A/N: I've got much of this story mapped out and in various stages of writing and editing. I hope to get it done within the next couple of months *fingers crossed*. Thanks so much for reading, following, and favoriting this story. Special thanks to Wynni for reviewing the last chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and a lot that you don't.
The Blog of HisPreciousThing
November 10, 2011 – 10:51pm
To borrow a phrase from a popular musical, oh my God you guys! If I knew how hard this search was going to be, I don't know if I would have agreed to it. That's probably not true. I don't think you're allowed to say no to the Goblin King. Besides, this is a nice change to my normal boring life. Anyhoo, I've been on Google so much this week and really have nothing to show for it. My parents think I'm writing a paper on Tolstoy's War and Peace so they've been leaving me alone, at least. Who knew there were so many women named Sarah Williams. *sigh*
"Damn!" Samantha shouted, pushing her keyboard away from her. This was never going to work. She'd tried several different search parameters including "Sarah Williams," "Sarah and Toby Williams," and just "Sarah and Toby." Expanding her search, she added words like precious, labyrinth, peach, and champion. She got a lot of results; 421,000,000 to be exact. Several of those included Labyrinth fanfiction. A few alluded to a famous voice actress. There were many Sarah Williams in the world, but none were the right one.
To top it all off, Becky was still not talking to her. Samantha would see her and Andy at school. Becky would barely look at her and Andy's face just showed his disappointment in her. That look was almost worse than Becky's silence. It was obvious that Becky had told Andy about her lie and he felt just as betrayed as her best friend. She wished she could just talk to them again; make them understand why she did what she did. Unfortunately, they would probably just think she'd lost her mind.
Samantha stepped away from the computer to begin pacing her room. There was something she was missing; something that would help her find the elusive champion. Then there was the question of everything Jareth had told her before dropping his problems in her lap. She sort of understood why he couldn't find her. It made sense in a really crazy way that her words had cast him from her life. It was the whole idea of everything being real and time not being linear that was hard to wrap her mind around.
Never being much for science fiction, Samantha hadn't given the concept of time much thought. She'd lived her life pretty much like most people. Taking things for granted, she pretty much expected that time moved logically forward. Now, she'd learned so much that it threatened to overwhelm her. It made her wonder what else she thought she knew was wrong all along.
Most of all, she wished she could talk to her best friend about all of this. She'd tried calling and texting several times, but Becky refused to answer or return her call. If she had to do it all over again, she would have taken Becky into her confidence after the first time she'd seen Jareth. Becky was always the smarter of the pair and maybe she'd have some idea of what to do.
Samantha made up her mind. She wouldn't give up trying to connect with Becky until she wore her down and she allowed her to apologize. Grabbing her phone, she slid her finger along the screen until Becky's name popped up. Selecting the familiar number, Samantha sent up a wish that Becky would finally answer.
The phone started ringing on the other end and quickly switched to voicemail. It was obvious that Becky had diverted her call as soon as she saw her name pop up. With a sigh, Samantha left another voicemail. She knew that Becky couldn't stay mad at her forever, but it sure felt like it. David Bowie might have said forever wasn't long at all, but he probably wouldn't have if he'd felt the wrath of Becks.
So, yeah. That's how I've spent most of this week. I'm beginning to think that I'm never going to find her. Jareth hasn't been any help, either. Whenever I talk to him, he just rolls his eyes at me and says that, if he could have done it himself, he would never have bothered involving a mortal. He's definitely exasperating, no matter how hot he is. Sarah can have his arrogant ass. Now I know why she turned him down at the end of the movie.
Maybe I need to try a different tactic. This search is getting me nowhere. Maybe someone out there can help me find Sarah. I'll try again tomorrow, but it's time to turn in for the night. I have an exam tomorrow that I haven't studied for. What? With all this clandestine searching, I haven't had the time. Oh, well. I'll just have to hope I can pull this one out of my butt.
TTFN
The Blog of HisPreciousThing
November 13, 2011 – 8:22pm
Eureka! I think I've found a lead! Like I said a couple of days ago, I started searching for all things related to Labyrinth. I've Googled "Labyrinth," "Goblin King," "Jareth," etc. It took me awhile (and a lot of rabbit trails, tbh), but I stumbled upon an actual secret society. They're called the Underground Crystal Society and they seem to know a lot about this. Maybe they can get me the answers I need.
Samantha sat at her computer and looked at the blank Google search screen. Her searches, so far, had come up with a big cup of jack squat. Her fingers began to move, once again, over the keys of her keyboard. More results popped up and she began to scroll through them. Suddenly, a link came up that she hadn't seen before: Underground Crystal Society.
"Well, what do we have here?" she mumbled to herself as she clicked the link.
As the page began to load, she started to look it over. There were pictures of Jim Henson and stills from Labyrinth. In an elegant font, there was a story that took up the main page. Samantha read what was written, feeling her eyebrows raise higher with every paragraph. It read like some kind of weird fantasy conspiracy theory. Certain passages jumped out at her as she continued to skim the page.
"It is common belief that Jim Henson died, leaving Labyrinth as his last film. This is no coincidence. Henson did not die, as reported, Instead, his family covered up his disappearance with a sudden death story."
"Everyone knows that the Fae are a private and proud race. They do not like their lives to become fodder for human entertainment. Those that dare try to tell their stories find themselves in hot water, sometimes literally."
"No, Jim Henson is still alive. He was taken to the Underground for directing Labyrinth. The story of the girl who defeated the labyrinth is real and Jareth, being a typical Fae, became angered. He took Henson to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City, where he lives to this day."
The story seemed at once ludicrous and entirely plausible, given what Samantha now knew about the Goblin King. However, it did seem strange that he never mentioned any of this to her. Then again, when have the fae ever been above twisting their words and omitting facts to suit their agenda. Maybe these people would have more information for her about Sarah Williams and her place in all of this.
Samantha read through the entire site until she found a name and email address of the leader of this secret society. Biting her bottom lip, Samantha sat there staring at the screen. She was torn between closing it and trying to find another way to locate Sarah and reaching out to this stranger for help. The thought of doing any more searching on her own and carrying this secret alone was completely unappealing. Clicking on the link, she waited for her email program to load and began to compose an email.
To: LabyrinthBoi21
From: HisPreciousThing
Subject: labyrinth question
Hi there,
You don't know me, but I need your help. I know that Labyrinth is a true story. This might seem crazy, but I've talked to the Goblin King. Now, I need to find Sarah Williams as soon as possible. I just stumbled on your website and it made a lot of sense. Do you know anything about the real Sarah?
Thanks!
Samantha
Knock, knock, knock. Her mother opened the door and popped her head in the room. "Sam, Becky's here."
Samantha quickly hit send and jumped up from her chair. "Can I talk to her?"
"I think it'd be okay. You've been on your best behavior so I can give you a short reprieve."
"Thanks, mom!" Impulsively, Sam jumped up and hugged her mother tight.
Returning her embrace with a smile, her mother said, "I'll send her up."
Just as I was hitting send, I got a knock at the door. Phew! That was close. My mom didn't even wait for me to tell her to come in. I can't imagine what she would have thought about my sending an email to some guy I met online. I was way surprised to hear that Becks had come to see me. She hasn't been talking to me all week. It's been one of the hardest weeks of my life. I've sent her a few texts and I've tried to call, but she's still so mad at me. I can't really blame her, though. I'm so glad she came by. I finally had someone to confide all of this craziness to (besides all you, that is).
Samantha flopped on her bed and waited for what felt like an eternity before Becky came through the door. In her hands, she held a box of Sam's favorite chocolates. It was a familiar peace offering. Sam's eyebrows rose in surprise. If anyone was owed an apology, it sure wasn't her. An awkward silence filled the room as both weren't sure what to say to the other.
Finally, Sam broke the silence. "Hey, Becks."
"Hey, Sam."
"I'm so sorry, Becky," Sam said in a rush, as if afraid she wouldn't have time to get all the words out.
"I'm sorry, too, Sam."
Samantha took the chocolates from her friend and set them down on her desk before hugging her tight. "I swear I never meant to lie to you. I just couldn't tell you the truth. You'd think I was nuts."
"I already think you're nuts," Becky said, stepping away to sit on the bed.
Sam grinned. "More nuts, then."
"So, if you weren't at your grandma's house, where were you?"
The grin slid off Sam's face as she suddenly turned serious. "You have to swear not to tell anyone."
"Ok, I swear."
"Pinky swear," Sam said, holding up her right pinky.
Becky rolled her eyes. "Really? We haven't done that since we were in middle school."
"I'm as serious as a heart attack, Becks."
"Fine." The two girls linked pinky fingers. "I swear I won't tell a single soul what you're going to tell me. Now, spill."
"The reason I couldn't study with you was because I was meeting with the Goblin King."
"Seriously?" Becky said, jumping up from the bed. "First you lie to me and then you make up a ridiculous story."
"I'm not making it up and I'm not crazy," Sam insisted. "I really did meet with the Goblin King. He said that the movie was real and that he needed my help to find Sarah."
"Oh, come on," Becky replied, rolling her eyes. "That's impossible."
"Fine, if you don't believe me, I can prove it to you," Sam asserted. "I wish the Goblin King would come to me, right now."
Though she was prepared for his arrival, it was still disconcerting to see him appear out of nowhere. Becky's gasp was like music to her ears. It meant that she truly wasn't crazy. Even though she'd been telling herself that this was all real, it was still good to know that someone else could see him, too. She watched as he took a seat in her desk chair and crossed one leg over the other. He was dressed casually in just a flowy shirt and tight trousers.
"Well, well, well," he said, smoothly. "What have we here?"
"You…you're…real?" Becky asked, her eyes wide.
Jareth rolled his own eyes. "Quite."
"You're really the Goblin King?"
"For the last several hundred years," Jareth acknowledged.
Becky's breathing was harsh and fast. For a moment, Sam was afraid that she was going to hyperventilate. She watched, carefully, as Becky stared at the Goblin King and tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
"And you're really here in this room."
"Are you well?" Jareth asked.
"Sam, why's the Goblin King here in your room? Am I dreaming? Pinch me." Sam shrugged and did as she asked. "Ow!"
"Is she well?" Jareth asked, looking to Sam.
"She's ok," Sam insisted. "She's just not used to fairytales being real, that's all." She looked to Becky, whose breathing was finally slowing down. "As to why he's here, he needs my help."
"Twist the knife," Jareth muttered, looking away from the teens.
"Truth hurts," Sam said.
The two girls looked at each other before reciting together, "hurts like hell," and dissolving into giggles.
"Are you done?" Jareth asked, a sour look upon his face.
"Oh, don't be so cranky," Sam said. "I'm helping you, aren't I?"
"I. Am. Not. Cranky," he ground out. "You know, even for a mortal, you're highly annoying. You say you're helping me, but I am still no closer to finding Sarah than when we first spoke."
It was Sam's turn to become indignant. "Hey! It's not like you gave me much to go on. Do you know how many Sarah Williams there are? Besides, I finally have a lead and I'm not going to let you rain on my parade."
Becky began to sing at the familiar prompt, her voice changing into a crude imitation of Barbara Streisand. "Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter.
Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter. Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade."
"Do I get dinner with my show?" Jareth asked, becoming amused by the strange mortals in his company.
"So, let me see if I've got everything straight," Becky said, taking a seat on Sam's bed. "The story of the labyrinth is real and you're here for help to find Sarah."
"You mortals have a penchant for the understatement," Jareth sighed.
"Wait! Sam, did you say you had a lead. Did you find her?"
"Well, no," Samantha said, frowning at the fleeting look of disappointment on Jareth's face. "But I might have found someone that could help."
"Who is it?" Becky asked.
"Some guy who runs a secret society. He seems to know a lot about Labyrinth. I emailed him earlier and now I'm just waiting to hear back from him."
"Another mortal, I presume. How quaint."
Samantha was about to let go of a scathing retort when her computer pinged, indicating that she had a new email. Moving the mouse to wake up the screen, she saw that she had a reply to her email. That was fast! She quickly read it aloud.
To: HisPreciousThing
From: LabyrinthBoi21
Subject: re: labyrinth question
Is this some kind of joke?
"Well, answer him," Becky said.
Her best friend's excitement was both palpable and contagious. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she began to type out her response.
To: LabyrinthBoi21
From: HisPreciousThing
Subject: re: labyrinth question
No joke! I really need to talk with you ASAP. I have a lot of questions and I feel like you're the only one with the answers. What can you tell me about Sarah and the Goblin King?
Samantha
Without a pause to reconsider, Sam hit send and then there was nothing left to do but wait.
So, there you have it. I'm now sending emails to strange guys online. That's the level of craziness that I'm at now. At least I have Becky. I don't know what I'd do without her. Well, let's hope that he gets back to me soon. I have a feeling that, whatever this is, it's going to get even crazier.
TTFN
A/N2: Please send me a quick review and let me know what you think of this story/chapter. I promise that I read every single one. Thanks!
