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Alexsara: I'm glad your enjoying the story! Keep reviewing i love it!
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Chapter 5: We're All Mad Here
The clearing was empty. The cats were gone, vanished into thin air. Sarah stepped out of the bushes and onto the soft ground. The fire was left burning, a few pokers still sticking out of it. She refused to look up at the hanging carnage. She scanned the edge of the forest. Nothing. No sounds at all.
'Where did they all go? Well, i'm not sticking around to find out!' With that she headed to the edge of the forest, straight into one of the cats. It had popped out of the bushes just as she had reached it.
She let out a scream and punched it in the face. Sending the head flying. 'Wait a second, i just decapitated the poor creature!' She watched as the body of the cat started to walk off in the other direction swinging its arms around. Sarah took off through the forest, she heard the rest of the cats file out behind her in pursuit. She slid to a stop in front of one of the walls of the labyrinth and began to climb the vines attached to it.
The vines however did not take kindly to this and used thier tendrils to try and shake her off. They began playing a fierce game of 5 little piggies with her fingers while she tried desperatly to hold on. She managed to climb to the top of the wall and looked back over the edge. The cats were trying to climb as well, but thier arms were just like thier heads, removeable. Every time a cat would try and climb the wall thier arms would detach from thier body. They were too heavey. They couldnt hold themselves up. They screeched up at her and started jumping up and down.
Sarah sat back on the wall and took deep breaths. Why didnt she think of climbing the wall sooner? Something brushed by her hand and she jerked it up. 'Stupid bugs' she thought and stood up. On the opposite side of the wall there was a swamp of some sort. Dead plants and trees surrounded it. There was a low mist covering everything. The mist started to separate, a part of it floated up and around one of the trees.
As Sarah stared the mist went around the tree and then back down to the rest of the mist. Other off shutes began to separate themselves from the whole, Sarah realized that this wasnt fog. It was spirits.
A hand came down on her shoulder and she nearly fell off the wall. The hand steadied her and turned her around. Jareth's smiling face slowly came into view.
"Dont you know better then to sneak up on people!" She yelled and stabbing her into his chest.
Jareth backed up a step and rubbed the spot she had poked. "My apologies, i only came to give you a warning."
"What warning might that be?"
"To stay away from the Bog of Sorrow."
In sarah's head she heard another name for the bog, the old name.
"Is that what this is? Appropriate name. Why are all these souls here? Is this a burial ground?" She asked and started walking down the wall, stearing clear of the edge closest to the bog. Jareth followed her and blocked the bog from view. The spirits seemed to give him a wide birth.
"In a sense, yes, this is a burial ground, for spirits anyway. The bodies themselves are buried in cemetaries across the Underground. People who die horrible painful deaths have thier souls brought here to suffer in silence. It is a form of purgatory. Any living being who steps foot in the bog will be sucked under and become a suffering soul themselves. So beware, stay away from the bog, do not tempt that fate. It is not a kind one."
"Creepy yet informative. I'll take heed and see to it i keep clear of the bog. Thank you Jareth. I seem to be thanking you alot lately." She said and stopped to gaze into his eyes. She could gaze into those eyes forever.
"It is my pleasure i assure you." He reassured her and took her hands in his. Bringing them up to his lips and kissing each one gently.
Sarah turned a light shade of red and slowly took her hands back. The leather of his gloves felt cool to her hands.
"If you should need me, for any reason."
"I'll call."
He smiled his cat like grin and winked at her. She put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out at him. It was childish, but it was worth it to see the look of utter dumbfoundedness flash across his face as he disapeared. Sarah looked down again and noticed that there was actual ground down there. The bog was a few yards behind her now. She sat down on the wall and swung her legs out. She turned around so her chest was against the wall and lowered herself down with her arms. The wall was not as high on this side. When she felt the ground below her she let go of the wall and dusted herself off. It really was cheating being up on the wall, and she didnt want to lose on a technicality.
'Now to find away across.' She walked for a few minutes until she came upon a bridge made of rock. It looked sturdy enough. Just as she was to step foot on it she heard a voice from behind the willow tree to her left.
"Halt!" A black horse poked its head out from under the dead branches and came forward, riderless. Then from under the branches came another figure, a fox, he was dressed as a knight carrying a jousting pole. He was as tall as Sarah and covered in red fur. His metal armor was a glossy black. The horse snorted and shook his head.
"Um hello, i was just crossing this bridge..."
"Noone may cross without my permission." He stated and walked in front of her blocking her way. He slamed his pole down and grunted at her, waving at his horse to follow him. The horse decided he liked where he was and sniffed at the moss on the ground.
"Why exactly do i need your permision to cross a bridge?"
"For it is my sworn duty to protect this bridge. The king himself instructed me to watch over it!"
"Well...can i have your permission then?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because i dont feel like it."
"Well...we'll just have to see about that." Sarah walked up to thefox and grabbed the pole out of his hands. She swung it around and hit him square in the side sending him flying into the tree. She threw down the pole and grabbed the horses reins leading it across the bridge. Once across she put her foot in the stirrup and tried to pull herself up to no avail. She looked around and found a tall rock. She climbed up it and climbed onto the horses back. He didnt seem to mind her antics, he was busy sniffing the moss again.
Once she got comfortable on the horse she lightly kneed him in the sides and he started to trot.
"Piece of cake!" she exclaimed and held on. 'This will give my feet a good rest! Plus i'll cover more ground this way.'
The horse picked its way through the bog and soon they were back in a normal looking forest. The trees had life here. There were all kinds, pine, spruce, oak, elm, even some fruit trees. Though so far there were only crab apple trees. Up ahead Sarah spotted some peach trees lining the path. As the horse ducked under them Sarah reached up and plucked a peach. The tree, in retaliation, grabbed her wrist. Sarah let out a small scream which frightened the horse, who knocked her out of the saddle and took off running. She was going to have a very large bruise on her butt at the end of all this. The tree opened its eyes and pointed at the peach still in her hand.
"How would you like it if someone came along and picked something off of you!"
"I'm terribly sorry, but i was hungry and they looked awfully good."
"You want peaches? Then have some!" He yelled and started throwing peaches at her. Sarah ran, dodging peaches as she went. When she was far enough away she slowed down and took a bite out of the peach. It was as good as it looked, she was starving and so consumed the entire fruit. As she began licking the peach juices off her fingers her head started to swim. Her vision became fuzzy and everything looked like it was dancing. She stumbled to the ground and leaned against a tree. Two bubbles came down from the sky and floated towards her. One showed a dark ballroom with stars glowing in the ceiling. There were dark figures moving in circles, every once and a while a bright white mask would apear. It looked as though it were floating in mid air. The second bubble showed herself entering from all angles. She was wearing a black dress with a corset top and straps. It had purple ties in the front, and if the light hit it just right you could see purple in the skirt as well. Her hair was half up in a mass of curls with curls falling down her back. She had no jewelery, save for the small black crystals in her hair.
Sarah gazed at her own image and allowed her eyes to fall shut. She was completely under the peach's spell. She had no control over her body. Her senses were diminishing, she was falling fast asleep. Falling...falling...
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Jareth sat at his window sill, dressed in dark blues. He watched as Sarah ran away from the trees and took a bite out of the peach. He watched as she ate the entire fruit, savoring each bite. He watched as she began to fall to the ground. Thats when he made his move. He grabbed one of the spinning crystals in his hand and sent it out into the air, followed by another one. It would not be safe for her on the path. She would be safer in his ballroom, with him. She would always be safe with him...
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