Chapter 7
From here on out this is the second part, Mai's story of how she came to live in the Underground
Disclaimer: yo tengo nada
"Get in there and stay in there!" the female had shrieked as she pushed the little girl into her bedroom and placed a chair under the knob to keep it shut. "You are such a freak! It's no wonder your daddy went and got himself killed, probably to get away from you!" and with that end of the rant, the older girl stalked off; her footsteps echoing on the hardwood floor behind her.
Inside the bedroom the little girl sighed, just like usual no matter what she did she got in trouble. And then there were the rules of her, her, oh that's right. The woman she lived with told her never to use that title as a reference, she didn't have a mother; she had a caretaker, that's what the woman said she was called. Anyways, she couldn't go out, she couldn't leave the apartment except for going to school; she couldn't even have friends; well, not any tangible ones at least. She had plenty of friends who existed in her mind, but she couldn't tell any of the people she talked to about them. They would never understand; all they would do was yell at her and shove her in this room again. True, it was where she lived and spent a majority of her time, but then again; it wasn't a home. Rather, she had vague memories of a place that was always warm and happy; where she felt happy. And most importantly; where she had the undeniable knowledge that she was loved. There was none of that here. There was only coldness, well there was whenever anyone bothered to notice or even acknowledge her existence that is.
Case in point; there was an unexpected summer storm tonight. Outside, it was raging; the thunder shattering the sky and the lightening setting the fragments aflame. She did not like thunderstorms; she was scared of them. And this storm promised to waste away the night; it was alright when she had her nightlight with her, but the power had been knocked out and all there had been was a room plunged into darkness like it was now; and in this room there was a small balcony with intricate French doors and great windows spanning nearly floor to ceiling. Even with the curtains drawn she could see the twisted limbs of gnarled tree branches shaking; clawing at the glass, wanting to get in and seek shelter from the storm. Though her imagination was often a pastime she never tired of, it was occasionally too overactive for her -or any other five year old's own good. It flared up at the most inconvenient times; which was how she had found herself in this predicament after the lights had gone out. Startled, and frightened beyond all comprehensible belief she had lunged for the leg of the sitter. In response she had been pried off and shoved in here while the older girl locked the door behind her. She had no way of escape, and those awful creatures of the night were laughing at her, taunting her with their whispered promises.
"We're going to get you." They hissed with malicious glee. "We're going to get inside and take you. And when we do, we'll show you why little girls like yourself should be afraid of the dark!" they cackled, their laughter rhythmic with the roars of thunder that lurked just beyond the thin glass barrier.
Startled, but like all children she suffered from reckless curiosity, she moved towards the lacy black curtains and hesitantly lifted one of the edges of the paper blind that lay beneath them. Timidly she peered around it only to see a horribly grotesque, misshapen face leering back at her; cruel, jagged fangs glinting at her from the creature's grin.
She fell back; it's just my imagination she told herself as she continuously staggered in reverse. It did nothing to soothe her though because she started seeing the faces everywhere in her room. Hiding behind furniture, creeping in the shadows, scratching as they shuffled along the hardwood floor as the thunder from the storm outside seemed to dull until it was barely audible over the frantic beating of her tiny little heart. Every time the lightening flashed a new face would appear. But all were menacing, and the girl kept backing away until she met the surface of the locked door behind her. There truly was no escape.
Slumping until she reached a huddled sitting position on the floor the girl curled up into herself and cried. The sobs wracked her small frame as she let out her anguish in silence. She knew better than to give voice to her sorrows; not only would no one come to aid her, it was far worse than that. She would be reprimanded, chastised for daring to have sorrows and grievances while there were many more in the world worse off than she. Sometimes, on the rare occasion when her moth- caretaker came home; fully inebriated and surprised that the child was still alive she would seem nice. And then the girl would feel it safe to pour out all her woes. She had only done it twice however, as both times after the woman she lived with had grown positively livid and started trying to claw at her with her finely manicured nails.
When her crying had ceased, she looked up to see that though the storm still ravaged the world outside, there were no menacing creatures to spirit her away inside her room. It really had all been her imagination. The girl shook her head, sighing at how silly she could be sometimes. The thunder clapped violently and she quaked. Distraction. She needed a distraction to divert her attention from her fear. And she knew just the one.
Quickly making her way to the nightstand by her bed the girl pulled out a flashlight. Clicking it on, she reached under the pillows at the head of her mattress and pulled out a battered little book. It was bound with a red leather cover, and had the title embossed in gold with a gothic script. Labyrinth.
She loved the story, but hated the ending. Maybe it was just her own opinion, but she felt sorry for the Goblin King. All he had ever done was what his love had asked of him. And in the end the girl banished him from her life forever. Flipping to the last page she frowned at the abrupt ending, though she had read it many times. She read the last lines over again, searching for a hidden meaning. It was as static as always; the ending being that of the Goblin King returning home after viewing the celebration of the Champion's victory inside her room. No finesse, no concluding phrases, not even the clichéd, gauche, and overused words 'The End'. The script just ran to the end of the page and, and, stopped.
She loved this book, had had it for as long as she could remember. And though she'd never admit it to anyone in her life, the girl knew her best friends were the characters in that book. She could picture them all with such vivid clarity; amazing considering the book had no pictures to speak of. They always made her feel safe no matter what happened. She really did wish they were real.
One of the few memories she had of the time before she came here was of someone reading this very story to her; he had just finished the book, and she had just aloud wished that the story was real. The man had smiled down at her and told her that a story was only as real as you believed it to be, and that if you did believe then there was nothing saying it wasn't real. She remembered wishing she could visit the Underground; the man had laughed and said that if she believed hard enough, long enough, she would eventually find her way there.
Running her fingers over the cover once more the girl sighed; maybe it would take longer for her to find her way. She was only five years old after all, it would probably take longer. After all, the girl in the story was fifteen when she found her way Underground, so logic would dictate that she just needed to be patient.
Placing the book on the corner of the nightstand the girl got up to wander around the rather spacious room with her flashlight, a game she played on restless nights when her imagination proved too much for her to bear any longer. Slowly, she would creep around the room on tiptoe, and when she came upon a certain corner of the room she would flick the lantern on; chasing away the shadows of the night. Tonight, however, it was not only supposed to tame her fancies; it was also to help keep her mind off the storm. It proved fruitless when the thunder gave a particularly vicious roar; rattling the windows and doors, and knocking things out of their places with its force.
The girl heard a thud behind her and turned; flashlight aimed. It seemed as though the thunder had also knocked down her book; which lay open on its spine to one of the pages in the beginning of the story. She had just knelt down to pick it up when she heard the footsteps from the hall.
"Hey brat!" the babysitter called. "I have your slop for ya! I managed to be able to heat up one of those microwave dinners; your favorite."
The girl frowned. She hated those microwave dinners with a burning passion. Ah, but when did anyone ever pay attention to her? But she stayed silent, knowing how much good speaking would do.
"Also," the sitter added. "I called the boss; and she said that since I'm in charge I can do whatever I like 'til she gets home. Hope you didn't have any plans since you're staying in there all night long…" she said in a singsong voice.
The girl silently fumed; she wanted to scream and fight back, but instead she resumed picking up her book. The flashlight shone on the script; it was the part where the girl in the story wished her brother away by saying her right words. The girl gazed at the story, and then back at the closed door where the sitter was laughing from behind it. Turning back to the story once more an idea struck her. It's not as if she would be hurting anyone; it wouldn't really work.
With that thought in mind the girl clicked the lock on her side of the door, so the sitter couldn't come in attempting to disrupt her with some arbitrary punishment and returned to the book. She turned a burning gaze to the door, more specifically the cruel teenager who waited on the other side of it. On a quiet, breathless whisper she said;
"I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now."
There, nothing happened. It was all fine, and the girl felt much better now that her anger and frustration had been dealt with. However, the sitter seemed enraged by her charge's lack of response and started jiggling the door handle to try and get in.
"Hey! Brat!" she yelled banging on the door. "Let me in right now or I'll-" she cut herself off as the storm grew increasingly devastating. From what the little girl could hear things started thumping against the walls. Oddly, she didn't feel as afraid as she had before, though the same couldn't be said for the sitter. "I mean it kid, stop this right now! If this is some kind of prank you're really gonna get it!" she was trying for intimidating, but the little girl no longer felt fearful.
Eventually the sitter's threats and yells stopped altogether. Curious as to why the little girl unlocked her door; the sitter had vanished.
It was then she heard noises from behind her. Whirling around the door slammed shut behind her, and the balcony doors flew open. Something flew in, around, and out. And then, there was a shadow looming against the moon. The shadow of a man.
The little girl's gaze shifted from his silhouette on the floor to the figure himself; her cinnamon colored eyes already abnormally large for a child grew wide with fright. Her breath caught, and she felt as though she were a statue; unable to move no matter how hard she tried.
To be honest; this man didn't frighten her, though his sudden arrival certainly had. He was odd-looking, but his demeanor made her feel as if she were the one out of place here; not him. What she found most interesting about him were his eyes; one blue, one brown. He stood there tall and proud, looking at her almost expectantly.
The girl's gaze darted to the floor, wanting to look at any and everything but him. Out the corner of her eye something caught her attention. Her book, the sudden wind had blown it shut; and the gilt title shone in the pale light. Something clicked, and she gazed at him again; with complete and utter awe.
"You're him," she whispered. "You're him aren't you? The Goblin King?"
He gave a little half-smile at her and cocked his head slightly, and she stood still a moment more. He was caught off guard when she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him. Well, actually, she was only about as high as his knee, so she was hugging one of his legs.
"I can't believe it," she gasped. "I knew you were real. I just knew it! no one ever believed me. They said I was just being silly but I knew it!" she whispered against him before letting go and stepping back. "But what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I've brought you, a gift." He said flicking his wrist and drawing a glass orb out of thin air.
"What is it?" she asked, mesmerized as he started to manipulate the orb in his hands.
He looked at her. "It's a crystal," he replied. "nothing more. But if you turn it this way, and look into it; it will show you your dreams."
The girl was silent a moment. "Why are you giving it to me?" she finally asked.
The King looked slightly taken aback. "Why, you ask? Why ask such a question?"
The girl thought for a moment. "I've been waiting to see you for ages. Been wanting to see you for ages and visit the Underground. Yet, only tonight have you visited me and proved you exist. And on top of that, you bring me a gift. So what have I done to earn this gift?"
"You are surprisingly smart for a mortal girl. And one so young too." He observed.
"I'm not smart; all of my teachers say so. I don't get presents, I never have. No one has ever given me a present because I'm a wicked little child who ruins people's lives. I don't deserve anything as nice as a present. That's what they tell me, an since they all say it, it must be true. So why are you giving me one?"
The Goblin King seemed confused. As he had followed the travels of his story he looked in occasionally on an owner who had a particularly strong belief in the vein of magic. She had been one of them and when he had looked in upon her before she had seemed happy. What had happened?
"Your majesty?" the girl had asked.
He shook his head. "I may as well answer your question; you have given me something in exchange, and so I gift you with this crystal."
"But I got nothin' to give," the girl protested. "an even if I did I dunno how to send it to you." Something seemed to dawn on her. "When I said the words, I sent my babysitter away, didn't I? That's why you've brought me the crystal, isn't it?"
"Yes," the King replied, a little reluctantly. "and now I give you this crystal in exchange." He held it out for the girl to take.
"But, I can't take this." She refuted.
"And why not?" this girl was very trying.
"Because," she paused, searching for the right way to explain how she felt but still only having the mind of a five-year old it proved more difficult than she expected. "Because, Babysitter isn't mine to give away." The girl explained, a little hesitantly as if she testing out the reasoning for the very first time. "She has a family, one who probably loves an cares for her. She might be mean to me a lot but I couldn't give her away like that. It's not right!"
"How very noble of you." the King remarked dryly. "But why give up the chance for happiness if you've suffered for so long?" he asked, trying to tempt her with the crystal yet again.
"I do wanna have my dreams come true; but not if I have to hurt someone else to get them." She replied. "I did mean what I said when I wished her away. But if anyone should be taken it should be me. I'm sorry, but I really can't have the crystal."
The King looked a little ruffled. "Do you care for the girl?"
"Not really. But I gotta get her back. I just gotta!"
"Very well," his expression grew melancholy. "such a pity though." The crystal vanished from his hand and he moved to the balcony windows. "If you wish to rescue the girl you must run my Labyrinth."
"Where is she?" The little girl asked.
"In my castle, where all wished away stay if someone tries to reclaim them." He gestured through the open doors.
The girl stepped through them and found herself on a windswept hill with oddly tall, yet clearly long-dead yellowed grass. Tossing her head from side to side she faced the monarch of the Underground.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"Where do you think you are?" the Goblin King asked in reply.
The girl thought for a moment. "I'm in the Underground, aren't I?"
"You are a quick wit aren't you?" He told her striding up until he towered over her because of their difference in age and size. "There," he said, pointing over her head.
The girl turned to see a great maze sprawling over the niche it rested in like an old man on a comfortable patchwork quilt.
"The Labyrinth?" she asked.
"Correct, in order to succeed and reclaim what you have lost you must reach the castle beyond the Goblin City." The King informed her. "However, I must warn you that it is filled with dangers untold and hardships unnumbered."
"Am I gonna die if I lose?" the girl asked.
"I'm not a murderer you know." The Goblin King replied. "But why ask such a thing?"
The girl shrugged. "I read a lot of fairytales" she offered as explanation. "Some of them I'm not supposed to read but I do anyways. I spend a lot of time at the library."
"Why?"
"I don't like going back to the house." The girl replied. "Well, if there's no life-threatening danger then it shouldn't be that hard." She said, looking over the land again. "It doesn't even look that far."
"It is farther than you think; and time is short." He said, kneeling down behind her until they were both the same height. "I would turn back now if I were you, take my offer. But if you insist on running-"
"You know my answer." She interrupted as he stood from his haunches and walked backwards towards a twisted, gnarled, barren tree the color of a new moon which somehow had a wooden cuckoo clock growing off one of its branches with thirteen numbers painted o'er its face. "I hafta run."
The Goblin King looked at her. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth or else the girl will become one of us forever." He said fading out of view.
"Well," The little girl rolled her eyes. "That was helpful." She retorted to no one, looking again at the Labyrinth. "Oh well, if a teenager can do it so can I. But I won't get nothin' done just standing here. Let's get going guys." She told her feet as they started making their way down the hill.
REVIEW!
