The power of words
Here's a ficlet to Labirynth, or to be more precise, its Girls Next Door version. I simply love how the characters and their relationships are developed in this comic. If you're looking for a laugh, go and read it right now! It will only take you a couple of hours and it's totally worth that.
As for this text, it didn't turn out quite the way I've planned, but it's not entirely screwed, either... I hope. I've been agonizing over how it contains way too much dialogue, but all things considered, this is probably the best form it could take. Enjoy!
A dense tension built up around the silent room. Sarah narrowed her eyes so that she could barely see the infuriating smirk topped with a spiky stack of hair that insisted on calling himself the Goblin King. But he did not disappear. He was still there, facing her with an annoying persistence of a cat who keeps nesting on your bed because he is repeatedly told not to do so.
Sarah was tired of it already.
“Give back the baby,” she said with all the authority she could pluck up.
The Goblin King just widened his sneer, flashing his fore-teeth a little. It looked as though he was trying to look cunning and innocent at the same time. The grimace he got in effect resembled a face of someone suffering from a severe toothache.
“Give. Back. The baby,” Sarah repeated, firmly chopping off every word.
The toothache escalated.
“Give it back, Jareth,” she burst out, rolling her eyes. “You can’t take my letters off the board!”
“Why not?” Jareth raised his impossible eyebrows. “I can easily do that! Look, they’re not even pinned!”
“But it’s against the rules,” Sarah snarled, putting elbows on the table and rubbing her temples.
“That, too?” the hay-ish shag shook in disbelief.
“Deal with it, Jareth, you have no power over Scrabble.”
“Alright, fine,” the Goblin King sulked and put two Bs and a Y across a dairy. “Are you happy now?”
“That’s much better. Now let’s get back to the game, shall we?” Sarah rested her chin on the hand and scanned Jareth with a watchful look. Jareth lounged on the couch at the other side of the table and returned the gaze.
The staring contest lasted for about three minutes.
“It’s your turn,” Sarah nudged when it was clear the Goblin King was not about to move at all.
“Can’t be,” Jareth rubbed his chin, confused. “I’ve just took it; and you as much as scolded me for that,” he added reproachfully.
“Taking my letters away doesn’t count as a move, we’ve set that. But you have to put out your own word to make it count,” Sarah sighed.
“I do? Oh, my,” Jareth wriggled his fingers, staring intensely at his tiles before he picked four and placed them in the crossword: royal… He took a peek on Sarah and winked slightly, which Sarah decided to ignore thoroughly. She bent forward, closely examining her letters, and finally chose to strike with three.
“Fair… But of course,” Jareth smirked, his hand risen in anticipation over the rack. He put the next word on the board with an unusual speed and threw himself back on the couch with arms folded on his chest and a grin of a winner on his face.
“I can’t believe you’re trying with a peach again,” Sarah snorted. “Anyway, this one here is just as misplaced as the last time.”
“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah,” the Goblin King sighed theatrically, raising his eyes to the ceiling. “Why can’t you for once appreciate what I do for you? Look, it’s all my good will that I am here, trying to reach an agreement with you and build a common ground. Where did I go wrong? And why do you still hold a grudge against this innocent little fruit?”
“It’s not the fruit that bothers me, and you know that!” Sarah put her hands flat on the table. “Though with you around, I’m still quite suspicious about them,” she added in a low voice; Jareth must have heard it, because he smiled with a corner of his lips, much to Sarah’s annoyance. “Anyway, I’m not going to discuss it now. Take the peach away.”
“But what is wrong with-“
“Listen to me, because I’m not going to say it twice: the words you add to the board must cross the ones that already lay there,” Sarah articulated every word very clearly, using the tone normally reserved for preschoolers.
“But-“
“Jareth. You came to me and asked to teach you to play Scrabble. Fine. I agreed solely because it’s a nice intellectual game and maybe I had a ray of hope that you’ll benefit from it. But if you want to learn, you can’t continuously neglect everything I tell you. And why is the rum gone?” Only now did Sarah realize the board looked somewhat different.
“I don’t know,” Jareth’s face expressed deep consternation. “You don’t think it is me, do you? I never use the same trick twice. I have my pride.”
Still sceptic, Sarah bent down to look for the tiles on the floor. Just as she expected, there was no trace of them. She was just about to sit up when she caught a glimpse of something small and furry by the couch leg. A surprised frown wrinkled her nose as yet another hairy ball dashed through her field of sight. Sarah lurked for a while and grasped the tail of the next shaggy shape that strode along. She raised it above her head triumphantly.
“You crooked liar!” she exclaimed, brandishing the captured goblin. “Are you still going to persist it’s not your doing now that I’ve caught you red-handed?”
“Technically, I did not do it,” the Goblin King replied, paying an unusually close attention to his fingernails. “You can’t possibly expect me to be responsible for all my minions’ antics.”
Sarah pursed her lips, not finding any remark good enough to snap back with. She put the goblin on the table and held out her hand.
“Give,” she snarled. The goblin looked up at her and shook his ugly head with a brief shrug.
“You know what I’m talking about,” Sarah lowered her hand, urging. Goblin took a step back, his big eyes wide open and fixed on her.
“Come on,” Jareth waved his hand impatiently, “just give it.” The goblin looked back at his master, raising his bushy eyebrows and stretching his wrinkled snout in confusion. Then, he dug in his rags for a while and pulled out an M. He set it timidly on Sarah’s outstretched hand and jumped off the table, mumbling something in a low and squeaky voice.
“Now, where’s the rest?” Sarah looked around and saw the other two goblins climbing up the table legs onto the top. They left the stolen tiles and fled in a hurry. Sarah raised her eyes. Jareth spread himself on the couch with an irksomely smug smile on his lips.
“Shall we continue?” he asked as if nothing had happened. Sarah clenched her fists and looked as her opponent put out his next word.
“Glunkish? There is no such word! You can only use words that exist,” she burst out and performed a painful headdesk that caused all the letters on the board to bob a little. “Why are you being so malicious?” she groaned.
“Malicious?” the Goblin King sounded genuinely puzzled. “I’m not being malicious! Look, I honestly do want to learn to play Scrabble and I really appreciate that you have agreed to spend your time showing it to me,” he said so softly that Sarah raised her head and stared at him in shock. “But come on, a game in which you have to stick to the rules? And they don’t even change as you play? Seriously? I have no idea how you and your folks can find something like that entertaining,” Jareth rested his head on his hand and looked at Sarah. “I only wanted to spice it up. I’m sorry if it made you upset.”
Sarah blinked very quickly. Then she felt something she really, really didn’t want to feel - a blush crawling up her neck, reaching to her cheeks with its hot red fingers. She cleared her throat and examined her rack.
“Can we go on?” she mumbled, still avoiding Jareth’s eyes. The Goblin King smirked and bowed his head courtly.
“But of course. Especially that it is still my turn. Let me see,” he clasped his hands, putting the thumbs to his mouth and squinting his eyes pensively. “Ha! Here I go. And I’ll make it proper this time,” he sent Sarah a solemn glance. He picked out the letters and carefully placed them on the board.
“Generous… Seems like we have the winner,” he commented not without a good dose of self‑satisfaction. Sarah glared at him.
“What?” the Goblin King raised his hands in a defensive gesture. From behind him bounced a tiny goblin lugging a pen and a notepad, both considerably bigger than himself. Sarah’s jaw dropped.
“All this time… You were…” She put her hand to her forehead. “And I’ve just thought that for once you…”
“I’ve counted only the fair moves,” Jareth tried to explain himself. “It’s all by the rules, Sarah. You don’t like them now?”
“You just couldn’t resist to blow up your ego, could you? We were not playing for points!” snapped Sarah through gritted teeth.
“Of course we were, just look,” Jareth laughed and pushed the notepad with the goblin in her direction. “Granted, you were not aware of it, but still…”
“Get out, Jareth,” said Sarah wearily and slammed the board closed. The tiles sprinkled in all directions. The Goblin King’s face turned serious in one second. He grabbed the goblin from the table and stood up.
“As you wish, Sarah. It was a pleasure to play with you,” he said in a gravely tone. “I am looking forward to repeating it. Hopefully, both of us will learn how to play it until then,” he added before vanishing in a puff of glitter.
Sarah sat up motionless for a while. Then, she framed her face with her hands and looked at the scattered tiles before her.
Damn.
As for this text, it didn't turn out quite the way I've planned, but it's not entirely screwed, either... I hope. I've been agonizing over how it contains way too much dialogue, but all things considered, this is probably the best form it could take. Enjoy!
A dense tension built up around the silent room. Sarah narrowed her eyes so that she could barely see the infuriating smirk topped with a spiky stack of hair that insisted on calling himself the Goblin King. But he did not disappear. He was still there, facing her with an annoying persistence of a cat who keeps nesting on your bed because he is repeatedly told not to do so.
Sarah was tired of it already.
“Give back the baby,” she said with all the authority she could pluck up.
The Goblin King just widened his sneer, flashing his fore-teeth a little. It looked as though he was trying to look cunning and innocent at the same time. The grimace he got in effect resembled a face of someone suffering from a severe toothache.
“Give. Back. The baby,” Sarah repeated, firmly chopping off every word.
The toothache escalated.
“Give it back, Jareth,” she burst out, rolling her eyes. “You can’t take my letters off the board!”
“Why not?” Jareth raised his impossible eyebrows. “I can easily do that! Look, they’re not even pinned!”
“But it’s against the rules,” Sarah snarled, putting elbows on the table and rubbing her temples.
“That, too?” the hay-ish shag shook in disbelief.
“Deal with it, Jareth, you have no power over Scrabble.”
“Alright, fine,” the Goblin King sulked and put two Bs and a Y across a dairy. “Are you happy now?”
“That’s much better. Now let’s get back to the game, shall we?” Sarah rested her chin on the hand and scanned Jareth with a watchful look. Jareth lounged on the couch at the other side of the table and returned the gaze.
The staring contest lasted for about three minutes.
“It’s your turn,” Sarah nudged when it was clear the Goblin King was not about to move at all.
“Can’t be,” Jareth rubbed his chin, confused. “I’ve just took it; and you as much as scolded me for that,” he added reproachfully.
“Taking my letters away doesn’t count as a move, we’ve set that. But you have to put out your own word to make it count,” Sarah sighed.
“I do? Oh, my,” Jareth wriggled his fingers, staring intensely at his tiles before he picked four and placed them in the crossword: royal… He took a peek on Sarah and winked slightly, which Sarah decided to ignore thoroughly. She bent forward, closely examining her letters, and finally chose to strike with three.
“Fair… But of course,” Jareth smirked, his hand risen in anticipation over the rack. He put the next word on the board with an unusual speed and threw himself back on the couch with arms folded on his chest and a grin of a winner on his face.
“I can’t believe you’re trying with a peach again,” Sarah snorted. “Anyway, this one here is just as misplaced as the last time.”
“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah,” the Goblin King sighed theatrically, raising his eyes to the ceiling. “Why can’t you for once appreciate what I do for you? Look, it’s all my good will that I am here, trying to reach an agreement with you and build a common ground. Where did I go wrong? And why do you still hold a grudge against this innocent little fruit?”
“It’s not the fruit that bothers me, and you know that!” Sarah put her hands flat on the table. “Though with you around, I’m still quite suspicious about them,” she added in a low voice; Jareth must have heard it, because he smiled with a corner of his lips, much to Sarah’s annoyance. “Anyway, I’m not going to discuss it now. Take the peach away.”
“But what is wrong with-“
“Listen to me, because I’m not going to say it twice: the words you add to the board must cross the ones that already lay there,” Sarah articulated every word very clearly, using the tone normally reserved for preschoolers.
“But-“
“Jareth. You came to me and asked to teach you to play Scrabble. Fine. I agreed solely because it’s a nice intellectual game and maybe I had a ray of hope that you’ll benefit from it. But if you want to learn, you can’t continuously neglect everything I tell you. And why is the rum gone?” Only now did Sarah realize the board looked somewhat different.
“I don’t know,” Jareth’s face expressed deep consternation. “You don’t think it is me, do you? I never use the same trick twice. I have my pride.”
Still sceptic, Sarah bent down to look for the tiles on the floor. Just as she expected, there was no trace of them. She was just about to sit up when she caught a glimpse of something small and furry by the couch leg. A surprised frown wrinkled her nose as yet another hairy ball dashed through her field of sight. Sarah lurked for a while and grasped the tail of the next shaggy shape that strode along. She raised it above her head triumphantly.
“You crooked liar!” she exclaimed, brandishing the captured goblin. “Are you still going to persist it’s not your doing now that I’ve caught you red-handed?”
“Technically, I did not do it,” the Goblin King replied, paying an unusually close attention to his fingernails. “You can’t possibly expect me to be responsible for all my minions’ antics.”
Sarah pursed her lips, not finding any remark good enough to snap back with. She put the goblin on the table and held out her hand.
“Give,” she snarled. The goblin looked up at her and shook his ugly head with a brief shrug.
“You know what I’m talking about,” Sarah lowered her hand, urging. Goblin took a step back, his big eyes wide open and fixed on her.
“Come on,” Jareth waved his hand impatiently, “just give it.” The goblin looked back at his master, raising his bushy eyebrows and stretching his wrinkled snout in confusion. Then, he dug in his rags for a while and pulled out an M. He set it timidly on Sarah’s outstretched hand and jumped off the table, mumbling something in a low and squeaky voice.
“Now, where’s the rest?” Sarah looked around and saw the other two goblins climbing up the table legs onto the top. They left the stolen tiles and fled in a hurry. Sarah raised her eyes. Jareth spread himself on the couch with an irksomely smug smile on his lips.
“Shall we continue?” he asked as if nothing had happened. Sarah clenched her fists and looked as her opponent put out his next word.
“Glunkish? There is no such word! You can only use words that exist,” she burst out and performed a painful headdesk that caused all the letters on the board to bob a little. “Why are you being so malicious?” she groaned.
“Malicious?” the Goblin King sounded genuinely puzzled. “I’m not being malicious! Look, I honestly do want to learn to play Scrabble and I really appreciate that you have agreed to spend your time showing it to me,” he said so softly that Sarah raised her head and stared at him in shock. “But come on, a game in which you have to stick to the rules? And they don’t even change as you play? Seriously? I have no idea how you and your folks can find something like that entertaining,” Jareth rested his head on his hand and looked at Sarah. “I only wanted to spice it up. I’m sorry if it made you upset.”
Sarah blinked very quickly. Then she felt something she really, really didn’t want to feel - a blush crawling up her neck, reaching to her cheeks with its hot red fingers. She cleared her throat and examined her rack.
“Can we go on?” she mumbled, still avoiding Jareth’s eyes. The Goblin King smirked and bowed his head courtly.
“But of course. Especially that it is still my turn. Let me see,” he clasped his hands, putting the thumbs to his mouth and squinting his eyes pensively. “Ha! Here I go. And I’ll make it proper this time,” he sent Sarah a solemn glance. He picked out the letters and carefully placed them on the board.
“Generous… Seems like we have the winner,” he commented not without a good dose of self‑satisfaction. Sarah glared at him.
“What?” the Goblin King raised his hands in a defensive gesture. From behind him bounced a tiny goblin lugging a pen and a notepad, both considerably bigger than himself. Sarah’s jaw dropped.
“All this time… You were…” She put her hand to her forehead. “And I’ve just thought that for once you…”
“I’ve counted only the fair moves,” Jareth tried to explain himself. “It’s all by the rules, Sarah. You don’t like them now?”
“You just couldn’t resist to blow up your ego, could you? We were not playing for points!” snapped Sarah through gritted teeth.
“Of course we were, just look,” Jareth laughed and pushed the notepad with the goblin in her direction. “Granted, you were not aware of it, but still…”
“Get out, Jareth,” said Sarah wearily and slammed the board closed. The tiles sprinkled in all directions. The Goblin King’s face turned serious in one second. He grabbed the goblin from the table and stood up.
“As you wish, Sarah. It was a pleasure to play with you,” he said in a gravely tone. “I am looking forward to repeating it. Hopefully, both of us will learn how to play it until then,” he added before vanishing in a puff of glitter.
Sarah sat up motionless for a while. Then, she framed her face with her hands and looked at the scattered tiles before her.
Damn.