An entrée of friendship drama, served with a main course of Underground goodness, and finished off with that special someone's very appearance- for dessert, of course. All liberally sprinkled with movie déjà vu for flavor. Bon appétit.
(I apologize for the long breaks between updates. I have a lot of this story written out, but I have this need to thoroughly edit it to death before I post it. So. I'll try to work on that. Really.)
(PLEASE review. *GND-owl-eyes*)
There's only one thing that I know how to do well,
And I've often been told that you only can do
What you know how to do well.
And that's be you,
Be what you're like,
Be like yourself..
And so I'm having a wonderful time
But I'd rather be whistling in the dark,
Whistling in the dark,
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark...
There's only one thing that I like
And that is whistling in the dark
~Whistling in the Dark by They Might Be Giants
Thunk. This time, their fall was unimpeded by helpful fairy hands, and they crash landed on hard cold stone instead of sand. It hurt more. A lot more. Kath winced as she struggled to her feet, her eyes watering in pain. She gritted her teeth and rubbed her tailbone. Her butt was going to be black and blue later. There was way too much of this falling theme going on.
Her movements seemed more natural, the molecules around her a more normal size than before. Kath couldn't tell for sure - it was still black as pitch, and her eyes weren't adjusting at all - but it seemed like they were back to normal size. The air seemed much less cavernous as it had when they were tiny… and falling through it. She craned her neck to look up, try to see if there as any lingering light above. Pure darkness met her.
Amie groaned pitifully, and Kath immediately dropped to her knees beside her. "You okay, Amie?" She didn't bother trying to hide her worry, though Amie sometimes got annoyed about her mother-hen quality. "I think we're back to normal size now, and we might be under the labyrinth. Which is a good thing, right?" She tried to talk soothingly, more calmly than she actually felt.
"..Kath? Where are we?" There was a rustling noise as Amie blearily tried to sit up. "I just had the most amazing sequence of dreams..."
"Shh, Amie, don't move. Stay still until you know you're feeling okay. Then we can keep moving and totally beat this labyrinth up..." Kath was trying to sound optimistic, but really she was just weary and resigned. She had gotten sucked into this entire rather trippy but pointless mess because of Amie, after all, though also because she wasn't being alert enough to realize that this couldn't only be a dream. At the rate things were going, she suspected her bitterness would soon get a lot worse.
Amie shifted restlessly and began to climb to her feet in the darkness. "Stop babying me, Kath. You always do that; I'm not gonna break if I get pushed a little. I may be a little immature sometimes, but stop acting like you're my damn mother." She sounded extremely irritable. "The Labyrinth is my dream come true, anyway. You need to stop bossing me around."
Kath automatically opened her mouth to retort, then closed it. She'd worked hard all her life on her self control, on keeping her sometimes fiery temper strictly at bay. Kath inwardly prided herself on her strongly developed and quick-acting conscience. Most people didn't really understand why she was so strictly self-sacrificing and contained, and she'd seen countless people become quite annoyed by it. It gave Kath a sense of direction and fulfillment in her life. Whenever she had a struggle with her own selfish emotions and won, she felt an unmatchable feeling of triumph that few people could relate with.
"You're right, Amie, I'm sorry. I know I can be bossy and take the lead too much sometimes." Kath sighed, squashing down her instincts to remind Amie of how that was a good thing in this situation. "Feel free to lead on from here." I'm tired already of this messed up adventure, anyway.
The tension between them relaxed almost visibly … well, visibly if they hadn't been in utter darkness. Kath could tell Amie was still a little annoyed, though. She heard the soft whispering of fabric as Amie shifted restlessly.
"Well, onward ho," Amie grumbled. "Which way?"
There was no sense of direction in the blackness all around them. "Find a…well, maybe we should try to find a wall and follow that." Kath struggled to make her voice more neutral. Amie's temper would soon pass once something distracted her mind, but while she was still sulking, anything from a misplaced word to a certain tone of voice could set her off.
They blundered around wildly, arms outstretched, keeping tight hold of each other's clothes in order to not lose each other in the directionless night. Getting separated was, at least to Kath, the worst thing that could happen.
There was an audible smack as Amie whacked her hand against a hard surface. "Ow. I think I found it."
They chose a random direction and began walking along the wall, carefully keeping in contact with each other. They seemed to walk for ages in the darkness as it stretched on forever; Kath wondered if they had chosen the right way. At some point she started humming 'Whistling in the Dark,' but Amie had just about mauled her until she stopped.
She looked at Amie beside her, the girl's wide eyes glimmering in the dark as she sulked. Wait…there couldn't be luminescence in pitch darkness. Kath sighed in relief. It seemed to be very subtly getting lighter – or at lest, less dark - as they moved forward. The omnipresent darkness had begun to feel oppressive.
An ominous voice seemed to rumble out of the very rock around them, reverberating in the air. They both shrieked and jumped in opposing directions, slamming into each other painfully.
"THIS IS NOT THE WAYYY." Kath and Amie clutched at each other fearfully, hearts hammering.
"TURN BACK WHILE YOU STILL CAN." Another raspier voice boomed out.
"DON'T GO ON." That one came from behind the girls; they spun around skittishly.
Kath tried to slow her frantically beating heart. The worst part was that she had no idea where in the darkness the voices were coming from. It's just surprising, they're not attacking us, they're just voices. She repeated that to herself like a mantra, but then jumped again at the next voice.
"BEWARE. THE PATH AHEAD IS FRAUGHT WITH PERIL!"
"TAKE HEED, AND GO NO FURTHER!"
"SOON IT WILL BE TOO LATE..."
Amie whimpered, burying her face in Kath's hair. Kath tried to calm herself down and hugged her back, stating flatly, "They're all bark and no bite. They just startled us. They're just trying to get us to turn back. Which means we must be on the right path, right? Look, Amie, it's already a lot lighter than before. We'll get out, just keep walking..." She started peppily singing 'Just Keep Swimming' and lightly tried to relax Amie's vice-like grip.
"What do you do, ooh ooh ooh... just keep swimming, just keep swimming.."
Kath's words (or contagious singing) seemed to comfort Amie enough for her to return her from the verge of stark terror. "I hate you, no matter how pretty your voice is," Amie muttered as she, slightly embarrassed, disentangled herself from Kath. "I sound like a dying frog, and that song's going to be in my head all day."
"TURN BAAACK!"
They both jumped again, but less rattled this time. "You're right, they're just trying to ward us away. Let's go." Amie lifted her chin and took a step forward.
"RUN WHILE YOU -"
"Just shut UP," Kath shouted into the darkness, letting all of her frustrated energy roil into her angry tone. "I swear, the next person who says a word will wish they've never been born. Now shut your big fat gobs or I will for you!"
There was a strange, almost nervous silence.
"Sorry," the last voice muttered timidly.
"Yeah, we won't do it again." That one sounded apologetic.
"It's just our job, missy."
"We're supposed to keep you from going on."
"But by all means, please do," one added hastily.
Kath glared around her threateningly. "I think I shall, thank you very much." She purposefully strode forward through the darkness, Amelie following in awed silence, as the voices whispered around them.
"His Majesty will be displeased with us."
"Well, we can't stop them. We're just pieces of rock."
"Aww, and we haven't given anyone a good scare in such a long time."
"We tried. His Highness can't punish us..."
"The King can punish whomever he wants to..."
They soon left the voices far behind. Kath's feet began to get sore from her dress shoes and she kicked them off heedlessly, indifferently leaving them behind in the darkness. She doubted she would ever see them again, but she didn't really care; shoes were just shoes.
After several more minutes of walking in silence, the darkness began to melt away more fully. Kath could finally see their surroundings, and with that certain element of unknown removed, she easily banished the rest of her fear and began to curiously examine the surroundings.
They were traveling in an arched brick tunnel that wasn't particularly large but wasn't particularly small, either. Once again, there was a strange layer of glitter and cobwebs coating everything, glinting like freshly wet pavement. It still felt a tinge ominous. Despite the (visible) lack of skulls, it reminded her a little of the French catacombs...
Amie cleared her throat. "Yeah, I guess you're kinda better at this heroine thing than I am," she admitted a little ruefully, purposefully hiding her eyes with her light hair. "I was kind of useless back there. Sorry I blew up at you before."
Kath was, quite frankly, surprised. Amie had never apologized before, no matter how bratty she had acted. "It's okay, you were right. I have faults, too, just as much as anyone else does."
"Psh. Your 'faults' may be annoying, but they're hardly faults at all in comparison to most people." Amelie rolled her eyes, then sighed a little. "You're too dumb perfect. Your biggest fault, if you could call it that, is thinking too much about other people. That's all you've done this entire time. All I want to do is have an amazing thrilling adventure and maybe be all fangirly over the sexy Goblin King... and all you want to do is get the heck out of here. I can tell, you know." She wiggled her eyebrows mysteriously. "I'm just surprised you stick around with me…all the time. Even though I can be really annoying. Sometimes."
"Are you sure you didn't hit your head or something? You're being unnaturally perceptive," Kath joked lightly.
Amie glared at her mockingly. "Hey, hey, girl-friend, I was trying to make up for my past and future behavior right there. You tryin' to ruin it?"
"Who, I? Never," Kath teased, but then grew more serious. "Amie, you have to realize that I don't find it a hassle to hang out with you. You're fun and quirky and peppy and have a good sense of adventure... which I totally miss out on without you. And you're definitely far from boring."
Amie shot her an evil grin. "You're totally going to regret saying that."
They bantered companionably to kill the time as they walked. The tunnels grew progressively less dim, but there wasn't any obvious source of light. Kath stifled a yawn. Running the labyrinth was a lot more boring than she had expected it to be – but then again, she didn't really have many expectations in the first place. Amie had all of those. Kath really should have watched that movie. Kath wished they could just get on with it, find Amie's Elf King or whatever, and make him send them home.
Suddenly, as if sensing Kath's thought, they came to a crossroads – the first intersection they'd happened across yet. The path branched off somewhat stereotypically into three identical tunnels mouths. They both groaned at the painful cliché.
"I really don't feel like making this type of decision right now," Amie complained, a little whiny.
"Hey, there looks like there's something over there." Next to one of the tunnel entrances sat what looked like a large pile of dirty rags. Kath started toward it curiously.
"Wait, Kath..." Amelie hesitated, seeming like she was simultaneously remembering and forgetting something important. Amie often had that look, so Kath ignored her.
Kath approached the rags a little warily. They shifted strangely at her footsteps, and a strange, boney bird-like head suddenly popped out of the top.
"What do we have here, hmmmmm? Two young girls, wandering the Underground alone?" The vulture-like head twisted its long neck to peer at Kath with a cold, beady eye. Kath had to resist the urge to take a step back. The creature didn't seem especially dangerous – despite its long beak – but it exuded an air of deadly menace that contradicted its ragtag appearance. "Hmmmm. Looking for something, maybe? Perhaps the brave little girl is asking for help from me poor self, hrmmm?" The rags seemed to shift again, and Kath could now tell that they were tattered, once colorful layers of dirty clothing.
"Hrmmmm? Cat got your tongue?" The bird-thing clacked its beak in amusement, but in that very action there was the almost tangible undercurrent of a threat. Kath involuntarily flinched, taking a small step back.
Kath winced at her irrational fear and composed herself. It's just a weird bird-thing. Who seems to hate me, and I haven't even done anything yet. No big.
"Do you know which way to take to get to the castle?" Kath asked.
The bird-beggar threw back its head and cackled. The inhuman sound sent chills down Kath's spine. "Do I know the way to the castle, hmmm? If I knew, why should I help you, silly girl?" It cocked its head, mocking malice filling its voice. Kath no longer had any doubts about it hating her.
"Er..." She didn't know what to say. "I don't know."
"You don't know, you don't know? Well then why don't you figure that out, hmmm? Figure out your priorities before you wish yourself away, perhaps?" Its voice slid from harsh and shrill to cool and silky smooth ice... The bird-creature seemed to suddenly straighten, grow taller before her. Kath stepped back in confusion and accidentally bumped into Amie.
Then the beggar bird fell apart, the rags falling away to the ground, a costume discarded by an actor. In its place stood, unmistakably, the Goblin King.
Kath didn't know what she had expected, really. The image that came to her mind when she thought of the title 'Goblin King' was, well, a goblin. If she was told that the Goblin King was not a goblin, she'd imagine a frumpy, short old guy with a ridiculously flashy crown. If she was told that the Goblin King was not an old frumpy guy, her mind would struggle for a while and then eventually come up with the stereotypical image of a brooding, darkly handsome man that her mind associated with all royal fantasy figures who weren't frumpy old men.
The man who lounged on the wall before her in a lazily threatening way definitely differed from her vague masculine expectations (though probably not from Amie's.) His face was all sharp angles and lines; his shadowed eyes were cool blue ice under delicately arched eyebrows. Kath couldn't deny that was attractive in his own, different way, with wild, jagged blonde hair and slender limbs. His clothes, however, were just ridiculous.
The King wore a combined ensemble of an ostentatiously jeweled dark leather jacket over a ruffled shirt that looked like it belonged in the Victorian era, way-too-tight pants, shiny black boots, long supple gloves, and even topped it all off with a little cape.Yet despite his bizarre choice of clothing, which would have looked ridiculous or at the least overly pretentious on anyone else, the Goblin King pulled it off with self-assured grace. Instead of detracting from his appearance, the outfit accentuated the dark aura of power that subtly thrummed in the air around him.
Amie swayed, and leaned into Kath; she looked like she was going to overload and faint from fawning happiness. Kath raised an eyebrow as he took a step forward. His eyes – they're mismatched, how strange – glared into hers; she couldn't help but shiver at the tightly reigned rage that lurked behind his cold, shuttered expression. She felt suddenly unprotected, weak, in her prom dress and bare feet.
"I hope you've enjoyed the Labyrinth so far," he purred, his smoothly alluring voice a contrast to the icy hate seething darkly within his eyes, "but really, I'm not accepting visitors."
"Sorry, Your Majesty, but we're kind of committed by now," Kath replied slowly, giving him a frank smile. She was not going to forfeit already and, what, become his property? This arrogant, rage-filled pomp? There wasn't really any turning back now...
He smiled sardonically back at her, his eyes flashing with some unreadable emotion. "Such a pity." A feral grin danced across his face, never touching his cold eyes. "How about upping the stakes?"
His predatory gaze suddenly shifted to where Amelie stood. She watched him with wide, deer-in-the headlight eyes, struck dumb by the sudden appearance of Prince Charming. He gave a single, slow laugh as he deliberately looked over Amie's flagrantly low red dress.
"I don't think so, Goblin King," Kath hissed, moving to stand protectively in front of her friend. "Over my dead body."
"Please, call me Jareth." He leaned forward with a mockingly friendly smile, his eyes dangerous. Almost unthinkingly, he touched a lock of her dark hair before he unexpectedly stepped back and raised a gloved hand as if to strike her. Kath barely suppressed a flinch.
A crystal ball appeared between his long fingers, gleaming in the low light. Jareth gave a low chuckle. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He unexpectedly turned and threw the crystal far into the dark corridor behind them, the way they had come from. He bared wickedly sharp teeth at them in a dangerous grin as strange howls and growls began to echo in the darkness behind them.
"Run along now, little girls. Don't let the hellhounds bite." Jareth's darkly gleeful laughter overlay the savage, animalistic noises growing closer behind them.
Kath needed no further urging. She grabbed Amie and took off down a random corridor. The King was already gone.