KK peoples! Thank you so much to the two who reviewed me You guys rule! So here like I promised is chap.2, I really hope I wasn't too cheesy (goes to emo corner in shame, knowing she was to chessy) Please enjoy!
Chapter 2
Nov. 8th, Nikki, age 7
"Mommy Nikki bored! Can Nikki go play with Jarry now?" Nikki asked her mother from her spot next to the coffee table, shoving away coloring book.
Sarah looked down as Nikki with narrowed eyes, "Who's Jarry?"
Nikki shook her head suddenly, her eyes going wide, "No mommy! Jarry is Nikki's special friend, not yours!"
Sarah stared at her daughter questionably, "Sweetie, what is Jarry?"
"Jarry is Nikki's king mommy! Jarry always plays with Nikki whenever she wants!" Nikki beamed brightly, her mother didn't have someone to play with whenever she wanted. Jarry was hers, and he always would be.
Sarah stared at her daughter with a slight fear. Was it possible that foul, sadistic bastard had actually…?
Sarah shook her head dismissively. However, if there might be a chance…
"You can play with him, but I want to meet him," she told her child sweetly.
"No mommy! He won't come if your there! He says Nikki is his special friend so only Nikki gets to see him!" Nikki panicked, waving her arms if fear. If mommy came, Jarry wouldn't!
"What if I just listen outside the door? Then I won't see him and I'll know your safe," Sarah suggested with a smile, standing up and offering Nikki her hand. Nikki seemed to consider it for a moment before smiling, and taking her mothers hand in her own.
"Okay! Jarry shouldn't mind that!" she said happily, dragging her mother up the stairs. Nikki let go of her mothers hand and waved goodbye before shutting the door to a crack and disappearing. Sarah watched her through the crack as Nikki ran to the center of the room and called out gleefully, "Jarry! Mommy says Nikki can play with you!"
Suddenly Nikki's attention turned behind her and she gazed for a second before laughing happily.
"Nikki's so glad we can play!" she cried happily, waited a moment, and then nodded. Sarah nodded to, satisfied, Nikki had an imaginary friend, nothing more. With her mind at ease, she disappeared downstairs and back to the novel she had been reading…
"Jarry! Mommy says Nikki can play with you!" Nikki cried out gleefully. Nikki heard the familiar rush of wings behind her and turned around quickly. It was always fun to see him transform, and she laughed happily watching it.
"Nikki's so glad we can play!" she said and Jarry nodded with a slight smile. He looked to his right and summoned a crystal showing her mom eavesdropping on them. Nikki nodded, and then watched her mom nod and walk away.
"Sorry Jarry," she said guiltily, "Mommy would have come in if Nikki hadn't let her listen, and Nikki knew you wouldn't come if she was here!
Nikki's eyes were filling with guilty tears, Jarry smiled and swooped down, scooping her up into his arms and tickling her neck. Nikki laughed happily, her tears running freely as she gasped for breath.
"No more of that!" he smiled down at her wiping away her tears with his gloved thumb. She smiled happily and hugged him tightly round the neck. She suddenly yawned unwillingly, and hid her mouth in her hands.
"Nap time, is it? And I thought you wanted to play!" Jarry joked with a sad, knowing smile. Last night had been another all-nighter, playing and dancing and singing to distract her as her mother and father argued over this and that.
"I do wanna play," she yawned again and said sadly, "now mommy and daddy taking Jarry away from Nikki…"
"I'm not going anywhere," Jarry told her cradling her like a princess.
"Neither father nor mother can ever make me leave you, I'm yours, Nikki dearest," he lied. Six words and he would have to leave forever…
"Good, I don't want to be alone, don't ever leave me, Jareth!" she sighed out before her half-lidded eyes shut and she fell asleep in his arms. He stared at her, deep in thought at her words. She had surprised him, knowing his real name. She always called him 'Jarry,' she must have been incredibly serious to use his real name!
Nikki smiled in her sleep and Jareth did the same at her sleeping form. Sitting down on her rocker, he rocked them both softly and sang her favorite song quietly, "Dance magic dance. Jump magic jump…"
"Dance, magic, dance…" Nikki suddenly mumbled in her sleep, her smile growing. Jareth smiled down at the tiny girl. Unknown to her, she was making things far to complicated…
Eight Years Later
Unknown to Nikki, she shimmered for a moment before fading out and disappearing completely. For her, the experience was a tingling warmth traveling through her body until it seemed her whole essence hummed. Then, without warning, it stopped, and she gasped at the sight before her.
She stood on a hill of sand and weeds, with large stones jutting out randomly. Below her stood tall and erect, a labyrinth, the Labyrinth. She stared down it in wonder, soaking it all in. She pulled her camera out of its case-which she remembered right before touching Blue's tail- and snapped a picture. She studied it for a moment on the small screen, before closing it with a satisfied snap.
That memory saved, she shoved the camera back in its case and half-jogged, half-slid down the sandy ledge. Almost tripping at the end of her slide, she quickly righted herself and walked forward to the giant wall before her. As far as she could see left and right, the outer wall of the Labyrinth continued in a curving way. Nikki sighed at the never-ending walls, without a better idea and with no help in sight; she spun around with her finger pointing straight, and chose her path.
Five minutes later and still there was neither a door nor crack in the wall to be found. Annoyance was gripping her as she vainly tried to climb up the decaying walls with the vines hanging off them. Rubbing her sore behind, she grumbled to herself and continued her trek to the left.
Suddenly, out of nowhere a hiss sounded behind her. Nikki twisted quickly, only to see a cat. Well, not really. Crouched on all fours and covered with thick, pure black fur, a cat-man regarded her threateningly.
Nikki gasped out a sudden, "Oh crap!" and while trying to take a step back tripped over a fallen branch, landing on her still sore behind once again. The cat-man hissed again and crawled forward gracefully, hovering over her with a deadly glare. He leaned over Nikki and her eyes widened, he was sniffing her.
"You are not from the underground," it purred, pulling away from her and sitting in a regal way. It regarded her as she slowly and shakily pushed herself up, hoping not to be whacked down again for insolence. The cat-man seemed not to care whether she sat or not though, as he inspected the claws of his right paw.
Nikki-now sitting up- stared at the cat fearfully, yet he seemed to have grown bored with her. He stretched out his back and curled into a ball, resting his head on his arm. He stared up at Nikki with a cold regard as he yawned lazily.
"When ya get to the Labyrinth, ask whoever you meet, "Who is the ruler of the Labyrinth?" If they answer, "'Jareth, King of the Goblins.' Then they are friends and will help you, they say anything else, then be wary…"
'Oh crap, that's right!' Nikki thought suddenly. How could she have forgotten something so important? She was here on a mission, not to sightsee; she had to help the king!
"You seem to be struggling with an inner turmoil, perhaps you forgot something important?" the cat-man suddenly spoke with a lazy tone. Nikki startled and quickly dropped forward to her knees.
"I'm Nikki, from above ground. Who is the ruler of this Labyrinth?" she asked quickly, breathlessly.
The cat stared at her with a knowing eye, "Nikki, of above ground, it is not wise to state such things under this new order. Jareth, King of Goblins is the true ruler of the Labyrinth, as sealed by his coronation. However, due to a mutiny, he is now nothing but a prisoner in an unknown oubliette…"
The cat yawned again, "I have replaced the dwarf Hoggle as gate keeper, and he too, occupies an oubliette after attempting to free the king. The new ruler believes me to be trustworthy, when in-fact, my loyalty is based on benefits I receive…"
Nikki stared at the cat-man in shock. She knew cats could be fickle and vain, but it did not make sense for him to be pro-Jareth if Jareth could do nothing for him in a cell…oubliette.
The cat's features turned in a knowing smirk, "My reasons are my own. The door is behind you, you will have to enter the Labyrinth and find the right oubliette on your own to find the king. Have fun, Nikki, of above ground."
"Wait! I thought the people with the answer were supposed to help me find the King!" Nikki cried at the disheartening news.
The smirk grew wider as he tilted his head up for a better view ever so slightly more, "My loyalty is to myself, be grateful for the door itself."
Nikki gave a defeated sigh, and in the time it took Nikki to stand up and startle at the sudden appearance of a giant door in the wall she had walked by, the cat-man had disappeared. Nikki looked around wildly for a moment, and then smiled; at least she had a way in!
"Thank you, um…" Nikki started to say aloud then realized she did not know his name.
"Onyx," another purr, this one from above her. Nikki looked up in time to see his tail disappear over the ledge.
"Thank you Onyx!" Nikki cried with a smile, before snapping a picture, and running into the open doors of the Labyrinth.
Her adventure had finally begun…
Nikki had been walking left for a good hour. Her reasoning being she would just be backtracking if she went right. She was incredibly irritable, especially when she tripped on a sudden log and ripped her favorite jeans. With a sigh, Nikki pulled her bag off and intended to slide down the wall for a breather; she never expected to slide through it.
"AAAHHH!" Nikki screamed as she launched backwards down a rough and bumpy rockslide. If she had not managed to flip herself over at the last second she would have snapped her neck landing on the solid stone ground. Nikki groaned as she lifted herself up and dusted off the powdered rock from her clothes.
"Oh crap," she said out-loud, as her eyes adjusted to the half-darkness of the room. If was solid stone, most of it was in shadow, only one measly light lit the place, and that was from what seemed like a round prison window on the roof. Nikki turned around, expecting to climb back up the shoot, and gasped at where she had slid down. The opening was gone! Nikki slid her hands fool-heartedly over the sealed stone before giving a cry of frustration.
"Oh crap! It's not fair!" she cried, her mother's expression unwillingly slipping past her.
Suddenly, through the blackness of the apparent oubliette, a low and amused voice spoke:
"And here I thought you finally had a new expression. What a pity, I was so looking forward to shooting the new one down as well…"
Nikki gasped and tried in vain to see the owner of the voice that had spoken. For the voice was one that she knew very, very well. One she had spent countless, sleepless nights talking to as her parent's fought. Years of talks, plays, and hugs. For the voice belonged to the one she spent her childhood with. The one that had held her, spoiled her, even took her to his castle once!
"W-who is the ruler of the Labyrinth," Nikki spoke bitterly, with tears starting to bubble in her eyes. Even he had not recognized her; he thought her mother had added on to her famous expression. Disappointment, anger, and jealousy seeped through her like a parasite. Only now, after coming to the Labyrinth, it was destroying her much quicker than it ever had before.
Footsteps echoed off the stonewalls, the light was slowly filled and Nikki's tears broke free.
The smirk fell to shock as he stared down at her pitifully crying. Next, to that of sadness as he leaned down in front of her on one knee. He lowered his head and Nikki could here his sigh of regret as he unnecessarily spoke, "Jareth, King of the Goblins."
She tried to stop her tears, rubbing her nose roughly with her sleeve. Jareth waited patiently as he always had for her to control herself, and then spoke quietly, seriously, "You weren't supposed to come, Nikki."
Nikki looked at him with shock and fury, before crawling backwards, stopping only when she hit the wall. She looked at him angrily as she hissed out, "Mom refused to come! I know I'm not as good as the original, but at least I believe in you."
The words hit there mark as his face twisted into that of anger and sorrow, "I never said you weren't as good as-"
"You didn't have too!" Nikki cut him off hatefully.
Not even Jarry was hers, he never was, "You bastard, you only came to me to see her!" Nikki accused him.
His face became stony, and it confirmed all her suspicions, "I never should have come, you can go die for all I care!"
"I am."
Nikki looked at him with a cold indifference, "Good."
He shook his head in defeat, and brought his hand to her face. She swatted it away, only to go right through it. She stared at his suspended hand with wide eyes, before they traveled to his face. She slowly moved her hand and ran it through his cheek, only to pull it back as though it burned.
"Your not really suppose to die, you jerk!" She screamed, as a new batch of tears broke free.
"I'm afraid I can't help it, you don't know what an oubliette is, do you?" he asked her knowingly.
"A-a c-cell?"
"It's a place you put people to forget them-
His mix-matched eyes met her emerald ones as he spoke, "-And I am being forgotten..."
