Be Careful what you Wish For
For shame, it's been so long since I updated! I do have an excuse, I swear. I got a lot of things piled on me for role-playing stuff, and my mind just wasn't up to writing. And my mind keeps trying to hit me up to do a Christmas Labyfic. Which, so far, isn't forthcoming. But I've still got a couple weeks, now don't I? Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter, and remember to review!
Disclaimer: Oro, The Labyrinth isn't mine, no it isn't. Neither is The Lady Chaos, who requested cameo-ness in this fic, that she did. Andros and Sparrow are mine, that they are. I really need to cut back on my Rurouni Kenshin, that I do.
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Chapter 6: Cameo alert! And cue the Baywatch music, we need a lifeguard!
Toby got by with just coughing, but with Sparrow's sensitive stomach, she was a goner.
When she came out of the bushes, still looking a little green around the edges, she took stock of their situation: They were at the Bog. She needed to keep her stomach in line or she'd be sick again. And if memory served, and he didn't shuffle it all around, the Bog was a good deal closer to the center than they had been at before.
"Are you all right?" Toby asked, concerned. Sparrow gave him a watery smile.
"Sure kiddo. I just don't have as strong a stomach as you. Now come on, let's go find the bridge. Sooner we're out of this part, the happier I'll be."
They hadn't arrived as closely to the bridge as Sarah had in her journey, but it didn't take too long to get there. The sight that met them was, by all accounts, unusual.
Sir Didymus was guarding the bridge, which apparently had been reconstructed after Sarah's departure, though Ludo was not present at the moment. The unusual sight was a woman with reddish hair, dangling upside down from a rope tied to one of the trees. She dangled over the bog, looked severely pissed.
"Let me down, will you?" she snapped at Didymus.
"I canst, my lady. By order of the King, I must abide by my pledge!"
"Can I kill him?" the woman asked, though Sparrow wasn't sure whom she was talking to. She decided to answer.
"No, you'd have all sorts of people mad at you. Some fanfic writers do like him."
"But he anooooys me!" the woman whined. Wait, red hair…you don't suppose.
"You wouldn't happen to be that cheeky redhead, Destiny, would you?" Sparrow asked.
The woman grinned, quite cheekily. "No, I'm her cheeky sister known as Chaos. Who are you?"
"Sparrow, and this is Toby."
"Why are you up there?" Toby asked.
"Because I ticked off the old Sockman as usual." Said Chaos. "Think you can get me down?"
"Sure," said Sparrow, as they moved to cross the bridge. They did, anyway, until Sir Didymus put himself between them and the bridge. Oh for the love of all things.
"My Lady, I am afraid thee and young Master Toby, may not cross!" Heh. News really did travel fast here. "It is my duty to guard this bridge, and none may cross without my permission!"
Sparrow resisted the urge to sigh, just barely. "Look, you know who he is. He's your friend's brother. Do we really have to go through the whole thing?"
Didymus remained unmoved.
"We wouldn't have this problem if I just killed him." Chaos muttered. She was ignored.
"May we have your permission to cross, then?" Toby asked. Didymus, of course, said yes. And let them by with a courtly bow.
"Mayest I be of assistance to you, Lady Sparrow?"
Sparrow thought over how Didymus had 'helped' before. "No! I mean…you should stay and guard the bridge, good sir." That got him. He doffed his hat.
"As the Lady wishes."
"Great…and don't touch the bridge. At all. You do, and I throw –you- in."
And so, they made it across just fine. Now came the interesting part, of getting Chaos down. Sparrow finally shimmied up the tree, thankful for being light for her size, and praying the tree would hold both their weight. With some interesting acrobatics, Sparrow was finally able to grab Chaos's hand, and pull the woman up. She made quick work of the bonds. Before she knew it, she and Chaos were back on the ground. But she hadn't even climbed down…
"If you could teleport yourself, why didn't you before?" Sparrow asked crossly.
"Because the ropes were bespelled, duh." Chaos said. "Otherwise I –would- have. Anyway, thanks! I really must be off, before His Royal Glitterness notices I'm gone."
And Chaos disappeared.
"This place is really odd." Toby said. Sparrow cracked a smile.
"You ain't just whistling Dixie."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Wrong generation."
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At least they were out of the Bog. And now, apparently in the Firey Forest. Okay, so the places really did move around. Or something. Sparrow's mind was not up to pondering it.
But back to the point, they were in the Firey Forest. Which meant, ten to one, they'd be seeing a lot of orange and yellow pretty soon. Sparrow would bet money on it.
She was right. She could hear the clicking of sticks just before they jumped out of the trees.
"Hey look, it's a lady!"
"Is it the lady who didn't want to play?"
"No, it's a different lady! And a boy, too! Hey, you two wanna play? It's fun, all you gotta do is take off your head!"
"Let me handle this." Sparrow whispered to Toby. He nodded, seemingly confident in Sparrow's ability. Sparrow wished she had as much faith in herself. She cleared her throat, addressing the creatures.
"Hey, we'd love nothing more to play, really." Sparrow said. "But, ya know, humans heads don't come off. If you took ours off, we wouldn't be able to play no more!"
"Really?" said one of the firey's. Apparently this was the first time anyone had bothered explaining that to them.
"That wouldn't be chilly." Said another. They all nodded.
"Can you at least dance with us, and chilly down?"
Aw man, it was tempting. She was loathe to admit it, but she always got up and danced during the 'Chilly Down' song. Ah well, responsibilities first.
"Can't, gotta get the kid to the castle, ya know? But I swear, I'll come back sometime, and we'll chilly down. In the meantime, any of you know the way to the castle?"
Between them, Sparrow and Toby were able to figure out, that no, they didn't know the way exactly, but pointed out a general direction that they thought might be the right way. Because as they said, and Sparrow and Toby knew, that the Labyrinth was always changing.
"I'm glad you're here, Sparrow. I don't think I coulda made it this far otherwise." Toby said, as they walked through the forest. Sparrow felt her heart warm. Aww, how sweet.
"Just doing my best, Toby."
They continued their way, until they noticed the trees were thinning in front of them. Excited at getting out, the two sprinted ahead. Not a smart decision, when Sparrow realized –why- the trees had thinned, and disappeared completely.
The ground dropped off steeply, and they both tumbled down. What they were left with, was a –very- short little plateau, and below them, faaaar below them, rushing rapids and a waterfall not too distantly to their left.
"Note, no more running." Sparrow said, her voice wavery. They had been so close to falling. Sparrow had grabbed onto Toby, digging her heels into the soil. As it was, her feet did end up in empty air, but the friction was enough to keep them from tumbling. Sparrow sat back, catching her breath, while Toby stood close to the edge, looking down. He whistled.
"Long ways."
"No kidding." Sparrow was feeling uneasy. She didn't know why…until she glanced at her shoes. Mud. There was mud at the soles of her shoes. Mud implied the soil wasn't stable. And Toby was standing on the edge…
"Toby, move away from the edge!"
"What?" Toby said, turning back to look at her. Bad mistake. His movement broke the loose soil free, and Sparrow saw one glimpse of terror-stricken blue eyes, before Toby was out of sight.
"NOOOOO!" Sparrow screamed. Without pausing to consider what she was doing, Sparrow tore off her shoes, and nearly ripped her shirt off over her head. Down to her jeans and bra, Sparrow nearly sprinted to the edge, jumping off into a dive.
Now, Sparrow was Californian, as has been stated. More than that, she'd grown up near the Pacific Ocean. For those not from the West Coast, you should know that swimming the Pacific Ocean is no picnic. You have to fight, nearly every moment, to keep yourself above water and not be thrashed about by the waves. The undertow can be fierce, and quick. To sum it up, learning to swim in something like that, makes one a pretty strong swimmer. Or you stay on the sand.
But nothing prepared Sparrow for the frigid waters she dived into. Pulling her along like she was nothing, Sparrow fought against the strong current with all she had. Her mind was totally focused, she had to find Toby. It kept going through her brain like a mantra, keeping her from succumbing to the strong pull of the water.
Finally, a flash of blonde, and the deep blue of the t-shirt Toby had on. Sparrow dived, letting the current carry her along. She shot back up when she neared the boy, grabbing him around the waist.
God, she was tired. She didn't know if she could do it…but she had to. Adrenaline fueling her, she was able to make it the edge, dragging herself and Toby out.
She pounded the boy on the back, making him cough up the water he'd swallowed. He kept coughing, holding on tightly to Sparrow, shivering. When he finally finished coughing, he began to cry softly.
"Sssshh, Toby, it's all right. You're all right."
"He is all right, isn't he?"
"J, you have the most amazing timing." Sparrow spat out.
"My attention was diverted for a moment. The worst possible moment." He really did sound torn up about it.
"Just get the kid to the castle, and get him warm. Last thing we need is him getting pneumonia or hypothermia or something."
And gods, was she exhausted. She hadn't known she –could- be this exhausted. She started shivering as well, her own body's reaction finally catching up with her. She barely noticed when Jareth took Toby from her. She was coherent enough, though, to notice someone picking –her- up, and being cradled in warm, strong arms. She hadn't even noticed Andros was there.
Nor was she inclined to say anything to him. He'd only yell. So she just rested her head on his shoulder, and let her exhaustion win, as she passed out.
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Of all the insane things.
Of all the insane, stupid, hair-brained, heroic, damned wonderful things to do…
Andros sighed at his train of thought. He was seated in a chair, in Sparrow's room, and hadn't moved since she'd been brought here. The thought of it still made Andros shudder. She'd seemed so small, in his arms, shivering even as she lost consciousness. And yet she'd saved the boy without a second thought.
Damn her, that stupid, amazing, wonderful woman.
Was he falling for the little bird? He would have laughed, not too long ago at the thought. That any woman could capture his interest for long, much less capture his heart. He preferred to stay aloof, always flirting, but never serious.
But she never let him get away with flirting. She shrugged it off, ignoring it completely. That wasn't usual for Andros. And it intrigued him. More to the point, Sparrow intrigued him. She was…different. Unique.
He was brought back from his thoughts, when Sparrow awoke, sitting up and stretching. A maid had attired her in dry clothing, modest sleepwear. But Andros still had to look away, when her stretching caused her shirt to ride up enough that her slim waist and stomach were exposed. Though he chastised himself for acting like a hormone driven boy, for such a reaction.
All of his chastising flew out the window, as Sparrow saw him, giving a gentle smile.
"Hi." She said. "If you're planning on yelling at me, please don't."
Andros just sighed. He had been so ready to let her have it, really yell at her for having done such a stupid thing in the first place. But she had saved the boy's life.
"Don't you ever think before you do anything?" He finally said.
"Sometimes. I ever over-think, on lots of occasions. But sometimes one has to go with ones instincts. How's Toby?"
"He'll be fine. Sarah was having fits, though."
"Great. She'll blame Jareth, who in turn will blame me, and I'll be getting beef from both of them about the whole situation. Damn it, why couldn't you have just thrown me back in?"
"Don't even joke about that." Andros said sharply.
"Jeez Andy, lighten up." Sparrow said. "Well, it does set things back. Again. But as the old saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try try again."
"Don't give up easily, do you?"
"Well, considering it's either this, or J tosses me into the Bog…well, I see this as the better option. But ask me again in a few days, and I may answer differently."
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Ah, dramatic rescues. Not exactly anything new, but always an interesting way of doing things. And I swear, there is J/S action soon. Just had to get the whole running the Labyrinth plot point out of the way. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember…
"Please leave a contribution in the little review box"
Emerald, The Lady Destiny a.k.a. Emmy-chan
For shame, it's been so long since I updated! I do have an excuse, I swear. I got a lot of things piled on me for role-playing stuff, and my mind just wasn't up to writing. And my mind keeps trying to hit me up to do a Christmas Labyfic. Which, so far, isn't forthcoming. But I've still got a couple weeks, now don't I? Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter, and remember to review!
Disclaimer: Oro, The Labyrinth isn't mine, no it isn't. Neither is The Lady Chaos, who requested cameo-ness in this fic, that she did. Andros and Sparrow are mine, that they are. I really need to cut back on my Rurouni Kenshin, that I do.
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Chapter 6: Cameo alert! And cue the Baywatch music, we need a lifeguard!
Toby got by with just coughing, but with Sparrow's sensitive stomach, she was a goner.
When she came out of the bushes, still looking a little green around the edges, she took stock of their situation: They were at the Bog. She needed to keep her stomach in line or she'd be sick again. And if memory served, and he didn't shuffle it all around, the Bog was a good deal closer to the center than they had been at before.
"Are you all right?" Toby asked, concerned. Sparrow gave him a watery smile.
"Sure kiddo. I just don't have as strong a stomach as you. Now come on, let's go find the bridge. Sooner we're out of this part, the happier I'll be."
They hadn't arrived as closely to the bridge as Sarah had in her journey, but it didn't take too long to get there. The sight that met them was, by all accounts, unusual.
Sir Didymus was guarding the bridge, which apparently had been reconstructed after Sarah's departure, though Ludo was not present at the moment. The unusual sight was a woman with reddish hair, dangling upside down from a rope tied to one of the trees. She dangled over the bog, looked severely pissed.
"Let me down, will you?" she snapped at Didymus.
"I canst, my lady. By order of the King, I must abide by my pledge!"
"Can I kill him?" the woman asked, though Sparrow wasn't sure whom she was talking to. She decided to answer.
"No, you'd have all sorts of people mad at you. Some fanfic writers do like him."
"But he anooooys me!" the woman whined. Wait, red hair…you don't suppose.
"You wouldn't happen to be that cheeky redhead, Destiny, would you?" Sparrow asked.
The woman grinned, quite cheekily. "No, I'm her cheeky sister known as Chaos. Who are you?"
"Sparrow, and this is Toby."
"Why are you up there?" Toby asked.
"Because I ticked off the old Sockman as usual." Said Chaos. "Think you can get me down?"
"Sure," said Sparrow, as they moved to cross the bridge. They did, anyway, until Sir Didymus put himself between them and the bridge. Oh for the love of all things.
"My Lady, I am afraid thee and young Master Toby, may not cross!" Heh. News really did travel fast here. "It is my duty to guard this bridge, and none may cross without my permission!"
Sparrow resisted the urge to sigh, just barely. "Look, you know who he is. He's your friend's brother. Do we really have to go through the whole thing?"
Didymus remained unmoved.
"We wouldn't have this problem if I just killed him." Chaos muttered. She was ignored.
"May we have your permission to cross, then?" Toby asked. Didymus, of course, said yes. And let them by with a courtly bow.
"Mayest I be of assistance to you, Lady Sparrow?"
Sparrow thought over how Didymus had 'helped' before. "No! I mean…you should stay and guard the bridge, good sir." That got him. He doffed his hat.
"As the Lady wishes."
"Great…and don't touch the bridge. At all. You do, and I throw –you- in."
And so, they made it across just fine. Now came the interesting part, of getting Chaos down. Sparrow finally shimmied up the tree, thankful for being light for her size, and praying the tree would hold both their weight. With some interesting acrobatics, Sparrow was finally able to grab Chaos's hand, and pull the woman up. She made quick work of the bonds. Before she knew it, she and Chaos were back on the ground. But she hadn't even climbed down…
"If you could teleport yourself, why didn't you before?" Sparrow asked crossly.
"Because the ropes were bespelled, duh." Chaos said. "Otherwise I –would- have. Anyway, thanks! I really must be off, before His Royal Glitterness notices I'm gone."
And Chaos disappeared.
"This place is really odd." Toby said. Sparrow cracked a smile.
"You ain't just whistling Dixie."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Wrong generation."
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At least they were out of the Bog. And now, apparently in the Firey Forest. Okay, so the places really did move around. Or something. Sparrow's mind was not up to pondering it.
But back to the point, they were in the Firey Forest. Which meant, ten to one, they'd be seeing a lot of orange and yellow pretty soon. Sparrow would bet money on it.
She was right. She could hear the clicking of sticks just before they jumped out of the trees.
"Hey look, it's a lady!"
"Is it the lady who didn't want to play?"
"No, it's a different lady! And a boy, too! Hey, you two wanna play? It's fun, all you gotta do is take off your head!"
"Let me handle this." Sparrow whispered to Toby. He nodded, seemingly confident in Sparrow's ability. Sparrow wished she had as much faith in herself. She cleared her throat, addressing the creatures.
"Hey, we'd love nothing more to play, really." Sparrow said. "But, ya know, humans heads don't come off. If you took ours off, we wouldn't be able to play no more!"
"Really?" said one of the firey's. Apparently this was the first time anyone had bothered explaining that to them.
"That wouldn't be chilly." Said another. They all nodded.
"Can you at least dance with us, and chilly down?"
Aw man, it was tempting. She was loathe to admit it, but she always got up and danced during the 'Chilly Down' song. Ah well, responsibilities first.
"Can't, gotta get the kid to the castle, ya know? But I swear, I'll come back sometime, and we'll chilly down. In the meantime, any of you know the way to the castle?"
Between them, Sparrow and Toby were able to figure out, that no, they didn't know the way exactly, but pointed out a general direction that they thought might be the right way. Because as they said, and Sparrow and Toby knew, that the Labyrinth was always changing.
"I'm glad you're here, Sparrow. I don't think I coulda made it this far otherwise." Toby said, as they walked through the forest. Sparrow felt her heart warm. Aww, how sweet.
"Just doing my best, Toby."
They continued their way, until they noticed the trees were thinning in front of them. Excited at getting out, the two sprinted ahead. Not a smart decision, when Sparrow realized –why- the trees had thinned, and disappeared completely.
The ground dropped off steeply, and they both tumbled down. What they were left with, was a –very- short little plateau, and below them, faaaar below them, rushing rapids and a waterfall not too distantly to their left.
"Note, no more running." Sparrow said, her voice wavery. They had been so close to falling. Sparrow had grabbed onto Toby, digging her heels into the soil. As it was, her feet did end up in empty air, but the friction was enough to keep them from tumbling. Sparrow sat back, catching her breath, while Toby stood close to the edge, looking down. He whistled.
"Long ways."
"No kidding." Sparrow was feeling uneasy. She didn't know why…until she glanced at her shoes. Mud. There was mud at the soles of her shoes. Mud implied the soil wasn't stable. And Toby was standing on the edge…
"Toby, move away from the edge!"
"What?" Toby said, turning back to look at her. Bad mistake. His movement broke the loose soil free, and Sparrow saw one glimpse of terror-stricken blue eyes, before Toby was out of sight.
"NOOOOO!" Sparrow screamed. Without pausing to consider what she was doing, Sparrow tore off her shoes, and nearly ripped her shirt off over her head. Down to her jeans and bra, Sparrow nearly sprinted to the edge, jumping off into a dive.
Now, Sparrow was Californian, as has been stated. More than that, she'd grown up near the Pacific Ocean. For those not from the West Coast, you should know that swimming the Pacific Ocean is no picnic. You have to fight, nearly every moment, to keep yourself above water and not be thrashed about by the waves. The undertow can be fierce, and quick. To sum it up, learning to swim in something like that, makes one a pretty strong swimmer. Or you stay on the sand.
But nothing prepared Sparrow for the frigid waters she dived into. Pulling her along like she was nothing, Sparrow fought against the strong current with all she had. Her mind was totally focused, she had to find Toby. It kept going through her brain like a mantra, keeping her from succumbing to the strong pull of the water.
Finally, a flash of blonde, and the deep blue of the t-shirt Toby had on. Sparrow dived, letting the current carry her along. She shot back up when she neared the boy, grabbing him around the waist.
God, she was tired. She didn't know if she could do it…but she had to. Adrenaline fueling her, she was able to make it the edge, dragging herself and Toby out.
She pounded the boy on the back, making him cough up the water he'd swallowed. He kept coughing, holding on tightly to Sparrow, shivering. When he finally finished coughing, he began to cry softly.
"Sssshh, Toby, it's all right. You're all right."
"He is all right, isn't he?"
"J, you have the most amazing timing." Sparrow spat out.
"My attention was diverted for a moment. The worst possible moment." He really did sound torn up about it.
"Just get the kid to the castle, and get him warm. Last thing we need is him getting pneumonia or hypothermia or something."
And gods, was she exhausted. She hadn't known she –could- be this exhausted. She started shivering as well, her own body's reaction finally catching up with her. She barely noticed when Jareth took Toby from her. She was coherent enough, though, to notice someone picking –her- up, and being cradled in warm, strong arms. She hadn't even noticed Andros was there.
Nor was she inclined to say anything to him. He'd only yell. So she just rested her head on his shoulder, and let her exhaustion win, as she passed out.
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Of all the insane things.
Of all the insane, stupid, hair-brained, heroic, damned wonderful things to do…
Andros sighed at his train of thought. He was seated in a chair, in Sparrow's room, and hadn't moved since she'd been brought here. The thought of it still made Andros shudder. She'd seemed so small, in his arms, shivering even as she lost consciousness. And yet she'd saved the boy without a second thought.
Damn her, that stupid, amazing, wonderful woman.
Was he falling for the little bird? He would have laughed, not too long ago at the thought. That any woman could capture his interest for long, much less capture his heart. He preferred to stay aloof, always flirting, but never serious.
But she never let him get away with flirting. She shrugged it off, ignoring it completely. That wasn't usual for Andros. And it intrigued him. More to the point, Sparrow intrigued him. She was…different. Unique.
He was brought back from his thoughts, when Sparrow awoke, sitting up and stretching. A maid had attired her in dry clothing, modest sleepwear. But Andros still had to look away, when her stretching caused her shirt to ride up enough that her slim waist and stomach were exposed. Though he chastised himself for acting like a hormone driven boy, for such a reaction.
All of his chastising flew out the window, as Sparrow saw him, giving a gentle smile.
"Hi." She said. "If you're planning on yelling at me, please don't."
Andros just sighed. He had been so ready to let her have it, really yell at her for having done such a stupid thing in the first place. But she had saved the boy's life.
"Don't you ever think before you do anything?" He finally said.
"Sometimes. I ever over-think, on lots of occasions. But sometimes one has to go with ones instincts. How's Toby?"
"He'll be fine. Sarah was having fits, though."
"Great. She'll blame Jareth, who in turn will blame me, and I'll be getting beef from both of them about the whole situation. Damn it, why couldn't you have just thrown me back in?"
"Don't even joke about that." Andros said sharply.
"Jeez Andy, lighten up." Sparrow said. "Well, it does set things back. Again. But as the old saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, try try again."
"Don't give up easily, do you?"
"Well, considering it's either this, or J tosses me into the Bog…well, I see this as the better option. But ask me again in a few days, and I may answer differently."
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Ah, dramatic rescues. Not exactly anything new, but always an interesting way of doing things. And I swear, there is J/S action soon. Just had to get the whole running the Labyrinth plot point out of the way. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember…
"Please leave a contribution in the little review box"
Emerald, The Lady Destiny a.k.a. Emmy-chan