Disclaimer: see the last seven chapters.
A/N: Okay, things are starting to pick up a bit now.
Chapter 8: The Hall of Doors
As the downstairs clock chimed nine the next morning, Tabitha was standing near the bedroom window watching Karen, Robert, and her parents drive away. In the background the timer on the microwave was dinging, Toby was giggling madly as Sarah tried to dress him, and the gratingly happy sound of children singing "the itsy bitsy spider" blared on the T.V. As soon as the car had disappeared down the street, Tabitha hurried away from the window and ran downstairs to turn off the microwave.
"I don't think it's a good idea to bring Toby with us." Sarah complained as she carried her brother into the kitchen. "I don't want him going back into that place."
"This is different, Sarah. Nobody is wishing anybody away. He'll be safe with us. Besides, it's better than leaving him here in someone else's care. Whoever came after me may have hurt my grandfather as well, and I don't want to just assume that he/she/it will be satisfied with that. Toby was also in the labyrinth, and that could make him a target. I'd rather keep him with us."
Sarah nodded grudgingly, and plunked Toby into the high chair. She had spent most of the previous night trying to convince Tabitha that taking her along was a bad idea, but Tabitha wouldn't budge. She had a feeling that her aunt would drag her along, by the hair if necessary, and now she regretted bullying Tabitha into going back to the Underground. The thought of seeing Jareth again after all that had happened made her stomach twist.
"Here," Tabitha said. "I'll feed him. You go make sure you have everything you need."
"How long do you think we're going to be gone? We have to be back by tonight, or Dad and Karen will have a fit."
"We will be back by tonight, but time in the labyrinth flows more quickly than it does here. If we make sure that we aren't gone longer than. . . oh, say eighteen days, we should be back by eight o'clock tonight, no problem."
"Eighteen days!" Sarah exclaimed.
"Yep. Pack. I have already gotten mine and Toby's things together, all you have to do is get your stuff ready."
"But - but what if someone tries to get ahold of us? They might panic if we don't answer." Sarah was beginning to look downright alarmed.
"I've written a note saying that we have errands to run, and wont be back until late. As long as I stop in and see Granddad tonight, they wont be too upset with me. Now hurry up, when your finished I have to go and move my car out of sight."
Grumbling, Sarah ran upstairs to pack. About an hour later they stood in the living room, each with a duffle bag in hand. Toby was securely harnessed into a carrier that hung against Sarah's back, and Tabitha carried his baby bag over her shoulder. Both women looked grim, but determined to get this jaunt over with.
"Alright, let's go." Tabitha said. She turned and headed upstairs. Confused, Sarah followed. For the first time it occurred to her to wonder how they were going to get to the labyrinth. She had assumed that she would call Jareth, but Tabitha didn't seem inclined to do that. Instead, they headed back upstairs and turned down the hall toward Karen and Robert's room, stopping at the door to the hall closet.
Without preamble Tabitha grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open, revealing an unpleasantly dark little box of a room. She gestured for Sarah to step inside, which she did, then followed and closed the door.
"I think you've lost your mind." Sarah said flatly into the dark confines of the closet.
Tabitha said nothing. She turned the inside handle of the door again and stepped back out into the hall. Only, it wasn't the hall anymore. Sarah's eyes grew wide as she stepped out of the closet. They were surrounded by walls of hedge that climbed high above their heads. To their right the hedges opened up to reveal something of a courtyard with what looked like a wishing well in the center. To their left the hedges stretched off another twenty yards, then turned sharply away.
Behind them the door closed with a soft click and when Sarah turned around she saw only a firm wall of emerald-green leaves. There wasn't a door in sight.
"Come on." Tabitha murmured, walking quickly into the clearing. Sarah couldn't help but think that she looked out of place with her dark blue jeans and denim jacket. She wore black hiking boots, and a black t-shirt under the jacket. Hardly a figure that fit the romantic atmosphere the hedge-maze created. But then, Tabitha wasn't exactly. . . well, fit for romance. Sarah sucked in her breath a little at that thought, feeling guilty. Perhaps Tabitha didn't seem fit for romance because she'd never experienced it. 'Okay, okay, time to think about something else.' She reprimanded herself firmly, jogging to catch up with her aunt. Thoughts like that were hardly fair.
Tabitha had set the bags down and approached one of the corners of the courtyard, where a tall stone pillar stood. In the distance, high above the top of the wall the curvaceous form of the castle could be seen, looming over zig zagging stone walls. Sarah looked at it with a feeling of foreboding. She looked back at Tabitha instead, who was climbing up the side of the pillar as if it were a ladder. For the life of her, Sarah could not see what her aunt was holding onto or putting her feet. It looked for all the world like she was standing on empty air.
At the top of the pillar stood an ornate silver mirror on a rotating base. When Tabitha reached it she tilted the glass in such a way that the sunlight reflected off of it toward the castle. Sarah watched quietly, completely confused. Even Toby, who sat contentedly chewing his fists seemed to be watching Tabitha closely. She reached one hand into her pocket and pulled out a small blue marble, which she touched against the glass of the mirror. As it made contact with the glass the marble sank straight through the surface as if it were made of water, and the blue color spread like dye until it filled the glass completely. The light that bounced off the surface was now a vivid blue.
Tabitha seemed to be waiting for something now. She shifted to make herself more comfortable, leaning back against the pillar with her feet wedged against nothingness. Minutes ticked by. The air of expectancy began to fade, and Sarah began to get impatient. She paced the width of the courtyard, shifting Toby into a more comfortable position. Still the time wore on, until a full fifteen minutes had passed and nothing had happened. Tabitha's mouth had set into a thin, angry line, her eyes fixed on the distant castle. Suddenly she pulled herself sharply away from the pillar and began to climb down, her every movement stiff and angry. It seemed that her patience had reached its limit as well.
Before she reached the ground, however, the beam of blue light that reflected off the mirror changed to a bright green, as if someone had splashed yellow coloring into it. Tabitha paused, one foot dangling an inch from the ground. In an instant she reversed directions, climbing back up to the top as quickly as she could. As she came to the top she slapped the flat of her hand against the glass. The blue light extinguished, leaving only a steady beam of yellow that seemed to be coming from the castle. As she lifted her hand away from the mirror the little blue marble rose out of the glass and hovered over the surface until Tabitha's fingers closed firmly around it. Then she climbed quickly back down.
"Come on," She cried, running toward the well in the middle of the courtyard. "He's opened a door for us."
"He's what?" Sarah cried. "Who?" Tabitha didn't answer. She picked the bags up off the floor and tossed them into the well.
"In we go!" Before Sarah could react Tabitha grabbed her arm, tossed her and Toby into the well, and bounded in after them.
The sensation of falling lasted only a moment before a rush of warm air crashed up into them and slowed them down to a gentle descent. The world was filled with shades of grey, and ragged chunks of mist drifted across their path, soaking their clothes as they passed through. They tumbled on through deafening silence. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard, though they felt it pounding against them. Slowly their feet swung downward, as if of their own accord, and they landed on a floor of stone. Their bags were there waiting for them, looking none the worse for the fall.
They were in an empty room with an arched ceiling full of dusty windows. Weak beams of watery light filtered down on them from above. Tabitha glanced at Sarah, who looked like a cat that had just been pried off the ceiling. Her fingers were bent and clawlike, and her eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets. Toby, on the other hand, was laughing.
"Aww, that was fun, wasn't it, Toby?" Tabitha grinned at the baby.
"Nooo!" Sarah cried, glaring wildly at her aunt. Toby kept giggling, seemingly encouraged by his sister's reaction.
"Oh, come on, you act like you've never been in the labyrinth before." Tabitha crossed her arms.
"I expect this kind of thing from the labyrinth! What I don't expect is to have my own aunt throw me into a hole in the ground without warning!"
"I knew what I was doing, and I didn't have time to explain it to you. The way he's acting, he might have closed the door on us if we took too long, and then we would really have been in trouble."
Sarah didn't look appeased, but she said nothing.
"There she is!" A voice croaked behind them. They turned in time to see a small group of goblins rounding a corner, the one in the lead pointing at Tabitha.
"Hey," cried another. "She's not alone!" Suddenly the entire group ground to a halt, staring in horror at Sarah.
"It's her!" One of them whispered, sinking back into the group.
"She's with me." Tabitha stepped toward them, her back straight and her head high. "She is not here to see the king, understand."
They whispered amongst themselves for a moment, then the one in the lead nodded his head. "Yes ma'am. His Majesty, the King wishes to see you immediately. You are late." He stated nervously.
"Late for what?" Tabitha looked taken aback.
"You were supposed to report here three days ago. His Majesty said so." A general shudder ran through the group, as if they were afraid of Tabitha. Tabitha just eyed them curiously, a small frown touching her lips as if their behavior troubled her.
"Well, his Majesty can just - never mind. I'll see him right now. Please make my companions comfortable. And keep them out of his Majesty's sight for the time being." She instructed them in an oddly gentle tone before passing them and heading into the hallway that they had just come down.
"She doesn't have to tell us twice." One of the goblins muttered as she vanished into the depths of the castle.
She made her way easily through the castle to the throne room. To her surprise, it was completely empty. She paused for a moment, thinking, then turned and headed up a set of stairs that lead off to one side. The top of the stairs opened into a long white hallway filled with dark wooden doors. She passed through to the end of the hall but found only a dead end. Reaching out with one hand, she slid her open palm along the surface until she was certain that it was solid. This was new.
Tabitha suppressed a groan, turning around to head back down the hall. But the opposite end of the hallway was a dead end now, as well. The stair-well was gone, replaced with another smooth white wall. Apparently he wanted her to go through one of the doors.
She reached out and opened the closest one on her right. A wall of inky blackness met her, swirling like liquid in the doorway. She froze where she stood, her hand locked onto the doorknob. Her heart rate rose sharply as the wall gurgled and began to twist into a vertical whirlpool, spinning sharply away into nothingness until her head spun. With a cry of horror she slammed the door closed and scrambled backward as fast as she could, until her shoulders were pressed against the rough wood of another door.
A soft laugh floated past her, and she swivelled about sharply in search of its source. But the hall was still empty. Clamping down on the sudden swell of panic and nausea, she climbed to her feet and leaned heavily on the door she had fallen against. There was a soft click, and the door swung inward beneath her weight, sending her sprawling backward into a dark room. Her stomach rose into her throat as she fell, crashing into the hard stone floor beyond the doorway. She flew to her feet, her eyes anxiously searching the darkness. A low rustling sound met her ears, like a breeze stirring up the leaves on a tree. Tabitha took a nervous step back, instinctively sticking her foot out to keep the door from closing.
"Want some light?" Jareth's disembodied voice murmured in her ear. And suddenly the room was bathed in brilliant white light that nearly blinded Tabitha. The rustling sound grew frantic, and Tabitha had an image of a tree caught in a hurricane. As the light faded to a tolerable level, Tabitha opened her eyes and looked around.
She screamed, hurtling herself back into the hallway like a cannon ball. As soon as she was out she pivoted and grabbed frantically at the door handle, slamming it closed so hard the doorjamb cracked. From the other side of the door she could still hear the faint rustling sound, a sound she now knew belonged to thousands of spindly-legged spiders climbing over each other, wiggling, scrambling, descending within a massive tented dome of webs, under the bulging form of a Black Widow the size of a Buick.
She jumped away from the door as if it were contaminated and began swatting at her clothes and hair. Bending over, Tabitha shook her hair out over the floor, then proceeded to remove her outer layer of clothing and shake each piece in turn. After ascertaining that nothing had slipped into her clothes she rapidly pulled them back on, trying her best to ignore the shooting pains that coursed through her chest.
He was playing with her.
Gasping for air Tabitha leaned against the wall, counting the doors with mounting dread. She didn't want to know what lay behind the other eight, but it looked like she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. As the pain in her chest faded she stepped away from the wall and squared her shoulders. No matter what lay behind those doors, she swore to herself, she would not give Jareth the satisfaction of seeing her scream again. Never.
She moved to the beginning of the hall and tried the first door on the left. Again she was faced with darkness, but this time something tall and humanoid began to form in the depths, and a white, skeletal arm emerged from the doorway. One bony finger brushed her cheek and slid down to clasp her throat, its fingers biting into her flesh. Tabitha threw the door closed, crushing the arm, and it dissolved into a sickly greenish grey vapor.
Shaking now, she made her way to the next door. Her throat was clenching in a rush of short convulsions, and her lungs were fighting for air as the upper half of her body seized up. She wasn't sure if she had it in her to test all of the doors, perhaps not even the next one. She wanted to ask Jareth to please, please stop playing games with her, to just leave her alone if he didn't want to see her, but as soon as her mouth opened to say the words she closed it again. NO! She WOULD NOT beg! No!
At least, not yet.
Tabitha pulled herself upright and started opening and closing doors as quickly as she was able, determined to get through the test. Her nerves were tested in different ways with each door. An ancient cemetery under a stormy sky with statuary that turned to look at her, a city sunk into the depths of the ocean, with massive rotting buildings that began to crumble over her, the empty nothingness of a void. On and on it went, ranging from eerie melancholy to nerve-breaking terror, until she came to the last unopened door.
A green hill speckled with wild flowers met her eyes. A sky of deep blue stretched out over a beautiful piece of land, and a gentle breeze rolled over the tall grasses. A creature made of soft-looking white fur rolled towards her down the hill and popped its plump spherical body up onto its hind legs. It had large dark eyes that fixed on her with an air of such pleading sweetness she immediately felt entranced.
The creature chattered at her and bounded a short ways back up the hill, pausing to look back as if asking her to follow it. The breeze wafted up to her, teasing her nose with the scent of flowers. Everything beyond that door seemed beautiful, peaceful, and charming. Slowly, Tabitha backed away and closed the door.
If she was forced to choose a door to pass through, she quite thought the whirlpool looked safer.
Purposefully now, she opened the door to the whirlpool and stared at the smoky black fluid. Bracing herself, she brushed her fingers against the surface, only to find that she couldn't pull back. The water gripped her fingers and yanked her bodily into its twisting depths.