Into The Labyrinth

Chapter 1

'He'll never come.' I thought as I turned away from the window. '...he'll never come...' The fleeting, yet depressed thought, rang in my head over and over. I couldn't get it to stop.
Ever since my 19th birthday I knew that I was forced to grow up and be an adult. High school was over. I had one year of college under my belt, with three more to look forward to. Well, as much as one can. I was accepting that I was no longer a child; I knew that long ago. But there was one minor childhood fantasy that wouldn't leave my heart and I had tried and tried to convince myself that it was all a silly fairytale, but there was something gnawing the back of my mind that wouldn't let me believe it.
The Labyrinth wasn't real. It was just a stupid story my step mother told me to get me to behave. She would tell me that if I didn't do my chores that the Goblin King would come to get me. He only came to get naughty children, or ones wished away by parents or siblings. However, I had developed a crush on the idea of him. Never did I imagine him as one that looked like a goblin, but it was more of an ethereal fae look. I always thought of him to be someone with poise and arrogance. You would have to be arrogant if you were stuck with goblins all day.
But I had to come to terms with the fact that I shouldn't believe in the fairytales anymore. I shouldn't waste so much time and energy thinking about them. Even if they were real, I was no longer a child. And I never had a sibling I could wish away so I could meet him anyway. So that was how I came to my conclusion. That he'll never come.
I climbed into my bed. My roommate was already fast asleep across the room from me. I buried myself in my blankets and turned to face the wall. I closed my eyes and let myself drift off into sleep...
I awoke with a jolt. I could have sworn I heard something. I sat up and listened for a few moments... nothing. I laid back down. I closed my eyes and decided to blame it on my neighbors. They were always making strange noises next-door. The moment I had sealed out the light I heard it again. This time, I could tell it was behind me. My window. I leaned over my bed and looked at the window. Was that a bird?
No, not a bird. Staring back at me was a white barn owl. It was beautiful. But it was dangerously close to hitting the window again with its wing. It was going to wake up my roommate, and I didn't want that. I grabbed my phone and flashed my flashlight off and on a few times to spook it away. That seemed to work. Until it came back. But this time, the bird flew repeatedly at the window until finally, by some strange force, my window slid open and in flew the bird past my face.
I stumbled out of the way, shielding my face from the flying creature and groping for my bed so I could crawl under the covers in case it decided to attack me. I looked towards my roommate. She was dead still. I knew she was a heavy sleeper, but I didn't know to what extent; this was a new level for her.
I looked back over to the bird, suddenly realizing that I no longer heard it flapping around my room. Did it die? In its place stood a shadowed figure. I squinted at it, but it finally stepped into the moonlight. A pale faced man stood facing me. His eyes were different... I couldn't tell by what, the light was too dim. But even in the shadow you could tell there was something odd.
His ostentatious hairstyle framed his face. The volume alone was something to be in awe over. His hair was a light color... Only a little more yellow than the color of his skin. His outfit was a mix of medieval meets rockstar and it glittered black and blue in the light. He flung his dark cape over his shoulder to reveal a tall and slender figure with knee high black boots on.
I backed up and felt my knees hit my bed. I grabbed my sheets to steady me. This was nothing that I had ever imagined before. This was beyond my wildest dreams and certainly a stretch for even my highly active imagination.
"W-who...?" I stumbled to say. He stopped me before I could say anymore.
He put his index finger over his lips "Shhh..." His eyes darted towards my roommate. He raised his arm and made a circle motion over his head with it. I never let my eyes leave him. Until I felt a warm breeze at my back. It was off putting because it was January...
I looked around me. I was in a desert. The sky was red, the earth was red, and what few trees there were were dead. I looked back to him. "Where am I?"
"Where you've always wanted to be." A sly smirk appeared on his face.
"What? What do you mean?" I started to back away from him. There was something predatory about him that made me want to run away screaming.
"You lost every bit of hope for me. But that was when I heard you the most." He took a step towards me. "You know who I am, Anna. You always have."
"H-how do you know my name?" My eyes were wide with bewilderment and shock.
"I know many things about you, Anna. More than you could imagine." His sly smile grew to reveal his slightly crooked teeth. And his eyes sparkled with mischief.