I received a few lovely reviews, so let's say it gave me the motivation to post this chapter today Yeepee !
A smile was playing on the lips of the little brunette as she walked through the park, holding hands with her little brother. Whom, on the other hand wasn't smiling at all.
"Aargh Sarah, let me go. I'm not a baby anymore ! I'm six now !" he groaned, trying to pull his little hand free from his sister's grip.
Sarah chuckled." I don't think so. Remember what happened last time Toby. You wouldn't want to end up in the pond again, or do you miss your duck friends that much ?" she raised an eyebrow playfully.
The boy blushed and followed silently.
They came out on the other end of the park and walked up a small building with a brick facade. She rang, and a few minutes later, a little old lady came to open the door.
"Good Afternoon Mrs. Milton." said Sarah.
The old lady readjusted her glasses and beamed.
"Oh, Sarah dear. It's been quite sometime. How are you, child ?"
"I'm great, Mrs Milton." she smiled.
"Oh, for goodness's sake Sarah, I've told you before. Call me Velma." Mrs. Milton chuckled and saw Toby. "Oh, whom have we got here ?" she asked
"Well Velma, this is my little brother Toby. He's here for the piano lessons."
"Of course, little Tobias Williams. I should have guessed, Robert has always had a particular ear for the piano."
Toby became quite shy and stood a bit behind Sarah, who'd placed her hand on his shoulder. She turned to him and spoke in a soothing voice.
"Okay Toby. Velma will take good care of you, you can trust her."
Slowly, he moved around Sarah and inhaled a good amount of air, before sticking his little hand out to Velma.
"I..I'm Toby Williams. I'm pleased to meet you Mrs Milton." he practically whispered.
"I'm very pleased to meet you too, Tobias.
"Please call me Toby." he said in a pleading voice.
"Alright then Toby, but you will have to call me Velma" she smiled when a little grin spread across Toby's face.
"I'll then leave both of you. I'll see you tonight Toby, dad's picking you up in an hour." she kissed Toby on the cheek and was rewarded by a "yuck" before walking away.
/.../
Sarah had barely reached the door to Denise's Cafe, before it started pouring down with rain. She opened the door, making the bell ring as she walked in.
"Sarah! I'm over here!" she looked around and smiled when she caught sight of a familiar face.
"How are you Aunt Marlene ? I'm so happy to see you."
"Sarah, I'm so glad you could make it." replied Marlene with a genuine smile spreading across her lips.
Both women hugged and sat back in the booth near the window.
"So how are thing going for my favorite niece ?" asked Marlene
"You're only niece. Everything seems to be going well. I took Toby to his first piano lesson today."
Marlene has always had a sweet spot for Toby.
"Such a sweet boy, I hope he'll be as talented as you were."
A waitress came by and they ordered food.
"Sarah, may I ask you, how things are going on about the..*cough*..goblin issue ?" inquired Marlene in a low tone that no one else could hear.
"It's incredible. The necklace you gave me is working. I haven't seen a single goblin for a week now and my dreams have been less...strange recently."
She pulled the thin cord which was attached to a small wooden owl. The both of them smiled and Marlene continued, in a more serious expression.
"I'm glad it worked for you. But Sarah, this is not a necklace for an ordinary girl, it's a special artifact I have acquired through my early years of being, what normal people would call 'a witch'."
Sarah nearly suffocated with one of her chips. A witch ?
"What do you mean ? In your early years of being..*cough*..a witch ?"
"Well Sarah, you didn't think you were the only one capable of calling upon his royal ass, did you ? You are one of us Sarah, you're a witch too."
Silence.
Running the Labyrinth as a teen, was odd enough. But, her aunt telling her, she was a witch was even more bizarre. Would she ever get used to this ? So, she reacted the only way, she could think of..
She laughed.
Marlene's face became once more, serious.
"It is the truth I'm telling you, child. You should embrace it, not laugh at it."
"Marlene, you have to be kidding me, right ? It's a joke, isn't it ?"
Her aunt's expression showed the contrary.
"Oh my gosh...But, mum hasn't got any magic. If she had, she would be the one telling me this, no ?"
"Magic has been flowing in our lines since the beginning of time, Linda unfortunately, had too little amount to practice. She had enough in her, to pass on the genes to you. She told me, she couldn't be prouder of you and asked me to personally train you, like your grandmother trained us."
"But, you just said mum didn't have enough magic to practice."
"She's still a witch. She can brew potions, create amulets and communicate with every element on earth or in the Underground."
Coming to think about it, it seemed logic, well as logic magic can be. Linda had read the Labyrinth to Sarah, when she was a little girl. How else could she have known ? She was going to have to discuss this matter with her mother. Soon.
"Sarah ?"
She came out of her thoughts.
"Marlene, please tell me you're not messing around with me, and making this up."
"Of course I'm not, sweetie. When do want to start training ?"
"As in, when do I want to start practicing magic ? You just speak of it, as if it was like passing a driving license."
"Well no, dear. It's much more important than that, but it is everyday life for me. Why do you think my perfume store works so well ?"
"Oh my, I don't even want to know. I think I might skip food tonight and just go to bed." she cradled her face in her hands and sighed.
"Your magic will still be there tomorrow, it's real Sarah and if you don't train properly, it might become dangerous for people around you." Marlene explained
"I suppose, I knew I didn't have the choice...*sigh* When do I have to start training ?"
Marlene beamed, her niece was agreeing to become her trainee, how exciting.
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"That soon, uh ?"
...
Marlene left some money on the table and stood up, it looked like she was going to explode with happiness. The waitress gave them a smile as they left the cafe. Outside, they were greeted with the pouring rain.
"I'll see you tomorrow Sarah, come directly to my place and I'll answer all of your questions and explain what we, witches of the Underground, do."
She waved and disappeared behind the corner of another building.
In that sort of situation what would a normal person do. For god's sake how was she supposed to react, that night, six years ago, had been hard enough to cope with, so what was she going to do this time?
Curse, then cope.
"Shit." she cursed, before walking away from the dinner.
She never noticed the bird of prey, hiding in the high branches of the massive tree behind her.
A/N: Hi again, well the top description, says it all.
Please review and if you have any questions, fire away !
*You know the drill. Labyrinth doesn't belong to me, but to the brilliant Jim Henson.
By the way, what do you think of Kermit's new girlfriend, Denise ?
Personally, I'm a Miss Piggy lover and I hope she gets through this difficult phase xxx
Next chapter soon I hope ^^
