Chapter 2


Panting heavily, Alexis leaned against the railing on the Garrison's front porch trying to collect herself before ringing the doorbell.

The Garrison household wasn't all that far away really, a ten minute walk on a good day, but running the whole way sure did take a lot out of Alexis.

Taking a final deep breath, Alexis stepped up to the front door and rapped against it a couple times. A few seconds of waiting was rewarded by Mrs. Garrison opening the door and greeting the young woman with a kind smile.

"Oh Alexis! Just on time! Eric and I were just getting ready to leave."

Alexis smiled back at the older woman and opened her mouth to reply, however was unable to when she was tackled by a small figure.

"Alexis Alexis! You'll never guess what me and James saw!"

Alexis smiled down at a little girl who had tackled her. Alexis had several consistent babysitting gigs but Alice and James had to be her favourite. Alice, being seven, was the youngest of the two and was as cute as a button. James had just turned eleven the previous week, which reminded Alexis that she had planned on taking the kids for ice cream today as a present.

Mr. and Mrs. Garrison were going on a weekend excursion out of state, and Alexis would be spending the whole weekend with the kids, much to her delight.

"Hey Alice! I can't wait to hear all about it, but lemme say bye to your parents alright? Then I'm all yours" Alexis ruffled the little girl's blonde hair as Alice smiled and nodded up at her.

"My they missed you! How have you been Alexis? How did that coffee shop work out?"

Alexis laughed lightly and ran a hand through her multi-coloured hair. "Yeah, well I can't really complain, been the same old story. Unfortunately they found someone 'more suited' than me. Oh well, that's life. Besides, I adore these kids waaaay too much to quit babysitting" She stuck her tongue out at James, who had finally made an appearance. "How are ya little man? Happy late birthday!"

James grinned. "Hi Alexis!"

Mrs. Garrison chuckled. "You sure have a way with children. I'm sorry to hear about the job, Alexis. But to another degree what would we do without you?" Both women shared a laugh. "Anyways. I left some money on the table in the kitchen, and our numbers are on the fridge. Hmmm… Was there anything else?"

Her thought process was cut off by Mr. Garrison entering the room. "No need to fret dear, Alexis knows what she's doing." He smiled warmly at Alexis, a greeting she returned. "Hello Alexis. Have a wonderful weekend. We have to go darling or we'll be late."

With that the Garrison's made their way out to their car, waving at the three figures standing in the doorway. After their car disappeared around a corner, Alexis turned to the kids. "Alright Alice… why don't you tell me all about what you and James saw on the way to the ice cream place." Alice squealed happily and shot off to put on her shoes, James following with only slightly less enthusiasm.


"And then we were walking by the park and then we stopped by a lake and i was looking at the ducks and then it SWOOOOOPED down and i looked and it was an oooowwwwlll! it was reeeaaally pretty!" Alexis chuckled at Alice's antics.

"Oh what colour was the owl?"

James perked up. "It was a barn owl. It was white and tan."
"Soooooo pretty" Alice giggled.

"Woah! I wish i had seen it! Owls are way cool! I actually have a tattoo of one on my calf, see?" Alexis turned to show the kids, who oo-ed and awh-ed. "Yeah, wow y'all are super lucky" She stuck her tongue out at the kids.

"Alexis?" James looked up at her with a frown.

"Mmh?"

"Do tattoos hurt?"

Alexis smiled down at him. "Well depending on where you get it, but yeah, they hurt, Why?"

"Why do you get them if they hurt?"
"Well," Alexis looked across the street from where they were seated at the ice cream shop, "People get them for different reasons. Some get them to represent important things in their lives with lots of meaning, some people just like to decorate their bodies. For me it's pretty rewarding. Like it hurts a bit, but from the pain comes something really beautiful. Not all of my tattoos have some sort of big meaning but I love them all, because they're a way for me to express myself, ya know?"

"Yeah.. When I'm older I want to get a tattoo!"

"Oh of what?"

"I dunno," James shrugged. "But it'll be awesome!"
"I bet it will be!"


"Alexis! Can you tell us a bedtime story?" Alice peered up at Alexis from her spot in the blanket fort the three had built.

"Of course, Muffin! Hmm what story should I tell you?"
"Something with magic!"

"No something with adventure!" James piped up.

"How about something with a bit of both?" Both children nodded enthusiastically. "Okay… so…" Alexis spun a tale of a young girl, who had fallen into the affection of the Goblin King, who wanted nothing more than to please her. "The girl was lonely, but a slave to her family. Her stepmother always made her watch over her young son. The child was wicked to her, and one day, after the child was particularly cruel, the girl called out to the Goblin King. She could not bare to live with the child any longer. So she wished him away. The Goblin King loved the girl and did what she asked, however the girl knew that the child would become a goblin himself, and forgot who he was, and her heart was far too kind to let that happen. So she begged the King to return her brother to her, however he refused. Instead he set her with the task. 'Run my Labyrinth,' he said, 'you have thirteen hours to save your brother, if you fail both you and he will belong to me, forever.' The girl faced many perils, for the labyrinth was filled with all kinds of traps, however the girl was able to rescue her brother in the end, leaving the Goblin King all alone in his Labyrinth, forever."

Alexis paused when she heard a sniffle from Alice. "What's wrong sweetie?"

"It's so sad! He loved her so much and now he's all alone!"

"It is sad, however the Goblin King was foolish. If he had truly loved her there are fa better ways to woo a girl than stealing her brother and giving her a harsh ultimatum, but I feel bad for him too, Alice. If he had only gone about it in a better way." She hummed sadly, wiping away a tear from Alice's cheek.

"What were the words she used to wish away her brother?" James tilted his head.

"Oh I could never say! What if you cuties got taken from me?" She giggled and stood up from the blanket fort, intending on grabbing some hot coco from the kitchen.

"Pleeeeeeaaaaassseeee?" Both children begged, and Alexia snorted.

"Alright! But if something bad happens it's entirely your fault." Both children giggled. "Well… what she said was 'I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now!' Simple enough" Alexis chuckled to herself and plodded into the kitchen. "Say do you kids want marshmallows?" She paused, and when she didn't receive a reply she rolled her eyes. "Oh no! Did the goblin king take them from me?" She faked worry and eased back to the blanket fort, peaking inside. She frowned when she saw the empty fort. "Now where did they run off to?" She muttered to herself.


Alrighty! So that's the second chaper! I'm really proud I got it done so soon! Also, i lied Jareth aint in this one, but he will be in the next one and then its gonna be awesome sauce! Thans to my review, follows, and favourites! Tell me what you think!