Twins of the Soul
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth.
None Shall Pass
"Didymus," Prince Jareth said, hands on hips. "You can't smell."
"Beg pardon, my prince?" the fox dog raised both shaggy eyebrows. "I certainly have the keenest sense of smell out of all my littermates. On my word as a knight, sir."
The Goblin Prince smirked. "Okay," he challenged. "Then answer me one question, and I will make you a Labyrinth Guardian when I am king."
Sir Didymus snorted. "When, sir, you are king, then I'll guard the Bog of Eternal Stench."
"Out of your own mouth," Jareth warned, pulling out a crystal ball. He rolled it back and forth, then "accidentally" dropped it. A sweet smell permeated the air.
"Can you tell me what that is?" came the question.
Sir Didymus knew he was in trouble. Truth to be told, he couldn't distinguish one smell from another. He wasn't about to be cast into the foulest cess pool in the Labyrinth.
"Fermented peaches?" he guessed, though champagne was a close second.
Jareth scowled. "Right," he answered. "Now, for your prize. There is an old stone bridge that the Fireys have been using to get to the human world. I've sealed off the portal, but I need someone brave, wise, and diligent with excellent fighting skills to guard it with his life."
Siir Didymus nodded. "I'll need some help."
Jareth put two fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply. A large shaggy sheepdog pup bounded over the rocks. "This is Ambrosius; he'll be your faithful steed through 'dangers untold and hardships unnumbered.'"
"Should you be saying the words, my lord?" Sir Didymus asked, puzzled at these choice of words.
"Don't you have a bridge to guard?" Jareth countered, making a mental note to ask his mother to move the stone bridge to the Bog. He doubted Sir Didymus would mind the smell.
"None will pass, except by my permission," the fox dog promised.