~Thank you SO much for reading (If you have or are) Please enjoy 'the first chapter!'~
Act 1 Scene 1
Memories of a Shattered Dream
Sarah burst awake as lighting flashed outside her window. She jumped and whimpered at the noise – completely unnerved from her dream. Slowly she turned to look out, but all she could see were the darkened shadows of night and rain pouring outside. The house creaked and groaned as wind howled against it. She had had a nightmare. No, – not a nightmare, – her nightmare. It was the same dream she had been having every night for the past two years. Normally the dream wasn't so strong and she could just brush it off upon waking – but not tonight. Tonight the dream seemed… different. It seemed, urgent. After a while of thinking it over, the wide-eyed 17-year-old could take it no longer. She had to know the truth for herself.
The girl cursed and sucked in a sharp breath as her bare skin made contact with the cold wood floor. She barely noticed the thin layer of frost covering her room as she forced herself out of bed and tiptoed to the hallway. First she had to check on Toby, she would never forgive herself if anything happened to him.
Five steps down the hall and she was there, carefully creaking open the door. Her breath caught in her chest as she entered his room. She got a strong sense of déjà vu, and her heart wouldn't stop pounding- but the feeling went away when she pulled Toby's covers back too see that the toddler was sleeping soundly in his crib.
"Thank God." She whispered to herself.
Next was the attic, after her trip to the Labyrinth she had stored away all her childish memories. Including her vanity mirror. She hadn't called on her friend's in two whole years – but now… well, she just had to know.
The way up was dusty, and the old steps protested under her feet, but Sarah made it to the attic in one piece. The old boxes weren't labeled, but she could remember where her stuff had been placed. It still took a bit of guess-work and moving around, however. And at one o'clock, nearly thirty minutes after she had started, the mirror had been located.
Sarah sneezed as she sat in front of her portal to the underground, the dust really stirred up her allergies. She had to fight to keep her watery eyes open as she called on her friends.
"Ludo! Hoggle! Sir Didymus!" She called.
Silence. Well that was odd…. Sarah wiped her eyes and got rid of another sneeze before she tried again.
"Ludo? Hoggle? Sir Didymus?"
She waited – fighting her rising panic. Still nothing happened.
"Hoggle!" she screamed at the mirror, standing up.
Grabbing the frame and shaking it, she ignored the tears streaming down her face. She hadn't talked to her friend's for so long, but she hadn't forgotten them either. She didn't try to forget her trip to the Labyrinth, it was a part of her and she knew it. She also knew that there was no mistaking how she had once felt about the Goblin King, Jareth. But that was over now. She had a life now. In the years after her trip, Sarah had become a rising theater star at her school, she had gotten the best boyfriend ever (they'd been together for a little over a year), and she'd gotten a great part-time job. Her future was bright.
Standing here now, with Teddy-bear Pajamas on, tears streaking down her face, and messy hair clinging to her back, she was unrecognizable. Even to her self. The thought only made her sob louder.
"Hoggle!" She screeched at the mirror in desperation. This time, it answered.
As soon as she saw her reflection changing, Sarah sat down to watch. She wiped a stray salty drop from her cheek as the scene began to form. Inside the mirror, There was a great crowd gathered around a platform, where a guillotine stood next to a man in black.
"Citizens of the kingdom!"
The goblins quieted down to hear.
"Today you are here to witness the last of the executions!"
The goblin's started to cheer out as the executioner made his announcement. All fell silent as three figures in shackles shuffled onto the platform. As soon as Sarah saw the faces, she was overcome with a whole new wave of fear and tears.
"Oh no…" She whimpered.
"Ludo, the stone-caller. Hoggle the dwarf. And Didymus the knight. You were all tried and proven guilty of serving our former king, and aiding in the rebellion against our new lord – Silibian. You're punishment is execution. Let us begin." The man turned toward Sarah's three friends. "Ludo, step forward."
Sarah couldn't bear to watch anymore. She buried her face in her hands and turned away as she heard the axe came down. She kept repeating the words "Make it stop." and didn't dare to look until the last of her friends had been killed. How unfair and confusing at the same time. Unfortunately, she had already learned the lesson of 'unfair' two years ago. Things were moving too fast, she had only come up to speak with her friends of happy times, and now this? What gave? It broke her heart that she could do nothing to help. Finally, when she was sure it was over, she turned back to look.
Three bodies were being hauled off, but nobody but the girl through the mirror paid them any heed.
"Now, goblins, I bring you what you've all been waiting for." The executioner paused for affect. "The execution of the old king himself!" The crowd roared in anticipation. "Jareth, step forward!" The man yelled above the noise. A figure Sarah hadn't noticed before stepped out of the shadows and ascended the platform. Sarah's heart dropped four inches into her stomach. Her breath caught in her throat. Her mouth went dry.
The figure she hadn't noticed before, was Jareth.
As soon as she made the connection, Sarah's face changed from depthless sadness to pure horror-filled fear- and then a kind of rage that she had never felt before. The man who had given her the adventure she had longed for so long ago was about to be murdered. NO! Dear spirits, not him! She screamed in her head.
The king looked up at her. Wait… he can't… he can't, SEE me, can he? Just as soon as the thought came into her mind, as if he could hear it, he smiled at her. His eyes bore into hers as if to say "I'm sorry" Or… maybe "Things are about to get interesting." Sarah was bad at reading people. Sorry for what! She wanted to scream at him. His smile was so sad…. Or, or something.
"Former king Jareth, you stand guilty of not handing over the throne, and are hereby sentenced to death."
Sarah wanted to cry until her heart couldn't bring her a single new tear, but her eyes remained dry.
"Any last words, your highness?" The executioner sneered at Jareth. The king shook his head and glared in answer.
"Such a pity…" He murmured.
"What?" The executioner asked, perplexed." Jareth's gaze turned icy at the man, as if he had just asked the stupidest question in the world.
"Such a waste… you will regret this, you know. You'll face the flames of hell for what you're about to do. And you will be doing it for nothing but false promises from a false king."
The man's expression turned sour. "How dare you speak to me like that! You are about to die, what gives you the authority to say such things?!" He screeched in outrage. Jareth smirked in amusement.
"Oh, how sadly you are mistaken my friend. I do not intend to die today; not when I still have unfinished business to take care of. Nobody who defeats my Labyrinth goes unpunished, you see." Jareth gave Sarah a wry smile before continuing on. "Therefore, I won't be dying today." The executioner was now quite red in the face from being so profusely embarrassed.
"You will die." He hissed between his teeth. He snatched up his axe and swung it through Jareth's head as fast as he could. "NO!" Sarah cried, but as soon as the king's decapitated body hit the ground, it deflated. Nothing but his clothes were left. He had disappeared – The crowed gasped, including Sarah. The executioner was furious.
"Guards!" He yelled, and ten finely muscled men turned up. "Search every inch of the Labyrinth! He musn't be allowed to escape!" The guards gave a salute, and disappeared.
Sarah couldn't help bursting into a fit of giggles as the mirror returned her reflection to her. She should have known that the Goblin King would give them all a run for their money… She stopped laughing and returned her face to seriousness as she stared off in thought. If the Goblin King wasn't In the Underground anymore, then, where was he?
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Meanwhile, somewhere in Virginia, a blonde-haired man gave a small smirk into a crystal orb. Seconds later – a white barn owl flew off into the dawn.
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