When he appeared, it was as though a cold front had settled in the room. A
cold front followed quickly by a fiery inferno creating a torrential
thunderstorm that ricocheted against the book-lined walls of his study.
"Guards!" Jareth bellowed. A small goblin clanked in and stood shaking in his oversized plate and chain mail armor.
"Yes sir?" the little goblin squeaked.
"Assemble my best trackers and scouts." The Goblin King replied as he paced the room. "Have them meet me at the entrance of the Labyrinth."
"Yes sir!" The goblin saluted in what would have been a comical fashion had Jareth been in a better mood.
Sarah found him still pacing his study. The storm had quieted some, until it was only a thunderous cloud.
"She escaped before I got there." He explained, not turning to face her nor stopping in his pacing. "The spell that was put on her has not been broken however, and so I cannot find her with magic. I leave within the hour to find her."
"And I leave with you. There is no reason why I shouldn't now. Yes, there may be something out there that may hurt me, but I am the one who knows Lindsey best, and therefore would know what to look for when trying to find her." Sarah crossed her arms and looked at her husband as he paced the floor of his study. "There is no way that you're going without me this time. No way in all the Underground."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It wasn't as bad as she had thought. She was walking, nearly blind, her hands on her rescuer's shoulders as he led her through the tangled forest. I could get used to this. She thought, stumbling against a root in the path and falling into her leader.
"Watch where you're falling." Alec grumbled as he righted himself.
"I would if I could see anything." Lindsey replied brushing her hands on her shirt.
"Your sight hasn't returned yet?" If he was truly concerned, Lindsey didn't hear it and only heard annoyance.
"Every time I try to look at the world, my head starts hurting and my eyes won't open." She explained softly. "Would I have let you keep leading me as you were if I could see well enough not to run into anything?"
"I suppose not." Alec sighed and looked at the sky. It would be dark soon, and he had no idea where they were. He also knew that by now Saladin would have discovered his treachery and would be hunting him down. Even so, she needed to rest. He could see how tired her body was, even though she would not say so.
"We're going to stay here tonight." He said and tried to summon up some sort of blanket. His magic flickered and died.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The desert like ground outside the gates of the labyrinth rose in clouds of dust as a dozen goblins milled about waiting for their king to make his appearance. Light armor with sleek swords covered the bodies of the most 'normal' looking goblins in the entire kingdom. Most looked almost human, with the exception of green skin or a scaly tail. These were the most intelligent of the king's guards. Used for scouting, tracking, and assonating, these goblins had the intelligence equivalent to American Navy Seals or Rangers.
The Goblin King and Queen approached on horseback. Jareth rode a stallion with a black body and flaming red mane and tail, and Sarah on a mare, the compliment of his. Both wore traveling clothing, more inconspicuous than their usual clothing as a reining king and queen. As they met the dozen goblins, the soldiers came to order and formed rank. Jareth dismounted and gave the reins to his wife before striding towards his minions.
"We search for a mortal. One who was placed within my care, and was stolen." He began, looking up and down the line as he spoke. "She is a teenager, and there is reason to believe that she has had help. That help might be with her still, and might not. Your job is to find her. Find her alive and I will reward you so that you would never need to worry for your family's welfare again."
The twelve bowed in understanding, not saying a word.
"She was formerly being held at Duke Saladin's keep. We start our search there."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Are you hungry?" Alec asked as he eased himself down next to her against the trunk of an ancient oak.
"Not especially." Lindsey answered her face towards the ground. She knew that she should eat, but after two weeks of almost not eating at all her appetite had diminished. In the low light and darkness of dusk and night her eyes hurt her less than they did before.
"How are your eyes?"
"I think they're getting used to bright light again. But they appreciate the rest the darkness of night supplies."
Alec nodded. He suspected such. He turned his gaze towards the sky, what he could see of it anyways. He wished that his fascination with Astrology extended to the stars Underground. If he were Above, he would be able to tell exactly where they were. He hadn't been above in centuries, and worrying about it now wouldn't fix anything.
He could barely remember his previous life above. A street urchin in medieval England, that's all he could remember. Stealing and begging for food and money, and at the time Saladin had been an easy target. An easy target that he had found had consequences larger than just being branded a thief. At the time, Saladin's offer of leniency and an everlasting existence had shined in the eye of a thirteen year old Alec like gold. A life of slavery to the one person who spared it in the beginning and had the power to take it away in an instant. An addiction to the magic kept him from ending it all. An addiction that was fed constantly. He couldn't survive aboveground for very long, of that he was certain.
"Why did Saladin want me to become a Fae?" The unexpected question jerked Alec out of his trance. Lindsey had looked up from the moss surrounding the tree and padding their seats and was now turned towards him.
He knew. He knew but wasn't sure that he should tell her. "I don't think... I don't really think you want to know."
"If you think I am too young or too fragile to know the truth, you're wrong."
He sighed. Oh well. "Fine. He wanted another mortal turned Fae to add to his collection of addicted slave servants."
"Another?"
The question was met with silence so piercing to her that she thought he wasn't going to answer, and that she shouldn't have asked it in the first place, but yet again, her quick mouth got the better of her. When he did answer though, it wasn't what she expected.
"You asked me why I rescued you. I rescued you because I have grown tired of listening and doing as a madman says because of an addiction he fed. I grow tired of this life." The whispered answer caught her off guard.
They sat in silence for a few moments. One contemplating the other words, and one trying to find a memory to burry this one under unsuccessfully.
"I'm sorry." Lindsey spoke with deepest regret. "I didn't realize my question would provoke bad memories."
"You didn't know."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The goblins arrived at the Duke's former keep. Jareth sent them in every direction and rode casually beside his wife as he waited for them to report their findings. It was getting quite dark, and he wasn't sure how long they would be able to search before it was forced to be called off for lack of light.
Sarah watched as the shadows played games with the remaining light. She was positive that they would find Lindsey, but when and how she was unsure of. As the sun sank below the horizon, she shivered with the thoughts of what could be out there with Lindsey, all unawares of the dangers of the Underground night. Things that weren't written about in "Labyrinth", evil things that could kill without emotion, creatures that could petrify the fiercest warriors with fear. She just hoped that the person who had rescued her remained with her through the night.
"We'll find her Sarah." Jareth's words shocked her out of her thoughts and she smiled weakly at him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was dark, and it was quiet, although animals Lindsey couldn't name cried softly in the night. She could see Alec's back not five feet away from where she lay on the soft moss underneath the great tree they had stopped by. He didn't move, even though she was sure that he wasn't asleep. Sleep eluded her as well, and despite her comfortable spot she found herself tossing and turning. A shadow passed over the half moon obscuring the light for just a moment before it was gone again. She looked up to try to see if it was a cloud, but not a one hung high in the sky. The stars made strange constellations that she wouldn't have recognized if her life depended on it. She could see nothing moving in the dark expanse above them, just stars and a moon that seemed close enough to touch from the tops of the trees. She looked back at Alec. His once relaxed body was now seemingly tense as he laid there not moving.
"Alec?" Her whispered question covered a wide variety of concerns, but he understood the main one.
"Do not move." His tense words multiplied the fear that had been slowly growing in the back of his mind. "I don't think that it's seen us, else it would've been on us already."
"What is it?"
"Something that we don't want coming to investigate us as a possible food source." Alec replied with concern lining his voice, he still hadn't moved that she could see. "I do not have enough magic to fend it off, so stay still."
Deciding quickly that questions could be asked later, Lindsey froze. A screeching call made her shriek and cover her ears with her hands, but it did no good against the high pitched cry. Like someone scratching their fingernails against a chalkboard, the creatures cry sent shivers down her spine. For lack of anything else to do to hide, she closed her eyes.
"Shit!"
Alec's oath made her open her eyes just in time to see him jump to his feet as the most horrifying creature landed within twenty feet of them. Leathery bat like wings stretched for fifteen feet in each direction from a scaly body with a snake like neck, a whip tale, and four gruesome claws. The head of the creature was a combination lizard, lion, and wolf. A sharply angled maw with rows upon rows of dagger like teeth dripping with saliva that sizzled as it fell to the ground. A lions mane surrounded the neck of the beast until it reached midway from the body. Wolf like ears projected above two blood red eyes.
Alec was backing slowly towards the tree where she stood. His hands were down and open towards the ground. The creature seemed to focus all its attention towards him.
"Stay still and do not say a word." Alec whispered as he neared her. "It hasn't seen you yet. I'll try to draw it away. Do not move from this spot until I return or until King Jareth finds you." He waved his hand at her and said something in a language she didn't know. "He should find you soon." And with that he charged to her right, into the dense tree line with the creature taking off and following from the air screeching as he flew.
It was a few moments before she realized what had happened and followed them despite Alec's demand.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They had ridden for a few minutes when something sparked on the edge of his awareness. He pulled in his reins and came to a halt so suddenly that Sarah passed by him before she realized he had stopped. His eyes were closed and he looked as though he was in deep concentration before he looked at her with a smile.
"Whatever spell was on her, it's gone now." He explained and turned his horse towards the south. All around other horses were heard as the trackers came quickly towards their king. Sarah turned her mare and quickly galloped after her husband as he rode towards his sense of Lindsey. All she could hope was that they could get there before anything happened to her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She ran as hard as she could, yet she couldn't catch up with him. He was still a bit ahead, she could hear him crashing through the bush, and she knew that the creature was just above him, waiting for a break in the trees to attack. If they stopped running, the creature would probably just come down on them through the trees anyway, but they couldn't keep up this pace forever, no matter how in shape he seemed. She was already slowing from the exertion. She slowly came to a jog, and even that was too much to keep up for long. She stopped, panting, and watched as Alec ran through the undergrowth, watched as he fell.
"No!" Her panting cry whispered through the trees. Above him where previously there had been moonlight filtering through the branches was now a shadow that crashed through the foliage. The creature's long tail whipped back and fourth through the leaves, breaking branches as it went. It wouldn't take long before it was able to reach through and get him. He hadn't moved from where he fell.
She gathered the last of her strength and sprinted towards him and pulled him by his feet, away from the slashing claws and tail. It was slow going, but she got him underneath a huge elm and sitting up. Blood dripped down his forehead from a cut above his left eye. Just as she had turned her back on the creature, it broke through the canopy and dropped to the forest floor. It looked around and saw her by the tree and charged.
*Jareth stands on a dais with a long golden sword in his hands, his formal royal attire gleaming white, and I am kneeling in front of him.*
Jareth- I now dub you the queen of the cliffhangers. Rise.
*winks at the readers*
BATBLady- Am I mean or what?
*clears throat* anyways, I do have the next part started so don't worry I'll get it done soon. I also need feedback! Please.I've tried to make up for my long absence, haven't I done so by now? Please leave a message with the gnomes.they're charging me ridiculous prices for just one message since I put them out of work for such a long time and I need a reason to keep paying them. The mood changing lipstick is provided as is the granite.
OH! And thank you to the two who did review recently!
"Guards!" Jareth bellowed. A small goblin clanked in and stood shaking in his oversized plate and chain mail armor.
"Yes sir?" the little goblin squeaked.
"Assemble my best trackers and scouts." The Goblin King replied as he paced the room. "Have them meet me at the entrance of the Labyrinth."
"Yes sir!" The goblin saluted in what would have been a comical fashion had Jareth been in a better mood.
Sarah found him still pacing his study. The storm had quieted some, until it was only a thunderous cloud.
"She escaped before I got there." He explained, not turning to face her nor stopping in his pacing. "The spell that was put on her has not been broken however, and so I cannot find her with magic. I leave within the hour to find her."
"And I leave with you. There is no reason why I shouldn't now. Yes, there may be something out there that may hurt me, but I am the one who knows Lindsey best, and therefore would know what to look for when trying to find her." Sarah crossed her arms and looked at her husband as he paced the floor of his study. "There is no way that you're going without me this time. No way in all the Underground."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It wasn't as bad as she had thought. She was walking, nearly blind, her hands on her rescuer's shoulders as he led her through the tangled forest. I could get used to this. She thought, stumbling against a root in the path and falling into her leader.
"Watch where you're falling." Alec grumbled as he righted himself.
"I would if I could see anything." Lindsey replied brushing her hands on her shirt.
"Your sight hasn't returned yet?" If he was truly concerned, Lindsey didn't hear it and only heard annoyance.
"Every time I try to look at the world, my head starts hurting and my eyes won't open." She explained softly. "Would I have let you keep leading me as you were if I could see well enough not to run into anything?"
"I suppose not." Alec sighed and looked at the sky. It would be dark soon, and he had no idea where they were. He also knew that by now Saladin would have discovered his treachery and would be hunting him down. Even so, she needed to rest. He could see how tired her body was, even though she would not say so.
"We're going to stay here tonight." He said and tried to summon up some sort of blanket. His magic flickered and died.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The desert like ground outside the gates of the labyrinth rose in clouds of dust as a dozen goblins milled about waiting for their king to make his appearance. Light armor with sleek swords covered the bodies of the most 'normal' looking goblins in the entire kingdom. Most looked almost human, with the exception of green skin or a scaly tail. These were the most intelligent of the king's guards. Used for scouting, tracking, and assonating, these goblins had the intelligence equivalent to American Navy Seals or Rangers.
The Goblin King and Queen approached on horseback. Jareth rode a stallion with a black body and flaming red mane and tail, and Sarah on a mare, the compliment of his. Both wore traveling clothing, more inconspicuous than their usual clothing as a reining king and queen. As they met the dozen goblins, the soldiers came to order and formed rank. Jareth dismounted and gave the reins to his wife before striding towards his minions.
"We search for a mortal. One who was placed within my care, and was stolen." He began, looking up and down the line as he spoke. "She is a teenager, and there is reason to believe that she has had help. That help might be with her still, and might not. Your job is to find her. Find her alive and I will reward you so that you would never need to worry for your family's welfare again."
The twelve bowed in understanding, not saying a word.
"She was formerly being held at Duke Saladin's keep. We start our search there."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Are you hungry?" Alec asked as he eased himself down next to her against the trunk of an ancient oak.
"Not especially." Lindsey answered her face towards the ground. She knew that she should eat, but after two weeks of almost not eating at all her appetite had diminished. In the low light and darkness of dusk and night her eyes hurt her less than they did before.
"How are your eyes?"
"I think they're getting used to bright light again. But they appreciate the rest the darkness of night supplies."
Alec nodded. He suspected such. He turned his gaze towards the sky, what he could see of it anyways. He wished that his fascination with Astrology extended to the stars Underground. If he were Above, he would be able to tell exactly where they were. He hadn't been above in centuries, and worrying about it now wouldn't fix anything.
He could barely remember his previous life above. A street urchin in medieval England, that's all he could remember. Stealing and begging for food and money, and at the time Saladin had been an easy target. An easy target that he had found had consequences larger than just being branded a thief. At the time, Saladin's offer of leniency and an everlasting existence had shined in the eye of a thirteen year old Alec like gold. A life of slavery to the one person who spared it in the beginning and had the power to take it away in an instant. An addiction to the magic kept him from ending it all. An addiction that was fed constantly. He couldn't survive aboveground for very long, of that he was certain.
"Why did Saladin want me to become a Fae?" The unexpected question jerked Alec out of his trance. Lindsey had looked up from the moss surrounding the tree and padding their seats and was now turned towards him.
He knew. He knew but wasn't sure that he should tell her. "I don't think... I don't really think you want to know."
"If you think I am too young or too fragile to know the truth, you're wrong."
He sighed. Oh well. "Fine. He wanted another mortal turned Fae to add to his collection of addicted slave servants."
"Another?"
The question was met with silence so piercing to her that she thought he wasn't going to answer, and that she shouldn't have asked it in the first place, but yet again, her quick mouth got the better of her. When he did answer though, it wasn't what she expected.
"You asked me why I rescued you. I rescued you because I have grown tired of listening and doing as a madman says because of an addiction he fed. I grow tired of this life." The whispered answer caught her off guard.
They sat in silence for a few moments. One contemplating the other words, and one trying to find a memory to burry this one under unsuccessfully.
"I'm sorry." Lindsey spoke with deepest regret. "I didn't realize my question would provoke bad memories."
"You didn't know."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The goblins arrived at the Duke's former keep. Jareth sent them in every direction and rode casually beside his wife as he waited for them to report their findings. It was getting quite dark, and he wasn't sure how long they would be able to search before it was forced to be called off for lack of light.
Sarah watched as the shadows played games with the remaining light. She was positive that they would find Lindsey, but when and how she was unsure of. As the sun sank below the horizon, she shivered with the thoughts of what could be out there with Lindsey, all unawares of the dangers of the Underground night. Things that weren't written about in "Labyrinth", evil things that could kill without emotion, creatures that could petrify the fiercest warriors with fear. She just hoped that the person who had rescued her remained with her through the night.
"We'll find her Sarah." Jareth's words shocked her out of her thoughts and she smiled weakly at him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was dark, and it was quiet, although animals Lindsey couldn't name cried softly in the night. She could see Alec's back not five feet away from where she lay on the soft moss underneath the great tree they had stopped by. He didn't move, even though she was sure that he wasn't asleep. Sleep eluded her as well, and despite her comfortable spot she found herself tossing and turning. A shadow passed over the half moon obscuring the light for just a moment before it was gone again. She looked up to try to see if it was a cloud, but not a one hung high in the sky. The stars made strange constellations that she wouldn't have recognized if her life depended on it. She could see nothing moving in the dark expanse above them, just stars and a moon that seemed close enough to touch from the tops of the trees. She looked back at Alec. His once relaxed body was now seemingly tense as he laid there not moving.
"Alec?" Her whispered question covered a wide variety of concerns, but he understood the main one.
"Do not move." His tense words multiplied the fear that had been slowly growing in the back of his mind. "I don't think that it's seen us, else it would've been on us already."
"What is it?"
"Something that we don't want coming to investigate us as a possible food source." Alec replied with concern lining his voice, he still hadn't moved that she could see. "I do not have enough magic to fend it off, so stay still."
Deciding quickly that questions could be asked later, Lindsey froze. A screeching call made her shriek and cover her ears with her hands, but it did no good against the high pitched cry. Like someone scratching their fingernails against a chalkboard, the creatures cry sent shivers down her spine. For lack of anything else to do to hide, she closed her eyes.
"Shit!"
Alec's oath made her open her eyes just in time to see him jump to his feet as the most horrifying creature landed within twenty feet of them. Leathery bat like wings stretched for fifteen feet in each direction from a scaly body with a snake like neck, a whip tale, and four gruesome claws. The head of the creature was a combination lizard, lion, and wolf. A sharply angled maw with rows upon rows of dagger like teeth dripping with saliva that sizzled as it fell to the ground. A lions mane surrounded the neck of the beast until it reached midway from the body. Wolf like ears projected above two blood red eyes.
Alec was backing slowly towards the tree where she stood. His hands were down and open towards the ground. The creature seemed to focus all its attention towards him.
"Stay still and do not say a word." Alec whispered as he neared her. "It hasn't seen you yet. I'll try to draw it away. Do not move from this spot until I return or until King Jareth finds you." He waved his hand at her and said something in a language she didn't know. "He should find you soon." And with that he charged to her right, into the dense tree line with the creature taking off and following from the air screeching as he flew.
It was a few moments before she realized what had happened and followed them despite Alec's demand.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They had ridden for a few minutes when something sparked on the edge of his awareness. He pulled in his reins and came to a halt so suddenly that Sarah passed by him before she realized he had stopped. His eyes were closed and he looked as though he was in deep concentration before he looked at her with a smile.
"Whatever spell was on her, it's gone now." He explained and turned his horse towards the south. All around other horses were heard as the trackers came quickly towards their king. Sarah turned her mare and quickly galloped after her husband as he rode towards his sense of Lindsey. All she could hope was that they could get there before anything happened to her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She ran as hard as she could, yet she couldn't catch up with him. He was still a bit ahead, she could hear him crashing through the bush, and she knew that the creature was just above him, waiting for a break in the trees to attack. If they stopped running, the creature would probably just come down on them through the trees anyway, but they couldn't keep up this pace forever, no matter how in shape he seemed. She was already slowing from the exertion. She slowly came to a jog, and even that was too much to keep up for long. She stopped, panting, and watched as Alec ran through the undergrowth, watched as he fell.
"No!" Her panting cry whispered through the trees. Above him where previously there had been moonlight filtering through the branches was now a shadow that crashed through the foliage. The creature's long tail whipped back and fourth through the leaves, breaking branches as it went. It wouldn't take long before it was able to reach through and get him. He hadn't moved from where he fell.
She gathered the last of her strength and sprinted towards him and pulled him by his feet, away from the slashing claws and tail. It was slow going, but she got him underneath a huge elm and sitting up. Blood dripped down his forehead from a cut above his left eye. Just as she had turned her back on the creature, it broke through the canopy and dropped to the forest floor. It looked around and saw her by the tree and charged.
*Jareth stands on a dais with a long golden sword in his hands, his formal royal attire gleaming white, and I am kneeling in front of him.*
Jareth- I now dub you the queen of the cliffhangers. Rise.
*winks at the readers*
BATBLady- Am I mean or what?
*clears throat* anyways, I do have the next part started so don't worry I'll get it done soon. I also need feedback! Please.I've tried to make up for my long absence, haven't I done so by now? Please leave a message with the gnomes.they're charging me ridiculous prices for just one message since I put them out of work for such a long time and I need a reason to keep paying them. The mood changing lipstick is provided as is the granite.
OH! And thank you to the two who did review recently!