This one was written so late in the night/morning [I finished at 2:51am to be exact] that I hardly care if it makes much sense or has very many errors ;x; So if it does, I'm terribly sorry! But please do enjoy! I am quite sure that this one is my longest yet, with almost three thousand words!
Feel free to ask questions if some parts or another don't make sense [so I can potentially fix them] or if you just have questions in general!
Please Enjoy! You know what is and isn't mine by now, I would hope!
And as another sidenote, my sweet woman has finished the cover picture and it is now posted! You can also see it on her Deviantart account [as well as some of her other fabulous works], Renacy-Ozell ! Thank you for your patience! ;w; She worked REALLY hard on it, and it was done with water colours! ;w; Go see at Renacy - Ozell . deviantart . com (You're going to have to remove the spaces, the site won't allow links to be posted :c)
I cursed myself as I slowed my running, panting as I leaned up against the wall, only to fall to my knees. I was still feeling the effects of the nap I had taken on the King, but as refreshing as it was to finally sleep, I knew that I still needed more. Sitting back on my heels, I slipped my feet out in front of my body, turning to lean my back against the wall. Unfortunately, the wall was no longer there pretty quickly, having apparently fallen down. One adrenaline rush and a loud thud later, I was looking up at the empty ceiling with a sigh. A small movement caught my attention from the upper corner of my eye. Tilting my head back even more, I looked up to see what it was, but it scurried off before I could really see.
I slowly sat up, feeling the little aches in my bones as I tried to turn to where it scurried off. I furrowed my brow, thinking I had caught a glimpse of it running around the corner, I heaved myself up to my feet, and walked over, carefully peeking around the corner. There wasn't a single thing in the little passageway, which was slightly concerning. I stood in the middle of it to look down. There weren't any connecting hallways or corner, as it was a straight line. I jumped slightly at the grating sound of metal and cement being scraped coming from the end. I carefully peeked back around as light began to pool into the dimly lit hall. I tilted my head curiously. "Is that the way out...?"
Something else caught my eye as I was about to make my way down the hall, something that read only once was enough to make my heart drop. My eyes widened as I quickly looked down the corridor to the light, then back behind me. I carefully stepped back to the wall, quickly looking both directions, back and forth.
On the ground, scrawled in the sandy floor, there were messy words, each letter written backwards.
'M0V3 FAST D0NT L00K BACK'
I felt paralyzed, pressed against the wall. How far in did I have to be for this to apply? I surely couldn't be in far enough, nothing has happened just yet, but what was to come after me? How quickly do I have to go? A small part of me direly wished that I hadn't fled from Jareth. I also couldn't help but wonder if I wasted enough time, whether or not the King would show up, whether to help me or not. As long as he was there, much to my dismay, I knew that I would be safe. He's kept me from harm so far...
I peeked back around the corner to the hall I had previously been in, before this new one bearing the message. They were all empty, filled only with the silence they brought, aside from my slightly quickened breaths. I absolutely hated having to make decisions, especially when it felt like my life could very well be on the line. This time, unfortunately, I can't go over any walls. I would have to play by Jareth's rules, and choose one or the other. Brushing my hands over my face, I remarked aloud how cruel this really is of him, making me decide my fate, trapped underground! ...It took a second, but I couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of what I was saying. ...Deciding my fate, trapped in the Underground... How cruel indeed...
There was a difficult choice ahead of me, everything has been a trap thus far, could this be as well? It must be! Or...could it be a puzzle...? I sunk low to the floor, staring at the words. The phrase was written forwards, but the letters are backwards. I tried writing the words backwards, even rearranging their order, but it didn't make any words nor sense at all.
"Move fast, don't look back...so...I should keep forwards, and run to the exit...?" I kept seated on the floor, drawing in the sand as I thought about it. For what reason are the letters backwards? It took a couple minutes, a few game plan doodles before I figured I knew the answer. "Maybe...the words aren't backwards like the letters...but the message...could that be what's actually backwards?"
I peered back down to the light. It was a good fifty feet away from me, not that I was very good at telling distance. A shiver rolled up my spine as I thought about having to move slowly and backwards down the corridor. Something about that just wasn't right either...not to mention that the hall continued on after that point as well. This was something that, even if I did know the answer to, I wouldn't possibly be able to do on my own. I needed to know that Jareth was nearby in case I was wrong, and something really was going to happen in consequence of such. Letting out a deep sigh, I carefully clambered to my feet and gave a little stretch. With one last look down to what could very well have been a quick and easy freedom, I turned back, returning to the hall I was walking down before this one appeared. I'll have to find a different way on my own, regardless of how much time I just wasted and how much longer it will take. I couldn't physically bring myself to risking it. But now, as I continue down the more safe-seeming corridor, I felt more alert, trying to be more aware. There wasn't anywhere I could really run if anything happened, and that realization left me feeling greatly unnerved.
A tinge of disappointment hit each time another open section was reached, hoping for a quick way up, but only finding more corridors. This really was a terrible punishment, getting lost in a maze below the labyrinth with no idea as to where I'm being led...if it was that easy for me to learn lessons about being a stubborn cheater, I would have sworn I wouldn't climb anymore of his walls long ago. Not that I feel I could in this state, anyways...my feet were tired as it was, heels sore from all the little bits I just so happen to step on. Along this walk, I was able to really tune in to my body and feel each part, and its little ailments. After this was all over and done with, I would definitely have to sleep it all off, whether I won or lost.
It took what felt like forever, but I did eventually see a light towards the end of the tunnel. With a quick glance thrown over my shoulder, I began to jog towards it, only to become disappointed yet again. While it appeared to be the end of the tunnels for this side, there were two problems. The first being the fact that the exit the light was seeping in from was barred off. The second one had to do with the smell. It was a god-awful odour, a powerful stench that was enough to make someone gag. Holding my breath, I had to pull the top of my shirt up over my nose and mouth, daring to take a breath only when my lungs gave signs of giving out. Looking down the hall next to it, I noticed many little puddles of light on the ground and a small hope was restored. There had to be some weakened or broken bars, not all of them could be functioning in this broken down place, right? I began jogging along the line, even if there was a small bend in the bars, I was sure it would be enough so that I could fit through. That's all I needed. And thankfully, that's what I found.
Leading down the corridor, the horrid scent grew less and less, and the ground below the exits began to change. The putrid smelling, light olive-brown environment had begun to turn into a soft green forest, darkening in colour as I went further and further. By the time I found some bars bent apart enough for me to squeeze through, the smell was gone, and the area below was a lush forest of thickly leaved trees.
I tried to shake the bars to get a feel of how sturdy they were. The fact that they were bent in such a way mixed with my utter inability to even budge them meant that something big and scary had to be living in these tunnels...or at least it used to live here. Dwelling on it no longer, I slipped through, holding onto the bars tightly as I stuck to the edge, carefully looking down at the drop off, feeling the sudden rush from being up a good enough distance, the warm breeze adding to the effect. The forest below looked as if the trees could catch me in the billowing pillow-like tops if I fell, but I knew very well that trees were not reliable for catching falling bodies at all.
Shifting my feet carefully, I got a better footing before trying to look up. The large stone blocks were cracked and spaced enough that I could climb up and back over the wall, but therein lies the problem of actually being able to climb up again. It would definitely be easier without my shoes, but at the same time, my battered body was still coursing with fatigue. But it wasn't as if I could just stop now. I'd wasted enough time and needed to get going.
A sharp panic hit me when I had thought I heard something further down the tunnel. I waited a couple of seconds before remembering that whatever it is that may be in there was not exactly something I wanted to be waiting for!
I began by pulling myself to the top of the gate, stepping on the horizontal bars, climbing up until I could get a hold on the large cracks in the giant stone bricks. Wasting little time as another sound came from the tunnels, I heaved myself up onto it, fueled by another string of adrenaline for fear of my life being at stake. This really wasn't a predicament I wanted to have to encounter more of Jareth's beasties, nor was I about to let it become one. Feeling a bit safer off of the gate and on the stone slab, I quickly tried to reassess how I was going to get up there, but decided that I was safe enough to not have to rush too much. I was careful to try each spot I was trying to climb, in case anything I would grab or stand on could come loose and send me plummeting to the forest below. It took a lot more effort than I had imagined, my arms and legs shaking every time I had to pull myself up to rest on the next space between the stone slabs. I was able to make it to the top, and happily collapse on the flat slab, panting aloud. One thing I certainly have been wishing I had for quite some time was some water. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to pack a safety time-to-embark-on-a-journey-to-the-center-of-a-big-stupid-labyrinth pack before I was basically kidnapped. But alas, who am I to complain?
I couldn't help but chuckle as I sat up. I could clearly see the castle. But, it was further from me than before I fell down into the hole. However, the wall I was currently standing on was old and worn, but continued straight on, and seemed to eventually curve and turn to connect to the castle. As well, it was higher than the other walls inside the Labyrinth, so the pesky little tooth-stick bastards wouldn't be able to reach me. Too add onto those wonderful features, I've made it in and out of danger on my own, and still no sign of the Goblin King or need for his nerve-wracking assistance. Thinking about him again, I began to feel a little bad. He really had been saving my ass each time he happened to show up, more or less, and each time, I basically ran away without really thanking him...
I looked all around the land, partially surveying my surroundings, but mostly seeing if I could find him somewhere. Could I have pushed him away for the last time...? Was he displeased...? What if whatever was in the tunnels got him? A pinch of worry struck me as I glanced down over the edge to the bent bars I had slipped from. I moved back on the slab to look up at the castle, remembering that this was his Labyrinth...so he must be fine...
"But...where...are you...?" I quietly wondered to myself before releasing a soft sigh. I'm getting closer and closer, and he isn't even trying to stall me anymore. Tossing those foolish thoughts aside, I concluded that it didn't really matter; he was my opponent in this little game! I gave a half-hearted snicker, beginning to make my way along the wall towards the castle. There was absolutely no point in wasting any more of what precious time I had left. With the feeling of the warm, soft stone beneath my feet, the breeze through my hair, I carried on. Little did I know that there had been something down where I had come out from, listening to my soft musing before I took my leave. Or, to be more specific, someone.
Leaning lightly against the wall, he gazed out over the forest. At this rate, his challenge would be completed sooner than he had hoped, and he was under the impression that it would be taking a turn for the less favourable result. He felt foolish, allowing for this chance of freedom. However, he still felt calm in this pensive state, wondering if it really mattered if this girl got away.
It wasn't long before he lost his focus, as a sudden alertness overcame him, followed by the faint sound of something gently collapsing in the distance above where he remained. In a few swift motions, he was ducking through the bars, agile as he pulled himself quickly up onto the wall.
Further ahead, the girl lay on the large stone slabs, flat on her stomach. He swiftly moved to her side immediately, kneeling down next to her body as he carefully turned her to lie on her back, keeping her gently propped up. From what he could tell from his quick inspection, the girl had simply passed out from a mixture of exhaustion and dehydration.
He conjured up a small crystal ball, swishing it around on his fingers before transforming it into a hide-canteen filled with water, setting it down next to them. He crossed his legs, allowing her head to rest on his lap as she lay on her back. It didn't take much for him to decide that it would be best that he stay and watch over her as she slept, perched up on the large wall. The slabs were wide enough that two bodies could easily lay next to one another side-by-side, but that knowledge alone did not hold enough reason for him to even begin to believe that she would be safe to sleep there without any supervision. Looking down at her face, emptily serene in rest, a clever, but invasive idea came to mind.
One arm still lightly lain over her collarbones, he raised the other, conjuring up another crystal. He gave it a little spin over the back of his fingers as it misted inside, allowing for a more clear picture to form. Until she was to wake, he would watch her in her sleep as well. He couldn't help the curiousity within himself as questions of what truly was going on in her mind subconsciously drove him onwards. In her dreams, he knew that what information he could gather would be more reliable. Perhaps he could even change her mind a little, giving her something more to consider. But first thing first, he had to see what progress was made.
He wanted to know how she felt about him.