These Powers That Be
When Sarah woke up, she knew exactly where she was. Well, not exactly. The bed didn't feel familiar, and she couldn't pinpoint her exact location in the Labyrinth, but she knew that's where she was.
The Labyrinth. The Labyrinth ruled by a king who could terrify and excite her all at once. The Labyrinth ruled by a king who held a grudge against her. The Labyrinth with a missing key she had to find if she didn't want to be trapped by that same king for the rest of her life.
Sarah wouldn't have expected to be so lucid after the surreal experiences of the last twenty-four-odd hours. She would have expected to be disoriented, disbelieving, or oblivious after a night of sleep.
But she wasn't.
And she knew why. After she had escaped the Labyrinth last time, she had been able to distract herself with school and Toby and all the rest of the things that made up her teenage life. But yesterday, when extraordinary, Labyrinth-like powers began to infringe on her everyday world, there wasn't a separation anymore. Sarah couldn't pretend the Labyrinth was a dream anymore. She was starting to think that the Labyrinth was the only really real thing in her life. And it would continue to be, until she found the key.
At this point in her mental rambling, Sarah realized that she still hadn't opened her eyes. Well, of course she hadn't, because she had no idea what she would find when she did. The last thing she remembered, she had been trying in vain to elicit information from a motley collection of Labyrinth dwellers. They weren't being very helpful, and some of them were acting downright mean.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just as a small goblin was advancing on her with an equally small, but pointy looking object, a shadow fell over him. When he looked up, his face turned as white as it could considering the fact he was green, and he raced away in fear. Sarah whirled around to see what more dangerous creature awaited her just in time to see a huge snowy owl disappear completely leaving Jareth in it's place.
Sarah was pretty sure she preferred the Goblin.
"Well, Sarah, I'm disappointed in you. It's been much longer than thirteen hours, and you don't seem to be having any luck at all. Perhaps the last time can be summed up as beginners luck?"
"Of course I haven't found it yet! I don't even know what it looks like, or where it was last, or anything! It not."
Dammit, don't say fair.
".going to be easy. Even you couldn't find it. Besides, you knew I wouldn't find it easily, if at all. You tricked me into this. You took my powers, you basically kidnapped me from my world! You.you."
Then, as Sarah was trying to think of some other horrible crime to ascribe to Jareth, a very humiliating thing happened. She yawned.
Jareth smiled a look of knowing satisfaction on his face.
"Now then, little girl, don't be difficult." He said in a mocking voice. "It's past your bedtime."
Sarah was ready with a quick retort, but she couldn't seem to connect the thought to her mouth. She stifled another yawn, and for the first time in nearly a day her eyelids felt heavy.
"Goodnight, sweet Sarah. Dream well, my queen." The words might have been whispered or imagined, but Sarah couldn't be sure which was the case. She was already much more than half asleep.
That was the last thing she remembered until now, lying in an unfamiliar bed with her eyes closed. With a sigh, Sarah finally sat up, and opened her eyes. What had she heard Jareth say as she was falling completely asleep? She shook her head. It didn't matter. She wouldn't let anything Jareth did distract her. Today was a new day, and today she would find the key, beat Jareth at his newest game, and return home.
Having detailed her goals, Sarah finally began to take in the room around her. As angry as she was, the beautiful room made things a little better. The walls and ceiling were made up of a rose-silver stone set with arching beams of heavy, glossy-dark wood. There was a fire burning gently in a large fireplace beneath a bronze grate, and the walls were hung with intricate tapestries to hold in the warmth. The very bed Sarah was sitting on was gorgeous of itself, covered in soft, silky blankets and sheets.
Sarah would have sighed in contentment and snuggled back in for a nap, if she hadn't been worried about the key. And something else was bothering her as well. She just couldn't figure out what it was. She traced here eyes up and down the room, biting her lip in contemplation. Then her eyes widened in shock, and she slid quickly of the bed, still searching the walls furiously with her startling green eyes.
The thing that had been bothering her, worrying her at the back of her mind was suddenly, startlingly clear. There was no door.
Sarah took a deep breath and released all her anger into one loud scream. "Jareth!"
She waited, but nothing happened.
"Jareth! What kind of trick is this? I'm suppoused to be looking for the key to your stupid Labyrinth, not the door to a prison cell!"
Sarah was a lot more worried at Jareth's continued absence than she would have been if he had appeared, irate and dangerous, before her. What was to stop him form leaving her here forever? The rules to his damn game were so amorphous, he could just claim she had to stay in the Labyrinth until she found the key, and she obviously hadn't, and wouldn't until she was at least out of this room. She started to panic.
"Jareth! Jareth, please!" Sarah felt eyes begin to tear. "Somebody, let me out!"
"Sarah!" An angry Jareth finally, and, as was his custom, suddenly, appeared directly in front of Sarah, snapping at her angrily. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get things done with every goblin in the bloody place running away each time they hear you scream? I have other problems than you to deal with."
"You locked me up in here because you think I'm a problem? You're the one with problems. You have to give me a fair chance to actually look for the key!"
"Sarah, Sarah, do be quiet. I don't think I can stand one of your tirades on fairness. It just doesn't seem to get through to you that here that I make the rules."
Sarah started to say something but Jareth quickly went on.
"However, my intention was not to detain you from your search. The door to this room is hidden and can only be opened by you and me."
Sarah's eyes widened as a sweep of Jareth's hand revealed an intricately carved wooden door in a previously empty section of wall. When Sarah looked up Jareth was smiling with satisfaction and moving towards her swiftly. Before she could back away, he took hold of her hand. Sarah was about to protest when she looked up and caught his eyes. She felt a powerful tug in her stomach, and for a moment she forgot just what it was she was protesting to. Jareth studied her face intently for a moment, both of them caught in each other's gaze, and then released her hand.
Sarah shook her head and took a step away. She felt like she had just woken up from a dream. "What." Suddenly Sarah realized that her hand was lightly clutching a cold, metal object. She opened it to see a small silver key resting on her palm.
"The key?"
"A key. The key to this room. You should keep it with you at all times, but if someone else were to obtain it, my earlier statement would hold. Only you can open the door."
"You said that you can open it." Sarah pointed out.
"It is my door." Jareth paused to take in Sarah's glare. Then, as was becoming his custom, he managed to begin speaking just as she was about to yell at him. "Now, I suppose you wish to resume your search."
"Of course I do, I'm getting out of here as soon as possible." As soon as the comment was out of her mouth, Sarah felt the same strange twisting in her stomach. She looked up at Jareth, to find he was looking at her with an unreadable expression in his dark mismatched eyes. Finally, Jareth broke what was becoming yet another tension filled silence.
"Tonight I am hosting a ball at the castle for the nobility of neighboring kingdoms, and my own. I cannot promise you any information, but if you wish to attend and be on the lookout for anything pertaining to your search, you may. However, you are not to speak specifically to anyone of your agenda."
"Why would you invite me to the ball? If you're looking for the key to?"
Jareth's face kept that same, unreadable expression. "Let's just say I desire. the pleasure of your company. If you wish to attend, you will be in your room by seven o' clock this evening. There will be servants here to attend you and dress you properly for the event."
Sarah blushed when Jareth shot a mocking glance toward the clothes she had been wearing since she dressed for school thirty-some hours before. Her carefully chosen outfit had since then been sat on, torn, and slept in and her long dark hair was no doubt curling into a long, tangled mess. She looked down to take in her disheveled appearance. When she looked up with a dramatic sigh Jareth had disappeared, no doubt in a flurry of silent smoke and glitter.
Sarah looked down at the key in her hand, and decided to attach it to the thin, antique-silver chain hanging around her neck. It would be stupid not to take advantage of Jareth's offer, despite his dubious reasons. However, the clock over the mantle left her nearly five hours until she needed to be back in her room. Since her outfit was ruined already, she might as well head out to do some dirty, fruitless detective work.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the lands beyond Jareth's castle, hundreds of carriages were traveling to the ball. It was to be the event of the year, but then again, Jareth's parties always were.
In many carriages, parents were instructing their unmarried daughters in ways to try to entice the most eligible bachelor in the underground. In carriages carrying the kings and queens of other lands, there was hope that the seeds of certain trade agreements or treaties might be carefully planted tonight in conversations with the Goblin King. A few guests were still at home, already preparing for the festivities and planning of transporting to the castle later by magic.
Yet everyone, king or queen, daughter or noble, was thinking of something else too. Everyone had heard the rumors that Jareth had recently approached the seven lands castle and angrily demanded that the key to the labyrinth be sought by all. He threatened war if it was not soon found, on any land that might harbor the key, or know anything f its whereabouts. The rumor was that Jareth suspected someone involved with the council or one of the seven noble courts had something to do with stealing the key.
So the excited whisper was that, if the rumors were true, the person or persons who stole the key would be in attendance tonight. And Jareth would be on the lookout for them.
Things could get exciting.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
hey guys! sorry that this chapter took so long. I have windows xp, and I guess the site is not always letting my uploads work. I know it has been forever, and I hope you guys are still going to read! once again, sorry and I hope the problems are gone for good!
-mari
Thank you to everyone who reviewed this week! Just so ya'll know, if I miss a name it is just because you reviewed after I wrote the next chapter and before I uploaded it. sorry for the omission and I definitely have read your review and really really really really appreciate it! SO, easter (or Passover, or whatever) baskets go to.
The Crazy Cricket, dawn, Xelena, Helin Lote, Heikgan, Huntress_Skyfire, CrytalUnicorn, JLF, NightChild0101, Sarah (no joke), OriginalProxy, terrie (3x! thanks), Nethene Khthon, Sierra_Falls
When Sarah woke up, she knew exactly where she was. Well, not exactly. The bed didn't feel familiar, and she couldn't pinpoint her exact location in the Labyrinth, but she knew that's where she was.
The Labyrinth. The Labyrinth ruled by a king who could terrify and excite her all at once. The Labyrinth ruled by a king who held a grudge against her. The Labyrinth with a missing key she had to find if she didn't want to be trapped by that same king for the rest of her life.
Sarah wouldn't have expected to be so lucid after the surreal experiences of the last twenty-four-odd hours. She would have expected to be disoriented, disbelieving, or oblivious after a night of sleep.
But she wasn't.
And she knew why. After she had escaped the Labyrinth last time, she had been able to distract herself with school and Toby and all the rest of the things that made up her teenage life. But yesterday, when extraordinary, Labyrinth-like powers began to infringe on her everyday world, there wasn't a separation anymore. Sarah couldn't pretend the Labyrinth was a dream anymore. She was starting to think that the Labyrinth was the only really real thing in her life. And it would continue to be, until she found the key.
At this point in her mental rambling, Sarah realized that she still hadn't opened her eyes. Well, of course she hadn't, because she had no idea what she would find when she did. The last thing she remembered, she had been trying in vain to elicit information from a motley collection of Labyrinth dwellers. They weren't being very helpful, and some of them were acting downright mean.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just as a small goblin was advancing on her with an equally small, but pointy looking object, a shadow fell over him. When he looked up, his face turned as white as it could considering the fact he was green, and he raced away in fear. Sarah whirled around to see what more dangerous creature awaited her just in time to see a huge snowy owl disappear completely leaving Jareth in it's place.
Sarah was pretty sure she preferred the Goblin.
"Well, Sarah, I'm disappointed in you. It's been much longer than thirteen hours, and you don't seem to be having any luck at all. Perhaps the last time can be summed up as beginners luck?"
"Of course I haven't found it yet! I don't even know what it looks like, or where it was last, or anything! It not."
Dammit, don't say fair.
".going to be easy. Even you couldn't find it. Besides, you knew I wouldn't find it easily, if at all. You tricked me into this. You took my powers, you basically kidnapped me from my world! You.you."
Then, as Sarah was trying to think of some other horrible crime to ascribe to Jareth, a very humiliating thing happened. She yawned.
Jareth smiled a look of knowing satisfaction on his face.
"Now then, little girl, don't be difficult." He said in a mocking voice. "It's past your bedtime."
Sarah was ready with a quick retort, but she couldn't seem to connect the thought to her mouth. She stifled another yawn, and for the first time in nearly a day her eyelids felt heavy.
"Goodnight, sweet Sarah. Dream well, my queen." The words might have been whispered or imagined, but Sarah couldn't be sure which was the case. She was already much more than half asleep.
That was the last thing she remembered until now, lying in an unfamiliar bed with her eyes closed. With a sigh, Sarah finally sat up, and opened her eyes. What had she heard Jareth say as she was falling completely asleep? She shook her head. It didn't matter. She wouldn't let anything Jareth did distract her. Today was a new day, and today she would find the key, beat Jareth at his newest game, and return home.
Having detailed her goals, Sarah finally began to take in the room around her. As angry as she was, the beautiful room made things a little better. The walls and ceiling were made up of a rose-silver stone set with arching beams of heavy, glossy-dark wood. There was a fire burning gently in a large fireplace beneath a bronze grate, and the walls were hung with intricate tapestries to hold in the warmth. The very bed Sarah was sitting on was gorgeous of itself, covered in soft, silky blankets and sheets.
Sarah would have sighed in contentment and snuggled back in for a nap, if she hadn't been worried about the key. And something else was bothering her as well. She just couldn't figure out what it was. She traced here eyes up and down the room, biting her lip in contemplation. Then her eyes widened in shock, and she slid quickly of the bed, still searching the walls furiously with her startling green eyes.
The thing that had been bothering her, worrying her at the back of her mind was suddenly, startlingly clear. There was no door.
Sarah took a deep breath and released all her anger into one loud scream. "Jareth!"
She waited, but nothing happened.
"Jareth! What kind of trick is this? I'm suppoused to be looking for the key to your stupid Labyrinth, not the door to a prison cell!"
Sarah was a lot more worried at Jareth's continued absence than she would have been if he had appeared, irate and dangerous, before her. What was to stop him form leaving her here forever? The rules to his damn game were so amorphous, he could just claim she had to stay in the Labyrinth until she found the key, and she obviously hadn't, and wouldn't until she was at least out of this room. She started to panic.
"Jareth! Jareth, please!" Sarah felt eyes begin to tear. "Somebody, let me out!"
"Sarah!" An angry Jareth finally, and, as was his custom, suddenly, appeared directly in front of Sarah, snapping at her angrily. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get things done with every goblin in the bloody place running away each time they hear you scream? I have other problems than you to deal with."
"You locked me up in here because you think I'm a problem? You're the one with problems. You have to give me a fair chance to actually look for the key!"
"Sarah, Sarah, do be quiet. I don't think I can stand one of your tirades on fairness. It just doesn't seem to get through to you that here that I make the rules."
Sarah started to say something but Jareth quickly went on.
"However, my intention was not to detain you from your search. The door to this room is hidden and can only be opened by you and me."
Sarah's eyes widened as a sweep of Jareth's hand revealed an intricately carved wooden door in a previously empty section of wall. When Sarah looked up Jareth was smiling with satisfaction and moving towards her swiftly. Before she could back away, he took hold of her hand. Sarah was about to protest when she looked up and caught his eyes. She felt a powerful tug in her stomach, and for a moment she forgot just what it was she was protesting to. Jareth studied her face intently for a moment, both of them caught in each other's gaze, and then released her hand.
Sarah shook her head and took a step away. She felt like she had just woken up from a dream. "What." Suddenly Sarah realized that her hand was lightly clutching a cold, metal object. She opened it to see a small silver key resting on her palm.
"The key?"
"A key. The key to this room. You should keep it with you at all times, but if someone else were to obtain it, my earlier statement would hold. Only you can open the door."
"You said that you can open it." Sarah pointed out.
"It is my door." Jareth paused to take in Sarah's glare. Then, as was becoming his custom, he managed to begin speaking just as she was about to yell at him. "Now, I suppose you wish to resume your search."
"Of course I do, I'm getting out of here as soon as possible." As soon as the comment was out of her mouth, Sarah felt the same strange twisting in her stomach. She looked up at Jareth, to find he was looking at her with an unreadable expression in his dark mismatched eyes. Finally, Jareth broke what was becoming yet another tension filled silence.
"Tonight I am hosting a ball at the castle for the nobility of neighboring kingdoms, and my own. I cannot promise you any information, but if you wish to attend and be on the lookout for anything pertaining to your search, you may. However, you are not to speak specifically to anyone of your agenda."
"Why would you invite me to the ball? If you're looking for the key to?"
Jareth's face kept that same, unreadable expression. "Let's just say I desire. the pleasure of your company. If you wish to attend, you will be in your room by seven o' clock this evening. There will be servants here to attend you and dress you properly for the event."
Sarah blushed when Jareth shot a mocking glance toward the clothes she had been wearing since she dressed for school thirty-some hours before. Her carefully chosen outfit had since then been sat on, torn, and slept in and her long dark hair was no doubt curling into a long, tangled mess. She looked down to take in her disheveled appearance. When she looked up with a dramatic sigh Jareth had disappeared, no doubt in a flurry of silent smoke and glitter.
Sarah looked down at the key in her hand, and decided to attach it to the thin, antique-silver chain hanging around her neck. It would be stupid not to take advantage of Jareth's offer, despite his dubious reasons. However, the clock over the mantle left her nearly five hours until she needed to be back in her room. Since her outfit was ruined already, she might as well head out to do some dirty, fruitless detective work.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the lands beyond Jareth's castle, hundreds of carriages were traveling to the ball. It was to be the event of the year, but then again, Jareth's parties always were.
In many carriages, parents were instructing their unmarried daughters in ways to try to entice the most eligible bachelor in the underground. In carriages carrying the kings and queens of other lands, there was hope that the seeds of certain trade agreements or treaties might be carefully planted tonight in conversations with the Goblin King. A few guests were still at home, already preparing for the festivities and planning of transporting to the castle later by magic.
Yet everyone, king or queen, daughter or noble, was thinking of something else too. Everyone had heard the rumors that Jareth had recently approached the seven lands castle and angrily demanded that the key to the labyrinth be sought by all. He threatened war if it was not soon found, on any land that might harbor the key, or know anything f its whereabouts. The rumor was that Jareth suspected someone involved with the council or one of the seven noble courts had something to do with stealing the key.
So the excited whisper was that, if the rumors were true, the person or persons who stole the key would be in attendance tonight. And Jareth would be on the lookout for them.
Things could get exciting.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
hey guys! sorry that this chapter took so long. I have windows xp, and I guess the site is not always letting my uploads work. I know it has been forever, and I hope you guys are still going to read! once again, sorry and I hope the problems are gone for good!
-mari
Thank you to everyone who reviewed this week! Just so ya'll know, if I miss a name it is just because you reviewed after I wrote the next chapter and before I uploaded it. sorry for the omission and I definitely have read your review and really really really really appreciate it! SO, easter (or Passover, or whatever) baskets go to.
The Crazy Cricket, dawn, Xelena, Helin Lote, Heikgan, Huntress_Skyfire, CrytalUnicorn, JLF, NightChild0101, Sarah (no joke), OriginalProxy, terrie (3x! thanks), Nethene Khthon, Sierra_Falls