Chapter 2 - Taking Things for Granted

            Sarah fell through the doorway, and onto what seemed to be a grass covered floor. Bright light blinded her, and made it impossible to perceive her surroundings. She reached behind her to feel for the door frame to steady herself, but found that the door and in fact the entire wall of the building had disappeared. In shock, she lost her balance, and fell forward onto what seemed to be warm earth. She stretched out a hand and ran her fingers thought cool grass. Lifting her head, she willed her eyes to adjust to the light.

            The meadow surrounding her was perfect. The grass was a perfect length, tall pine and oak trees surrounded it in a perfect circle. A river ran through the field, gurgling happily with perfectly sapphire water. The only explanation for the sudden change in surroundings that Sarah could figure out was her desperate call for aid from the goblins. Blinking, Sarah tried to recall any part of her labyrinth journey that had included a scene as beautiful as this, but could not. Maybe I'm dead, and this is heaven, she thought.

A large apple tree stood next to a shorter pear tree, offering shade from the brilliant sun. Sarah crawled toward them, and noticed that large, fleshy fruits hung heavily from the branches. Her stomach, which had been dormant for a little less than a week, started to moan at the thought of the fresh fruit. Although in the back of her mind, Sarah remembered a worm-ridden enchanted peach and her consequent distrust of strange fruit, her hunger overrode her caution. If I don't eat, I'll die anyway, she reasoned. Standing and reaching into the branches of the apple tree, she grabbed a crimson fruit. Her first bite revealed that this fruit was as delicious as it looked. With every bite, Sarah felt renewed energy entering her veins. Soon, she was no longer trembling as she fought to remain standing. Thinking quickly, she plucked another apple and hid it in the pocket of her jacket, for later on. Leaning against the tree, she sighed, relief washing over her.

After finishing the apple, she turned to the tree of pears. The taste of the apple still fresh in her mouth, she grabbed a soft, green pear. As she ate the fruit, her eyelids began to droop. She sunk to the ground, still ravenously attacking the pear. Soon, the exhaustion seemed to overcome her entire body. She could satisfy her hunger later on; for now, she would just sleep. . . wonderful, restful sleep.

            When the three goblins found Sarah, she was fast asleep. Her hand still grasped a pear from the tree of slumber, and her raven colored hair covered the roots of the energizing tree of life. Gragar, the dwarf who had been in charge of the expedition, looked at the woman sympathetically. Despite his orders, he had a soft spot for humans, and disliked having to take her to his master. Burg and Vak, his companions, argued between themselves about possession of some jewel or other, while Gragar looked at them condescendingly.

            "Will you two shut it?" the angry dwarf shouted at them. Burg shut up immediately, with a look of surprise. Vak, the more argumentative of the two, opened his mouth to protest. Gragar cut him off with a protest of his own.

            "You two need to help me with the girl. I can't get her up on that cart on my own. And if you continue to annoy me with that incessant arguing, I will report you to his majesty without a second thought." At the threat, fear seemed to creep into his companions' eyes, and they hurried to help him lift Sarah onto the wooden cart that they had been dragging. Using thick twine, they bound her wrists and ankles, and tied a blindfold over her eyes. Despite the difficulty in getting a larger, immobile creature onto the cart, the three dwarves were as gentle in possible in dealing with the woman. They knew that, secretly, their master was quite taken with the girl, and would want her to arrive unharmed.

            When Sarah awoke an hour later, she found that she could not move. Slightly panicked, she tried to open her eyes, but was distressed to find that a coarse cloth covered them. The bumping and rolling motion beneath her gave away the fact that she was on some kind of cart, being propelled by someone or something. She moved her fingers against the ropes that bound her, finding that they were tightly secured. The rough wood beneath her hands chafed on her wrist as she turned it, and so she relaxed it once again and tried to discover by other means where she was.

            "Where am I?" Sarah asked, trying to keep the panic from her voice. A low, rough voice grumbled back at her.

            "Never you mind that. Just sit tight and we'll be there soon, miss." The voice was reminiscent of one from her past, and she strained to discover if it belonged to her old friend.

            "Hoggle? Is that you?" She hoped against hope that her friend was present, and therefore on her side.

            "No," the voice answered, "I am not Hoggle. Although I know the man you speak of. He works for his majesty in the goblin castle, yonder." So she was in the goblin kingdom. The manner in which she was being transported led her to believe that her old adversary had something to do with her 'rescue.'

            "And. . . are you taking me to see his majesty?" Sarah ventured. Two more voices, this time coming from the front of the cart, laughed gruffly.

            "Yes," stated the first voice, simply. "His majesty has been waiting for you to arrive for a long time."

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So, whatcha think so far? I'm trying to decide whether or not Jareth had anything to do with the run of bad luck that Sarah experienced. More to come soon! Please, if you like or hate this, review it. I love hearing from everyone!

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