I own nothing Labyrinth. Enjoy! Thank you everyone for your reviews and for reading! ~MB
Sarah was shrouded in darkness again. She kept moving steadily forward, her hands out in front of her feeling for a wall, for something. Like before her hands came to rest on a hard service. It wasn't of stone, it felt smooth and it was unusually warm. Taking a deep breath Sarah again asked the right question. "Which way do I go to find Sir Didymus?" There was no light, no indication that she had been heard. Sarah was about to ask again when something foul filled her nostrils, making her gag. She put a hand out her mouth, retching.
The air is sweet! And clean! And none may pass without my permission!
Sarah pulled the loose hem of her sweater over her nose and her eyes squeezed shut. "Please may I pass?" She called, her stomach aching with every breath. She heard a loud scraping sound and she felt that wall part where her hand was resting. A cool, clean smelling breeze caressed her and she stepped into quickly, unmindful that the wall closed behind her.
The air was sweet, fragrant like spring after a warm rain. It was the smell of afternoons in the park, of dress-up and fairytales. Sarah could vividly remember that smell. When she dared to open her eyes she almost smiled. Before her there was a stone bridge over a small stream. The path led downwards and spiraled to the right. There was a field of amazingly green grass, so soft and inviting, much like the grass in Jareth's garden. Sarah was hesitant to take another step. Nothing was what it seemed in the Labyrinth. If it looked dangerous, it probably was, if it didn't, it could probably kill you. Still, someone was waiting for her. She crossed the bridge slowly, watching the field as she did so.
A sudden howl cut through the air. Her attention was brought to the tree line and, like always in the Labyrinth, she could feel someone's eyes on her. "Didymus?" She hurried down the path and into the field, her heart racing. "Sir Didymus!" Coming! Sarah began to shiver as the air around her turned cold. Clouds gathered to the west, the sky started to darken impossibly fast. She wrapped her arms around herself, heading towards the trees. As she approached she could hear a low snarling. The sound sent chills into her heart. She didn't need to see the thing that made the noise, she already knew.
A ball of fur sprang from the trees, its coat dirty and matted. It was Ambrosius. He stopped in front of her, snapping at the hand she reached out. Sarah took a step back slowly, her eyes never leaving his. His eyes were wild, crazed, reddened and furious. He foamed at the mouth, inching slowly towards her. "Ambrosius..." She whispered, continuing to back up. She slowly held out another hand to him, speaking softly. He snapped at her outstretched fingers, catching the skin. He bit down hard and Sarah cried out, trying to pull her hand away. "Ambrosius, stop!" She couldn't help the foot that swung out, connecting with the crazed animals head. He detached himself for a moment, his front paws collapsing under him for a moment before he regained his footing. Again he leapt at Sarah, jaws snapping. Sarah threw her hands up falling under his weight. The air rushed out of her, she kept her arms up, feeling teeth tear at her sweater, cutting through her skin. She screamed and pushed with all of her might. Ambrosius went flying.
Sarah sat up quickly, her eyes wide as the dog flew into a tree with a sickening crack. He lay still, no rise and fall to indicate breathing visible from were Sarah sat on the grass. She stood on shaking legs and warily approached the dog, the steed of her dear friend. When she was close enough she could see he was dead. He lay limp on the grass, blood seeping from a wound on his head, mixing with the dirt on his fur. Sarah screamed again, this time in anguish. She fell to her knees beside him and stroked his dirty fur. "Not you..." She whispered as she lowered her head and letting the tears come. His paw was bent at a weird angle and there was an indent where his ribs had cracked and then collapsed with the force of Sarah's accidental blow. She continued to stroke his fur, whispering soothing words.
As she was stroking him she felt something move within his broken body. Cracking, shuffling back into place his ribs rose again, his side rose with a sharp intake of breath that was slowly released in the form of a growl. Sarah shuffled back quickly, watching as Ambrosius twisted and contorted back into place. He continued to growl low, his head slowly rising, his eyes watching Sarah as she stood and took another step back. He rose on his legs, strong and steady once again, his hackles raised, foam and blood dripping from his mouth. This time Sarah turned and ran, heading back towards the path. She ran with everything in her, but the sight of another mangy Ambrosius stopped her. Sarah nearly fell as she skidded to a halt on the soft grass.
The dog in front of her was a perfect copy of the one that she could hear coming up fast behind her. Without giving it another thought she veered off her chosen course and towards another tree line. She knew against these dogs she had very little chance of making it, but she had to try. They weren't Ambrosius, there was only one, and he couldn't be one of these monsters. Her chest burned but her feet felt light as she sailed across the grass, amazingly outrunning the dogs and reaching the trees. She burst into the woods, dodging branches and roots, feeling when she didn't move fast enough and they tore at her face and her hair. She kept on running, hearing them behind her, but their steps were fading. She finally slowed down, nearing a clearing in the dense forest. Sarah stepped through into the sunlight.
She turned and watched as the clouds followed her, rolling and in blocking the comforting warmth. She shivered, blood pouring from ragged wounds on her arms. She stopped to survey the damage, tears threatening to fall again as the mutilated skin poured blood into the grey of her sweater. A chunk of her flesh hung from a thin piece of her skin, dangling inside her sweater sleeve. Choking back a sob Sarah carefully tore the remainder of her sleeve off. Quickly tearing the soft fabric into strips she wrapped up the worst parts of her arm. She placed the chunk of skin back into the hole it came from and wrapped it tightly, crying out as she tied it. She took a deep breath, feeling her stomach roll and heave. Sarah took another deep breath and straightened. There was no sound now, not from the hideous dogs or from the forest itself. Everything was strangely quiet.
She moved slowly through the clearing and back into the woods. She stepped lightly, trying to avoid making too much noise lest she summon the dogs again. She walked on for another hour before she reached another clearing, this one with a stream running through it, the water clear and beautiful. The running water tinkled like bells as it flowed over glistening stones. Sarah knelt down in front of the stream. She twisted her hair and stuffed it into the back of her sweater. With a sigh she put her face into the cool water. She didn't linger by the cool stream. Sarah did a count to thirty and then came back up, opening her eyes. The world had again changed.
No longer was she surrounded by a lush forest, green and dense with life. Instead, everything around her was dying. The leaves that were cushioning her body were an ash grey, long dried out. The trees were now skeletal, their bark peeling and their branches bare. Everything was twisted and dead. Sarah stood and looked down at the stream. Blood now flowed over the rocks. Sarah could make out chunks in the stream floating, pieces of flesh and bone floating down the stream. Sarah brought her fingers to her face, gagging as they came away red. She took a deep breath, fighting the nausea that threatened to overtake her. She stood and started to follow the stream, numbing herself to everything around her.
She kept walking, her eyes ahead and unwavering. Soon the stream led to another clearing. Sarah couldn't help the sob that escaped as she walked forward, towards the small gravestone. The flowers that surrounded the broken stone were dead, crumbled like the stone. Though the headstone was weathered it was easy to see whose name was on it. S-I D-I-D-M-U-S. "No..." She started shaking her head, staggering to the gravestone. She fell to her knees her fists banging on the stone. "This is not going to happen!" She screamed. In a haze her hands dug into the hard earth, scraping away at the layers of dirt. Her hands tore, she felt a nail break and tear away from her finger. All of this was ignored until Sarah's hands met a hard surface she couldn't break through. She cleared away more dirt, and what seemed like hours later she had cleared off a small rectangle of wood. Without pause she gripped the edges and pull. The wood finally came free and Sarah fell backwards. She scrambled to her feet and looked inside. It was a hole, but there was no bottom. Sir Didymus was not lying dead in a grave. It was the hole in Wonderland, it was time to be Alice and fall down the rabbits-hole into the unknown.
Sarah stood and jumped. She fell through the darkness for only a few moments before she felt something hard close around her wrist, then her ankle, her shoulder and the back of her neck. A dim light surrounded her from below, illuminating grotesque, rotted and skeletal hands holding her body in place. Which way do you want to go? Rather than speaking there was a low hissing. It grew louder, deafening, enveloping her. "I choose down!" She screamed, pulling away from the hideous hold. She was released and fell downwards into the darkness. She landed on her side in a heap, the air knocked out of her. She lay still a breathed for a few moments, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim light.
She sat up and looked around.
Stone walls with dangling chains, a dirt floor with rotted corpses were the decorations of the small chamber. Sarah stood as a small wooden door came into her view. It was partially hidden by rusted chains. Sarah knew who would be behind the door. She started shoving the chains to the side and tearing the rusted fastens out of the wall and throwing them to the floor. When the door was exposed she moved to open it, pausing. There are two ways to open a door. She struggled to remember which way Hoggle had opened it when she had spent a small amount of time in the oubliette. Sarah took a chance and opened the door.
Didymus was chained inside, Ambrosius was laying at his feet. Didymus' clothes were torn and bloodied and his form was emaciated, his skin hanging loose at his wrists. He raised his head slowly, his dull eyes meeting hers. "Fair maiden...nay, it cannot be thee..." His voice was gravelly, dry. Sarah came towards him, kneeling in front of his small frame. Ambrosius didn't move, but Sarah could hear him smelling the air. A low whine was his only response to her presence.
"No, it is me good Sir." She whispered, touching Didymus' muzzle very lightly. He looked at her again, light entering his eyes.
"I...no, I cannot believe my eyes...but your touch, my lady..." He leaned into her touch and Sarah could see small smile on his face. Sarah moved to the chains that held him. She pulled with everything in her, satisfied as they snapped easily under her strain.
She held Didymus in her arm hugging him to her, her other hand was gently on Ambrosius' head. "How do we get back to the castle beyond the Goblin City?" The light went out.