The Widow
Prologue
No sound, not even a whisper to be heard. The silence, in fact, was as oppressing as the darkness that accompanied the eerie quietude. Anymore details cannot be rendered; for, who can depict a dwelling that has no voice or color to speak of? Ah, but an aged blind man did stumble upon the area unknowingly and claimed it was desert land… a desert land with a single dead soul. Not many believed him. Nor should have they considering he was wrong: It was a desert land… with a single living soul.
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She had searched throughout all the cabinets of her mind, attempting to remember the words. And, finally, she had. The raven-haired girl had uttered the words in front of those longing, pleading unnatural eyes. Somehow she had managed though a small voice had questioned her decision. Nevertheless, she allowed her lips to mouth each word, and all had concluded as it should have. Her brother was free and now here she was, dancing contently with her new friends.
Sarah had defeated the Goblin King.
She had beaten his game, and yet the King still adorned her with gifts; for, Labyrinth inhabitants weren't allowed to travel to the space above their world. But, he surrendered to her yet again, permitted the barriers to wane for however long she needed her companions. And all he could do was watch.
Yet, he wouldn't watch for long. Their moments together had mesmerized him, while her cruelty had merely teased him. He had fallen far into the depth, surpassing infatuation and mere attraction. And though his love for her was beyond euphemisms and words, he was as cruel as she. Sarah would suffer and she would be his… all in good time. After all, time was on his side; he would use it and carefully develop his new plan. Indeed, he had learned his lesson now. Jareth, the Goblin King, would no longer hasten the pace of time, rather use its lingering stride to his advantage. Like his Labyrinth constantly altering as minutes passed, he would change and so would his surroundings… all in good time.
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Seeing her friends dance around her, Sarah sighed in relief as she realized Hoggle and the gang would remain close to her whenever she needed them. How they managed to bypass the Goblin King's control to arrive in her world was beyond her. Needless to say, she was thankful for their company and ever more grateful for this moment. She smiled thoughtfully as she saw Hoggle skipping and hopping to the joyful beats of the music carrying their every step. Her blissful instant suddenly faded, replaced by a tension slightly constricting her heartbeat; an image of her former nemesis halted all her thoughts. Sarah could never deny his captivating features, the power he exuded, the defiance in smile, nor his rebellious eyes. But she had and he would be forgotten in her own eyes.
Or so she hoped.
She wasn't the only one hoping. Hoggle, who had stopped dancing and simply stood among the elated chaos surrounding him, staring at Sarah intently, knew that even if he was wrong about noticing that look between Jareth and her, he didn't have a chance in hell courting his friend. He was neither prince, nor being… merely a dwarf creature with dull skin. His appearance paled in comparison to her emerald eyes and soft, youthful beauty. If only… if only he were a prince, if only her kiss had changed him into one, if only he was as human as she was… he would even trade places with Jareth.
Alas, he was just Hoggle, short, simpleton Hoggle.
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The castle's gates shook thunderously sending goblins of all sizes running to and from the proximity of their master. Frightened and fascinated, they knew their King was conjuring a spell of vast proportions. Little did the undersized subjects suspect that the Underground was undergoing obvious and obscure modifications. Of course, Jareth himself was aware of these changes… all except the very one which would come to haunt him when he least expected.
So engrossed in his magic, he forgot or perhaps ignored the consequences of diminishing the fences between Sarah's world and his own. For, it was no secret that beneath the foundation of the Underground, the earth was fragile, especially fragile to barriers of worlds weakened. Thus, the earth beneath quavered feeling the effects of Jareth's powers as they shifted the stability of the Labyrinth and that of traveling beings. The rampant trembling traveled throughout the kingdom and beyond, onto the nameless desert land, long forgotten.
Bathed in ebony and silence, the terrain finally unveiled with light. A crack within the ground, caused by the movements from afar, allowed a bright glow to shower the desert land. From the blinding white light, a sinisterly dark shadow crawled out, stumbling to hold itself up. As the radiance slowly turned into a mere afterglow, the figure became apparent and there stood a large, black spider with an amazingly melancholy, porcelain face. No ordinary inhabitant of the Labyrinth, but certainly not a newcomer, the creature indulged in a freedom she had longed for since… well, she could hardly remember how many years had traitorously left her behind. But that didn't matter now, she was free and prepared to seek revenge. First, she needed to recover, gain strength to gather her powers. Then, she would find her victim… and finally, go for the kill, the royal kill.
The Black Widow had indefinitely returned.
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Please feel free to review, criticize, compliment, whatever your heart desires… it'll be much appreciated, especially considering this is my first attempt at a Labyrinth fanfic… hope I'm doing the characters justice, while keeping you—maybe, hopefully?—intrigued.