Chapter 3: Truth be Told
Mandy sat in the Oubliette. Of course, it had to be...pitch...black... To calm her nerves, she played a cheesy prison song on her harmonica.
Vro, vroo, vroovroo
"I'm to meet my doom"
Vro, Vroo, vroovroo
"In a cold, dark room"
Vro, Vroo, vroovroo
"How do I get out?"
Vro, vroo, vroovroo
"Help is to come, I doubt"
As she played, she fished for her keys. Light filled the cavern. Eat flashlight key chain, goblins! Her eyes wandered around. Dirt everywhere. A half burnt candle sat at the room's center. The artificial light trailed the walls of her prison. There was something in the far corner. What is...?
"Aaah!" a shriek escaped her as she jumped back. She slapped a hand over her mouth. Skeletons? There are skeletons in here! 1...2...3...and a half! Where's the rest of him? Her phobia grew when she realized there was no escape. She began exploring, and tripped. She cringed in disgust. Found the rest of him. She tried getting up, but stopped. A light twinkled on the wall near the ground. She crawled over to the sparkling dirt. A tiny point poked up. She dug up a ring. The ring was loosely braided silver, a shining moonstone sat cradled between the intertwined metal. She examined the piece closely. It was beautiful, and looked like a wedding ring. She slipped it onto her ring finger. Perfect fit.
Suddenly, the candle lit the room. A glow spiraled in four lines across the stone, forming a poem.
"The spirit ring is in your hand,
The power of Sight is at your command.
Now find where earth meets water,
There lies the chalice of wonder."
She copied the words into her notebook. "This is insane." A line of light dissolved the dirt on the ground, and shot to a wooden plank. She picked it up, setting it on the wall. Open it to the left. A voice echoed in her head. She followed the voice's instructions. Outside the door was a long pathway, dozens of face statues yelling that she's going the wrong direction. She paid them little attention. The line continued around stones, passed a broken gate, and into a secret room. She was still under the labyrinth, so why would the light lead her here?
Jareth sat bolt upright on his throne. How'd she get out of the Oubliette? The girl seemed to be in a daze, almost as if under the spell of an enchanted something. It was then that he saw the sparkle on her left hand. He narrowed his mismatched eyes. It couldn't be... It is! His breath caught in his chest.
"Hedgewart!" he yelled for his gatekeeper.
"Yes, your Majesty." Hoggle asked tiredly, but quickly righted himself. By the look in Jareth's eyes, he could tell that whatever His Highness needed, it was important.
"Which oubliette was she in?"
"I believe it was the third of the North side." with that, Jareth disappeared into a puff of glitter.
Mandy hummed a tune while she tried to find her way out of there, her heart beating as the drums in her rhythm. She hated that she still feared the dark. Could never stand slumber parties because of it. Never stayed out passed twilight. She always felt useless with such a childish phobia. In her thoughts, her hand hit a bar -no, a ladder- and she began to climb. After about fifty feet, she hit concrete. She popped the square rock out of place, but only to come face to face with a pair of leather boots. She hoisted herself out of the dark and replaced the labyrinth's tile.
"Good evening, Your Majesty." she gave a pleasant smile. He ignored it and grabbed her wrist.
"Where did you find this ring?" he asked in a hushed whisper.
"It was in the oubliette I was trapped in. Why, is it important?" she cocked her head. He let her wrist go.
"The fact that you found that ring, makes me the happiest sorcerer alive." he started to walk away, but stopped. "Do you know how much time you have left?"
"Um," she checked her phone, "ten hours and twelve minutes."
"You've done wonderfully so far, but I'm afraid that you're not just battling for your siblings anymore." he gestured for her to walk with him.
"What do you mean? Does it have anything to do with this ring?" she struggled to keep up with him. He led her through the twists and sudden turns.
"It has everything to do with that ring. We've been waiting for you for a long time." he was talking to himself more than to her. "For so long, I thought that Sarah was the one. I knew I had the bloodline correct, but wrong with the generation. I thought that Sarah was too young to see the magic, so I gave her an offer in case she changed her mind before she left. A chance to grow and learn to feel it. It wasn't until she was wed that I knew I was incorrect."
"Um, you're rambling. Did you mistake my mother for something important?" they stopped. She had to keep herself from gasping. They were surrounded by beautiful plants. Flowers and trees of all kinds. In the middle of the garden was a huge water fountain in the shape of fairies playing on lily pads.
"Welcome to the Royal Gardens." he eased her toward a stone four feet tall. There appeared to be some writing on it.
"Why'd you bring me here? Not that it's not gorgeous, but I don't understand why you pulled me aside." she wrung her hands, a nervous habit of sorts.
"Tell me, are you able to read the inscription on this stone?" he stood so close to her, she could practically hear his heartbeat. She nodded and recited the text.
"Life is gone where the monarch is bound,
Six enchanted objects must be found.
They can only be seen by mortal blood,
However, the line can only be one.
If the mortal fails to bring them together,
The lush of the land will be lost forever."
Her voice trailed off as she finished. He saw her shock and draped his arms around her shoulder. "This garden is all that is left of the life that thrived in my kingdom. The plants have all died. The temperatures are so high, that we are forced to ration water. The goblins are even slowly decreasing in population. Everything is dying. Mandy, we need your help."
"How does my being able to read that have anything to do with any of this?" she demanded.
"The prophecy is written in an ancient faerie text, only us and a special human can read it. That special human is the answer to all our problems. You, Mandy, are that special human."