Chapter 14- Faster Than You Can Blink
Just like that, Sarah was transported miles away, into a dense forest. A small cottage lie before her. She didn't even have time to consider the emotions that were welling up inside of her before having to deal with reality once more. Realizing her vulnerability at being exposed in the open forest, she tentatively tried the door to the cottage, hoping that the forest's dangers would not extend inside. To her relief, the door opened easily, and the cottage, although covered in a thick layer of dust, seemed livable.
After a full hour of exploring the small cottage, and locating the small amount of materials which had been left there, Sarah dropped onto a musty armchair and let tears overcome her. She cried in anger, frustration, disappointment and lovesickness. Letting emotional exhaustion overcome her, she dropped off to sleep, and remained motionless through the night.
The next morning, sunlight trickled into the grimy windows. Sarah's eyes fluttered open. Stretching, she reminded herself not to fall asleep in a sitting position ever again. With renewed strength, Sarah roamed around the cottage, determined to survive at all costs. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized that she would have to find food and water before she could try to clean any of the cottage at all.
Sarah had noticed a well in the back of the cottage. Venturing outside, she saw that an old but sturdy bucket was positioned on the stones surrounding the well. A well-used rope was attached to the handle of the bucket.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sarah breathed. She lifted the bucket and found that it was heavier than she would have imagined. Using both hands, she lifted the bucket to the rim of the well. She wrapped the rope around a beam that attached a small roof to the well, hoping to gain some leverage. Using all of her strength, she guided the bucket downward until she heard it splash into the water. Giving it a moment to fill, she then tried to pull it back up through the well shaft. The bucket was so heavy with the water, however, that she was forced to prop one foot against the well in order to have enough leverage to even move the bucket upwards.
"Not as easy as it looks, is it?" The small voice almost caused Sarah to drop the bucket completely. Cursing under her breath, she turned to see who had interrupted her task. She turned to her left, but saw no one. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement to her right. Turning, she caught a glimpse of a tiny bearded man, rushing away into the forest.
"Wait!" Sarah called. Without dropping the bucket, however, she could not chase after the man. Deciding that water to drink was more important than her curiosity, Sarah continued to haul on the bucket, vowing to follow the man later on. After a great deal of struggling, Sarah finally managed to tote the bucket into the cottage. Against the wall of what Sarah took to be the kitchen was an old, wood burning stove and oven. Sarah pulled and pushed the bucket along the stone floor until it rested near the huge black monstrosity.
"Now to find something to eat," she decided, again venturing outside. After exploring the perimeter of the land where the cottage sat, Sarah discovered a small path that ran through the woods. She followed the path for twenty minutes, then watched as the path widened and then ended. Growling in frustration, Sarah's eyes widened at the sight of a clear, cool stream, bubbling over smooth rocks.
"It figures," Sarah grumbled. Her attention was drawn to the trees surrounding the stream. Some had a strange looking fruit hanging from their branches. I'll need a basket, Sarah thought, and, noting the location of the stream, wandered back toward the cottage. As she followed the path, she noticed the sound of leaves crunching lightly. Hurrying back toward the cottage, she was rewarded to spot the little man she had seen before, painstakingly burying something in the ground.
"Hello," Sarah ventured. The man did not seem the least bit startled by her presence. He did not answer, however, and simply focused on his task. "Please, I'm Sarah, and I don't know where I am, could you tell me?" The man glanced at her quickly, finished covering the hole he had created with dirt, and stood to his full height of 3 feet.
"What does it matter where you are, if you cannot get out?" he asked. Sarah wrinkled her brow in thought.
"I suppose you're right. . . but still, I'd like to know where I am." The man grinned, his white beard full of soil and leaves.
"Then come inside, missy, and let's get acquainted, shall we?" Sarah nodded, and followed the man inside.
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The king of the goblins sat alone in his throne room. Shadow covered one side of his face. He bowed his head and gazed at his hands. Powerful hands, that could steal children or send his subjects to the other side of his kingdom. Hands that could create and destroy. Despite the power his hands could wield, he was suffering now. His source of protection had been taken, and with its separation from him, every breath burned his lungs. He had become too dependent upon it. Cursing the fool who had stolen his amulet, and cursing his own vulnerability, he stood and paced in front of his throne.
Waving one magical hand into the air, he conjured a crystal. Gazing into it with wide eyes, he saw the image of a girl; a woman, really. With a yell of frustration, he threw the crystal against the wall, where it shattered into a million pieces, then faded into the air which had begotten it. Slumping once more upon his throne, the goblin king lost himself once more in the shadows of thought.
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"Why don't you just use magic to retrieve the water?" the little man was saying, his voice high and full of giggling. Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"I can't do magic. I'm a mortal," Sarah answered, simply.
"Everyone in the underground can do magic, my girl," the man replied. "Have you tried?" Sarah's eyes grew wide.
"I. . . I don't know how." The little man giggled almost uncontrollably. Sarah leaned back in the chair nervously, watching the man.
"I thought you were Sarah Williams," the man said finally. "Sarah Williams would know exactly how to do magic." Sarah narrowed her eyes briefly.
"How do you know my name? And if I'm supposed to know how to do magic, why don't I?" The man's confusing way of speaking was beginning to try her patience. Taking a deep breath, she realized she would have to keep her annoyance in check to find out what she wanted to know.
"Ah, everyone in the underground knows Sarah Williams," the man smirked. "The one who defeated the mighty labyrinth. Legend speaks of a girl, stronger than a king, who defeats the labyrinth and brings peace to a tortured time. Many believe that you are the one, my dear. How is it that a girl who believes in underground kingdoms, fairies and goblins, can't figure out how to do magic?" The man was consumed by another giggling fit, which gave Sarah a moment to think. She had never tried to do magic; she always assumed that it was a quality that only certain underground beings, like Jareth, possessed. While she waited for the little man to stop laughing, she thought about how Jareth performed his magic. It always seemed to be second nature to him.
"Who are you?" Sarah asked him again. He stopped his giggling shortly, and answered. His voice took on a surreal echo as he explained himself.
"I am the keeper of the forest, Crog Coill," he said, his eyes flashing. "I am older than the trees and watcher of the creatures that inhabit my lands. My blood runs with the magics of the soil, and my bones are everlasting as the wind through the leaves." Sarah examined the change that had come over her diminutive companion. Despite his size, Sarah realized that he must be a powerful and wise being.
"Can you teach me to do magic? So I can find my way home?" The man smiled, and Sarah was afraid he would lapse into another fit of giggling before answering her.
"I will help you to begin," he said. "After that, it is up to you." Sarah nodded, accepting what he gave her.
"Now," Crog began, "Close your eyes, and focus on that bucket of water."
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Hoggle struggled against his bindings. He had to save Sarah from the two-faced snake! "Mmmrph!" He screamed against the gag.
"Now, now," was the serpentine reply. "Such a devoted friend, Hoggle, you deserve to be rewarded." Without another word, Grishnak nodded to a form standing behind Hoggle's chair which thumped him on the head and into unconsciousness. The hooded man grinned, and dangled a flashing silver amulet from his fingers. "For more than 300 years, I have dreamed of watching our beloved monarch writhe in agony and then wither away into nothingness. But what punishment is that for being hunted for centuries? No, I must destroy him, but first destroy something close to his heart. He shall watch the object of his deepest dreams as she is torn from his grasp, and mercilessly left to die." The evil man grinned, encompassed with his newest plot. The emerald glistened and added a cruel glint to his eyes. "Sarah, Sarah, where are you?"
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Sarah grinned, and gave a shout of glee. The small stone she had been concentrating on had flashed into her palm.
"I did it!" she squealed, grinning at the man beside her. "I can do magic!" The man giggled, and this time it was contagious. Looking around the room, Sarah spotted an old vase, sitting on the mantle of the fireplace in the next room. She focused her eyes upon it, and mentally moved the vase to her hand. When she looked down, there it was; even more easily than she had done the first time.
"Simple stuff," the man grinned. "Now make the vase disappear." Sarah looked at the vase, and concentrated on the empty space surrounding it. A moment later, the vase had vanished into thin air. "Excellent, you have a knack for it. Not surprising," the man grinned. Concentrating again, Sarah imagined the vase, and watched as it reappeared on the table. She was having trouble containing her excitement.
"Can I. . . how do I transport myself from one place to another?" Sarah asked. Crog hesitated before answering.
"You must understand that this is sometimes a dangerous undertaking, my dear. If you do not focus completely on every aspect of the place where you are journeying, you can sometimes land in a dangerous situation. And remember, your magic will only work underground. So if you go flashing away to your aboveground home, you will lose your magical ability at once, and will no longer be able to return here." Sarah nodded.
"Crog, I am so grateful for your help. I never dreamed that I would be able to do magic, and I never imagined that I would find such a wonderful teacher." The little man turned red at the compliment. "Crog, I do love Jareth, and I know that you are all suffering from the shadow and the havoc it creates. But everything I do here makes things worse. Jareth has exiled me from his sight; there's no chance now that I will ever help him to fall in love with me. There's only so much I can do. It will be better for everyone if I just disappear." Crog looked at the woman sadly, realizing that she had already made up her mind.
"Just remember, girl, that sometimes it seems like we're not getting anywhere, when in fact, we are." Sarah grinned.
"Someone told me that once. Just before I led my friends into the worst parts of the labyrinth and was nearly poisoned by the man I love. I'm sorry, Crog, but I can't do this anymore."
"Well, if you've made up your mind," the man answered. "You must concentrate every ounce of thought you have on the place you wish to go. Every detail must be accurate. Make sure you are in a safe place, away from danger. I wish you luck, Sarah Williams." With a short flash of light, Crog had disappeared. Sarah took a deep breath, looking around the room one last time. Closing her eyes, she thought of a place. A streetlight, where she had once spent a warm, summer's night. A long bench sat underneath it, with tufts of grass poking out from the slats in the sidewalk. She could almost touch the cool metal of the streetlamp, the rough wood of the bench. She could hear passersby talking about the weather, the stock exchange, traffic. She could smell the wares of the hotdog vendor on the next corner. And when she opened her eyes, Sarah was home.
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Just a general note: I had a bunch of requests for people regarding the sites I had tried to list. For whatever reason, I cannot send email from ff.net email to aol addresses; dragon fae clued me in that it might be parental controls. I definitely want you guys to see this script, but can't seem to get the message through. So your best bet is to go to your favorite search engine, I'm sure aol has one in there somewhere, or google or yahoo, and search up Labyrinth, script. The astrolog page should be there somewhere. As for my little website, it's listed in my bio. THANK YOU guys for the reviews!
Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy- Thanks! This chapter should be a bit longer.
Draegon-fire- Good ideas, but I ended up going another way. J Hopefully it's all coming together alright; I'm hoping that I'm not getting unfocused. I've already caught some inconsistencies, but I'm trying to keep them minimal. Glad you like the story!
Jessica White- Haha, you were definitely close to the mark with that comment! LoL. . . and yep, he can be unfeeling. Hopefully he gets over his power trip though very soon.
Desdemona321- You caught me, I'd forgotten about the missing amulet. But hopefully I worked it into this chapter well enough that I could pretend that I didn't? ;-) Thanks so much for the input, and the catch!
Cherokee lady- THANKS! I updated in a more timely fashion this time. This was a much more fun chapter to write!
Neoshipper- An update, just for you! (Oh, okay, and all the other reviewers and readers.) I gave you a tiny insight into his mind. . . but I'm trying to keep him mysterious, at least for now. ;-)
Phoebemoon- Yes, Sarah is too strong willed to go chasing after him. Hope you like her decision!
Vireyda- Aw, thanks so much! I'll keep going! :-D
Cyber-Keiko- fear not, the groveling is at an end. There's just so much our favorite heroine can take before she kicks ass, right? ;-)
Draegon Fae- glad you got the email and the sites! How did you like the old script? And thanks for the reviews!
Barbara- Thank you! Yes, hopefully (if she can help it) her luck is about to change.
Incessant Escapist- First of all, great screenname. :- ) Secondly, thank you so much for the positive review!
J.N. Cahill- Thank you so much! I've emailed you to let you know that. . . um, this chapter is posted.
Kalinda- Aw, thanks! I appreciate it!
Diamond- Thank you! I will finish the next chapter ASAP.
Loneliestnumber- Haha, I hurried! I promise!
Born Fae as a mortal- I'm so glad that you discovered my story, and that you enjoy it! I'll try to keep you guessing. ;-)
You guys are all amazing! 130 reviews- I was aiming for 10! Thank you so much!
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