Chapter 3:
I awaken to a shaking sensation. Peeking my eyes open to see Diana on top of me. "Wake up, Prince Gabriel! We must get you ready for the competition today!"
"Alright. I'm up, I'm up." I groan to the little goblin. She hops off of me and proceeds to instruct what looks like six other goblin maids. Suddenly, I'm swarmed by a flurry of fabric and armor. When the maids are done, they stand back to take a look at their work.
I'm left standing in head to toe armor. The armor is a gleaming silver, with blue accents in the gloves, boots, and the large sapphire in my swords hilt.. The boots and gloves appear to be made of dragon's skin. The sword hangs on my hips, and I decide to inspect it.
I pull the sword out, surprised to see that it is the vibrant blue of my kingdom. Swinging it around a little, I see that it feels absolutely perfect, just like an extension of my arm. I smile at how perfect this sword is. Something occurs to me.
"Does this armor have slits for my wings?" I ask Diana. "Yes, Prince Gabriel." I extend my wings to make sure that the can fit through the slits. Retracting them, I say,"Thank you, Diana."
"Your welcome, Prince Gabriel. Now if you could please blow of this crystal, it should transport you to the competition grounds." She fishes a crystal, much like the one Laurel offered me last night, and places it in my hand. As instructed, I blow on it.
I feel as though I'm being pulled through a long and narrow tube. Colors blur past me and I feel my feet land hardly on the ground.
"Gabriel! So good to see you lad. We were starting to worry that you wouldn't show up!" I look around and see Puck and Nicholas walking towards me. "Am I the last one here?" I ask Puck. He nods his head. "Why would you think that I wouldn't come?"
"Lyre and Mordred dropped out of the running." Says Nicholas."What?" He nods his head sadly. "Did they give any reason why?"
"They must have taken her deal." I look at Puck quizzically. "What do you mean that they took her deal?" He gives me a look. "Didn't Princess Laurel offer you a deal? You know, if you dropped out of the running, she would grant every single one of your dreams?" Nicholas asks me.
"Yes." I tell them, remembering last night. "She did, but I refused her offer."
"Yes. That's what all of us did. But since Lyre and Mordred aren't here-"
"They must have her up on her offer." I finish for him. Something dawns upon me. "Wait. You said only Lyre and Mordred took her offer. What about Dadrid." Nicholas's shoulders slump and a disappointed expression dominated his features. He gestures with his thumb over his shoulder. "The royal pain is right over there. Still in the running, and still in our lives." Nicholas crosses his arms and looks peeved.
I look to where Nicholas had gestured, and sure enough, there is Dadrid prancing around in a snobbish and arrogant manner. "Boy, would I love to take him down a peg." Whispers Puck. "I would too. Hopefully he'll end up stuck in the mud or something." Nicholas nods his approval and continues to glares daggers into Dadrid's back.
"Announcing, His Majesty, King Jareth!" A trumpet sounds, and we all turn towards it. Jareth appears before us on a platform. We all line up and give our attention to the king. "Gentleman, as you all know, my daughter, Laurel has chosen the event for today. So, if you would please welcome, Princess Laurel."
Laurel appears is a swirl of glittering dust, looking regal as ever. She gives her fake smile and addresses us. "Gentlemen. As you know, Prince Lyre and Prince Mordred will not be accompanying us today, for they took the deal. But, no matter."
"I knew it. I knew they took the deal." Whispers Puck. "Shush." I tell him. Laurel's smile starts to fade a little bit, but she keeps her composure. "Today, gentlemen, you will be running the Labyrinth." Everyone starts whispering and Laurel puts her hands up as a sign for us to quiet down. "As you know, the Labyrinth is a large part of my kingdom. It would only be wise that a ruler of the Labyrinth would have conquered. Be warned, that even though you cannot be killed in there, the dangers are very real. First person to make it to the center wins. The guardian of the Labyrinth door will let you in. Good luck, and may the best man win."
She disappears in the same manner in which she came. King Jareth steps up to the platform. "Gentleman, thank you for your participation, and may the Good Lady bless you." And with that, he leaves in a flurry of trumpets and capes.
"Gentleman, take your marks!" Shouts a fairly large goblin. "On your mark, get set, go!" We all break into runs to head down the mountain side. All I can think is, 'I should have taken the deal.'
...
I let myself stop running when I reach the outer wall of the Labyrinth. "Okay, now where's the door?" Humming and a squirting sound catches my attention. A dwarf is running around, spraying at fairies.
"Hey, Gabriel!" I turn to see Puck running towards me. "Puck. So glad to see you. Now, where do we find this door?" He looks like he's about to suggest something when we hear a voice. "69." The dwarf was still spraying at the fairies, taking pride in how many he could get. I motion to Puck towards the dwarf.
"Excuse me." The dwarf takes one look at us, and then continues spraying. "Excuse me, mister...?"
"Hoggle."
"What?" I ask him. "The name's Hoggle. Now what do you two want? 70."
"Are you the Guardian of the Doorway to the Labyrinth?" Asks Puck. "Why, yes. Yes I am. But who's asking."
"Forgive us, my name is Prince Gabriel of the Fallen Angel Kingdom, and this is Prince Robin of the Faerie Kingdom. But you may call us Gabriel and Puck."
"Fairy?" Hoggle eyes Puck suspiciously. "Different kind." Replies Puck. Hoggle shrugs and continues spraying. I look at Puck and we hurry to catch up with him.
"Excuse me, Hoggle? We were hoping you could tell us where the door to the Labyrinth is."
Hoggle then proceeds to do the strangest thing. He starts laughing.
"Lads, only one person has survived the Labyrinth, and you aren't her. 79"
"Who was she then?" I ask him. He stops spraying, his shoulders slump forward, and he looks at us with a sad look in his eyes. "A very good friend."
"Well wouldn't you honor this friend by telling us her name?" He sighs
And looks like he's debating with himself whether to tell us or not. Finally, he breaks his silence. "Her name was Sarah. Her majesty, the Goblin Queen Sarah."
