"HEAVE! AGGHHHHHH!"
Sarah slammed into stone and wood as objects reigned down on her, crunching and breaking. She felt the egg, in particular, explode onto her elbow. Things continued to fall - the sage landed close to her face, followed by a yoyo, several books on her back, and some of the clocks, with a splintering and cracking. She heard glass shatter somewhere off to her right, but it sounded warbly, her ears ringing as noise swam in and out. She didn't even bother opening her eyes. Everything was muffled, dark, and painful. She just stayed perfectly still - if she'd fallen out of her own window, faking death would be a good strategy so that Karen wouldn't kill her for destroying the garden and bedroom.
"I think it's dead." A voice.
"She." A second voice.
"She thinks it's dead."
"No, you idiot -"
Scuffling sounds broke out somewhere to her right. Sarah lay, motionless. Most of her hurt. Her elbow hurt and felt slimy.
"Shut up! Shut up!"
Was she breathing? How did she breathe again? She let out a wheeze.
"Poke it."
Please don't.
A rock hit her head. She tried to let out a groan. There wasn't any air to do so. How did she inflate her lungs? What was inhaling? She couldn't…
"What part of poke was too hard to understand!?" The second voice sounded thin on patience.
"The rock poked it!"
There was a grunt of agreement from something. Sarah didn't have the strength to open her eyes, and besides, she didn't want to see if she'd failed…
"Make way! Posthaste, you fools! I shall interrogate this enemy until it reveals its secrets!" A new third voice trilled.
(I don't have the air to do that -) Something poked her head again.
"Awaken, strange beast! Reveal yourself, intruder! Encroacher!"
The poking turned into whacking. Sarah tried again to groan, without success.
The first voice sounded deep in thought. "It's dead. It's bleeding out, lookit its elbow."
"That's not blood! You live with chickens! How'd you not know what the difference is between blood and an egg!?"
Under the heated debate the whacking continued. Sarah tried to telepathically communicate with the voice at the end of the stick.
(Please stop - ow - that's my hair - it's going to -)
"Good heavens! RELEASE MY WEAPON, YOU VILE GORGON!"
Her hair had gotten tangled in said weapon. The whacking stopped - only to reverse into pulling. She managed a muffled "Agh", but it was drowned out by the shrieks of the stick-holder.
"HELP! IT'S SWALLOWED MY WEAPON! AMBROCIOUS! SIC!"
(Ambro- ?)
The yanking increased. This was almost more painful than smashing into the ground. She tried to move a finger. It hurt, but it moved.
"At least the dead one brought presents. I found a yoyo!" The first voice sounded impressed.
"IT'S A TRAP! IT'S HERE TO STEAL OUR REMAINING RESOURCES! LIKE MY WEAPO-" Trilled voice number three.
A final voice, gravelly and sounding tired, interrupted. "Just - stop that! I'll cut it loose."
(Ok, time to move. No one cuts my hair.) With a groan, Sarah raised both her hands and pushed up. Screams broke out from beyond her. (That's it. You're almost 30 degrees. Just another 60, and you'll be sitting on whatever bones you have left in your hip.)
Her head was pulled sideways suddenly; the weapon holder wasn't releasing his claim on the stick without a fight.
"Ow!" Sarah yanked back, trying to untangle herself while remaining upright.
"FIEND! FOE! HORROR! EGG-BLEEDING CREATURE FROM DARKNESS! VANQUISH THINE HOLD!"
"OW! Stop - I can't! You're pulling -"
Her view was obscured by hair. (I survived the fall, only to be attacked by a stick. What a way to go.)
(No. Not like this! Get off!)
She fought a rather painful tug-of-war until finally the stick was released. Silence. She tried to sweep her mane back and succeeded in getting a lot of it in her mouth. She choked slightly, spitting, and then finally looked up.
And there they were.
She breathed in - that - that scent - like an old book - and dust - and electricity - autumn - smoke -
Words escaped her. Tears, however, didn't, her vision becoming blurry. She choked again, this time on the lump in her throat -
Hoggle. Ludo. Sir Didymus. A sea of goblin faces, some still holding onto the string. They stared at her. She continued to cry.
(Damnit - just - focus - come on - stop -)
But an underlying thought that cut through her sadness and relief and panic, most of all - I did it.
Finally Hoggle spoke. "It's a banshee. Kill 'er."
He turned his back and started walking away. A few dozen swords, axes, spears, and chickens were lowered in her general direction. Sarah concentrated on sobbing out something that would veto this option.
"Hog- Hog-" She began. He paused.
"Knows your name!" A nearby goblin squeaked.
He didn't turn around. "Lucky guess."
"Hog… Gle." Sarah tried again. Nothing. "It's me."
A few of the goblins scratched their heads and screwed up their faces. "Can't 'member anyone by the name of Me." Several grunts in agreement. "Kill it."
Sadness and relief were quickly switching over to just panic. "It's - it's - it's -" Her chest hitched up and down too fast. "Sarah."
That's about all the words I've got.
Hoggle turned. "Can't be. Impossible."
Another goblin agreed. "Ya don't look like her!"
Get your hair out of your face, idiot.
Her hands were shaky, she tried to adjust herself so they could see her better. "It's - it's - it's S-S - Sarah, Hoggle - and - and - S- S- Sir - Didymus - and - and - Lu - Lu - Do - o - o -" Her stupid voice dissolved again into breaking cries.
Hoggle took a few steps back, standing with the goblins to watch her, face hard and unfeeling. "You. Ain't. Her." Sarah managed a nod in disagreement. He scowled. "Prove it."
(What? How? How can I - I don't - I - um… Think. Think. What do I know about Hoggle. That only I would know. Shit. Um… Wait.) She threw up her arm. The goblins tensed, as she pointed at her wrist, then herself
"P- p- p- present. Mine." Her sobs were drying up, finally freeing her voice a bit. She dropped her hand. "H- Hoggle, I gave you a - a bracelet."
The goblins swung their focus back to him. His free hand drifted towards his wrist.
"Doth it speak the truth, Sir Hoggle?" Even Didymus was watching him carefully.
"I - er - so what! Maybe she saw it as I was walking away! Proves nothin'!" He flapped his hand in mistrust.
She tried again. "No. I didn't - see it. I gave it to you. When I was... 16, because… I needed to get through the Labyrinth. You - you traded me jewels, and - and - gave me a peach by accident and - and - and - we're - we were - friends -"
He just stared at her, scowling now, then wordlessly to looked back at the crowd.
"Imposter. Hoggle, it cannot be. Mayhap she's simply heard the legends. We'll get the truth out of this wailing ghoul -" Didymus growled, taking a step towards Sarah, stick raised and nostrils flaring. Then paused. "It -" He sniffed, faltering. "It -" His stick sagged in the air as he inhaled deeply. "It smells of - of - my lady - and egg - what witchcraft -" He took a few more hesitant steps forward, inches from her, staring, then buried his nose in her hair. "It… It cannot… I… "
A questioning grumble carried to her ears and Sarah's breath caught in her throat as Ludo shuffled tentatively forward to the edge of the crowd.
"Ludo - it's me - Sarah - rocks - friend -" She outstretched her arm, reaching. He stared at her. They were all staring at her. "It's ME."
- I don't know what to -
Ludo looked from Hoggle to Didymus to her. Then - almost afraid - "Saawah?"
She nodded, words failing her. Ludo roared, striding forward and kicking through the goblins that were unlucky enough to be in his path. He reached her, hesitating - she looked up at him, trying to smile reassuringly through her tears.
"Me. Sarah."
Didymus nodded in agreement as Ludo carefully reached down, pulling her gently up to wrap her in his furry arms. She buried herself in his rough hair, sobbing fully, unable to hear or talk, just needing to be for a moment, for one brief moment, it had been so long - Ludo needed to be real, she needed them to be real -
There was a persistent tug at her side. Hoggle stood, apprehensive, waiting, watching her. He cleared his throat. "I er… Sar… Sarah? Is it… Yo-"
She flung herself on him, locking him in an embrace, ignoring his "Oof!", and holding him tightly despite his struggles, until at last he slowly wrapped his arms around her. She felt a tentative paw, a scratching on her shoulder, and looked up to see Didymus. She grabbed them both, leaning onto Ludo's legs as she held them, was crying and laughing and she had done it. The plan, the spell, whatever she'd hoped and hoarded and wished, it had worked and she was through and - and she wanted this moment to last forever, her and her friends all together, finally, forever - and -
Hoggle finally pushed her off, grabbing her face to inspect it. "Sarah, what - what happened to yer?"
She wiped away a tear from his eye, forcing another deep breath down, trying to think. "What happened to you!? Where did you g- where -" (Why did you leave - where were you when - why did you all leave me - I can't say it - I can't say it.) She let the thoughts remain silent.
There was a pause.
Hoggle looked around, his face darkening and mouth open, as if trying to choose his words.
"This placed has… Changed, my lady." Sir Didymus looked grave, his swaying tail drooping slightly. "The magic here - has… It -"
Hoggle wiped his face with his handkerchief. "It… Turned. It's all - the magic's all warped. Can't make it work, he can't get it ta work, won't be bent nor bought or used -"
The first goblin who'd spoken piped up from the sidelines: "It started to change on its own. The Labyrinth."
She turned. "I thought… It could already do that, though."
The goblin looked down. "It did. It can. But someone was usually in charge of - changing it. Or changing it back."
"What? What do you mean it… It changed? Changed into what? It's still a Labyrinth, isn't it -"
Hoggle grabbed her hand, his tone now hushed. "The Labyrinth - it - it - the magic - took on a new life. It's… A new Labyrinth. Different. Dangerous."
"So? It's always been dangerous -"
(He's… Avoiding. Why are they acting guilty? Or - no, that's not it - they don't want to tell me something.)
"Not like… Not like this, Sarah."
Is… Is Hoggle sweating?
He shuffled his foot slightly. "It's not… Stable… Cause it's not… Under anyone's - control. Nuttin' is. That's why - that's why - we couldn't get to ya, see. It - kinda - sucked up all the magic sorta and - and -" He trailed off.
"But… But what - what happened to - the controller?" No one was looking at her. In fact, they were desperately looking everywhere but her. "What - happened to the other magic? Why didn't he - send you - or - or - come through the mirror, or - "
Hoggle cut her off. "The mirror sealed. All of 'em. At first, it was gradual-like - we didn't think it was worth mention' that the mirror were gettin' hard ta cross, that we was gettin' a little stuck, cause… We thought he was workin' on a new spell, thought it was justa - hiccup he was fixin', but then one day… It was a mirror. Only a mirror."
"He almost broke trying to get through it." A goblin spoke emphatically. "The way he hit it over and over -"
"But… What happened to… " Sarah began, then stopped.
Do you really want to know?
If their world is broken, if their magic is corrupt, do you really want to know what happened to…
Sir Didymus piped up desperately. "I - I was able to make it though, my lady! Part of my extended family is known for being wily, and I was able to slip through but a few times, through a portal in your trees, albeit in a fairly weakened state, altered severely by the magic trying to block me -"
Sarah grabbed his face, fresh tears brimming. "The dog! Was that you!? It WAS you! Oh, Didymus - I'm sorry! I'm - I tried to talk, I thought it was you, but -"
"Indeed 'twas. The fish of tuna you gave me was perhaps almost worth squeezing between two worlds. But the magic - it altered me, my lady! I could not communicate with you no matter what I tried, and in the end, I was sealed off altogether, and we have since been trapped within, sealed and confined, living in this forest encampment like filthy animals - "
"But -" Sarah released him and looked around. "Why - why didn't -"
(I'm not - I can't say it.)
She forced herself to take a deep breath. "No one's answering my question: why didn't the Goblin King help - you know - the goblins?"
There was a great pause. Hoggle coughed. Her head snapped towards him.
"What?" Cough. "Hoggle?" The cough transitioned into a mutter. "Hoggle. I can't -" Another mutter, this time slightly less low. "Just whisper it in my ear!" She leaned over to him.
He cleared his throat, looking around nervously before whispering very quickly. "He's - lost most of his magic too."
Sarah stared. "What!? How - how is that even -"
The goblins were squirming and whistling desperately, trying to cover her outburst, and Hoggle shushed her hurriedly. "We dunno. We don't. We can't. But - but Sarah - ya - ya made it through. You could fix the magic. You could beat the Labyrinth." This brought a murmur of agreement.
He lost his magic? How did he lose his magic? What does that even mean? How -
And then the rest of Hoggle's words caught up with her suddenly.
"What? Wait, no, I - what?" Her heart started to beat faster. "Wh- why would you - think that I could do anything -"
"You beat it once, you can beat it again!" A few cheers came from the crowd.
(Oh no. No no no I am in no condition to be anyone's savior.) "I didn't - beat it - I was lucky! I had help! What can I - and anyways, it's not MY Labyrinth! Where's the one who should be taking control!?"
This stopped the crowd cheering. The whistling resumed, full force.
"He's uh… " Hoggle mopped his brow. "He's… Sittin'."
Sarah looked at him. He avoided her gaze determinedly. "Away. By hisself. Alone."
"Is… Is he hurt?"
"Hurt? No, no, it's just… Er… He's - not in the best of moods, ya could say."
Not in the best of moods… Sitting…
(Oh, goddamnit.) "He's…. He's sulking, isn't he?" Sarah snapped, a spark of - anger? Was that was this was?
Yes.
Anger at him. Gasps broke out from the crowd.
"He's sulking and throwing tantrums, just like when I was 16, isn't -"
She was cut off by loud exclamations of "SHHHHHHH", with a couple of extra loud whistles thrown in for good measure. She glared at them. "What's the plan then!? Go in by myself, behind his back? Try to overthrow his own Labyrinth without the king!?"
There was another pause. Then: "I guess… We could see if he feels like talking today." A goblin muttered. A few nodded in agreement.
"Just got me armor repaired, so's if I get thrown or kicked by 'im, I'll be in good shape!" One piped up.
Hoggle looked her up and down, hesitant. "We'll… Get 'im. Just - ya just stay and - try… " He paused. "Try ta look like… Yerself."
Look like…
(Shit. I forgot what I looked like.)
She ran her hair with her fingers as her mind reeled, trying to catch up. Rogue Labyrinth, sulking king, friends stranded. And she was supposed to be able to help them, somehow, despite… Her current condition. Oh, and he was coming, right now, to see her in all her "current condition" glory.
(Whatever. He thinks he's got it bad? He'll see what bad looks like. No, wait, shit. Oh god. I don't want to see him. I can't see him. Shit. Shit! I look like shit. Well - I don't care about that - I do but - I - I don't care if he thinks I look weird! Why would I care? But I mean… I want to look… He's going look amazing and I look like - I just fell on my face. Which I did. Well, maybe he won't look all, you know, - he's lost all his magic, right?)
(How do you lose all your magic? How does that happen? He's coming, and - oh my god, when was the last time I saw him? Like actually saw and spoke to him? Whatever, he's not expecting me to look amazing after I got - well, he's not expecting me to look great either way. He doesn't care. I don't care. But what did I look like the last time I saw him? Normal. I looked normal, and now I look - fuck. Fuck! I don't know what - what will I say to him!? Hey, I know last time we talked, I looked a little less - dead, but - wait a minute.)
(… When was the last time I ever had a conversation like that with him!? When was the last time I ever had a conversation with him at all!? We don't talk. He tried to kidnap my brother, it's not like we chat over tea or - Christ, was the last time I saw him - like actually saw and talked to him - when I rejected his offer after I got Toby back? But… That can't be right. That was - I was 16! That can't be - shit! How have I never had a real conversation with him after that? Well, that's - that's on him! But I did see him after that -)
(- Did I? I think I did. I just saw bits of - whatever - I saw flashes of him. Bits. His face. Glitter. An owl. I - he never talked to me, It's not like - it's not like I -)
(- Rejected his whole kingdom and offer in exchange for Toby?)
(That's - that's not my fault! I didn't have a choice, not a real one and besides if I was so important then why did he - he abandon - he left me alone - wait, no, that's not even right anymore, is it? If he lost his magic? Did he have control over - when I was alon- but… Why didn't he try to - I feel like I'm missing part of the story, he should've - damnit, I want answers! How does a guy who can reorder time lose his kingdom, his magic, and not have the simple ability to say, 'Hey Sarah, in a little bit of trouble, sit tight, we're working on it.' Not even one word, not even for months - I mean he can shapeshift for god's sake are you really telling me he - he's going to be here any second, I can ask him then! If… If he doesn't - I don't know, try to kill me for winning. Or something. Oh god. Is he going to be angry? Wait, I'm sitting. Fuck. Stand. Stand and show him you're not afraid.)
She stood, instantly regretting it. Between the soreness from falling and the possibility of an angry Goblin King, Sarah was shaking, anxiety a wave that rushed over, threatening to drown her. She grabbed a tree, leaning against it as Ludo made a concerned noise, hovering.
"I - I'm ok."
That was the furthest from the truth she'd been in a long time. Her heart was pounding, she was cold and hot and while she was breathing, her lungs felt too small to hold the air.
(Fuck. Shit. Pull it together. Don't let him see you like this. You're better than this. At least I didn't lose my magic,-)
(- Yeah you only lost way too much weight and your mind, not to mention sleep, hair, basic functioning skills, -)
(Stop it stop it stop it.)
Ludo pulled her back up as she slumped down the tree. She leaned partially onto him, trying to come out of it, her eyes unblinking.
(This is happening too fast I should've - too much - I don't want him to see me - I should've - like - snuck up on him, and -)
He was behind her.
She could feel it. A wave of something - adrenaline, fear, dread - swept up from the tips of her toes to her head as the chill ran through her. The goblins were dead silent. Ludo stepped away, and Sarah stood swaying in space, her body suddenly feeling too light and too heavy.
She wasn't ready. She never would be. He was so far away, left her so far behind, he was too real and not real at all, he was everything and anything and isn't that what you wanted? Isn't that EXACTLY what you wanted? Wasn't he and this place everything you ever wanted and - no, he was nothing, he was like trying to hold water, always taunting, always faceless, just beyond her, infuriating and - and she would never compare, could never compete, could never -
would never -
never -
She needed to turn around. Needed to face him like a strong person, like she wasn't about to pass out or have a panic attack, she needed to turn, she had to turn -
She did it too stiffly, spun on her heel trying to look casual and tough, succeeding in neither and stumbling in the process, her hair whipped into her face and -
Time stood still. Well. It seemed to. Her heartbeat froze and she let out a puff of air she didn't realize she'd been holding. She had planned on looking at his feet, then up at the rest of him, but he was there, he was close, so close, only a few feet away and she couldn't not look at him directly, and - and so -
His face was the same. Not a day older or later. She wanted to scan him, give him the once over and then turn away, but she couldn't leave his gaze, was locked in it, blue and dark, stars and night sky.
Had they always had that spark? In the darkness of his eyes, had he always had that -… Flicker of - life?
It didn't matter. She didn't need to think about it. She couldn't. She was looking into space and time, and you didn't need to breathe or think in space. A voice somewhere in the back of her mind told her that she should really be looking away now, or at least blinking, or please for the love god just shut your gapping mouth but she - she -
He tilted his head (like an owl) and the moment broke.
Sarah didn't mean to, but suddenly she was overcompensating. Blinking and twitching, looking at him, around him, everywhere but him, scanning him, watching him from the corner of her eye, then trying eye contact again he's not looking at you anymore you idiot, fine, avoid the face, look at the hair, or the trees, or literally anywhere else, feeling every beat of her heart, every inhale of her breath, hoping she wasn't turning pale, then desperately trying not to blush.
(Fuck fuck fuck shit just look somewhere and hold it! Should I say something? Should he say something? Let him talk. No. Go for the power play. You talk. No! Let him! No! Now it's just a giant pause! Good god! Someone say ANYthing!)
Something between a high keen and a voice-cracking wheeze escaped through her lips and she regretted all in her life that lead up to it. Sarah closed her eyes and hoped the Labyrinth would swallow her right there.
It didn't. She hated this place.
