Lovely people, I'm so sorry for the insanely long hiatus, I stumbled into the far LESS enjoyable Labyrinth of writer's block after life shook me up a bit. I appreciate your patience, and will try to be more industrious in the future.
All reviews are welcome, I get no small amount of abject joy from them.
I own nothing except my OCs.
More is on the way. Please enjoy!
The journey back to Sarah's chambers seemed twice as long as it had when she had walked it the first time. Her steps slowed from a sharp, quick gate to a meandering lumber. Her shoulders began to hunch under the stressful weight of losing her temper.
Now. sat in her chambers staring morosely at the roaring fireplace. By the time she had limped back to her rooms she was too exhausted even to eat. But even now with some foreign moon high in the sky, sleep would not come to her.
She hadn't been unfair. Maybe she'd even been benevolent. However, the faint aroma of guilt hovered around her anger like a widow's shroud. Mourning for the loss of something that had not yet come to be. The chill of it settled into her bones like a sickness, and no quantity of warm blankets and burning wood could ward it away.
Everything hurt. Her eyes were heavy, her joints groaned, and her frail muscles screamed. A ghost of a memory flickered to her mind. A marathon she had run many years ago in support of breast cancer research. After she threw herself over the finish line and her body began to relax again the feeling of tightness was much the same. That had been a much more enjoyable kind of pain. Now she was too old, and too tired to exert herself in such a way.
Cringing at the strain, she pried herself from her seated position with a modest wooden cane. Shuffling over to one of her narrow windows. It was much too cold to go out on the balcony. But from this vantage she could still see the breadth of the Labyrinth stretching towards the horizon.
Could it really be alive? It was so still. And the riotous gold hues of daytimes had been replaced with an army of shadows. There was something, a thrumming connection to it that she had never felt before. Occasionally, she would ever so faintly catch a small flash of purple out of the corner of her eye. Before long, a whisper of an impression slowing caressed the back of her mind.
Sleep now.
An excellent thought. Already she could feel her body relax. Flooded with a familiar warm resignation that seemed to lead her absentmindedly to her bed. Within moments of climbing under the thick down covers. She was asleep.
Somewhere deep in the Labyrinth, a statue began crumble away.
For the first time in her life, she rose with the sun. After bathing her, Brenna brought her a breakfast for one. Arabella hot on her heels trying to very carefully carry a silver tray with a large envelope on it. Their heated bickering wisely stopped at the door. Both put on huge smiles and chimed up at the same time.
"Breakfast for you my lady! Quail eggs, sausage, and honey cakes. The perfect start to a happy day. I nicked some fresh fruit juice as well." Brenna said with a conspiring wink.
She could be an excellent waitress.
"Morning Lady! Kingy sents you a letter. Must be verys importants, he useds the word 'bog' three times!"
Clearly a discussion on the appropriate time for threats is in order.
"Thank you, Brenna. It looks delicious. Would you please lay out the clothes I'll need today? And thank you very much, Arabella. You're a good girl for bringing it safely to me."
The young goblin puffed out her chest so much that Sarah thought she might pop.
"Remember to breathe, dear."
"Right!" Arabella exclaimed, right before she began taking dramatically deep and long breaths.
That ought to keep her focused for a few minutes.
Taking the knife from her silverware, Sarah deftly opened the envelope. Inside was a letter from Jareth, and a second envelop all in gold. Looking at it queerly she set it aside and read the Goblin King's missive while she ate.
My Dearest Champion,
I ate alone in sorrow today. Never have my morning hours seemed so empty and alone. I made sure to finish quickly so that I might call on you post haste. But when I tried to reach you, the Labyrinth diverted me to another part of the castle. It seems to be enforcing your promise until we have both completed our meals. My only hope for salvation is to send a favorite emissary with these most humble scribbles.
Sarah, please believe me. I am truly sorry for what happened to your friend. The guilt of my lapse has weighed on me heavily all through the night. I hope that someday both you and the Labyrinth can forgive me. Until then, I shall respect your wishes.
The second message contained within this one is a summons from the High Court that I received last night. Since it concerns both of us, I thought you should read it for yourself. This is very serious. We have very little time to prepare. We depart this afternoon. I know you'll be brave, let me do the talking.
I will see you soon.
Your Most Chastised and Meager Slave,
Jareth, The Goblin King and Master of the Labyrinth
Sarah barely remembered to swallow as she unceremoniously tossed Jareth's letter aside and scrambled to open the second one. It was written in wildly impeccable iridescent script that she had to hold to the light to make out.
From the Court of his most Mighty and Excellent Majesty High King Oberon and his most Illustrious and Magnanimous High Queen Titania.
You are summoned to appear before their Majesties at once to discuss the nature, possible threat, and fate of your new human citizen. Any attempts dismiss this order shall be condemned as an act of treason and all rights and privileges of your title stripped.
You have 2 days to arrive. You will stay for one week and then depart.
We look forward to your visit.
Signed,
An impossibly elaborate signature.
I assume that's the High King's Hand. How pretentious.
She took a deep breath for what was probably about to happen.
"Brenna! I believe some changes in plan are in order!"
The next few hours, or at least what felt like hours, were a blur of activity around the castle. Brenna, and a few other servants, were furiously packing boxes. Sorin was kneeling around the hem of one of her new court dresses with lightning in his fingers and pins in his teeth. Arabella had taken on the roll of expediter and was urging everyone to hurry by banging her spoon on various surfaces and shouting.
While abrasive, it was effective.
Currently she was trying to listen to a very spirited young man named Aiden rapidly explain the very detailed itinerary for their stay. Right away she like him. He was efficient, but humorous. Calm, but enthusiastic. Dynamic, but controlled. Sarah understood how he had earned his esteemed position.
He even used what he called 'Local Magic' to make her feel slightly weightless so she felt no pain while standing for her fittings. Apparently, all the creatures born within the Labyrinth had some small amount of magic. Usually it was good for every day household things and not much else. But to her feet, it was the most glorious thing in the whole Underground.
What really caught her attention though, was the dual in rapier wit that was being waged between Brenna and Aiden.
"Why Miss Brenna how lovely you look, I feel myself holding my breath for fear of drowning!"
"Thank you very much Sir Aiden, it's good to see your brains haven't burned away yet."
"I should think not! Especially with you here to diligently douse all the heat out of everything."
"Happy to oblige, wouldn't want your place here to be consumed along with your sincerity. You are far too useful, and I wouldn't want to clean up your ashes. Scorch marks are hell on the carpets."
When they weren't taking jabs at each other, Sarah noticed that they wouldn't stop stealing glances at each other. Never at the same time, always just missing eye contact. Aiden even lingered longer in their company than he had to. Making up new pieces of information to pass to Sarah that were either completely irrelevant trivia about the realm or plain common sense. Before leaving he respectfully bowed deeply to her but flashed a wicked grin at Brenna before jauntily stepping out of the room. Missing Brenna's gentle blush entirely.
I can't help myself. In her most innocent voice she commented.
"He's a rather handsome young man, isn't he? I bet his parents are very proud." She tacked on a small smile for emphasis. Brenna scrambled over stuttering words trying to form a suitable vague response.
"He…is m-much ado-admired by everyone in the castle. Quite an…effective supervisor. If somewhat…volatile." Averting her eyes, she redoubled her efforts at polishing a pair of Sarah's shoes.
Ah, young love. If only they would just kiss and get it over with instead of banging heads.
At long last, the flight of the bees came to an abrupt halt. And Brenna was offering her arm for support as they left to meet Jareth.
His letter had been rife with contrition. But, could they be civil in each other's company now? This all started with her trying to make peace with him. But here she was going to war all over again. She felt a twinge of regret. This whole experience would have been much more fun if they were friends. But when she found out about his cruel indifference toward Hoggle, the fury she felt was unlike anything she had felt in a very long time. The kind of anger that takes hold of all your actions until it's satisfied with the new status quo. An agenda of pure vengeance. But now in the cold banked embers of her dead ire, she felt nothing but sad for the loss of two friends. However, this encounter couldn't be avoided any longer. An awkward sort of anticipation settled in her stomach.
She didn't recognize them as butterflies.