Red Rum
Chapter 4 - Labyrinth
The next morning dawned bright and clear. Lily awoke with a sore back, and a stiff neck. The others soon awoke, and they also complained of sore limbs.
Although it was only half past six, all of the Gypsies were up, and they seemed to be setting something up. After washing in a nearby spring, Lily, Helena, James and Sirius went over to them and asked what they were doing.
"We're getting things ready for your journey to Auriga." was the only reply they could get.
The Gypsies had put a long thin red carpet on the floor of the clearing, similar to those that royalty would use. At the end of the carpet a hut had been erected. The roof, and three of walls were made from a shiny material, but the entrance was hung with heavy red velvet curtains. These were pulled back to reveal what was inside the hut.
In the middle of the hut stood the same table that Queen Rona had used for the fortune telling. On the table was a beautiful chalice, filled to the brim with dancing blue flames. It was the Danira.
"Wow! That's beautiful!" exclaimed Helena.
"Of course. Did you expect something ugly?" said John, a strange glint in his eye.
"No, no!" Helena said, looking slightly scared.
"Perhaps you should go and get ready. Pack rucksacks. Take food, matches, spare clothes and your formal wear."
"Yes of course," Lily replied, also looking slightly scared. The Gypsies had seemed very friendly the day before, and now they didn't seem very friendly at all.
By now, the Gypsies had finished setting everything up, and all they had to do now, was await the arrival of Queen Rona.
"I've noticed a strange thing," James said.
"What?" the others asked, looking curious.
"Since we've been here, there's been no bad luck, and Lily hasn't taken off the necklace or anything. How do you explain that?"
"I can't." Lily said, shrugging.
"You have had no bad luck because I have enforced a shield around you. A shield that will protect you from bad luck for forty days and forty nights." A voice said from behind them. They whirled around, and found themselves face to face with Queen Rona.
"I knew that you would befriend us, and I didn't want your bad luck to affect us too. So I cast a spell," The Queen explained, "the time has come for you to enter Auriga through the Danira. But be warned, you will not go directly to Auriga. There will be many worlds with barriers for you to get through first. I cannot say what they are, for I do not know."
They nodded.
"How is the Danira activated?" Sirius asked.
"You need not worry about that. All you need do is walk slowly from one end of the red carpet to the other. Start at this end." The Queen said, pointing at one end of the carpet.
They walked to the end of the carpet, and waited for the Queen's signal.
All of a sudden, a jaunty style music began from nowhere. This was their signal to begin walking along the red carpet.
They began to walk along the carpet, and were suddenly bathed in a pale blue light. They felt themselves being lifted off the ground, as if by a pair of invisible hands. After what seemed like hours, but was only about a few seconds, they floated back down to the ground, and landed gently with a soft thud on a white floor.
Standing up, they looked around. They were in a large white room that was completely empty apart from a white desk in the corner. Behind the white desk sat a small man. The man looked like an Elf, and he too was dressed in white. Even his skin was the palest of white. He had a long white beard and moustache, large pointed ears and little round glasses perched on his nose.
In their brightly coloured clothes, they looked very out of place. Hesitantly they approached the little man. The little man looked up and pointed a stubby finger at them.
"A-ha! I've caught you! Now don't deny it! Thumbelina sent you, didn't she?"
"What? We don't know what you're talking about! We've never even heard of Thumbelina!" Lily said.
"Oh. Well. That's all right then. Who are you if you don't know Thumby?"
"Well I'm Lily, and these are my friends Helena, James and Sirius."
"I see, I see." Said the man, not really seeing at all, "well I suppose I'd better introduce myself too, hadn't I?"
"..."
"I see. I am Sebastian Jumpturn. I am the gatekeeper of this erm, of this, ah, place."
"What exactly is this place? We don't really know where we are." Lily said.
"I see. Well you are in the Lobby." Said Sebastian, as if this would explain everything.
"The Lobby of what?" asked James.
"The Lobby of what! I say young people these days!" he tutted for a bit, then continued, "the Lobby of the Labyrinth of course."
"The Labyrinth?"
"Yes. I thought everyone knew about the Labyrinth!" said Sebastian.
"I can think of a few people who probably don't." said Sirius.
"Well the Labyrinth is one of the many obstacles you have to cross before you can enter Auriga. That is where you're going, isn't it?"
They nodded.
"I see. Well you need to get from one end of the Labyrinth to the other without dieing. Then you will go onto the next task. There is a Lobby at the beginning of each task area, and there will always be a gatekeeper."
"Okay. How many tasks are there?"
"How should I know? I've never had the need to go to Auriga." Sebastian replied.
"Well, I suppose we'd better get going then."
"Yes you had! You've been here long enough! Wasting my time like that! Now get going!" Sebastian pushed them through a white door they hadn't noticed before.
He called after them "And if you see Thumby tell her I'm not interested!" then he shook his fist and walked back over to his desk, muttering about solitude and loneliness.
* * *
"Right."
"That was weird."
They were in a place that could only be described as...scary. Tall trees towered miles above them, casting a gloom over the whole place. Wild animal cries could be heard throughout, and the fact that it was dark didn't help.
In front of them was a large archway, similar to those that there were in botanical gardens, and such places, apart from the fact that the leaves covering it were brown and curled, the flowers were dead and wilted, and there were rats crawling all over it.
"Um, I suppose we'd better go through here then?" Sirius said.
"Yeah, suppose so."
They walked through the archway and found themselves in a long passage. On either side of them there were tall stone walls. They began to walk along the passage.
"Okay. Labyrinth is another word for maze, and you can always find your way out of a maze if you keep to the left hand side." Helena said.
"Right."
They carried on walking, and soon reached a fork in the passage. They took Helena's advice and went down the left hand passage. As soon as they stepped into the passageway, it went dark.
"Hey! Who turned the lights out?" James shouted.
His voice echoed around them, and the vibrations awoke a colony of bats. The bats swooped low over their heads, causing them to scream.
They ran as fast as they could out of the dark passageway, and to their relief when they reached the end of it, their surroundings were suddenly filled with light.
They continued on their way, turning left whenever there was a corner or fork. After a couple of hours of walking, they were getting no-where.
"Helena are you sure that you have to keep turning left? It doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere." Said Lily.
"Positive. I read it in a book." Replied Helena.
"You read too much." Sirius said, and they continued on their way.
Five minutes later, they came to a dead end.
* * *
"Dr Robert! Dr Robert! I've got it! I've found a way!"
"What is it Jones?"
"I've found a way into Auriga! Finally after fifty years I've found it!" shouted Jones.
"What do you mean Jones? You haven't found a way. I have." He glared at the little man. "I'm the one who found the way, aren't I Jones?" he sneered nastily.
Jones bowed clumsily.
"Yes Sir. Of course you invented it. But when are you going to try it out?"
"Immediately of course. Why should I waste any more time?" Dr Robert Miles smiled spitefully.
"What are you going to do when you get there Dr Robert?" Jones said.
"I'm going to take it over of course. I've been wanting to do that for years. You see Jones, Auriga is the most powerful world. If I take it over, I will be the most powerful man. And when I destroy Auriga, the rest of the world shall be destroyed in the process." Dr Miles said.
"Why Dr Robert?"
"Why are you questioning my judgement? I am doing this for the Great Lord. It is what he wants me to do.
"Are you sure Dr Robert?"
"Positive, Jones. Now. I am going to get ready. Prepare the bridge."
"Yes Dr Robert. Right away Dr Robert." Jones muttered.
The prospect of having a new world to take over has clouded his judgement. He believes that The Great Lord has told him to do this. But the Great Lord only wants to defeat Muggles and Mudbloods. Not the whole world.
* * *
"Great. Helena your reading has brought us to a dead end. Now we're going to have to go all the way back and start again!" James said, looking angry.
"No, we won't. Just a minute." Helena got down on her hands and knees, and crawled around. She seemed to be searching for something.
"Okay. We've lost her. She's gone completely mad." Sirius said.
"What are you looking for?" Lily asked.
"A way out." Helena said, "A-ha! Found it!"
"Found what?" James said, exasperated.
"A way out of course." She pointed to a small hole near the floor.
"How did you know it was there?" Lily asked in amazement.
"I have this book. It's called 1001 Ways to Get Out of A Maze. Number 41: When at a dead end, always search near the ground for a way out."
"Okay. Lets go through the hole then." James said.
"After you," Lily replied smiling.
"Isn't it supposed to be ladies first or something?" James said grumbling.
"Exactly. That's why you have to go first!"
"Hey!" Lily glared at him, "Alright! Alright! Fine!" James squeezed through the small hole.
"Is it safe?" Lily called after him.
"I don't know. It's dark in here," He sneezed, "and dusty too."
Lily shrugged. "Oh well." And she too squeezed through the hole. Sirius and Helena followed, and they found themselves in darkness. Lily, being the practical one took out her wand, and said "lumos."
"Oh! It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
They were in a small cave, that had been hollowed out of the rock. In the centre of the cave was a pool filled with water. A light shone on the pool, illuminating it. The walls of the cave were glittering, as if they had stars in them. Lily walked over to the pool of water and dragged her hand through it. She was surprised to feel that it was warm.
The others also walked over to the pool and ran their hands through it. Suddenly, a soft voice echoed through the chamber, a beautiful voice, and enchanting voice.
"Hello, Lily, Helena, Sirius and James. Welcome to The Pools Of Time."
"Who are you? Where are you?" Lily shouted into the darkness.
"I am the Custodian of the Pools Of Time. And I am everywhere. I am omnipresent."
"What are you for?" Helena said.
"I preserve memories. In my pools I have all the memories in the world."
"Will you show us some memories Custodian?" Sirius asked.
"Certainly Sirius. Look down, look deep down into the pools, and I will tell you about the beginning of Auriga."
All four bent their heads over the pools, as if in a trance.
"Many millions of years ago there was a sun. And the sun had nine beautiful children that rotated around her always. But the suns most beautiful child was called Earth. She had blue oceans, and blue skies and lush green grass. But Earth was an unusual child, for she was divided into many worlds, though from the surface she was one. The most powerful of these many worlds was a beautiful city in the sky. This beautiful city was called Auriga. Auriga was so beautiful and powerful that it needed a lot of protection. And the first task to overcome was The Labyrinth."
Though the Custodian's story was complete, the four friends continued staring into the swirling waters.
"It is time for you to go now. You will be frightened by what you next see. But remember: To reach Auriga you must think like the people of Earth think, you must act like the people of Earth act and you must do like the people of Earth do."
Armed with this cryptic clue, they looked up from the water, still in their trance like state, and began making their way to the back of the cave. At the back of the cave was a wooden door. Pushing it open, they found themselves looking in on a Potions lesson...