I was surprised at how fast I started getting reviews. I didn't realize that Labyrinth was such a popular fanfiction.
Sarah supposed it was only a matter of time.
She took a deep breath. The air was warm and tasted like sunshine and glitter, something she had come to recognize as the taste of magic. It hurt to realize how much she had missed it, how lifeless the air Aboveground tasted in comparison. Was that ironic? That the air Aboveground, where life continued along the flow of time, tasted lesser to the air Underground, that defied reality as she knew it.
In the distance the Labyrinth stretched out in a vast expanse of living stone and magic. Standing on the bluff high above the Goblin City and the surrounding Labyrinth, she could almost see the haze of magic that pulsed through every wall and stone like a human heart beat. If she squinted, she could actually see it move, walls rippling and shifting like a snake shedding its skin.
Reaching up to smooth her hair behind her ear, Sarah deliberately did not think about a night long ago when she had made a selfish wish. So much had happened since that night, so much had changed. The lines of reality became blurred, insubstantial when faced with hard consequences derived from foolish choices.
The sky was orange in the Underground. Not a simple orange, but a collusion of pale orange, dark orange, and orange red. The colors didn't merely blend together, but instead meshed in a way that kept them individual even as it forced them to become one. She wondered if there was some connection between the vivid orange of Underground and the bright blue of Aboveground.
Sarah scuffed her tennis shoe in the loose dirt underfoot, absently noting a shrub that inched away to avoid being ground underfoot. There was something off. The sky was the same; the distant wall of mazes was the same, but something wasn't right. Sarah wrinkled her nose as she considered, her mind so close to dragging it out into the open.
A flash of color caught her eye and she looked up as a butterfly flitted through the air towards her. She watched its awkward flight, entranced in spite of her self. There was something about the butterflies in the Underground that the Aboveground failed to mimic. Or maybe the Underground mimicked the Aboveground, and the flair of magic that was its life blood gave it a little something extra.
To her surprise, or maybe not since this was the Underground, the butterfly fluttered closer. It wove in front of her face a few times before she was struck with the odd thought that it was waiting. Sarah's brow furrowed in thought, and she considered the flighty insect. Ever since her first trip to the Underground she had done some research on the Fey. The most important rule concerning the Fey was do not, under any circumstances, say thank you. The second was to beware making an offer.
In the end Sarah did not resist her first impulse, and lifted her hand to offer the butterfly a perch. Yes, there was the chance that this was not just any butterfly, but Sarah did not see the harm in offering the creature a place to rest.
The butterfly's grip on her finger was tentative, and she had to focus to feel it at all. It flapped its wings a few times before letting them fall open, the wing tips brushing against her skin in the softest of kisses.
Sarah's lungs froze and it was only shock that kept her from throwing the butterfly off its perch. The butterfly's wings were black as velvet, except for two eyes that stared out from the center of each wing. One was a vivid blue that burned against the black that surrounded it, and the other was a rich brown.
Jareth's eyes.
Unnerved by the sight of the Goblin King's eyes watching her from the wings of a butterfly, Sarah looked away. So, that's what was missing. Now that she thought of it, she realized how much his presence had added to the overall view of the Underground. It was understandable. What was a realm without its king?
Looking down, she was surprised to see that the butterfly had vanished. The only sign of its presence was the sprinkling of glitter it had left on her skin. Dropping her hand she wiped the glitter off onto her jeans. "Better than getting bitten by a faerie."
Taking one last moment to stare out at the distant Labyrinth, Sarah started down the hill. Compared to her first visit, this one was definitely looking up.
I'm going to make an attempt to post a new drabble at least once a week. Once in a while I will post two. I have a couple written out right now and I want to make it so I always have a few stored away in case my muse takes a vacation.