Letters from a Mutual Friend: 12

Author's Disclaimer: No, I do not own Labyrinth, or any of the characters. All rights go to their respective owners. December passes quickly, as Sarah stays busy. Meanwhile, she can count on her friends to give her all the big news and gossip from Underground, with a few hints from His Majesty. Enjoy!

Letter 12: Joyful Times

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December 9

[Dear Studious Sarah Our Lovely Lady]

Dear Sarah friend,

We hope this letter finds you well as you continue down your path toward becoming a full-fledged member of society. We are doing well [as we are actually getting sleep], and even better since the events of a few days ago. First, though, we wanted to thank you for the wonderful gift you left us by the mirror a week ago. We remember you letting us try the pumpkin pie last year since we had never tried it, and you must have remembered how much [Ludo] we liked it. The last thing we expected was a whole pie just for us. You spoke of how grateful you were to have us in your life and how glad you were to have us during that rough time [even if we barely spoke], but we are just as grateful to have you in our lives. Ever since your run, we have found one another and grown closer to you. You have only continued to prove how thoughtful you are through gifts like this. The pie has since disappeared, though we hope you don't mind if we gave two slices of your delicious pie to [the Rat] His Majesty. We cut it into eight pieces, and we know that he likes that kind of pie, so it was much easier to split it that way. His Majesty sends his [unending adoration and devotion] compliments toward your baking talents [and wants to bring you to the castle to cook, among other things]. We have it on good information from Sir Didymus that those two slices disappeared within twenty-four hours of arriving. [A two-legged Rat definitely got to them.] The rest of the pie lasted a little longer [another forty-eight hours] since Sir Didymus wished to preserve it since "The air is sweet, and fragrant" [if you trust his sense of smell]. After that, it was too delicious not to eat. We all enjoyed it, and now Hoggle would love to know the recipe you used to make it.

Speaking of Hoggle, the garden continues to be fruitful. The tomatoes finally stopped appearing [even though he has enough to last him at least six months the way he eats them], but he is still giving you more since you like them so much, besides the "salsa" you suggested he try to make. It is a good dip for day-old goblin bread, a welcome surprise [because it is so dry]. It has just enough peppers to surprise your mouth [and tongue especially]. Ludo describes it as "hot-bad", though he is unused to anything adorning his food. Overall, the new experiments with tomatoes are going well, just as the fairy-spraying is going. Sir Didymus thinks that the salsa could be used on the fairies as well [or at least to keep the goblins away from the main stash of food], since there is enough liquid in it, though that is still being debated [at the castle, and will be for a long time to come].

With regard to Sir Didymus, he has been doing well and continues to loyally serve in his "noble position". With more than three months done, and not one spot of absence or ill-conduct to speak of [because it is Sir Didymus after all], he could be eligible early to receive the next stage of training as a guard. Usually, it takes a year to be considered but he excels so much that he might only have to wait six months. We all hope he does not get sick or have any other problems that would force him to have to wait. We have complete faith in him that he would never directly do something that would lessen his chances, but given his [desire to help everyone] sense of knightly duty, anything is possible.

Finally, no new news related to Ludo and his family. Sadly, there has been a delay that no one could predict, a thunderstorm. Ludo and the rest of his kind are afraid of lightning, so even though they were right outside the forest, the herd sought refuge farther away from us, delaying them by several days. We expect that they will arrive soon, and we are all excited, though none more than Ludo. We think they will arrive before Christmas, which, we thought you would appreciate since you like that holiday so much.

With Thanksgiving now past, we know you must be preparing for your finals, as we spoke about last time we met. We know you are concerned, but we think you are putting too much pressure on yourself to do better, especially in that one class where the grade was worse. The way we see it, if you keep putting more restrictions on where goblins can play since you are afraid of a big mess, you are putting more pressure on them until the point comes when they break loose and don't care. And when that happens, all chaos erupts. It got so bad last time, they were still cleaning up bog water from the ceilings after the goblins decided to party in the bog, directly followed by going to the castle to find more ale. Our point is, if you put too much pressure on yourself to study, it will only negatively affect you. It is far better to study as you would normally, and then give a little more emphasis to the one class, rather than put all your energy into that one, lest your brain run amok or forget every other class's knowledge.

As long as you try your best, we think you will do quite well on them. Of course, this is just our opinion based on what we see of you, with no experience of that sort to back it up. But, based on how you talk about it, it sounds like your brain is like a goblin, in the best of ways. If you ever seek a break while studying, you know how to reach us. We would gladly play a game of scrabble or talk to you to distract you. Also, we hope you get enough sleep. It should be much easier now that the screaming troublemaker has been removed from your sight. We hope relations between you and your roommate continue to improve, and that you will say "Hello" to her for us. Best of luck in defeating the evil final exams!

Your [satisfied busy] friends,

Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus

8:00 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December 18

To Sir Didymus, Ludo, and [Hedgewart Hogbrain] Higgle,

[After some very stubborn arguing] Upon speaking to Sir Didymus this morning, I understand that you recently received a letter from Sarah asking for details about what was done to the [scum baby] miscreant. I have been generous up until now, but this is where it ends. [Sir Didymus] You tire my patience and generosity with your insistence that you want to tell Sarah every detail of what I did, even if it was quite well done, if I do say so myself. I had the most pleasant dreams that night. Anyways, as much as [we] you want to give Sarah whatever she asks for, I think you overestimate how much Sarah dislikes that [brainless twit] delinquent. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised that she has some compassion for him after all that, even though we cannot understand how. But that is how she is. With that in mind, I [am forcing demand] insist you listen very closely to these next words about how much you may tell her.

First, do not embellish the story in any way. While the troublemaker did stammer like a fool in my presence, as well as cower after an appropriate amount of time, I don't want her thinking that I said something like "Kneel before me, knave!" [even if I wanted to, and Sir Didymus's imagination is vast]. Second, be careful of how many names you include to describe him. Use your own, but not mine [as I don't think she would appreciate knowing that I called him a little girl], as you feel almost as strongly as I do about him. If anything, mention that he screamed "like a little girl" when he was put upside-down over the bog, or that he called out for his "Mommy" right as he was put there. Also, do not tell her about my parting [threat] warning to leave her alone, lest he visit the bog in his dreams every night for the rest of his life. I don't believe she would appreciate knowing that I grinned and laughed at him throughout the ordeal, so don't mention that either. If you want to include something, tell her about how I came and found him, as well as left my calling card. That is sure to bring a smile of recognition to her after her run. Just as you, I am thinking of her comfort, so remember all this when you do write to her. If I ever find out otherwise, you know what I am capable of. Remember to inform me if anything else does happen with regard to Sarah, or if there is a problem with Ludo's herd settling in.

Your Generous King,

J

10:00 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December 24

[Our Festive Joyous Sarah]

Dear Sarah,

It seems that we are all in a very good mood right now! We are glad to hear that our study tips were helpful [even if we don't think that goblins running amok is a laughing matter]. We worried a little for you [as did Jareth, but he had a great outlet for all of his stress], but hearing that you got a better average in all of your classes than expected is a wonderful early Christmas present for you, as well as very calming for us. We are content knowing that you have finished your first semester above average, and that you parted with your roommate on better terms than before. It is a slow process to regain trust, but she seems determined to do that. Her giving you a new set of stationary was a thoughtful idea, and we are glad that you had a small token of your own to give her, even if it was only something for her computer.

Also, you asked what exactly had happened to that troublemaker, and we have [all the details] found out a fair bit from His Majesty, who was more than willing to help. It seems that His Majesty sent some gremlins to visit him [which is why your entire living space no longer has usable computers]. Also, His Majesty gave a personal visit to the male in question. Said male was studying and was rather shocked to see His Majesty lounging on his bed, offering him his dreams. Of course, he did not believe His Majesty [his second mistake, after bothering you], so he refused and told His Majesty to get out, and even tried to punch him [his third mistake]. The moment he touched His Majesty, they both went Underground, and His Majesty appeared in his dark armor [for a good reason for once]. At that point, Jareth yelled many words [including some colorful names] before dangling said male head-first over the Bog of Eternal Stench for [twelve hours] some time. Said troublemaker looked to be trembling before His Majesty by the time he was released. We think he has learned his lesson. We hope that is a satisfactory description of the events regarding the former delinquent; we were all very happy to see him feel the wrath of His Majesty.

Our other source of happiness at this time is regarding Ludo's family. A few days ago, they [finally] arrived. An area in the Labyrinth has been set aside for the entire herd, so that they can be close to water and rocks. Conveniently, it is about halfway between the palace and Hoggle's cottage. All of the kingdom's inhabitants went out to welcome the herd, and His Majesty even made a small speech, promising that they would be safe in his kingdom. Ludo is very happy to see his family again, and has been with them almost exclusively since then. Hoggle and Sir Didymus will meet them on the morrow, with high expectations. You will of course hear all about them in our next letter. We hope also that we will soon have the pleasure of bringing you here so that you can meet them in person. We hope you have a Merry Christmas with your family and friends, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Your [happy excited] friends,

Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus

9:00 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Notes: Whew! Well, that first letter was a little longer than I wanted it to be, but I wanted to have a little bit about everyone, and not just Ludo and his family [even if I am really excited for them]. Also, did you spot the two quotes? One is way more obvious than the other, though I am sure you got both easily. Also, the second letter changed its format slightly. Honoria Granger was pouting about a lack of Jareth, and I did not want that, so I hope you enjoy that little slice. Again, let me reiterate that I am sorry about the lack of Jareth so far, but that is about to change [you have no idea how soon]. Some initial contact must be made, and then the drama [this term is used very loosely] can unfold. If you are paying attention to the dates and such, you might have some idea of what is coming next. Also, I'm sure many of you are taking exams right now, as it is that time of the year. I hope those of you doing that stay healthy and sane, or as sane as you can when studying. For everyone else, I hope you have a great week! Thanks for taking the time to read: much love to you all!

Honoria Granger: Thank you! I'm glad you think so! :D However, I do not like seeing pouting faces, so I hope that face has changed since reading this. If not, keep a close eye out for the next couple weeks. It is almost Christmas after all, and I am in a giving mood. Thanks for the helpful comment, as I always want to know if you are dissatisfied.