A huge *hug* and a thank you to Scattered Logic, who puts up with a lot
from me. She deserves a medal. (As anyone who has read 'Mine' knows grammar
is not my strong point!)
And *hugs* to Corrmak and The Hooded Crow. For the morale boosts.
Too Much, Too Young
Almost Unreal
Sarah's dreams were confusing. She could see her father silhouetted in the light at the end of what seemed to be a long tunnel. She started to run toward him, but her legs felt heavy and her run slowed to a jog. After a few minutes, she realised she was no closer to him. If anything, she was further away. The more she ran, the further away he got. She waved her arms and shouted to him to gain his attention but he shook his head and slowly turned away from her. Screaming at him to stop and come back proved fruitless, he just kept on walking.
All around her, she could hear Karen's voice echoing down the tunnel. "Sarah, you're an hour late." Sarah turned frantically to see where the voice was coming from.
"You should have dates at your age." Sarah began to cry quietly. Karen's voice was replaced by Jareth's, "It's further than you think and time is short." She turned in circles trying to find a face to go with voice. "I have turned the world upside down and I have done it all for you!" Then she heard her father's voice. "Beth, we're home." Sarah put her hands over her ears; the voices were deafening now. Sinking to her knees, she began to cry harder. A loud knocking drowned out the voices; it got louder and louder until Sarah thought her head might burst. Putting her palms to her aching head, she screamed.
Someone was shaking her. Sarah cracked one eye open, and quickly closed it again. The sun's light that came through the window was shining directly onto her face. Turning her head to the side, she slowly opened her eyes again. With the intense light gone, she could open her eyes fully.
The first thing she saw was two huge green eyes staring at her. Screaming, she scrambled to the other side of the bed. Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, she looked back to the far side of the bed to see a peculiar little creature, its huge eyes looking at her curiously.
Sarah stared back; she'd never seen anything that looked like this. Its face was pretty she decided, the cheeks were big, almost like a hamster's after it filled them with food. The creature appeared to be a girl if the long green braided hair was anything to go by.
Sarah cleared her throat intending to ask her who she was. But the creature spoke first; her voice was high and sing songy.
"So you finally woke at last, I've brought some food to break your fast," so saying, she indicated a tray sitting on a dresser, the only other piece of furniture apart from the bed. As she turned, Sarah noticed her ears were long and narrow and they were pointed at the top.
Sarah said the first thing that came to mind. "Are you an elf?" The little creature laughed, "I'm not an elf, oh no not me, I'm a pixie as you can see." Sarah smiled, "Do you always rhyme?"
The pixie rolled her eyes, which told Sarah that she got that question a lot.
"All pixies rhyme didn't you know," indicated the tray again. "Now eat your food, we have to go."
Sarah walked over to the tray on the dresser; she was famished. The bowl looked like it contained porridge, and she certainly hoped it was what it seemed to be.
Sitting down on the bed she cautiously tasted it; it was delicious.
Just as she was finishing her food, she looked up to see the pixie watching her.
Quickly swallowing the last spoonful, Sarah said, "My name's Sarah, what do I call you?"
The pixie gave a tinkling laugh, "Me name's Puggle and you'll see, you won't get a better helper than me." Puggle took Sarah's arm and guided her to the doorway, saying as she did, "And I know who you are, sure I do, the king has chosen a queen and she be you."
Sarah gripped the sides of the bed, she was in shock. "What do you mean, he's chosen his queen and it's me?"
Puggle sighed, they were already late so what was a few more minutes? "You completed the Labyrinth; you agreed to stay. You're now the future queen, did the King not say?"
Puggle was looking at her in complete confusion.
Sarah got up from the bed. "No, he didn't. I don't believe this. When I agreed to stay I thought-well, I don't know what I thought but I definitely did not think I would become a queen." Sarah began pacing back and forth muttering to herself.
Puggle watched Sarah pace. She couldn't quite hear or understand what the girl was muttering, but it was obviously about the king and whatever she was saying was not complimentary.
Puggle let Sarah carry on for a while then stopped Sarah's pacing by standing directly in front of her.
Sarah gave her a scowl and started to move around her. Puggle put her hand on Sarah's arm. Raising her eyebrows, she gave the girl a tentative smile. "Time to go, we've got a long walk. To see the king, he wants to talk."
Sarah, still scowling, pushed Puggle's hand away and started to walk down the hallway. "Good, because I've got a few things I'd like to say to him, too."
Puggle cleared her throat trying to attract Sarah's attention. When that didn't work, she ran to catch up to her. Tugging on her arm, she pulled Sarah round to face the other way. "No, milady, the King is this way. If you don't turn around, we'll be walking all day."
Sarah shook her hair back and stalked off in the direction Puggle had pointed.
Puggle couldn't help a small giggle when she heard Sarah whisper, "I knew that!"
The long walk down to see Jareth was made in silence. Sarah was still brooding when they finally reached a huge set of oak doors.
Puggle turned to Sarah and held up her hand. "I've got to announce you, I won't be a min. Then I'll come out, and take you in."
With that, she slipped inside through one of the doors, leaving it slightly ajar.
Sarah, unable to resist, peeked inside. The throne room looked just the same as she'd seen it last time, tattered wall hangings and on the floor, litter was scattered everywhere. The only difference in the room was that now it was full of goblins of all shapes and sizes. They were everywhere. And they were very loud.
Sarah saw Jareth standing at the side of the room talking to a man and woman. The man had light blond hair and was extremely attractive she noticed. The woman, too, was very beautiful; she was as dark as the man was fair. Both were tall, the man was a touch shorter than Jareth. 'But,' Sarah mused, 'still a lot taller than me.'
They were dressed very elegantly. The man was dressed in the same type of clothes Jareth wore, the very tight dark trousers and a white billowing shirt that ruffed down the front. The woman was dressed in a deep green dress. The dress was tight all the way down to what Sarah guessed were her knees, where it flared gently in soft folds, a slight train trailed the floor. She looked... Sarah paused in her observation while she thought of a word to sum the lady up. 'Regal' The woman looked regal. Looking down at herself, she noted for the first time how dirty and wrinkled her clothes were, and when she ran her fingers through her hair, she found it was so tangled her fingers got stuck halfway.
'That's it!' she thought, 'I'm not going to face Jareth looking like I just climbed out of a garbage truck.' When Puggle came to collect her, Sarah pointed out the state of her clothes and told the pixie she wasn't going to see Jareth until she'd cleaned up a bit. Now that she was here, her nervousness was replacing her annoyance.
"I mean," Sarah muttered as she began walking in circles around the pixie, "you'd have thought Jareth would have thought to let me have a bath last night or at least this morning. But, no, he's too busy summoning me. And here I am, dirty and I'm pretty sure I smell and he's in there chatting to friends." Sarah stopped pacing to look at Puggle, her back to the still open doors. "Who is he talking to, anyway?"
Puggle glanced over Sarah's shoulder to see; looking to make sure the goblin king was still talking and had not noticed how long they were taking to go to him.
Puggle saw with a start that Jareth had stopped talking to his friends and was now looking directly at Sarah's back, a slight frown on his face.
Puggle swallowed a lump in her throat. The king was not a patient man. "They are Lord and Lady of Blackthorn and we're late. We must go to the king he hates to wait."
Sarah looked at Puggle and put her hands on her hips.
Oh, the king doesn't like to wait, does he? Well, it's something he will just have to get used to, because I'm never on time for anything."
Sarah's earlier resentment at Jareth came back in full force.
"If he thinks he can click his fingers and demand my presence, he can think again. I'm not a dog and I won't come when he calls. The arrogance of that man, just who does he think he is?"
Puggle was hardly listening to Sarah, nearly all her attention was fixed on the king who was coming their way. Grabbing Sarah's arm, she attempted to tell her he was coming. "Milady, the king."
Sarah shook off her arm and kept talking, "Oh, I know he's the king but still does he have to so bossy? He could have at least asked me nicely to come and see him. No, he orders you to come and fetch me. There's no mention of me cleaning myself up first. It's not fair, is it?" Sarah looked at Puggle for an answer, not talking any notice of the look of horror on the pixie's face, she went on. "I've only known the man for a day and it's plainly clear to me he's a bit of a tyrant, with no regard for anyone else's feelings but his own."
Sarah frowned as Puggle started shaking her head, her attention still directed over Sarah's shoulder. Sarah leaned in close to Puggle. Her throat had gone dry as she began to understand what was happening. She whispered, "He's standing behind me, isn't he?"
Puggle nodded once, her huge eyes still staring past Sarah.
Sarah straightened, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and turned around.
Jareth was leaning against the now closed throne room doors. He looked formidable with his arms folded and a deep frown etched in his brow.
"You were saying, Sarah?"
Too Much, Too Young
Almost Unreal
Sarah's dreams were confusing. She could see her father silhouetted in the light at the end of what seemed to be a long tunnel. She started to run toward him, but her legs felt heavy and her run slowed to a jog. After a few minutes, she realised she was no closer to him. If anything, she was further away. The more she ran, the further away he got. She waved her arms and shouted to him to gain his attention but he shook his head and slowly turned away from her. Screaming at him to stop and come back proved fruitless, he just kept on walking.
All around her, she could hear Karen's voice echoing down the tunnel. "Sarah, you're an hour late." Sarah turned frantically to see where the voice was coming from.
"You should have dates at your age." Sarah began to cry quietly. Karen's voice was replaced by Jareth's, "It's further than you think and time is short." She turned in circles trying to find a face to go with voice. "I have turned the world upside down and I have done it all for you!" Then she heard her father's voice. "Beth, we're home." Sarah put her hands over her ears; the voices were deafening now. Sinking to her knees, she began to cry harder. A loud knocking drowned out the voices; it got louder and louder until Sarah thought her head might burst. Putting her palms to her aching head, she screamed.
Someone was shaking her. Sarah cracked one eye open, and quickly closed it again. The sun's light that came through the window was shining directly onto her face. Turning her head to the side, she slowly opened her eyes again. With the intense light gone, she could open her eyes fully.
The first thing she saw was two huge green eyes staring at her. Screaming, she scrambled to the other side of the bed. Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, she looked back to the far side of the bed to see a peculiar little creature, its huge eyes looking at her curiously.
Sarah stared back; she'd never seen anything that looked like this. Its face was pretty she decided, the cheeks were big, almost like a hamster's after it filled them with food. The creature appeared to be a girl if the long green braided hair was anything to go by.
Sarah cleared her throat intending to ask her who she was. But the creature spoke first; her voice was high and sing songy.
"So you finally woke at last, I've brought some food to break your fast," so saying, she indicated a tray sitting on a dresser, the only other piece of furniture apart from the bed. As she turned, Sarah noticed her ears were long and narrow and they were pointed at the top.
Sarah said the first thing that came to mind. "Are you an elf?" The little creature laughed, "I'm not an elf, oh no not me, I'm a pixie as you can see." Sarah smiled, "Do you always rhyme?"
The pixie rolled her eyes, which told Sarah that she got that question a lot.
"All pixies rhyme didn't you know," indicated the tray again. "Now eat your food, we have to go."
Sarah walked over to the tray on the dresser; she was famished. The bowl looked like it contained porridge, and she certainly hoped it was what it seemed to be.
Sitting down on the bed she cautiously tasted it; it was delicious.
Just as she was finishing her food, she looked up to see the pixie watching her.
Quickly swallowing the last spoonful, Sarah said, "My name's Sarah, what do I call you?"
The pixie gave a tinkling laugh, "Me name's Puggle and you'll see, you won't get a better helper than me." Puggle took Sarah's arm and guided her to the doorway, saying as she did, "And I know who you are, sure I do, the king has chosen a queen and she be you."
Sarah gripped the sides of the bed, she was in shock. "What do you mean, he's chosen his queen and it's me?"
Puggle sighed, they were already late so what was a few more minutes? "You completed the Labyrinth; you agreed to stay. You're now the future queen, did the King not say?"
Puggle was looking at her in complete confusion.
Sarah got up from the bed. "No, he didn't. I don't believe this. When I agreed to stay I thought-well, I don't know what I thought but I definitely did not think I would become a queen." Sarah began pacing back and forth muttering to herself.
Puggle watched Sarah pace. She couldn't quite hear or understand what the girl was muttering, but it was obviously about the king and whatever she was saying was not complimentary.
Puggle let Sarah carry on for a while then stopped Sarah's pacing by standing directly in front of her.
Sarah gave her a scowl and started to move around her. Puggle put her hand on Sarah's arm. Raising her eyebrows, she gave the girl a tentative smile. "Time to go, we've got a long walk. To see the king, he wants to talk."
Sarah, still scowling, pushed Puggle's hand away and started to walk down the hallway. "Good, because I've got a few things I'd like to say to him, too."
Puggle cleared her throat trying to attract Sarah's attention. When that didn't work, she ran to catch up to her. Tugging on her arm, she pulled Sarah round to face the other way. "No, milady, the King is this way. If you don't turn around, we'll be walking all day."
Sarah shook her hair back and stalked off in the direction Puggle had pointed.
Puggle couldn't help a small giggle when she heard Sarah whisper, "I knew that!"
The long walk down to see Jareth was made in silence. Sarah was still brooding when they finally reached a huge set of oak doors.
Puggle turned to Sarah and held up her hand. "I've got to announce you, I won't be a min. Then I'll come out, and take you in."
With that, she slipped inside through one of the doors, leaving it slightly ajar.
Sarah, unable to resist, peeked inside. The throne room looked just the same as she'd seen it last time, tattered wall hangings and on the floor, litter was scattered everywhere. The only difference in the room was that now it was full of goblins of all shapes and sizes. They were everywhere. And they were very loud.
Sarah saw Jareth standing at the side of the room talking to a man and woman. The man had light blond hair and was extremely attractive she noticed. The woman, too, was very beautiful; she was as dark as the man was fair. Both were tall, the man was a touch shorter than Jareth. 'But,' Sarah mused, 'still a lot taller than me.'
They were dressed very elegantly. The man was dressed in the same type of clothes Jareth wore, the very tight dark trousers and a white billowing shirt that ruffed down the front. The woman was dressed in a deep green dress. The dress was tight all the way down to what Sarah guessed were her knees, where it flared gently in soft folds, a slight train trailed the floor. She looked... Sarah paused in her observation while she thought of a word to sum the lady up. 'Regal' The woman looked regal. Looking down at herself, she noted for the first time how dirty and wrinkled her clothes were, and when she ran her fingers through her hair, she found it was so tangled her fingers got stuck halfway.
'That's it!' she thought, 'I'm not going to face Jareth looking like I just climbed out of a garbage truck.' When Puggle came to collect her, Sarah pointed out the state of her clothes and told the pixie she wasn't going to see Jareth until she'd cleaned up a bit. Now that she was here, her nervousness was replacing her annoyance.
"I mean," Sarah muttered as she began walking in circles around the pixie, "you'd have thought Jareth would have thought to let me have a bath last night or at least this morning. But, no, he's too busy summoning me. And here I am, dirty and I'm pretty sure I smell and he's in there chatting to friends." Sarah stopped pacing to look at Puggle, her back to the still open doors. "Who is he talking to, anyway?"
Puggle glanced over Sarah's shoulder to see; looking to make sure the goblin king was still talking and had not noticed how long they were taking to go to him.
Puggle saw with a start that Jareth had stopped talking to his friends and was now looking directly at Sarah's back, a slight frown on his face.
Puggle swallowed a lump in her throat. The king was not a patient man. "They are Lord and Lady of Blackthorn and we're late. We must go to the king he hates to wait."
Sarah looked at Puggle and put her hands on her hips.
Oh, the king doesn't like to wait, does he? Well, it's something he will just have to get used to, because I'm never on time for anything."
Sarah's earlier resentment at Jareth came back in full force.
"If he thinks he can click his fingers and demand my presence, he can think again. I'm not a dog and I won't come when he calls. The arrogance of that man, just who does he think he is?"
Puggle was hardly listening to Sarah, nearly all her attention was fixed on the king who was coming their way. Grabbing Sarah's arm, she attempted to tell her he was coming. "Milady, the king."
Sarah shook off her arm and kept talking, "Oh, I know he's the king but still does he have to so bossy? He could have at least asked me nicely to come and see him. No, he orders you to come and fetch me. There's no mention of me cleaning myself up first. It's not fair, is it?" Sarah looked at Puggle for an answer, not talking any notice of the look of horror on the pixie's face, she went on. "I've only known the man for a day and it's plainly clear to me he's a bit of a tyrant, with no regard for anyone else's feelings but his own."
Sarah frowned as Puggle started shaking her head, her attention still directed over Sarah's shoulder. Sarah leaned in close to Puggle. Her throat had gone dry as she began to understand what was happening. She whispered, "He's standing behind me, isn't he?"
Puggle nodded once, her huge eyes still staring past Sarah.
Sarah straightened, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and turned around.
Jareth was leaning against the now closed throne room doors. He looked formidable with his arms folded and a deep frown etched in his brow.
"You were saying, Sarah?"