In the Eyes of the Queen [ Labyrinth ] ✔

Chapter Seven

"Davey."

My heart jumps in my chest and I automatically swivel my head to look at Davey's crib. He is not there. I look around, my heart sinking, but I do not see Davey.

"Tell me exactly what happened," I intone carefully, pushing Alice away from me and holding her by the shoulders, trying to gain eye contact.

She looks down. "I don't know. One minute I was trying to calm him down, and then he was gone. Just—gone." She returns to sobbing for a moment, but my strangely steady hands seem to keep her anchored to reality just enough. Shortly, she continues. "The last things he heard from his mother were complaints about his behavior." She pauses to let out a sob. "He is only ten months old. He is teething." Sob. "He is only doing what he knows how; he isn't bad."

A chill runs down my spine at the familiar sentiment (though my own feelings at losing Toby included the guilt that he was not mine to lose), and my mind finally comprehends the idea I have been trying to push away. "Alice, what exactly did you say?"

She looks up at me, apparently confused by my question. She stares at me for a moment and then looks away. I can tell she is thinking. I startle a little as I hear her draw in breath sharply. "No! That is not possible." Her eyes are wide as they meet mine. "'I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now.'"

The breath I did not realize I was holding is released forcefully as I fall forward. I catch myself with my hands, but I am dizzy and hyperventilating. Alice's concern is momentarily transferred to me—"Sarah?"—but she returns to her previous train of thought.

"But those are just words from that old story you once read to me—well, started to read to me; I wasn't one for fairytales at that age."

I look up at Alice. "You have to get him."

"What?"

"You have to go get Davey."

"Where is he?"

"With—with the goblins." And him.

"Goblins?" Alice looks at me, clearly disbelieving. "Sarah, this is no time for jokes," she cries.

I am simultaneously outraged and understanding that she does not believe me. She has no time to waste, but she is also a human whose reality has just been shattered.

I stand up with renewed vigor and pull her up, too. With a sudden realization, I look around. Jareth is not here. Good. Or bad. How can she save Davey?

How can she save Davey?

I look at Alice. She does not comprehend the alternate reality at all. She is a mess, mentally. It is understandable considering her child has just disappeared. Even if she can get to the otherworld, I doubt she can get to the center of the Labyrinth. I had managed to return Toby by unexpected willpower and I assume a large amount of luck, and probably some other unknown factor, even though I did not fulfill the requirement of solving the Labyrinth. As he had pointed out, getting to the center is different from solving its riddles.

Alice will most definitely fail in this state, even if all she has to do is reach the center. But she has to return Davey; I cannot stand by with the knowledge I have and not do everything I can to help her get Davey back.

"Alice, we're going," I announce and pull her to the window, hoping to see the Labyrinth in the distance when I open the curtains.

I breathe a sigh of diametrically opposed relief and regret as the distantly familiar sight greets my eyes. Alice gasps.