One, two, three, four.
The open waterfall,
Let the water pour pour pour.
Five, six, seven, eight,
Hook the fish,
Then eat the bait.
Nine Ten Eleven Twelve,
Read the books,
Then tell the elves
To kill themselves.
King Alvaro sat by the fire, warming his cold hands. He thought about the children that wouldn't be sleeping tonight, foraging for food, or playing video games on their computers. As the king of dreams, it was his job to ensure that everyone would get dreams or nightmares, always depending on their actions.
He wasn't sure why he was listening to troll lullabies. They were very gruesome, but the melody was soft and sweet. He could fall asleep himself.
But that wench of a girl kept bringing him to conciousness. He didn't hate her, well he despised her for she mindlessly did to his son.
He wanted her for one sole reason, a reason he loved so dearly that it sickened him to think that he shoved it away.
A reason that had made him lonely for the past one thousand years.
A reason by the name of Ludmilla.
The papers in front of him fluttered, the small breeze carressing them from the open windows. They were letters, written by his own hand. Not that he'd ever send them. They were relics of his feelings, each one dripping with sorrow and happiness alike.
Ludmilla had adopted that girl as daughter of her own, which was a miracle. She had three miscarriages after the birth of Jareth, each one broke her down more and more.
Now that her beloved Sarah was thrown into a jail(an elvish jail, no less), at his hand she had to come and see him.
So there sat the crazy king.
Crazy in-love king.
Waiting
Breathe in.
...
Breathe out.
...
Breathe in.
...
Breathe out.
...
Everything is spinning.
...
Faces. Laughing.
...
Colors. So many colors.
...
Someone called her name.
...
Spinning.
...
Red. Blue. Green. Orange.
...
Dancing.
...
Drinking.
..
Falling.
...
...
...
...
...
..
.
Breathe in.
..
Breathe out.
..
Ludmilla pressed redial. This was the fifth time in an hour that she had called Sarah. The performance was to take place in three hours and her soloist wasn't here. Sarah was never late.
Would she resort to magic after fifty successful years of leading a mundane life?
Her heart leapt as the phone was finally answered. She didn't wait to hear the speaker, her nerves getting the better of her.
"Sarah, where in the world are you? Have you stretched? What is the reason for your absence? Do I have to send for your understudy?"
There was silence, one long beat before the other end of the line spoke.
"My dear, your voice hasn't changed one bit."
Ludmilla's insides froze in helplessness. She knew that voice all too well, deep, gravelly and hypnotizing.
"Your concern for the mortal is very heartwarming."
Ludmilla threw the phone to the ground, shattering it into one thousand pieces with her immortal strength.
She called for Sarah's understudy, feeling that she knew exactly where her beloved Sarah was.
Despair gripped me as nothing happened. The ripped page in my hands turned to ash and flew away. The broken windows shattered again, repairing themselves only to break from the merciless wind. More dishes fell. Suddenly, everything fell silent.
..
Tap
..
Tap.
..
The noise came from upstairs. It filled my every sense with dread. I ran upstairs, hoping that in some way I could repair it.
..
Tap.
..
Tap.
..
I swung open Sarah's bedroom door, once more, to find that it was she who had been leaning on it, tapping it with her pointer finger. Her thick hair, had turned thin and fell around a thin pale face, her eyes were closed and lips were smiling.
Her body fell, because I had taken her support away from her.
She kept on tapping, now connecting her finger with the ground. A tune came from her closed mouth, her vibrating throat moving. I knew where she was.
She was dancing.
There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes.
..
In and out of conciousness I floated, no longer feeling the pull of hunger nor the sandpaper at the back of my throat from thirst.
..
A kind of pale jewel, open and closed.
..
I was stuck.
..
Within your eyes. I'll place the sky. Within your eyes.
...
I hated it.
...
As the world falls down.
...
Dammit, someone let me out!
...
As the world falls down.
...
I can't take it anymore.
...
I'll be there for you.
...
As the world falls...
NO ONE IS HERE FOR ME!
...
"SAWAH!"
I just about jumped out of my skin, metaphorically of course, since all of my strength had been sucked out. I struggled to open my eyes, as they were crusted with hardened tears.
"Sawah, Ludo here to save you.."
The sight before me was just as shocking as it was marvelous. A startlingly orange Ludo was standing in front of me, his bulky figure taking up about seventy-five percent of the space around me. His smiling face made me want to jump for joy.
"Sawah pale. Sawah weak. Sawah tired. Sawah hungry. Sawah thirsty. Ludo carry Sawah to Toby."
With my silent wholehearted consent, Ludo picked me and jumped through the hole that he had made, reminding me very much of the Incredible Hulk. A man of about six feet was waiting for us. He looked very much like Westly from Princess Bride, with his lean frame and all black covering.
The man looked me once over and exclaimed,
"Jesus, Sarah, what in the world have they put you through?"
I feebly glared at the man. The least he could do was sound happy to see me. And maybe even not shout so loudly.
"They have put me through enough." I whispered, my voice nonexistent from the absence of use.
The man sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"We better get going, the guards will notice your non-existence very soon. Ludo, hand Lolli over to me and you can go your own way, or just act like a dumb brute if and when they start asking you questions."
Lolli.
Only one person ever called me that.
A six year old Toby.
Ludo silently handed me over to my brother, who seemed to be a grown man now. Just where did time go? Toby took off running.
Shouts echoed from somewhere inside the jailhouse, seemingly upon finding that their only prisoner had escaped. I knew full well that we were being chased and that if we got caught that there would be dire consequences.
My mind wandered, relaxing from full alert mode into a drunken haze. I relished in being touched by another human being. Touch was something that I had been deprived for only god knows how long. Add that I was being touched by my long lost little brother only added to my happiness.
I was in shock, delirious and on the point of dying from starvation and thirst.
Give me some credit.
Toby's quick breaths somehow gave my mind some kind consolation that the fact it should hear that another living thing was breathing that it could go on breathing too.
Thank God.
"Fuccung Dung."
The words were uttered from Toby's mouth. I didn't have time to dwell on what exactly he meant by that because all of a sudden he started glowing like Edward Cullen. Toby put me down, his glowing turning more intense by the moment. I started looking at the tall trees around us.
So we were in a forest.
I never would have known.
"Sarah, look at me."
Toby's fingers grabbed my chin and made me look him in the eyes as gesture that I was listening to him.
"I know that you are tired and hungry and whatever but you have to run. I will come back in a few hours but you have to run. Sarah, are you listening? Run in a straight line until you see a purple mushroom. On this mushroom will sit a worm. She will ask you if you want some tea. You must answer these exact words : Yes, I would like some eat. Remember to say tea back wards or else she will never let into the house."
He said things in a rush, and then disappeared.
I had my family for a total of three minutes. Then it was gone.
Sarah, turn around and start running, now.
I was so tired. How can you make me run. Such a beautiful butterfly.
Listen to me. Run.
The british accent sounded annoyed.
"Fine." I grumbled and started sprinting. Well, for me it was a sprint but for an innocent bystander it would be something more of a drunken stumble. My muscles screamed bloody murder at me but I just flipped them off. Not that I had too many muscles left.
Random plants stuck out at me, hissing, biting and scratching. My body was thoroughly worn out, and my mind knew very well that the limit was very near. After a while, it was only in my mind that I was running. My steps slowed.
Purple mushroom, purple mushroom, purple mushroom, worm.
"Ello."
A voice rang out from under me. I looked around tiredly, in vain trying to find the source of the voice.
"Did someone say hello?" I asked hoarsely feeling foolish that I was talking to thin air.
"I said ello. But that is close enough."
I finally found the voice. If was a worm sitting on a red mushroom. In the background I could feel the calls of the gaurd. They were bloodthirsty. It had been fifty thousand years since the last war. They were thirsty for some kind of murder that would be okay in the eyes of their king.
It could very well mean that my death could be a result of fifty thousand years of boredom. Go figure.
"Can you tell me the way to the purple mushroom?"
The worm cocked its head to the side as if calculating. Then, its small face broke into a grin.
"Why don't you come inside and meet the Mrs.? Have some tea, perhaps?"
That's it for this chapter folks.
This is the unbeta'd version of the chapter, since blue and silver marble unicorn decided to take a vacation on me. We will get the edited tp you as soon as possible.
This chapter is dedicated to my good friend, monmosevolragus. I owe you one more.
REVIEW or King Alvaro will haunt you in your dreams... (I don't know about you but, I hate that son of a beehive.)
Keep dancing!
Cvaboda