Heyo! I decided to post the next chapter EARLY since I made you all wait so long for Chapter 8 and made it so short :) Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter and any previous chapters in a lovely review! They are my inspiration to continue writing, they are my sunshine on a rainy day :)
REVIEW ANSWERS for Chapter 7-8:
LovelyAmberLight - Thank you so much! I try my best to keep the OC's perception of things realistic, so it feels like it could actually happen, y'know? I love that my story has gained your interest, it makes me so happy! :)
thetankgirl - Thank you! I worry sometimes that I made Gwen have too much of an outburst or too sudden of a feeling, but I'm glad that my writing has been on point so far! :) I'm so glad that I nailed the characters at least halfway, it is NOT easy, lemme tell ya! ;)
ella - I hope you liked the latest update! :)
ZeWaz - Thank you for your insightful review! Gwen has had a rough time with her career in stand-up comedy and constantly feeling ignored, so I thought that should play into how others are recognized and her need to emphasize that when they're ignored like she is. I'm glad you picked up on that! :D
OfLoveandLies - Yeah Gwen's pretty colorful, isn't she? ;) I'm glad you read through the seven chapters so fast, I feel so honored! I've done that before with another Labyrinth fic but it had like 20 chapters and I read it for like two straight hours without stopping :)
phantontheiftwilight - Oh my gosh, thank you! This review really got me, I teared up a bit, I was so happy :) I noticed that about others Labyrinth fics, that they literally copied the movie with regard to the OC's or Sarah's journey through the Labyrinth. So, out of creativity and some laziness, I decided to not follow the movie and do my own stuff. 'Cause I'm rebellious like that, y'know. *leans against pole* *slips, stumbles, regains balance* So smooth.
Gaianee - Whoa, you're French? That's awesome! :D I'm so glad that my fic has brought you such grand entertainment :) I'm grateful that you don't see Gwen as a Mary-Sue, I hate it when people write their OCs like that when they could have so much more potential as characters. Thank you so much for adding this to your favorites! :D Bursting with happiness right now, no joke!
BloodyGrim - Aye-aye, captain! *salutes*
alice - Thanks a bunch! I'm glad I captured his personality well enough :) His personality in the movie is so perfect; sassy yet sophisticated, so much fun to write :) Thank goodness the funny parts have actually made people laugh, I was afraid they were just gonna end up being lame, lol :)
Muirgen79 - *laughs evilly* *backs out of room slowly, hits doorframe* DAMNIT *stumbles out of room*
ENJOY CHAPTER 9, LOVELIES! :D Let me know if I forgot anyone in the Review Answers! *snaps fingers, cloud appears* *disappears like a boss*
When I was eight years old, I had my first actual, horrifying nightmare. I remember it like it was thirteen years ago:
I was sitting in my room, playing with my action figures (I liked action figures of superheroes and stuff as a kid; I didn't do dolls) when I heard this roar come from the hallway. I remember, trancelike, getting up from my bed and going to open the door. I let myself into the hallway and found it pitch-black. I groped around, looking for a light switch or any source of light, when I felt something press against my face. It felt like coarse fur, not soft but rough against my skin. I felt hot and wet breath land on top of my head, and I remember thinking to myself, I need to get out of here. But I couldn't move; I was frozen in place. The beast, whatever it was, grabbed me by the shoulders and jerked me forward -
Then I woke up, not before hearing the resounding roar in my head. I would continue having the same exact dream for years on end, but I never saw the beast's face.
But now I had.
It was staring back at me, his mud brown eyes penetrating deep into mine. It straightened itself to full height, nearly the height of the labyrinth walls, lifting up its great, ugly head with its large horns. Its face was smushed together with fat lips and two large canine teeth poking out.
I gawked at the beast, feeling my legs shake and all of my confidence dissolve into pure terror.
"I... am... Ludo!" the beast growled in its deep, uneducated voice. To my horror, it started advancing towards me on its big, lumbering feet, snarling. I screamed, falling backwards over a large rock and hitting my butt hard on the ground.
"I-I come in peace!" I stammered, holding my hands out defensively. "I-I'm nice! I promise! I-I won't h-hurt you!" My heart was thudding right out of my chest and I feared for my life.
The beast hovered over me, squinting its eyes, sniffing with an air of suspicion. Then its eyes widened, and its expression softened.
"Sar... wah?" it asked gingerly. The words were stuck in my throat; I just gaped at its ugly face inches from mine, wondering how the hell I was still alive.
"Sir Ludo!" a small, high-pitch voice called from afar. "I say to thee, we must be steadfast in our quest to aid Sarah! The fair maiden - well, thou couldst say she is a maiden warrior - has returned to the Labyrinth for one final battle!" If I wasn't shocked enough, there came a small squirrel-like creature riding a... sheepdog? Oh my God, it's riding a dog... am I just really high right now?
"Sir Ludo, didst thou heareth-," the squirrel-thing stopped mid-speech, but its dog-steed continued lumbering ahead. "Halt, Ambrosius!" He hopped off of his dog-steed and unsheathed a toothpick of a sword. "Halt, trespasser! Ye be warned who cross paths with the Two Knights of Labyrinthshire!" He proceeded to thrash his incredibly thin sword about, making quite a show out of slicing the air.
I pushed myself to my feet, wiping dust off of my knees. The medieval-squirrel's show had given me time to gather my wits to talk my way out of this.
"Hey, chill, bud," I said carefully, holding up defensive hands. "I'm just... passing through. Not here to stir up trouble. Ya feel me?"
The squirrel-knight-thing seemed to scrutinize my face, squinting its eyes almost comically. It occurred to me that the creature was wearing a hat with a plume feather and medieval garb... I began to wonder how much of my sanity I had lost in this place so far.
"You look like Sarah," the creature observed. My childhood nightmare that I assumed was called Ludo or something nodded his large head, making his fur shake around his neck.
"Sar-wah!" Ludo exclaimed, his ugly face (I assumed it was a 'he') breaking out in the wrinkles of a smile. "Missed you, Sar-wah!"
Oh shit, this is awkward, I thought uncomfortably. "Hey, um, my name's Gwen Jackson," I said lamely, giving a short little wave before letting my hand fall to my side. "Um, I'm here because I, uh... said some stupid things... that I did not mean... and yeah, now I have to solve this maze hellhole. Oh, and uh, you may want to know that, uh, Jareth... has... feelings... certain feelings towards me... you catch my drift? Please say yes."
The squirrel-thing and Ludo the Beast glanced at each other, thoroughly shocked yet interested.
"I see, young maiden," the knight-in-shining-fur began, "that you are, indeed, in distress. May we, two excellently trained knights, be of your service?"
"Oh, um..." I trailed off, shifting on my feet. "...sure, yeah. Thanks."
"Splendid!" the creature cried. "Sir Didymus, at your service!" He bowed until his nose nearly touched the ground, taking off his weird hat and swaying it outward clutched in hand. He stayed bowed for an awkwardly long amount of time until announcing loudly, "Sir Ludo, we must bow to the fair maiden!"
"Oh, Ludo forgot," Ludo mumbled in the third person, then stooping his large body into somewhat of a bow.
I shifted on my feet lamely, having no idea how to respond to a knight-squirrel and the monster from my childhood nightmares bowing in front of me, claiming sudden loyalty. I would be lying it didn't feel a little empowering.
"So, you said you were looking for Sarah," I began hesitantly as the Knights of the Two-Person Table straightened up from their strenuous bow. "Can I ask why?"
"We received word of her return to the Goblin King's fortress," Sir Didymus replied in a gallant tone. "So, as her previous companions and comrades, we both set out to find her."
Yep, still incredibly awkward. I felt like I was telling two children for the first time that Santa wasn't real, and that their parents had been staging the Christmas Eve night scene since day one.
"Well... okay, there's been a misunderstanding. Y'see, it's not Sarah that's here... it's me. I have to solve this labyrinth, or else... well, Jareth wins, essentially."
Sir Didymus and Ludo stared at me for a moment as the information sunk in. Their expressions, originally enthusiastic and determined, now deflated and their shoulders slumped visibly, though Sir Squirrel tried to hide it. If I wasn't still dumbfounded by the entire scene, I would have been heartbroken by their faces.
"Sar-wah not here?" Ludo asked stupidly, his face smushing into sadness.
"Our fair maiden has adventures elsewhere," Sir Didymus proclaimed, straightening his small shoulders, though his tone was obviously crestfallen. "Godspeed to her!"
"Ga-spee," Ludo agreed in his deep, gravelly voice.
After another awkward silence, I asked a little too quickly, "So, d'you guys happen to know how to get out of here? 'Cause that would be super helpful to me right now... but y'know, if you don't that's fine."
"Ludo know way," Ludo announced, smiling again. "Rocks are friends. Rocks will clear way for Ludo and friends."
"Yeah, I saw you doing that earlier, nice idea by the w-," I began, stopping suddenly when I turned to the wall that he had demolished not too long ago. The maze wall was perfectly reformed and as ancient looking and ivy-infested as it had been before; even the fountain was re-erected and spouting clear water again.
"Didst thou seeth that, Sir Ludo?" Sir Didymus asked in bewilderment. "The wall you destroyed has been rebuilt! 'Tis be magic, I say; Magic!"
"'Tis magic, indeed," I replied, donning my awful British accent impression, which made Sir Didymus do a double-take at me in surprise. "'Tis be dark magic, by the 'ands of a greedy lord who lives in the castle up yonder. Aye, I seen it wit' me own eyes." I turned to Sir Didymus and Ludo and flashed a grin. "That accent alone took me six months to perfect, and it still sucks. Stay in school, kids."
"'Twas not... too ghastly," Sir Didymus offered while Ludo furiously nodded his head and agreed stupidly, "Not... ghostly."
I shrugged good-naturedly. "Well, looks like we'll have to do this old school, Sarah-style. You guys know the way?"
"Not certainly, but I haven't the slightest doubt that destiny shall guide us to it!" Sir Didymus cried. He hopped over to his trusty sheepdog and mounted him, calling out, "Forward, Ambrosius!" Ambrosius started down the opposite hall, to which Didymus cried out in frustration ("Ambrosius, you dolt! I said forward!") and then he and Ludo began down the hallway across from which I had entered.
Before following the two knightly dorks, I gazed up at the castle sitting high on a hill in the middle of the labyrinth, ominous and dark as it leered over me. From a window in one of the higher towers, I could have sworn I saw a figure sitting on the window sill, watching me. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched intensely, like a bug under a microscope.
"I would say 'check mate,'" I began under my breath, somehow certain that I was being heard. "But this isn't chess. This is fuzeball. No one beats me at fuzeball... bitch."
I turned and jogged down the labyrinth hall to catch up to my new companions, hoping that things were finally turning around for me in this mazelike hellhole. Oh, if only I had known how wrong I was.
For anyone who doesn't know what fuzeball is, it's a game normally found in peoples' basements or bars/pubs/whatevers where there are plastic people on these metal poles that you control to hit a plastic soccer ball around a plastic field and you have to score in the other person's hole-goal-thing (looks like the kind in air hockey).
...
Hopefully I spelled fuzeball right... oh well. :P