Chapter 2
Notes: Okay, Sarah may not seem in character, but this is a couple years after the Labyrinth and she has changed. She's a teenager now, and is logically going to act accordingly. I am trying to keep her from being a Mary Sue, but don't know if am succeeding…eh, oh well, on with the story.
Sarah awoke from her disturbing dreams of a giant, lidless, red eye. Forgotten in the harsh sunlight, her dreams disappeared. Her eyes felt glued shut, and she moaned, but the sun was calling. Morning was here, and she was trying desperately to remember what had happened.
"You passed out" came an unexpected (and slightly accented, she noticed) voice from beside her bed.
Suddenly visions of Jareth, the handsome but wicked king, a group of strangers, weapons, a ring, and others images assaulted her vision.
"Goddamn" was her only response, before she examined the person or…creature sitting next to her bed. He was admittedly gorgeous, with long blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes. 'A hunk of male specimen, to be sure.' she thought, but the thing that really caught her attention was his ears. They were pointed, and decidedly not human. As she continued her visual journey of him, she realized that he had an otherworldly aura…a glow that was decidedly not human, similar to Jareth's aura. She realized this would've bothered most people, but she wasn't most people. She had met fairies, goblins, and other assorted creatures when she was just a kid. She sighed, thinking of her last adventure, and how it led her to her latest one. If only she had kept her big mouth shut.
Through with her mental wanderings, she felt she needed answers, and now. Her curiosity needed to be sated.
"I don't mean to be rude, but, what are you?" She asked openly, her gaze still traveling his form.
"I am an elf" He smiled, but looked uncomfortable. She got the feeling it wasn't from her question. 'Wait a second..'
"I'm Sarah, but I think we've met" She said, something tickling the back of her mind, something she should know.
"My name is Legolas, of the woodland realm, and yes, we have known each other" He said, looking even more uncomfortable.
'What an odd way of putting it' she thought, 'wait, is he blushing?'
The elf in question was indeed a bit flushed, although he was loathe to admit it.
"Do you not remember anything from yesterday?" He asked, and Sarah felt more and more discomfited. 'There is something I should be remembering right now'
"I'm sorry; I'm kind of blanking, could you fill me in?" She asked
He looked a little confused before translating what she said.
"Before you passed out…I am unsure of how to begin this" He said with a sigh, looking past her, as if seeing something in the distance. "There are some things you should know first. There is a dark evil in this world, in the form of a ring…" He began.
Ten minutes later, she was digesting what he had said. Apparently, she had replaced a ring of power, or more accurately, it had morphed into her. That explained the uncomfortable sucking sensation in her room. She knew Jareth was behind this, and apparently had left a message, although Legolas didn't fully explain. He said Elrond, another elf, (apparently the Big Man on campus) was better equipped to explain it to her. Although he did tell her that she was in danger, and very close to being dead. Legolas was one of the people who had voted not to kill her, apparently. It was not comforting that there was a group of people that decided whether she should live or die, but she was glad of the outcome so far.
"So, I'm getting the feeling that there are several leaders here who are, don't take this offensively, but, um, outranking you" She said as politely as she could, and he nodded.
"So…why aren't they here?" She asked, trying to keep the question as polite but honest as she could. She didn't have the time or the patience for subtlety.
Legolas looked on the verge of fidgeting, and she was assuming that elves didn't normally fidget. He looked far too graceful to fidget. He looked nervous.
"The group elected me to speak to you when you arose, milady." He dodged her question.
"Forgive my bluntness, Legolas, but why you?" She asked, genuinely curious, sensing that he was avoiding something. She had learned that you had to be direct, and ask the right questions. The Labyrinth had taught her that.
"We became close, Sarah..." he answered.
'Okay, so they thought a familiar face would help to break the news to me, but that doesn't explain much…what did he mean by close?' Sarah wondered, her thoughts jumbled and confused beyond reason. What was he trying to work around telling her?
"Close how? As in, we had a deep conversation yesterday discussing movies, politics, and favorite foods? What kind of close, Legolas?" she asked, inserting some sarcasm, and lord, did he look uncomfortable.
"We became close in the way that a man becomes close to a woman" He said, looking searchingly into her eyes.
"Wait, do you mean…." She was about to ask before the memories assaulted her. She screamed in agony, and once again, everything went black.