Labyrinth: An Owl's Story

Chapter 7

Jareth looked around the little hollow that he slept in. His beak still hurt, but it was no longer bent. How would they get through the border between the Aboveground and the Underground? He only knew how to get through in human form, but if the dumb prophecy hadn't come up, he would still be a human, and Sarah would be safe.

Just as he put his head under his wing, claws moved on the hollow floor and Jareth felt a shadow fall over him. The barn owl looked up to see a blackish owl standing over him. Am I dreaming? Jareth wondered. The dark eyes of the black owl pierced Jareth like a talon, moving from beak to legs.

Jareth looked over at the other owls, sleeping silent, their breaths making small sounds. Then he looked back at the owl in front of him. "Who are you?" He asked.

The owl stared back at him. "I am Gareth, your brother. If you would like proof, I can give you some."

Jareth could tell the owl was telling the truth, for he could sense courage instead of weakness, but he still needed proof to know this owl, which he had never met, was his brother. "What is this proof in which you have? Are you some sort of spy sent by the goblins, an owl they are using for information? Have you been following me around since I found out about who my family is?"

"I was not sent by any goblin, for I know they are all dead. I promise you, I am your brother, and I wish to help you in your quest to find Sarah. I too am seeking someone, for I was one of the owlets to be taken to the goblins. Only, they never managed to take me. I got away before they got me to the castle."

Jareth sat for a while, then answered, "Who is this someone in which you are seeking?"

Gareth puffed up for a moment then let his feathers go back to normal before answering. "Her name is Beth, and she is 12 years old. I met her when she started to ride my first someone's horses, who threw a tomato at me."

Jareth cocked his head. "Manda?"

Gareth nodded. "I knew it would come back to you. You were there that day, but you don't remember because it was before the prophecy came true."

Jareth didn't understand that well. Why hadn't his parents told him he had another brother? The golden barn owl shook his head. "If you are my brother, why didn't my parents tell me I had another brother?"

"When they left me, they accidently went through a portal which took them straight to the fiery forest and wiped away their memory of me. I am guessing they didn't with you, am I correct?"

Jareth nodded blankly. Things were happening to fast, way too fast. "I guess..." Jareth said in a blank way.

Gareth nodded. "Well, I must be off. Meet me tomorrow at the castle at dawn. Please."

Before Jareth could reply, the dark brown owl lifted into the air and flew into the night...

Jareth woke just before dawn. He looked around the hollow. There were fresh claw marks on the wood. So it hadn't been a dream. The light brown owl got up from his nest and lifted into the misty air, shivering in the cold. The air felt fresh, a light breeze lifted the owl up higher, and he struggled to stay inside the cover of the trees.

Soon, he could see the goblin city gates. They were old looking, and red with rust. As he flew through them, he could see nothing moving, only a few old feathers from the former attack.

As he closed in on the castle doors, he tried to stop, but couldn't. WAMMMMM! Jareth slammed into the doors, his head bent to one side.

"Oww..." Jareth said as he slid down the doors.

"Shh!" a whisper came from behind the light brown owl, and Jareth looked behind him to see the dark feathers of his brother, Gareth. "We can't make any noise! There could be spies hiding around here."

Jareth nodded and lifted into the air, his wings still hurting from slamming into the doors. The two brothers flew to the top of the castle before landing inside an old pigeon coop, which had tons of white stuff on the bottom, along with some old feathers and a few letters the pigeons had been reading, the ones they were suppose to take to the person addressed to them.

As they alighted down onto a stick inside a small pigeon home, Gareth started to speak. "I have brought you here to speak with you about Beth and Manda. I am the prince of dreams, being able to go into people's dreams and create dreams. Last night, I was about to create Beth a dream when I heard her calling to me. I could hear her; she was saying, 'Gareth, where are you?'"

Jareth narrowed his eyes. "How can you go into other people's dreams and do what you need to if you can't even get out of the Underground?"

"I told you, I am the prince of dreams, so that's how." Gareth started to sound defensive, so Jareth decided not to speak anymore, unless he was spoken to.

Just as Gareth opened his beak, the pigeon coop door slammed shut, and a pointy eared human locked the door. Jareth's eyes widened, and his brother's feathers puffed out, followed by a blood freezing screech.

"Shush!" The pointy eared person hushed the two owls, but Gareth still kept screeching. Jareth laid his wing on his brother's shoulder and the screeching stopped.

"My queen, I think we caught something in our trap." The human called down to the ground. "Would you like me to take them down to you?"

"No," a familiar voice came from the ground. "I think I should come up to see it myself."

Without warning, a beautiful girl came up onto the level the pigeon coop stood on. Suddenly, Jareth wanted to faint with joy. "Sarah!" he screeched, not as loud as his brother though.

Sarah's mouth flung open. "Jareth?! Is that you? I have been looking all around the kingdom for you! What happened?"

Jareth wanted to tell her, but before he could, his claws let the pole he was standing on go, and he fell backward, hitting the wall behind him and falling straight to the ground, knocking him out...