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Perchance To...	By : Rhondda Category: G through L > Labyrinth Views: 5270 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or any of the characters seen in the movie. There is no money being made by this story

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
After only an hour of riding Sarah began to understand the true meaning of torture. The muscles of her right leg were cramping and the underside of her right knee and inside of her left thigh were chafed raw from the movement of the horse. She knew she had rubbed away several layers of skin and now each brush of movement dragged across exposed nerve endings made too sensitive. Her back was a mass of pain from the hunched way she rode trying to keep hold of her balance on the swaying animal. All in all, she decided, a sadistic misogynist invented the sidesaddle and she hoped they had been put to death by making them ride the damn thing until they dropped.
The ride had started out pleasantly enough. Their little procession had ridden through the Goblin City to the gates. Once through the gates they did not enter the junk yard and the Labyrinth; instead they faced a forest.
Sai, who was riding next to her, shrugged at Sarah's puzzled look. "Out is easy. It's in you have to work at. Unless you have the key."
The forest was delightful, warm and sunny. The beams of bright light falling through the canopy made dappled patterns on the leaf-strewn ground and on the riders. The scent of earth and greenery filled Sarah's lungs while her ears were lulled by the rhythmic clopping of the horses hooves occasionally punctuated by a bump or grinding noise from the wagons in back. There was distant birdsong, but all wildlife fell silent as the procession passed.
By the end of the hour Sarah did not notice much but her own discomfort. The scents made her think of dirt and fungi, the sounds of the wagons and clopping hooves were discordant, all because she was in so much pain.
"That's it. I'm either walking or riding with Col or Ian." Sarah announced, looking wistfully back at the wagons. "I'm prepared to kill for an aspirin or six and bandages right now."
Sai nodded. "I warned him, but would he listen? Stop your horse and wait until the wagons pull even with us."
Sarah did as instructed. She couldn't blame poor Starshine. The horse had an easy gait and was as calm as could be. With a normal saddle or at least with someone who knew had to ride in the slightest she would no doubt, be a joy.
Ian's wagon pulled even with them and stopped. Ian and the small goblin riding in the wagon at his side looked at them expectantly. "What's wrong?"
"Three guesses. The first two don't count." Sai frowned, shooting a concerned and sympathetic look Sarah’s way.
"Can I ride with you?" Sarah knew her tone had passed beyond pleading to whining. She recognized the goblin beside Ian. Raggen, the spit turner from the day before.
"Come on over." Ian held out his hand.
Sarah found lifting her leg back over the saddle horn was much more difficult and agonizing then she had thought. Sai uttered some words in soft Japanese and spread her hands. A faintly glowing web of blue wove between her hands. She gestured and the web draped over Sarah's sore legs, immediately erasing the pain.
"Sai, I think I love you," Sarah smiled her thanks.
"Excuse me, I saw her first," Ian shot back playfully.
Sarah took Ian's hand, joining him on the hard wooden seat, the medium sized goblin between them.
"You will have to get back on Starshine at least an hour before we reach the Fae camp. I'll do what I can to ease the discomfort. But that little spell is for healing something already present. It cannot prevent anything beforehand," Sai warned.
"Here," Ian tugged a tasseled pillow from the piles of goods behind him, "sit on this. Wagons have their own drawbacks. They're bumpy as hell."
Sarah took the offering, aware that even the sharp pain in her back was now gone. "Thanks."
Ian started the wagon moving again. Sarah considered the spine jarring jolts preferable to the torture device fixed to the back of her horse.
"You saw Gwyn ap Nudd?" Ian spoke up a while later. "It would be in your best interests to avoid him as much as possible," he tried to make it sound like a casual passing comment but Sarah tell it was much more. Ian wasn’t very good at casual subtlety.
Sarah nodded. "He doesn't seem to think much of Jareth."
"It's a case of mutual hate. Gwyn is the king of Annwn and the master of the Wild Hunt. As such he is the most powerful and feared Fae besides the High King and Queen themselves. Usually. You see, when Jareth is around people start remembering that Gwyn isn't the next in line to the High Throne. They remember he's just as much the ambitious lordling they all are. In fact, Jareth is equally feared and adored, which threatens Gwyn's entire view of himself." Ian offered Sarah an orange from a sack by his side.
Sarah was suddenly reminded of her lack of breakfast and took it, digging her nails into the peel. The citrus smell made her mouth water. "So where does the mutual hate come in?"
"Gwyn is always by the side of the King and Queen. He's their loyal little puppy, and while Jareth finds that contemptible there is also an amount of jealousy involved. After all, the High King and Queen let their favor of Gwyn be made known. They've even called him the son of their heart, publicly." Ian handed Raggen an apple, and the goblin bit into it gleefully.
"Ouch." Sarah winced at the thought. She could well imagine how it must have hurt to be so rejected by his own parents. She knew how she felt when her mother had walked away. At least she hadn't picked up a strange girl and treated her as a daughter. It seemed less painful to know she hadn't wanted any child, not just Sarah.
"Hunter need a swift kick," the goblin spoke with a mouth full of apple.
"That's the opinion of some," Ian agreed.
"I understand. Stay away from the man in black," Sarah intoned in a deep, teasing voice.
Sai paced her mount alongside the wagon once again. "I'd better start teaching you the rules of etiquette for tonight."
"When we see the Queen?" Sarah ventured a guess.
"Yes. I was asked, politely if you can believe it, to teach you. First, don't be surprised at the form I assume. I'll be with you," Sai started. For the next three hours Sarah learned what she was expected to do and say. Her head was abuzz with information overload before very long, and she hoped she could remember even half of the instructions.
The party stopped at noon for lunch. The goblins jumped from their horses and scampered into the woods with much clanging of metal, jockeying for position and an occasional brawl on the way to relieve themselves. There was no fear of them ever sneaking up on anyone. Ian helped Sarah down from the wagon then moved to aid his mother. Col unloaded several baskets and spread out a cloth in the small clearing they now occupied.
Sarah sat on the cloth and opened the basket Col had placed on it. Inside were breads and cheeses, wine and fruit. Sarah had to assume this was usual lunch fare around here.
"I take it riding is not your preferred mode of transport," Jareth knelt beside her, reaching in to select a round of flat bread.
"No. Riding sidesaddle isn't. I'm sure a regular saddle would be much easier." She hoped. She picked out some grapes and popped one into her mouth.
"Most likely it would. However for appearance's sake you must ride sidesaddle when we arrive at the camp tonight." He poured a glass of wine and handed it to her.
"Let me guess, this is your way of getting even with me for calling you the king of the cockroaches, isn't it?" Sarah sipped the wine cautiously.
"Actually, I had forgotten about that, but since you brought it up," he raised his glass in a mock salute, only to have it snatched away by a small hand.
"Thank you, Jareth, why don't you get yourself one?" Sai smiled as she sat to the left of Sarah and sipped her newly acquired glass of wine.
The Goblin King scowled and retrieved another glass. "I'm going to have to teach you manners."
Sai continued to grin. "You already did. Where do you think I got mine?"
"You obviously stole them from a troll." Jareth's tone was sardonic.
Sai stuck her tongue out, forcing Sarah to giggle, which in turn brought a small smile to the Goblin King's lips. She was surprised at how at ease they all seemed, including herself.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Ian sat beside his wife after he'd seen to all the mounts.
"You were late and I had to serve the wine," Jareth shifted to recline on one elbow. "While you were so occupied I attempted to seduce your wife."
"Oh yes, he tempted me with sweet words of love. I do believe he compared me to a troll," Lady Saishoku popped a piece of cheese into Ian's mouth.
"I am obviously in service to a blind man," Ian kissed Sai quickly on the lips.
"Now, now. No reason to make the rest of us loose our appetite." Jareth sent them a disapproving gaze.
"I think it's sweet," Sarah defended. "It's so nice to see people in love and not afraid to show it." She smiled at Sai and Ian.
"Yes," Sai looked at Jareth, "others should try it some time."
Col finished passing out food to the 'troops' and sat beside Ian. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing of any importance," Jareth tossed her a plum from the basket. "We can finish everything here, we should be in time for dinner this evening." He dropped to lay on his back. "We can rest for one hour, but no longer."
"What happened to the power to reorder time?" Sarah grinned smugly.
"I don't do such things for just anyone, you know." Jareth didn't even open his eyes.
Sai finished her wine, "Oh, a nap does look good. I can never sleep on a horse."
"Right." Ian lay down and placed his head in Sai's lap, passing her a bunch of grapes. "Feed me first."
"You are incorrigible." She grinned as she placed a grape in his mouth.
"I'd like to think I'm encouragable." Ian wiggled his eyebrows at her as he chewed.
Sarah stood and bent over Col, whispering in her ear, "Where can I go take a ... privacy break?"
"I'd try the other side of the road, dear. The goblins will have made a mess of this side." Col winked at her.
Sarah crossed the road and maneuvered around the sparse underbrush. Stopping some forty feet from the road and well out of sight Sarah found answering the call of nature was rather tricky in her current state of dress.
She was about to head back when a flash of white to the left caught her eye. That is when she saw it. She forgot how to breathe.
It was the size of a horse but built like a deer, delicate and dainty. Its coat was a gleaming white and it seemed to glow from within. Its tail was like a lion's and its fur lengthened at the knees, much like a Clydesdale's. It sported a horse's mane, long and silken, as well as a three foot long horn sprouted from its brow, iridescent as mother of pearl. A unicorn, solid and real, yet so ethereal and pure it brought tears to the eyes and an ache to the heart.
Its doe-soft blue eyes watched her with a startling intelligence.
"Hello," Sarah breathed at last, her heart seeming unnaturally loud in her own ears. "You're beautiful." She slowly raised her hand as if to reach for it, then remembered what was not far behind her, fourteen goblins.
"Oh, shoo. Go away." She found herself waving her arms instead. She did not want to know what the goblins would do to such a magnificent creature. "There are goblins over there. Run. Hide."
The beast took a tentative step towards her, then another.
"No. You have to go." Sarah felt her eyes fill with tears from the sheer beauty of the beast of legend, and her heart fill with fear of what might become of it. "Don't you know what goblins are? They'll hurt you. Oh please, run away."
With a snort and a toss of its noble head, the unicorn turned and vanished into the forest.
Sarah felt herself leaning back against a tree for support. Her breathing was quick with excitement. That, she realized, had to be one of the singularly most incredible moments of her life, and she'd had some whoppers. She didn't know how long she stood there before she heard Col calling for her.
"I'm coming!" she called back as her eyes fell on something. She moved to where the unicorn had stood and plucked the few strands of mane from the forest floor. They sparkled with magic and seemed not only white, but as if a rainbow danced along the length when the sun hit them just right.
Back on the road, she swayed in her seat next to Ian, weaving the silken hairs into a braid and fashioning it into a ring.
"What're you doing?" Ian looked at her project with interest.
"Making a ring out of some stuff I found in the woods," Sarah smiled, but kept the whole truth to herself. She felt it was private. That had been her moment, too special to share, even with a friend.
---------------------------
It was late afternoon when they approached the megalithic stones. Sarah was instantly reminded of Stonehenge. There were only three, forming a doorway in the middle of the forest. Jareth rode forward and began to weave a crystal.
"This is where you have to get back on the horse, Sarah. Sorry." Sai brought Starshine forward.
Sarah made a face but did not consider it worth the argument. She found it was easier to mount from the wagon.
As the party watched, Jareth tossed the crystal he had toyed with into the doorway made by the stones. The space was instantly filled with mist. The Goblin King and his guards rode through, disappearing into the fog and not emerging on the other side of the stone arch.
"It's a gate. Nothing more." Sai touched Sarah's hand, obviously noticing her nervousness.
"Yeah, use them all the time." Sarah's voice dripped sarcasm as she urged her horse forward, into the mist. She was immediately overcome by the sensation of cold spearing her skin and stealing her breath as blackness surrounded her.
Then she was in the middle of a field, the light temporarily blinding her after the black of the gate. As the starbursts of light in her eyes began to clear she took in her surroundings. Tall grasses whispered around her as Starshine continued forward. Looking back, Sarah could see another stone gate and Ian's wagon emerging from it, followed by Col and her wagon, then the last of the goblin guards.
The sun was getting low and they did not even pause. In the distance Sarah could see a field of brightly colored tents encompassing every color in nature and some outside that limited spectrum. Banners both plain and heraldic fluttered in the breeze, making the camp seem to dance on the horizon.
The closer they got the more Sarah could make out. It was a vast encampment, apparently set up in a wheel shaped arrangement. In the center was a white tent that rivaled in size any produced by a circus.
Sarah could smell the wonderful aroma of wood smoke, food cooking and exotic spices. The closer they drew the more she could discern music, different strains coming from varying areas. There was a sense of ordered chaos about the whole affair as people of all species milled about.
On the outskirts were guards of various species as well, armored and armed, each looking fierce. Even the satyr, who stood no taller than Hoggle. Some looked human, others reminded Sarah of the courtiers attending the Queen yesterday. More still were dwarves and something resembling a moving tree. She wondered if it was the basis for Tolkin's Ents.
They all bowed to Jareth and none called them to halt as they rode into the camp. Sarah watched in wonder as the people and beings within the camp all stopped what they were doing and bowed as they passed. Everywhere Jareth went the sounds of music and revelry fell into silence. She felt hundreds of eyes falling on her. She resolutely refused to fidget under the onslaught of stares, of judgment, of malice as they tried to guess who she was and what she was doing in such a retinue. She had rarely felt so out of place or self conscious.
Sarah let her mount take her to the central tent. An area next to it was suspiciously empty, grass already trampled into the dirt to make a space. Jareth motioned to that spot and Ian, Col and four of the goblin guards moved to it. Sarah noticed that Jareth, Sai and herself, not to mention the rest of the guards, continued to the huge, open flap of the central pavilion.
Just outside Jareth dismounted his Nightmare. The gathering throng seemed to know enough to give the beast a wide berth, well out of range of clawed hooves or sharp, carnivorous teeth. Sarah thought she could detect a sort of humor and malicious glee for the mare. She seemed to know the others feared it and it spurred her to put on a bigger show of viciousness. Sarah remembered something about pets resembling their masters and tried to stifle her smile.
Sai wove a small spell and Sarah felt the pains in her legs, which had returned as they crossed the field, disappear once more.
She smiled her thanks as the Kitsune dismounted as well. Only now she was not human looking at all. Lady Saishoku had transformed into a five and a half foot tall humanoid fox dressed in an elaborate kimono and wearing a geisha wig sporting gold tassels, her three tails fanned out behind her in a manner much like that of a peacock and with as much pride.
Following Sai's earlier instructions on how to conduct herself, Sarah waited patiently as Jareth walked back to her horse. Once again she felt all eyes on her as he reached up to help her dismount.
His grip on her waist was strong and competent as she slid to the ground before him. Though it should have been impossible, she swore she felt the heat of his grip through the layers of her dress and the leather of his gloves. She made the mistake of meeting his eyes and saw the dark amusement mix with something unnamed. She felt herself lost for a moment in those mismatched eyes and just barely managed to look away. It had to have been some sort of effect that Fae had on humans.
Sarah felt a sudden flush of heat, she was certain was embarrassment, as Jareth took one of her hands in his gloved one and pressed his warm lips to her knuckles. In so doing her place was affirmed to all who witnessed the display. The butterflies suddenly in her stomach were surely because of all the stares and attention. The message sent was that she belonged to Jareth and no one would dare treat her as less than noble. Quiet murmuring started around them.
She felt the stirrings of anger and resentment now. She swallowed them down. She belonged to no one and she should stand on her own merit.
She looked uncertainly at the now fox-like Sai, who nodded encouragement. Together they entered the tent. Sarah carefully stayed to Jareth's right, one step behind him. Sai told her this showed deference to his rank, while claiming a place of honor.
A long path was cleared through masses of people to a raised dais bearing two thrones. It was as the parting of the sea as all sort of fantastic beings in extravagant clothing moved quickly out of the Goblin King's way.
On the dais in the back of the enormous tent were two occupied thrones, ornate and ostentatious. The Queen sat on one, a handsome blond man of indeterminate age, obviously the King, sat on the other. To the Queen's right stood Gwyn ap Nudd, who grudgingly bowed as Jareth stopped in front of the thrones.
Sarah assumed a deep curtsy as she had been instructed, eyes to the ground.
"Mother, Father," Jareth's voice filled the silent tent, "I'm back."
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Perchance To...