A/N: Well, I'm barreling along turning out chapter after chapter-still
without internet. I wonder if I'm more productive simply because of that
fact? Oh well, I'll worry about that later. Right now, we have some
business to conduct! Once again, Labyrinth is not mine it belongs to
Henson; "Crystal Ball" belongs to Styx ((lyric snippet)); I got the idea
for alternate reality results from "The Cube 2"-another movie, this one is
property of ; The Moorchild is not mine, it belongs to ; oh, and "Entish"
is a Tolkenian language-so all that belongs to Tolkien. And now to
business...
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"My heart is breaking, My body's aching, And I don't know where to go. So tell me, tell me, Won't you tell me? I've just got to know!"
Chapter Four: Hall of Horrors
Keswyin and Amber had been traveling along the fourth floor for a while. Finally, Keswyin stopped in front of a wall-a dead end. But she turned to Amber, "Here we are, Lokiinlt-the end a' the corridor."
Amber frowned. There had to be a way down-had to. But how? Jareth's words echoed in her mind, "things aren't always what they seem, in this place". She remembered-in the movie when the worm showed Sarah how to get through the "wall". Could this be the same principle? She walked toward the wall- and fell down a set of stairs. She tumbled for a while, until she came down with a hard THUD on a landing. Keswyin ran down after her, laughing.
"Well, 'tis apparent you dunno yer way 'round the Castle." Keswyin said as she tugged Amber to her feet.
"Apparently, Keswyin, apparently. That was very foolish of me, to just step forward and expect there to be something to stand on. But, now-we must proceed. What time do you reckon it is?" Amber sighed, rubbing her aching body, suddenly aware they had been walking quite a while.
Just then, they heard the faint echo of a clock chiming 8. It had been 8 hours since Jareth had let her go on this crazy quest. She realized how tired she was-and in a bit of pain, too. Who wouldn't be after falling down a flight of stairs? But now they were coming to the end of the stairs. Amber wanted to keep her wits about her as they descended to the next levels, just in case there came to be a more imminent danger. There had to be a reason Jareth had given her almost two days to traverse three levels.
There was a door at the foot of the staircase. Amber grabbed the knob, but it seemed to bite the inside of her hand, and she let go. She looked at her hand-yes, distinct teeth marks. She reached at the handle again, held on longer, and pulled back in a yelp of pain. Whatever had bit her before had bitten harder-and drawn blood. She ignored the wound on her left hand as she drew Keswyin's knife.
The door seemed to shudder, as if it feared the knife. Amber took this as a sign, and spoke, "Alright, if you don't let me through, I'll cut a way through-OPEN!!!!"
The door spoke back-but in its own language. All Amber made of it was a series of creaks and sighs as are common for wood to make. Good thing Amber knew a bit of the language of trees, Entish-at least that was something to start on. She translated haphazardly to get something like "I don't understand you, but-please don't hurt me!"
Amber mimicked the sounds the door had made to the best of her ability, along with a few scraps of Entish, "Let us through and I will not hurt you. If you refuse..." here, she gestured with the knife as if slashing the door.
The door shuddered again and swung open-apparently it had understood, well enough. Amber smiled and was glad her seemingly fruitless labors over "fictional" languages had not been in vain. She walked into the open hallway, and Keswyin followed, her face the very image of admiration.
Keswyin said a bit timidly, "Nice job of it, Lokiinlt."
"Thanks, Keswyin." Amber replied with a small smile. She turned back to the new hall before them, knowing there was more danger ahead. This hall had enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, and the light of the rising sun bathed it in an ethereal golden light. Amber was aware that her outfit changed appearance with the sky-it was now a series of pretty golds, pinks, oranges, and yellows, and the moon charm had melted to a golden sun. She slipped on down the hall.
She became aware that there were doors to either side of her, between the windows. As to where they led, she had no idea. She was just wondering where they led when-behind her she heard the distinctive creak of an opening door, and, lightning fast the opening and closing of another. She turned, but found nothing suspicious except a door, left hanging open by whatever had just passed through...
Amber turned back around, and muttered to Keswyin, "Arm yourself, and stay alert."
Keswyin nodded, and mouthed silently, "Right." From somewhere unseen, she drew out another knife, though this was shorter than the one Amber had taken from her, and it's blade was of an old and tarnished silver, whereas Amber's was bright-except for a few red stains. Amber gazed down at the blade and wondered vaguely if those were bloodstains. She pushed this thought aside, as it was uncomfortable to consider that a murderer was walking beside her, and turned her attention back to the present. She watched more carefully now, and sure enough, a door popped open-this time, a few doors in front of them.
They saw what was before them-and were both horrified and shocked.
The people who rushed out-looked just like them. If they had gotten trapped in the hall for a few days, they were sure they would look just like what they saw before them-two starved, desperate figures running through a series of doors leading in a long, continuous loop, only-it looked as though, with the two starved figures, Keswyin was chasing Amber... and had regained the knife Amber had stolen.
The "real" Keswyin glanced at Amber, wondering if she would believe this horrid sight-but Amber's facial expression spoke for itself.
"Oh God..." she muttered, and clutched at Keswyin's arm. She was still only a child at heart-fourteen years of "growing up" had done nothing for her. Keswyin understood this and patted her arm soothingly, leading Amber on down the hall.
As another door popped open, Keswyin glanced in. She was sickened by the sight-it was of Amber sitting beside her corpse-and eating her dead flesh. She shuddered, and walked on, shielding Amber's eyes with one arm, and keeping her own eyes straight forward.
Keswyin knew the way out, but she also knew the trick of this floor-it showed you what was possible if you didn't get out-if you got trapped on the floor. Which was usually a good enough psychological defense for most people not to get to the door marked "EXIT" before they went insane. But Keswyin had been down this hall before. Another door popped open, and there she and Amber were-sitting in a corner, Keswyin's arms draped about Amber's shoulders. Both were dead from starvation.
In yet another room, Amber had decided suicide the only escape, and knifed herself while Keswyin had left her to proceed to the exit.
Keswyin had to fight the urge to cry, to scream, to throw up, a hundred thousand times, all the while holding an arm firmly in front of Amber's eyes-because Amber caught glimpses of the rooms, and was sobbing into Keswyin's side by now.
"Sh, sh, little Lokiinlt. It's aight. Dun fear wha' canna be. We're here at the exit now, yer aight." She soothed the teen, half-hugging her while tugging her on through the door she had opened-the door marked "EXIT".
When the door was safely shut behind them, Keswyin loosed Amber, who finally broke down, sobbing. It was around 1 PM, and they still had the second floor to go-but Keswyin knew the way, and Amber had enough time to rest a little. Keswyin knew the landing here was safe-mostly to ensure that goblins who had to traverse the third floor didn't lose their minds if they had been in too long.
Jareth, who had naturally been watching the whole incident via crystal, now swooped out of a corner. He looked down at Amber with more than a little concern. He gazed back at Keswyin, not with hatred or anger, but in a cool businesslike manner asked, "You took her through the third floor?"
Keswyin nodded. Jareth nodded once in understanding and spoke again, "I see. Would you give us a minute?"
Keswyin backed away a bit, and turned her back on the pair.
"Amber, Amber-oh, I'm so sorry I've put you through this, sw..." he stopped himself-had he been about to say "sweetheart"? He blinked as the emotion that had grown inside him in secret made itself known, finally. He draped an arm over her awkwardly, kneeling beside her doubled-over form.
"It's not your fault." She said feebly as she sat up a little, still crying.
"Yes, it's entirely my fault-I was the one who granted your wish in the first place-and for that, I'm sorry. I was so cruel, but-I didn't realize then, but... well, what I mean to say is, uh... never mind. Just, I'm sorry."
She hugged him gently, her tears falling onto his silky shirt, "It's alright. I'll be okay. I know I need to go through things like that, and I need to get used to it. I have to rescue Asher. I have to. She's like a sister to me-and I'd brave anything for her." His arms fell around her almost naturally, and with every word she spoke he wished the rules didn't bind him to put her through all this-fun to mess her up, indeed. More like double the agony for him.
He looked down at her, and bent to whisper in her ear, "But would you do the same for me?" He kissed her tear-stained cheek gently, and vanished away before she could say another word.
Amber smiled faintly, and put her fingertips to her cheek-she knew he probably wouldn't hear her, but she whispered just as quietly, closing her eyes, "Of course."
She sniffed quietly and got to her feet, wiping her face gingerly. She spoke in a firm voice now, convinced that that was only the tip of the iceberg, "Alright, Keswyin. Let's get going."
Keswyin turned to face her and nodded resolutely, "Right. On to th' second floor, then... Oh, and Lokiinlt?"
Amber turned to face Keswyin, "Yes?"
"Would ya do th' same fer me, too?" Keswyin asked, with a gentle smile.
"Of course." Amber returned the smile, turning to walk on down the steps. For some reason, she had more emotions now. And right now, despite all the danger that surrounded her, she was truly happy.
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NEXT CHAPTER: SECOND FLOOR! WHAT AWAITS OUR GROUP HERE? WILL JARETH ACTUALLY ADMIT HIS LOVE?-WILL AMBER? WHAT IS TO BE THE FATE OF ASHER, WHO SEEMS PARTIALLY FORGOTTEN IN THE CURRENT SITUATION? ((heh heh)) WILL THINGS EVER BE BACK TO NORMAL AGAIN? FIND OUT-READ THE NEXT CHAPTER!!
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"My heart is breaking, My body's aching, And I don't know where to go. So tell me, tell me, Won't you tell me? I've just got to know!"
Chapter Four: Hall of Horrors
Keswyin and Amber had been traveling along the fourth floor for a while. Finally, Keswyin stopped in front of a wall-a dead end. But she turned to Amber, "Here we are, Lokiinlt-the end a' the corridor."
Amber frowned. There had to be a way down-had to. But how? Jareth's words echoed in her mind, "things aren't always what they seem, in this place". She remembered-in the movie when the worm showed Sarah how to get through the "wall". Could this be the same principle? She walked toward the wall- and fell down a set of stairs. She tumbled for a while, until she came down with a hard THUD on a landing. Keswyin ran down after her, laughing.
"Well, 'tis apparent you dunno yer way 'round the Castle." Keswyin said as she tugged Amber to her feet.
"Apparently, Keswyin, apparently. That was very foolish of me, to just step forward and expect there to be something to stand on. But, now-we must proceed. What time do you reckon it is?" Amber sighed, rubbing her aching body, suddenly aware they had been walking quite a while.
Just then, they heard the faint echo of a clock chiming 8. It had been 8 hours since Jareth had let her go on this crazy quest. She realized how tired she was-and in a bit of pain, too. Who wouldn't be after falling down a flight of stairs? But now they were coming to the end of the stairs. Amber wanted to keep her wits about her as they descended to the next levels, just in case there came to be a more imminent danger. There had to be a reason Jareth had given her almost two days to traverse three levels.
There was a door at the foot of the staircase. Amber grabbed the knob, but it seemed to bite the inside of her hand, and she let go. She looked at her hand-yes, distinct teeth marks. She reached at the handle again, held on longer, and pulled back in a yelp of pain. Whatever had bit her before had bitten harder-and drawn blood. She ignored the wound on her left hand as she drew Keswyin's knife.
The door seemed to shudder, as if it feared the knife. Amber took this as a sign, and spoke, "Alright, if you don't let me through, I'll cut a way through-OPEN!!!!"
The door spoke back-but in its own language. All Amber made of it was a series of creaks and sighs as are common for wood to make. Good thing Amber knew a bit of the language of trees, Entish-at least that was something to start on. She translated haphazardly to get something like "I don't understand you, but-please don't hurt me!"
Amber mimicked the sounds the door had made to the best of her ability, along with a few scraps of Entish, "Let us through and I will not hurt you. If you refuse..." here, she gestured with the knife as if slashing the door.
The door shuddered again and swung open-apparently it had understood, well enough. Amber smiled and was glad her seemingly fruitless labors over "fictional" languages had not been in vain. She walked into the open hallway, and Keswyin followed, her face the very image of admiration.
Keswyin said a bit timidly, "Nice job of it, Lokiinlt."
"Thanks, Keswyin." Amber replied with a small smile. She turned back to the new hall before them, knowing there was more danger ahead. This hall had enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, and the light of the rising sun bathed it in an ethereal golden light. Amber was aware that her outfit changed appearance with the sky-it was now a series of pretty golds, pinks, oranges, and yellows, and the moon charm had melted to a golden sun. She slipped on down the hall.
She became aware that there were doors to either side of her, between the windows. As to where they led, she had no idea. She was just wondering where they led when-behind her she heard the distinctive creak of an opening door, and, lightning fast the opening and closing of another. She turned, but found nothing suspicious except a door, left hanging open by whatever had just passed through...
Amber turned back around, and muttered to Keswyin, "Arm yourself, and stay alert."
Keswyin nodded, and mouthed silently, "Right." From somewhere unseen, she drew out another knife, though this was shorter than the one Amber had taken from her, and it's blade was of an old and tarnished silver, whereas Amber's was bright-except for a few red stains. Amber gazed down at the blade and wondered vaguely if those were bloodstains. She pushed this thought aside, as it was uncomfortable to consider that a murderer was walking beside her, and turned her attention back to the present. She watched more carefully now, and sure enough, a door popped open-this time, a few doors in front of them.
They saw what was before them-and were both horrified and shocked.
The people who rushed out-looked just like them. If they had gotten trapped in the hall for a few days, they were sure they would look just like what they saw before them-two starved, desperate figures running through a series of doors leading in a long, continuous loop, only-it looked as though, with the two starved figures, Keswyin was chasing Amber... and had regained the knife Amber had stolen.
The "real" Keswyin glanced at Amber, wondering if she would believe this horrid sight-but Amber's facial expression spoke for itself.
"Oh God..." she muttered, and clutched at Keswyin's arm. She was still only a child at heart-fourteen years of "growing up" had done nothing for her. Keswyin understood this and patted her arm soothingly, leading Amber on down the hall.
As another door popped open, Keswyin glanced in. She was sickened by the sight-it was of Amber sitting beside her corpse-and eating her dead flesh. She shuddered, and walked on, shielding Amber's eyes with one arm, and keeping her own eyes straight forward.
Keswyin knew the way out, but she also knew the trick of this floor-it showed you what was possible if you didn't get out-if you got trapped on the floor. Which was usually a good enough psychological defense for most people not to get to the door marked "EXIT" before they went insane. But Keswyin had been down this hall before. Another door popped open, and there she and Amber were-sitting in a corner, Keswyin's arms draped about Amber's shoulders. Both were dead from starvation.
In yet another room, Amber had decided suicide the only escape, and knifed herself while Keswyin had left her to proceed to the exit.
Keswyin had to fight the urge to cry, to scream, to throw up, a hundred thousand times, all the while holding an arm firmly in front of Amber's eyes-because Amber caught glimpses of the rooms, and was sobbing into Keswyin's side by now.
"Sh, sh, little Lokiinlt. It's aight. Dun fear wha' canna be. We're here at the exit now, yer aight." She soothed the teen, half-hugging her while tugging her on through the door she had opened-the door marked "EXIT".
When the door was safely shut behind them, Keswyin loosed Amber, who finally broke down, sobbing. It was around 1 PM, and they still had the second floor to go-but Keswyin knew the way, and Amber had enough time to rest a little. Keswyin knew the landing here was safe-mostly to ensure that goblins who had to traverse the third floor didn't lose their minds if they had been in too long.
Jareth, who had naturally been watching the whole incident via crystal, now swooped out of a corner. He looked down at Amber with more than a little concern. He gazed back at Keswyin, not with hatred or anger, but in a cool businesslike manner asked, "You took her through the third floor?"
Keswyin nodded. Jareth nodded once in understanding and spoke again, "I see. Would you give us a minute?"
Keswyin backed away a bit, and turned her back on the pair.
"Amber, Amber-oh, I'm so sorry I've put you through this, sw..." he stopped himself-had he been about to say "sweetheart"? He blinked as the emotion that had grown inside him in secret made itself known, finally. He draped an arm over her awkwardly, kneeling beside her doubled-over form.
"It's not your fault." She said feebly as she sat up a little, still crying.
"Yes, it's entirely my fault-I was the one who granted your wish in the first place-and for that, I'm sorry. I was so cruel, but-I didn't realize then, but... well, what I mean to say is, uh... never mind. Just, I'm sorry."
She hugged him gently, her tears falling onto his silky shirt, "It's alright. I'll be okay. I know I need to go through things like that, and I need to get used to it. I have to rescue Asher. I have to. She's like a sister to me-and I'd brave anything for her." His arms fell around her almost naturally, and with every word she spoke he wished the rules didn't bind him to put her through all this-fun to mess her up, indeed. More like double the agony for him.
He looked down at her, and bent to whisper in her ear, "But would you do the same for me?" He kissed her tear-stained cheek gently, and vanished away before she could say another word.
Amber smiled faintly, and put her fingertips to her cheek-she knew he probably wouldn't hear her, but she whispered just as quietly, closing her eyes, "Of course."
She sniffed quietly and got to her feet, wiping her face gingerly. She spoke in a firm voice now, convinced that that was only the tip of the iceberg, "Alright, Keswyin. Let's get going."
Keswyin turned to face her and nodded resolutely, "Right. On to th' second floor, then... Oh, and Lokiinlt?"
Amber turned to face Keswyin, "Yes?"
"Would ya do th' same fer me, too?" Keswyin asked, with a gentle smile.
"Of course." Amber returned the smile, turning to walk on down the steps. For some reason, she had more emotions now. And right now, despite all the danger that surrounded her, she was truly happy.
:~:*^*:~:
NEXT CHAPTER: SECOND FLOOR! WHAT AWAITS OUR GROUP HERE? WILL JARETH ACTUALLY ADMIT HIS LOVE?-WILL AMBER? WHAT IS TO BE THE FATE OF ASHER, WHO SEEMS PARTIALLY FORGOTTEN IN THE CURRENT SITUATION? ((heh heh)) WILL THINGS EVER BE BACK TO NORMAL AGAIN? FIND OUT-READ THE NEXT CHAPTER!!