Labyrinth Fan Fiction ❯ Thirteen Hours ❯ On the road again ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Stef hanee 
Non Anime: Labyrinth Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Fantasy | Type: Fanfiction Sequel | Uploaded On: 02.25.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 281 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Labyrinth Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Fantasy | Type: Fanfiction Sequel | Uploaded On: 02.25.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 281 | Status: Completed
Chapter Five: On the Road Again
“Hey Steph, how much more time do we have left?” Danyelle said looking at the sun.
“We have time left, although we shouldn’t be overconfident with our progress.” Her cousin replied as she pushed upon a wooden door and stepped into a quiet forest. The door stayed open until Danyelle and Davrin stepped through.
The past few hours they had made their way through various sections of the vast maze: hedged sections, forests, stone; with no creatures in sight. The girls had concluded that most of the Underground inhabitants had run outside the Labyrinth.
“Can we have a break? I’m getting tired and hungry.” Danyelle broke the silence. Stephanie agreed to the suggestion and sat next to a fallen tree. Danyelle plopped down not too far away from Stephanie with a happy sigh. Davrin sat down next to Danyelle, he made sure that he wouldn’t bother his wing by accidentally sitting on it. Danyelle had already dug into her bag, pulled out small bags of chips for everyone, and handed her cousin a water bottle.
Davrin watched the girls as they opened their food packets and started to quietly eat, he mimicked their movements and slowly chewed the strange food. He actually enjoyed the new product that he quickly finished and said his appreciation.
Danyelle glanced at Davrin’s wing. “So, how’s your wing anyways?” she asked, shoving a few chips in her mouth.
Davrin put his hand on his wound and replied, “It’s almost healed.” Both Danyelle and Stephanie looked at each other in confusion.
“What do you mean, almost healed??” Stephanie said looking at his wing.
“Most wounds would take several days to heal, however in my case they take only hours.”
Danyelle quickly looked at Stephanie in amazement. “Wow that’s pretty kewl!”
“It’s interesting how you could heal so quickly.” Stephanie said as she passed her empty potato bag to Danyelle. Danyelle put away everything and started to get up. Stephanie did the same and stretched; her arms over her head, her fingers extended and ended up poking the Goblin King in the eye.
“Ow! For bloody hell!” Jareth cursed, one greenish-blue eye closed. “You should really watch on how you stretch Stephanie!” he snapped.
“Well you shouldn’t appear where you would get poked in the eye!!” Stephanie shot back and stuck out her tongue at him. He mumbled under his breath and blinked until his vision was back in focus.
“Would you mind telling me why you have a Sherpa with you?” Jareth asked doing his signature pose: crossing his arms over his chest.
“A Sherpa??” Stephanie asked.
Danyelle glanced from Stephanie to Jareth. “A whadda—whadda?”
Jareth sighed. “A Sherpa.” He repeated. Stephanie and Danyelle still looked confused.
“It’s the name of my kind,” said Davrin.
“You are a little far from home.” The Goblin King commented as he stepped closer to the winged man.
“I’m Davrin. My land was attacked and I managed to escape.” Davrin replied.
“I know who you are.” Jareth said, his eyes then narrowed in thought. “By whom was Eslin attacked?”
Davrin shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t see who it was, I was only told to flee the village.”
“With all the excitement of the realm merge, I hadn’t even sensed any dilemmas. Are there any survivors?”
Again, Davrin shook his head and he looked away sadly.
“Bloody hell,” Jareth said with a shake of his head. “My condolences. Believe me, it would have been prevented if I’d known.” He paced around with a hand under his chin in thought.
Handling this situation on top of the current one was something he did not need. Stephanie assumed that he must have dealt with multiple predicaments before.
Davrin wondered why the deep concern for his slaughtered village by a man who seemed to be a messenger of some sort; due to the sickle shaped emblem on the jacket; the mark for the ruler of the Underground. The look of authority upon the blond man made Davrin think that he was important, like a general or a lord. There might be a chance that this man can answer his questions.
“Do you remember anything before the attack? Any details would help me, even the slightest.” Jareth finally said as he stopped in front of Davrin.
Davrin shook his head then stopped short. “Unless...” he trailed off. “There was a meeting today amongst my father and the men of the village. I’m not quite sure what the discussion was about but soon a man shrouded in a long hooded cloak arrived and entered my father’s household.” he thought back for a moment, walking a little down the path. “The meeting had ended rather quickly and the villagers and my father, were furious. The figure was very calm and said something to my father almost in a hushed tone, I didn’t catch what he had said; but the man turned around and left the village. Hours later, the village was attacked.”
He turned around to face Jareth. “Do you think that this man was responsible for the destruction of my village?”
“That might be a possibility,” Jareth replied. “Did you get a glimpse of the figure’s face?”
“He was older than my father. I did not see his hair due to the hood, but what I remember clearly was his eyes; the coldest shade of grey I’ve ever seen.”
The Goblin King’s face showed a small hint of curiosity. “Thank you. I’ll personally look into this more.” He paused. “Your presence is welcomed here. I shall arrange a room for you. Once you are prepared, you may go to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth. It shouldn’t be a problem for you.” he lightly pointed to Davrin’s wings.
Davrin smiled at Jareth’s smirk.
“Now, you must excuse me, I have important things to attend to.” Jareth turned around and started walking down the path.
‘There’s too much worry in his usual expressionless face. Something’s up.’ Stephanie glanced at the Goblin King.
Her intense gaze caused him to stop dead in his tracks. How much did she know? He figured she knew that the attack on Eslin was just the beginning. Jareth gave the girl a small smile to show that it was nothing. A moment later, she returned the smile. He then continued down the path and vanished.
It was silent for a moment, perhaps to respect the loss of Davrin’s village.
“We can be like your guide to the castle,” said Danyelle brightly, sensing that it was a good time to break the silence.
“It would be an honor Danyelle. Thank you.” Davrin said with a smile.
The group encountered no puzzles or riddles yet but they had some difficulty with the hidden passageways; they were either stuck continuing in straight lines or ending up in a loop. On a previous encounter, Stephanie had suggested going back the way they came to escape the loop or even to walk backwards but she assumed it wouldn’t work this time around. Jareth had told her once that the Labyrinth was ever changing and she supposed the rules always remained constant. But even in the Labyrinth, there must be a way to overcome obstacles.
Danyelle and Davrin were having a conversation, she was explaining how the cousins got to the Underground and what their quest was. Stephanie walked ahead of them and having been here so often perhaps had given her some sort of skill; it almost felt natural.
They encountered a few strange creatures, a few were mixes of animals that Danyelle and Stephanie knew, and if Jareth had appeared, he would have probably informed them what the creature were and if they were friendly. The creatures looked at the group and then paid them no mind.
“From the mortal realm eh?” Davrin mused. “I knew you were not from here or any of the villages nearby but I would have never thought—I’ve only heard tales of mortals of here and the other realm traversing the King’s puzzle.” he shrugged. “Rumor has it, not everyone solves it in time, only in rare cases.”
“I’ve been through twice already.” Stephanie said facing them and slowly walking backwards.
“Truly?” Davrin asked.
“Yes.” Stephanie nodded as Danyelle asked her when. “About three years ago. A friend, Chantal and I came across a lost crystal and ended up here.”
“I thought, as the legend tells us, that you had to wish a person away in order to arrive here.” he continued to muse.
“That’s how it all started right?” Danyelle asked. “Like in that movie.”
“Mu—vee?” Davrin said, his eyebrows raised.
“Er, moving pictures with sound displayed on flat surfaces.” Stephanie tried to explain an object of their technology but ended up explaining theatre screens.
“Fascinating,” his green eyes glittered with a hint of silver.
“At first, that’s what I had thought,” Stephanie resumed. “But neither of us made a wish. Either Jareth wasn’t getting enough wishes, he started a new method or he’s slipping.”
“Haven’t you asked him? I’m sure you saw him during your travels?”
“With things happening here, I haven’t thought about asking him.” Stephanie replied to Davrin’s question.
“Oh?” he asked intrigued. “What sort of occurrences?”
“Well, the adventures that I’ve had,” she then started to explain the series of events she encountered before meeting up with her cousin. She explained how a boy named Paul had inadvertently taken over the King’s throne and her own attempts that almost succeeded.
“Holy crap!” Danyelle exclaimed. “So you were able to take over like that Paul dude?”
Her cousin shrugged. “They’re trying to figure it out.” she left out the details of the powers being her own; it was too strange to mention it, even if it was a couple of months ago. “Er, something like that yeah.”
“I’m surprised the Elders haven’t taken drastic measures for that close encounter.”
“I wasn’t—myself. And I think they understood that I was under some form of control.”
Davrin nodded understandably.
“It’s just too weird.” laughed Danyelle. Her cousin joined her, agreeing.
“I know!!” Stephanie giggled. “I guess that gives me some experience.” she laughed. Davrin smiled politely.
“You know, Jareth doesn’t look like the singer from that movie.” Danyelle commented suddenly.
“No, he doesn’t. I suppose David Bowie looked close enough to play the part and a lot of people who travel expected the same; even me at one point.” She paused. “Anyways,” she trailed off to change the subject. It was not long before they reached another dead end; they started to turn around and saw that the hedge of the maze section they were in, had silently completed the square room. “Damn,” Stephanie muttered. Usually when the Labyrinth prevents you from going back was to solve a riddle or conundrum.
“Steph?” Danyelle asked as she looked around nervously.
“Yeah??”
“What’s going to happen?” her cousin finished. Stephanie was busily inspecting every inch of the boxed room to find some clue to escape. There was a wooden door as though it grew from the hedges. The doorknob was the only non-wooden item, made from a tarnished metal to blend in with the dark wood.
“I’m not quite sure,” Stephanie finally replied. She got up from her knees and dusted off her palms. “There’s got to be a way out. Every obstacle has an exit.” Or so she hoped.
“I’m glad he let me have help.” Danyelle said relieved.
“I think he would have gotten you help even without interfering the rules.” Finding none, she crossed her arms over her chest, frowning in her confusion. If there was no way out, she wondered if Jareth would bend some more rules to help them.
“What now?” Danyelle asked. Stephanie shrugged.
“I can’t find anything that can help us and that door is still locked. There must be a key. Why else would a door with a keyhole be here??” she mostly asked herself. She actually stood in front of the door and studied the structure. She turned the doorknob, it did nothing but squeak as it turned and rattled loosely. She even tried to use a thin broken branch to try to pick the lock. “Bah!!” she muttered and turned to the others. “Find anything??” she asked. Danyelle and Davrin were busy double-checking for anything Stephanie might have missed.
“We’re gonna be trapped here forever!” groaned Danyelle, which made Stephanie smile a little.
“We will figure something out,” Davrin reassured Danyelle. He shook his head to remove the hair from his eyes. A small smile played on Danyelle’s face as she watched this simple gesture.
“Yah, I guess.” she said and turned to Stephanie. “Maybe some help?” she asked.
Having no way to contact Jareth; other than the crystal that was given to her—which she didn’t have, she used the method she thought other travelers used before her; she called upon the Goblin King.
She waited. Any moment he would appear and he would help them decipher their dilemma. She called again. “Jareth!!” she implored a bit louder. Davrin opened his mouth to say something but decided to remain quiet. She had lost sight of the castle and she was now looking around as she waited.
Nothing.
Stephanie let out a frustrated sound. Disappointment was on all their faces. Perhaps the Goblin King was busy with the other people trapped within the Labyrinth.
“So now what do we do?” Danyelle asked, almost exasperated. Her cousin, Stephanie, was trying the doorknob for a third time, a bit more curiously.
“We use the door.” Stephanie said simply. She pulled up her pajama pants and fixed her tank top over her pants.
“How?” Danyelle asked, she turned to Davrin who only shrugged.
“By opening it.” Stephanie replied, being a smart ass.
“Well duh. I knew that, but how exactly?” Danyelle rolled her hazel eyes.
“I’m going over the wall,” Stephanie said and started to find a grip amongst the hedges. After a moment of struggling, she managed to start her climb.
“But Steph—” Danyelle started.
“I’ll be right back!!”
Davrin neared Danyelle and they watched Stephanie climb up the bright green hedges. They heard her mutter under her breath throughout her progress as branches scratched and poked at her fingers. She also had trouble placing her sandal clad feet in the perfect hedge walls. Soon she finally reached the top of the wall, sat on the ledge to catch her breath before disappearing to the other side. They heard her feet hit the ground as she landed.
Davrin looked down as the doorknob rattled slightly as Stephanie took hold of it. The doorknob squeaked in protest again as it was turned and the door opened inward.
Stephanie peeked in. “Let’s go.” she said, obviously quite happy to be free from the impossible box.
“Good job Steph.” Danyelle beamed.
“Yes. I was worried we would be trapped there until the King does decide to help us.” Davrin said, leaving the door open.
“I’m sure he would have sent someone...eventually. He’s not going to leave us stranded, not while his Labyrinth is in jeopardy.” Stephanie reminded as they walked down the corridor, hoping to find another pathway, dreading another dead end.
Barely a few minutes had passed before a deep rumbling was heard. It was followed by the ground shaking, causing loose bricks to fall and break upon the ground; birds flew off and creatures scattered.
“An earthquake?” shouted Danyelle over the rumbling. She grabbed hold of Davrin before she would lose her balance. Stephanie was about to agree, perhaps their realm was rejecting the Labyrinth like a body rejecting an infection, but the sound of stone scraping against stone stopped her. The group stood frozen in the middle of the corridor as new pathways, corridors and sections were being formed; the Labyrinth was growing. They jumped out of the way as a stone wall zipped past them. The scene continued a little further down the corridor. All three hoped they wouldn’t be trapped into a box again.
The rumbling subsided and the Labyrinth had finished its changes and expanding. When they were satisfied that no one was hurt or that they were trapped in another impenetrable dead end or separated, they continued to traverse the vast maze.
“Aargh!!” Stephanie yelled breaking the silence, clearly annoyed and frustrated. “I can’t believe this!!” she said in some kind of disbelief.
“What? What is it?” Danyelle asked, almost startled by her cousin’s sudden outburst.
“I just realized that with the Labyrinth changing, who knows if we’re going in the right direction?? Plus, we were making progress; now we’re suddenly as far as when we started.” she said exasperated. She sighed deeply. “Sorry.” she then noticed that her rant brought down the others.
“Nah. It’s okay. We’ll just restart.” Danyelle said. “I thought you loved this place.”
“That’s right.” Davrin agreed.
“I do.” Stephanie laughed. “It’s the time I’m worried about.” She then had a mischievous gleam. “Unless we let it be and wait so that the Labyrinth stays here.”
Danyelle giggled. “I think the Goblin King would be more pissed at you than me at that rate.”
“And??” Stephanie giggled as well. Davrin looked amused but he shook his head.
Back to business, Stephanie was scanning the area as they walked, to use the castle an anchor. She noticed that they were indeed far from reaching it, however, she could not see the beginning of the Labyrinth, which was a good sign. What Danyelle pointed out, was a view of the top story of a house. It did not take them long to actually reach it; the white paint was yellowing and chipping with age. The late afternoon sun shone upon the roof and reflected off the glass windows. The curtain was closed shut, as though to hide the view of being trapped in a strange place. Stephanie noticed when they stood in front of the house, that it was merged with the Labyrinth, as though it actually sprouted from the walls. The stone blended together with the stucco almost seamlessly.
‘Interesting,’ Danyelle thought. She remembered seeing the house before, not knowing anyone personally of course and that there was supposed to have neighbors next to it, but with the merge and now the Labyrinth’s morphing, they were separated. The building seemed not to have had any damage from the “earthquake”.
“Hey Steph, how much more time do we have left?” Danyelle said looking at the sun.
“We have time left, although we shouldn’t be overconfident with our progress.” Her cousin replied as she pushed upon a wooden door and stepped into a quiet forest. The door stayed open until Danyelle and Davrin stepped through.
The past few hours they had made their way through various sections of the vast maze: hedged sections, forests, stone; with no creatures in sight. The girls had concluded that most of the Underground inhabitants had run outside the Labyrinth.
“Can we have a break? I’m getting tired and hungry.” Danyelle broke the silence. Stephanie agreed to the suggestion and sat next to a fallen tree. Danyelle plopped down not too far away from Stephanie with a happy sigh. Davrin sat down next to Danyelle, he made sure that he wouldn’t bother his wing by accidentally sitting on it. Danyelle had already dug into her bag, pulled out small bags of chips for everyone, and handed her cousin a water bottle.
Davrin watched the girls as they opened their food packets and started to quietly eat, he mimicked their movements and slowly chewed the strange food. He actually enjoyed the new product that he quickly finished and said his appreciation.
Danyelle glanced at Davrin’s wing. “So, how’s your wing anyways?” she asked, shoving a few chips in her mouth.
Davrin put his hand on his wound and replied, “It’s almost healed.” Both Danyelle and Stephanie looked at each other in confusion.
“What do you mean, almost healed??” Stephanie said looking at his wing.
“Most wounds would take several days to heal, however in my case they take only hours.”
Danyelle quickly looked at Stephanie in amazement. “Wow that’s pretty kewl!”
“It’s interesting how you could heal so quickly.” Stephanie said as she passed her empty potato bag to Danyelle. Danyelle put away everything and started to get up. Stephanie did the same and stretched; her arms over her head, her fingers extended and ended up poking the Goblin King in the eye.
“Ow! For bloody hell!” Jareth cursed, one greenish-blue eye closed. “You should really watch on how you stretch Stephanie!” he snapped.
“Well you shouldn’t appear where you would get poked in the eye!!” Stephanie shot back and stuck out her tongue at him. He mumbled under his breath and blinked until his vision was back in focus.
“Would you mind telling me why you have a Sherpa with you?” Jareth asked doing his signature pose: crossing his arms over his chest.
“A Sherpa??” Stephanie asked.
Danyelle glanced from Stephanie to Jareth. “A whadda—whadda?”
Jareth sighed. “A Sherpa.” He repeated. Stephanie and Danyelle still looked confused.
“It’s the name of my kind,” said Davrin.
“You are a little far from home.” The Goblin King commented as he stepped closer to the winged man.
“I’m Davrin. My land was attacked and I managed to escape.” Davrin replied.
“I know who you are.” Jareth said, his eyes then narrowed in thought. “By whom was Eslin attacked?”
Davrin shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t see who it was, I was only told to flee the village.”
“With all the excitement of the realm merge, I hadn’t even sensed any dilemmas. Are there any survivors?”
Again, Davrin shook his head and he looked away sadly.
“Bloody hell,” Jareth said with a shake of his head. “My condolences. Believe me, it would have been prevented if I’d known.” He paced around with a hand under his chin in thought.
Handling this situation on top of the current one was something he did not need. Stephanie assumed that he must have dealt with multiple predicaments before.
Davrin wondered why the deep concern for his slaughtered village by a man who seemed to be a messenger of some sort; due to the sickle shaped emblem on the jacket; the mark for the ruler of the Underground. The look of authority upon the blond man made Davrin think that he was important, like a general or a lord. There might be a chance that this man can answer his questions.
“Do you remember anything before the attack? Any details would help me, even the slightest.” Jareth finally said as he stopped in front of Davrin.
Davrin shook his head then stopped short. “Unless...” he trailed off. “There was a meeting today amongst my father and the men of the village. I’m not quite sure what the discussion was about but soon a man shrouded in a long hooded cloak arrived and entered my father’s household.” he thought back for a moment, walking a little down the path. “The meeting had ended rather quickly and the villagers and my father, were furious. The figure was very calm and said something to my father almost in a hushed tone, I didn’t catch what he had said; but the man turned around and left the village. Hours later, the village was attacked.”
He turned around to face Jareth. “Do you think that this man was responsible for the destruction of my village?”
“That might be a possibility,” Jareth replied. “Did you get a glimpse of the figure’s face?”
“He was older than my father. I did not see his hair due to the hood, but what I remember clearly was his eyes; the coldest shade of grey I’ve ever seen.”
The Goblin King’s face showed a small hint of curiosity. “Thank you. I’ll personally look into this more.” He paused. “Your presence is welcomed here. I shall arrange a room for you. Once you are prepared, you may go to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth. It shouldn’t be a problem for you.” he lightly pointed to Davrin’s wings.
Davrin smiled at Jareth’s smirk.
“Now, you must excuse me, I have important things to attend to.” Jareth turned around and started walking down the path.
‘There’s too much worry in his usual expressionless face. Something’s up.’ Stephanie glanced at the Goblin King.
Her intense gaze caused him to stop dead in his tracks. How much did she know? He figured she knew that the attack on Eslin was just the beginning. Jareth gave the girl a small smile to show that it was nothing. A moment later, she returned the smile. He then continued down the path and vanished.
It was silent for a moment, perhaps to respect the loss of Davrin’s village.
“We can be like your guide to the castle,” said Danyelle brightly, sensing that it was a good time to break the silence.
“It would be an honor Danyelle. Thank you.” Davrin said with a smile.
The group encountered no puzzles or riddles yet but they had some difficulty with the hidden passageways; they were either stuck continuing in straight lines or ending up in a loop. On a previous encounter, Stephanie had suggested going back the way they came to escape the loop or even to walk backwards but she assumed it wouldn’t work this time around. Jareth had told her once that the Labyrinth was ever changing and she supposed the rules always remained constant. But even in the Labyrinth, there must be a way to overcome obstacles.
Danyelle and Davrin were having a conversation, she was explaining how the cousins got to the Underground and what their quest was. Stephanie walked ahead of them and having been here so often perhaps had given her some sort of skill; it almost felt natural.
They encountered a few strange creatures, a few were mixes of animals that Danyelle and Stephanie knew, and if Jareth had appeared, he would have probably informed them what the creature were and if they were friendly. The creatures looked at the group and then paid them no mind.
“From the mortal realm eh?” Davrin mused. “I knew you were not from here or any of the villages nearby but I would have never thought—I’ve only heard tales of mortals of here and the other realm traversing the King’s puzzle.” he shrugged. “Rumor has it, not everyone solves it in time, only in rare cases.”
“I’ve been through twice already.” Stephanie said facing them and slowly walking backwards.
“Truly?” Davrin asked.
“Yes.” Stephanie nodded as Danyelle asked her when. “About three years ago. A friend, Chantal and I came across a lost crystal and ended up here.”
“I thought, as the legend tells us, that you had to wish a person away in order to arrive here.” he continued to muse.
“That’s how it all started right?” Danyelle asked. “Like in that movie.”
“Mu—vee?” Davrin said, his eyebrows raised.
“Er, moving pictures with sound displayed on flat surfaces.” Stephanie tried to explain an object of their technology but ended up explaining theatre screens.
“Fascinating,” his green eyes glittered with a hint of silver.
“At first, that’s what I had thought,” Stephanie resumed. “But neither of us made a wish. Either Jareth wasn’t getting enough wishes, he started a new method or he’s slipping.”
“Haven’t you asked him? I’m sure you saw him during your travels?”
“With things happening here, I haven’t thought about asking him.” Stephanie replied to Davrin’s question.
“Oh?” he asked intrigued. “What sort of occurrences?”
“Well, the adventures that I’ve had,” she then started to explain the series of events she encountered before meeting up with her cousin. She explained how a boy named Paul had inadvertently taken over the King’s throne and her own attempts that almost succeeded.
“Holy crap!” Danyelle exclaimed. “So you were able to take over like that Paul dude?”
Her cousin shrugged. “They’re trying to figure it out.” she left out the details of the powers being her own; it was too strange to mention it, even if it was a couple of months ago. “Er, something like that yeah.”
“I’m surprised the Elders haven’t taken drastic measures for that close encounter.”
“I wasn’t—myself. And I think they understood that I was under some form of control.”
Davrin nodded understandably.
“It’s just too weird.” laughed Danyelle. Her cousin joined her, agreeing.
“I know!!” Stephanie giggled. “I guess that gives me some experience.” she laughed. Davrin smiled politely.
“You know, Jareth doesn’t look like the singer from that movie.” Danyelle commented suddenly.
“No, he doesn’t. I suppose David Bowie looked close enough to play the part and a lot of people who travel expected the same; even me at one point.” She paused. “Anyways,” she trailed off to change the subject. It was not long before they reached another dead end; they started to turn around and saw that the hedge of the maze section they were in, had silently completed the square room. “Damn,” Stephanie muttered. Usually when the Labyrinth prevents you from going back was to solve a riddle or conundrum.
“Steph?” Danyelle asked as she looked around nervously.
“Yeah??”
“What’s going to happen?” her cousin finished. Stephanie was busily inspecting every inch of the boxed room to find some clue to escape. There was a wooden door as though it grew from the hedges. The doorknob was the only non-wooden item, made from a tarnished metal to blend in with the dark wood.
“I’m not quite sure,” Stephanie finally replied. She got up from her knees and dusted off her palms. “There’s got to be a way out. Every obstacle has an exit.” Or so she hoped.
“I’m glad he let me have help.” Danyelle said relieved.
“I think he would have gotten you help even without interfering the rules.” Finding none, she crossed her arms over her chest, frowning in her confusion. If there was no way out, she wondered if Jareth would bend some more rules to help them.
“What now?” Danyelle asked. Stephanie shrugged.
“I can’t find anything that can help us and that door is still locked. There must be a key. Why else would a door with a keyhole be here??” she mostly asked herself. She actually stood in front of the door and studied the structure. She turned the doorknob, it did nothing but squeak as it turned and rattled loosely. She even tried to use a thin broken branch to try to pick the lock. “Bah!!” she muttered and turned to the others. “Find anything??” she asked. Danyelle and Davrin were busy double-checking for anything Stephanie might have missed.
“We’re gonna be trapped here forever!” groaned Danyelle, which made Stephanie smile a little.
“We will figure something out,” Davrin reassured Danyelle. He shook his head to remove the hair from his eyes. A small smile played on Danyelle’s face as she watched this simple gesture.
“Yah, I guess.” she said and turned to Stephanie. “Maybe some help?” she asked.
Having no way to contact Jareth; other than the crystal that was given to her—which she didn’t have, she used the method she thought other travelers used before her; she called upon the Goblin King.
She waited. Any moment he would appear and he would help them decipher their dilemma. She called again. “Jareth!!” she implored a bit louder. Davrin opened his mouth to say something but decided to remain quiet. She had lost sight of the castle and she was now looking around as she waited.
Nothing.
Stephanie let out a frustrated sound. Disappointment was on all their faces. Perhaps the Goblin King was busy with the other people trapped within the Labyrinth.
“So now what do we do?” Danyelle asked, almost exasperated. Her cousin, Stephanie, was trying the doorknob for a third time, a bit more curiously.
“We use the door.” Stephanie said simply. She pulled up her pajama pants and fixed her tank top over her pants.
“How?” Danyelle asked, she turned to Davrin who only shrugged.
“By opening it.” Stephanie replied, being a smart ass.
“Well duh. I knew that, but how exactly?” Danyelle rolled her hazel eyes.
“I’m going over the wall,” Stephanie said and started to find a grip amongst the hedges. After a moment of struggling, she managed to start her climb.
“But Steph—” Danyelle started.
“I’ll be right back!!”
Davrin neared Danyelle and they watched Stephanie climb up the bright green hedges. They heard her mutter under her breath throughout her progress as branches scratched and poked at her fingers. She also had trouble placing her sandal clad feet in the perfect hedge walls. Soon she finally reached the top of the wall, sat on the ledge to catch her breath before disappearing to the other side. They heard her feet hit the ground as she landed.
Davrin looked down as the doorknob rattled slightly as Stephanie took hold of it. The doorknob squeaked in protest again as it was turned and the door opened inward.
Stephanie peeked in. “Let’s go.” she said, obviously quite happy to be free from the impossible box.
“Good job Steph.” Danyelle beamed.
“Yes. I was worried we would be trapped there until the King does decide to help us.” Davrin said, leaving the door open.
“I’m sure he would have sent someone...eventually. He’s not going to leave us stranded, not while his Labyrinth is in jeopardy.” Stephanie reminded as they walked down the corridor, hoping to find another pathway, dreading another dead end.
Barely a few minutes had passed before a deep rumbling was heard. It was followed by the ground shaking, causing loose bricks to fall and break upon the ground; birds flew off and creatures scattered.
“An earthquake?” shouted Danyelle over the rumbling. She grabbed hold of Davrin before she would lose her balance. Stephanie was about to agree, perhaps their realm was rejecting the Labyrinth like a body rejecting an infection, but the sound of stone scraping against stone stopped her. The group stood frozen in the middle of the corridor as new pathways, corridors and sections were being formed; the Labyrinth was growing. They jumped out of the way as a stone wall zipped past them. The scene continued a little further down the corridor. All three hoped they wouldn’t be trapped into a box again.
The rumbling subsided and the Labyrinth had finished its changes and expanding. When they were satisfied that no one was hurt or that they were trapped in another impenetrable dead end or separated, they continued to traverse the vast maze.
“Aargh!!” Stephanie yelled breaking the silence, clearly annoyed and frustrated. “I can’t believe this!!” she said in some kind of disbelief.
“What? What is it?” Danyelle asked, almost startled by her cousin’s sudden outburst.
“I just realized that with the Labyrinth changing, who knows if we’re going in the right direction?? Plus, we were making progress; now we’re suddenly as far as when we started.” she said exasperated. She sighed deeply. “Sorry.” she then noticed that her rant brought down the others.
“Nah. It’s okay. We’ll just restart.” Danyelle said. “I thought you loved this place.”
“That’s right.” Davrin agreed.
“I do.” Stephanie laughed. “It’s the time I’m worried about.” She then had a mischievous gleam. “Unless we let it be and wait so that the Labyrinth stays here.”
Danyelle giggled. “I think the Goblin King would be more pissed at you than me at that rate.”
“And??” Stephanie giggled as well. Davrin looked amused but he shook his head.
Back to business, Stephanie was scanning the area as they walked, to use the castle an anchor. She noticed that they were indeed far from reaching it, however, she could not see the beginning of the Labyrinth, which was a good sign. What Danyelle pointed out, was a view of the top story of a house. It did not take them long to actually reach it; the white paint was yellowing and chipping with age. The late afternoon sun shone upon the roof and reflected off the glass windows. The curtain was closed shut, as though to hide the view of being trapped in a strange place. Stephanie noticed when they stood in front of the house, that it was merged with the Labyrinth, as though it actually sprouted from the walls. The stone blended together with the stucco almost seamlessly.
‘Interesting,’ Danyelle thought. She remembered seeing the house before, not knowing anyone personally of course and that there was supposed to have neighbors next to it, but with the merge and now the Labyrinth’s morphing, they were separated. The building seemed not to have had any damage from the “earthquake”.