Chapter One: A Kind of Pale Jewel
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The family sat together and ate dinner with forks clinking against their plates and idle conversation humming. Sarah sighed inaudibly when the customary questions finally slipped out. They asked her how the play writing was going. How was work? Did the last play she wrote get good reception from her professors? What was her schedule like? Sometimes she just wished someone would ask her questions she'd never gotten before about things that didn't concern school or work. But she answered dutifully.
Until the dreaded question came out of Karen's mouth like it did every time she visited.
"So...any men in your life, Sarah?"
Sarah dropped her fork slowly to her plate as she fumbled for a response that might quickly divert the woman.
Once Sarah was sixteen, Karen had pressed her about her love life—or lack thereof more often than not. It wasn't as though she hadn't ever dated, because she'd gone on multiple dates, but only one guy had become an official boyfriend. And that had ended in disaster almost a year ago.
For eight months Christopher Moseley and she had dated, content and enjoying the progressing relationship until Chris decided to abruptly end it with only a vague reason as to why. A couple weeks later she found out it was because of another woman who he jumped into a relationship with only a few days after they separated. Her heart was truly and fully broken for the first time since her mother left, and the pain took months to heal; even now it sent a dull ache through her chest. She didn't love him anymore, but the betrayal still hurt.
It was also a topic she avoided like the plague because she hated thinking about why they never held her interest or felt right to her. Even Christopher had lasted past the first couple months because she just wanted to be with someone and give it a try, which she only admitted once it was over. Why was there not a single guy she was genuinely drawn to? She did not like that question or trying to answer it because she honestly couldn't figure it out. A strange feeling sat like a rock in her stomach.
"Uh, no, there's not anyone like that," she answered after a pause. "Toby, how about we spend some time at the park tomorrow?"
"Sarah! You're changing the subject," said Karen.
"Yes, I am. And there's nothing wrong with that. Like I said, there isn't anything to talk about."
"But, dear, I think you really need a man in your life. I think it would be good for you to go on dates and have fun and find that special someone."
This sounded suspiciously familiar. Sarah breathed deep as she tried to stave off a rush of memories that always tried to overwhelm her in this house. Amazing and terrible things had happened here. She already couldn't look at her parents' room the same. Too much had taken place in that room...
"Thank you but I'm okay with my life right now and focusing on other things."
Her father finally had pity and changed the topic. While the others chatted or ate in silence, Sarah didn't find anything to say the rest of the meal.
Later in the evening Sarah trudged up the stairs to her old bedroom. They had left it practically the same as when she moved out. The same pale comforter, curtains, and small vanity. When she returned from the labyrinth, she had begun to put away possessions of her childhood including some of the stuffed animals and certain items that were a stark reminder to the incident; like the little maze and a couple posters. That Escher poster definitely had come down. She couldn't lie in her bed trying to fall asleep and see that image in front of her without reliving the desperate moments in that outlandish room trying to save baby Toby.
It wasn't that she did not enjoy her journey through the fantastical Underground, but it left a mark on her. There were moments she remembered with great joy, others with wistfulness, a few with amusement, and then there were some that cast a shade of sorrow on her. Those were the ones she did not fully understand.
A certain man was at the centre of those memories.
The King of the Goblins.
Sarah pulled dark strands of ebony from her face with a few pins and settled softly onto the bed with her bare feet wriggling in the carpet.
As much as she tried to put him out of her mind, his memory could not be shaken. A small part of her didn't want those memories to disappear and another part of her said it would be best to forget him forever. She had her friends Hoggle, Didymus, and Ludo. She had her time in the Underground to remember. She had Toby back.
So why did it make her sad?
She jumped and stifled a yelp when someone knocked on the door. Internally she was relieved they had interrupted her train of thoughts, a path they had rarely taken since she was fifteen.
Toby poked in his head before she said anything about coming in. He grinned and jumped onto the bed beside her with his feet hanging off.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Just thinking."
"Thinking? That's boring," he said. "Mom says I have to go to bed soon. Will you tell me a story before I do? Your stories are always the best!"
Sarah laughed and laid back on the bed. Toby snuggled closer. Although he loved to do typical boyish activities, he never seemed to tire of the stories she told him full of adventure and danger and triumph. There was one story that she had never told him before but was beginning to wonder if it wouldn't be such a bad idea. It had been seven years.
"There was a land far away from here where there lived a little boy..."
Not yet, she thought.
That night Sarah shivered in her sleep and tossed in the small bed with strange dreams holding her down from consciousness or rest.
A rush of wings. Glitter. Strange laughter.
"I've brought you a gift"
"What is it?"
A small globe bright and clear.
"It's a crystal, nothing more, but if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams. But this isn't a gift for an ordinary girl who takes care of a screaming baby. Do you want it? Then forget the baby."
The entrancing voice thrummed in her mind and all around her. The shining crystal sphere sat before her, and she stared deep into its depths until everything else faded away and it filled her vision.
Her eyes flew open.
Thunder rattled the window pane. Lightning lit the room.
She sat up in bed half-expecting to see a tall dark figure standing in the bedroom. Her pulse raced, and she clutched handfuls of blankets till her knuckles whitened. But no. She was alone. The ominous clouds from the afternoon had finally rolled in with a storm and loosed it over the town.
Rain pattered against the window as she stumbled out of bed and walked towards it. Another peal of thunder boomed overhead, and she flinched.
No strange owls pecked at the glass either.
"Oh, what is wrong with me?" she grumbled. She stretched on her tiptoes before turning around to go back to bed when something on the vanity caught her eye in another flash of white lightning. Her body froze. The sensation was like a bucket of ice thrown over her that trickled down her spine.
The night she returned from the labyrinth she put away the red leather book into a drawer and never took it out again until she moved. Then she packed it away with other keepsakes to take to her new apartment because as much as she tried, she could not leave it behind.
It should have been in a box in her apartment.
It sat on the vanity.
Another bout of bright light illuminated the bedroom. She moved away from the window and cautiously approached the book.
"How...how did you get here?" she whispered.
She reached out a trembling hand to touch it yet snatched it away before her fingers brushed the smooth surface. The gold lettering glimmered. Most adults would pass it off as just an odd coincidence and fall back asleep, but Sarah was not just anyone: she knew bizarre things could be exactly what they seemed. A particularly loud roll of thunder made her jump.
"Get a hold of yourself," she muttered. "It's nothing. No big deal."
Try as she might, Sarah didn't get another wink of sleep the rest of the night, and the storm continued long into the early morning.
The presence of the red book seemed less threatening in the warm light of day; not to mention, its odd appearance had driven the unsettling dreams out of her mind. Sarah glanced at it before hurriedly dressing and slipping past and down the stairs.
It wasn't long before she climbed into the car with Toby, Karen, and her dad. The four of them spent most of the day together going out to lunch and walking downtown on that lovely spring afternoon. It was when they waltzed into a small shop full of trinkets and other assortments of wares that Sarah drew back and watched the couple and their son interact as they perused the shelves.
She smiled at the scene. Then a subtle pang stirred inside. A sense of not belonging coursed through her as she stood apart and observed, and it was not unfamiliar. Often, she took a step back and felt separate from so much of the world, and she always wondered if it was because she was one of the few who knew there was another world beyond this one just out of sight. After such an adventure, how did one simply go back to normal life?
You didn't. A drop of sadness rippled across her heart. No matter what she did or how she tried to lose herself in society and normal living, nothing worked to take away the feeling of...of...
Longing.
She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and turned away pretending to examine some colourful blown glass on a shelf.
Longing.
But for what?
"Sarah! Sarah, look."
Toby called out to her and she went to see whatever he was trying to show her. She hid the real emotions churning in her belly so that no one would ask or sense anything amiss. It worked, and they soon tired themselves out on their feet before returning home.
However, that evening she could no longer run away. Even as her feelings felt as convoluted as the labyrinth she once journeyed through, they were all brought to the surface when Toby found the book.
He was ready to ask for a story before bed again and spotted the little red book sitting on the old vanity. Snatching it in his hand, he hurried to find Sarah.
"Sarah, can you read this to me?"
Sarah felt all the blood leave her face when she saw what he was holding. She nearly suspected the goblins themselves were afoot with mischief and interfering in her life.
Toby looked down at it again. "What's it say? Lab...lab..."
"The Labyrinth."
Sarah hadn't read the book since she had been to the real place. It became a faint reflection after living it in reality. She had her memories—more vibrant and solid—rather than words on a page that paled in comparison.
But Toby pleaded with big blue eyes. After taking a few deep breaths, she conceded. He had no idea what it meant and that he had become a part of the grand tale, so she would humour his childlike curiosity and finally share—in some way—the story that changed her life.
"Come on," she said and led him upstairs. She went to his bedroom rather than hers to avoid making things too similar to those strange days.
Once they settled in, she opened the book and decided to enjoy herself. No matter how odd it was to think of the characters so personally, it was still her favourite book, and secretly she was glad to relish it again after so many years.
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. The baby was a spoiled child. He wanted everything for himself, and the girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew was that the Goblin King fell in love with her and gave her certain powers."
Her voice caught in her throat. No. It couldn't be. No, she thought, what happened wasn't exactly like this book. Things were different.
"Sarah?" said Toby. "Why'd you stop?"
"Oh. Sorry. So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her, she asked the goblins for help."
Toby could hardly keep his eyes open by the time they finished. His pale curls tickled her cheek as she squeezed him with one last hug and tucked him under the covers of his bed. When she reached to turn off the light, his quiet voice called out to her.
"I'm glad she saved the baby. It was pretty silly to ask goblins to take him away 'cuz everyone knows you can't trust goblins. But I don't think the king would've turned him into one."
Sarah eyed the little boy cautiously. "And why is that?"
"Just because. He was sneaky and liked to play tricks, but he didn't hurt anybody."
"Well, maybe he wouldn't have," she whispered. "Goodnight Toby."
"G'night. Thanks for reading the story to me. It was the best."
She flipped off the light and closed the door. It clicked shut, and she leaned against it for a few moments as a whirlwind of thoughts swirled around her like a flurry of snow. Then she hurried to her room and grabbed a pair of sneakers and a jacket which got thrown on haphazardly.
Her dad and Karen saw her walking towards the front door, and her dad called her name. He came out from the kitchen when she stopped.
"Honey, where are you going?" he asked.
"For a walk. I just need to get outside for a little while." Sarah didn't want to tell them the real reason: she needed to think about certain things without interruption or blatant reminders all around her.
"Oh. Well...all right." He touched her shoulder and smiled. "Don't be gone too long. It's getting dark and looks like it might start raining again, so maybe you should take an umbrella."
"I'll be fine," she said with a shrug. "A little rain doesn't intimidate me."
Karen opened her mouth to protest, but Sarah waved at them and hurried out the door. The crisp spring air struck her as soon as she was outside with its earthy fragrance and a faint whiff of blossoms. She zipped her coat up against the evening chill and hopped down the steps. When she glanced up at the sky it certainly did look like it could rain at any moment.
"Oh well," she murmured. "I have to get out of there even if it means coming back looking like a drowned rat."
Toby's words were ringing in her head. He was sneaky and liked to play tricks, but he didn't hurt anybody. The more she thought about it, the more she realised an eight year old had seen more than she had. Being full of dramatics and assumptions at fifteen, Sarah had made the story the way she thought it should be. That made the Goblin King the villain, and yet the longer she considered the past events, her matured mind revelled at incredible changes a shift in perception granted.
It was time. It was time to finally give in to the thoughts about him. It was time to stop running away.
He had been dismissed from her mind and memory most of the time because seeing him in a simple villainous light was easier than trying to understand what really went on. She'd been running from the truth and how it cast light on the events of the past. And she felt less guilt thinking of her rejection of his offers if she thought of it only as another ploy.
"I wish I could remember better," she muttered as her feet hit the sidewalk at a quick yet steady pace as she roamed through the neighbourhood. "So much. There's so much I didn't understand, but I was so sure I did then. It all got twisted to my expectations."
Her heart stuttered. Expectations. I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me.
"It can't be possible. It just can't."She ran a frustrated hand through her hair and kicked at a pebble in her path. If only I had listened better. Now I can hardly remember what he said to me. I was so caught up in trying to recite the right words from the book that I completely missed what he was trying to say. Could I have been wrong about him?
The gloom thickened overhead as the sun set on the horizon. The dark grey clouds were lined with the last glimmer of gold and a touch of purple. Small raindrops began falling. Sarah did not pay any attention for she was so caught up in her dangerous thoughts that nothing else registered.
No, I wasn't wrong. He was the villain of the story. He was.
Even to herself, she didn't sound so convinced because ever-present were Toby's words, and those she could not argue with. Not once had the king harmed anyone even though he threatened to turn the baby into a goblin. Would he have done it? Sarah was certain of it then, but now...
A bit of shame reddened her cheeks when she considered the logic that escaped her then but now made sense. She was the one who asked Toby to be taken away. Granted, she had not thought it actually would work. So maybe the King of the Goblins hadn't been as terrible as she thought, intimidating in his gothic garb without actually performing anything terrifying. Lacing threats into his words without actually physically hurting anyone. What kind of wicked tyrant threatened his subjects with a Bog of Eternal Stench anyway? Not a ruthless one. A mischievous and impish one, certainly.
But someone had to be the antagonist of the story. Sarah had made sure he was it. He did seem to relish playing the part though.
"He seemed so serious. Could he have just been playing along all that time? No! I couldn't have been so wrong. Ugh! I hate this!"
The rain deepened and fell thudding all about her. She pulled her hood over her head and looked around, realising she had gone further than she thought. "Just my luck I'd get lost on a night like this!" She shivered from the cold and folded her arms over her stomach.
A prickly feeling of being watched tingled on her neck.
Sarah whirled around, but no one was behind her. Everywhere she looked she only saw trees and houses and cars parked along the road. It seemed she was the only one out in the dreary weather. But the sensation could not be shaken.
She hurried down further under a large tree whose boughs hung far over the sidewalk and into the road. A rustle in the leaves above made her head jerk upwards.
A black raven flapped its wings on a high branch and croaked at her.
"Just a bird."
Why am I disappointed it's not an owl? she yelled at herself internally. Don't be silly.
At first she brushed it off. Then the creeping sensation crawled up her spine. She looked up at the raven again and suddenly found its beady eyes a little too intent on her. It almost seemed like its eyes weren't black, although it was difficult to say for sure with all the deep shadows.
It was time to hurry home. The night had been strange enough. She didn't need strange birds watching her too.
Sarah dashed back into the rain and ran all the way back to the house, her hood falling away in the process so by the time she hurried under the porch her hair was plastered in wet strands to her head. Her clothes were drenched. She took off her sneakers at the door to avoid Karen's wrath but paused on the second shoe when she heard a muted croaking sound. To her horror, that same raven had flown after her and sat in one of the trees out front still keeping an eye on the young woman.
In a moment of panic she flung the shoe at the bird.
It didn't quite make it, but the thing squawked as if she had hit it. "Go away!' she yelled. She jerked off her other shoe and threw it too. It nearly nailed the winged menace. Yet the raven only hopped to another branch.
Sarah suddenly regretted flinging her shoes away, but she shrugged and hurried inside. It did make her feel slightly chagrined for behaving like that towards a bird.
Sure enough, her dad and Karen saw her soaked state and had to give their shocked responses and chiding remarks for staying out in the rain so long, but it rolled right off of her. They gave her a large fluffy blue towel and sat in the living room together for a while before Sarah finally warmed up and felt sleep heavy on her lids. She yawned and bid them all goodnight.
Once she changed into comfortable pj's, she flopped on the bed and snuggled into the blankets while listening to the song of the rain striking the roof and the window.
"I wish..." Her whisper sounded loud in the quiet room as if the air even stilled to listen. "I wish...I wish I could remember all those things the Goblin King said to me. I want to remember."
She promptly fell asleep.
Fun Fact:Do you know Michael Jackson was considered for the Goblin King part before David Bowie? Bahahahaha! Can you imagine? (Aagh! This auto-fixing is killing me. It won't let me put more than one ?. Stickler...)
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A/N: Thanks to all who are reading! I'd appreciate knowing what you think so far :). Next chapter, we meet a very mysterious character and things just continue to get weirder. And if you're confused about anything, go ahead and ask although it'll probably get answered somewhere along the way. Just building it all up for some important events, mwaha...