Labyrinth, Jareth, Sarah, and Linda all belong to Jim Henson.
This was written mainly because I felt a need to write it... It's also
something of a break from Gates and my other work for myself. This is
the draft version of this: I wanted to get some of this one up *before*
I got dragged to the top of a mountain. In all likelihood, there will
be a new version of this one up in a week or so and if not then there
def. will be one before the start of August, depending on how my luck
with prereaders / beta readers goes. (Feel free to volunteer, folks.)
There will def. be new versions of all of what's currently up of Gates
as I'm currently working on correcting formatting errors. (Yes, I'm
also working on its next chapter, which may get broken up into two...)
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Paradise
By Ryo Hoshi
Prologue
Not so long ago, and not so far away, a young wife and mother named
Linda Corbinian Williams wished her daughter away to the goblins. The
rest went as always. The Goblin King sighed as he looked at the crying
woman.
She was a beauty, he had to admit. Her daughter looked like she'd
eventually match -- and perhaps exceed -- her mother in looks.
It would be such a shame to turn this one into a goblin, but he
didn't have a choice. If the child was to stay, she would have to be
transformed. But if he sent her back to the Aboveground for a while...
Yes, that would work, and there was nothing that said he
couldn't... With a slight smile, he cleared his throat. "If you want,
I can give you your daughter back, give up any power I might have over
her..." The woman's eyes snapped up, wary. "...until she's
seven-times-three years old." A temporary return; a new thing,
something not banned like a permanent, unconditional return of a stake
lost in the game. And if he was called to account, he could always say
that it was a conditional return and therefore not a new or banned
thing.
Of course, some insurance would be worthwhile, to make sure she
became the proper sort. He summoned a crystal, and then with a snap of
his wrist turned it into a slim red-bound volume. On the front was a
title, Labyrinth. He didn't know its contents, nor did he care. It was
his creation, and it would serve its purpose.
With a wave of his hand, the two vanished back home.
Almost fourteen years later, he watched as the girl, Sarah,
celebrated her victory over him with his own subjects... He knew he
felt angry at them, for helping her, for celebrating his own defeat.
But...
Why had his book told her how to defeat him?
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Okay, folks, comments will be loved, esp. those that tell me about
anything in this draft that need fixing.
As always: They also get me to write faster.
This was written mainly because I felt a need to write it... It's also
something of a break from Gates and my other work for myself. This is
the draft version of this: I wanted to get some of this one up *before*
I got dragged to the top of a mountain. In all likelihood, there will
be a new version of this one up in a week or so and if not then there
def. will be one before the start of August, depending on how my luck
with prereaders / beta readers goes. (Feel free to volunteer, folks.)
There will def. be new versions of all of what's currently up of Gates
as I'm currently working on correcting formatting errors. (Yes, I'm
also working on its next chapter, which may get broken up into two...)
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Paradise
By Ryo Hoshi
Prologue
Not so long ago, and not so far away, a young wife and mother named
Linda Corbinian Williams wished her daughter away to the goblins. The
rest went as always. The Goblin King sighed as he looked at the crying
woman.
She was a beauty, he had to admit. Her daughter looked like she'd
eventually match -- and perhaps exceed -- her mother in looks.
It would be such a shame to turn this one into a goblin, but he
didn't have a choice. If the child was to stay, she would have to be
transformed. But if he sent her back to the Aboveground for a while...
Yes, that would work, and there was nothing that said he
couldn't... With a slight smile, he cleared his throat. "If you want,
I can give you your daughter back, give up any power I might have over
her..." The woman's eyes snapped up, wary. "...until she's
seven-times-three years old." A temporary return; a new thing,
something not banned like a permanent, unconditional return of a stake
lost in the game. And if he was called to account, he could always say
that it was a conditional return and therefore not a new or banned
thing.
Of course, some insurance would be worthwhile, to make sure she
became the proper sort. He summoned a crystal, and then with a snap of
his wrist turned it into a slim red-bound volume. On the front was a
title, Labyrinth. He didn't know its contents, nor did he care. It was
his creation, and it would serve its purpose.
With a wave of his hand, the two vanished back home.
Almost fourteen years later, he watched as the girl, Sarah,
celebrated her victory over him with his own subjects... He knew he
felt angry at them, for helping her, for celebrating his own defeat.
But...
Why had his book told her how to defeat him?
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Okay, folks, comments will be loved, esp. those that tell me about
anything in this draft that need fixing.
As always: They also get me to write faster.