There was this lovely cosplay photo by EVA on one of the Labyrinth fan groups, and apparently my muse found it highly inspiring, so we have this, which is also more in line with my usual style of writing. Thank you Lady-Lannie-Queen-of-Goblins and Hustlers for the encouraging words and confidence boost. :)

Time to let the magic out to play...

~*O*~

Disclaimer: All things Labyrinth are not mine.

~*O*~

you're illusion
you're deception
a shade
a dream
a crystal-conjuring
fantasy

-Excerpt from "Phantasm"
~by Sheyrina

~*~ Dreams & Illusion ~*~

~*O*~

The afternoon sun beat down heavily on the quaint little park of her childhood. The day was unseasonably warm, the air still and dry with a breathless quality that left the throat parched and the lungs feeling famished. Indian summer these kind of days were called. The last vestige of defiance given by a season that refused to give in to the encroaching chill of autumn. Though the trees were clothed in their full fall regalia of brilliant reds, fiery oranges, and burnished golds, it wouldn't be long until the first breath of winter swept in and began to undress them, slowly stripping away their finery till they stretched, torpid and bare, to the wintry grey skies.

Walking along the sidewalk with her little brother beside her, Sarah's mind drifted in the introspection of her thoughts. Thoughts that flitted through her head like the passing of seasons, each one reminding her just how quickly time could pass by.

Time.

Time was a funny thing. It seemed only yesterday that Toby had been little more than a babe in arms. She remembered all too clearly the toddler he was before she'd gone off to university, and how much he'd grown each time she visited for the holidays. In that time, she'd earned her degree and managed to find an internship at a small publishing house. It paid enough and still allowed her to pursue her own personal goals of authorship. She had her own apartment, paid her own bills, and life, in general, was good. She was happy, and as young as she was, she really couldn't ask for more.

Then there were days like today, when time seemed to stand still, the minutes wavering in slow motion, mirages of moments rising like the waves of heat seen in the distance. There, but not there, as if Time could be manipulated, like magic.

There.

Magic.

That was its own source of abstraction.

Sarah looked down at her little brother and recalled the memory of a dream long past. For it had to have been a dream. Magic didn't exist in real life. There were no such things as faeries or goblins or cowardly dwarves. Talking worms, gravity-defying staircases, and fox knights in charge of belching bogs were the sort of things one dreamed up on an extreme acid trip.

And there were certainly no such things as villainous baby-snatching Goblin King's with a heavy dose of sex appeal.

"Whatsa matter, Sarah?" Toby poked her in the side, looking at her with wide blue eyes and a chocolate-smeared nose as he licked his rapidly melting ice cream cone.

Instead of the playful response he'd hoped for, Sarah stared down at him with a melancholy sadness glazing her moss green eyes. Whether it had been a dream borne of her own selfish desires or a hallucination based in the fantasies of her too active imagination, much had happened in those brief few hours that seemed oddly real, and it all boiled down to this little boy with the angelic blue eyes and cherubic face. Suddenly, she stopped and scooped him up, hugging him so tightly she nearly crushed his rib cage. She'd come so close to losing him if the dream could be believed, and as much as it shamed her, she wanted to believe.

Desperately.

Because believing meant that magic existed. Believing meant there might be something beyond the realm of possibility. Believing meant-

"Ow-ow, hey! Lemme go!" Toby yelped, struggling in a desperate bid to keep his sister's hair out of his ice cream and still not lose it to the hot pavement. Succeeding in one and failing in the other, he watched the ice cream topple off the cone and land with a wet splat! as she released him. "Awwww, my ice cream…" he stared forlornly at the double scoop of chocolate goop that now lay melting on the sidewalk.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Toby!" Sarah said, contrite. "Here, let's go get you another one."

Toby perked up. "Okay, but you owe me a third scoop now," he trilled, demolishing what was left of his empty cone as he skipped off ahead of her in the direction of the ice cream cart.

"Three? Your mom's going to kill me," she groaned, smacking the palm of her hand to her forehead.

~*O*~

"Really, Sarah, I thought you knew better than to get him all hyped up on sugar," Karen admonished when Toby went zooming full speed through the kitchen for the eighth time.

"Well, yes, but you weren't there, and I had to make up for making him lose the first one. It was only fair in his eyes. I couldn't argue with that. Could you?"

Karen looked up from the cutting board where she was slicing carrots and celery, and fixed Sarah with her trademark "look." "That's exactly the sort of thinking that kept getting you in trouble as a teenager," she said, shaking the knife at Sarah as if to punctuate the validity of her words.

"Oh, come now, Karen, let the boy have some fun with his sister while she's in town," said Robert as he came into the kitchen and gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek.

"Oh no, don't you start taking sides, Robert," Karen replied. "You know that's not-" the older woman stopped abruptly.

"Fair?" Sarah grinned at Karen as she reached over and snatched a slice of carrot. Karen rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she continued chopping. Sarah reached over to snatch another carrot only to have the other woman slap her fingers away. Grinning unrepentantly, Sarah turned toward her father. "Hi, daddy, how was work?"

"Oh, same as it was yesterday, same as it was last week, same as it has been for the last twenty years," he replied, taking off his suit jacket and hanging it on the back of a dining room chair.

"SSDD, huh? Sounds exciting."

"About as much as watching paint peel in the desert. What brings you to town this time?"

"Passing through. I'm writing an article on the philosophy and evolution of morals in children's stories. Fascinating subject, by the way, and I wanted to visit and pick the brain of one my old professors. Figured Karen would hang me if I didn't detour before I head home, and it's always good times taking Toby out."

"Well, if you need a place to stay the night, you know you're welcome to stay here," he offered.

"Thanks, I just might take you up on that. That way Toby and I can have a movie night before I head out tomorrow."

The object of her suggestion chose that moment to come barreling into the kitchen. It was amazing how children could zero in on plans for fun. It was like a sixth sense.

"Yeah! Can we rent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, Sarah? I saw it on a poster at the video store when we drove by. Please, please, pleeeaase!"

"Sure, Tobes, whatever you want," Sarah replied, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "And we'll have pizza and soda pop. Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah! Pizza! Just like the turtles!" he shouted, jumping and pumping a fist into the air. "This is gonna be the best night ever!"

At the kitchen island, Karen sighed and stopped chopping vegetables. "I guess these will keep until tomorrow, then."

"Sorry, Karen," Sarah grinned at the older woman as the boy went racing back out of the kitchen. "Gotta spoil him while I have the chance, you know."

Karen wrinkled her nose. "Couldn't you at least pick healthier food?"

"Now where would the fun in that be?" Sarah replied, snatching another carrot and walking out of the kitchen.

~*O*~

After eating three slices of pizza and half a bowl of popcorn, Toby passed out well before the end of the movie. Sarah smiled down at the child whose head was resting in her lap, running a hand through the soft, baby fine strands of blond hair. It was a simple and domestic action, and she found herself oddly content.

"He loves it when you come to visit."

Sarah looked up to see Karen standing at the edge of the living room in her pale pink silk robe, her arms crossed as though she were hugging herself against a chill. She looked back down at her brother, running her hand through the short length of his hair again. "He's a joy to spend time with."

"I have to be honest, Sarah. When he was a baby, I thought the age difference would always be a problem between you."

"I get that, but I'm glad I grew out of it. Nothing's worth missing this."

Karen smiled. "Wait until you have your own one day."

Sarah shook her head, the ghost of a smile gracing her lips. "We'll see. If that day ever comes. I haven't been doing so hot in the dating department lately. Until then, I'll just have to shower my affections on him for as long as he'll let me. He deserves that."

"You deserve that, too, Sarah."

"Perhaps," she replied, carefully sliding off the couch so she could pick up her brother. "I'll carry him up to bed."

"All right. I've made up the bed in your old room for you. I'll clean up down here if you'd like to go lay down after." Karen hesitated for a moment. "I know you'll probably want to get an early start tomorrow, but...you'll stay for breakfast, won't you?"

Sarah maneuvered the sleeping boy in her arms so that his head lay on her shoulder. Toby snuffled in his sleep, a small groan escaping his lips as she adjusted him. Sarah rested her head against his, hugging him close.

"Wouldn't miss it. You make the best honey pancakes, you know," Sarah replied, leaning over to give her stepmother a peck on the cheek as she walked by. "Thank you, Karen. I mean that."

Karen smiled softly. "I know you do."

Returning the smile, Sarah carried Toby up the stairs, taking them slowly so as not to jostle her sleeping brother. Pushing the door open to his room, she managed to avoid stepping on the plethora of toys scattered within. Once she had him tucked beneath the covers, she smoothed the hair back from his forehead and laid a kiss on his brow.

"Love you, little brother," she whispered.

Flipping on the nightlight, she caught sight of a familiar brown lump lying on the floor. Stooping to pick it up, she stared into the dull brown eyes of her old teddy bear, now even more tattered by age. Lancelot. Forcibly reminded of her dream once more, she frowned. Hadn't it begun with this shabby little bear? Shaking her head, she tucked the bear in next to Toby and quietly left the room.

Across the hall, she opened the door to her old bedroom. Though the action was familiar, the room was no longer her childhood haven. She'd officially moved out shortly after graduating, and since then, the room had been turned into a guest room. Gone were the posters and books, the stuffed animals and furniture. Even the wallpaper was different, changed to a pastel sage color during the renovation following her senior year in high school. In their place was a queen size bed, some watercolor prints of wildflowers, and a new set of dresser drawers. In the corner sat a full-length cheval mirror. She'd taken most of her things with her, and much of it still remained stored in boxes in her closets at her apartment. She told herself she would go through them eventually.

Rummaging in her overnight bag for her version of pajamas—an old t-shirt and shorts—she grabbed her toothbrush and stepped across the hall to the bathroom. When she was finished, she rolled up her old clothes and stuffed them in her bag, tossing it to the floor at the foot of the bed. Though it was late, she felt a nervous energy flowing through her. She sat down on the bay window seat and stared out into the night, her thoughts drifting in and out of memory.

Returning to this old house brought many recollections back to her. Most of them were happy, of birthdays and summers spent with friends, and vacations and holidays with family. Then there were the singular moments, such as prom, promotions, and graduations, Toby saying his first words, or their dad buying a new car. Reflecting on these always brought a smile to her face.

But there were other times, times when she had been anything but happy, times when she hated that her father had remarried and had a new baby. She'd felt as if he was trying to replace the family they had been before—that he was trying to replace her. It took maturity and a strange dream of adventure to help her find her place in this new family. She appreciated that, was thankful for that, but sometimes...well, sometimes she just wished for a little bit of that magic to return.

She wrapped her arms around her legs and tucked her knees under her chin, glancing up at the night sky just in time to see a star streaking across the velvet darkness, a faint tail of white light trailing behind it.

"I move the stars for no one," she whispered.

And smiled.

Maybe magic did exist.

~*O*~

Part 1 of 3, so far. It's not generally in my nature to ask for reviews, but I am quite curious to know what people are thinking as this little ficlet progresses, so please...let me know your thoughts!

Crystalline Dreams,
~*~ Sheyrina, Labyrinthian Dragon

Chapter posted 10/3/17