"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 24
By Aiijuin
*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth". This fanfiction is rated M for some harsh language and adult situations. Gavin King is Jareth, the Goblin King, for those who have jumped into the middle of the story. The names: Torok, the Troll King and Eunice St. Clair are characters borrowed from the 1986 movie Troll, but are not used in context with the movie inside my fanfiction in any way.
Anyway, I began full-time fall college this week, and my comic "Sarah's Grand Re-Entry" on DeviantArt takes priority, but as promised, I will update this story when I can.
Warning: This chapter is very dark and disturbing. It is based off of the Grimm's brothers Hansel and Gretel fairytale.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Delicious
Sarah and Raquel pushed through the thickets that lead to a tiny clearing inside the Wood. When they tumbled onto the path, they came upon a house made of gingerbread. It was decorated with candy gumdrops and had a red and white-stripped peppermint as a doorknob. Sarah seemed entranced by the smells coming from the house. Raquel pushed past Sarah and waddled as fast as she could to the side of the house. She proceeded to rip off a donut birdhouse that sat adorably on the window trim. Raquel nibbled politely at the piece of donut. It was made of chocolate with a strawberry glazing that was so sweet, it made Raquel want to take another bite. Sarah was about to run towards the house, when Gavin grabbed her hand tightly and yanked her backwards. She stumbled to the ground with a yelp. Gavin pleaded, "Sarah don't eat anything here!"
Sarah blinked for a moment as the euphoric feeling inside of her disappeared. Looking up at Gavin, Sarah said, "Weird. I nearly forgot what I was doing here."
Gavin shook his head. There were other obstacles besides Torok within the Grimm's Wood. Jareth had heard about the Wicked Hag who lived in the gingerbread house. News between the Troll Kingdom and the Goblin Kingdom were merely rumors spread by several Trolls and Goblins who had breeched the boundaries of the two kingdoms and lived to tell the tales.
Just as Torok had never heard of Ludo, Jareth had only caught songs from the goblins about the hag who ate the people that feasted upon her cookie house. He always thought it was a rumor to frighten people from entering the forest and the Troll King's borders, but apparently it wasn't.
The gingerbread house smelled absolutely delicious. Sarah had to keep shaking off the effects of its spell. She looked up at Gavin and remarked, "I always thought the gingerbread house was just a fairytale."
"Apparently not," Gavin objected and he held her near to him, to prevent her from changing her mind. Raquel was not so lucky. She was stuffing her face with another remnant of the donut birdhouse. She hadn't even finished chewing her food from one bite, when she munched down another piece. Her cheeks were crammed with food to the point that she looked like a chipmunk. Sarah begged Gavin to release her. He argued and refused. Sarah frowned, "No, I'm fine, but I've got to save Raquel."
Sarah walked forward, but it was too late. The door opened and a stern, scratchy voice croaked, "WHO's BEEN eating my house?!?"
Gavin pulled Sarah down and pinned himself atop of her. They were neatly hidden behind a large, blue hydrangea bush, but Jareth didn't want to take the chance that the hag might have seen them. Fortunately, the Hag was eyeless and couldn't see at all. She only knew someone was at her house because they ate her house. Sarah and Gavin hadn't touched or come near it, so the Old Hag never knew they were there.
The Hag grabbed Raquel, who seemed undaunted. She continued to rip another piece from the gingerbread house and stuff it into her mouth. The Hag grabbed the food from Raquel's hand and enticed her inside. Raquel followed without protest. The Old Hag puffed at the air the air outside with her mouth and then slammed the graham cracker door shut. The peppermint doorknob turned with a click.
"Gavin," Sarah said, "Next time you decide to pin me, could you at least buy me a drink first?"
"Oh," he apologized, "I'm terribly sorry, Sarah."
He rolled off of her calmly, and smoothed the loose hairs around his face back against his ponytail. The odors of the house continued to beckon Sarah forward, but the only thing Jareth was enchanted by was the lingering scent of Sarah's perfume. He closed his eyes for a moment, and failed to hear the first five sentences that Sarah had said to him.
"…so, what do you think?"
Gavin tuned back in. He harrumphed, blinked, and then asked, "I beg your pardon, dearest, but I didn't catch that."
Sarah smirked, "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"
Gavin blushed, "Sorry, but no. I mean, I was concentrating on the situation with that evil woman and that girl is now her prisoner…and all, but…. I'm sorry, I've lost my train of thought for the moment."
Sarah squeezed his hand, "Don't worry, Mr. King. The house is having the same effect on me. I'm almost afraid to approach it. I'm not sure if I'll be able to control myself if I get too close, not to mention, I'm very hungry."
Gavin wasn't thinking about the house at all. He just realized, in addition to all of the obstacles that he was encountering, which stood between he and his revenge against Sarah Williams, he hadn't suspected his feelings for her would also bind and hinder him.
You have no power over me…
Jareth had to keep Sarah's final words burning fiercely in his head in order to stop the intense emotions that overwhelmed him. Sarah was like a drug to him. He realized that he had been thinking of her and only her after his defeat. He put his hand up to his mouth in dismay. Sarah tapped him lightly, "Gavin, are you okay?"
He looked into her eyes for a moment. She could tell he was far away and not listening to her. She led him back into the thicket and sat him down near a massive tree trunk. She looked back at the house and turned to him before instructing, "Listen, Mr. King. I'm going to lure the Hag outside of the house and purposely get captured. I'll do the best I can, to not eat the house. When I get inside, if you hear me screaming, then get the hell out of here."
You have no power over me…
Gavin nodded. He hadn't heard her at all. Before he knew what was happening, Sarah was at the side of the gingerbread house ripping pieces off of it. Gavin snapped back into reality. He jumped up in a panic. He was about to shout for Sarah to stop, when he noticed she was tossing the pieces of the house over her shoulder and unto the ground. As Sarah had anticipated, the door opened and the Old Hag stood face to face with her.
She was the most hideous creature that Sarah had ever laid eyes upon. She hadn't any nose or eyes, save but long, sharp, gumless teeth. They were brown and rotted. Nonetheless, they were fatal looking. Her hair was haggard, gray, and pushed off of her featureless face. She was stout and carried a walking cane made of cinnamon. She was very short, and only stood at Sarah's waist. The woman grabbed the piece of house from Sarah's hand and smiled as the brown saliva trickled down her chin. She shook it to lure Sarah inside. Gavin bit at his fingertips for a second in nervous concern for Sarah's safety. He slowly walked up to the house, once the peppermint doorknob had clicked shut. He stayed by the window to see if he could hear or see anything inside, but much to his dismay, the window glass was an opaque, thick rock candy, so he could not see or hear anything.
Why had he made that vow with the Troll King?
As he mentally beat up on himself outside the Old Hag's house, Sarah was led indoors into a small kitchen. The house was hot and stuffy. Smells of burning cinders filled the room. Sarah saw that there was a cauldron boiling over a flame without wood. There was also a massive steel oven that could have fit a grown elephant inside. From the outside of the house, it seemed impossible a house this small could have contained such a massive appliance.
Nothing is as it seems…
A young teenage girl with dirty, light brown locks of hair was carrying a tray of food. She was terribly thin and exhausted looking. A groping hand interrupted Sarah's observing. The Old Hag was squeezing various parts of Sarah's limbs and midsection. She rasped in a strained voice, "You're terribly thin. I'll have to fatten you up before I can cook you and eat you, otherwise, I'll be starving for weeks. Well, there's time anyway."
The Old Hag led Sarah down the hall to a corridor filled with metal prison-like cells. They were closer to cages than cells, but were large enough to fit two or three people inside. Sarah remained silent. Next to her was Raquel. She girl was, still, stuffing her face rotten. Sweat was pouring from Raquel's body and she looked retched. Sarah looked at the other cell next to her and was mortified. It was a boy.
At least, it looked like it used to be a boy, but he was morbidly obese. His face was wider than Raquel's pregnant belly. His clothing was stretched out tightly on him and didn't fit him at all. He cried and stuffed his face. The Old Hag walked up to the boy's cell and demanded he hold out his finger. The boy grabbed a thin stick, and the Old Hag felt at it. She rubbed her slimy chin and commented to herself, "Strange, you haven't gotten any fatter since the day you arrived. If this keeps up, I'll starve."
The Old Hag left his cell and approached Raquel's cell. She demanded loudly, "Hold out your hand, Girl!"
Raquel didn't think, she was too distracted by the plates of food piled in front of her. She held out her finger. The Old Hag rubbed it for a moment then smiled deviously, "You're nearly plump enough and should be ripe before dinner. Not long now, my sweet little cupcake. Ooh, cupcakes, I'll have to feed you plenty of those. They'll pack meat on your bones in no time."
The emaciated girl returned and placed several plates of steaming, delicious looking food down in front of Sarah. Sarah had to think of something else. She pushed the plates away, curled her knees up to her chin and slid over to the corner of the cell. She needed to devise a plan of escape. Time was running out for everybody. Sarah had less than eight hours left to solve the Troll King's challenge. She closed her eyes and thought about Jareth's mismatched eyes. She thought about him staring deep into her eyes. She thought about the magic crystal he offered her long ago.
Her stomach growled loudly, protesting her hunger strike. The thin girl heard Sarah's stomach and asked, "Why don't you eat and feel better?"
Sarah shook her head and whispered, "I'm not eating anything from this place."
The girl knelt down by Sarah's cell, and pleaded, "If you don't eat, you'll end up like me. Each day, I starve more and more. I'm so tired, I should have been dead long ago, but the witch keeps me alive with her magic, so I can feed my brother."
Sarah changed the subject, not wanting to talk about food or the other atrocities that were happening inside the gingerbread house, "What's your name?"
"I'm Gretel."
"How long have you been here, Gretel?"
"I can't remember anymore. I was only four when my stepmother and father could no longer afford us, and led us into Grimm's Wood to lose us forever."
Sarah asked, "'Us'?"
Gretel pointed to the terribly obese boy and answered, "Yes, my brother Hansel and I."
Sarah tried to stifle back tears when she looked at the boy, but she could see the horrified look in his face and the snot running down his bulbous nose. He sobbed as he took another bite. Between mouthfuls of food, he managed to look at Sarah and plead, "Please save me. I can't –I can't stop!"
Suddenly, Jareth's hallucinogenic peach and spell induced bubble ballroom didn't seem that cruel anymore. Tears streamed down Sarah's face as she wished for someway to escape. Sarah leaned back, when a tiny key gleamed on the floor next to Gretel. The Hag must have dropped it, Sarah thought. She beckoned Gretel closer to her cell bars with her index finger. The Old Hag passed behind the girl and snapped something obscene at her, but Gretel leaned closer to hear what Sarah would say. Sarah whispered, "The key is right beneath your feet, Gretel."
It took a moment for Gretel to register Sarah's words, but when she looked down and saw the key, a light gleamed in the teen's eyes. She smiled and nodded silently. She handed the key to Sarah as quietly as she could. Although witch could not see, she could sense when things were amiss. The Old Hag puffed with her mouth and rasped, "I feel a plot is a foot."
She grabbed Gretel by the hair and slammed her against the wall. "WHAT are You up to, Girl?!?"
Gretel stammered, "N-n-nothing, your great Witch Majesty!"
Sarah didn't waste anytime. She put the key in the lock and turned until it clicked open. Raquel grabbed at Sarah's food plates and began cramming the slices of cake and cookies quickly into her mouth. Sarah quietly opened the door while the witch was distracted with Gretel's punishment. The Old Hag continued to scream at the girl, when the door to her house was kicked open. It was Gavin and he looked pissed.
This distracted the Witch, while Sarah pried her bony fingers off of Gretel. The Old Hag roared at Sarah and pushed her towards the burning cauldron. Sarah let off a yelp. Gretel was thrown to the ground, but regained her senses quickly and opened up the oven doors. Gavin grabbed the witch by the scruff of her neck and tossed her far from Sarah. Sarah regained her balance and lunged towards the Old Hag's legs, in order to topple her onto her side. It didn't work. The Old Hag shifted to the side and Sarah fell flat on her face. The Hag grabbed a large, sharp butcher knife from a wooden table and began to swing it down towards Sarah's head. Gretel screamed. Gavin swung his elbow into the Old Hag's face and broke one of her dangerously sharp teeth. His elbow was covered with brown saliva. He stammered back in revoltion at the gooey, foreign substance sliding down his arm. She dropped the butcher knife inches from Sarah's face.
In all of the action, Hansel had taken the key from Sarah's cell and freed himself. He stomped out of the cell and placed all of his body weight behind the Old Hag and shoved her towards the elephant sized oven. He spit at her as he gave one final shove, "I hope they do to you in Hell, what you've done to me here, Witch!"
The witch toppled, headfirst, into the oven and Gretel closed and locked the door behind her. Screams could be heard as the witch crackled inside until her death. Gavin reached for Sarah's hand to help her off the floor. The moment she took it, he pulled her up and embraced her close. Across the room, Raquel moaned and groaned. Sarah pulled away from Gavin and asked nervously, "Baby?"
Raquel shook her head and answered, "Indigestion." Hansel took his fat little fingers and pulled the key from his cell lock and placed it into Raquel's lock to turn it. Raquel spit out the food she was chewing on, very indignantly.
Suddenly, everything tasted like cardboard and mud.
It wasn't a coincidence. The house's appearance of gingerbread appearance melted to reveal a nothing but a lump of wood and dirt. It was all a spell.
Figures, Sarah thought. It didn't make her any less hungry. Gretel fainted as the witch's power broke over her feeble body. She hardly had the energy to stand. Sarah turned to Hansel, but he wasn't in good enough shape to carry his sister on his back. Raquel definitely wasn't in any condition to carry anything on her back. Sarah turned to Gavin and asked apologetically, "Would you mind carrying Gretel on your back, Gav?"
Gavin blinked, "Who?"
Sarah pointed to the rail-thin girl. Gavin hesitated for a moment and nodded. As he placed the teenager on his back, he shook his head in aggravation. She forms an entourage, no matter where she goes in here, he thought.
Unlike Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Diddymus, the new company of tagalongs was hopelessly pathetic. They slowed Sarah's progress through the Grimm's Wood. There was less than seven hours left to the Troll King's dare. Sarah had no idea where she was going, nor how she was going to escape. Jareth was anticipating she wouldn't defeat the Troll King as she had against him. His mind was reeling. He refused to allow Torok to gain possession of Sarah Williams. He figured it was time he had broken his agreement and cheated.
The Troll King would probably know immediately, but Jareth didn't care anymore. He wouldn't let Sarah belong to anyone else but him. Sarah continued to lead the group forward.
Hansel panted and had to sit from time to time. Raquel continued to moan as her overstuffed gut grumbled in protest. Gretel slumbered quietly on Gavin's back, but he didn't seem to be distracted by any of them. He watched Sarah closely as the time counted down to six hours.