Persephone: The Sequel to The Labyrinth

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Outside the walls of her prison, the battle raged. Sarah could hear the shouting of what she presumed were soldiers. She also could hear what sounded very much like waves crashing. Around her the walls rumbled as they were hit. Vaguely she remembered what the Goblin Army had used as she was finishing her run of the Labyrinth. Of course Ludo could have come and she was hearing rocks attacking the castle. Slowly Sarah edged herself closer to the door, as she thought that it was on the strongest door. Also the sounds of the battle weren't as loud on that side of the room.

Sarah didn't know how long the battle had been going on. She had no way of knowing who was winning or where the attacks were coming from. All she wanted was to get out of where she was and find Jareth. What was taking him so long? Where was he?

Suddenly the door opened and a dark haired woman appeared in the doorway. She looked around the room until her eyes settled on Sarah. Sarah had not seen her face in years.

"Mom?"

Helen of Troy, Sparta, Linda Williams, smiled at her daughter. "I finally found you." She moved closer to Sarah. "Well come on. Do you want to stay here?"

Sarah shook her head. "No."

Helen gestured to the door. "Then come on. I don't want to be on this side of the Castle with Triton attacking."

Sarah looked at her. "Triton?"

Helen grabbed hold of Sarah's arm. "No time." She began to drag her daughter out of the room. "We need to stay out of the way and hope Melanion or Achilles don't notice us or the fact you're not in here anymore."

Slowly Helen led Sarah down flight after flight of stairs. Sarah watched her mother's back as she led her down.

"Why did you leave?"

Helen looked back over her shoulder. "I had no choice. Either I left and came back here or Achilles would have harmed you."

"What?"

Helen turned back to watching where she was going. "Not everyone knows that. He threatened to harm you if I refused to come back. The man does not like hearing the word no."

"He's the one you left with, isn't he?"

Helen sighed. "Yes. Sarah, now is not the time. I promise I'll explain everything."

Finally Sarah assumed they had reached at least the main part of the castle. Helen and she kept to the walls and slowly crept along. Soldiers rushed past, but most paid them no heed. Sarah had no idea where her mother was taking her. Helen would glance one way and then another.

Sarah glanced as well. "Where are we going?"

Helen glanced back at her. "I'm trying to figure out somewhere to hide that's safe from both the battle and from us being discovered by Achilles or Melanion."

"Where are they?"

"Probably in the throne room, which means we need to stay as far from it as we can."

Helen suddenly opened a door that she stood next to. "In here."

Sarah walked into the small room. She turned as her mother entered. "Where are we?"

Helen gently shut the door. "We're deep inside the castle. We should be safe from the battle, but if those two find us, we can only hope the Goblin King shows up in time."

XOXOX

Jareth remained on his mount as his and the other armies used their siege weapons on the High Castle. The walls were still holding, but even from this distance, he could see the soldiers were retreating. He would have smiled if he hadn't been so worried about Sarah. Absent-mindedly Jareth conjured a crystal and peered inside. Slowly Sarah appeared with an older woman. He knew it was Helen and she was still not under any Godly powers. He could not tell where they were except that Sarah was no longer in the tower. He could only hope his stepfather and/or half brother would not find her.