Chapter Four - The Training Ground
******
A/N - Yes! There's a new alien story out! It's called "What am I supposed to do with a
load of old jokes?!" and it's a collection of small adventures that didn't quite make
it into the stories. Don't miss it!
I'll still be working on this one though...^_~
******
After Arian had finished her boiled eggs and changed into a different dress (it was still
black but the skirt and sleeves were more sensible), she made her way to the Goblin
King's study. Magic? Her? That'll be the day!
She was about to raise her hand to knock when the door opened on its own with an
ominous creak. Typical! To her surprise and annoyance, the room was empty. What
was the bloody point of trekking halfway across the castle for someone if they weren't
going to keep their appointment? She glanced around the sombre room. Everything
seemed normal. there was a large desk in the middle of the room surrounded by
several shelves and cabinets containing her father's accounts, archives and law books.
Amongst these was a beautifully bound tome chronicling the history of the Labyrinth.
Being the natural bibliophile that she was, Arian couldn't help taking it down from the
shelf to admire it. As soon as she ran a finger along its highly decorative pages, her
stomach gave a great lurch and her whole body became disorientated. It felt
disturbingly like that time she had been pushed off that cliff. The feeling quickly
passed and she felt herself land with a jolt onto solid ground. Oh God! What if she had
been caught up in some miscast spell? What if she had been transported somewhere
else? What if no one would be able to find her? She was too scared to even open her
eyes.
"Ah! You found you're way here!" said a familiar voice cheerfully "I wasn't sure if you
would sense the entrance I made for you. I'm impressed." She opened her eyes and
noticed that Jareth was standing a few feet away from her. They seemed to be in the
middle of a grassy field that stretched far away until it reached a group of picturesque
rolling hills. The sky was a dazzling shade of blue accented by thin, wispy clouds here
and there.
"Entrance?" said Arian, completely baffled by the whole thing. "What entrance?"
"I enchanted that book to serve as a transporter to your own personal training ground."
said Jareth looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Training ground? Is that where we are now?" she asked, scary as this place was, she
still felt a deep sense of curiosity.
"Yes. I designed this place to be outside of space and time so you would be able to
practice your craft without risk and under my supervision."
"Why here?"
"The Labyrinth is too crowded with magical energy. It might disrupt your power in its
early stages of development and could lead to all kinds of accidents. The training
ground is purposefully neutral so you will be able to build up your strength. We will
use it for all of your practical lessons until you are ready to use magic in the real
world, which hopefully won't be too long considering how easily you found this
place."
"What? Oh! No, no that was just a coincidence!" said Arian quickly "I didn't sense
anything."
"You underestimate yourself, my dear. You have a lot of potential. You could go on to
achieve great things." said Jareth darkly "But first things first. You will come here at
nine every morning from now on unless I tell you otherwise and you will not leave
until I allow you to."
"Oh yippee!" said Arian sarcastically. "This is really going to be a barrel of laughs!"
"AND I will receive your undivided attentions and co-operation." said Jareth, angered
by his daughters defiance "Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Arian nodded sulkily.
"Excellent! Shall we begin?"
******
A/N - Yes! There's a new alien story out! It's called "What am I supposed to do with a
load of old jokes?!" and it's a collection of small adventures that didn't quite make
it into the stories. Don't miss it!
I'll still be working on this one though...^_~
******
After Arian had finished her boiled eggs and changed into a different dress (it was still
black but the skirt and sleeves were more sensible), she made her way to the Goblin
King's study. Magic? Her? That'll be the day!
She was about to raise her hand to knock when the door opened on its own with an
ominous creak. Typical! To her surprise and annoyance, the room was empty. What
was the bloody point of trekking halfway across the castle for someone if they weren't
going to keep their appointment? She glanced around the sombre room. Everything
seemed normal. there was a large desk in the middle of the room surrounded by
several shelves and cabinets containing her father's accounts, archives and law books.
Amongst these was a beautifully bound tome chronicling the history of the Labyrinth.
Being the natural bibliophile that she was, Arian couldn't help taking it down from the
shelf to admire it. As soon as she ran a finger along its highly decorative pages, her
stomach gave a great lurch and her whole body became disorientated. It felt
disturbingly like that time she had been pushed off that cliff. The feeling quickly
passed and she felt herself land with a jolt onto solid ground. Oh God! What if she had
been caught up in some miscast spell? What if she had been transported somewhere
else? What if no one would be able to find her? She was too scared to even open her
eyes.
"Ah! You found you're way here!" said a familiar voice cheerfully "I wasn't sure if you
would sense the entrance I made for you. I'm impressed." She opened her eyes and
noticed that Jareth was standing a few feet away from her. They seemed to be in the
middle of a grassy field that stretched far away until it reached a group of picturesque
rolling hills. The sky was a dazzling shade of blue accented by thin, wispy clouds here
and there.
"Entrance?" said Arian, completely baffled by the whole thing. "What entrance?"
"I enchanted that book to serve as a transporter to your own personal training ground."
said Jareth looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Training ground? Is that where we are now?" she asked, scary as this place was, she
still felt a deep sense of curiosity.
"Yes. I designed this place to be outside of space and time so you would be able to
practice your craft without risk and under my supervision."
"Why here?"
"The Labyrinth is too crowded with magical energy. It might disrupt your power in its
early stages of development and could lead to all kinds of accidents. The training
ground is purposefully neutral so you will be able to build up your strength. We will
use it for all of your practical lessons until you are ready to use magic in the real
world, which hopefully won't be too long considering how easily you found this
place."
"What? Oh! No, no that was just a coincidence!" said Arian quickly "I didn't sense
anything."
"You underestimate yourself, my dear. You have a lot of potential. You could go on to
achieve great things." said Jareth darkly "But first things first. You will come here at
nine every morning from now on unless I tell you otherwise and you will not leave
until I allow you to."
"Oh yippee!" said Arian sarcastically. "This is really going to be a barrel of laughs!"
"AND I will receive your undivided attentions and co-operation." said Jareth, angered
by his daughters defiance "Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Arian nodded sulkily.
"Excellent! Shall we begin?"