Toby's head was pounding. It echoed through his ears, and even felt like the intensity traveled to his chest. The pain was nearly unbearable.
He opened his eyes, his mind foggy as to where he was and how he got there.
The first thing he noticed wasn't what he saw, but what he felt. What had to be grass tickled his bare arms and legs, his head cushioned on something fluffy as some unknown thing tickled his nose. Once his vision came into focus, he found he was face to face with a blonde-headed fairy poking curiously at his nose openings.
"Whass goin' on?" he mumbled tiredly, stretching his arms over his head. It scared the fairy so much that she squeaked and took off flying. Which direction, he wasn't too sure.
With a heavy sigh, Toby sat up and rubbed his eyes in the hopes that it would help him wake up and focus better. He felt slightly better when he pulled his hands back and found everything was clearer… and he was in the most beautiful place he had ever seen. Flowers of all kinds and colors littered the garden surrounding him in a perfect circle, the patch of grass he lay on a vibrant green.
Looking behind him, he realized that what he'd been laying his head on was a large sheep covered in thick, gray wool with its legs sprawled out. It ate the grass in front of it, oblivious to his movements, with the grass magically growing back to its original length in ground as it chewed.
Toby gently touched its wool, amazed not only by how soft it was but by how plain of a creature it was. Though certain he was still in the underground, it seemed like such a simple animal compared to everything else he had seen lately.
'Speaking of the underground…'
He slowly stood up, trying to remember how he got here… he didn't. Toby wracked his brains, even with the intensity of his pounding head increasing, forcing himself to recall the last thing to happen before waking up in this place…. and then it occurred to him:
'I followed Sabrixie to this strange woman… she asked for help, and then…' He looked around again, setting off through the garden along the grassy path. 'I can't remember anything after that. I couldn't have simply passed out at random, could I?… Or could Sabrixie have led me into a trap?….' His trust of the fairy had him in immediate denial at his inner accusation, 'Ridiculous. There's got to be something good about waking up in a garden.'
He was interested to find, as he walked, that he heard a soft bleating coming behind him, and glanced over his shoulder to find the sheep ambling on after him. It was actually big enough that he could tell it was as tall as his hip, though it still moved rather slowly…. He didn't stop walking, but he did slow down a bit so he didn't leave the sheep behind.
Toby wandered almost aimlessly until he caught sight of a riverbank compiled with all the smoothest stones and the clearest water he'd ever seen. Seated on a bench-like rock next to it, back facing him, was a woman with tangled black hair reaching down to the ground. His best guess was that she had to be the woman Sabrixie introduced him to.
Walking over to her side, he noticed the expression she had as she stared at the water, both sad and seemingly regretful.
He lightly cleared his throat to get her attention.
On impulse, she pulled a dagger from her side and pointed it at him, leaving him to raise his hands quickly in surrender.
"I'm sorry for startling you," he said, anxiously laughing in hopes to get rid of the tension between them. "I just wanted to ask where we are. This place is stunning."
Her gaze was mistrustful, eyeing him up and down in disbelief. "You don't remember anything, do you?"
"Not really," he admitted, slowly dropping his hands to his sides though she kept the knife trained on him. "I remember Sabrixie introducing us, but I don't remember anything after that. Could you tell me how I ended up here?"
"Hmph… take a wild guess," she said scathingly, "Sabrixie betrayed you. You're my prisoner."
He had no response. The silence became so thick, the woman's knife could have cut it in half.
Toby blinked a few times as though it would help him process the information any better. However, it proved difficult as somewhere deep inside his thoughts, he was angrily kicking himself yelling 'I told you Sabrixie must have led us into a trap!' while some other part of him felt an all too familiar sense of abandonment.
He'd trusted her just as he'd trusted Sarah. Everything was beginning to feel as though his life had precariously tipped off the wall, shattering like Humpty Dumpty from the old nursery rhyme. 'Is there anyone I can really count on…?'
When his only response was, "Oh…" the woman raised an eyebrow of disbelief at him.
"I just told you your little fairy friend betrayed you, and that's all you have to say?" she laughed scornfully. "I must admit, after dealing with your older sister's rambling when I kidnapped her, I was expecting the same from you."
Toby's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "You kidnapped her?"
The woman turned her head away, "It was many years ago. Such a thing wouldn't be possible now."
Toby continued to watch the side of her head. Her hostility had dissipated slightly when she looked out at the river again. Her knife may have still been pointed at him, but it was somehow obvious to him that she wasn't really happy with the situation. Whether or not that meant she didn't want to hurt him, he wasn't exactly sure, but it gave him enough confidence to feel it was okay to relax for a bit.
"May I sit with you?" he asked, bringing her attention reeling back to him.
"Why?"
"It's not like I'll be able to do anything else," he shrugged. "You said that I'm your prisoner."
"You're not even going to try to escape?" she actually seemed disappointed by that prospect. She did, however, move over slightly to give him some room.
"Would I even have a chance?" he asked pointedly, sitting down with a sigh.
"Well, no —"
"Then I'd rather hang here in comfort. I imagine resisting wouldn't do either of us much good. So, if you don't mind, could I just sit here and talk to you? Or would you prefer silence?"
She scoffed incredulously, slowly putting her knife down on her other side. "Do what you want. Makes no difference to me."
"Thanks," he smiled, holding his hand out to her. "I'm Toby, by the way."
"I know."
"Oh — right," he awkwardly withdrew his hand, reminded of the fact that Sabrixie had to have mentioned his name to her. "Um — what's your name?"
"Jocelyn."
"It's.. nice to meet you," Toby's confidence tapered off with his words, knowing immediately how awkward he'd made it. 'Nice going, idiot.' Without knowing what else to say, he leaned forward on his knees and clasped his hands together. The sheep appeared by his leg, giving him an apathetic gaze, which prompted Toby to ask, "What's this guy's name?"
"That's Butcher."
Toby could not stop the snort of laughter from escaping him. "Are — are you serious? Isn't that a bit —? You know what? Never mind, I love it. It's so ironic, I just —"
"Aren't you going to ask why I've taken you prisoner?" Jocelyn interjected, her nostrils flaring almost furiously. "You act like I've taken you on a picnic in the park. What game are you playing here?"
He stared, bewildered, back at her. Supposing it wasn't going to do him any good to avoid the subject, he replied, "I'm not playing any game."
"Then why aren't you asking any questions pertaining to your situation? I don't see the logic in any of this."
"I thought the underground was supposed to be illogical."
Jocelyn scowled, "Don't play coy with me. That's just the way the Labyrinth was built. And, even then, with logic of its own making, it still tends to make more sense than you. What is your logic?"
"Well…" he said, feeling humored by her confusion. "In acting on my feelings, I wasn't exactly going for logic."
"What feelings? What are you talking about?"
Toby sighed, turning his head away to stare out at the river. "I guess I'm just getting tired of asking about things I don't understand."
Jocelyn's silence lasted a while before she replied, "And what does that mean?"
"Just that… with everything that's happened with me and everything that's happened with Sarah… no matter how many questions I have asked, still nothing makes any sense to me. I feel trapped by the lack of logic that seems to be surrounding me ever since she left our world aboveground. Why she was gone… Whether she left willingly or was forcibly taken… What caused my clumsiness…
"With all the crazy things that've been happening, I never even thought to question why it took so long for her mother to think about searching for her in the underground. It felt beneficial that it happened now, when I'm old enough to solve the Labyrinth's puzzles, but… I'm not so sure anymore…."
After another long bout of quiet, with only the sound of Butcher clip-clopping around the duo like a songless merry-go-round, Jocelyn's tone was decidedly bored. "I didn't kidnap you to become your confidant, you know."
Toby chuckled, "You have a point — that's funny, though. Um…" He turned to look at her, "Since you wanted me to ask, can you tell me why you kidnapped me? Does it have something to do with my sister?"
"It's no fun if you're only doing it because I said something," Jocelyn muttered in vexation. Despite her displeasure, though, she answered him, "I'm dying. I needed a bargaining chip for your sister to give me back my magic before I run out of time."
He frowned, "She refused to give it back to you when you asked?"
"I'd never had the chance to demand it before today," she admitted. "I could never gain entry into the Labyrinth. And even when I had you in my possession, she said she didn't know how to give it back."
"Really…?" Toby pondered that information. If Sarah still hadn't come across Lindonya, then it would explain why she didn't yet know how to give her back her magic. The only major question that remained was whether Jocelyn's past actions were unforgivable enough that Sarah didn't want to give her magic back. He turned his gaze back to Jocelyn, "Do you think she'll come? How much time did you give her?"
"She had an hour."
"How much time does she have now?"
"Forty minutes, give or take a…" Jocelyn paused her train of thought, thoroughly raking her eyes across Toby's face. Rolling her eyes with a sigh, she said, "I wouldn't worry about whether or not she'll come. The real debate is just when that will be."
Toby's honest smile was the only reply he could give to the fae woman.
The fairy kingdom was a sight to behold… if only Sarah could have given herself the time to enjoy it properly.
The strange, mixed group of beings traipsed through pathways surrounded by fields and fields of flowers. There were no buildings, or even hills, in sight against the forever-lit light blue sky. Even the clouds above seemed to be in the shape of specific flowers such as roses, daisies, and lotuses.
Three and a half fae, two young witches, a dwarf, a red-haired monster, a shakana, along with a goblin and a fox — the both of which were riding a sheepdog — walked through. None of them saw any end, or other beings, in sight and it was grating on Sarah's last nerve.
"What is it with never-ending paths?" she demanded, her anxiety over getting to Toby in time rising with each passing minute that they saw no change in their surroundings.
Ever since they left the Labyrinth, Jareth kept his arm looped through hers as though it were his only way to keep her safe. Each time her anxiety rose dangerously, he patted her arm to placate her. And it would work… to a certain extent. "Calm down, Sarah. Jocelyn may have managed to take him, but there's not much she can really do without her powers."
"She's using fae dust. I bet there are a myriad of things she can still do to him using what stockpile she has," Sarah snapped, wrenching herself free from his hold. "I can walk just fine on my own, by the way. Don't act like being pregnant makes me weak."
"I wouldn't dream of thinking you weak, Sarah," Jareth said drolly, rolling his eyes as he spoke. "However, I wouldn't be so quick to shake this off as nothing. You're only half fae after all. We don't know how this process is going to turn out."
Sarah waved a careless hand anyway, glaring more intently at the landscape around them.
Lindonya and Jemediah watched their interaction alongside the many friends Sarah possessed, wondering just what world they'd stepped into. Without even looking at each other, they knew they felt the same way. That seeing her daughter and his nephew together was something they could have never — in even their wildest dreams — ever imagined happening.
For the most part though, Lindonya felt as though she'd missed too much. Far too much of Sarah's life was spent fearing the day she got found by her family.
'Speaking of…' Lindonya's gaze was immediately drawn to the ring on Sarah's ring finger. 'Is that… the ring I gave her…?' She automatically began walking over to her, stopped only by the quick look Sarah gave her.
"What is it?"
"Your — your wedding ring, is that —?"
"Yes, it is," Sarah said, turning away to continue walking as Lindonya did her best to keep up the same pace. Unbeknownst to them, everyone else stayed behind at a safe distance to allow them the space to talk. "What about it?"
"It's just… it has been a Fædrago heirloom for eons. It is encased in centuries of protective magic produced by our ancestors — including me. Of course, I added as much as possible when I passed it down to you, but… how did it become your wedding ring?"
Successfully distracted by Lindonya's question, Sarah stopped walking to hold her left hand in front of her, staring at the ring. "The first time I ran the Labyrinth, I… parted with it to get directions. I was desperate, so it didn't seem as important to me." She turned to look at Lindonya again, "When Jareth came to get me again eleven years ago, he gave me the ring back. With additional protective magic as well as the means to bind me to him, obviously."
"Obviously," Lindonya repeated, absentmindedly studying the glow of Sarah's skin once again. If Toby hadn't been kidnapped and Sarah had no reason to hate Lindonya… the fae woman wondered if her daughter would be smiling from ear to ear. She longed to see it in her, as she once had when she would become overly ecstatic over something as simple as extra ice cream before bed.
"What is it, now?" Sarah asked, interrupting Lindonya's train of thought. She actually seemed concerned.
"I just…" Lindonya ventured through her thoughts for the right words to say. "I just wish I could make up for all the pain I've caused you. Sarah, I'm truly sorry that I abandoned you when you needed me most. If I could turn back time —" The shaking of Sarah's head cut off everything else Lindonya wanted to say — all the regrets she buried that she wanted laid bare.
"There's no reason to beat yourself up about it. Loathe as I am to admit it, I have not acted any different than you…" Sarah said, a sad smile on her lips. "I wanted to protect Toby from me… from losing any more base magic than he already has. But I failed to see the damage that keeping my distance had caused. I suppose, in that way, we are exactly alike. Causing our loved ones to hate us for making a decision with reasons they have no knowledge of."
Lindonya turned her head away with a sigh, "Toby doesn't hate you. That much is clear to me. He is just confused and — and hurt."
"Same for me," Sarah said, locking eyes with a surprised Lindonya. "I didn't understand, but I do now. I never hated you, but I did feel some resentment for how everything turned out. I… often imagined, back then, having you back in my life, as I'm sure Toby has done about me. Wanting to stay in a dream realm where everything is exactly as we wish it to be."
That gave Lindonya food for thought about her own life, that her resentment toward her family had caused her to search for the means to distract herself from the emotional pain she continued to carry. By throwing herself into her work as an actress, she had ignored the good things she already built for herself — a life with her daughter.
"How…?" Lindonya struggled to form the words she wanted to convey to change her feelings of loss and failure. "How did you escape the desire to use your dreams as a coping mechanism? Here you are, living your life in the underground, without having used Jareth's abilities to pretend our family is still whole and… and down here with you."
"Because somewhere along the line, I realized I don't want to live through my dreams anymore. I don't need them. I can live my best reality through my own actions, good or bad." Sarah stared into the distance of flower-shaped clouds, a light wind blowing strands of hair from her face. "Right now, I just want my brother back. Then we'll figure everything out from there."
Lindonya gave an affirmative nod, ready to do whatever possible to help her daughter as she always should have done.