CHAPTER EIGHT
Wither Then?
"The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then?
I cannot say."
-Bilbo Baggins, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Sarah froze, unable to move, her mind slowing down to a sluggish pace, unable to think or do anything due to her sudden shock.
"How did you get in here?" the Minotaur said, his voice low and rumbling, clearly rusty from a lack of speaking on a regular basis. Sarah was a little taken aback. She had not expected encountering anything in the Labyrinth that would be intelligent enough to talk to. She was irresistibly reminded of the Goblin King's advice that he had given her the day previously:
"As I am sure you have noticed, things are not always what they seem in this place. The same goes for my Labyrinth. Forget everything you know about the human world, as it will not help you there. Firstly, do not try to cheat the Labyrinth or its inhabitants. Their logic and reasoning is vastly different from yours, and you will most likely end up digging yourself into deeper trouble if you try to apply your standards to a situation involving a Labyrinth-dweller. The Labyrinth has a sort of consciousness of its own, and it will not be kind to you if it perceives that you are trying to make your way through in a deceptive manner. Secondly, sometimes the way forward is also the way back. It is best if I leave that little bit of advice at that. Thirdly, do not stray from the path. I cannot guarantee that all my subjects are a kind a I."
Sarah thought quickly, trying to choose her right words.
"I am to solve the Labyrinth for my freedom and the freedom of my family. My family has been under a curse placed by the Goblin King for hundreds of years. The Goblin King has tasked me with this and granted me entrance to the Labyrinth."
"So, we finally have a Runner. It has been a great many years since the Labyrinth has seen one. May I ask your name, Runner?" said the Minotaur in a guttural voice that was deeply reminiscent of distant thunder.
"Sarah. Sarah Guillemin," Sarah squeaked. It was one thing to be brave when attacked by a swarm of pixies that were no larger than your finger. It was quite another matter indeed when you were faced with a beast who stood twice as tall as you, who could most certainly crush you in a matter of moments, or who most likely possessed incredible strength and speed.
"Ah, another from Guillemin dynasty. I am the Minotaur. I have been tasked with protecting the Labyrinth from those who seek to harm it or its inhabitants. Why is the King letting you run the Labyrinth? How are you different from every other Guillemin?"
"I assume you know the terms of the curse," asked Sarah, her courage growing little by little.
"I was told long ago, but please refresh my memory. Is there more to it than just the sacrifice of second-born children?" the Minotaur queried, with regal politeness.
"There was an addendum to the curse," replied Sarah. She began to quote the words of the curse.
"And yet, after your grandchildren are dead, and yea after their grandchildren are dead as well, I shall spare the second-born child in favor for the first-born daughter.
I shall test her, and if I deem her worthy of my affection, my heart, and kingdom, I will take her to be my queen, and it shall cause her more heartbreak and woe than it would have ever caused you had you chosen to accept my most generous offer. For all eternity, your descendants will curse your name and detest you for what you have done. Your actions tonight have single-handedly destroyed the future of your dynasty."
Sarah paused for breath.
"I am that girl. My mother bore a son little more than a year ago, and I lived in constant agony since my little brother was born, waiting for the time that the Goblin King would have me sacrifice Aubrey to him. When the Goblin King finally appeared, however, I found that I was to be the sacrifice in my brother's stead. If I do not complete the Labyrinth, and find the Goblin King in his castle beyond the Goblin City in three days time, I will have to stay with him forever, and my future kin will still be subject to his curse. If I am able to complete the tasks he has set for me, I shall earn my freedom and be allowed to return home, and the curse will be broken."
"That is quite the tale," commented the Minotaur, nodding his great horned head at Sarah. "I understand now. I had not realized that the candidate for the Goblin Queen had been chosen."
"Yes," said Sarah hesitantly, uncertain of what to do now. Was she allowed to pass? Could she just leave? Was there something more that she must do, or was there something that he must tell her? Being in the Labyrinth made Sarah's head hurt. "Is that everything that you need to know? May I pass? I only have three days to complete my journey, and the first is drawing to an end. I am certain that I still have a long ways to go, and I cannot waste any time."
"I shall let you pass, Runner, if you are able to answer my riddles. I can tell you that one of the paths I guard now lead you in the right direction, while the other leads you in a direction that you most certainly do not want to tread. If you are able to solve my riddles, I shall show you which path is the correct one and I will allow you to pass by me unscathed. If you are unable to solve my riddles, I will not of course tell you the correct path, and I will alert the denizens of the Labyrinth to your presence, and mark you out as a threat to them." The Minotaur was implacably calm as he said this, as if testing mortals was something that he did on a daily basis in his spare time. The Minotaur continued to speak.
"There is another option, and that is turning around right now and returning the way you came. However, I can tell you that this option will lead you even further from the Goblin King's castle. Which option do you chose, Sarah Guillemin?"
Sarah thought hard. She was reasonably clever at solving riddles, all due to riddles being one of her father's favorite pastimes. If she solved the Minotaur's puzzles, she would be one step closer to her goal. If not...well, best not think about that just now. She had made her decision.
"I choose to solve your riddles, Minotaur," replied Sarah confidently, trying to put on a brave front.
"Are you so certain that you shall solve them, Runner? I have been the guardian of the Labyrinth for quite some time, and I have had much time to hone my craft." He sighed at Sarah's determined expression. "Ah well. The inherent self-assurance of mortals is quite interesting. Very well, let us begin. I have five riddles for you to solve. Take your time and think upon each one carefully before you speak. You shall have only a single chance to guess the answer to each riddle."
The Minotaur thought quietly for a moment, before speaking the first riddle.
"The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?"
This was easy. It was an old riddle that Sarah was quite familiar with, and she answered quickly, smiling.
"Footsteps," Sarah said. She had taken many of those today, and she had many more yet to take.
"Very good," replied the Minotaur calmly, "Now, here is the next one. What is something that you keep after giving it to someone else?"
This one was a little harder, and Sarah had to think for a few moments, muttering to herself before she found the answer.
"Your word," she said, her confidence growing. Two riddles down, three to go. She would be on her way again in no time!
"Correct. Now listen carefully. There were four brothers in this world that were born together. The first runs and runs and yet never wearies. The second eats and eats, and yet never can sate his voracious appetite. The third drinks constantly and is always thirsty. The fourth sings many a song that is never good. What are they?"
Sarah's heart sank. This was much more complex than the other two riddles. She was silent for a few minutes, trying to decipher the puzzle. She asked the Minotaur to repeat the riddle, and he obliged, saying it again in his slow voice. Sarah thought a bit more before the answer came to her.
"Oh, I know! The four elements! The first brother is water, the second is fire, the third brother is earth, and the fourth is wind."
The Minotaur nodded, and asked the fourth riddle.
"I never was, am always to be. No one has ever seen me, nor ever will, and yet I am the confidence of all, to live and breathe on this terrestrial ball."
Sarah was stumped. She paced back and forth in the pathway, agitated. She repeated the riddle over and over in her head and attempted to reason it out. Something no one has ever seen but gives people confidence? Hope, perhaps? But that did not fit the first part, something that 'never was, am always to be'. Sarah's cocky assurance melted away, and she began to feel the first real pangs of fear. She did not want to be sent down the wrong path, to be lead further and further away from her destination, nor did she want to become the target to every vile and vicious being that inhabited the Labyrinth. The Minotaur merely watched her pace in frustration, silent and implacable. He did not venture to offer her a hint, nor did he show any signs of annoyance at her inability to answer the question in a timely manner. He merely watched, as was his job for many, many years.
Suddenly, the answer presented itself to Sarah, and she chided herself on not seeing the answer sooner.
"It is 'tomorrow'. The answer is 'tomorrow'!" Sarah sighed a sigh of relief when the Minotaur nodded. Four riddles accurately solved, one final one left, and then she could continue on her way.
"Yes, that is correct. Now listen carefully, for here is the final riddle. When one does not know what it is, then it is something, but when one knows what it is, then it is nothing."
Sarah looked blankly at the Minotaur, her mind working furiously. If you do not know it, it is something, but if you do, it is nothing? What on earth could that be? The Minotaur correctly interpreted her confused look and repeated the riddle again, then lapsing into silence once more, the tacit guardian of the Labyrinth.
Sarah began to pace once more, speaking very quietly under her breath to herself, careful to not speak loud enough for the Minotaur to hear and think that it was her answer.
How on earth could she answer this riddle, it was impossible! It was not fair! The riddle was so convoluted and nonsensical that it the answer must be something truly banal and obvious. A riddle like this…oh! Sarah's heart jumped, and she gasped aloud. She knew the answer! It was sitting there, plain as day before her face! So simple and yet so clever!
"The final answer," said Sarah, brimming with pride, "is 'a riddle.'"
"Indeed it is," rumbled the Minotaur, something close to a smile passing across his face. "You have answered every single one of my riddles correctly. I congratulate you on this. The correct path is here." The Minotaur gestured to the path on the left. However, the Minotaur did not step aside, but instead continued to speak. "If I may give you some advice, Runner, I would bid you to be wary of sleeping in the Labyrinth. I can see that the night draws ever closer. If you must sleep, take the precautions to ensure that you are protected and may escape easily at a moment's notice. I can promise you that I will not mark you as a threat to the creatures of the Labyrinth, but this does not mean that they will not be curious and seek you out anyways. I urge you to be ever vigilant and to not take things for granted in here. The inhabitants are capable of both kindness and cruelty and they think in a way that is different from mortals such as yourself."
The Minotaur stepped aside and gestured for Sarah to pass.
"I wish thee luck, Sarah Guillemin, Runner of the Labyrinth. I hope that you find what you seek here, and that you accomplish what it is that you want in your heart. Farewell."
"Thank you, Minotaur," said Sarah graciously, giving the Minotaur a kind of half curtsey. "Thank you for letting me take the right path, and thank you for your words of advice. They are greatly appreciated, and I shall take care to heed them carefully."
She passed the Minotaur and continued down the path, which was quite dark. The sun had set while Sarah and the Minotaur had engaged in their battle of wits, and the air had grown colder. Sarah shivered and wrapped her cloak closer around her, holding the little lantern out before her as she walked. Or rather, Sarah wrapped the Goblin King's cloak around herself. She rolled her eyes at the thought of the Goblin King's misplaced chivalry or joke or whatever this was supposed to be.
After a while, Sarah could walk no further, and she set about looking for somewhere suitable to sleep. She did not want to sleep in some dead end, for sleeping there would make it far to easy to be trapped there. She needed to sleep at a crossroads where many paths met, and hopefully where she could perhaps climb up in a tree to sleep. Sarah walked on and on, following the twisting and turning paths, trying to find the best spot to sleep before her lantern went out. The candle had burnt down into a stub, and would not stay lit for much longer.
Finally, Sarah found a spot where five paths met. She ventured a little ways down a few of them to make sure that they were not all dead ends so that she could have several escape routes if need be. Returning to the crossroads, Sarah dropped her pack heavily to the ground and sat down next to it, pulling out a loaf of bread to eat. She had not realized how bone-achingly tired she was until she sat down. It took all of Sarah's willpower not to fall asleep before deciding where she was going to safely sleep. As her candle began to sputter, she held it aloft, trying and failing to find a way to climb up into the trees to spend the night. The candle extinguished itself as Sarah was peering at the treetops, and she had to concede defeat, unable to see anything but darkness. Sarah sat on the ground once more and pulled her pack towards her and laid her head on it, trying to find the most comfortable spot. She wrapped the cloak tighter around herself and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally slipped into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.
AN: Sorry for posting late ladies and gents! Time just kind of got away from me! As always, thanks to everyone for all their lovely reviews! I'm glad that everyone is enjoying my story so far! I've posted a photo in my profile of one of the book copies of this story that I got for completing NaNoWriMo! (It includes a picture of the chapter titles for those of you who like a bit of light spoilers!) Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: Labyrinth and its characters do not belong to me. Quotes from the movie belong to Henson, Froud, and Lucas. Quotes from the book belong to A.C.H. Smith.