"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 27
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.
In this part of the story, I introduce the Leanan-Sidhe [Lan-awn-shee'] taken from Brian Froud and Alan Lee's book, "Fairies".
Chapter 27: Not An 'Ordinary' Girl
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Gavin heard Sarah shout a loud obscenity just a moment before darting away from the old hickory tree. A massive, black, furry blur trailed her a second later while letting loose a blood curdling snarl.
Raquel screamed. Gretel stirred a bit and Hansel froze with a mortified look upon his face. Gavin wretched Raquel's hands from his elbow, but found she was so terrified, that he was unable to loosen her grip and return to his feet. He tugged harshly at Raquel and demanded, "Let my arm free at once, girl!"
Raquel pleaded, "OH please, don't leave me here alone! Don't go away!"
Gavin didn't look at the pregnant young woman, but continued to finagle her locked fingers from his arm. He could only think of Sarah and the danger that pursued her. When it was clear that Raquel refused to let go, Gavin did the only thing he could, in order to release her….
… he transformed into a majestic, white, Barn Owl.
Raquel gasped as the bird alighted high above the trees and soared into the air. Hansel stood with his chubby mouth agape. Gretel collapsed to the ground with a thud. The sound of her thin body hitting the ground was the only thing that turned Hansel's attention away from the sky.
Gavin, who was Jareth, was now racing across Grimm's Wood with his wings spread far at his sides. He listened and looked intently for any signs of Sarah's whereabouts. He was about to dive closer to the ground, when a fierce white falcon, with a black head dove into him at full force. Jareth the Owl, lost his bearings. The two birds of prey came crashing to the ground at tremendous speeds. The Falcon had Jareth pinned under its powerful claws. Its beak chattered over Jareth's head. Jareth knew immediately, this was no 'ordinary' bird.
With a poof of smoke and glitter, both the great, white, Barn Owl and the black and white Peregrine Falcon transformed into more human-like beings. Jareth was himself, for the moment, and not Gavin. The Falcon became Snow White. She had Jareth's wrists pinned against a tree, and he had his hands around her throat.
Of course, being the Goblin King, Jareth was far stronger than Snow White both in physical and magical strength. Normally, Jareth wouldn't have dirtied his own hands with physical combat, but something about Sarah's life-threatening situation made him almost feral and irrational. Jareth lowered his face close to Snow White's and nearly snarled, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't turn you into a door mouse at this very second, child!"
Snow White didn't answer. Her hollow turquoise eyes peered curiously into his. Jareth heard rustling coming from behind him, and turned to look. It was Torok. He was clapping his hands and chuckling.
No, he was mocking, Jareth thought.
Torok snickered, "Well, mon frère, this looks like the end of our agreement. You've broken the rules back there in the gingerbread house, and just now, tried to save Sarah by owl. Didn't I warn you about cheating? Now, Sarah Williams officially becomes my own personal, shall we say, showpiece?"
Jareth was about to argue with Torok, when a high-pitched yelp could be heard far off in the distance. Jareth released his hands from Snow White's neck, and she released her hands from his wrists. Snow White's face dropped. For the first time she spoke up, "Red? -- Red's in trouble!"
Snow White ducked under Jareth's arms as Torok's face became stern. The two magical kings exchanged mixed glances. 'White' darted through the trees towards the sound of the whimpering wolf. Torok followed after her on foot, as did Jareth, because both kings were too curious to recall that travel by magic was faster and easier.
Raquel and Hansel, who was carrying Gretel as best as he could manage, ran directly into the Goblin King and the Troll King. Raquel jumped back in fear as her eyes saw Torok, the father of her unborn child. Hansel whispered as he saw Jareth, "The fabled Goblin King…"
Jareth ignored everyone. Torok also seemed uninterested in everybody's presence, and moved closer to the whimpering dog. The entourage was about to penetrate to the other side of the bushes, when Snow White darted back through in the opposite direction. Her once calm face, was now frantic and frazzled with freshly made claw marks running across her neck. The blood dripped down her exposed chest, as she grabbed Torok by the scruff of his unbuttoned shirt, and yelled, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MY SISTER AND I?!"
She was about to shout something else at Torok, when Bad the big wolf and pet to Rose Red, darted through the bushes, ran past the gathering of people, and then disappeared into the thicket never to be seen again. His tail was tucked between his legs and he howled regretfully into the evening sky. Jareth looked at Torok, while Snow White whispered to the Troll King, "You never should have brought that woman here. Now, all who reside in Grimm's Wood shall share the fate of the Goblin King."