Shhh, we're hunting Goblins. XD
Posting for Fox, feel free to disregard this. :D
Sakura let the door close behind her as she kicked off her shoes a bit harder than was necessary. Her parents wouldn't be home from work for another two hours at least, so there was no one to see how flushed her face was from holding back tears.
Well, no one but the cat, at least. She set out a dish of food for the lazy feline on her way through to raiding the fridge, then settled for locking herself in her room and not coming out until maybe sometime next year. She really should have known better than to ask Sasuke to be her partner at the prom. He'd never really warmed up to her--or anyone else. Ever. But when she closed the door of her room and made the mistake of looking up at the dress her grandmother had made her, she had to bite her tongue to keep from bursting into tears all over again.
He'd only turned her down in front of most of their class, that's all.
But it was probably his last comment that had hit the worst, compounded with that of one of the other boys in the class. It was one thing to be called annoying, it was an entirely new type of cruelty to tell her she was so ugly no one would ever consider wanting to take her to the prom.
Stupid Sasuke, and that jerk Sai didn't help either! She tossed her book bag in the corner in a fit of temper and threw herself onto her bed, only to jerk upright as she landed on something hard. Pulling the lump out from under her, she looked at the worn leather-bound book with curiosity. It was a book she'd often seen at her grandmother's, but she'd never been allowed to look inside. Taking a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, she cracked it open, fingering the parchement pages as the smell of old ink and paper filled the air. Maybe, she'd read only a little bit, just this once. It couldn't hurt, after all...
Neji slammed the door behind him and practically threw his shoes at the wall, cracking it's mirroresque surface. The empty castle around him shook at his state, and he listened to the rattling of stones wishing nothing more than to just collapse on the floor and beat the floor to dust.
He rubbed his temples slowly, as he tried to calm his temper, moving through the halls to his personal chambers. He curled up on his bed, a great, hulking thing covered in only the finest of silks and satins, all black and blue and silver. His white cape rustled as he rolled to his back, staring at the ever changing illusion of stars on his ceiling.
He could not believe how those blasted elves and fairies had laughed at him. He knew goblins were considered the lowest rank among magic. Dirty, disgusting even. But they were his domain, and his friends. How dare those women insult them?
He so hated balls, masquerades and parties. He hated mingling with the magic realm's leaders and their snotty children. Yes, children. They all had no finesse, no responsibilities. They let their sires do their weight of work, and were carefree and frivolous. His own parents were long gone and it was whispered about when he wasn't around he knew.
But that didn't matter. He was the goblin king, and he was lord and ruler of a land no one took seriously but everyone wanted. Only because it meant they would have him. He looked at the wall, feeling something drop to his chest. A book, thickly bound in hide and written in silver ink lay open for him.
It was one of his father's books, he realized, and did not question why the magic had brought it to him. He had't been allowed to touch them in his lifetime, but now they belonged to him. So he opened it, smelling the fresh scent of new paper, and began to read the bold black print.
When Sakura found herself in a garden that looked nothing like any of the garden's she'd ever seen, she didn't actually find it odd. She probably should have, but it didn't really seem to matter at all. The last thing she'd remembered was reading the book, she hadn't gotten very far, only a few pages. Something about the main female character walking down a pathway into an enchanted garden and meeting her true love in disguise or something like that. The vague recollection that she'd wished to be that girl flitted through her head, but Sakura was disregarding that for a more puzzling find.
Somehow she'd managed to get her shoes back on. Yet, as strange as this was, it too, was lazily disregarded. The air was warm, and comfortable, and as Sakura leaned back to rest against the tree she found herself sitting under, she wasn't the only person in the garden.
Not even a stone's toss away was a young man, his long dark hair framed his face neatly, his features stood out in their elegance in the haze of the garden. In his lap was an old, leather-bound book that was open, the pages filled with an elegant, flowing script. He was clothed all in white, his clothes well-fitted and very expensive-looking, their outlandish extravagance seeming very natural. In fact, Sakura felt more concerned about the fact that he might be accidentally ruining his clothes by sitting on the grass than the fact that his outfit would have usually been considered ridiculous.
As she reached out to touch his shoulder, she paused, her hand hovering in midair. He was very handsome, and she was hesitant to wake him. That and she felt more than just a little bit awkward, her clothes, which seemed trendy in her usual surroundings, now felt plain and clumsy here in the garden, and especially next to him.
His breath was gentle and even, and she could hear it as the rythmn changed. A sigh escaped through his nose as he suddenly moved-- the garden, which had been frozen like ice burst into life. The pale blooms exploded into a rainbow array of colors, as though wanting to look their very best for the boy.
Pale eyes, white as snow fluttered open, the edges tinged in pale lilac while silver pinpricked where his pupils should have been.
He focused that strange, blind-but-not gaze upon her, and he reached out to touch her fingertips with his own. They froze together that way, and he sat up without so much as a sound.
"You..." He said, voice low and strangely accented. The flowers were shivering around them, making strange noises like the tinkling of tiny bells. "You are sitting on my cape." He said at last.
"Ah, sorry!" Sakura shifted, terribly embarrassed. Oh, way to go, forehead. Her cheeks flushed the color of her hair, and she found herself studying her shoes intently.
He slowly inspected his cape for any stain-- finding none he let it drift back to the ground and covered his mouth as he gave a small yawn. He was so tired, as though he had cast a large spell. The girl beside him was still there, waiting for something and staring at her ridiculous shoes.
"Who are you?" He realized he did not know her. She was not a goblin, and he was beginning to get annoyed. He'd had enough fairies and only fairies would make their glamor look so weird. Who else would have pink hair?
"Me?" Sakura blinked up at him, pale green eyes wide. As soon as the word was out of her mouth, she could've kicked herself. Who else could he be talking to? Why do I always make myself look so stupid? Even in my own dreams, how dumb is that? She blushed harder, hugging her knees as she stared at the ground, only looking up to answer him. "My name's Sakura."
A flower name, that did it. She was fairie. He stood up, aggitated. It wasn't her fault that he'd been grabbed at and taunted and pestered all day by stupid faye, but she was one of them and it made him angry she dared to come to his gardens. His book hit a muddy spot and he made a vexed noise, plucking the ruined item up.
"What are you doing in my garden, wearing such ridiculous rags and trespassing my lands?" He added the personal touch just for spite's sake. Fairies always took care in their appearence and while he thought the clothes were actually quite...nice... he knew the fastest way to get rid of her was to insult her garments.
"Your garden?" Sakura paled, then flushed with anger. Making sure to keep her temper firmly in check, she did her best not to snap. "I didn't know, I just woke up here." Standing, she brushed the dirt off her pants as best she could. Taking in a good look of the plants around them, she suddenly felt the beginning of nagging worry.
"I don't even know where 'here' is..." Although this last was more of a spoken thought, and it looked as though Sakura hadn't even realized she'd spoken it aloud.
He had no dirt on him, nor grass stain. He seem untouched by the world around them, but so perfect inside it. The entire world seemed like it was inside one small glass globe, keeping them sheltered from the outside. It was very familar to Sakura at the same time alien, as though she had once seen this place from the outside.
(the garden is a snow globe her grandmother bought her.)
He turned to her, his hair gliding through the air like it was in water. She'd never seen such beautiful hair in all her life, not even on a woman much less a man. He was no happy.
"Do not lie, you wretched thing. I suppose you will try to get me to believe you don't even know who I am... Begone with you, ugly thing."
Sakura bristled and felt something snap after the long and crappy day she'd had. "Look mister, I don't know or care who you are, and I don't know where you get off on talking to people like that, but you can just kiss my ass for all I care!" She spun on her heel and stormed off. Or at least tried to, then found herself furiously scanning the foliage for an escape.
"How the hell do I get out of here, anyhow?" She was seething. Who gave these jerks the right to talk to her like that? She wasn't that bad looking...was she? She shook her head, forcing herself not to think about it as it would only make her more upset. She had to focus on leaving, not wallow in her own self-pity.
He drew back at her outburst-- he was use to people yelling at him. But he was not use to people have THAT sort of ferocity backing it. Something in her voice, her eyes, in her being paved his spine in ice and forced him to take a step back. After several moments of frozen shock, he finally thawed and let red fill his vision.
"Get out? Get out?! No, you won't be getting out of here, not yet. LABYRINTH!" He shouted, throwing a crystal ball past her head, shattering it against the wall of flowers. The ground trembled, and rocks began to tear out of the earth beneath them, covering her vision of the flowers and shadowing her in their stony heights. The rocks formed walls, forboding and moist with moss. Behind her the strange man seethed.
"You should care who I am, you damned fairy. I am Neji, Goblin King and I am SICK of you faye folk and bloody elves pestering me! You've three days to get through my labyrinth-- if you fail you'll become one of my goblins, one of the ugliest in the kingdom!" He suddenly twirled his cape, and a white owl flew past her, screeching angrily. He was gone before she could even ask what would happen should she make her way through this...labyrinth.
She screamed and ducked as he threw something at her, shying away from the broken shards as she threw up her arms to protect her face. Letting them fall as she took in her new surroundings with growing horror. He called her a...a fairy? Three days to get through his what? Turn her into a goblin?
"Wait, what?!" But it was too late, her indignant cry echoed forlornly off the stone walls, much too high to bother climbing. Sakura stared down the walkway with open dismay. Her day just couldn't get any better, could it? Seeing no escape from her new prison, Sakura took in both direction's seemingly endless lengths, before simply setting off aimlessly in bitter resignation.
Neji brooded when he was depressed. Brooding led to many a squished goblin and thankfully his servants knew when he was depressed. They left him alone well into the evening, even neglecting to bring him a meal for his supper. Not that it mattered to him. He was not hungry.
Below his window balcony was a pond, and he dropped crystals into it, watching them rippling the surface like raindrops. He should have forgotten about that girl, she'd be a goblin soon enough, but he couldn't help it. Something about her set him off, made him uneasy.
He hadn't been frightened since he was a babe and had first arrived in the world as a changeling. He shivered, involuntarily. He hated thinking about those times and she brought up unplesant memories.
He broke the last crystal he had on him, watching it's dust blow in the wind.
With a soft breeze came the sound of laughter not unlike the tinkling of silver bells, the crystal dust swirling in the air as the high faye princess fluttered in midair, leaning to rest her elbows on his balcony rail, golden hair wafting in the breeze created by her wings.
"I must say, your highness, that was an excellent show today. I do believe you scared that human girl senseless with your show of temper. Bravo." She clapped, her delicate hands shone pale in the waning light, her eyes and lips showed a malicious mirth as she watched him. "Are you really planning to turn her into one of your goblins? Oh, do let me be there for it, won't you?"
He stared at her, blankly, her words sinking into his skull. Human... girl? That had been a human girl? He shuddered, inwardly. What on earth was a human girl doing here of all places? She was too old to be a changling, too young to be a silly old geezer who had fallen back into the mind of a child and had the goblins take pity on them and bring them to his land of forever. Leaning back off the balcony he turned and marched back inside, perplexed beneath that stony face of his.
"Go away Ino." He ordered. "You have no power over me here." And with that he slammed the door on her.
"How rude!" Ino pouted at the closed door, scowling fiercely. Then the thought came to her, and she smirked, disappearing in a flutter of fairy silks and iridescent wings.
Sakura found herself at the end of the day no further along than when she first started. Having curled up in the shadow of one of the oppressively high walls, Sakura hugged her knees to her chest and was seriously considering having a good cry to vent her frustration at her current circumstances.
"Tsk, tsk, what is this? You've been here from ages and you're still at the outer wall?" The voice was so familiar, Sakura looked up, momentarily forgetting her worry as she took in the sight of a blonde girl dressed in a gown that seemed to move on its own. Blue eyes regarded her critically for a moment, before she smiled. "I suppose that's why I'm here to help. Come with me, I'll show you a secret."
Before Sakura had time to protest, she found that the girl had grabbed her by the wrist and was literally dragging her off.
Sasuke found his body protested bending to the ground, which he thought was ridiculous. He was short already, what should his body care if he was giving it a few scant inches less of height? He cracked his aching back, scowling the feeling of lumpy muscles beneath his blue vest. The bucket at his feet was laden with water, adding more aches to his body.
"Damn fairies, drinking all the fountains!" He grumbled, pouring his bucket into the bird bath mortared into the labyrinth wall. He really hated fairies, just about as much as he hated goblins. The birds would have starved without him thanks to them.
A little blue bird plopped onto his head, making a nice perch of his leather cap. The birds loved him at least, even if no one else in this stinking cesspit did.
"Why Sasuke! Is that the way you speak in front of royalty? Hmph, I should think you would've learned after what his highness did to you." Ino dropped Sakura to the ground, making a display of dusting off her hands while Sakura scrambled to her feet and knocked the dirt off her pants. "I should think you would have at least learned to hold your tongue."
"Oh hush up you!" Sasuke squinted, as the bird took flight. He only realized too late it had left a nice pile of excrement on his hat, dribbling down his neck. Disgusted he kicked the empty bucket. See if he filled the bird baths again!
Ino laughed, a hand daintily covering her mouth as her obnoxious laughter only grew louder. Looking around at what seemed to be little more than a desert surrounded by walls, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the faye. "Alright, so how is this supposed to help me get through the labyrinth? I don't even know where this is!"
Ino waved her off, her nose wrinkling in displeasure. "That's why I'm leaving you with him." She waved her hand dismissively in Sasuke's direction. "He's going to help you, as I have more interesting things to do. Have fun, human."
And with a wave of her painted nails, Ino was gone, leaving a very annoyed Sakura glaring at empty air.
"Him" Did not in the least seem upset. He merely picked up his bucket and began to shuffle along one of the sand blasted walls, pressing a stone. It opened a doorway and he stepped inside, ready to leave her to the scorch and heat of the sun that burned away all shadows of the labyrinth away.
Sakura, not one to be left alone to rot, hurried after him. How much time she had left, she wasn't sure, but didn't want to take any chances. She followed her guide, finding at least some hope in her future now that she wasn't wandering around lost. "Okay, I honestly have no way of telling time here, but please tell me you can get me through this thing in two days."
The goblin startled, unaware she'd followed him. He looked back at her and then did something unexpected. He ran.
"What the--? Hey, wait!" She took off after him, glad for once for all the running they'd had to do in gym. She wasn't the fastest, but she had a longer stride than he did.
"AGCHK!" He went down, tripping over a root. He began to tumble, in a round ball, bouncing down the slope as the began to enter a wide portion of the labyrinth with actual greenery. He landed in a mud puddle, laying out flat like a starfish, panting. "Owwwwwww!" He creakily sat up, holding his aching back. "Damn you, what are you doing here?? Shoo! Go away! Leave me be!"
"Look," Sakura planted her hands on her hips, glaring down at him crossly. "I don't want to be here either! That fairy dropped me off back there and said you'd help me, so are you going to help me or not?" After a moment she looked around, frown still firmly in place. "What is it with people around here, anyway..."
"Oh she did that, did she? Well if Lord Neji put you here like he does anyone else that pisses him off, I'd be in deeper birdshit for helping you than if I disobey that fairy witch." He hobbled down the slope, grumbling. "What do I look like, a fairygodmother or something? No I'm just a arithitic old hobgoblin, thanks to that fruity-no-good-too-tight-leggings bastard…"
"Yes, well, I doubt he'd come after you first, since she was the first one to help me and he seems to have some thing against fairies." Sakura huffed as she jogged after him, shoving her bangs out of her eyes. "Considering he seems to have mistaken me for one. Or at least that's the reason I think he put me here."
And if she thought this was strange at all, she certainly didn't show it.
"You? You're a human. Any idiot can see that. He must be getting old." Sasuke's tongue was lose, and he didn't seem to mind her following him anymore at least. He padded along the grassy ground, hands tucked behind his back like an old man. His long pointed ears wiggled as he walked.
"I suppose you have a point but what's in it for me? I'm assuming he told you you have three days to get through the labyrinth or you'll get turned into a goblin. Blah blah blah same old crap he pulled on me."
"You mean he's serious?" Sakura stopped walking, looking rather pale. "This is complete tripe!" Taking a deep breath, she sighed, then moved to catch up again. "I don't exactly have anything valuable on me, but I'd be more than happy to help you with anything if you'll help me."
"Can you change me back?" He wasn't serious but it was all that he wanted. "I couldn't make it through the labyrinth but I can take you as far as I got... If you manage to get through the labyrinth, before time is up, he's forced by magic law to grant you three wishes."
"Three wishes?" Sakura blinked, thinking hard. "That should be pretty easy...the only thing I really want is to get home. So sure, I can ask him to change you back, no problem." She shrugged, smiling. This wouldn't be so bad, after all!
"Good!" He grinned toothily at her. His eyes were perhaps the only attractive thing about him-- they were endless pools of charcoal, with garnet flashes when the light hit them. Scratch that. They were a little creepy. Especially when he led her into a maze of tunnels and his eyes glowed red in the dark. "My name's Sasuke. What's yours?"
"Sakura." It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and then she wished they hadn't. There were some things...or hints of things in the tunnels that she really didn't want to think about. "Haruno Sakura. Pleased to meet you, Sasuke."
"Sakura? Why's that name familar?" He wondered aloud, before coming to a stop. Candles burned ahead of them and he held out both stubby arms to stop her. "Shh.... Get down. Redcaps!" Along the wall they could see hulking bodies ambling towards them, weilding axes and spears quite frightening. When they ducked behind a large rock, the redcapped monsters turned the bend, carrying what looked to be a yellow fox and a dog tied to along pole.
"P-Put me down! I'm not tasty!" The fox yelped. The dog only barked in agreement, both frightened.
Sasuke was bone still behind the rock, shivering. The monsters smelled of blood, their caps dyed in it.
"Oh my God." Sakura hissed, one hand clamped over her mouth to keep out the smell. It wasn't too hard to figure out what would happen to the fox or the dog. "Someone needs to help them." Already she was looking for something she could use as a weapon. It wasn't like anyone else was going to jump in and save the day, after all.
"Are you crazy?" Sasuke hissed, below his breath. Luckily they were downwind of the unseelie, and they were almost out of earshot. "It's too late. Too many of them. We'd be skinned for leggings!"
"HeEeEeEeeeeeelp!!" The little fox cried.
"Can't you use magic, too?" Sakura scowled at him, then eyed the retreating forms. "There's got to be something we can do, I'm not just going to sit here and let them kill the poor things. And if you don't like it, then you can stay here. I'm pretty sure I'd like a quick death compared to being turned into something I'm not."
Sasuke grumbled. "I did. Not anymore. Besides, he probably deserved it."
"How can you say that?" Sakura rounded on him, her eyes blazing even in the darkness. "No one deserves to be slaughtered like that!" Then she was rising, racing down the corridor on silent feet to attack the Red Caps.
Sakura let the door close behind her as she kicked off her shoes a bit harder than was necessary. Her parents wouldn't be home from work for another two hours at least, so there was no one to see how flushed her face was from holding back tears.
Well, no one but the cat, at least. She set out a dish of food for the lazy feline on her way through to raiding the fridge, then settled for locking herself in her room and not coming out until maybe sometime next year. She really should have known better than to ask Sasuke to be her partner at the prom. He'd never really warmed up to her--or anyone else. Ever. But when she closed the door of her room and made the mistake of looking up at the dress her grandmother had made her, she had to bite her tongue to keep from bursting into tears all over again.
He'd only turned her down in front of most of their class, that's all.
But it was probably his last comment that had hit the worst, compounded with that of one of the other boys in the class. It was one thing to be called annoying, it was an entirely new type of cruelty to tell her she was so ugly no one would ever consider wanting to take her to the prom.
Stupid Sasuke, and that jerk Sai didn't help either! She tossed her book bag in the corner in a fit of temper and threw herself onto her bed, only to jerk upright as she landed on something hard. Pulling the lump out from under her, she looked at the worn leather-bound book with curiosity. It was a book she'd often seen at her grandmother's, but she'd never been allowed to look inside. Taking a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, she cracked it open, fingering the parchement pages as the smell of old ink and paper filled the air. Maybe, she'd read only a little bit, just this once. It couldn't hurt, after all...
Neji slammed the door behind him and practically threw his shoes at the wall, cracking it's mirroresque surface. The empty castle around him shook at his state, and he listened to the rattling of stones wishing nothing more than to just collapse on the floor and beat the floor to dust.
He rubbed his temples slowly, as he tried to calm his temper, moving through the halls to his personal chambers. He curled up on his bed, a great, hulking thing covered in only the finest of silks and satins, all black and blue and silver. His white cape rustled as he rolled to his back, staring at the ever changing illusion of stars on his ceiling.
He could not believe how those blasted elves and fairies had laughed at him. He knew goblins were considered the lowest rank among magic. Dirty, disgusting even. But they were his domain, and his friends. How dare those women insult them?
He so hated balls, masquerades and parties. He hated mingling with the magic realm's leaders and their snotty children. Yes, children. They all had no finesse, no responsibilities. They let their sires do their weight of work, and were carefree and frivolous. His own parents were long gone and it was whispered about when he wasn't around he knew.
But that didn't matter. He was the goblin king, and he was lord and ruler of a land no one took seriously but everyone wanted. Only because it meant they would have him. He looked at the wall, feeling something drop to his chest. A book, thickly bound in hide and written in silver ink lay open for him.
It was one of his father's books, he realized, and did not question why the magic had brought it to him. He had't been allowed to touch them in his lifetime, but now they belonged to him. So he opened it, smelling the fresh scent of new paper, and began to read the bold black print.
When Sakura found herself in a garden that looked nothing like any of the garden's she'd ever seen, she didn't actually find it odd. She probably should have, but it didn't really seem to matter at all. The last thing she'd remembered was reading the book, she hadn't gotten very far, only a few pages. Something about the main female character walking down a pathway into an enchanted garden and meeting her true love in disguise or something like that. The vague recollection that she'd wished to be that girl flitted through her head, but Sakura was disregarding that for a more puzzling find.
Somehow she'd managed to get her shoes back on. Yet, as strange as this was, it too, was lazily disregarded. The air was warm, and comfortable, and as Sakura leaned back to rest against the tree she found herself sitting under, she wasn't the only person in the garden.
Not even a stone's toss away was a young man, his long dark hair framed his face neatly, his features stood out in their elegance in the haze of the garden. In his lap was an old, leather-bound book that was open, the pages filled with an elegant, flowing script. He was clothed all in white, his clothes well-fitted and very expensive-looking, their outlandish extravagance seeming very natural. In fact, Sakura felt more concerned about the fact that he might be accidentally ruining his clothes by sitting on the grass than the fact that his outfit would have usually been considered ridiculous.
As she reached out to touch his shoulder, she paused, her hand hovering in midair. He was very handsome, and she was hesitant to wake him. That and she felt more than just a little bit awkward, her clothes, which seemed trendy in her usual surroundings, now felt plain and clumsy here in the garden, and especially next to him.
His breath was gentle and even, and she could hear it as the rythmn changed. A sigh escaped through his nose as he suddenly moved-- the garden, which had been frozen like ice burst into life. The pale blooms exploded into a rainbow array of colors, as though wanting to look their very best for the boy.
Pale eyes, white as snow fluttered open, the edges tinged in pale lilac while silver pinpricked where his pupils should have been.
He focused that strange, blind-but-not gaze upon her, and he reached out to touch her fingertips with his own. They froze together that way, and he sat up without so much as a sound.
"You..." He said, voice low and strangely accented. The flowers were shivering around them, making strange noises like the tinkling of tiny bells. "You are sitting on my cape." He said at last.
"Ah, sorry!" Sakura shifted, terribly embarrassed. Oh, way to go, forehead. Her cheeks flushed the color of her hair, and she found herself studying her shoes intently.
He slowly inspected his cape for any stain-- finding none he let it drift back to the ground and covered his mouth as he gave a small yawn. He was so tired, as though he had cast a large spell. The girl beside him was still there, waiting for something and staring at her ridiculous shoes.
"Who are you?" He realized he did not know her. She was not a goblin, and he was beginning to get annoyed. He'd had enough fairies and only fairies would make their glamor look so weird. Who else would have pink hair?
"Me?" Sakura blinked up at him, pale green eyes wide. As soon as the word was out of her mouth, she could've kicked herself. Who else could he be talking to? Why do I always make myself look so stupid? Even in my own dreams, how dumb is that? She blushed harder, hugging her knees as she stared at the ground, only looking up to answer him. "My name's Sakura."
A flower name, that did it. She was fairie. He stood up, aggitated. It wasn't her fault that he'd been grabbed at and taunted and pestered all day by stupid faye, but she was one of them and it made him angry she dared to come to his gardens. His book hit a muddy spot and he made a vexed noise, plucking the ruined item up.
"What are you doing in my garden, wearing such ridiculous rags and trespassing my lands?" He added the personal touch just for spite's sake. Fairies always took care in their appearence and while he thought the clothes were actually quite...nice... he knew the fastest way to get rid of her was to insult her garments.
"Your garden?" Sakura paled, then flushed with anger. Making sure to keep her temper firmly in check, she did her best not to snap. "I didn't know, I just woke up here." Standing, she brushed the dirt off her pants as best she could. Taking in a good look of the plants around them, she suddenly felt the beginning of nagging worry.
"I don't even know where 'here' is..." Although this last was more of a spoken thought, and it looked as though Sakura hadn't even realized she'd spoken it aloud.
He had no dirt on him, nor grass stain. He seem untouched by the world around them, but so perfect inside it. The entire world seemed like it was inside one small glass globe, keeping them sheltered from the outside. It was very familar to Sakura at the same time alien, as though she had once seen this place from the outside.
(the garden is a snow globe her grandmother bought her.)
He turned to her, his hair gliding through the air like it was in water. She'd never seen such beautiful hair in all her life, not even on a woman much less a man. He was no happy.
"Do not lie, you wretched thing. I suppose you will try to get me to believe you don't even know who I am... Begone with you, ugly thing."
Sakura bristled and felt something snap after the long and crappy day she'd had. "Look mister, I don't know or care who you are, and I don't know where you get off on talking to people like that, but you can just kiss my ass for all I care!" She spun on her heel and stormed off. Or at least tried to, then found herself furiously scanning the foliage for an escape.
"How the hell do I get out of here, anyhow?" She was seething. Who gave these jerks the right to talk to her like that? She wasn't that bad looking...was she? She shook her head, forcing herself not to think about it as it would only make her more upset. She had to focus on leaving, not wallow in her own self-pity.
He drew back at her outburst-- he was use to people yelling at him. But he was not use to people have THAT sort of ferocity backing it. Something in her voice, her eyes, in her being paved his spine in ice and forced him to take a step back. After several moments of frozen shock, he finally thawed and let red fill his vision.
"Get out? Get out?! No, you won't be getting out of here, not yet. LABYRINTH!" He shouted, throwing a crystal ball past her head, shattering it against the wall of flowers. The ground trembled, and rocks began to tear out of the earth beneath them, covering her vision of the flowers and shadowing her in their stony heights. The rocks formed walls, forboding and moist with moss. Behind her the strange man seethed.
"You should care who I am, you damned fairy. I am Neji, Goblin King and I am SICK of you faye folk and bloody elves pestering me! You've three days to get through my labyrinth-- if you fail you'll become one of my goblins, one of the ugliest in the kingdom!" He suddenly twirled his cape, and a white owl flew past her, screeching angrily. He was gone before she could even ask what would happen should she make her way through this...labyrinth.
She screamed and ducked as he threw something at her, shying away from the broken shards as she threw up her arms to protect her face. Letting them fall as she took in her new surroundings with growing horror. He called her a...a fairy? Three days to get through his what? Turn her into a goblin?
"Wait, what?!" But it was too late, her indignant cry echoed forlornly off the stone walls, much too high to bother climbing. Sakura stared down the walkway with open dismay. Her day just couldn't get any better, could it? Seeing no escape from her new prison, Sakura took in both direction's seemingly endless lengths, before simply setting off aimlessly in bitter resignation.
Neji brooded when he was depressed. Brooding led to many a squished goblin and thankfully his servants knew when he was depressed. They left him alone well into the evening, even neglecting to bring him a meal for his supper. Not that it mattered to him. He was not hungry.
Below his window balcony was a pond, and he dropped crystals into it, watching them rippling the surface like raindrops. He should have forgotten about that girl, she'd be a goblin soon enough, but he couldn't help it. Something about her set him off, made him uneasy.
He hadn't been frightened since he was a babe and had first arrived in the world as a changeling. He shivered, involuntarily. He hated thinking about those times and she brought up unplesant memories.
He broke the last crystal he had on him, watching it's dust blow in the wind.
With a soft breeze came the sound of laughter not unlike the tinkling of silver bells, the crystal dust swirling in the air as the high faye princess fluttered in midair, leaning to rest her elbows on his balcony rail, golden hair wafting in the breeze created by her wings.
"I must say, your highness, that was an excellent show today. I do believe you scared that human girl senseless with your show of temper. Bravo." She clapped, her delicate hands shone pale in the waning light, her eyes and lips showed a malicious mirth as she watched him. "Are you really planning to turn her into one of your goblins? Oh, do let me be there for it, won't you?"
He stared at her, blankly, her words sinking into his skull. Human... girl? That had been a human girl? He shuddered, inwardly. What on earth was a human girl doing here of all places? She was too old to be a changling, too young to be a silly old geezer who had fallen back into the mind of a child and had the goblins take pity on them and bring them to his land of forever. Leaning back off the balcony he turned and marched back inside, perplexed beneath that stony face of his.
"Go away Ino." He ordered. "You have no power over me here." And with that he slammed the door on her.
"How rude!" Ino pouted at the closed door, scowling fiercely. Then the thought came to her, and she smirked, disappearing in a flutter of fairy silks and iridescent wings.
Sakura found herself at the end of the day no further along than when she first started. Having curled up in the shadow of one of the oppressively high walls, Sakura hugged her knees to her chest and was seriously considering having a good cry to vent her frustration at her current circumstances.
"Tsk, tsk, what is this? You've been here from ages and you're still at the outer wall?" The voice was so familiar, Sakura looked up, momentarily forgetting her worry as she took in the sight of a blonde girl dressed in a gown that seemed to move on its own. Blue eyes regarded her critically for a moment, before she smiled. "I suppose that's why I'm here to help. Come with me, I'll show you a secret."
Before Sakura had time to protest, she found that the girl had grabbed her by the wrist and was literally dragging her off.
Sasuke found his body protested bending to the ground, which he thought was ridiculous. He was short already, what should his body care if he was giving it a few scant inches less of height? He cracked his aching back, scowling the feeling of lumpy muscles beneath his blue vest. The bucket at his feet was laden with water, adding more aches to his body.
"Damn fairies, drinking all the fountains!" He grumbled, pouring his bucket into the bird bath mortared into the labyrinth wall. He really hated fairies, just about as much as he hated goblins. The birds would have starved without him thanks to them.
A little blue bird plopped onto his head, making a nice perch of his leather cap. The birds loved him at least, even if no one else in this stinking cesspit did.
"Why Sasuke! Is that the way you speak in front of royalty? Hmph, I should think you would've learned after what his highness did to you." Ino dropped Sakura to the ground, making a display of dusting off her hands while Sakura scrambled to her feet and knocked the dirt off her pants. "I should think you would have at least learned to hold your tongue."
"Oh hush up you!" Sasuke squinted, as the bird took flight. He only realized too late it had left a nice pile of excrement on his hat, dribbling down his neck. Disgusted he kicked the empty bucket. See if he filled the bird baths again!
Ino laughed, a hand daintily covering her mouth as her obnoxious laughter only grew louder. Looking around at what seemed to be little more than a desert surrounded by walls, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the faye. "Alright, so how is this supposed to help me get through the labyrinth? I don't even know where this is!"
Ino waved her off, her nose wrinkling in displeasure. "That's why I'm leaving you with him." She waved her hand dismissively in Sasuke's direction. "He's going to help you, as I have more interesting things to do. Have fun, human."
And with a wave of her painted nails, Ino was gone, leaving a very annoyed Sakura glaring at empty air.
"Him" Did not in the least seem upset. He merely picked up his bucket and began to shuffle along one of the sand blasted walls, pressing a stone. It opened a doorway and he stepped inside, ready to leave her to the scorch and heat of the sun that burned away all shadows of the labyrinth away.
Sakura, not one to be left alone to rot, hurried after him. How much time she had left, she wasn't sure, but didn't want to take any chances. She followed her guide, finding at least some hope in her future now that she wasn't wandering around lost. "Okay, I honestly have no way of telling time here, but please tell me you can get me through this thing in two days."
The goblin startled, unaware she'd followed him. He looked back at her and then did something unexpected. He ran.
"What the--? Hey, wait!" She took off after him, glad for once for all the running they'd had to do in gym. She wasn't the fastest, but she had a longer stride than he did.
"AGCHK!" He went down, tripping over a root. He began to tumble, in a round ball, bouncing down the slope as the began to enter a wide portion of the labyrinth with actual greenery. He landed in a mud puddle, laying out flat like a starfish, panting. "Owwwwwww!" He creakily sat up, holding his aching back. "Damn you, what are you doing here?? Shoo! Go away! Leave me be!"
"Look," Sakura planted her hands on her hips, glaring down at him crossly. "I don't want to be here either! That fairy dropped me off back there and said you'd help me, so are you going to help me or not?" After a moment she looked around, frown still firmly in place. "What is it with people around here, anyway..."
"Oh she did that, did she? Well if Lord Neji put you here like he does anyone else that pisses him off, I'd be in deeper birdshit for helping you than if I disobey that fairy witch." He hobbled down the slope, grumbling. "What do I look like, a fairygodmother or something? No I'm just a arithitic old hobgoblin, thanks to that fruity-no-good-too-tight-leggings bastard…"
"Yes, well, I doubt he'd come after you first, since she was the first one to help me and he seems to have some thing against fairies." Sakura huffed as she jogged after him, shoving her bangs out of her eyes. "Considering he seems to have mistaken me for one. Or at least that's the reason I think he put me here."
And if she thought this was strange at all, she certainly didn't show it.
"You? You're a human. Any idiot can see that. He must be getting old." Sasuke's tongue was lose, and he didn't seem to mind her following him anymore at least. He padded along the grassy ground, hands tucked behind his back like an old man. His long pointed ears wiggled as he walked.
"I suppose you have a point but what's in it for me? I'm assuming he told you you have three days to get through the labyrinth or you'll get turned into a goblin. Blah blah blah same old crap he pulled on me."
"You mean he's serious?" Sakura stopped walking, looking rather pale. "This is complete tripe!" Taking a deep breath, she sighed, then moved to catch up again. "I don't exactly have anything valuable on me, but I'd be more than happy to help you with anything if you'll help me."
"Can you change me back?" He wasn't serious but it was all that he wanted. "I couldn't make it through the labyrinth but I can take you as far as I got... If you manage to get through the labyrinth, before time is up, he's forced by magic law to grant you three wishes."
"Three wishes?" Sakura blinked, thinking hard. "That should be pretty easy...the only thing I really want is to get home. So sure, I can ask him to change you back, no problem." She shrugged, smiling. This wouldn't be so bad, after all!
"Good!" He grinned toothily at her. His eyes were perhaps the only attractive thing about him-- they were endless pools of charcoal, with garnet flashes when the light hit them. Scratch that. They were a little creepy. Especially when he led her into a maze of tunnels and his eyes glowed red in the dark. "My name's Sasuke. What's yours?"
"Sakura." It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and then she wished they hadn't. There were some things...or hints of things in the tunnels that she really didn't want to think about. "Haruno Sakura. Pleased to meet you, Sasuke."
"Sakura? Why's that name familar?" He wondered aloud, before coming to a stop. Candles burned ahead of them and he held out both stubby arms to stop her. "Shh.... Get down. Redcaps!" Along the wall they could see hulking bodies ambling towards them, weilding axes and spears quite frightening. When they ducked behind a large rock, the redcapped monsters turned the bend, carrying what looked to be a yellow fox and a dog tied to along pole.
"P-Put me down! I'm not tasty!" The fox yelped. The dog only barked in agreement, both frightened.
Sasuke was bone still behind the rock, shivering. The monsters smelled of blood, their caps dyed in it.
"Oh my God." Sakura hissed, one hand clamped over her mouth to keep out the smell. It wasn't too hard to figure out what would happen to the fox or the dog. "Someone needs to help them." Already she was looking for something she could use as a weapon. It wasn't like anyone else was going to jump in and save the day, after all.
"Are you crazy?" Sasuke hissed, below his breath. Luckily they were downwind of the unseelie, and they were almost out of earshot. "It's too late. Too many of them. We'd be skinned for leggings!"
"HeEeEeEeeeeeelp!!" The little fox cried.
"Can't you use magic, too?" Sakura scowled at him, then eyed the retreating forms. "There's got to be something we can do, I'm not just going to sit here and let them kill the poor things. And if you don't like it, then you can stay here. I'm pretty sure I'd like a quick death compared to being turned into something I'm not."
Sasuke grumbled. "I did. Not anymore. Besides, he probably deserved it."
"How can you say that?" Sakura rounded on him, her eyes blazing even in the darkness. "No one deserves to be slaughtered like that!" Then she was rising, racing down the corridor on silent feet to attack the Red Caps.