Chapter 2: A Price to be Paid
"I-I wish the goblins will come and take the twins away...right now." Mandy whispered.
"Hey! Where the hell'd they go?" the man with the knife, whom Mandy officially dubbed Slapnuts, yelled. Her eyes shot open. It worked? She glanced around the woods, the children had indeed disappeared. She smirked.
Numb Nuts came up behind her, but didn't have time to grab his target. She spun with another kick, knocking him back to the ground. She pinched a nerve on the back of his neck. He was unconscious instantly. Slapnuts ran to her. She grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm in a painful angle, pinching the nerve on his neck. Two down, one to go. Her eyes swept over the terrain. The third man, she named Porky the Wonder Slug, was nowhere in sight. She cautiously searched the woods for either PWS or the kids, neither were found.
"Your combat skills are impressive." a British accent filled the air. Mandy instinctively snapped into a fighting stance, then she realized that none of their attackers had an accent. She slowly straightened out when a man stepped from behind a tree. He was tall and lean with sharp facial features. He wore black tights, a loose black shirt, and a cloak with a high collar. His hair was light blonde and choppy, the bottom layer was passed shoulder length. His eyes caught her attention the most; one was a light blue, and the other was a rich brown. She recognized the loneliness within them.
"So, that's how the owl felt so familiar." she whispered in awe. She fisted a hand above her heart and bowed deeply. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty."
"You may raise your head." She did so. A dazzling smile broke out on her face.
"Your Majesty, I assume you came here to tell me to give up on finding my brother and sister, much like you did to my mother?"
"Quite the opposite. I saw that you wished them away for their protection, not because they irritated you. In all my years, never have I seen that happen. You have earned my respect, Mandy." he had summoned a crystal while he was talking, flipping it from one side of his hand to the other.
"Does that mean you'll give them back?" she asked hopefully.
"Not unless you run my labyrinth. Surely you knew you risked never seeing them again when you wished them away." he cocked his head. She nodded.
"Mother told me never to wish them away, because there was a strong possibility that I wouldn't be able to solve the labyrinth in time. But wishing them away was the only thing that came to mind. I panicked." she adjusted the strap of her bag. The air became warmer and the light was brighter. She realized they were no longer in the woods, but a desert. The king pointed behind her, she turned to find the labyrinth, a structure miles in diameter with a tall pointy building in the center.
"I will give your siblings back if you manage to solve the labyrinth. You will be given thirteen hours. If you're not at the center of the labyrinth by then, the twins will become one of us."
"I'd rather them be in the hands of a king who successfully rules over goblins than dead. If I don't make it through, please take care of them." she looked back at him, but he had already disappeared.
"I wish you the best of luck." his voice rang. She knew she was alone after that. She gazed upon the labyrinth.
"My God, it's so beautiful." Exactly like Mother said. When she came to her senses, she dumped all the crap from her bag and counted what she had; 1 notepad with a pencil, 3 water bottles, 1 baggy of goldfish, 3 apples, a compass, a switch blade, duct tape, a harmonica, her keys, a first aid kit, her phone, and other miscellaneous objects. She flipped open her phone and set the timer for thirteen hours. Then, she picked up her compass and faced the castle. South. She put everything away and went in search for the gates.
She soon found a small pond a few dozen yards away from the wall. A dwarf knelt there, washing his large hands. His wispy hair hid underneath an intricately designed cap. Dwarf. She knew his name. What was it again? It started with a "H", that she knew. She approached him.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, excuse me." he turned to her.
"Would you happen to be the gate keeper?"
"What of it?" he picked up an object she couldn't identify and moved to the walls. Small organisms flew from the plants there. Fairies?
"I was wondering if you could show me how to get into the labyrinth." He stopped in his tracks. He was clearly about to spray one of the fairies with whatever was in the container. "Would you happen to be...Hoggle?"
"Yes. Who are you?"
"My name is Mandy." she paused. "I'm Sarah's daughter."
"Why didn't she come with you? How is she? Did you wish away your brother or sister, like she did?" he started pestering her with questions.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have much time."
"Oh, yes. You gets in there." he pointed to a large set of double doors that opened themselves. She stepped inside the labyrinth and glanced both ways. They looked the same. She decided to go left.
"Thank you, Hoggle." she jogged away, passing bunches of critters growing on the wall. They had eyeballs on the tips.
"Now that is freaky. Interesting, but freaky." she waved to them, figuring they must be how the king is able to watch what happens within the labyrinth. Makes sense.
Mandy trailed her hand along the bricks while she hopped over branches. She eventually found an opening in the wall. Finally! Before she knew it, tall concrete figures with hands pointing different directions stood scattered around her. She took out her compass. Left. Right. Straight. Left. Dead end.
"Oh, great." she turned and just stared at the wall. A box. She's now trapped in a box. "Well, that's...a little bit...huh..."
"Not fair, isn't it?" a voice said behind her, then laughter. "But that's only half of it." Two goblins stood in front of two doors. They looked like dogs with mustaches. One wore blue, the other in red. They held up some form of stone shield. Wait, there were four of them! Two on top, two on bottom. That was freaky.
"Well, how do I get out of here?" she asked them.
"The only way out of here is through these doors." said the blue one. The red one popped up. "One of them leads to the center of the labyrinth, and the other one leads to-"
"Bum, bum, bum, bum!"
"-certain death."
"Let me guess, you can't tell me which is which." her hands found themselves on her hips.
"Correct! Now, I should warn you that one of us always tells the truth and one always lies."
"Doesn't the fact that you're telling me this mean you are the one that tells the truth?"
"It doesn't count until after we tell you the rules." the blue one explained. Mandy paced, trying to figure out what to do. No other options. She approached the red one.
"Does this door lead to the castle?" she asked. The goblin discussed with his partner.
"No."
"Will he tell me that this door leads to the castle?" she pointed to the other goblin.
"Yes."
"Does the other door lead to the castle?"
"Yes." Mandy pouted slightly and paced again. Eh, screw it.
"I'll just take this door." the goblin moved from her way and she stepped through the door. The floor fell, luckily she was caught by dozens of hands. Green and slimy hands. Helping hands, Mother said.
"Which way?" three hands made a face and spoke to her. Talking hands. Mother was right; this place is really weird.
"Which way? You mean up or down?" Several more hands made faces.
"Come on!"
"We haven't got all day." this one had a mustache.
"Which do you want to go?" a big chin. She weighed her options. Nothing good could come from going down, but she wanted to know what was down there.
"Well, guess I'll go down."
"She chose down!" they all cheered. They handed her down and she crashed to a hard dirt floor. A door covered in cob-webs shut several feet above her. Still trapped. Well, this is really starting to suck.
Meanwhile, at the castle, Jareth sat on his throne. His gaze was on Mandy's face in the crystal. She's been in the labyrinth for an hour and a half, and has already made it this far! Mandy is a remarkable young woman. She'll complete the labyrinth, I have no doubt.
"Mandy won't give up! She'll run your stupid labyrinth easily!" the older of Mandy's siblings yelled, echoting the king's thoughts. He continued to stare at the girl, his mind wandering.
"Are you ignoring me? Mandy is going to beat your tight pant wearing butt!" the child has arm around his younger sister, who was silently crying. Jareth kicked the nearest goblin.
"Gren, why don't you take our guests on a tour of their new home."
"Just the castle, Your Highness?" the small creature bowed his furry head.
"Take them where ever, just get them out of my sight." he waved his hand absently, his mind on the girl. He watched her remove a metal object from her shoulder pouch, and played a soft and cheery tune. Could Mandy be the one we've been searching for?