Immortal By DarkAngel-Hotaru (A Work in Progress)
"Is it all a dream, like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or Dorothy's in The Wizard of Oz? In my own it is. But it's all rather ambiguous-dream or reality? Fantasy or fact? It's whatever you like it to make it. Wherever it takes you to." -----Jim Henson
Chapter One ________________________________________________
Sara sat, numbly gazing out of her bedroom window. The bright morning sun drifted though the frosty layers of glass, enlightening Sara's pale features with its soft glow. Her long, dark hair haphazardly cascaded down her back and over her wiry shoulders. Her eyes of pale hazel rapidly darted about every spot within the four-acre scrap that her father dubbed their yard. She noisily exhaled and tightly fused her sore eyelids together. A spine-tingling sensation coiled down the flesh of Sara's arched back. She violently shuttered. Sara had witnessed another mind-boggling nightmare and it did not help to think about them.
For countless years, or as long as she could remember, Sara had been possessed by disturbing, spine-chilling dreams. She looked upon them as dreary mental pictures that appeared to her when she is sleeping and even when she is conscious. Every otherworldly illusion has been different and unfamiliar to her, but each one evolved around the same place, a Labyrinth, a maze chalked full of deadly twists and dark, mystifying creatures. The hallucinations of this nightmare was dissimilar from the others, this one included one out of the ordinary attribute, her.
In the dream, Sara had been fifteen, not her normal age of seventeen. Her parents were apart, just like in real life, only her father was remarried, a falsely represented fact. Sara's father and the newly acquainted stepmother chose to leave her at home with the baby while they enjoyed a night out on the town. The fifteen-year-old stubbornly wished her baby brother away to the Goblin King, who gladly took him.
The Goblin King. Jareth.
Another cold spell wrapped its icy fingers around Sara's warm flesh, more chills. Sara was terribly frightened of that cruel man with a heart that seemed to be chipped away from a block of ice. Sara could feel hot tears burning from the corners of her sleep exhausted eyes. A largely budding mass of dread churned its ugly self from within Sara's stressed gut.
Sara had overpowered him within the hazy depths of her childish nightmare. All of the victims inside her imaginings never complete their quest to the castle beyond the Goblin City, but come what may, she had. That single thought gave Sara some sense of relief, but very little.
You have no power over me...
Those were the fifteen-year-old's words to the dreadful beast. They worked, sending the mystic being back to the shadowy depths of the labyrinth hell from which it came, in turn, releasing the baby back into Sara's care. Why couldn't Sara be as courageous as she had been within her daydream?
Sara's eyes quickly sprung ajar, eyelids with long, darkened lashes fluttered, while her eyes tried in vain to adjust to the brightness of the radiant sunlight. Another exaggerated sigh abandoned from the pits of Sara's parched throat. It's not real, she quickly reminded herself.
Then why does it not feel that way?
She tenderly licked the dry, cracked surface of her lips and gracefully removed herself from her windowsill perch. Sara had packing to do. Her mother would be here at any given minute.
A tapping sound echoed from the outside of Sara's bedroom door. Sara did not lift her glaze from the packing of her purple knapsack. She loudly called out, 'Come in,' while stuffing a white T-shirt into the bulging pack. The brass doorknob quivered, turned and her father awkwardly entered.
Unknowing what to say, he scratched the top of his thinning scalp and inaudibly watched his only child pack her things. He swallowed, wetting the dryness of his throat.
"Do you need any help?"
Sara glanced at her aging father for the first time since he entered with an astounded look flashing onto her delicately fashioned features. Realization with her father's hushed words overwhelmed Sara's senses and she calmly shook her head no.
"I am almost done. Thank you." She flipped her dark hair behind her shoulders and began to zip the packed knapsack up. Sara angrily groaned and heaved at the crammed knapsack with the heel of her hand, forcing the two sides of the stubborn zipper to come together. The sound of steady zipping interrupted the quiet silence. A triumphant grin whizzed over Sara's beaming face.
Sara's father chuckled at his daughter's beaming success, but his laughter faded and sorrow reclaimed its place upon his maturely aging face. He smiled sadly as Sara flung the full-to-bursting knapsack over her shoulders. He hated to see her leave.
"Your mother is downstairs."
Her father coughed. His voice had begun to crack. Sara warmly smiled at her father. She loved the shyly natured man with all her heart. He had cared for Sara all of her life, especially after her mother had left them both in order to pursue a career as an actress.
Sara leisurely sauntered over to her father, briefly smiled again and reassuringly patted him on the arm. Her father took her into his arms and gave her a big hug and affectionately kissed her upon the forehead. "You shouldn't keep her waiting Sara."
Sara solemnly nodded in agreement and detached herself from her father's loving embrace.
"I know," Sara answered numbly. She shifted the heavy weight of her knapsack and revolved away from her father steady glaze. With a profound sigh, Sara descended down the stairs to meet her awaiting mother.
-*)____________________-(___~*~___)-____________________(*-
Sara's mother waited feverishly at the bottom of the stairs. Lydia tugged on the ends of her dark, curly hair and nibbled on the fat of her full, lower lip. She caught a glimpse of her teenage daughter tromping down the stairs, clad in a white-gold peasant cut top with faded bell-bottom jeans. She dropped her hair and ceased her nervous chewing.
"Ready?" she asked Sara, who just made it to the last step. Sara did not answer, but curtly shook her head yes. Sara shifted the weighty pack on her shoulder.
"OK, then," her mother replied shortly in response to her daughter's impolite actions. Lydia hit the palms of her hands together as a happy dumbfounded look spilled over her face. "Let's go before the weekend runs out. Say good-bye to your dad."
Father and daughter energetically hugged. Sara's father allowed her to leave and miserably watched as she followed her mother out of the house, closing the door behind her.
Sara threw her belongings into the back-seat of her mother's dark, shimmering orange 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse. "Don't look so blissful, honey."
Sara meekly peeked above the hood of the car towards her mother, shocked that she was being spoken to. Her mother grinned, flashing a smile identical to Sara's own. Sara giggled, forgetting her gloom and recalling how good it felt to see her mother again.
"Look your father is a window peeper!"
Sara rapidly turned to where her mother was pointing. Sure enough, there was her father in the living room longingly peering out of the bay-style window. The two women happily waved good-bye to the man now seeking sanctuary behind the shadows the egg shell-white curtains.
Sara's father blushed, knowing that he had been spotted. Dismissing the draperies from his fingers, he lightheartedly waved back as the two seated themselves in the sport compact. He watched on, as the car started up with deafening roar. He chuckled to himself, remembering his ex-wife's fondness for street performance cars.
The car unhurriedly backed out of the pebbled drive and onto the paved street. It rocketed off, quickly disappearing from his view. Sadness tinted his emotions, as he painfully twisted away from the observation of a vacant drive. The curtains plunged back over the large window, blocking all views of the outside world. Little did he know, this would be the last time that he would ever see his beloved daughter again.
-*)____________________-(___~*~___)-____________________(*-
An awkward silence drifted between mother and daughter. Lydia faked coughing, trying to break the quietness between them. It did not work. Sara still aimlessly gazed out of the darkly tinted window at the swiftly transpiring landscape. The sport compact zoomed by Nex Bixby Road. Her mother lived on that street! An alarm flashed within Sara's mind.
Aren't we supposed to be spending the weekend together, not running away!
"Mom, where are we going?" Sara asked. The tone of bewilderment ran high in Sara's non-tranquil voice. Signs of worry and dread began to show within the girl's eyes. Her mother paid no heed and continued on with her tense driving. Silence continued to drift between them and still no answer. Sara began to feel annoyed with her mother.
"Mom?"
"What?" Lydia snapped, darting out of her numb state of mind.
"Where are we? You missed the turn on Bixby!" Sara venomously screeched, her hazel eyes bulging out of their sockets. Sara's mother sighed, trying to relieve the oncoming tension that her daughter's hasty spell of worry brought upon her.
"We are not going home, Sara," her mother calmly answered. Sara huffed and smugly crossed her arms over her chest.
"Then where are we going?"
"You'll find out when we get there." Sara felt like a two-year-old child, burdened with the undying plague of curiosity. She angrily rolled her eyes and returned to her window out looking the blurry outside world.
The minutes seemed to pass by like long, numerous hours. The ongoing silence was insufferable for Sara. She secretly wished that they would end up at their distention soon. Sara got her wish when they pulled into the gravel drive of a tiny park.
Sara impatiently twisted from behind the snugness her safety belt. It tightly held her onto the seat and she quickly unfastened the red painted buckle, releasing herself. Sara poised herself inches from the window's glass, slightly fogging it. The car slowly crept to a stop. Sara's nimbly darting eyes quickly read the white lettered sign displayed a couple of feet from the parked vehicle.
Nex Bixby Woodland Forest, Recreation Center it read. Sara was shocked and rapidly twisted away from the clouded window. Confusion developed around her as if she were in a dim haze.
What are we doing here?
Lydia removed her car keys from the ignition and uprooted herself from the driver seat. She slammed the door shut behind her, more confusion reared from within Sara. A tapping came from the window, causing Sara to spring out of her befuddled condition. It was her mother.
"Are you coming?" She asked with a sweet and loud voice. Sara swallowed and her chest heaving slowly started to breathe again. Her heart beat quickly, forcing Sara to believe it would burst into flames. Sara angrily growled and strove to bash the door into her mother, who had already foreseen her daughter's violent intentions and swiftly moved.
"Let's get going," Lydia said snickering at the angered and dismayed Sara.
They began to walk through the tiny park, upon lush carpets of green grass. Sara followed silently behind her brown corduroy, white sweater clad mother. Small children played around them and their cheerful laughter filled Sara's ears. The fresh, crisp smell of newly cut grass filled her nostrils. Sara hurriedly ran, trying to catch up to her mother's quickening pace. A dark, lingering forest appeared at the end of the park, looming before the two park hikers.
Sara's mother entered the edge of the forest. Standing between two tall, gnarly barked trees, she quickly turned. Sara hesitated.
"Are you coming?"
Sara uneasily swallowed, dampening the scratchy dryness that started to occur deep within her throat. She tried to push her arising fear back down into her clamped gut. Unsuccessful, Sara took a trembling step forward.
The womanly pair walked through the dimly lit area. Sara lingered close to her mother, like a frightened animal on a short leash. The sun streamed down from the lushly leafed treetops, producing minute, reflective pools of golden light to gather about the forest floor, illuminating the way. Haphazardly floating dust fragments enlaced within the beaming strands of the sun's pools, casing a serene, magical warmth into the air. Leafs and sticks vociferously crackled beneath the weight of Sara's feet. Goose flesh formed at the base of her neck, while cold shivers snaked down her trembling spine. She harshly rubbed her hands against the thin fabric on her upper arms. Sara could taste the coppery bitterness of blood from the inside of her mouth. In the amidst of her growing fear, Sara had bit her lower lip, forcing it to bleed.
They continued on a short while longer when Lydia finally stopped before a small clearing. Sara gasped at the sight before her. An opening appeared in the trees and the sun fell through, mingling the colors together, throwing the shadows of the leaves onto her face. Intensified green ivy vines with broad leafs, edges sketched with white hues, crawled up the trees, like beautifully spiraling serpents. The ground of dark, rich soil was covered with orange, yellow and red hued leaves and fallen acorns. The roots, made up of twisted shapes, formed interwoven seams into the ground's enriched surface around tiny, sweet-smelling multicolored flowers. Sara closed her eyes and inhaled the air, the smell dampened soil and the fresh aroma of flowers splashed into her senses. Fear waning, the trickling sun's passion enthralled her soul and body, calming Sara into a peaceful composure.
Sara's eyes flickered open, her brief smile faded. A man dressed in dark clothing stood in the clearing. His aged hands were crossed over his black velvet robes, an evilly menacing smile claimed the wrinkled depths upon his leathered face. He had not been there before. Alarm and tension skyrocketed into Sara, numbing into the spot where she stood.
-*)____________________-(___~*~___)-____________________(*-
"I see you brought the girl," the elderly man called to Sara's mother with a wispy voice. "Very good indeed."
He removed a gnarled, long fingered hand from the one of the many folds in his dark cloaks. Horror shook throughout Sara's uncomfortably paralyzed body. Sara's eyes glimmered with the wetness of upcoming tears as the man approached her. She trembled. Shock arose in the depths of the man's white glazed yellow eyes.
"The poor thing is frightened," the man croaked, spinning to face Sara's mother. Evilly glaring at Lydia, he spoke again. "You did not tell her of my arrival?"
Lydia shook her head no, quickly succumbed before the darkly dressed figure and spoke a brief apology.
"There hasn't been the time, my lord."
The man disgustedly sniffed at Lydia and heatedly returned back to Sara. His sudden repulsion melted away as he sought out for her with a single hand of sharp, yellowed nails. Sara quickly looks away from his sweeping fingers of mangled bone to the moss devoured ground. Her dark hair silently extended over her paled face, shielding her from the stranger's constrained gaze.
"I mean you no harm, child with the heart of a frighten dove," the man whispered in a voice as gentle as a midsummer's night breeze. He lightly touches Sara's chin with the tip of a gnarled finger, lifting her head into the hazy, magically dusted light.
Sara blinked, once, gathering enough courage to stare into the old man's eyes. A wispy murmur escapes the man's thin lips. Dropping her chin, the man begins to walk circles around Sara, examining her. The glazed eyes of pale yellow burn into Sara's youthful flesh, stigmatizing her with shame and terror.
"The child has your beauty, Lydia," The mystical stranger finally remarked, after a long ghastly silence. He coughs, film sputtering from down within his aging lungs, banging his hand against his chest the coughing stops. He turns away from Sara and the catlike eyes glance at her mother. The sweet feeling of relief consumes her, but the dark robed man briefly glances back toward Sara, ending it.
"This is a good factor for the bride of the king."
WHAT!
The bunt message warped throughout Sara's confused brain as shock overwhelms her. She gasped, struggling for much needed air. Sara felt like she was going to kill over from the shock, but the fainting spell never came.
Sensing Sara's rejection, the man wickedly smirked. "Your mother will explain to you the details of your task, dear sweet Sara. Until then, we have a parallel journey to make."
The man elevated a thin palm upward into the air. A violent breeze begins to stir among the treetops, enshrouding the bright sunlight from the trio on the forest floor. Sara swiftly covered her face and curiously peers out between her fingers, as a cylindrical funnel of wind, laced with dead brush and fallen leaves, develops around the man.
A sudden bright flash of silver blasts from the wizard's long fingertips, glimmering with awe, it radiates into silent explosion. Slowly glistening into nothingness, the light fled into a glittering void, revealing a vast, mystic door.
The wind began to settle and the lingering sparks of magical silver, dimmed and twinkled down into the forest vegetation. Sara slowly lowered her hands, her mouth in an O of amazement. The enchantment of the creepy man was magnificent, but the door he created was even better.
Carved of white marble, shapes of waning moons and glittering gems of every color adored the large entryway. It was beautiful. Sara numbly took a step forward, wide-eyed with awe.
She eagerly stared on as the robed man lifted both of his hands into the air, pressing them closely together as if he were praying, then, he speedily withdrew them fiercely apart. The door glowed a hazy, silver-blue and began to quiver upon its magical hinges. The possessed quivers transformed into a shake and then into a violent rattle of insane frustration. It stopped with a jerk, startling Sara and causing her to frightfully recoil by jumping backwards.
The door, without any warning, spilt down the center and sprung open with a terrible demon-like force. Hot air, enlaced with luminously ultraviolet rays of white light, blasted at the group, tearing at their flesh, causing them to gasp and cough. Terror rapidly engulfing her, Sara hid her eyes within the shadows of her arms as screams fled her throat.
With a wild screaming howl, resembling that of a raging animal, the light back drafted through the opened doorway. Sara blinked, trying to shake away her nerve numbing fear. An astounded gasp drifted though her open lips as she lowered her hands. An enchanted land was reviled through the open doors.
Hills hung over the countryside, their red-clay mounds stood above the dry, sandy plains. They were eerie and loomed, protruding in every direction, high into the sky and as far as the eye could see. The shadows they cast were large, obscure and withdrawn. The scorching wind blew up the red dust in forceful gusts into the dusty redness of the sky.
Deep with the valleys of the clay-baked cliffs, lay a sublime maze, filled with twists and deadly turns. Within the center of the maze lay a dank city. The city protected a heightened castle, which emerged into the bleakly colored sky. Its towers of darkness cast shadows onto the maze's exalted walls.
Is that the castle beyond the Goblin city...
A tidal wave of dread filled panic flourish over Sara's trembling body. Her throat grew bone dry as a frightening message flashed with her brain. Her nightmares were real!
Labyrinth...
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Disclaimer: I do not claim to own the Labyrinth nor do I claim to own any of its characters. All characters and original plot ideas belong to the Jim Henson Company and LucasFilm LTD. However, I do own the ideas and characters not expressed in the film. Please do not take them.