FicWad

Sarah and Melissa walked down the hill toward the doors of the Labyrinth. "How do I get into the Labyrinth?" she whispered to the wind. The doors slowly opened before them, and Sarah and Melissa walked through. They looked either way down the eternal passageway, trying to find a trace of Lauren.

"Maybe she didn't start where we did?" Melissa suggested timidly.

"No, perhaps she didn't," Sarah agreed. She sighed, and then started down the passageway on the right of the doors.

"Are we going to see the worm?"

"Perhaps. If he's still here." Sarah looked down the passageway and then looked down at Melissa. "See that log lying farther on down?" Sarah waited for Melissa to acknowledge she saw it before continuing, "And the lichen right after it?" Again Melissa nodded. "I'll race you?"

Melissa beamed up at her mother before answer, "You got it!"

The two of them ran as fast as they could down the passageway, jumping over scattered branches that had fallen from the enchanted walls. Melissa got there before Sarah, turning with a huge grin. "I beat you, Mom!"

Sarah grinned back. "You sure did. It's been awhile since I've had to run here, you know." Sarah straightened up and looked around. "Come on, we're almost to where the worm lives."

The two of them continued in silence, lost in their own thoughts. They were jolted out of them, however, when a sudden voice interrupted.

"'Ello."

Sarah grinned before responding, "Did you just say 'hello'?"

The blue body blinked its eyes and stared at Sarah. "No," it replied slowly. "I said 'ello. But that's close enough."

"How's the missus?" Sarah questioned politely.

The worm paused before answering, "She's fine thanks. Would either of you like a cup of tea?"

Sara grinned again. "No thanks."

The worm continued to stare at Sarah before asking, "Why do you seem familiar?"

"When I was younger, I needed to find my way through the Labyrinth. You were the one that told me about the opening across the way."

There was a pause as the worm slowly remembered. He then grinned before stating, "You've changed quite a bit. And who's this?"

"I'm Melissa. I'm her daughter."

His eyes widened. "Well, it has been a long time, hasn't it? Nice to meet your acquaintance." He then turned back to Sarah. "What brings you back here?"

"I'm looking for my older daughter. She's lost somewhere in the Labyrinth, and I have to find her."

The worm nodded. "Sounds like the start of another story to pass on."

Sarah nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately, we need to be moving. I only hope my daughter has gone the same way I did. It was nice talking to you again."

"The pleasure was all mine."

Sarah clasped Melissa's hand and walked through the opening before turning right. Instead of finding the stone maze, however, they walked into a stony ruin. Walls had fallen and cracks had appeared in the milky stones.

"Mom, what happened here?"

"I don't know, honey. I don't know."

The duet carefully picked their way around the rubble, trying to find a way out of the endless rock plain. As time passed, Sarah became more desperate to find a way out.

"Mom, there's an opening over here!" Melissa yelled.

"Thank god," Sarah whispered before running over. She found Melissa crouching next to a small cave created out of the falling rocks. "We could just barely fit," Sarah said. "You up to it?" Melissa nodded before reaching for Sarah's hand. The two of them crept into the darkness, and slowly made their way into the cave.

Suddenly, they were both falling, Melissa screaming in terror. Just as suddenly as they had fallen, they were stopped. Sarah felt a familiar grip holding her up.

"Which way?"

Sarah quickly thought, remembering that while she had gotten trapped below, it was also how she had moved on. "Where are we in this drop?"

"Would you like to find out?" Sarah and Melissa were falling again, only to be caught by different hands.

"Which way would you like to go?"

"Look, I have my daughter with me. Can you slowly pass us down?"

"You want down?"

"She said she wanted to go down!" Again Sarah felt the freefalling sensation. All she worried about was her daughter's safety. As she landed in the oubliette with a thud, she realized Melissa wasn't with her.

"Melissa!"

"I'm coming Mom!" There was a pause before she continued, "They're kind of tossing me down slowly."

"Ok, I'll catch you when you come through, ok?"

There was another pause and a sharp intake of breath before Melissa responded, "Ok Mom."

Melissa was suddenly dropped through the opening at the top and Sarah barely caught her.

"Are we in that room you talked about Mom? With the magic door?"

"Yes," Sarah replied. "I only hope the door is still here." Sarah squinted in the darkness, trying to find a way to bring light into the melancholy environment.

"How did I know you'd get yourself trapped in here again?" queried a familiar voice. A match hissed to life, and a lantern flickered as it caught the flame. Sarah turned and grinned.

"I've missed you, Hoggle." Sarah reached forward and knelt to embrace her never-changing friend. "It's been a long time since I saw you last."

"Yes, it has, Sarah."

"I've needed you, Hoggle."

"You never called us, Sarah. We waited for you, waited for your call."

"I guess I'd forgotten how to call for you."

Here, Hoggle smiled sadly. "You never forget how to call. You only forget that the adventures ever actually happened." Hoggle turned before continuing, "I believe this is what you're looking for." He uncovered one of the many rugs that littered the floor. He pushed a door up against the wall, and reached to open the door.

"Don't forget to open it correctly," Sarah reminded him.

Hoggle pulled back and reach to the other side of the door. "Thanks Sarah." He opened the door and waited for Sarah and Melissa to exit.

Melissa breathed in the fresh air deeply before turning to Hoggle. "Thanks for helping us, Hoggle. I'm Melissa."

Hoggle nodded. "That's what I thought." He studied her some more before turning to Sarah. "She has your eyes."

Sarah smiled before questioning, "Do you have a family now, Hoggle?"

"Cor!" he exclaimed. "Not me! None of us do. We all just take care of each other."

"You mean Sir Didymus and Ludo?" she asked quickly. "What ever happened to 'Hoggle is Hoggle's friend'?"

He grinned before answering, "Things change. C'mon. We have a ways to go before we meet up with them." Hoggle turned and walked past the stone faces that had lone ago eroded.

"Hoggle?" Sarah asked quietly. "What's happened here?"

"Time," Hoggle responded. "As I said, things change over time. Things started falling apart when you left. New people and places have cropped up since then, though. There are actually quite a few creatures that now live in the Bog of Eternal Stench. It's grown, too. The stench is so bad that there are hardly any plants there anymore. Sir Didymus resigned because of it."

"Where are the others, Hoggle?"

"Waiting," Hoggle responded. "They're waiting for you."