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Shattered	By : TarnishedArmour Category: G through L > Labyrinth Views: 7714 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Based upon the work of Jim Henson; specifically Labyrinth, copyright 1986 by Jim Henson & associated parties. I do not own or have legal rights to Labyrinth, etc., or make any profit from them. *Individual disclaimers for other works in

Chapter List
- 14
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- 16
In the morning, Jareth transported himself, Couric, and Sarah to a spot not far outside of Mab's garden. Sarah looked behind her at the Keep of Dreams, then gave him a curious look, but didn't ask. He answered anyway.

"It's further than you think." The warning was back in his voice, and, true to form, Jareth disappeared from view, taking Couric with him.

Shaking her head, resigned to his dramatic tendencies and vague warnings, Sarah started walking. Although she paid attention to her surroundings, there wasn't much remarkable about it. The forest was about the same as the one around Gainstock, and the path through it was easy to follow, well-kept. The miles clicked off behind her, and, even though she got a little warm, the shade and breeze under the trees was comfortable.

She had been walking for several hours, and the sun was high in the sky. It still wasn't very hot, though, even if the forest had thinned out considerably from what it had been near Gainstock. Now it was close to noon and she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. There was a stone in the distance, so she angled her steps for it. When she reached the stone, she studied it carefully. There was only a simple phrase carved into the granite: To Endure in Silence.

Sarah looked around the stone carefully, but there was nothing else. This was strange, but not as strange as the stone that had the warning about desires carved onto it. That was a dare. The words on this stone reminded her of Sir Didymus and his courtly ways. It seemed like some knightly phrase more than anything she would need to find and conquer the first wall of the Central Lands. Considering the phrase, she continued down the narrow track between the trees. There were several interpretations available for the phrase, and all of them seemed fitting. One, that stones endured wind and weather in silence, never moving or complaining about their lot in life, not that stones were actually alive. Another, that complaints in this section of the labyrinth would end in very nasty results. Yet another interpretation reminded her of Sir Didymus-that the brave and strong, though not necessarily the prudent, would endure miseries without complaint. She searched for and found several other possibilities, then began combining them. It was something to do as she walked, searching the area for berries and the like, her stomach reminding her that she had not eaten since morning. She reached her conclusion near mid-afternoon, and spoke it aloud, just in case Jareth was listening.

"The stone said, 'To Endure in Silence.' To that end, I suppose that means that this section of the labyrinth is going to be unpleasant, but that the ability and willingness to take what comes as it comes is going to be the key to getting through it. As Queen, the same would have to be true, especially if this realm has court clothes and practices that are anything like the ones found back on Earth." She frowned. "I do hope you'll clear that up one day, Jareth. Is this a different world entirely, or is it an unseen world that intersects with Earth? Or is it a part of Earth that has separated into a different set of rules? There are good arguments for each, given what I've seen."

There was no answer. Sarah choked down her disappointment and kept walking, remembering that Jareth did have a kingdom to run and that she was not his only concern.

Jareth smiled as Sarah figured out the requirements of this part of the labyrinth. She had tasted the dangers untold and had now moved on to the hardships unnumbered. Technically, they were numbered, but by the time she finished her trek through the Central Lands, it would feel as though they were unnumbered. He noted her question about his home and smiled. He would enjoy that conversation with her, and many others besides.

She walked for several more hours, nearly to nightfall, and still hadn't found anything she could eat. Not even any small furry animals or, icky as it sounded, bugs. There had been a small pool of water, which had helped her, but otherwise, nothing. Shortly after her address to Jareth, the forest had given way to a rocky plain. The plain was not very wide, and it became rockier, strewn with boulders and wide, flat stones more than the small and medium sized rocks that had dotted the grassy plain behind her. Still, there was nothing to eat in view. The field of rocks and boulders began to grow steep and held the promise of mountains to come.

Searching for somewhere to rest for the night, resigned to going without supper and refusing to bitch about it, she hoped to find an overhanging boulder or cave. Wistfully, she thought of Jareth surprising her with a meal from his crystal, but if he hadn't appeared yet, the chances were he wouldn't. To keep her mind off the ache of hunger and the miles she had crossed, she thought of several things she might want to try with him later. The search for full shelter was mostly unsuccessful, but she did find a small indentation in a tall hill where she could sleep for the night. It wasn't shelter, per se, but it was better than the open sky. With a soft sigh for her aching feet and back, she settled into the little hollow and fell fast asleep.

When she woke the next morning, she took a long while and stretched out carefully. Abused muscles and tendons were screaming at her for sleeping on the hard ground, but there had been no other choice. Once she had stretched out most of the kinks, she started walking again. There was nothing living around her except some wiry grass that she debated trying and then tasted. It was so bitter it made her gag, and after battling off the dry heaves, she threw the brittle grass onto the ground and forced herself forget her hunger. It wasn't easy.

As the day wore on, another more pressing lack made itself known. There was no water. The sun was not cruel, but it was warm, and the exertion of hiking up the incline and the sun made her sweat. She considered her options. The air was cool. She took off her jerkin and let the breeze slide through her shirt and over her skin. It helped, a bit. Going back to hiking, she felt her shirt grow damp and cling to her back. She didn't stop to think about it, but pulled off her shirt and sucked the sweat from the back of it. It was a salty, bitter tease of refreshment. She let the air cool her down again, then, tying shirt and jerkin at her waist, continued hiking.

Thirst grew. Hunger was still there, but forgotten in the need for liquid in her parched mouth and over her swollen lips. Any liquid. It had been almost a full day since the little pool she had found, and she hadn't had to use a convenient rock since that evening. The dull ache in her lower back told her she needed water, or any liquid, or she was heading for some serious problems. Even though she winced occasionally, she remained silent, refusing to complain about the situation, refusing to fail.

It was a near thing, but she almost voiced a dare to the world around her, something along the lines of "Is this all you've got?" Prudence and experience with what had happened last time she was here and got cocky kept her mouth shut. She couldn't help thinking it, though.

The landscape didn't change. All around her were rocks. From tiny to huge, she was surrounded by rocks and more rocks. The sun reflected off the white rocks and made her eyes ache.

To keep her mind active, to keep thinking, Sarah started reviewing everything she had learned about survival in the desert, which she was loosely defining as a place with no plants and no water. These damned rocks certainly fit the description, even though there was little or no sand or earth. Just rocks. She had written a desert into her book, and she had needed good information about it. Among the many bits of information she recalled, she remembered something she had read about stimulating the salivary glands and picked up a pebble. Placing it in her mouth, she sucked on the pebble and continued her journey. It didn't taste very good and the roughness hurt her tender mouth, but she did manage to dredge up some spit shortly after she started sucking on the little rock.

She considered other things she had learned, such as digging a hole in the earth and covering it with a stone or non-porous cloth. Moisture would pool at the bottom of the hole, filling whatever container was there. If she had been on regular dirt, she would have tried it. Instead, she was stuck with rocks, rocks, and more rocks--not a bare patch of earth to be found. Her legs had been rubbery for several hours, and her thinking was becoming confused. As walking became even more difficult due to the need for sustenance and the continued rise and fall of the land itself, she found a long, mostly straight stick of dried wood. It seemed as if it had tried to become a tree in this hostile land, but had given up for lack of food.

Food. Lack of food and water was making her weak. She stopped and looked around in the afternoon sun. She realized her skin was burned, and put on the shirt and jerkin. There. On a boulder-strewn hill, high up from where she was, Sarah saw a scraggly berry bush that looked like the naughty ones she had encountered at the start of the labyrinth. Marking her path with a small cairn of stones, Sarah turned and struggled up to the berry bush.

It was the same kind of bush! It wasn't lush, but it had enough berries to feed her for today, and, if she rationed them, into the next. Sarah removed her jerkin and shirt, then put the jerkin back on over her bare skin. The leather touched her and reminded her of Jareth's gloves, but she forced herself to put the thought aside. Focusing on the bush, she began to speak in terms that she never would have dreamed of uttering before Mab's Outer Lands.

The bush wiggled and shook and shed its berries and even leaves into her proffered shirt. Her mouth watered as she saw the berries dropping into the cloth. It was difficult, but she forced herself to refrain from eating any, concentrating carefully on catching every last berry that shook off the tree. She felt the vine snaking up her legs, the spongy pink leaf wraggling against her thighs and even higher. She didn't care. To distract herself from the fruit, she lifted a corner of the shirt to her nose and inhaled deeply. The shirt was Jareth's, forgotten on the floor until the morning she'd left Mab's llands--was it only yesterday? She had picked it up and slid it on in place of her own shirt. She didn't think he had noticed, since he had still been in bed with Couric. Strangely, the shirt comforted her, helped her forget her ravening hunger and to control the desire to stuff berries into her mouth until she was sick from the sudden intake of food. The light silk still smelled lightly of him when it warmed against her skin.

Finally realizing the lascivious bush was still trying to do something about the sex-words she had given in exchange for the berries, Sarah thanked the bush, gently disentangled herself from the vines inside it, and took her prizes over to eat. It took more willpower than she thought she possessed to keep from gobbling each berry up. Instead, remembering what she had read about survival while researching her book, she forced herself to nibble each berry slowly. She took her time, considering what each berry reminded her of and savouring the taste as it burst upon her tongue, the tiny bites making the berries last longer and gave her a feeling of actually eating more than a few ounces of berries. The sweet juice of each berry soothed and tormented her. The liquid made her mouth sing with relief, but the sweet stickiness made her ache for a real drink of water.

After the first few berries, she looked down at the bright spheres left inside the shirt. She had counted her berries at six dozen. These were smaller than the first ones she had eaten, which had been the size of large strawberries. This had been the only food she had found, and there was no guarantee of more, so she rationed herself at no more than a dozen at any meal. As she ate, she glanced down at the rock she was using for her seat. She saw another curious carving in the stone of the small mountain: To Give Unstintingly.

Sarah pondered this for a while as she nibbled on another of her berry ration, wondering who carved it. Between eating slowly and keeping her mind focused on something else, she managed to resist the remaining berries. As she thought, she considered why this would be carved next to the berry bush.

A sinking feeling came over her. She stood at the top of the boulder and looked around. No one and nothing was there. Shaking her head, hoping she was wrong with the way she thought this was going, she bundled the berries into the thin silk shirt and tucked the little bundle between her breasts under the jerkin. It wasn't ideal, but she had need of both hands and the stick for balance and support now, so she kept her hands free. Exerting her faltering willpower--the berries had helped immensely, but she wanted nothing more now than to rest in the sun-she forced herself to pick her way back to her path and continue following the rolling, stony hills.

She climbed through dusk, the steepness of the ground increasing with every mile. It was close to nightfall. She was exhausted, having found a little overhang and pulled out the shirt and berries. Again, she forced herself to go slowly. She had only eaten three berries when she heard a soft sound. Sarah's head snapped up. It wasn't repeated immediately, so she shook her head and picked up another berry. As soon as the berry touched her lips, she heard it again. She went out onto the path, looking around as she in the twilight, listening. That sound pulled at something she had forgotten about since she entered the labyrinth. It had sounded a lot like Toby when he had gotten lost at the mall during Thanksgiving and started screaming for Karen. She stood and listened, turning to try to better locate the direction of the sound. There. To the left, down in that cut. Sarah looked at the sky. It would be night soon, and that ravine looked treacherous. She closed her eyes. She knew what she was going to do, even if it was incredibly stupid in the dark, weak as she felt.

"I can't not go," she whispered, thinking of Toby. She closed her eyes and thought of her little brother, scared and alone on a mountain with an adult within hearing range of his cries for help. There was no thinking it through. She whispered, "Toby." Louder, she called, her throat aching with worry and the spike of adrenaline that had worked into her veins, "I'm coming! Can you tell me where you are?"

"I can't see!" cried the little voice. It didn't sound like it was that far off. "I'm scared!"

Sarah climbed and struggled down into the ravine. She was slipping more than climbing, but it wasn't long before she made it to the wide ledge that could be considered a path. It was well after nightfall when she reached the little boy on the rocky ledge in the ravine. He wasn't alone.

"It's Sissy," he sniffed, pointing to a girl stretched out on the path near the wall of the ravine. "She fell. She won't wake up."

Heart filled with dread, Sarah checked the neck of the little girl. If the boy was about four, the girl was perhaps three years older. She would age no more.

Turning to the little boy, Sarah wondered how to tell him his sister would not be waking up ever again. When no answers came to her right then, she decided to avoid that conversation for the moment. She could engage him, make him forget one of the reasons he cried, if only for a little bit while she came up with something to tell him. "My name is Sarah. What's yours?"

"Elfric," he snuffled. "Sissy's name is Tilina."

"Well, Elfric, how long have you been lost?" she asked. He looked at her blankly. "How many sunrises?"

"Only one, but Sissy knows the way back." His little voice was hopeful. "I just have to wait for her to wake up," he added. He was breaking her heart and he didn't even know it. Desperate, Sarah searched for another subject. The weight of berries between her breasts inspired her.

"Have you eaten?" Sarah asked. She guessed the answer, but she had to make him talk to her. Had to make him forget the body on the ledge, at least for a little while.

"No, not since yesterday," he said. Sarah nodded and pulled the berries she had saved out of her shirt.

"Do you know the berries that change tastes with every food they remind you of?" she asked, knowing the proper name.

"Giggleberries," he said, nodding. "They're my favourites, other than peaches and greatfruits."

"Really? Well, I have some giggleberries here with me," she said. "I love peaches, too, but I don't have any of those." She held out a handful of berries to the boy, who greedily stuffed them in his mouth. She had to get him to slow down! "What does a greatfruit look like? I don't know the names of everything here yet."

"But you're old!" he pointed out, pausing in his gluttony at that admission. An adult her age, not know a greatfruit?

"That doesn't mean I know what a greatfruit is! I'm new here. My people may call it something different." She watched, stomach cramping as he thought it over. As he thought, his eating slowed down. It didn't matter. She knew he would get the rest of the berries anyway. She could wait. She had to find water, though. Another day without water and she wouldn't make it out of these mountains.

"Oh. Well, it's big and round and looks like cake in the middle, all yellowy and white. But it tastes like peaches and giggleberries and the juice is thick! The juice tastes like iced sweet cream! It's the bestest fruit, so's we call it the greatfruit."

"Peaches and giggleberries and iced sweet cream?" Sarah asked, making her eyes wide and her voice amazed. "Wow! That is a great fruit!"

The boy giggled at her simple joke and continued eating. They talked for several minutes about the different fruits, Sarah learning more about the land, then moved on to Elfric's family. She learned his mother was raising six children alone, Elfric the youngest, since their father had died in an accident several months earlier. Their extended family helped, aunts and uncles who lived in the village, but that Elfric and Tilina had gone to gather eggs from the cliffs. There was a certain bird, called a mountain hen, that laid two or three eggs every day, but up on the ridges and in cracks between boulders. It had been a few days since they had checked the ravine, and Tilina had been climbing to get a nest of eggs when she fell. With that reminder, he suddenly stopped, looking worried.

"I need to save some of these for Sissy," he said, staring down at the remaining half of the fruit she had held out to him. He looked over at his sister, then up at Sarah. He didn't want to stop eating, Sarah could see that. She took one berry and nibbled on it. One berry for her supper, no more. It took her a long time, well after she had wrapped up the remaining giggleberries and put them back down her jerkin. She sat with Elfric in silence. Finally, she decided on a direct approach.

"Elfric, do you know what happens sometimes when there's a bad accident and the person who was in the accident doesn't come home?" It was the best she could do.

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding vigorously. "My poppa was in a aksidental like that and I miss him."

"Well, when I got here, you saw how I checked on your sister?" She was trying to be gentle, but honest at the same time. This was not going to be pleasant, especially if he decided she was lying to him. Or that he wanted to run away from the corpse. Some people had strange views of death and she didn't know how Elfric had learned to think of the dead.

Elfric looked up at her with huge eyes and nodded, his little face serious.

"Elfric, your sissy had an accident like your poppa. She won't be coming home with you ever again." As gentle as she had tried to be, she still felt the knife of agony in her heart as his eyes teared up and his chin trembled. "Come here," Sarah said, holding out her arms. "We'll stay here tonight with Sissy, then tomorrow we'll try to find your home."

Elfric sniffled for a little bit, but he hadn't had any water, either, so he couldn't really cry. Between the unexpected company and food and the long hours of worry and fear and now bad news, Elfric wanted nothing more than to curl up in this sweet lady's arms and go to sleep. Maybe things would be different in the morning. Maybe this nice lady would keep him safe for a little while, so he didn't have a aksidental, too.

Sarah thanked whatever gods were listening here when the boy climbed into her lap and curled up in her arms. Holding him as closely as she did her little brother, she rocked him to sleep, keeping awake long after she should have in an effort to make him feel safe. Finally, the quiet of the ravine and the warmth of the sleeping boy lulled her into an exhausted sleep.

The morning sun was high in the sky when they woke, both tired and hungry. Sarah took out the giggleberries again, letting Elfric eat his fill. In the end, she had five berries for breakfast, and even the sugar rush wasn't enough to combat the lethargy that was weighing her down. Before getting ready to go, there was one more thing that she needed to do. Sarah gathered loose rocks from the ledge and began piling them around and on the dead girl, protecting her for retrieval or whatever other ceremonies that the local villagers had for the dead. When she had finished, she was panting and weak.

Resting, she talked with Elfric about the way back to his home.

"Do you know which way to go to get home?" she asked.

"We go that way," Elfric said, pointing down the path toward the open air.

"Okay, we can do that," Sarah said, thinking. It was a long walk out of the ravine, but it wouldn't take too long. Elfric wasn't feeling very strong, either, so they could walk slowly.

"Where do we go after we get to the end of this path?" she continued, hoping he remembered the way to his home.

"We go that way," he pointed. He continued telling her what to look for, half of which she didn't understand because she still wasn't familiar with the animals that he used to describe landmarks. When he'd finished his directions, such as they were, Sarah nodded and stood up.

"Let's get moving, then," she said. "If we're careful and if we keep walking, we might make it to your village by nightfall. Do you think you can lead the way? That way I won't get lost." It was a bribe that had worked many times before with her own little brother. Elfric nodded and stood up. "Just make sure you stay in sight, and if I tell you to wait or slow down or something, you do it, okay?"

"I can do all of that!" Elfric said, beaming with importance. The giggleberries he had eaten for breakfast had perked him up more than Sarah thought. She had a hard time of keeping up with him, calling for him to wait on her a few times while she caught her balance and her breath.

Once outside of the ravine, Elfric led her over and around and through the mountain--that's where she was now. She couldn't deny that she had reached a mountain range. Sarah was out of her depth, but she kept on, reminding herself of her ultimate goal. Jareth. To be his Queen. To survive to be his Queen. It became her chant as she walked, following the little boy. The path they were following was wet now, and Sarah had to be careful.

Wet. Sarah stopped for a moment and stared at the damp stone and little strips of mud.

"Elfric?" she rasped. The boy turned and looked at her. He looked tired, but otherwise okay. "The path is wet. Is there a stream, or a pool?" Hope fluttered in her chest. She cautioned herself not to believe until she was in the water, but her heart refused instructions.

"Uh-huh. It's right over here," he said, pointing down a side path that Sarah hadn't seen.

"Are you thirsty?" she asked, betting that by asking the question, he would realize he was. When he nodded, Sarah smiled through cracked lips. "Let's go to get some water, but be careful! This ground is very slippery."

Elfric took her down the little path to a small trickle of a waterfall. Sarah wanted to sob in relief. Instead, she looked around for something to hold the water.

"Whatcha waitin' for, Sarah?" Elfric asked, watching her.

"We need something to put water in so we can drink it," Sarah answered, seeing nothing, not cup or bucket or leaf or even a rock with a suitable depression in it.

"Will this work?" he asked, holding up a little leather basket he had pulled from behind his belt. "We were gonna put the eggs we found in it, but when Sissy fell, she dropped it an' all the eggs brokeded."

Sarah smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "My hero," she said. "This is perfect. Now, we can't reach the waterfall without risking a fall, so I'll put the handle of the little bucket on my walking stick." She looked at it. "It's pretty big, and I don't want it to fill up and get too heavy so that I drop it." She looked around. There was a small ledge near the waterfall that would support the stick, if she and Elfric were careful to keep the stick pressed against the wall.

Sarah hung the little soft leather bucket about one-third of the way from the end of the stick. Then, with Elfric's help, they slid the stick out to the trickle of water and waited while it filled. Carefully drawing the stick back again, Sarah had a brief moment of horror as the bucket snagged on a small outcropping just out of arm's reach. Turning the stick just a bit, she got the precious bucket safely past the snag, then it was in her hands.

Gritting her teeth, she handed the bucket with its precious water to Elfric.

"Drink as much as you can, sweetie," she said. He took the bucket from her carefully. Sarah watched as he drank and drank, not spilling or splashing. She was surprised by his care, but when she thought about it, it made sense. He was a child of these mountains. Water, as she had discovered the hard way, wasn't easy to get. As little as he was, he had learned about death and the value of water. He also drained the bucket.

"Put it back on the stick and we'll do it again." He did, carefully putting it where she had the first time. Seven more times they sent the bucket out, seven times they brought it back. Elfric drank almost two whole buckets worth of water. Sarah, knowing she had to go slowly when she drank--more research about desert survival--was nearly sobbing with the effort to take tiny sips until her body accepted the liquid and her lips and tongue were beginning to hydrate. She shared her first bucket with Elfric, encouraging him to take little handfuls of water and put it on his face or swish sips around in his mouth. The second bucket she also shared, wetting down his shirt so the water would help his skin. The third, she was able to drink deeply, after asking Elfric if he wanted any more water. When he answered no, she drank it all down. The fourth bucket she used to wet down her jerkin, knowing it would tighten the leather, which was loose after three days with constant activity and practically no food, and keep her skin damp. She didn't care about chafing, just the feel of wetness on her skin.

The last bucket they pulled up sat on the rock next to them. It had taken them two hours, by Sarah's estimate, to get the water and drink. She should have taken longer, but just the first bucket had energized her. By the time they had pulled the last bucket in, she felt almost human again. And hungry.

And she needed to pee. They took another several minutes to let the water work, then stood. Sarah carried the bucket while Elfric led the way. She considered how they were going to go to the bathroom, which was more than a bit of a concern for her as they walked. Finally she stopped Elfric and asked him how he chose a spot to relieve himself while he was walking. Typically male, even as young as he was, he shrugged and told her he just went when he needed to. Then he demonstrated, using the side of the ravine while Sarah tried not to groan or laugh. Toby wouldn't have done a thing differently.

Sarah told him to wait where he was while she picked out a large boulder she could step behind. She struggled with the logistics, but finally managed to complete her business and get dressed again. She was rather proud of herself that she wasn't wearing any of it. When she walked from behind the boulder, Elfric was waiting, impatiently.

"You take longer than Tilina did!" he said, accusing her of wasting time. He wanted to go home!

"Well, I'm a lot bigger than she was," Sarah replied, "and she was wearing a skirt." Sarah shuddered at the thought of trying to keep a skirt out of the way. The pants were difficult enough. "Are you going to stand here and tell me I'm wasting time, or are you going to lead the way?"

Elfric gave a big sigh, something she just knew she had seen older males do when the women were taking too long, and started off down the path. Sarah smiled at him, watching as he searched out the landmarks and waiting as he decided which one he needed to look at right now.

A few hours later, Elfric said they were not too far from his home, which Sarah knew she couldn't trust. Instead, she took out the remaining giggleberries and held them out to him. He ate, then drank about half of the water. Sarah sipped the water, knowing she could take the hunger if she could just have some of that life-giving liquid. They stood and continued walking.

When the sunset was painting the sky a blushing rose, Elfric shouted and bolted down the path. Sarah started running after him, as much as she could. She slowed down when she saw Elfric leap into a man's arms. The man hugged the boy, then turned to the others who were with them. Walking again, she approached the group, not knowing how they would react to seeing her with their lost boy.

"Where is your Sissy?" the man asked Elfric, holding him close.

"She had a aksidental," Elfric replied. "Like Poppa did. Uncle Fender," he continued, "can we go home? I'm hungry."

Uncle Fender was about to reply when he saw Sarah. He handed Elfric to one of the men behind him and took a protective stance. The others with him did the same and Sarah wanted to weep.

"Who be ye?" came the gruff question.

"Sarah," she replied. "I heard Elfric in the ravine," she waved behind her, "beyond the waterfall."

"And the girl?" The question was suspicious.

"She was dead when I found her," Sarah said. "Her neck…she was cold."

"We'll see if yer tellin' true." The voice that had been so gentle with Elfric was laced with menace. "C'mon. Greely, Yancey, bind her. Take that stick. Village elders will deal with this one." He took his nephew back and began walking away from Sarah and the men who were approaching her.

Sarah felt her shoulders slump. She let the two men take her walking stick. They tied her wrists in front of her tightly with rough rope.

"Sarah?" Elfric said, looking back over his uncle's shoulder at her.

"Everything's alright," she called to him. "I'll walk here with…Greely and…Yancey." The effort of making her voice light for the child made one of them, she didn't know who it was, look at her carefully.

"Get ta walkin'," he said, his voice gruff, but not cruel. "We've a bit of a journey ahead of us."

Sarah walked, trying to keep up with the men. More than once she stumbled, only to be caught and partially dragged as the men continued on their way. The path was a wide switchback now, threading through the highest boulders as they slowly went higher up the mountain.

The village was before them, bright squares of golden light shining from black, high-peaked houses against the starry sky. Sarah was dragged into a large, open building. She hadn't seen or heard it, but apparently Elfric's uncle sent a runner ahead of them to warn the village that she was coming. She was pushed roughly to stand before a group of elderly men and women, faces hard as the stone they lived among.

"So, young Elfric's back with us an' a stranger as well," said one woman, her voice coarse and thin with years. "Take the boy to his home. It's late, and we don't want to keep his mother worried."

When Fender and Elfric left, the woman spoke to Sarah. "Rengo told us that you were behind the boy, that he was running toward his uncle and yelling. Said the girl, Elfric's sister, wasn't with you. You," a finger jabbed at her, "told them the girl was dead in a ravine beyond the waterfall." There were disbelieving snorts all around. "Which ravine? Which waterfall?"

"I…don't know. I don't know the names, but I marked our path with small stacks of stones."

"And why did you do that, if not to mark our village for others to come for our mines?"

"Others?" Sarah was confused. "I did it so I could find my way back to the path I was on. I'm trying to get through the labyrinth-"

"A likely story!" snapped an old man. "Which land sent you? Darvish? Throckhelm? Hammersgate?"

"I don't know any of these places," she replied, swaying on her feet. "Please, just follow the little cairns. You'll find the girl where she fell-"

"After you pushed her?" another old woman snapped. Sarah stared at the woman, shocked. She was about to reply when her knees gave way. Sarah dropped to the floor, barely able to catch herself with her bound hands.

"I…no. Elfric said she fell…steep walls in the ravine. Something about eggs breaking…" Sarah's mind was reeling and her weakened physical state, combined with the accusations she was hearing, made her babble.

"Enough," said a man, standing. "It's late and we've work tomorrow. Put the girl in with Marta and Giely." He looked over the girl on the floor in front of him and added. "Feed her, let her sleep, and we'll get our answers on the morrow."

"And if she lies to us?" called a voice in the crowd Sarah hadn't registered.

"Then we call for justice," replied the old man. That answer seemed to be a surprising one, for the room buzzed with conversations Sarah was too muzzy-headed to understand. "Yancey, take her on to Marta's." The room emptied out quickly and Sarah was left with Yancey, her jailer, and the old man.

"Elder Shan, be this wise?" asked Yancey as he helped Sarah to her feet.

"Eh, most of ye are young, not knowing how things can work in the world outside these mountains. I been far and wide. This girl has the look of another I saw, years ago." He paused, looking at Sarah. "Tell Marta to bathe her and check her for injuries."

"Yes, Elder," Yancey replied. When he tugged Sarah's arm, she stumbled and almost fell. Glancing at the elder man, Yancey swung Sarah up into his arms and strode out to a house in the village.

"Ah, what bring ye here to us, Master?" the old man spoke to the air.

The air didn't deign to answer him.
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Shattered