Labyrinth Fan Fiction ❯ Retold ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 9 )

"I can't think about this now, I'll go crazy if I do. I'll think about it tomorrow." (A/N) Horrible fake southern accent and all, she bit back the hysterical laughter that threatened to escape her lips. She pushed the sharp ache between her thighs out of her mind. Keeping her mind on nothing but the mind numbing action of putting one foot in front of the other. Anything to keep Him out of her mind. No matter that she could still feel the caress of his fingers against her skin, or the sharp points of his teeth sinking into her soft flesh, or how he had...... NO! I will NOT think of it. So lost in her thoughts that she almost missed the change in atmosphere. The sky darkened almost instantly. Lush green grass and majestic trees gave way to a dingy dump. Huge piles of trash reaching for the sky, there was almost no color but gray. everything seemed depressing and dirty. Sarah stumbled through mountains of trash, odd pieces of glass and debris crunching under her worn trainers. Keeping her eyes focused on the castle, she ignored how the junk yard seemed to stretch on endlessly. Suddenly a loud crash to her left startled her enough to pull her attention off of her destination. A pile of garbage had toppled over, strewing odds and ends right on top of the narrow pathway she followed. Looking down at her feet something familiar caught her eye. A scrap of white stood out, almost glowing in the surrounding darkness, bending over she picked up a doll. Not just any doll, it was HER doll. "How did you get here?" She scanned the area and noticed, just a few feet off of the path was her teddy bear, Lancelot. Betsie Boo, Charlie Bear, a tube of childishly pink lip stick, every step brought her to another discovery. Soon her arms were full of girlish treasure, but she continued picking up more and more. So absorbed in collecting her precious possessions she never noticed how the weight of carrying everything began to slow her down. Her back began to hunch over as she clutched it all to her chest, clinging to her things, afraid of dropping so much as a scrap of note book paper. As she went to pick up a one of her many fairy tale books Sarah noticed something else shining next to it. She didn't recognize the pretty bauble, but still, it caught her eye, calling out to her. Almost without realizing it, her fingers stretched out to grasp at it. Before she could so much as feel it against her skin, an inhuman scream echoed through the night. Sarah looked up just as a large blur raced towards her. Trying to hold onto the load in her arms, Sarah backed out of harms way as fast as she could."MINE! Leave it be you wretched girl! It's mine, mine, MINE!" It was old and wrinkled, Sarah wasn't sure if the being was human, goblin or other, but it did seem to be female. Back stooped over from the mountainous pile of junk somehow attached to her back, the wizened thing moved at a speed that belied the wrinkled, decrepitedness of her skin. The crone grabbed the trinket and added it to her ever growing collection. Turning her bulbous eyes towards the frightened girl, she began to cackle."What do you have there dearie? Let me have a look see." As if on command other piles of junk began to shake and move, revealing dozens of old women weighted down by their own little treasures. Each one coming at her from all sides, hands reaching out for the bits of childhood cradled in her arms. Sarah began to back up, clutching her hoard closer to her chest, eyes searching desperately for an escape. "No, these are MINE, mine, mine. Go away!" It took her a moment to realize that it had been her voice, laced with desperation, that echoed through the night. As a sharp pain went up her spine from the added weight, Sarah's eyes widened in horrible understanding."It's all junk! None of it is important! Toby!" Throwing everything as far away from her as possible, Sarah ran as fast as she could towards the castle while the others began to fight and argue over the trash. Pulling and shoving, like vultures they descended on the bits of nothing like vultures. If Sarah had bothered to look back, she might have noticed one lone crone standing away from the mass, watching the girl escape with saddened, yet strangely triumphant eyes. If only she had been as strong, as selfless, then maybe her own sister wouldn't ..... but it was too late. With an air of defeat, the garbage ladened woman who had first accosted the girl turned back to the discarded items and began to fight over her fair share. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------Hoggle and Ludo stood before the imposing gates on the outskirts of the goblin city. Looking around everywhere the dwarf began to despair at ever finding the girl, he could still hear her calling out his name. It wasn't until the small voice called out for Ludo as well that Hoggle turned around to see her running without thought of danger towards them. Even now, after all she has seen, the fool girl hasn't learned to LOOK before she leaps! With a heaven sigh, Hoggle waited for her to reach the gate, as she got closer he began to notice the state she was in. Dried blood on a wound, that looked remarkably like it was caused by sharp teeth, where her neck and shoulder met, more blood caked suspiciously along the inside of her pant leg. Damn you Jareth.Knowing the truth, but afraid to speak it and make it real, he stood by silently and allowed her to embrace him. As if by design, all three turned towards the gates as one, and began to push the heavy black doors open.---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------Jareth sat at his thrown bouncing the baby boy in his lap. Studying him closely, as if the child might hold all the answers in the universe. "Such a tiny, weak little thing. No magic, not even conversation, what could possibly be so important about something so small? No matter, soon she will not remember anything but what I desire of her, and you, you will be one of us." His laughter filled the room, echoing dark promise through the air. With a flick of his wrist the crystal appeared, showing him the girl and her companions. All humor ceased, she was at the gate! Eyes darkened with anger as he was once again surprised by a mere mortal female. Calling his guards, he sent Toby away to be hidden as Jareth decided to end this, once and for all. A/N) Admit it, you all thought I was dead huh? I know this chapter isn't very big, but I promise more Jareth and Sarah action in the next one to make up for it. I swear on all that is Holy, or Unholy in Jareth's case, that I WILL finish this story!! I'm just slower than I'd like.Quote is from the final scene of Gone With the Wind, I don't usually add movie quotes, but the movie is just something I can picture as one of Sarah's favorites and it seemed to fit the situation.