Labyrinth, but not maybe in the way you think.
I do have some bad news. I may not be writing anything for Labyrinth for a while. Next term is my first term where I have to go to campus for class. I am still taking online classes. The main reason is that after Christmas and till school starts I'll be busy playing my new video games, and after school starts, I want to go and finish some works that I haven't finished yet, mostly my He-man story and my work on fictionpress.
Oh, at twenty-four years old I finally get a cell phone. Yes I know they seem to get them younger now. I'm getting a pretty cheap one, but I'll have my own and I won't have to use my dad's.
Oh, about the age. My birthday is Dec. 26. So all the reviews you leave me will be considered both Christmas and Birthday gifts.
Since this is a long one shot, I would like to thank you all for your reviews ahead of time. Enjoy.
Be ware there is religious context. I don't go too in dept, but I wanted to warn you ahead of time.
First Christmas
Snow softly floated down over the Labyrinth and Goblin City. Goblins rushed, buried under furs and leather, home. All of them wanted to be warm. A good bit wanted to be inside the Castle, but since the King had brought his queen and her brother to the Castle, they were no longer allowed inside, unless the King asked for them.
XOXOX
Jareth lounged on his throne. It had been a little over a month since Sarah and he had wed. Now he was forced to sit in his throne room as she decorated for some holiday he didn't quite understand. The poor Goblin King was bored. He would love to be at the moment in his bedchamber with his queen.
Jareth sighed. He really wanted to speed time up, but he had promised Sarah he wouldn't. Hours were ticking away. This holiday meant a lot to Sarah, so he would remain in the throne room just as she had asked him.
XOXOX
Sarah glanced around Jareth's study. The most private, family room, room in the castle looked like an old Christmas postcard. Magic held each of the candles on the tree and prevented it from going up in flames. Garland draped over the mantel and the windows. Shocking hung from "the chimney with care".
The room was now ready for tomorrow, Christmas. Sarah had already gotten everyone's gifts. She still couldn't believe Jareth didn't know anything about Christmas. She would have to give him a crash course so that he would know in the future. Tomorrow was a really important day for them all.
XOXOX
Jareth sighed. Nothing assuming was happening. The goblins were no longer allowed inside, so they could not entertain him. What could be taking so long? His patience was about to come to an end. He could understand Sarah wanting to surprise him, but he was really bored and about to go crazy. If she didn't come and get him soon to show him, he would go after his queen, and face her wrath.
XOXOX
Sarah slowly made her way to the throne room. She had been really testing Jareth's patience, and she knew it, but the room needed to be perfect for their first Christmas. Toby was really excited about tomorrow. Of course, he kept on asking if Santa would find him at his new home. Sarah smiled. Things were going to be great. She gently opened the throne room door. Sarah found Jareth pacing in front of his throne.
"All done. You want to come see?"
Jareth stopped and looked at her. "So I can finally see what you have done to my study?"
Sarah smiled. "It's not going to be up forever. It goes down in two days."
Jareth walked towards her, "I still don't understand this holiday of yours."
"I'll explain it on the way."
The two began their journey to Jareth's study as Sarah told Jareth the Christmas Story.
XOXOX
Hoggle sat next to his fireplace. Soon his friends would arrive and together they would make their way to the castle. Sarah had asked that they come for a Christmas Eve celebration. Now none of them knew what Christmas was, but they all really wanted to see Sarah. Jareth rarely allowed them inside the castle. Hoggle knew it was cause Jareth wanted to protect her from his subjects, but Sir Didymus, Ludo, and he were her friends.
When he heard the knock at his door, Hoggle knew his friends had arrived. Quickly putting on his coat, Hoggle greeted his friends and walked out of his home. The three friends made their way to the Castle Beyond The Goblin City.
XOXOX
Standing outside the study door, Jareth looked down at Sarah.
"You want me to believe that?"
Sarah sighed, "It's what I believe."
Jareth laid a hand on Sarah's shoulder, "Precious, that is some tall tale."
Sarah moved away from him and put her hands on her hips, "You don't believe in miracles or angels?"
Jareth sighed, "No, Sarah. I don't."
Sarah began to cry; then she ran away.
Jareth stood watching her go, at a lost at what to do.
XOXOX
Sarah ran out into the snow-covered garden. She wiped her eyes as she neared a snow-covered bench. Sarah was at a lost at what to do now. She hadn't thought he would out right call The Christmas story a tall tale and not true. If goblins and fairies were real than anything could be. Something needed to help this Christmas to be really wonderful.
XOXOX
The three friends arrived at the castle. After showing their invitations to the guards they were allowed inside. The three made their way to the throne room, where they found the Goblin King pacing in front of his throne.
Hoggle looked at the King, "What did you do?"
Jareth turned to look at him, "I haven't a clue. She told me this story, and I told her there was no way it could be true. I didn't believe in miracles or angels. Then she ran off crying."
Hoggle sighed, "Well, I better go see what she's upset about."
"I shall accompany thee, Sir Hoggle."
"Ludo come, too."
XOXOX
Jareth watched the trio go in search of Sarah. He needed to learn more about this Christmas thing. There had to be a book somewhere. With a flick of his wrist, Jareth transported himself to the Royal Library in search of a book that could help him with his quest.
XOXOX
Sarah smiled happily down at her friends, "I'm really happy to see you." She hugged Hoggle and Ludo, while Sir Didymus bowed.
Hoggle cleared his throat, "What did the Big Rat do?"
Sarah's face fell, "So you've talk to him I see."
Hoggle sighed, "Sarah, I'm trying to help."
"He called what I believe a tall tale. He almost laughed at it."
"You mean this Jesus you told me about last month. That's what Christmas is?"
"It's the celebration of his birth."
Sir Didymus moved closer to her, "Tell us the tale, M'lady."
Ludo grunted, "Tell us."
Sarah cleaned off a place on the bench behind her and sat down. She looked at the three faces in front of her, "It happened long ago."
XOXOX
Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited her and explained to her that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.
At first Mary was afraid and troubled by the angel's words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, "How will this be?" The angel explained that the child would be God's own Son and, therefore, "nothing is impossible with God." Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.
While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning.
Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us.
When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality is one of the reasons God chose him to be the Messiah's earthly father.
Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.
Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.
There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.
After Jesus' birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child.
So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. (Most likely Jesus was already two years of age by this time.) They bowed and worshipped him, offering treasures of gold, incense and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.
Jareth reread the pages. It went into more detail than Sarah had, but he now knew more about this holiday. What he had just read explained why the holiday was celebrated, but it didn't explain the decorations in his study. He continued on in the book and soon discovered the meaning of everything. Also he learned of the legend of Santa Claus.
XOXOX
The trio looked up at Sarah. Hoggle placed a hand on her knee, "Sarah, for us it would seem like a tall tale, but for you, I think us three are willing to believe."
Sarah smiled at them, "Thanks. Come on, I need some help with getting presents to the study."
The four made their way back into the Castle.
XOXOX
Jareth sat beside the fireplace in his study with Toby in his lap. The two sat looking at a book version of "T'was The Night Before Christmas." Toby knew the story, but he sat in place as Jareth read the poem.
This was the scene Sarah and her friends found as they came in with the gifts to go under the tree. Sarah wiped a tear from her cheek after she placed her pile of gifts under the tree. Her friends did as she did and turned to face the King.
Jareth finished the poem and looked up at Sarah, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. Toby has been helping me."
Toby smiled at his sister, "I helped with Santa."
Sarah nodded and moved towards her family. Christmas was going to be wonderful after all.
Well there it is. I hope you enjoyed it. It took me a while to write. So review. Oh, this is my list of what I can do after the first of the year.
on finishing my He-man story
on finishing my story on fictionpress
on a sequel to Phantom of the Labyrinth
on the last story for my Buffy/angel theme trilogy.
I want to do it all, but I know that something will come up and I will start working on it instead of what I need to do.
So tell me what you think.
Until next year.