Chapter two:
Crystal and Hoggle walked down the labyrinth's pathway. It had started off grey and miserable, unloved and overgrown weeds sprouting up everywhere. But as they walked it changed. The pathway got bigger and the two could walk side by side with a bit of space between them. The walls had turned from grey to a dark green. And the overgrown weeds had vanished leaving the old wildflower in bloom on the edges of the path. The floor which had cracks in and broken objects lying around was a flat surface the same colour as the walls with nothing blocking the path in front of them. The only things that hadn't changed were the two people on a quest and the permanently red sky.
The travellers had not said a word to each other for a long time. But there was not a silence upon them. Instead the young girl sang softly to herself.
'Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen
Who told you so, dilly dilly,
Who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,
That told me so
Call up your friends, dilly, dilly
Set them to work
Some to the plough, dilly dilly,
Some to the fork
Some to the hay, dilly dilly,
Some to thresh corn
Whilst you and I, dilly dilly,
Keep ourselves warm
Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen
Who told you so, dilly dilly,
Who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,
That told me so.''
As she sung the last words she sighed and stopped. Had Hoggle not been watching her from the corner of his eye he wouldn't have known.
"What's tha matter?"
"Hoggle, why didn't you tell me about all the passage ways?" Crystal asked. And for the first time she looked upset. Hoggle looked down ashamed.
"I…ah…I was just thinking about sumin'. Don't worry your pretty head about it I'm alert now. I can see the next passage just ahead of us." Hoggle nervously jogged to the opening and stepped through. After a few hesitant glances Crystal followed and as she passed through the wall her smile was back. Not as bright as before but it was a smile.
"Maybe one day you can tell me who she was."
"Who, who was?" Hoggle asked dumbfounded. Crystal ignored him and looked left then right a slight pout on her lips.
"Which way would Alice go?"
"Who's Alice? And who's this she you jus talked about?"
"Why! Alice in wonderland of course." Crystal beamed her teeth-showing, contagious, gorgeous smile. Which Hoggle was only too pleased to return.
"And this she I speak of is the one who's got ya trippin'" Crystal looked at her companion with kind blue eyes.
"Hoggle not trippin for anyone!"
"Right." Crystal nodded.
"I'm not!"
"Okay."
"If I say I'm not trippin for some one, I aint!" Hoggle ranted.
"Right!" Crystal exaggerated the word so Hoggle could hear above his voice.
"But I aint!" Hoggle shouted
"Hoggle. When I said right the first time I meant we are taking the right pathway. I was in no way insinuating anything." Crystal laughed loudly sounding carefree and happy.
"Oh" Hoggle mumbled before walking down the path on his right.
"What's her name?" Crystal asked quietly
"Sarah." Hoggle breathed. Subconsciously, he touched the plastic bracelet which resided on his right wrist.
"Sarah Williams." Crystal looked down at the dwarf walking beside her. Quicker than he could register she was hugging him.
"Gerrof!" He whined.
"Don't be so hard!" Crystal laughed.
"What's that?" Crystal suddenly straightened up and started to run down the path.
"Crystal! Wait up! I'm only lil." The dwarf recovered from the act of compassion and ran as fast as he could after the young woman.
Crystal stopped at an opening in amazement. Hoggle not being able to control his feet and ran into her causing them both to fall down. This did not stop Crystal from looking around. As she lied crumbled on the grass she took in the beauty around her. Hoggle too stayed down looking around his surroundings.
They were in a field. Where the saying 'the grass is always greener on the other side' could never be true. Since the grass was lush and soft. Flowers rose from everywhere. Red daisies, turned into silver roses. Green bells twirled around baby pink eyes. Black and white hollyhocks danced next to blue sunflowers. Flowers which would never bloom on Earth covered the ground of the field. Crystal reached across the ground where she still lied and picked a single green tulip. She sniffed it lightly and smiled. There was a twinkle in her grey eyes which was like magic. Just one look at her, with her best smile and twinkling eyes, and she could probably stop wars with her beauty.
Crystal looked at Hoggle and saw him looking around in awe too. She quickly pushed the stem of the flower into a hole on the strap that went diagonal across his body. It looked odd, him wearing dull clothes, with his bubbly skin, and a green tulip being the only bright thing about him. Standing in a colourful field of beauty. Yet he fit there. In a field of the impossible. Crystal fit too. In a field of magic. Both creatures so different yet they both fit in the same surroundings. Hoggle still hadn't noticed his new accessory.
Crystal suddenly felt a small weight pushing onto her chest. She looked down and saw a tiny fairy standing on her, holding a sword poised to attack.
"Who are you?" She snapped.
"My name is Crystal. This is Hoggle." Crystal replied in the same voice she had with Jack.
"What are you doing here?"
"Trying to get to the castle."
"Why?"
"Saving my brother."
"Why should I let you?"
"Because if you don't there will be hell to pay." Crystal replied. Her cheery mood still not dampened even after the snappy questions from a three inches fairy. Neither woman moved. Hoggle counted four minutes of complete stillness before he went into action. He took the fairy zapper out of his bag and sprayed it on the small woman. Who was rather tall for her kind. The fairy dropped her sword and started to cough frantically. She fell to her knees still upon Crystal's chest and wheezed.
With on hand Crystal scooped up the ill fairy and with the other pushed herself into a sitting position.
"Oh, no." Crystal whispered stroking the fairy's long gray hair. Curled up in her hand Crystal got a good look at the creature. Her gray hair reached the bottom of her back, upon her head was a black and white bonnet which went with her black and white dress. She was obviously wearing a Japanese maid outfit. The dress was long sleeved with white pleats at the ends which poked through the black outer material. It had a square neckline with a black ribbon on its chest. The end of the dress reached her kneecaps but puffed out like a tutu. The outer black material was dead straight and two strands that were on the left and right of the front. They had pointed ends and a cross stitched onto it. On her feet were black shoes on top of black stockings.
Her wings were what attracted Crystal the most. They had feathers just like an owls. In colour they were a little darker than the woman's hair but still gray. To touch they were softer than anything you could imagine. In shape they were the same as a dragon pointed and strong. But as the fairy curled in on herself the wings turned down and tugged themselves behind her back. The fairy turned her face up to see Crystal, still coughing frantically. The fairy's brown eyes stared into Crystals sad blue ones. The anger in the fairy's eyes burned into Crystal. The scowl did not leave her face even when dying.
A growl erupted from the other side of the field. Crystal looked up with horrified eyes and saw a small kitten running toward them. Hoggle jumped in front of Crystal and held out his small hands.
"Stop!" He shouted scared.
"What did you do to her?" The kitten cried as she ran. Her voice was soft so much like a child. Crystal was shocked that the kitten could talk.
"Hoggle. How can we save her?" Crystal whispered as the fairy lost colour in its face. The kitten reached Hoggle and pushed him out of the way and sat next to Crystal, her head was almost touching the dying fairy.
"Just blow breath on her." Hoggle replied as if it was conmen knowledge.
"What?" Crystal said in confusion.
"Just blow air on her. It will remove all the dust." Crystal bent down and blew a small breathe over the fairy. A cloud of golden dust rose from the fairy.
Slowly the fairy started to get a small amount of colour to her face. Her beautiful wings opened up and tickled the kitten's nose. Trembling the fairy rose to her feet leaning on crystals curled finger for support. Breathing deeply she looked around herself. The scowl still on her face.
"Thanks." She whispered not looking directly at Crystal. Instead she stumbled toward the small kitten and rubbed its nose.
"Hey Candy. Told you not to follow me here." Her voice broke as she spoke.
Candy the kitten was black with a white line running from between her eyes around her mouth and spread across her chest. She had white paws to match. Her eyes were a greyish blue and she had fluffy ears which stuck up to attention. She was the type of kitten every little girl wants. And she was obviously magic just by the two facts that she was talking and crying. The tears were just like a human's but stuck to her fluffy fur.
"Thank you so much!" She meowed to Crystal.
"I'm Crystal that's Hoggle." Crystal smiled to the kitten. The kitten purred in response.
"I'm Candy. That's Takeesha."
"Yes, and we must be going Candy." Takeesha demanded.
"We don't have to go anywhere today." Candy said cocking her head to the side.
"Would you like to join us going to the castle?" Crystal asked Candy.
"I don't know." She replied looking at Takeesha.
"We must take leave soon." Takeesha replied.
"Please come or at least tell us where to go. I'm so worried about my brother." Crystal whispered the last part almost as if she was begging.
"Come on Takeesha. Id go and save you if King Jareth took you." Candy nudged Takeesha softly.
"King Jareth would never do that to us. He trusts us. Why should we ruin that? And why should I help him? He tried to kill me!" Takeesha thrust her sword in Hoggle's direction.
"Well, I'm going with them! I want to be like the knight in the story you told me!" Candy trotted to Crystal's side and sat down in defiance.
"Fine, I'll come. Only because my sister can't go on her own. God knows what would happen if I didn't. As soon as King Jareth gives the orders to stop, we turn and go home Candy." Takeesha flicked her long grey hair behind her shoulder and jumped off Crystal's hands.
"Yay! Just call me Sir Candy. Helping the brave labyrinth conquer" Candy growled and started to fight an imaginary enemy. She was trying to be Sir Didymus. She thought the story was a lie.
"What way?" Hoggle asked.
"Milady, commands?" Takeesha asked Crystal. Oblivious to Hoggle.
"To the Castle!" Crystal cheered.
"Which way?" Hoggle asked again.
"Alright Milady, follow me." Takeesha did a small bow as Candy trotted up to her after apparently defeating the enemy. Takeesha stood and jumped onto Candy's back sitting around her neck.
"Should be there soon." Candy meowed cheerfully trotting forward.
