Labyrinth Pt. II

7. The Key

My dreams hold memories of my first trip to the Labyrinth. Not all of them bad, but not all of the good. My dream begins to change in to a vivid picture of a glistening area. Snow surrounds me in a beautiful landscape of hills and barren trees filled with more snow and icicles. The air was crisp and clear. I could see my breath, yet i wasn't cold. I started to walk around to see the beauty. The snow under my feet was like powder, so soft and fresh. It was calling to me, making me yearn to lay in it. Before I could make any movements, a voice whispers behind me.

"So you can appreciate the beauty of Winter?"

I spin around and find a tall silver haired man standing less than an inch from me. On closer inspection I find his eyes are so piercingly blue, they make me feel fear. They are eerily similar to the fae at the movies. They didn't look quite right, just slightly off. His ears are pointed, like Jareth's. His smile is evil, not to be cliche. I see his blindingly white teeth hold eight sharp ones, on the sides, top and bottom. He is handsome in every sinister, dangerous way possible. He was all wrong and yet there was a beauty to his harshness. It almost hurt to look at him. He grabbed my hand and twirled me in place, slowly.

"So this is what I'm against? An expired goblin king and a human female?" He laughed, giving me chills, and shook my arm.

"Where am I?" I'm sixty percent sure that this isn't just a dream anymore. Although I'm not entirely sure where I am, I do know who he is now.

"How rude of me. My dear human, welcome to the Seelie Kingdom! Home of the Winter Fae." He lavishly waves his hand and steps away to bow. His voice feels violent. It's a leash on his temper and it sounds like it's barely holding the unyielding force at bay. "Please do not be afraid. Or do. You will not be harmed here either way. In the new Labyrinth on the other hand, I make no such promises. You will most likely die." His smile is gone, replaced with look of pity with a hint of malice. Predatorial.

"This is your kingdom." I wasn't asking, but he answered anyway.

"Yes, snowflake. This is my land. Is it not beautiful?"

"It is." I wasn't going to lie about that. It was magnificent. That, and I feared he would do something if I said otherwise. "Why am I here?"

"I wished to see you before you came to me. I thought we could get to know one another before I try to kill you and you attempt to remove me from my newly acclaimed throne." There's something about his eyes that are paralyzing. Not in a good way. More like, 'I'm gonna get eaten' way.

"Why would you want to meet me? It's not usually customary for the villain to seek out their enemy for a quick chat."

"Ha! You are special. You are special to the old goblin king and he went to you for help. That means I should take interest in you as well, snowflake."

"Snowflake?"

"Humans are like snowflakes. They each are different but last only for a moment." Now he's talking to me as he walks around the area, around me. "You are different but you won't last long."

"That's morbid. You must be fun at parties."

"It's beautiful in a way though. Some humans know that it won't matter but still try to do something with their life before they die. Some succeed and when they die they are remembered by those that loved them, but then those ones cease to exist as well. That's endearing to me. To see their futile effort. I'm excited to see what you choose to do with your life."

"How can you be so confident in talking about humans?"

"I've spent time among you. I've studied your histories, learned your languages, copied your manners. It is important for one to know what they will be up against if they are to conquer." The Seelie smiled in a hateful grin. He claps his hands in excitement.

"Why are you delighted?"

"Because soon you will have to make a choice, and your answer will be marvelous." He's behind me running his ice cold hands up my arm, finger tips running along my veins. It felt like he was freezing me from the inside out. His skin vibrated with such power and force. The delicate touch I was feeling felt euphoric but all to wrong. Was it wrong?

"What choice? What are you talking about?" Even though my voice shook as I asked these questions, I knew his scare tactics were not to be messed with. I am not one to be easily frightened down from a challenge, I was a force to be reckoned with as well. This was all a game and a challenge to him. Nothing is real, and yet everything could kill me. I needed to be at my best.

"All in due time. Meanwhile, I must go prepare for your arrival." He releases me and I feel like I can release the breath I did not know I was holding. "I must warn you, though, things are not the same as they were. Including a way to get to the Labyrinth entrance. In your room you will find a key. Keep it close and don't let that goblin know you have it. That key will take you where you need to go."

"How does the key work?"

"It works like any key. It unlocks a door, silly snowflake." He looked at me like I was stupid.

"My name is Sarah."

"I know your name." He moves close to me again and his hand cups my face. "Thank you for sharing it, though. In return, my name is Nyx." He leans to whispers spitefully in my ear, "Its been such a pleasure to meet you." He lowers his hand gently around my neck, applying pressure to a vein just below my ear. Then everything goes black.

I wake up in a panic. My skin feels cold but I feel warm wrapped in my blanket. Jareth is still asleep. Sneaking off of the recliner, I make my way to my room. On my nightstand is a key. It's old fashioned. The head of the key is beautifully carved with Celtic knots that weave to make a large snowflake. Next to the key was a black chain. I wove the key on to the chain and fastened it around my neck. I turned to the bathroom and noticed my vanity mirror was frosted over with the words, "Keep it close," written. When I moved to touch the mirror, the words and frost disappeared. Pulling my hand away, I gasped. Jareth was now awake and I could hear him getting up from the couch. I tucked the cold key under my shirt and headed to the living room. I couldn't let Jareth know I met the Seelie King. It wouldn't be the smart choice.

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