It's raining again. I'm shuffling down the back alleys on my way to Perkatory. It's too late to be drinking coffee, but I haven't been sleeping much anyway, so what difference does it make? I tell myself that I'm going where there are people, where life is bustling about, a place where I can snap myself back into reality. The cynical side of my brain tells me it won't work, that I'm just going to end up staring at the wall, overanalyzing. Stubbornly I soldier on, peering at the welcoming lights of the coffee shop and trying to recapture the feelings I once had for this place. I get my frothy cappuccino and settle into my seat at the table where Jareth and I sat when he first appeared. I sit here every time I come now. I try really hard to concentrate on the book in front of me. But, as cynical brain predicted, instead I stare off into space and think about what happened the last two days in the Underground.
Once Jareth, Easton, and I were safely out of the valley, everything happened quickly. We went back to The Observatory and were again well received. Apparently, Davina had realised something was amiss when Jareth and I disappeared the night of the Storm of Stars (she probably realized it when we showed up half dead on her doorstep to begin with) So she had called Jareth's mother. We arrived just a few hours before the Queen and her entourage. We were given the same rooms, likely because Jareth was again in need of heliotherapy. The next day I spent the entire morning in a private salon with Davina, laying out our adventure from beginning to end. I also gave her the crystal I had taken from Myles. I didn't know what else to do with it. The rest of the day I was asked to stay in my room. The next day I was also kept in my room, and I started getting fidgety. I was just about to attempt another escape when Davina came to visit me. She told me that Jareth and Easton were fine, but when I asked to see them she shook her head sadly.
"This information that you have brought us about Myles is most disturbing. Though the immediate danger has been averted, the fact that a vicious enemy to the throne grew and flourished right beneath our noses...well, it changes things."
She watched me carefully as I processed the information, then said:
"Do not let it worry you. Tomorrow there will be a ceremony, and you will meet the Queen."
Two days of being stuck in my room, now I have to prepare to meet a Queen I know nothing about? Panic must have showed on my face, because Davina laughed merrily.
"Galice will come to help you prepare, but little more than your attendance is required, since the ceremony is in your honor."
In my honor? Oh yeah, that's much less distressing.
The next day Galice came as promised and dressed me in a long sleeved lace gown and did my hair. It was like being dressed for the ball but without the elaborate face paint. She gave me a few simple instructions for meeting her Majesty and told me how the ceremony would proceed. Then I was led to the great hall. It had been converted into something of a throne room. Davina waited at the base of the stairs for me. On my way down I took note of those present. It was a very small gathering, as far as I could tell, just those of the royal court. And no one other than Davina from The Observatory was present. Easton was there, standing to his mother's right, but Jareth was noticeably absent. Taking my arm, Davina led me down the path toward her royal highness. The queen was lovely. Soft silvery hair flowing over one shoulder, a delicate crown perched on top of her head, and a silvery gown that flowed like water over her delicate frame. Davina and I stopped a few paces in front of her, both of us stooping in a gesture that was half courtesy, half bow. Davina introduced me, and the Queen stepped forward to take my hand.
"Miss Sarah, words can not express how grateful I am to you for your assistance. Not only have you done a great service to my kingdom as a whole, but you have delivered a member of my own family from unlawful captivity and returned him to me unharmed."
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Caveats And Cliches (A Labyrinth Fanfiction)
Fanfiction(Based on the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth) It's been 17 years since Sarah was in the Labyrinth and she's doing pretty well for herself. But she can't shake her experience in the Underground or the effect it has had on her life. Now Jareth show...
