A/N: Before I say anything else, I'd like to say a belated rest in peace to David Bowie-a great musician, singer, songwriter, actor, and an inspiration to so many. He passed away on January 10th, 2016 of liver cancer, after a secret 18-month battle. His family was there at his side when he passed. We love you, David Bowie, rest in peace. 3
A/N: Next I'd like to apologize for my long hiatus. I've been busy writing the new 'Goblins', and dealing with life in general. I haven't forgotten this story, no worries! I actually have quite a bit of it written out, just haven't had time to finalize the chapters. Anyway, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter. Here's chapter thirteen, I hope you like it! I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth.
Blind
Chapter Thirteen: A Pot of Stew
The way to the mermaid palace was long, and Seth worried more than once about the time. Eventually they came over a rise and deep below they could see an enormous spiraling building that looked to be made up of coral. It had to be several stories high. It sat at the bottom of a valley filled with other coral-like structures.
Lyra led them through seaweed as big around and three times as tall as Seth was. They were well camouflaged, which was unsurprising, considering how much of the watery plant there was. The group came around behind the castle, using the watery plant for cover and avoiding the guards that grew plentiful the closer to the palace they came. A village of sorts lay before the palace, where other merpeople appeared to be selling wares on the streets before shops. Around the shops were small homes made of coral and rock. Many seemed to even be under the lake bed, with low web-like domes above, giving them light but still allowing privacy.
Eventually the three dove down into the valley and worked their way through a strange lake garden of different colored coral and rocks, many bearing strange flowered or unflowered plants and the occasional sea anemone. Seth found some of the more obvious sea creatures and plants in the lake to be a little odd, and he could only assume they had adapted to lake life. He'd have to remember to ask Lyra about it later.
In a garden against the back of the palace was a tight ring of coral, with barely enough room for the three within it. They managed to squeeze through an opening at the bottom, and Lyra ducked down to a small webbed dome looking down on an enormous room. Even with their excellent vantage point, they couldn't begin to see all of it. Putting a finger to her lips to tell them to be quiet, Lyra lifted up, and slid away the surprisingly removable dome. When Seth looked closer, he realized that the webbing had been cut away as though someone had taken a blade and sawed it apart. It was surprisingly well done, and not obvious until removed.
Lyra turned to them and spoke. Only, her mouth didn't open. Instead, the gills lining her neck opened wider whenever she spoke. Seth stared and La's eyes widened as Lyra's musical, echoing-though faint-voice explained. "This is our library. I am going to find the book I mentioned. When I have found the route we need, I will come back."
Seth opened his mouth to speak, and when water rushed in, he clamped it shut again. Lyra lifted a hand to still him while he blew the water back out in a near panic and breathed deeply through his temporary gills. "Speak with your mouth closed, exhaling at the same time through your borrowed gills. The sound will come out through them." Seth nodded and tried again, this time with his mouth shut.
"What if you don't come back?"
Lyra's eyebrows lifted and then curved over now mischievous eyes, and Seth blushed when a smile just as mischievous took up her lips in a crooked smile. "I will come back. If I do not come back this way, it will be through the gardens, the way we came in. Stay here, and do not make a sound." Lyra slipped down into the hole and replaced the webbed dome. Giving them one last look, she sank slowly into the room below and then dove casually down towards the floor. She sang quietly to herself, and Seth could only just hear it. Her voice was beautiful-more so than anyone he'd ever known. They watched as Lyra came to a row of podium-like structures. Words like a list were engraved on each, and she searched three before seeming to find what she was looking for. Lyra looked around at the room, then disappeared from their sight when she swam away.
The two friends waited in anxious silence, and at last Lyra returned. She had on a small satchel that looked to be made out of seaweed, and was decorated with different colored pieces of seaglass. Lyra was halfway to them when a voice called to her, stopping her where she floated. They saw her face pale a little before she put on a smile and turned to face the newcomer. "Lyra, have you been here all this time? Why are you not practicing your harp? These skills are important-"
"'-for finding a husband.'" Lyra returned politely-though there was a barely noticeable, anxious undertone to it. "Yes, I remember, mother." She ducked her head humbly in a small bow. A woman swam into view, and it was very obvious that she was Lyra's mother. Lyra looked just like her, though the mermaid queen Arisa's eyes were a dark seaweed green. Arisa's head was adorned with a simple strand of pearls. They began by draping across her forehead, and then went down the back of her head to crisscross and thread intricately through her long hair. Another set of pears hung in rows, close at first around her neck, and then traveling down to about her mid-upper arm.
Her dark eyes were narrowed in disapproval. "Then what is it you are doing here?"
Lyra shrugged her shoulders innocently and gestured behind her at the library. "Looking for more music. The pieces I have now have become tedious. I desired something merrier." Arisa raised an eyebrow, and Lyra went hurriedly on to explain. "I thought perhaps a future husband would like something merrier."
Arisa's expression eased into a relieved smile. "And were you able to find any?" Lyra shook her head in the negative, seeming disappointed.
"No, not yet. I am going to continue to look." She gestured down at her satchel. "I brought my satchel to carry the new music in once I find some."
The queen gave a pleased nod and half turned away. "Very well. When you have finished, I expect you to be practicing in the music room when next I visit you."
"Yes, mother." Lyra replied with a more pronounced bow of her head, and the queen left. Lyra stayed in place only a moment longer, then swam as casually as she had before, back up to the webbed dome she'd snuck through.
"That was close." La sighed as Lyra slipped out of the hole, and the princess sent her a dark look that surprised them. "You have no idea." Lyra said, then sat on the garden floor while Seth replaced the webbed cover, and the princess adjusted her bag against her shoulder.
Lyra looked a bit grim as she next spoke. "But nevermind my mother. I have the map. We should go before she discovers I lied to her." Lyra led them back out of the gardens the way they came-having to take alternative paths twice because of the changing of the guards. Once they were out of the city and amongst the seaweed, Lyra took a small tablet from her bag and showed it to her friends.
On the tablet was a series of words like directions and a curving line on one side that had another line branching off of it, becoming two paths. Lyra pointed out the words and one of the pathways as she spoke. "We are to go to the twin rocks, then to follow the tunnel beyond it. It eventually makes two paths-the path on the left is the one we want." With this plan in mind, they began their journey to the tunnel. Along the way, Seth noticed Lyra glancing back on occasion toward her home, guilt in her eyes.
When he asked what was bothering her, Lyra's eyes snapped to his before she peered ahead of them firmly. "I have never seen my mother so pleased with me before. I feel guilty for deceiving her." Lyra refused to say more on the subject, instead pressing them to move faster. She never looked back at the palace after that.
The twin rocks were two towering pillar-like rocks of nearly exact heights, only just peeking up over the enormous seaweed. The tunnel looked ordinary enough-dark-but ordinary. Coming into the entrance of it, Seth stopped them. "It's pitch black in there! How are we supposed to see where we're going?"
Lyra gave a dazzling smile, a sparkle in her eye. "Do not worry. I am prepared." Facing the tunnel, Lyra gestured at it. "Merkin-you call us Merfolk-sing as much as we do for more than just our enjoyment and the enjoyment of others." She faced them again, explaining further. "The music touches things around us and returns, telling is where things are and are not. We use it to travel. Often in our homes when the light is not available. Some of the sea creatures we adopted into the lake can glow, but they are not always reliable. Through our singing, we can see clearer."
Seth's eyes lit up. "Like sonar!"
Lyra's brow wrinkled in confusion, and Seth hurried to elaborate when he saw her face, his own flushing in embarrassment. "I mean that's what we call it-my people-we call it sonar. Some animals use it, and so do our submarines-er-our underwater boats." Lyra's forehead cleared of lines in understanding.
"I see. It is similar." She said, and Seth nodded.
La interrupted then, sounding the tiniest bit irritable. "We should hurry. It's hard to tell how long we've been down here."
Seth, realizing she was right, looked to the mermaid princess. "La's right. What do we do now?"
Lyra inclined her head at the tunnel and held out her hand to Seth. "I hold your hand, and you hold the rabchilla's. I will sing to the tunnel, and guide us safely through." The boy looked to the tunnel. If she had done this as often as she claimed, there shouldn't be any problem.
"Alright."
Holding each other's hands, the princess straightened and her expression turned almost sorrowful as she faced the darkness before them. With a beautiful bell-like voice, Lyra began softly singing to the tunnel. Seth and La watched her, Seth particularly keeping a close eye on her, his face gaining a darker shade of pink the more she sang. La, however, was less than impressed, and in seeing Seth's awe, her lips turned in a slight frown, her fishy tail lashing the water in irritation. Tugging on Seth's hand, Lyra began into the darkness.
Seth wasn't sure how much time had passed. It was hard to think about anything else with Lyra's beautiful voice serenading them as they went along in the tunnel. The only thing he had as a reassurance was Lyra's delicate hand around his, and he couldn't help thinking how terrifying it would be if she were to let go. So he held on tight, determined to keep focused on keeping up with her and not letting go of La. Seth thought about the rabchilla. She hadn't said much during their journey in the lake, and Seth wondered why that was. He assumed that it had to do with her being a land animal-and being underwater was unsettling. Seth didn't have time to think further on it, because Lyra stopped singing, and brought them all to a halt.
"This is wrong," She began in confusion.
"What is?" Seth questioned.
Lyra pulled them a little further up the tunnel, and he heard something tapping on metal. "The tunnel to the castle is blocked by a metal door of some kind."
La's worried voice squeaked in the dark. "Can we move it?"
Lyra was silent, and Seth's hand around hers was pulled to one side and then the other as Lyra swam around in front of the door, no doubt inspecting it. "There is a place we can hold onto it to move it. I will need your help, Seth." Seth blushed, and was grateful that she couldn't see it.
"Right." He said, his voice deeper than usual. Swimming to her side, he hesitated. "What about La?"
He felt Lyra shrug. "She can put her arms around your neck. Then she will not get lost." Seth and La managed this, almost like he was giving her a piggy back ride. For once during their lake trip, La did not seem to mind too much. She seemed quite content hanging onto Seth, her rabchilla chin resting just at the place where his neck met his shoulder. Seth was a little less comfortable with her tight grip, but if it made her feel safe and kept her safe, he supposed he could endure it a little while.
Lyra guided Seth's hand to the place she'd mentioned on the metal door. "I think we must slide it." She said, and they pulled. The door didn't budge at first, but then it began to slide. Lyra let out a cry of success, but that was a mistake. A violent humming came off of the metal door, and La tucked her face against Seth's back, frightened. The sound was accompanied by an equally violent vibration, and their hands were shaken off.
Now they had let go of the door, it slammed back into place, and the water in the tunnel began to flow, slowly at first, and then with more urgency. Lyra and Seth clutched the sides of the tunnel to stay put, but the water pressure became too much, and they were pulled from the wall and sucked into the second tunnel. There was a metal bang in the distance, and the water abruptly stopped. The metal door must have blocked their way back. A sinking feeling entered Seth's gut, and the group did nothing but breath heavily, too tired and afraid to do much else.
Lyra spoke up. "The water feels lighter here." She trailed off, and Seth felt her swim by, and then actually saw her silhouette as she went further down the tunnel and stopped. "It is lighter-and there is an opening ahead."
Seth and La hurried after her. At first when Lyra had said that the water was lighter, Seth thought she had meant that there was more light. But he realized as he swam that while that was true, the water also felt lighter. It wasn't as hard to swim as it had been when they were in the deeper parts of the lake. Even the tunnel before this one had felt heavy. But this felt more like the weight of a swimming pool.
Going on together, they came to an opening that looked like it was made of several stones cemented together. It was a ragged arch, and when they swam through it, it became clear they were in a well of some kind. Several minutes passed, the light growing brighter and brighter and causing them to blink rapidly at the change. The water, too, changed and grew warmer. They broke the water's surface, coming in contact with frigid air, and each gasped at the cold. A look around and above showed there was no way to get out of the well. How were they to get out of it?
"Goodness!" Exclaimed an accented, echoey old voice. The group looked up startled at the distant face of a very old woman. "Three young people in the well?" The travelers exchanged wary glances even as she waved away her own words. "Goodness, here I stand talking your ears off while you three catch your deaths in this old well!" She turned and began cranking a handle on the side of the well. A bucket nearly twice as big as La swayed into sight, was stilled by her wrinkled hand, before the bucket was then lowered down to them. All the while she called instructions. "The girls are to come up first, then the boy after."
The group exchanged a look, and Seth whispered. "Should we trust her?" Lyra's eyes flit up briefly to the woman.
"I do not think we are in much of a position to turn her down. Going back the way we came is impossible, now." The princess replied grimly, and Seth frowned seriously.
"Then we don't have a choice." He took a shallow breath. "If we get up there and don't feel comfortable around her, we can make a run for it."
La added. "We probably should try to figure out where the castle is first from her, before we do decide to run." The others looked surprised by her good suggestion and La looked bashful. At last they exchanged a look of agreement. They would go up, take in the situation, and decide whether or not they would need to run.
Lyra got into the bucket without complaint once the decision was made, her tail changing to legs as she settled in. But La looked nervous.
"Can't I go with you?" She begged Seth, casting a mildly distasteful glance at Lyra. The princess lifted an eyebrow but otherwise didn't respond.
The old woman called down, her tone firm. "You girls are lighter than he is. If you and the boy go together, the bucket will not hold you."
La glowered at the water and Seth smiled apologetically. "I'll be right behind you, La." He assured her.
At last La agreed grumpily. "Fine." La took off the seaweed from around her neck and waist, the gills fading and her legs returning to her. Lyra and Seth jointly helped her into the bucket, where La sat between Lyra and the bucket with a sulky frown. Lyra glanced at Seth and then gave the back of the rabchilla's head a look of realization.
Bewildered by the look, Seth internally shook his head, thinking, "Women!" and feeling exasperated by their odd behavior. Would he ever understand them?
The woman above called down. "Are you ready?" The girls nodded and Seth hollered up. "They're ready!" The woman replied, "Hold tight!" and vanished from sight, presumably to turn the handle that brought up the bucket. Seth helped steady the bucket to keep it from swinging or tipping, up until it was too high for him to reach. He pressed his back up against the well wall to watch their progress. They made it to the top, where the old woman helped them out. Seth had a brief moment of worry when he didn't hear anything, but then Both Lyra and the stranger looked down.
"We made it! We will send the bucket down to you now!" Lyra called, and the bucket was again lowered.
Seth removed the seaweed aids and his gills and tail vanished. He had an odd feeling of displacement that passed quickly, and then the boy climbed into the bucket. He emerged moments later to find both Lyra and La shivering and wrapped in thick blankets. He was grateful to the woman for her kindness, and his suspicion of her eased away slightly. Someone so kind would surely help them. Helping him off the surprising tall well wall, the woman handed him a thick dull blanket, and he wrapped it around himself. "There now. Let's get you poor things by the fire and some hot soup in you. I have made some chicken stew I am sure you will love." She herded the unprotesting group to the largest tent out of a ring of tents. They could see a column of smoke protruding from the top of the tent, and from inside wafted the most delicious smell.
They entered, and a wave of heat enveloped them. A large pot hung simmering above a fire at the center of the structure, and the old woman led them to large luxurious cushions settled in a half circle around it. "Now. Sit and tell me your names and how you came to be in my well, while I get you some soup."
The three sat after a moment's hesitation, sinking into the warm cushions. They could have been clouds, they were so soft and deep and warm from the fire. Dozing almost at once, Seth sat up and fought to keep himself awake. "Er-thank you. I'm Seth," He gestured at his friends with a finger poking out of his blanket. "That's Lyra and La-but we can't stay very long."
The woman cast an amused look over her shoulder at him and approached the pot with three wooden bowls in hand. "Young men are always in such a hurry." It was more her muttering to herself than to them, but they still heard her. One of the bowls was already full of fresh fruits and vegetables, and this she gave to an excited La.
"Thank you!" The rabchilla cried gratefully, her ears flying up as she cradled the bowl and immediately began to eat. "You are very welcome, small one." The old woman replied with a cheerful chuckle. Filling the other two bowls with soup, she gave them to Lyra and Seth and handed them a spoon each. The two both offered thanks to her, and Seth again mentioned that they couldn't stay long.
"Yes, I know. You are this Labyrinth's Runner." She waved away his look of surprise and chuckled. Moving to hang a tea kettle beside the pot of stew, she then sat in a comfortable chair on the other side of the fire, across from them. "A human in the Labyrinth rarely means anything else." The old woman then pointed at herself. "I am called Helga, one of the good witches of the Labyrinth." She dipped her head in a modest bow, then smiled warmly at them.
"Witch?" La's head snapped up and she squeaked fearfully around a mouth and cheeks full of carrot and apple. Her soaked ears fell behind her head, alert. Helga's smile turned kinder as she addressed La.
"Yes, small one. But a very good witch. I make most medicines used in the Labyrinth."
La's eyes widened in recognition and her ears relaxed. "Oh! That Witch Helga!" Helga chortled. "Yes, indeed." Reassured by this, La went on eating her food. "That is very good of you." Lyra offered, and Helga chuckled.
"Thank you, dear. I do what I can." The tea kettle whistled a sweet tune, surprising the guests, but Helga smiled. "Ah, the tea's ready."
Coming again to her feet, she walked toward the back of the tent. She returned with four wooden cups and a small wooden box. Returning to her chair, Helga looked around her seat with a brow increasing with wrinkles. "Now where did that silly table go? It tends to wander." She added to her guests in way of explanation, at their bewildered expressions. "Ah! There you are!" Her eyes were fixed on a spot behind Seth, and her eyebrows rose high as she made a 'come here' motion with a finger. For one bewildered moment, Seth thought she was talking to him, but a sound behind him dissuaded that thought. A rattling drew Seth's eyes to the source, and he jumped as a little ornate table waddled by, looking like a bizarre sort of penguin in the way it tried to walk. "Very good!" She praised the table like a small child as it stopped by her side, and the furniture seemed quite pleased with its success, tilting up towards her. "You are improving! Now, sit still while I make our tea, please. Thank you." The table settled as she asked it to, and she placed the tea things on it. She didn't seem to notice the gaping expressions of her guests.
The good witch was quick to add herbs to a mesh sack that she then tied shut and added to the tea kettle, then let it sit off to the side until it was ready before serving it. "They are very helpful." Helga said, and explained the table and various things in her home that had been enchanted to assist her.
"The fire grows low." Helga commented frowningly, eyeing the logs before speaking to Seth. "Will you help me gather wood from the wood pile outside?" Seth agreed, coming to his feet and finding he was mostly dry. The two stepped out, Helga leading the way.
It became quiet after they left, almost tense. Lyra nibbled silently at her soup, and cast a sideways look at her furry traveling companion. Setting the near empty bowl on the ground, Lyra gazed down at La. "I do not like Seth more than a friend," She said it firmly, and her expression turned sympathetic when La froze, her ear closest to Lyra turning to hear the mermaid better. "but I know that you do." Lyra paused to let La process her words. The rabchilla's ears sank in embarrassment, and she hunched down in her blanket until only her nose and eyes were visible.
"Is it that obvious?" La's muffled voice sadly responded.
"Only to myself." The princess assured her friend. "I do not think Seth has noticed." Lyra wrapped the blanket closer around herself and gazed into the fire. "Will you tell him?"
La's eyes grew enormous in mortification as she gaped at the princess. "No!" She cried, then ducked her head in apology. "Sorry…" The mermaid nodded in acceptance of the apology, and her brow furrowed. "That would be best. You must be careful you are not confusing kindness with love. You will find sadness follows quickly behind." Lyra gently warned her friend, resting a compassionate hand on La's back. The rabchilla's head sunk lower, and she rubbed at one of her eyes with a sniff. "Ok. I won't tell him." She promised Lyra. But more than anything, it was a promise to herself.
A/N: What did you guys think? Review to let me know, please! :D Thanks, you're all lovely!
Disclaimer: I really don't own it.