Into the Labyrinth

Prologue

Author's Note:

Into the Labyrinth is the first book in the Dark Retellings series. It's inspiration comes from the movie Labyrinth, which plot was an original work created by the writers and producers of the movie.

Dedication

This story is dedicated to the wonderful writers I have met through Wattpad, who have offered me motivation and inspiration with their great works and advice.

Epigraph

" I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you! I am exhausted from living up to your expectations. Isn't that generous? "

-Jareth, Labyrinth (1986)

Prologue

The sound of screams curdled the skin at the back of his neck, chills prickling down his spine with each new scream. Heat warmed his face, as he ran by the third burning building in the square. The screams were loudest there. Women and children rushed past him their tears rushing down their dirt stained faces. He fought the urge to stop. He fought the urge to help.

The royal family was missing.

When Captain Joseph had checked Princess Cassandra's too silent crib, he had found it empty. The rush to alert the King and Queen had revealed an equally as empty bed. A silent search of the castle had confirmed that the entire royal family had disappeared from their beds without a trace.

Word spread quickly amongst the servants until it reached the ears of the people. The royal family was gone, the entirety of the guards ordered to halt all their jobs to search for them, leaving an anarchic kingdom in their wake. The robberies had started within hours of the original discovery followed by the starting of fires and even murders.

Now, as he ran through the crime filled streets, he wondered what would happen to their great kingdom if the royal family was not found.

Men with the same identical uniform that he wore, could be seen inside homes, throwing the occupants out for a frantic search of their premises. The royal guard was doing no better than the criminals that had been born with an unmanned kingdom. His orders were to find the royal family no matter what cost, even if it meant harming some of the same citizens he had once been bound to protect.

"The Princess! The Princess!"

The scream brought him to a dust billowing stop.

The Princess.

He followed the sound of the muffled scream. The child's voice hidden amongst the other shouts and crashes that filled the night. The closer he neared the wall of the city, the louder the child's scream got. He nearly crashed into the small beggar child who pointed a dirty finger at the door that stood at the center of the wall. Curled into a ball directly in front of it was a figure dressed in the royal silks.

With quick movements he hurried to the figure, lifting it's light weight up into his arms. The pale face of the Princess was scratched. Thin red lines slashed across her cheeks. His hand tried to brush her hair away from her face, but his fingers got caught in the knots and twigs tangled in it. Her eyes were shut leaving dark lashes to shadow her chubby cheeks.

His hand trailed from her face to her arms and legs, checking for any injuries. Identical scratches slashed down her small frame, even cutting open her night dress across the stomach. No major injuries seemed to be harming her, yet as he held her small hands to his face, the feel of her skin was different.

A branding.

The back of her left hand had been branded with a symbol of interlocking trees and ivies. The foliage formed a circle around the swirling initials of 'GK'. Someone had branded their Princess their own, permanently marking her with a memory of this historic night.

He stood on shaky legs. The chaos around him blurring into the background. Princess Cassandra was safe in his arms. The royal heir would live on, even if her parents would not be found. Looking around, he gave one last search to see if any more bodies lay at the large double doors. He eyed the thick wooden slabs that loomed above him, their surfaces etched with the carvings of multiple folktales told around a fire. His eyes caught sight of an etching of a beautiful young girl, her features forever encased in a look of fear as hideous little creatures with crooked teeth surrounded her.

A mark was on her hand.

Backing away from the door, he turned to the direction of the castle. The soles of his feet pounded against the dirt. He would reach the castle. He would return the Princess to the safety of her home. The kingdom would not crumble under the weight of loss and crime. They would live on.

Princess Cassandra would one day be their Queen.