Your eyes can be so cruel Pg16

Sarah and Jareth weren't falling for long, as the helping hands captured them maybe halfway down the shaft. 'Helping hands!' Sarah said, shaking one of them. 'What? What does that mean?' Jareth said looking down to Sarah. The helping hands formed a few faces to greet them. 'Your majesty, how nice of you to drop in!' One of them said, laughing. 'How can we help you?' another voice chimed in. 'Which way did the people before us go?' Sarah asked looking down as she hadn't seen them on the way up and the shaft was only so big. 'The people before you?' a different face of hands echoed, 'The blonde lady and the dark haired man went down, as they didn't ask for help!' the first set of hands said, making a saddened expression. 'We'll go down then, also.' Jareth said, before Sarah could reply. 'Jareth!' Sarah said as the hands let go as she and Jareth started to fall.

They dropped into an oubliette, much the same as the one Jareth dropped her into before, she could have sworn it was the same one. Jareth turned owl so that he didn't fall on Sarah with such force that he hurt her. 'What the-' Sarah said as she felt his feathers on her face. He turned man again and kissed her. 'I'm sorry, Sarah,' Jareth began. He conjured a flame on his palm and lit the oubliette to find Evey and Viktus on the other side. 'Sarah! What the hell is this place?' Evey said, tears in her eyes, Viktus comforting her. Sarah sighed and moved over to her. 'This is an oubliette; Jareth had the courtesy of dumping me in one when I was here before.' She said looking at him, smiling. 'Is there any way out of here? We found a wooden board but there's nothing else in here.' Evey said looking to the ground. 'Where's the board? We'll need that.' Sarah said looking around. She spotted it and put it against the wall, much the same way Hoggle did before. She opened it and many pots and tin cups fell out of the closet, hitting her legs. 'Damned closet!' She said, piling the tin pots and cups back into the closet, slamming the door. This time she opened it the other way and there, before her was a thin ladder, cobwebs linked each rung. 'I hope this'll hold us all' Sarah said, resting her hand on one rung, testing some weight on it, snapping the wood. 'Whoa...'Evey said looking up to the top, but couldn't see as the ladder stretched out of sight. 'It just goes on forever!' She said, raking a hand through her blonde locks. Jareth piped up. 'Nothing is what it seems in this place.' He said. 'Viktus and I will fly up to the top to find an opening. Both of the men turned owl, Jareth with his creamy feathers that faded out to a soft brown and Viktus with black feathers speckled with silvery grey, their eyes the same mismatched colours. They took flight and flew out of sight, the girls could hear them calling to each other. 'Wow,' Evey said, stunned at what she had seen. 'He's so beautiful...the both of them are.' Sarah smiled at her, holding her hand. The two owls weaved in between each other's flight paths, descending down the narrow shaft. They turned man again, before the two women. 'Viktus and I have found an opening but it's only big enough for a bird to get through.' Jareth said, smiling at Sarah. 'What are you smiling about? We're too big to get through there, only you and Viktus can get out.' Viktus looked at Evey and then to Sarah. 'Don't be so sure, Sarah. I think I have a solution.' Sarah looked at him questioningly, raising an eyebrow. 'So what are you going to pull out of the bag, boys? More glitter?' She said laughing and looking quite proud of herself. Jareth summoned a crystal and threw it at Sarah, suddenly she was owl, the same as Jareth, but colours inverted, her green eyes piercing the brown blanket that was her face, soft and feathery. Jareth lifted her on his arm, she found it hard to balance so he steadied her with a gloved hand. 'You're just as beautiful as an owl, Sarah.' He said nuzzling in her face feathers, she pecked him, right on his nose, hooting angrily. Viktus scooped Evey up in his arms. 'I shan't be so spontaneous. Are you ready to become an owl?' He asked her, kissing her cheek. 'I think so...' She replied as he summoned a green crystal and crushed it in his hand, sprinkling it over her. Evey was a purely white owl, stunning blue eyes like sapphires a monarch had dropped into a blanket of snow. 'You girls have got to fly now.' Jareth said, 'I'll throw you up and just flap your wings as hard as you can, but fly steady.' Jareth raised his arm with one fast motion, she flew up into the air, her flight seeming perfectly natural, she flew beautifully, as did Evey when she was cast upwards. The men followed suit, in their owl forms, flying beside and above the two females, to guide them.

The opening in at the top of the shaft was indeed very small like it had been carved by hand. The men folded back their wings with one huge flap and darted through the hole, the women did the same, Evey clearing the hole without fault but Sarah, as she tried to clear the hole, she beat her left wing on the side of the stone and got wedged in the hole, trying to flap her way out but her struggling only made her pain worse. Jareth turned man and held her top half through the hole. 'Sarah, stop wriggling, please you're going to hurt yourself worse. Please, darling.' He said as he tried to hold her still, she stopped struggling and went limp in his hands. He lifted her out with ease and folded her wings back, holding her in his arms. 'She's fine, she's just fainted. I shouldn't have put that much pressure on her.' Jareth looked down to the little owl in his arms, breathing shallow breaths as if she were asleep. Viktus turned Evey back into a woman, her hair quite messy and her face flustered. 'That was amazing!' She said, catching her breath and hugging Viktus looking to Jareth. 'Don't beat yourself up, that was an amazing experience!' Jareth looked at her, teary eyed. 'I should have made her a sparrow, then she'd have been fine.' He said as she began to wake up. He turned her woman and stroked her hair, moving a hand to stroke her shoulder, making her wince in pain. 'I think I broke my arm,' She croaked, 'I'm such a fat owl, Evey you completely cleared that!' She said smiling. 'You're not fat, Sarah. You just flew too far left, but you flew very well.' Jareth said rubbing a crystal on her arm, it disappearing into her skin like moisture into a sponge. 'Oh my god! My arm's feeling better!' Jareth smiled at her and kissed her, 'I'm amazing, don't forget that.' He stood up and helped her to her feet. 'Where are we?' Evey said, looking around and fixing her hair. Sarah began to look around, but this time couldn't say where she was, it looked like the beginning of the Labyrinth, the edge where she had met the worm. 'This looks like the beginning! We're near the exit!' She said in relief. 'I wouldn't be so sure, Sarah.' Evey said. 'When I shot out of the hole I went higher than the walls and I really don't think we're at the beginning. It looks like the middle.' Sarah sighed and wiped some sweat from her forehead. 'Lets get going then. We don't want to be here when it gets dark.' They all agreed and started to walk. Jareth turned owl and soared above them to see where the end of the Labyrinth was. He turned man and continued to walk with them.

They had been walking for almost an hour in one direction through the huge stone corridor, the stone walls glistening, twigs littering the floor. They stopped for a moment as the men summoned some refreshments. 'Allo' someone said as they were eating. 'Worm!' Sarah replied, looking for the little critter. She spotted him, crawling out of a hole in the wall. 'Hello, love! Haven't seen you in ten years!' the worm looked as though he was thinking for a moment, 'Aren't you glad I sent you away from that castle! Those blimmin' goblins and that king.' Sarah smiled at the worm. 'I was actually trying to get there, to save my brother. But you started me off on my way.' The worm looked shocked, 'I'm so sorry, love, I would have sent you the other way if you hadn't hurried off so fast! Would you like a cup of tea? Come inside and meet the kids and missus?' he smiled and tilted his head from side to side as if there were some music, but Sarah could hear none. 'I've got to be on my way, thank you for your help!' she said getting to her feet with the others, as they set off on their way. The worm crawled back into his hole, to see his missus.

They found an opening, disguised as a wall of vines; that had vicious thorns yet beautiful flowers. They came to a clearing with large stone statues, much to the kind of mammal that was Ludo, fairies circled the statues, drinking dew from small flowers, fluttering in and out of cracks in the stonework. Evey yelped in excitement at the fairies and held out her hand to touch one, Sarah slapped her hand away as one was nearing her, everyone looked to Sarah in shock. 'They bite, ok? I got bitten by one of these before I even got into the Labyrinth.' She said, rubbing her finger where she had been bitten before. There was a rumbling noise that drew nearer and nearer until they suddenly stopped in front of them, large, grey and menacing.