Disclaimer: Yay! Ooooh, I'm so happy I got reviews! As always, I own
nothing, even though I really really wish I did. But thank you all for
this much support, and here is your next chapter as a reward for your time!
And you can have some tea! (the Disclaimer tries to pass tea through the
internet, but it doesn't seem to be working.)
Author: I tried to give you tea. But anyway, here we are at chapter 4, and I'm so happy you like it so much! I promise to keep writing as long as I'm able, and I am very appreciative of your feedback. In this chapter, something very improbable happens, but I thought it would be cool. Anywho, here is chapta fo', and I hope you like it! (And yes, Star Moon, kudos to you.)
Sarah reached up and brushed her hand along the top of the wall. She had forgotten how the walls of the Labyrinth kept changing. She was sure that she'd be able to navigate her way if she reached the forest, but if the walls kept changing, she wouldn't be able to reach it. She sighed, and pressed on.
She hadn't encountered any one yet in the Labyrinth, which suited her just fine. However, it was unsettling to have the Labyrinth so empty. She had encountered at least a few creatures by this point, one of which being her dear friend Hoggle. She wondered now if that had been mere coincidence, or if Jareth had placed Hoggle there specifically. In any case, she had met no one, and it was beginning to bother her.
Around the corner, however, she found herself looking at rows of hedges rather than stone walls. She knew perfectly well that she had not gone this route before, but she remembered that the door to the forest had been through the hedges. This and this alone spurred her on.
After and hour or so of weaving through the hedges, she was beginning to feel desperate. "There seemed to be so many more creatures in here before," she said aloud. "And I had no idea there were so many different paths between the hedges. I should have tried to find the Ubliette."
She trailed off as she turned the corner. There were the two doors that she had gone through to get to the forest. Her cry of surprise turned into one of fear as she noticed that the knockers were bare!
Before when she had come, the knockers had been lovely though very skeptical faces, one deaf and the other nearly mute, as their knockers dictated. But now the door was just a blank stone face with lonely knockers halfway up their faces. It made Sarah shudder to look at the empty doors.
Wanting to reach the castle now more than ever, she marched resolutely up to the right-hand door and knocked the dead knocker.
She shuddered as the door creaked open and looked at the forest on the other side. IT was the same as ever, except for the fact that it was silent and empty. There was something very wrong about the whole thing. Still, Sarah had no other choice but to go through it if she wished to find Jareth, and wanted now more than ever to have an explanation.
Sarah walked past the still trees with growing dread. "Perhaps I should turn back?" she said aloud. The sound of her voice in the stillness was unsettling. "It was stupid to come here."
"Of course it was," said a very indignant voice. "All the food's gone."
Sarah looked around wildly, her eyes straining through the shadows cast by the leafy branches. "Who's there?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly. "Come out."
Even though she knew someone was there, she nearly had a heart attack when a figure emerged from a nearby tree. The figure dropped to the ground on all fours, then straightened. It was a boy roughly 16, with long and unkempt brown hair. His arms were strong and his eyes were sharp, surrounded by a sort of mask of black dye to keep off the sun. What surprised Sarah most was that the boy was human, wearing a completely normal-looking black tee-shirt and jeans.
He noticed her surprise, and waved at it in dismissal. "I've been here a while," he said bitterly. "Why are you here?"
Sarah recomposed herself. "I'm looking for the goblin king," she told him. "You say you've been here long?"
"Yeah," he said half-heartedly. "That bas-vermin took my little brother away about a year and a half ago." He scowled. "And I've been stuck here ever since."
Sarah raised her eyebrows in shock. "Jareth didn't send you back?" she asked weakly. The boy spread his arms wide in a gesture of helplessness.
"Probably forgot about me. Still, I doubt he'd forget a pretty girl like you," he said scaldingly. "He's not all smooth-talking and charming when it's a boy, you know. He tries to make the girls like him so that they don't try and defeat him."
"Have you tried to defeat him?" Sarah asked.
"Heh. I never even saw the castle," he said. "Still, my brother's a goblin now. I suppose no one back there recognizes the fact that I'm gone. Ah, well. You'll probably have a better chance of reaching the castle now that all the goblins have fled."
"Do you know where they went?" Sarah asked hopefully. The boy shook his head.
"As far as I know, they all faded," he said. "The whole place has started to fade away."
"What?" Sarah asked, devastated.
"Yeah," the boy said. "Things are less complex. The dreams and stuff that hold the place up are failing. I suppose they couldn't maintain the goblins anymore."
Sarah eyes him suspiciously. "How do you know all this?" she asked.
The boy shrugged and sighed. "You learn things," he said. "That's what they've all been talking about since the fading got worse about three months ago. I just listen to the fire gang swapping stories. It has to be big if they're worried."
Sarah didn't trust his story, but she didn't want to waste more time. She held out a hand for him to shake. "My name is Sarah," she said. "Will you come with me to the castle beyond the goblin city?"
The boy hesitated, then gave her hand a rough shake. "I'm Gabriel Lloyd," he said. "I'll follow if you know the way."
* * * * *
Jason awoke with a start. He peeled his face from the page of his text book and realized that class was just ending, students shuffling around and putting their school work away. Jason also realized a mortifying fact: this was not his class.
"Ah, Jason! So good to see you awake," the professor said pleasantly as he packed his things. "The classes were quite amused at your lack of attention."
Jason winced. "Sorry, professor," he said.
"Be thankful you did not sleep through three classes," the professor said as he descended. "I was starting to think you were ready for the good eight hours you should have slept last night." Again, Jason winced. He would have to try harder with his written work to make up for his poor class participation.
"Sorry, professor," he repeated. "It's been a little busy."
The professor raised her eyebrows. "While I sympathize your predicament with the added strain of your work, I must ask that you sleep at home and not waste my class' time," she said.
"Of course, professor," Jason said. If only she knew what was really eating up his waking hours. How would she feel about his sleeping in class then?
She smiled in a satisfied way. "Now good bye, Jason," she said cheerfully. "And do get a good night's rest!"
When Jason did get home, however, his thoughts went back to Sarah. She had been missing for a whole day. He didn't want to alert the authorities, but he was starting to get anxious. He had left a note on the bulletin board for her to call his cell phone, but she had not. He swiped irritably at a black feather and decided to go for a walk.
He passed the shops and stores, glancing at all of them. The entire street seemed to be cut out of a fairy-tale, and he remembered how Sarah had loved to shop in the stores for decorations or costumes. He passed a gigantic store devoted to fairy-tale decorations, noticing the civil war museum across the street. He thought idly how it was quite a clash of atmosphere as he passed a small art museum featuring an exhibit of work inspired by Dr. Seuss.
Jason stopped in front of a small store and looked up at the sign overhead. It read in bold, curving font: Crystal Underground. On display in the window, among other things, was a clear crystal sphere.
At the sight, Jason's eyes widened. His muscles tightened. He stared around wildly at the street, the shops, the street lamps just turning on as darkness fell. "This. how can this be?" asked Jason. But it was not Jason's voice that escaped his mouth.
"I have to go back," he said, looking back up at the sign. "I have to go back to the Labyrinth. Sarah needs-"
Before finishing his sentence, he took off in a dead run. He had to find the portal, had to go back before the Labyrinth faded, before Sarah was caught. He knew that the evil he had felt in Sarah's nightmares was chasing him, and probably Sarah as well.
"This body," he said as he rounded the corner. "I have to get out of here! This body-"
Suddenly, he felt a cold streak of fear run through him. He stopped running as suddenly as he had started and turned around to face his opponent. The shadowed figure loomed just in the doorway of an empty shop. "I see you managed to surface again," he said mockingly.
Jason's lip curled in disgust. "Get out of my life, vermin!" he spat angrily. The figure was only amused at this outburst.
"Why, we've known each other for so long, why don't you call me Jaelithe?" the figure asked in a fake chivalrous tone. "And I wouldn't be so rude if I were you, Jareth"
The disguised goblin king glowered at him. "What do you mean?" he growled. "And come into the light, damn you! What's the use of you lurking about where I can't see you?"
Jaelithe smirked audibly and walked out of the shadows. Jareth drank in his appearance through Jason's eyes. Jaelithe was not especially tall, not nearly as tall as Jareth. Yet he had a strong aura of power that was not punctured by his lack of height. He wore all black, of course, and his thick mane of hair did not change the theme. His eyes always carried a look of superiority, and his lips were nearly always curled into a smirk. Needless to say, Jareth did not think very highly of him.
"Now," Jaelithe said. "I think we are both aware of your weakness, yes? That obsession of yours is doing your kingdom no good, I assure you. And your command on dreams is slipping. sad, isn't it?" He winked knowingly at Jareth. "Wouldn't want any accidents to happen in this state, would we?"
"If you've come to finish me off, I'm not going anywhere," Jareth said impatiently.
Jaelithe's eyebrows raised in mock insult. "Now, don't think me so tacktless," he said in a fake offended voice. "I actually am interested in- "
"I know what you're interested in!" Jareth interrupted. "And 'tactless' doesn't have a k in it!" Jaelithe's eyes narrowed. He hated being interrupted almost as much as he hated people correcting his spelling.
"I am hunting Sarah," he said hotly. "She's become your obsession, your reason for coming here in that human disguise and losing control of your realm. I'm going to hunt her down and torture her until you cannot stand to see her live!"
Jareth raised his own eyebrows. "So much for subtlety," he said. He was trying to keep a brave front, but there was a tremor in his voice that even he could not disguise. Jaelithe knew that he had scored a point.
"I've already got big plans for little Sarah," he said nastily. Jareth clenched his hand into a fist by his side.
"The girl means nothing to me!" he shouted a little too defensively. Jaelithe cackled with glee.
"Oh, we shall see when her head hangs from my window," he said menacingly. Unable to stop himself, Jareth lunged for Jaelithe, fires of hate coursing through him. Jaelithe's eyes widened in evil joy. "I believe I have no argument with Jason," he hissed.
Jason lowered his arms, staring at the black-clad boy in front of him. "I'm sorry," he said. "Can I help you?"
Jaelithe smiled dangerously. "Oh, it's nothing," he said, chuckling as he walked away. "Nothing, nothing at all."
Author: So, what did you think? There actually is a store called Crystal Underground, it's in Elicott City. I know that the bit with Gabriel is kind of unlikely, but hey? Maybe Jareth got forgetful? (heh, maybe not.) Anyways, please let me know what you think, and I promise to update soon! Until then, Ja Ne!
Author: I tried to give you tea. But anyway, here we are at chapter 4, and I'm so happy you like it so much! I promise to keep writing as long as I'm able, and I am very appreciative of your feedback. In this chapter, something very improbable happens, but I thought it would be cool. Anywho, here is chapta fo', and I hope you like it! (And yes, Star Moon, kudos to you.)
Sarah reached up and brushed her hand along the top of the wall. She had forgotten how the walls of the Labyrinth kept changing. She was sure that she'd be able to navigate her way if she reached the forest, but if the walls kept changing, she wouldn't be able to reach it. She sighed, and pressed on.
She hadn't encountered any one yet in the Labyrinth, which suited her just fine. However, it was unsettling to have the Labyrinth so empty. She had encountered at least a few creatures by this point, one of which being her dear friend Hoggle. She wondered now if that had been mere coincidence, or if Jareth had placed Hoggle there specifically. In any case, she had met no one, and it was beginning to bother her.
Around the corner, however, she found herself looking at rows of hedges rather than stone walls. She knew perfectly well that she had not gone this route before, but she remembered that the door to the forest had been through the hedges. This and this alone spurred her on.
After and hour or so of weaving through the hedges, she was beginning to feel desperate. "There seemed to be so many more creatures in here before," she said aloud. "And I had no idea there were so many different paths between the hedges. I should have tried to find the Ubliette."
She trailed off as she turned the corner. There were the two doors that she had gone through to get to the forest. Her cry of surprise turned into one of fear as she noticed that the knockers were bare!
Before when she had come, the knockers had been lovely though very skeptical faces, one deaf and the other nearly mute, as their knockers dictated. But now the door was just a blank stone face with lonely knockers halfway up their faces. It made Sarah shudder to look at the empty doors.
Wanting to reach the castle now more than ever, she marched resolutely up to the right-hand door and knocked the dead knocker.
She shuddered as the door creaked open and looked at the forest on the other side. IT was the same as ever, except for the fact that it was silent and empty. There was something very wrong about the whole thing. Still, Sarah had no other choice but to go through it if she wished to find Jareth, and wanted now more than ever to have an explanation.
Sarah walked past the still trees with growing dread. "Perhaps I should turn back?" she said aloud. The sound of her voice in the stillness was unsettling. "It was stupid to come here."
"Of course it was," said a very indignant voice. "All the food's gone."
Sarah looked around wildly, her eyes straining through the shadows cast by the leafy branches. "Who's there?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly. "Come out."
Even though she knew someone was there, she nearly had a heart attack when a figure emerged from a nearby tree. The figure dropped to the ground on all fours, then straightened. It was a boy roughly 16, with long and unkempt brown hair. His arms were strong and his eyes were sharp, surrounded by a sort of mask of black dye to keep off the sun. What surprised Sarah most was that the boy was human, wearing a completely normal-looking black tee-shirt and jeans.
He noticed her surprise, and waved at it in dismissal. "I've been here a while," he said bitterly. "Why are you here?"
Sarah recomposed herself. "I'm looking for the goblin king," she told him. "You say you've been here long?"
"Yeah," he said half-heartedly. "That bas-vermin took my little brother away about a year and a half ago." He scowled. "And I've been stuck here ever since."
Sarah raised her eyebrows in shock. "Jareth didn't send you back?" she asked weakly. The boy spread his arms wide in a gesture of helplessness.
"Probably forgot about me. Still, I doubt he'd forget a pretty girl like you," he said scaldingly. "He's not all smooth-talking and charming when it's a boy, you know. He tries to make the girls like him so that they don't try and defeat him."
"Have you tried to defeat him?" Sarah asked.
"Heh. I never even saw the castle," he said. "Still, my brother's a goblin now. I suppose no one back there recognizes the fact that I'm gone. Ah, well. You'll probably have a better chance of reaching the castle now that all the goblins have fled."
"Do you know where they went?" Sarah asked hopefully. The boy shook his head.
"As far as I know, they all faded," he said. "The whole place has started to fade away."
"What?" Sarah asked, devastated.
"Yeah," the boy said. "Things are less complex. The dreams and stuff that hold the place up are failing. I suppose they couldn't maintain the goblins anymore."
Sarah eyes him suspiciously. "How do you know all this?" she asked.
The boy shrugged and sighed. "You learn things," he said. "That's what they've all been talking about since the fading got worse about three months ago. I just listen to the fire gang swapping stories. It has to be big if they're worried."
Sarah didn't trust his story, but she didn't want to waste more time. She held out a hand for him to shake. "My name is Sarah," she said. "Will you come with me to the castle beyond the goblin city?"
The boy hesitated, then gave her hand a rough shake. "I'm Gabriel Lloyd," he said. "I'll follow if you know the way."
* * * * *
Jason awoke with a start. He peeled his face from the page of his text book and realized that class was just ending, students shuffling around and putting their school work away. Jason also realized a mortifying fact: this was not his class.
"Ah, Jason! So good to see you awake," the professor said pleasantly as he packed his things. "The classes were quite amused at your lack of attention."
Jason winced. "Sorry, professor," he said.
"Be thankful you did not sleep through three classes," the professor said as he descended. "I was starting to think you were ready for the good eight hours you should have slept last night." Again, Jason winced. He would have to try harder with his written work to make up for his poor class participation.
"Sorry, professor," he repeated. "It's been a little busy."
The professor raised her eyebrows. "While I sympathize your predicament with the added strain of your work, I must ask that you sleep at home and not waste my class' time," she said.
"Of course, professor," Jason said. If only she knew what was really eating up his waking hours. How would she feel about his sleeping in class then?
She smiled in a satisfied way. "Now good bye, Jason," she said cheerfully. "And do get a good night's rest!"
When Jason did get home, however, his thoughts went back to Sarah. She had been missing for a whole day. He didn't want to alert the authorities, but he was starting to get anxious. He had left a note on the bulletin board for her to call his cell phone, but she had not. He swiped irritably at a black feather and decided to go for a walk.
He passed the shops and stores, glancing at all of them. The entire street seemed to be cut out of a fairy-tale, and he remembered how Sarah had loved to shop in the stores for decorations or costumes. He passed a gigantic store devoted to fairy-tale decorations, noticing the civil war museum across the street. He thought idly how it was quite a clash of atmosphere as he passed a small art museum featuring an exhibit of work inspired by Dr. Seuss.
Jason stopped in front of a small store and looked up at the sign overhead. It read in bold, curving font: Crystal Underground. On display in the window, among other things, was a clear crystal sphere.
At the sight, Jason's eyes widened. His muscles tightened. He stared around wildly at the street, the shops, the street lamps just turning on as darkness fell. "This. how can this be?" asked Jason. But it was not Jason's voice that escaped his mouth.
"I have to go back," he said, looking back up at the sign. "I have to go back to the Labyrinth. Sarah needs-"
Before finishing his sentence, he took off in a dead run. He had to find the portal, had to go back before the Labyrinth faded, before Sarah was caught. He knew that the evil he had felt in Sarah's nightmares was chasing him, and probably Sarah as well.
"This body," he said as he rounded the corner. "I have to get out of here! This body-"
Suddenly, he felt a cold streak of fear run through him. He stopped running as suddenly as he had started and turned around to face his opponent. The shadowed figure loomed just in the doorway of an empty shop. "I see you managed to surface again," he said mockingly.
Jason's lip curled in disgust. "Get out of my life, vermin!" he spat angrily. The figure was only amused at this outburst.
"Why, we've known each other for so long, why don't you call me Jaelithe?" the figure asked in a fake chivalrous tone. "And I wouldn't be so rude if I were you, Jareth"
The disguised goblin king glowered at him. "What do you mean?" he growled. "And come into the light, damn you! What's the use of you lurking about where I can't see you?"
Jaelithe smirked audibly and walked out of the shadows. Jareth drank in his appearance through Jason's eyes. Jaelithe was not especially tall, not nearly as tall as Jareth. Yet he had a strong aura of power that was not punctured by his lack of height. He wore all black, of course, and his thick mane of hair did not change the theme. His eyes always carried a look of superiority, and his lips were nearly always curled into a smirk. Needless to say, Jareth did not think very highly of him.
"Now," Jaelithe said. "I think we are both aware of your weakness, yes? That obsession of yours is doing your kingdom no good, I assure you. And your command on dreams is slipping. sad, isn't it?" He winked knowingly at Jareth. "Wouldn't want any accidents to happen in this state, would we?"
"If you've come to finish me off, I'm not going anywhere," Jareth said impatiently.
Jaelithe's eyebrows raised in mock insult. "Now, don't think me so tacktless," he said in a fake offended voice. "I actually am interested in- "
"I know what you're interested in!" Jareth interrupted. "And 'tactless' doesn't have a k in it!" Jaelithe's eyes narrowed. He hated being interrupted almost as much as he hated people correcting his spelling.
"I am hunting Sarah," he said hotly. "She's become your obsession, your reason for coming here in that human disguise and losing control of your realm. I'm going to hunt her down and torture her until you cannot stand to see her live!"
Jareth raised his own eyebrows. "So much for subtlety," he said. He was trying to keep a brave front, but there was a tremor in his voice that even he could not disguise. Jaelithe knew that he had scored a point.
"I've already got big plans for little Sarah," he said nastily. Jareth clenched his hand into a fist by his side.
"The girl means nothing to me!" he shouted a little too defensively. Jaelithe cackled with glee.
"Oh, we shall see when her head hangs from my window," he said menacingly. Unable to stop himself, Jareth lunged for Jaelithe, fires of hate coursing through him. Jaelithe's eyes widened in evil joy. "I believe I have no argument with Jason," he hissed.
Jason lowered his arms, staring at the black-clad boy in front of him. "I'm sorry," he said. "Can I help you?"
Jaelithe smiled dangerously. "Oh, it's nothing," he said, chuckling as he walked away. "Nothing, nothing at all."
Author: So, what did you think? There actually is a store called Crystal Underground, it's in Elicott City. I know that the bit with Gabriel is kind of unlikely, but hey? Maybe Jareth got forgetful? (heh, maybe not.) Anyways, please let me know what you think, and I promise to update soon! Until then, Ja Ne!
