The wind was strong as it blew through the trees, so strong that it forced with great pressure, the white, paint worn window shutters open in the old Williams bedroom.
With an annoyed sigh, Milly put down the paint scraper on top of the worn out vanity table to shut the windows for the second time this morning, pausing hesitantly to look out at the large oak trees leaves swirling around in the wind, the sun barely peaking through the clouds.
Walking back to the old vanity she picked up the scraper again and stood back to see her work. Most of the paint had been scraped off except for around the edges of the mirror. Pleased with her progress she started at once on the left hand side and finally managed to get the whole thing finished.
"It's brand new again. A new, clean slate." Milly said quietly to her reflection in the mirror, then turned to leave the room in search for the good old turps.
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Looking up at the ceiling, listening to a tap drip in the bathroom, Sarah sighed and rolled over to face the other side of the room where she could see sunlight now peaking through the cracks of her peach colored venation blinds. It was already 12pm on a Saturday and she just couldn't be bothered getting up, getting dressed, not when she didn't have to work until Monday.
But she knew eventually she would have to, and as a reminder, Merlin came bounding in on top of her wanting to go for his morning ritual walk.
"Okay, okay cheeky." Sarah said as she pulled off the covers and slipped on a pair of khaki shorts and a pair of flip flops, not bothering to change out of her good old Ramone's t-shirt.
"You really are a silly boy." She said smiling, patting the shaggy mutts head.
Making her way to the door, leash in one hand, keys in the other, she caught a glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror. Giving herself an unsatisfied frown, even after she tied her seemingly unruly hair this morning up in a pony tail, she opened the door.
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As she walked Merlin through the same daily route, she was shocked at how windy it was outside, especially when it was the middle of spring. All of a sudden she felt a huge gust of wind, so strong it nearly lifted her off her feet. About ten hats flew past the girl and then Merlin, followed by the people chasing after them. Looking up towards the sky through few trees aligning New York streets, she noticed the darkened grey clouds with the slightest bit of sun peaking through like another had. It was times like this she always remembered, remembered a long long time ago when she was just a girl.
Merlins barking brought her back to reality.
"What is it Merlin?" She asked the dog out loud, recieving a few strange looks from walkers by, provoking her to look back at them. "Yeah, like you haven't talked to a dog before".
Merlin seemed to be barking at thin air at the clouds, literally, at a bunch of leaves swirling around the tree tops, blowing north.
North was back home.
No not home anymore, Sarah quickly told herself.
She didn't know where home was anymore, even at her old house, she had only ever felt at home in one place, and it was nowhere that could be found on this earth.
"Come on Merlin, lets go."
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It was dark out now. And the wind had gotten stronger, tap tap tapping on the glass pane.
Milly sat in the bayonette window seat looking over towards her new refurbished vanity, smiling at her good work. The old worn white paint was gone, making way for the new fresh coat of paint she put on and the glass clean and shiny again.
It looked so ethereal, almost as if it had once belonged to a princess far away, in a land not known to earth. Looking out the window to the stars above, Milly sighed. It had been two days past since she had finished the mirror, and starting school.
Her first day went accordingly just as she thought. She didn't fit in and pretty much hated it. But, if she was to get into college she would have to rough it out for a while she figured.
It was more so though, that she was lonely. Leaving the friends she had behind was the worst, and starting anew. "I bet I must be the only one in the world right now that feels so alone" she heard herself say out loud.
"In your world maybe.." Said a voice from somewhere in the room. Thinking it was just in her head she kept her eyes on the night sky.
"But not in ours." Shooting her head up and around now definitely realizing it wasn't in her head, she looked to where the voice came from but no avail.
She wasn't that alone that she was starting to hear voices in her head she hoped.
Getting up off her seat, she looked around the room. Slightly hoping that whoever it was wouldn't just pop up in front of her or worse, behind her. But there was nobody in her room, just her.
Sitting back down on the bayonette chair, she frowned. Then the voice came again.
"You know sometimes things are not what they seem to be."
Milly jumped up in shock nearly banging her head on the curtain rod above. "Who are you, and wh…where are you!"
Looking once again all over the room her eyes rested on the mirror. It started to shimmer and then a face appeared of what seemed to be a dwarfe like creature. Startled, falling backwards the girl looked at it in horror.
The dwarfe looked down at her from the mirror on the floor and looked somewhat annoyed. "Well, don't just look at me, say something."
"Wh,wh, what are you?" Milly stuttured in shock still looking at the mirror.
Sighing loudly the dwarfe looked at her. "Well what does it look like I am, a fairy?"
Taken aback by his rude exterior, the girl frowned and stood up dusting herself off. "No but you could be a little nicer whatever you are."
"Well she is obviously a human Hoggle" Said a joined voice now, a much smoother, English gentleman's voice.
Joining the dwarfe in the mirror with his haughty king-like yet striking exterior, Milly looked wide-eyed at Jareth then at Hoggle. Slack-jawed at what was taking place in her small part of the world, she was wordless.
"Yes you're majesty, I do believe thy woman is a female by my sense of smell" Jumped up a fox into the mirrors surface next to Hoggle, causing the dwarfe to pull a face. "Sense of smell? By the bog, how do you smell through glass you dim witted knight?"
"Girl nice" Added a loud voice, with now a huge furry face cramming underneath an annoyed Hoggle being pushed out of view.
"But Girl not SAWAHHH." The beast wailed.
Clearing her throat and counting to ten backwards in her head the girl gulped quite obviously and looked at the four faces staring back at her quite intently, almost as if waiting for something. Perhaps to do with this Sarah girl.
"Ok TIME OUT." The girl yelled back at them all talking at once to her and themselves. "Who are you all, and what are you doing in my mirror" Or in my mind her subconscious added nervously.
"Well figures she would be rude." Said Hoggle looking at her with his usual distain, "She ain't no Sarah."
Looking down at his counterpart Jareth rolled his eyes and looked over at the girl still quite frazzled standing, looking back at them as if it were not real, as if they were not real at all.
"Excuse us for not introducing ourselves, I am Jareth, King of the Goblins and ruler of the entire Underground." Looking to his counterparts he continued. "These are my subjects, Hoggle.." The dwarfe, still irritated at being cramed into the corner of the mirror, smirked slightly, "Sir Didymus.." the fox valiantly dipped his hat at the girl, "and Ludo.." in which the beast gave a grin and rumbling chuckle.
Looking at them, it was completely unreal. Completely mental. It was almost as if a fairy story had popped up in her vanity mirror and she was expected to believe this? Rubbing her eyes for good measure, she looked up at the mirror again. Ok, they were all still there, looking even more intently at her this time. Obviously they wanted her to introduce herself.
They seemed pretty harmless either way, so Milly moved to the vanity chair, but very slowly, and sat down studying their faces. It was like a portal she realized as she could see behind them was a castle like exterior, very dank and damp, with candle motifs hanging and the red side of a flag poking through. Almost like a middle aged style webcam.
"Im Milly, Milly Bennette." The girl said cautiously watching them all. "I'm sorry but Sarah doesn't live here anymore, my mum and I bought this house off her last year."
"I thought as much." Jareth said angrily. "If only she had believed in us more, if only she had believed in me." He said much more quietly however not escaping the girls ears.
Disappearing from view in a flash, Milly looked now with interest at the story folding before her eyes.
With the three left in the mirror facing her, she moved forward slightly.
"What was wrong with him?" She asked, not as harshly as it sounded. "Is he ok?"
"Yes, he is fine madam, he always feels this way when it concerns our fair maiden Sarah." Piped the fox. "He's gone back to sulking on his throne again, he gives up too easily now when it comes to the hope of seeing Sarah again." Added the dwarfe.
"Aye, but his wounds run as deep as the oceans of our world brother Hoggle."
"You mean you guys live in a different world over there, wherever there is?"
All three nodded and said in unison. "The Underground."
Milly stared at them perplexed "The Underground?" Sounded more like a nightclub than a world. "So you live under ground then?" Confused she bit her lip.
"The Underground is not so much Underground as it is above, it is just the opposite." Even more confused now by the Fox's explanation Milly just nodded and figured she would ask more later.
"We are from the land of the Labyrinth, home to King of the Goblins, Jareth and we his subjects." Finished the dwarfe.
"Ok then." Milly said still finding a hard time getting her head around all this. "So what did Sarah do to upset him so?"
The three looked at each other then at the girl prying for information.
"Oh, so you want a story do ya." Hoggle asked eyeing the girl off curiously. "How is it possible you be seeing us anyway."
Milly, confused, couldn't answer that herself at the moment.
"I don't know how I can see you, I don't really know what's going on here. Maybe you should tell me what this is all about so I can understand."
"Perhaps we should tell her the story then brother" Piped Didymus.
"Story of Sawah." Moaned Ludo.
Looking at his friends, then to the girl, Hoggle moved closer to the mirror.
"Alrights, Ill tell you about the story of the young girl, and her goblin king."
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Slouching back into the vanity chair as if she were watching the ending of an unsatisfying movie, Milly shook her head and sighed.
"So that was it, she said the words, got sent back home, brother safely put back in his crib, and no more Goblin King?"
"No more king, no more fwend." Wailed the beast.
Hoggle's eyes glazed over with sadness. "Sarah thought of us as but a dream, but then a tragedy made her forget us for real."
The car accident.. thought Milly.
"We would watch our maiden by this view, whenever we could, but he would watch her constantly, always, in the hopes she would call to him." Didymus said looking down.
"Jaweth still hope." Ludo gave a small smile of hope too. "No Ludo, Jareth does not hope anymore, especially when it comes to Sarah." Hoggle spat out making ludo's smile turn into a frown.
Sitting there thoughtful Milly touched the edge of the vanity's table. She did not forget the cut look on Jareth's face when Sarah's name was mentioned, she knew the look of love, she knew the look of lost love, there was no way possible that this man still did not love this Sarah girl.
"So could she see you through this mirror like I can?"
Hoggle looked at his three counterparts and sighed. "No, she looked at the mirror, but never saw us. She gave up her rights to see us when she denounced the Goblin Kings love."
Sitting upstraight now Milly frowned. "But that's not how a story, especially a fairy tale is supposed to end."
"And how is one supposed to end?" Asked the dwarfe.
Milly, shocked at his question when he himself should know being one of the products of all fairy stories.
Looking at them all in surprise, she looked out the window and back at them. "Well they live happily ever after." When noone said anything to that Milly continued, "The prince or king in this matter gets the girl, takes her to his castle, makes her his queen, has a thousand little rug rats and they live immortally in bliss forever."
Sir Didymus cleared his throat finally and looked at the girl. "How does thy know this?"
Milly looked down to the pearly edge of the table. "Its something all humans know and wish for, or females so to speak. Its how we go about our own miserable lives knowing that far away, there is some prince charming who will come take us away to his castle and make us forever happy than what we would be in our own miserable existence here." Looking up at them seeing them nod in understanding now she was quite confused. How could mythical creatures such as these not know the typical fairytale ending.
Yawning the girl couldn't be bothered explaining anymore tonight but smiled at the three of them.
"Well, its been …surreal, but I must go to bed now, I got school tomorrow." She said rolling her eyes at the mention of school.
As she got up off the seat the dwarfe jumped off his own seat. "Yes but before you go Milly, might we ask you one more question."
"Sure." The girl said looking down at them.
"Do you believe that Jareth could still have his fairytale ending, with Sarah…"
Milly took a seat again, tilting her head in thought. It wasn't impossible, in fact most fairytale stories that ended up with a happy ending were such as this. However she would need to know how the king felt, if he still did love Sarah, and of course if Sarah loved Jareth or could believe in him again, not recalling her new friends ever telling her that Sarah in fact ever did, but it was implied from the story that it was quite possible she did.
"It is possible, very possible infact." Said Milly breaking out of her train of thought. "But you would need to know how both king and girl still feel and of course a go between to help steer them back to each other."
Smiling, all three looked at each other almost strangely knowing what each was thinking. "Then this is how we can see you, you are such go between Milly."
"Labyrinth wants you to bring us Sawah."
The dwarfe looked solemnly at her now. "Milly, I don't ask for many things, but will you please help us find Sarah."
Laughing again Milly got up off her seat really now ready to depart for bed.
"Guys, I'm hardly the one who you need help from, and I wouldn't know where to start if I did decide to bring you Sarah." She said looking down at them.
It was bad enough her bedroom was now some communication portal to a far away fairytale land, but in the real world, what if this was all in her head. She couldn't just go looking for this Sarah girl and tell her to go back to the labyrinth…or could she. Looking for a hair tie she looked back at them and their sad faces, feeling bad at once for laughing at something that could bring them happiness, for their hope. She herself knew what it was like to lose someone, and how in the slightest hope you might see them again, you would do anything.
Sighing she pulled her hair into a pony tail. "Listen, I will think about it, but if I do this you have to know there is a chance Sarah won't remember." And think I'm totally nuts
Sir Didymus shook his head. "No I am quite certain she will remember, she was our fair maiden."
Smiling Milly now moved to her bed. Pulling the sheets back she turned to the mirror one last time.
"Well I will try then. Goodnight everyone." She said pulling the covers over her, she looked towards the mirror again.
"Goodnight new friend Milly." Then then the mirror shimmered away, back to normal, whatever that was now.
Turning onto her back Milly sighed again. It would be possible to find Sarah, after all she already new she lived in New York, not that far away from Nyack, and it didn't take that long to get their by bus. She would have to wait till the weekend however, but she could do her research at school during the week, and try and prepare how she was going to see Sarah of course. She couldn't just rock up on someone's doorstep and tell her to go underground unless she wanted to be labeled as some serial killer.
No she would have to try to befriend Sarah, and then maybe, hope, to get Sarah to believe again.