That's What Friends Are For Chapter 4, a labyrinth fanfic

Title: That's What Friends Are For

Author: Yodeladyhoo

Summary: The summons

Genre: Fantasy

Pairings: Jareth x Maurasoon ( OC )

Rating: T

disclaimer (dĭs-klā'mər): noun

1. (law) a voluntary repudiation of a person's legal claim to something

2. denial of any connection with or knowledge of

syn: disavowal

c.1986, 2006 The Jim Henson Company.

LABYRINTH is a trademark of The Jim Henson Company.

Labyrinth characters c.1986 Labyrinth Enterprises.

All rights are reserved, but not by me. This short story is a work of fiction. All original characters in this story are fictional. Any similarities to actual persons, either living or deceased, are purely coincidental. Permission for the use of the non-original characters has not been requested by the author or granted by the licensor. This short story was written for your perusal and pleasure. No compensation, either financial or actual, has been collected or requested.

Maurasoon is mine.

Plea for Reason: Only two more chapters to the movie. It was going to be only one more, but I had to break this chapter up into two.

The Summer Pavilion was home to many species of creatures in an assortment of social strata. It wasn't unusual to see either a goblin strutting around in Court finery as it would be to see a Bean-Tighe doing scullery work. So, it wasn't an unusual sight to see a goblin maid crossing through the courtyard carrying a small, tightly rolled parchment in her claws. It was the gait that was unusual.

Goblins are simple creatures. Most are only concerned to their immediate needs and are not predisposed to long range planning. For most, when their next meal was going to occur was considered long range enough. The where and how to procure such a meal was not a consideration in the planning. Lin and her brother, Gob, were not like most. Somehow along the way, these two managed to master the ability follow simple commands. Lin was most proud of her brother for the honour he held in being a foot soldier in the Goblin Guard. Perhaps, one day, he will advance to be a member of the mounted guard. Oh, the way their maw would cluck over him then, much in the same manner as she clucked over Lin being tapped by the King's HouseKeeper to go and serve in the Summer Pavilion. She had the opportunity to live in the mountains and be protected from her distantly related cousins, the ever-warring mountain goblins, had not only one very nice work shift, but two, and never had to worry about when, where or how to get her next meal. All she had to do was what she was told to do and to mind her manners. That was the hard part, since there were so many manners to mind and goblins didn't have that much of a mind. It wasn't too hard on her since the HouseKeeper was quick to remind her of them with a switch.

So, when the BeastKeeper told her to deliver a scroll to the Lady Mary and to "be right quick about it!" she most definitely was. Moving forward only on her right side, she needed to transverse most of the circular courtyard to arrive at the womans work quarters. The quickest way possible was for her to run along using the three limbs that were not carrying her precious cargo. Unfortunately, the shift she was wearing was not meant to be worn while scurrying, crablike, in a hastened fashion. The skirt would trip the long-limbed goblin to the point that, in the hopes of increased speed, Lin hitched her skirt up and tied it around her neck to give her nimbly jointed limbs an unhindered range of motion.

"Finds the Lady Mary. Finds the Lady Mary. Finds the Lady Mary. Oh, pretty flower! Does it smell nice? Oy! I needs ta finds the Lady Mary! No time for pretty flowers! Now, what...oh. Finds the Lady Mary..."

Presently, Lin found herself at the threshold of the womans work quarters. Had she not been a goblin with a goblin's hide, she might have appreciated the cool entryway as she passed into the sheltering shadow of the portal. She scrabbled up the stairs before she corrected herself to walk on two, instead of three, limbs. It wouldn't do for the HouseKeeper to find out that she had forgotten how to walk amongst others. Her maw would be so proud of her for remembering!

Upon reaching the upper storey of the building, Lin looked into the space, muttering to remind herself of the mission. If she were not so intent on her mantra, she might have been awed by the airiness of it. The womans working quarters was three storeys tall with a cellar for root storage. The ground level was mostly sleeping quarters for the women who could negotiate the stairs. The second level was a large, circular open gallery with triple rows of windows, the floor of the second storey being the main workspace for the women where they sat and sewed. A small area was curtained as to provide privacy for sleeping quarters and such. Above the second set of windows, accessible by a curving stairway that followed the wall and by two doorways set on opposite sides of tower that led to the outer battlements, was a stone platform that encircled the entire room. It appeared to float in the air, but on closer inspection, one could see that this platform was supported by the barrel arches that upheld the pale grey and tan walls. It was on this platform where the looms were located as well as the cutting tables and some spinning and warping wheels. Above this work platform was the last set of windows. At this time of the afternoon, both the exterior metal and the interior wood shutters were thrown open to the light that was spilling in from the windows, creating large blocks of illuminated rectangles across the walls and floor as well as glancing off of the iridescent wings of the woodland pixies flitting high above the heads of the seamstresses as they collected the floating dust motes and cotton lint.

An aged gnome, her features as twisted and as lined as a gnarled tree knot, approached the young goblin, "State yer business!" She spat out a wad of chew into a brass spittoon to punctuate her command.

"Mary finds the Lady. Uh...I means, finds the Lady Mary. No, I means..." Lin sputtered nervously with her young, raspy voice.

"I knows what yer means!" the ancient one nearly shouted in gravely tones, eyeing the scroll. Snatching it out from the cowering goblin's claws, she shooed the frightened creature not too kindly out onto the landing with a shouted admonishment about the state of her skirts and turned to complete the mission herself. With a gait reminiscent of a sailor's roll with a hobble, the elderly female located the recipient in her usual seat with her usual companion. "For ye, milady. Just gots here," she announced with a sniffle. Maurasoon accepted the scroll graciously and the old woman hobbled/sauntered to her place by the door and the spittoon.

Maurasoon's elderly companion quickly lifted her gaze from her embroidery, curious about the contents of the scroll, yet knowing better than to ask directly due to her station.

Making a noncommittal sound as she scanned the neat yet cramped cursive, Maurasoon read the note. She knew full well that this incident would be carried throughout the castle before the evening meal was served. Putting aside the bandage wrap that she was working on, she decided to nip any rumours in the bud now, "Nothing of great importance," Maurasoon started as she rose from the bench where she was seated and smiled. "Just something I need to see the BeastKeeper about Shieba."

With that said, Maurasoon moved across the expanse of the great room towards the stairs unhurriedly. She descended to the ground level and made her way to the aviary, where she knew the Keeper would be at this time of day, attending to the flocks of homing pigeons that the castle maintained.

Crossing the distance of roughly fifty yards from the womans work quarters to the aviary tower, Maurasoon quickly assessed what she needed to accomplish before acting on the demands of the letter. The correspondence was from Jareth, who left to attend to duties at the castle beyond the Goblin City yesterday. Unbeknownst to her, her brow was furrowed in puzzlement as to why he would summon her there. She also knew that her puzzlement would remain an enigma as it was not her place to question his motives. He asked, she responded. It did not matter that she could barely tolerate the citizenry of that place; she was barely able to mask her revulsion towards the goblins in residence here. Although she loved Jareth as a man/brother/friend/king, it still rankled her that she was forced to do what she would not instinctually do in any given situation when ordered by him. She did not have time to ponder long as she quickly crossed the courtyard to have words with Garison, the BeastKeeper.

Entering the aviary from the afternoon sun, Maurasoon was overwhelmed by the stench of bird and bird droppings. This aviary was kept for the carrier pigeons that were needed for message transportation. The aiery for the hawks and falcons was more to the rear of the Pavilion complex, closer to the forest where the king and his retinue would go and take the birds and the dogs out hunting. Calling out his name in an effort to be heard over the doves, she was mindful not to slip on the guano that caked the floor. Presently, she saw the dwarf's face, overwhelmed by his mop of white hair that his skullcap could not contain, peering from underneath a railing high above her. "I'll be downs in a moment, milady!" With a jangle from the ornaments attached to his belt, the dwarf plodded down the curving stairs.

Mopping his face with a dirty rag, Garison inquired, "An' how may I be of service to you t'day, milady?"

"Garison, I have need to ride out this afternoon to the castle beyond the Goblin City. Would Shieba be up to it?"

"Wells, now, you took Shieba outs yesterday morn and I feds her at midday yesterdays, so I reckon she'd not be ready to go 'til th' day after next."

Maurasoon scowled. "This is on orders from the King, Garison. I ride this afternoon, within the hour, if possible. Who is available?"

Scratching his skullcap, which didn't move under the ministrations so tightly it was fitted to his head, the BeastKeeper pondered. "Lorno is readys. Not very trained, but he'll do for you."

"Do you feel that I can handle him?"

"He's a mite bit younger than Shieba, so that'll make it easier on you, milady. You'll need to steer him, he'll not know his way yet." Rubbing his cheeks with the sullied cloth again, Garison contemplated, " Th' castle beyond the Goblin City, you said, eh? Jes' keep the aft'rnoon sun over your left shoulder and th' Labyrinth will show you th' way, in times. "

"Fine," Maurasoon stated with authority, "have him bridled and saddled with a pack within the hour."

"By your leave, milady. You'll find his fork in th' usual box. He'll be a F major."

Maurasoon left as quickly as being cautious would allow her. On her way to her rooms, she stopped in the kitchens to request that a basket with two meals for two people be delivered to the BeastKeeper for transport to the King. Jareth would appreciate a good meal in that place. Cruet winked at her and promised to slip in a pack of her preferred tea as well. Maurasoon wondered if her secret was still safe with someone like Cruet. She did spend most of her time as a child in the kitchens and brownies could have long memories...Spying Gwinny, Maurasoon asked the elfin woman to accompany her to her rooms to assist in dressing.

Being the paramour of an eccentric king did have its benefits. No one dared to question her tastes in fashion and style. She refused to ride side-saddle, so she designed her riding habit herself. Working her arms and hips out of her dress, Gwinny silently loosened her corset and re-laced it for more ease of movement that would be needed for the exercise. Slipping on the cream colored silk blouse, which complemented her dark eyes and hair, a few strands of which escaped from the loose chignon she styled it into, she then tucked it into the waistband of her riding skort. This was probably the most unusual garment Gwinny had ever seen. They were worn much like a man's pair of jodhpurs yet, to look at them, one would not see the soft, bark-brown suede for sewn onto the waistband of the pants were panels of an overskirt. The panels were of a well woven burgundy gabardine that was attached to the jodhpurs in overlaying panels that would allow for complete freedom of leg movement. When standing, the skirt looked like the elytra of a beetle, with its wings folded neatly on its back. Yet, these overlays were completely independent which allowed Maurasoon to walk without shortening her stride and allowed her to sit in the saddle properly without the skirt bunching up underneath her.

Over the silk blouse, Maurasoon put on a waistcoat of the royal colors of burgundy and midnight blue. Slipping her feet into the knee high boots, she winced when she realized that she had neglected to have them cleaned and oiled after her last ride the other day. After lacing up the boots, Gwinny held her short leather overcoat out for her to slip into. "Thank you so much for you assistance, Gwinn" Maurasoon said with a sincere smile as she accepted the gloves and riding hat from her dresser. With a practiced move in her dressing mirror, Maurasoon quickly secured the hat over her hair, slipped the supple gloves over her hands and fastened the belt on her jacket as she glided out the door.

The mid-afternoon sun was nearly excessively warm on Maurasoon's leather clad shoulders. Behind her were the sounds and mayhem of everyday life in the residence; soldiers training, animals vocalizing, children playing. Maurasoon thought to stop and chat a while with some of the little ones, but she was pressed for time. She only hoped that she would make it to her destination before nightfall. She would not want to be on an animal for its maiden ride with her in the night when neither one was absolutely certain where their destination would be. Reaching the portcullis set in the outer wall, she opened a modest wooden box that was mounted there. Inside was an assortment of perfectly pitched musical tuning forks. She found the desired one and left the secured grounds of the Summer Pavilion.

Shielding her eyes from the blinding afternoon sun, Maurasoon spotted Shieba asleep in the mountain meadow. The animal stood out like a massive reflective hillock in the midst of the yellow, purple and sparse whites of the mountain flowers as she basked in the hot, late afternoon sun. Flatfooting her way down the sloping fields, Maurasoon made her way over to the sated beast. Maybe it was for the best that she started getting used to Lorno; Shieba, she could tell, was ready to move on to her next level of training for warcraft.

"Hey, girl." Maurasoon crooned as she rubbed behind one of the great beast's eye ridge, staying well back from her mouth. The behemoth's only sign of recognition was a cracked eyelid. Maurasoon could see that she was hardly awake as the nictitating membrane which covered her bowl-like eye didn't even draw back to clear her vision. "Let her rest", she thought to herself. Larger animals with longer life spans have slower metabolisms and need time to digest their proteins, especially when the protein came in the form a half of a beast of burden. Shieba had also been chewing rocks, as evidenced by the gravel under her chin. Goodness only knows which types. "When I get back, I'll talk to Lorgan about getting you a nice flyer to take you out, okay?" The only response was a low gurgle about three feet behind Maurasoon which originated in Shieba's throat.

Maurasoon stepped away from Shieba and shouted to the wind, "Lorno!". Striking the tuning fork against the metal buckle of her jacket, she held it high. The resonating pitch not only vibrated the air molecules to a perfect tone of F major, but Maurasoon could feel the resonance oscillating into her palm and through her bones. As she both felt and heard the resonating tone die down, she stuck the tuning fork again and repeated, "Lorno, come!"

Shieba barely twitched an ear. Presently there was a block of air forcing itself down over Maurasoon. She looked up to see the dragon descending in slow, tightening circles.

Author's Note: Sincerest thanks to Chamaelirium for allowing me to borrow Cruet.

I've done it for you. Now, please return the favor. Review. Thank you.