The Labyrinth: Another Tale
IV
"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
--Puck; 3.2.115; Midsummer's Night Dream
~*~
Bryanna gasped and looked around, staring in amazement at the maze before her; and the castle beyond that.
"You have 13 hours," Jareth said, gesturing to the clock with 13 numbers on it. "If you do not manage to get to the castle before the time runs out, your sisters will be one of us.... forever. Such a pity....."
And then he faded away, like a bad dream, or an insubstantial ghost.
Bryanna sighed, and walked up to the entrance doors. She pushed against the ivy-covered doors, trying to make them open. But they remained shut, not budging an inch. Bryanna pushed harder; and still, they wouldn't open.
She stepped back and scowled at the huge set of doors. As she scowled, Jareth's mocking laughter filled the air, surrounding her.
"Open up!" she demanded, glaring at the entrance darkly.
Then, to her surprise, the door opened up with a loud 'creak!'
Bryanna blinked several times, then walked into the Labyrinth cautiously. "Thank you!" she called as she started down the right pathway. The entrance's doors wiggled in response, then slammed shut.
She walked down the pathway for about half an hour, then stopped when she sensed something. She stared at the wall across from her. It seemed.....empty....not like the walls on either side of her. They seemed solid.
She stepped closer, hands extended, expecting to encounter rough brick. To her surprise, Bryanna stepped through an opening.
An illusion! she thought. Stupid Jareth and his tricks.....
Glaring darkly, she looked to her right and then to her left. Hmmmm....which way do I go?
Aloud, she said, "Well.....left is right, and right is wrong....." That decided, she took off down the left passageway.
-*-*-*--
Jareth sat in his throne room, one leg draped across his throne. He stared into his crystal ball, his dark eyes thoughtful.
----sheissmarterthantheothers----
Jareth silenced the goblin with a look.
----sheisdifferent---- another goblin hissed.
----sheisFae!----
Annoyed at what they were saying, Jareth looked at them and raised an eyebrow. They silenced immediately, knowing that he was at his patience's end.
Little Fae, he thought, again returning his gaze to the crystal ball. Come to my castle, little girl-child of the Fae. Come to me, little one....
-*-*-*--
Bryanna stood at the edge of a huge desert, staring in shock at the white sand. The desert seemed to stretch on forever, and she couldn't see the opposite side to it. Just sand dunes....lots and lots of sand dunes....
"And how am I supposed to get across this?" she asked herself, glaring at the endless amount of dunes before her.
Shrugging, she started to walk.
An hour later.....
"Ughhhh...." Bryanna groaned blearily. "This is cruel and unusual punishment!"
She groaned again and stumbled over one of the many huge sand dunes that lay before her.
"Jareth," she said hoarsely, "when I get a hold of you.....you're dead!"
The only reply she got was a hard, rough wind blowing around her.
-*-*-*--
Anatasia and Celadry held each other close, looking wide-eyed at Jareth. He smiled, enjoying their fear.
This made Anatasia and Celadry whimper, and they started to edge ever further away from him.
Jareth leaned forward, taking his leg off of his arm rest on his throne. He put his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in his hands.
"What shall I make you two into?" he asked the two frightened girls. He smiled cruelly when they backed further away. Looking at Anatasia, he said, "Hmmmm...something earthy, but not a wood sprite. How about an elf?" Then he looked at Celadry, amusement making his dark eyes dance. "For you, it's a tie between a selkie or a mermaid......I think I'll go with the selkie."
As the two young girls stared at Jareth, their fear slowly turned to terror. As one, they screamed: "BRYANNA!!! HELP US!!"
-*-*-*--
Bryanna stopped, certain that she had just heard her name. She stood still for a minute, waiting for another shout. But it didn't come again.
Shrugging, she continued on her way. She saw many more sand dunes on her journey; and after about two hours, she slowly began to notice that the terrain around her was beginning to get rocky.
Finally, she was almost out of the desert. Right before her was the continuation of the maze. The sand and rock abruptly ended, dirt began. And after about three meters, the maze, made up of trees, began. Bryanna was about to go into the forest/maze, but then she heard a whimper.
She stopped, and looked around, searching for the creature that had cried out. After several minutes of searching, she discovered a cave--the whimpering was coming from there. She went deeper into the cave, and the sight that she saw broke her heart. A mother dragon lay on her side, killed by some vicious predator. Her neck was torn open, her red blood crimson on the floor.
Next to her lay her child, still alive. The baby dragon was the source of the crying. It was small, about the size of her cat, Warlock. The dragon was blood red, with a gold sheen. When Bryanna had come in, the baby dragon had looked up at her, startled; and she saw that it's eyes were gold.
It chirped at her, and a question formed in Bryanna's mind: Who are you? Are you my new momma?
Realizing that the baby would die without her, Bryanna came to a quick decision. She went down onto one knee and held her arms out. The baby dragon gave a happy shout and leapt into her arms.
I'll name you....Heart'sAflame, Bryanna thought to the little dragon. Heart, for short.
Heart looked up at her happily, chirping, Mommy!
Bryanna smiled, then stood up, carrying Heart in her arms. Then, together, they walked towards the maze.
