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labyfic2024-06-03 12:55 pm
jalenstrix) wrote in labyfic2024-06-03 12:55 pm
Entry tags:
Drabble #160: Anticipation
...we had a nice response to my last posted drabble prompt of Drabble 157, with entries by
redwolf and me (one of your intrepid drabble proposers, jalenstrix), and commenting by us both as well as the terrific tojojo. Huzzah!As always, special labyfic love to
redwolf and tojojo for adding entries and comments for several previous drabble prompts. You guys are the best!For this prompt, we continue with our one-word/phrase drabble roots:
Anticipation
Anticipation of what? Or who? And who's doing the anticipating, anyway? Tell us all about it. Labyfic-style, of course.
Given our entries from recent months, let's continue with the suggested limit for this month of 500 words. Though remember that shorter pieces are most definitely welcome!
Your entry should take the following format, posted as a comment on this entry:
Word count: # of words
$your_beautiful_drabble
I'll aim to get the next drabble challenge out on the first Tuesday of next month (Jul 2).
I'm also very happy to take suggestions if something in particular strikes your fancy -- comment on this post or PM me with your suggestions. You can see our current collected suggestions here.
Remember: Feedback is LOVE. So do reply to your fellow labyficcers' drabbles if so inclined. (Though be careful of concrit unless specifically okayed by the author beforehand. Authors generally write for love.)
Mania
Sarah had watched as Jareth became increasingly out of sorts throughout the day. It had started with him being uncharacteristically forgetful, walking into a room before stopping to stare blankly into the air as he tried to recall why he’d entered. She’d laughed it off until she discovered the castle horde were avoiding him, which was rarely a good sign.
When she did decide to confront him, it took longer than she anticipated to find him. While her connection to the Labyrinth easily pointed her in the right direction, Jareth kept bouncing all over the place like a sugared up toddler, albeit one with a far greater range.
After tiring herself out in several unsuccessful attempts to corral him, Sarah decided it would be easier if she just put herself in his path instead. She figured that he’d likely pass through his studio at some point, so she grabbed a book and dragged a chaise longue over to the windows to allow her to bask in the warmth of the afternoon sun.
She had almost dozed off when Jareth appeared in the room, knocking over a jar of brushes and swearing when the container had the bad form to land on his foot.
Putting the book aside, Sarah noticed that Jareth’s hair was wilder than usual, looking like he’d been running his fingers through it in frustration, which fit with his whole demeanour of frazzled. “What’s going on?”
“Oh,” Jareth looked startled to see he wasn’t alone. “When you were in Rome, did Rook go with you?”
Looking at her husband like he’d just exhibited another sign of having lost his mind, Sarah very slowly explained that she hadn’t been to Rome.
Jareth froze in bafflement and turned to face Sarah. “You told me you were in an Italian bar with Angel and Bishop.”
Shaking her head with a light chuckle, Sarah stepped towards Jareth and rubbed her hand up his arm fondly. “No, you silly man, the girls we encountered were Italian, but the bar was in Barcelona.” Her brow furrowed as Jareth cupped her face and stared into her eyes intensely.
“But Rook was with you?”
“She arrived with us, but left…” Sarah trailed off as Jareth’s expression changed to one of triumph before he promptly vanished. She’d just started to wonder if bogging the mercurial creature was worth living with the resultant smell when he reappeared with his arms wrapped around Rook in a manner that made it look like he’d dragged a child out of a toy shop.
“What the hell, Jareth?”
A hard hat clattered to the floor as Jareth unceremoniously dumped Rook on the chaise and glared at his wayward guardian. “Apologies, my love, I didn’t know you’d been In Barcelona.” Sarah looked at him blankly. “And you didn’t realise an architecture nerd had hitched a ride to the home of Gaudi.” Jareth offered Sarah a half smile. “I think she’s bothered the workers at the Sagrada Familia quite enough for the near future.”
Re: Mania
Re: Mania
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Drabble:
Antici…..pation. The word echoed through my mind, sliding along the raw nooks and crannies, spilling out into a physical shiver down my spine.
I want you to feel it. I want you to know I’m here.
I swallowed hard, my eyes firmly closed, just savoring the regal strength of Jareth’s voice. It felt like home, cushioning the jagged edges of my psyche.
I still hadn’t seen him, but I had heard his voice in my mind clear as a clarion several times since the initial contact through the Labyrinth. Each time, a part of me unclenched just a little more. The Labyrinth approved whole-heartedly. It also smugly refused to tell me how it was possible for the iron-poisoned wraith of my Jareth to be roaming the realms while this…phantom who felt like mine reached to me through the Faerie mantle of shadowy doom I currently wore as Goblin Queen.
I suspected something about the layered threads of reality that formed the nexus of the Labyrinth, and hoped to hell I was right because that meant there was an honest-to-goodness chance Jareth really was coming for me. Somehow.
Of course I’m coming for you. Never doubt it.
Good. Because there’s also the very real possibility I’ve lost my sanity, and that would be bad for everyone.
Ah, Sarah love, you’re stronger than that.
So you keep telling me.
You should believe me.
I should. But I miss you so much. I miss the feel of you against me.
You mean, like this? Heat blossomed across my back, the feel of fingers locking around my shoulders, phantom words whispering in my ear.
My entire body came right to attention. Um, yes. Like that. I opened my eyes and stared in the mirror at the slithering morass of the shadows from my borrowed Faerie mantle that had definitely assumed Jareth’s shape. There were his hands, made of the coldest depths of chaotic hell. And yet they felt hot as fire where they touched me.
I swallowed hard, hardly daring to lean back into that touch. But I did, and oh, I could feel every part that touched simultaneously relax and explode with shivering sensation. How long can you stay?
Not much longer right now. But I will be back for you. Trust me.
I turned my head to nestle into the line of his neck, inhaling the scent. It was the abyss of absolute night from the Faerie mantle, but underneath was the winter-forest spice of him that I knew. I trust you. I love you.
And I you, Sarah mine.
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