Ch11 Where to now?
Daniel was still running he was halfway back to his door when he stopped ashamed of himself. ^She's my friend I can't believe I ran from her.^ He thought as he shook his head, ^I'm going back.^
As he turned around to go find Cara he heard a voice "Well if it isn't you."
"Y-y-your Majesty!" Daniel's eyes opened wide at the sight of the Goblin King staring at him.
"I'm surprised to see you away from your door," Jareth said looking straight at him making Daniel very nervous, "And where are you going?"
"Oh… uh… Nowhere just out for a walk," he lied hoping Jareth would believe him.
"For the first time since you took your post at that door?" Jareth asked as he raised and eyebrow making Daniel look down. "I know you're trying to help her, Cara, the girl with the glasses and kind heart, your dear friend who means so much to you."
Daniel's head shot up with a worried look in his eyes, ^Is it bad or good that he knows that? ^ He wondered ^Please don't let her be in trouble for this PLEASE! ^
"I want you to take her back to the beginning." Jareth said staring straight at him again.
"No she's come so far!" Daniel pleaded; Jareth looked at him slightly annoyed.
"I know. That's the problem; she'll be at the castle in no time if this keeps up."
"But sire please why not just let her be. I won't do nothing to harm her I WON'T!" Daniel cried surprised that he would go against anything the Goblin King would say.
"Don't worry I won't have you try and hurt her," Jareth said making Daniel feel a bit relieved, "You have to stall her anyway you can, or I can have Higgle do it if you like."
^Hoggle^ Daniel thought "But why? Is it really so bad if she gets there?"
Jareth sighed, "You're like a child you know that? You know full well if she gets there she'll just leave," Jareth frowned at the thought but only for a moment before his face returned to normal, so as not to let Daniel see how he felt.
"I know," Daniel hung his head he knew Jareth was right; the last girl his majesty had liked had left so why should Cara be different.
"No one here wants her to leave so you see we can't let her get to the castle," Jareth said "We must stop her."
Daniel nodded sadly, "What should I do your majesty?"
"And that's what happened." Cara finished.
"Geez you didn't have to go through much did you?" Sarah said slightly annoyed.
"I guess not," Cara said feeling guilty since she knew what Sarah had gone through. As she looked around trying not to look at Sarah she noticed something, "Hey Sarah look." Cara pointed and Sarah's eyes followed to where she was pointing to see two doors appear.
"Where did they come from?" Sarah asked as she approached them with Cara and Ludo behind her. They looked more closely at the knockers. Each had the form of a repulsive face, with a ring set in it. The knocker to the left had the ring coming out of its ears. The one on the right held the ring in its mouth. They looked from one to the other wondering which to choose.
"Well, guys," Sarah asked after awhile, "which one of these two ugly characters shall we choose?"
"It's very rude to stare," said the first knocker, the one with the ring set in its ears.
Cara blinked is surprise as Sarah jumped. Neither was accustomed to the habit that normally inarticulate things had, in the Labyrinth, of speaking their minds.
"We're sorry," Cara said, "We were just wondering which door to choose, that's all."
$ Really! We're scarcely to blame for assuming that a door knocker would have no mind to speak, let alone blunt opinions on acceptable social behavior.$ Sarah thought slightly annoyed at both Cara and the doorknocker.
"What?" the first knocker asked. Cara was about to reply but before she could open her mouth, she and the others heard a mumbling noise from behind them.
It was the second knocker, with the ring in its mouth. It said something like "Mmm gli m g any."
"Don't talk with your mouth full," the first knocker said primly.
"Ker glimpfwrt mble mble mble ..." Sarah just shook her head wondering when something would be normal while Cara addressed the second knocker.
"One moment I don't understand what you're saying." She had already realized what the problem was.
"What was that?" the first knocker inquired.
Cara took hold of the ring in the second knocker's mouth and pulled. It came away easily. The face looked tremendously relieved. It exercised the muscles around its jaw and chin with evident pleasure.
"It's so good to get that thing out," it sighed.
"What were you saying?" Sarah asked.
The first knocker, behind them, said, "Huh?"
The second knocker nodded at the first. "I said it's no good talking to him. He's deaf as a post, that one, I can tell you."
The first knocker said, "Mumble, mumble, mumble, that's you. You're a wonderful conversational companion, I must say."
"YOU SHOULD TALK!" the second knocker yelled back. "ALL YOU CAN DO IS MOAN!"
"It's no good," the first knocker said, in a matter-of-fact voice. "I can't hear you."
The seconded knocker sighed in what sounded like exasperation.
Cara looked at the second knocker and asked "Where do these doors lead?"
"What?" asked the first knocker.
"Search me," the second one answered her. "We're just the knockers."
"Oh," Sarah said, reflecting that Cara and she ought to have known better than to expect a simple answer.
Sarah decided to try the door with the first knocker on it, when she realized it wouldn't open she asked "How do we get through?"
"Huh?" asked the first knocker.
The second one, with an arch smile, replied, "Knock and the door will open."
"Ah." Cara said looking at the ring in Ludo's mouth, she smiled and gently took it out and handed it to Sarah who went to put it back in the second knocker's mouth.
He made a face. "Uh-uh, I don't want that thing back in my mouth." And he clamped his lips tightly shut, and refused to open them even when she put the ring against his mouth.
"Come on," Sarah said. "I want to knock."
He shook his head stubbornly.
"Hmmm," commented the first knocker, morosely as usual. "Doesn't want the ring back in his mouth, Eh? Can't say as I blame him."
"I'm sorry," Cara said, as Sarah pushed the ring against the knocker's
lips again "But we need to get through."
He simply pursed his mouth and resisted.
"Oh, come on," Sarah said, and tried again.
The knocker frowned and squeezed his lips together even more tightly.
Then Cara had an idea, she whispered it to Sarah who smiled and nodded. With her finger and her thumb, Sarah squeezed the knocker's nose. He held out a while, scowling more and more fiercely, but in the end he had to open his mouth for breath.
"Damn!" he gasped.
In a flash, Sarah had the ring back in his mouth, and knocked on the door.
He was protesting. "Kgrmpf. Mble. Mble. Mble. Grmfff."
"Sorry," Cara said.
"I had to do it," Sarah added.
"That's all right," the first knocker told her. "He's used to it."
This door swung open to reveal a forbidding forest. On this side of the wall they were in sunshine, but through the doorway was a dismal and brooding prospect. Ludo was growling and trying to draw back, but Sarah was not going in without him and Cara knew they had to keep going.
"Come on," Cara said, trying to coax Ludo to them.
"There's no other way we can go. Except back where we came from, and I'm not doing that." Sarah said as she stepped through the doorway and waited for Cara and Ludo to join her. Ludo followed her, reluctantly, with Cara beside him. Cara felt safe near the big beast so she decided to stay by him. The door swung shut of its own accord, with a resounding thud. The echo lasted a long time.
Both Cara and Sarah shivered. The sky was the color of cast iron, and the forest
plants looked shriveled, as though the sun had never shone on them since their first day on earth. They both felt terribly dispirited after just a minute in this place, and Cara looked for Ludo to hearten her. His expression was unhappier than her own.
"Oh, come on, you two," Sarah said, trying to sound cheerful. "Fancy a great thing like you being so scared; and you little miss sunshine being so down hearted."
Ludo shook his head. "Not -- good."
"Don't worry Ludo it'll be alright," Cara said trying to make him more at ease. She gave him a hug which made Ludo smile for a moment, just a moment.
Sarah shrugged, with a heavy heart, turned around again, and wondered which way to go. A path ran in front of her into the forest, but how could anyone take it for granted that a path was the way you wanted to go?
"I don't even know which way the castle is," she said with another sigh. "There's nothing to be scared of you guys," she said, and felt she had to take some initiative, if only to persuade Ludo and Cara to buck up.
At that moment Cara, who was trying to get Ludo to cheer up felt like the ground under her feet had disappeared and suddenly found Ludo and herself falling.
As she fell she heard Sarah speak, "Ludo? Cara?" Sarah looked all around her. "Cara! Ludo!"
