Under the Ruby Trees

By Shimya

Inspired by The Labyrinth, which is copyrighted, and not by me!


Chapter Seven

It had been three days since Jareth had left her there in her room, wanting him as badly as she hated him. Now, she sat in front of the mirror of her bedroom, staring at her reflection. She was weak and weary, her pride and confidence bruised. She avoided him since their last encounter but he didn't seem to be looking for her anyway.

Ursula, the nasty thing, stood on a stool behind her chair and brushed out her hair, rambling on and on about how obedient Sarah had been the past few days and how she was sure she had learned her lesson with her lashings. Sarah said nothing, didn't even acknowledge her existence; just sat there with a lost stare.

Escape wasn't an option; after that day, she was sure that Jareth really would toss her to a vampire as a little snack if she continued to cause trouble. Not to mention, he might come back to tease her again. She couldn't do anything here except sleep and occasionally wander around the empty castle. Although her curiosity wanted her to explore the place, she feared she'd bump into Jareth or other goblins that threatened to eat her. So, what could she do?

Ursula said something about errands she had to do so when she left the room, and Sarah finally stood from her seat and wandered to the window. As she gazed outside she realized for the first time that the castle had a large garden encasing it, something she must have missed when she first visited. As quietly as she could, she made her way out of her room and, after many wasted minutes trying to figure out the curious case of all the stairs, finally found the front lobby, near the entrance. Goblins were everywhere, pacing around, throwing things at each other, wrecking havoc, as they normally did. However, to Sarah's surprise, they didn't seem to care about her. Instead, they pretended she wasn't there, or used the skirt of her dress as a hiding spot from each other.

She carefully opened the door and was greeted with a refreshing spring-like breeze. Without hesitation, she proceeded into the gardens of the Castle beyond Goblin City.

Unlike the inside of the castle, the gardens were filled with color and life. Flowers that Sarah had never seen graced the small forested orchard behind the castle. Some trees had leaves the color of gold and silver pieces. Some looked like their fruit was made of silk. Everything amazed her and made her feel better about her situation; there was nothing like this at home.

She stood on tip-toe as she pulled a ruby blossom from a flowering tree and touched it with amazement.

"Do you like them?"

Sarah jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and dropped the stone to the ground. Had she been caught? Was she going to be in trouble?

The man behind her looked normal, all except for his pointed ears. He was handsome in his fancy clothing, his brown hair short and nicely trimmed. His face was strong, angled with a sturdy jaw but it was his eyes that made her feel at ease. The color of the grass she was standing on, his eyes were soft and seemingly kind. She did not believe he was here to hurt her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He chuckled and picked up the ruby blossom she had dropped. "They are rather beautiful."

He played with the blossom in his hand, being very careful not to touch the pointed ends of the red stone petals. "Although they are beautiful, they lie." He said, showing her the flower. "The petals, even though they are stone, can kill even the largest giant with a simple prick. They get their name from that poisonous feature. Al le noxion amouri. Noxious Love. There is a legend about them I've heard since I was a child."

Sarah just watched him and he took to her silence. "Would you like to hear it?" He asked, his smile never faltering. She nodded, relaxing in his presence.

"Amouri was the goddess of Love. Every five hundred years, she would take the form of a mortal woman and travel here to the Labyrinth, mending its walls and spreading magic at its base to help it grow. It had been said that the Labyrinth was the birthplace of the Gods and that she chose to keep it alive as the years progressed. Many people across the land knew of her and when the time came, she was visited by hundreds of people. She would bless them and give them luck in love.

"However, Amouri herself was a lonely goddess, forever searching for someone to call her own. One day, a mortal man named Lucan came to see her bearing hundreds of blossoms and begged her to find him a woman that would love him forever. Touched by his passion, she herself fell in love with the man and lived in that love for years.

"But the other Gods were not happy. They knew that if Amouri stayed a mortal woman for too long, she would become one, grow old, and die. But when they came to warn her, she ignored them, refusing the idea of becoming a goddess again for fear she would have to leave her love for Lucan behind.

"The god of Destruction, Aodan, refused to allow Amouri to continue her antics for he secretly wanted her for his own. So, disguising himself as a poor peasant, he traveled to the hunting grounds where Lucan often visited. Using Lucan's kind nature against him, he tricked the man into a spell and changed him into a horrifying black wolf. Aodan then took Lucan's shape and left the wolf there to wallow in his own sorrow.

"Amouri did not realize that when her lover returned, it was not Lucan, but really Aodan deceiving her. In the midst of their love making, Aodan returned to his normal shape and told her that he had killed her husband. Knowing that she would have no choice but to return to the heavens, he basked in his victory.

"The goddess, crushed by her lover's murder and angry at Aodan, thirsted for revenge. She went to the blossom orchards and turned all the flowers to rubies, reflecting how her heart had now been turned to stone. The tears she shed upon her stone flowers were filled with the poison of heartache. Soon, she invited Aodan to her gardens, promising him a secret love affair.

"Excited, the foolish God accepted her invitation and as soon as he stepped foot under the blossom tree, she made the flowers fall upon him, stabbing his flesh and poisoning and killing him with her grief. Amouri soon found out that she took no comfort in her revenge; her love was dead and would never return. Taking a single ruby blossom, she thrust the petals into her heart and died, swearing that she would again be with him in the afterlife.

But Lucan was not dead and from a distance, he watched the scenes unfold, unable to tell his Goddess of his fate. So, Lucan stayed a wolf, keeping watch over the Goddess' most prized possession; the Labyrinth until he died."

Sarah, who had been listening to the story with great interest and anticipation, watched the stranger as he handed her the blossom. "Al le noxion amouri." She slowly repeated the name of the flower, in memory of the goddess.

"They say that they only grow here because this is the place where she died…There isn't a flower back in the homeland that can match such a thing." He smiled at her, trying to initiate more conversation. "Only in the Labyrinth."

"They don't grow at all like that back at home either…" she said softly, playing with the blossom in her hands, careful not to pierce her skin.

"And where, might I ask, is that?"

Taking into consideration that Jareth had obviously been publically embarrassed by losing his game to her, she thought it best not to mention the Aboveground. Instead, she was somewhat saved the trouble when the stranger became more eager for other information when she didn't answer him.

"What's your name?"

"…Sarah."

He smiled and she felt completely at ease after seeing it. It was warm, not like Jareth's cold smirk that she had been getting used to.

"Well, Sarah, I'm surprised you live here, in the Goblin King's Castle. To my knowledge, Jareth never cared for human servants."

She kept her eyes on the blossom. "He doesn't care for much of anything…"

"No, I suppose he doesn't." He laughed, offering her his arm, a strange and unfamiliar gesture to Sarah. Was she actually being treated nicely? She hesitated at first, but took his arm and he led them back into the castle.

"How long have you known your master? I don't recall seeing you here before."

This man sure was curious. She didn't want to say anything that might get her into more trouble so she kept quiet for a moment, thinking about how she should answer. "I've just recently been brought here…"

"Surely you must be special if he chose to bring you here. Jareth has never really been interested in humans."

She wanted to laugh right then at the stranger for thinking so foolishly. Jareth wasn't interested in humans? Did he not know what he practically did for a living?

And just as that thought ran across her mind, Jareth appeared before the two of them, not looking the least bit amused. "Hello, Prince Dmitri. We were all getting slightly worried of your absence in the conference; your guards seem to always misplace you."

The Prince of Elves smiled in amusement and grabbed Jareth's shoulder as if they were friends and not merely royal acquaintances. "Ah, they have yet to discover our secret of avoiding them. Since we were children, it has never been easier to elude them."

"You should be more careful these days, old friend. A fiend is amongst us and we are all in the midst of war…Perhaps eluding your guard is not the best thing for you to do." Jareth said his voice caring and actually thoughtful. Sarah was surprised. The two of them must have been, dare she say, friends.

"I see you've met Sarah." Jareth said, looking at her with a hard and stern gaze. "I apologize if she's bothered you with her attitude."

Dmitri laughed, "This damsel? No. In fact, she's been very pleasant company..." He turned to Sarah and kissed her hand gently. "I must bid you farewell, Miss Sarah. It seems the Goblin King is anxious to get to the boring business of royal politics."

Sarah smiled at him as he made his way out of her sight through a set of big doors. Jareth, however, stayed behind for a moment, noticing the flower in her hand. "Planning to kill me?"

Her fluttery mood was ruined as soon as he opened his mouth. She looked at the blossom and then to him, "If only, if only." She responded sarcastically, handing him the ruby. "I think if I did, the Prince wouldn't be too happy with me." She paused for a moment before asking, "Who is he?"

Jareth took the flower and turned it into dust with a couple waves of his gloved hand. "Dmitri, Prince of the Elves here in the Underground. His mother rules as a windowed queen but when the prince has married he will take on the throne."

"He's...nice." She said, looking back at the pair of doors he had just disappeared through. "What's he doing here?"

Feeling just the slightest bit of jealousy, Jareth snapped his fingers and the two of them appeared back in her room. "That is nothing you need to worry your pretty little head with."

Sarah looked around, startled for a moment before glaring at him. "Why must you keep me locked up in here like an animal? I'm not going to run away, just let me out of this damned room." She complained.

"I'm not locking you in a room." He replied, his attention on the clothes in her wardrobe. "These really are awful looking…"

"I don't care what they look like. Are you listening to me?" She continued, "Please, let me do something other than sit here."

Jareth looked at her, a terrible look in his eyes. It was not anger, but rather, looked as if he just had an idea. A bad idea in her case. Sarah silenced immediately. What was going through his head?

"You want to do something more…exciting?" He purred, getting closer to her form. She looked back at him, both confused and a little fearful of what he might be planning.

"Well?" He pressed, impatient.

She faltered at first, but after reassuring herself, What's the worst he could do now?, she nodded slowly.

He smiled that same dark smirk she hated and almost immediately regretted her answer. With a wave of glittering dust she found herself in a familiar, and yet, unfamiliar place. Surrounded by stone walls and unseen trickery, Sarah and been taken to the Labyrinth.

He stood there, atop one of the Labyrinth walls, looking down at her with three crystals in his hands. "How's this? Is this more to your liking, little girl?"

"This isn't what I meant!" She yelled at him, anger welling up inside her. "You know damn well I didn't want this!"

"On the contrary, you asked for excitement. What can be better than your good old friend, the Labyrinth?" He smiled, playing with his crystals. "You've beaten it before, Sarah. You could do it again, right?"

He was taunting her and she hated it. "How about a bargain?" She asked, taking him off guard.

He stopped his crystal twirling and looked at her, interested. "Go on."

"If I beat it again, you take me back home…" She stated, placing her hands on her hips, gaining confidence.

"And if you don't?" He asked, never losing his cocky tone.

She was quiet, not knowing for sure exactly what she was willing to give him. She had nothing he wanted…Perhaps her idea was flawed after all…

"I'll tell you what," He jumped down in front of her, putting a crystal up to her face. "If you don't make it to the center in thirteen hours, I get you."

"I'm already here-"

"I get you, Sarah…" The crystal in front of her held the image of the two of them, kissing, wrapped in bed-sheets, being…intimate.

Perhaps it was a show of his dominance. She knew he did not feel affection toward her, obviously. He probably wanted to show her that he was her superior- her master. Such reasons can only explain why he wanted to have sex with her. It was a show of power; and she vowed he would not win.

"Deal." She blurted, sounding slightly unsure. "I accept the challenge."

He too, seemed unsure and a little surprised by her agreement. But, nevertheless, he would win this time. The Labyrinth was different now and she would fail. He would have his revenge on her. She would bow to him and give him everything.

"Very well." A clock appeared as the time set. "You have thirteen hours, Sarah, before you become mine, forever."

And then, he vanished.


The turn of events had left the Goblin King a little anxious as to what to expect with Sarah and her little Labyrinth bargain. Even though he wished to spy on her, he knew he had other things that needed his attention.

Today was yet another meeting of the council to determine the fate of the Vampyre Queen Morrigan. He knew that the Vampyre council party held the information that would deem her guilty of conspiracy against the Kingdoms of the Underground. He knew that they would prepare to wage war upon the Northern Lands of Vibenae. And he knew that the likelihood of them failing was rising more and more each day.

He did not want to be a part of Morrigan's power hungry plans. He did not want to secretly plot against his own people, his friend. He did not want to help her kill everything with a beating heart. But what was he to do? He was indebted to her. He had made a magical vow that could not be broken less he be punished unimaginably….

Even if he were to warn them of their oncoming demise, tell them his position, beg for their understanding, they would kill him along with the Queen. He'd known all this time of her plot. He had let her murder all the humans in that Ballroom. He allowed it go this far without so much as a hint. He would not get out of this without a fight…

As he entered the room that held the senators and members of the council, an uncomfortable and thick tension filled the room immediately and a slight feeling of dread welled up in Jareth's chest as he took his seat. They were completely silent. They probably already knew of what was to come.

"I open this council to discussion…" He ordered, no one rushing to get started.

Orin was the first to speak; the other members of the Vampyre commission dare not. "Queen Morrigan has officially declared war on all other Kingdoms of the Underground. She has made it clear to me that she is not willing to negotiate for anyone's protection. She only offers that if you surrender your kingdom immediately, she promises to place your people into slavery instead of killing them." He spoke with a melancholy tone, although he secretly waited the day he'd get to rule by her side and rightfully take over the Kingdoms as King. "She currently had thousands at her disposal…"

Dmitri stood, speaking for his absent mother. "You can tell your queen that surrender is out of the question. She has no allies; she has already lost. One kingdom against four? She is mad if she believes she will win, Vampyre or not."

Adriel, The Fae King, shook his head in distaste. "Tell her she has sealed her own fate. She will fall." He looked at Jareth, eyes mirroring dominance over his younger counterpart. "The Labyrinth offers us safe haven if her fledglings even begin to pierce through our armies. There is no way it will leave us in peril, isn't that right, Goblin King?"

Jareth nodded nonchalantly. Inside, his mind was troubled with the thought of his unintended treachery against the royals. "The Labyrinth is the heart of this Underground. It will not allow such creatures through its walls. So is the nature of it; it exists to protect those who seek its care. My uses for it are profane in nature but so is the way of the Goblin Kingdom…"

Adriel continued, "The trickery that befools the mortals will not be enacted upon us. We are the magical children of it and so it will be ours to control-," he gave the Goblin King a mocking look, "-yours to control. We trust that such precautions have already been in the working?"

Just then the doors to the room burst open, little Goblins that were waiting outside them running in all directions of the hall, screaming in fear as Morrigan bit into one that she was holding. Quickly, she spat the chunk of Goblin flesh out onto the floor, scowling. "Goblins taste so vile…"

Everyone in the room stood in surprise. Even Orin faked it well. Jareth however, though surprised at her visit, had not doubted the possibility. She was very brash to choose now to show herself. The queen wore a dark robe, covering her perfect porcelain skin, her red eyes scanning the crowd. Smiling, she removed her hood, letting out a chuckle full of devious intent. "Look at all of you. Trying to decide what to do with me." She tossed the Goblin in her hand to the side, the poor thing crawling toward Jareth, taking refuge under his seat.

She walked forward, taking in her time in her strides, he long blond locks that were normally dragging on the floor now braided in a tight bun atop her evil little head. She looked at Jareth and laughed louder, pointing to all of them that lined the circular room. "The time is now to bow to me. All of you. Just give up now, while you're still alive, while your children are still safe in their playrooms, while your people are still enjoying their merry little lives…"

A member of the Vampyre court bared his pointed fangs as he spoke to her. "You are making a big mistake, Morrigan! How dare you insult your kind this way, waging a war upon everyone in the Underground! They will crush you! They will forever relinquish every ounce of respect for our kind! They will kill us all because of you!"

Her smile vanished and turned into a rather eerie frown. She put her face in her hands and let out a loud, fake cry. "Oh! What have I done? What has gotten into me?" She fell to her knees in front of him, giving everyone a good show. "Please, oh please, don't kill my babies! Not all my starving little babies that I'm going to feed you all to!"

He looked at her, unamused and confused. When she stood back up, she let out yet another exaggerated laugh. "Do you really think I will not prevail, oh wise councilman?" She lashed out her hands to his throat as everyone in the room gasped. "If you do not want to be at the top of the food chain, sir, then you will be at the bottom of it." And then she squeezed, snapping his neck in her hands.

Everyone was speechless. She had gone completely mad, it was obvious. Jareth was of mind to end it here and now, tell everyone everything and throw himself at their mercy. Either way, Morrigan was going to get him killed, whether or not it was by her insane hand.

Dmitri removed his sword from its sheath, prepared to battle the tyrant. She looked at him and scoffed, offering him no more than a glance over. "You are all foolish to not accept my humble offer of sovereignty instead of death. What a pathetic group we have here; willing to risk the lives of thousands of innocent people, children even, because you refuse to acknowledge that I am stronger."

"You have no power here!" Jareth finally spoke, trying to keep whatever peace he could in the room. She needed to leave before she tried to murder everyone here.

And it was true. She didn't really have power here. If she wanted to, she could order HIM around. However, it wasn't the time, nor the place. She just glared at him, pursing her lips into a plush pout. "And you, King of Goblins, are of mind to watch your tongue…"

A terrible sound erupted through his head. It was enough to send him falling to the floor, holding his head in pain. She watched, content with the punishment for his outburst. "I can break you, every single one of you, if I wanted…"

Adriel couldn't help notice the spell that came upon Jareth at his outburst. It was curious to him, not to mention suspicious. The Queen was no learner of magic, so why was it he fell in pain?

"Very well!" The Queen let out a sigh that mirrored boredom. "I am off to form an attack upon your little kingdoms. I do hope you all make it into the Labyrinth alright, after all, it would be a shame not to have you royals cleaning my shoes after I've won…"

Orin stood and offered her an arm, twisting some kind of dark magic as they both disappeared into a puff of dark smoke. All that was heard was the echo of Morrigan's ominous laugh.

"This is madness! We must attack at once before she does! We must take down her castle walls and destroy every Vampyre we possibly can!" Dafna, the Faerie Queen, yelled with confidence. "My army can be prepared in two days! It will take no time to make our way to the Northern Lands and destroy anything that tries to leave that border!"

"We must prepare! Gather your warlords and soldiers! The time for battle has come!" Dmitri yelled, raising his sword to the air.

The rest of the Vampyre court were quickly disposed of into imprisonment, for fear another of them might be a traitor like Orin. In the midst of the commotion, Dmitri made his way toward the Goblin King, who had finally gotten up to wipe a drop of blood from his nose.

"You are keeping something from me." He stated, looking at Jareth with caring eyes. "You should know by now that it is impossible to keep secrets from me."

"Indeed, it is rather difficult…" He stated, offering the Prince his full attention.

"Tell me what you know." He demanded.

"I only know of what you do. Nothing more." He lied, offering no solace to his own conscience.

"Then you must have the same feeling that I do, that she has more up her sleeve than what she currently has us to believe…"

"Yes," he nodded, "That is a strong possibility…"

Dmitri sighed, "Mother will not take this well. Her sickness is worse and I find the stress of war may be the end of her."

Jareth put his hand on his colleague's shoulder in reassurance, "You will make a fine replacement in these dark times so that she may rest in order to become better."

"I have no doubts." Dmitri said, glancing out the meeting room doors to still see pesky goblins running from their fear. "I do hope that human, Sarah, did not get caught in the Queen's wake on her entrance…"

Another feeling of dread overcame the Goblin King. Sarah was no longer safe within the Labyrinth. He feared she may be in danger of Morrigan's antics. She was not as foolhardy as to place Vampyre in his Labyrinth without telling him, was she?

But before he could get a chance to check up on her, Adriel prevented him from leaving the room. "Jareth, you have some explaining to do…"

He stopped and looked at the King of Fae in confusion. "What explaining?"

"What was that? That spell that came over you when you ordered her away?"

"I don't know." Again, lying. "She must have learned some sort of magic…"

"Oh really?" He asked, unbelieving. Dmitri looked between the two of them, uncomfortable.

"Perhaps the Queen is trying her hand at magic to distract us from the real issue at hand…" The elf said, not really believing his own words. "Either way, we must focus on preparing our armies for war, not on why the Tyrant Queen has learned parlor trick spells."

"I agree." Jareth said, trying to remove himself from the conversation as quickly as possible. He didn't have time for this.

"Very well." Adriel nodded, still giving Jareth a look of dissatisfaction. "We will speak again…"

Jareth nodded and left the room is haste, leaving the council and everyone behind. They would soon leave to prepare for war. In a week's time, the beginning of the end would ensue…But right now, he was focused on Sarah. Safe inside the privacy of his library, Jareth conjured a crystal to show him Sarah's Whereabouts.

And his feeling of dread soon manifested itself into reality.

"What is going on?" Dmitri asked, appalled at the image in the crystal. He had followed his friend without Jareth knowing.

"I need to get to the Labyrinth," He said, not willing to explain anything to the prince now, "before she dies."


BABABABUM CERTAIN DEATH! Reviews appreciated.