Drabble #180: Mask

[redwolf]

...we had a nice response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 179, with entries by apachefirecat and redwolf

For this prompt, we continue with our one-word/phrase drabble roots:

Mask

Tell us all about it. Labyfic-style, of course.

Given our entries from recent months, let's continue with the suggested limit 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 be running weekly challenges in the space around jalenstrix's monthly challenges.

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.)

Comments

Exhalation

[redwolf]

Word count: 500

Sarah had reached her limit for dealing with people a good couple of hours earlier. To be honest, the moment she realised her least favoured adviser was leading the proceedings, she wondered if it would be possible to arrange for an emergency root canal instead. Her inner Jareth had quietly suggested that it would be much more fun if her advisor was the one in the dentist’s chair, and she couldn’t find it in herself to disagree. She was currently cursing past Sarah’s long avoided plans of finding a more appropriate and distantly located role for the man.

While he was pleasant enough, one of his more annoying quirks was that he was incapable of using one word when he could employ a dozen. This made meetings even more tedious than necessary when his habit dragged them out in a misguided notion of ingratiating himself to a superior.

It was this kind of frustrating scenario that reminded her of the decision she’d made to have the Labyrinth bind her magic until she permanently moved Underground. If she’d been born Underground, she would have had her magic increase slowly from adolescence, allowing her to train and gain mastery over it. However, when she gained magic as a result of her status as Champion, it increased with ongoing contact with the Underground and it was something that was completely alien to both herself and the world Above, it was a potential recipe for disaster.

Binding her power while she was spending the bulk of her time Above meant she avoided the tricky situation of explaining how the man on the bus who’d groped her had spontaneously combusted. However, the downside was that when those bindings were removed she had a huge amount of magic at her disposal and a fledgling level of control. At least if she accidentally exploded the furniture when Underground, she wouldn’t be carted off to be dissected by men in lab coats.

As the man puffed himself up to further expound on nothing, Sarah decided that her magical control was about to have an off day. She took a deep, calming breath and allowed her magic to manifest in lightning like bands that flickered down her arms and turned her eyes into glowing pools. When he finally looked up in response to a change in lighting, he froze for a moment before scurrying from the room in an uncoordinated flurry of limbs.

“You appear to be leaking magic,” Bishop deadpanned.

Sarah hummed in response. “I prefer to think of it as pest control.” When she blinked, her eyes had returned to normal, as had the rest of her appearance. “Although, I wonder if that trick will work more than once.”

“He might not be the sharpest tool in the box, but he does eventually seem to notice that he’s in danger of a good smiting. Perhaps see if a strongly worded reminder suffices next time before escalating.”

Sarah flashed Bishop a very goblin grin. “I make no promises.”

[apachefirecat]

Word Count: 500



Sarah found she could barely breathe as she stared into her husband's sorrowful eyes. They had endured so much together over their time together. She'd seen this man beat dragons, ride wild beasts that were beyond any mortal's worst imaginings, and bring whole armies sweeping down in a single blow. She knew his power was limitless.

But she'd never known he hurt so much. For some strange reason, she had never thought him capable of hurting so much, or even of feeling so much. Her heart ached for him, now that he had lifted his mask, but she had no words. He had been wronged so greatly! What could she say that could possibly soothe the pain and turmoil he'd felt for so many centuries after his mother's abandonment?

Sarah's hand went to her own stomach, as she thought of the child they had come so close to having. She could not imagine ever throwing away her child, or doing anything with intention to bring any form of harm to them. But she herself had been an unwanted child. She had been unwanted by her mother, and her father had chosen a new wife and child over her. The betrayal she'd began to feel when Toby had been a baby had proven to be nothing compared to how her father had acted toward her as the years had worn on, until Jareth had come sweeping back into her life, and ultimately, to her rescue.

He had done so much for her, given her so much! Yet now, when he seemed to need her the most, she had nothing to offer him. Her lips moved soundlessly. She managed to shake her head slowly. "I -- I'm sorry," she breathed, and was startled when he snorted.

"It was a long time ago," he snapped. He turned his head from her, distinctly reminding Sarah of how he looked at times, in his owl form, immediately before launching into angry flight. He wanted to fly away from her now, Sarah realized, and it was not because of anything she had done or said. He was hurting, but his pride was resurfacing and making him embarrassed for finally admitting to her that he had never wanted to be King... these responsibilities... any of this life he now possessed.

He had never wanted any of this. Much like herself, when she had grieved for a mother who still lived, he had only ever wanted to be loved by his own mother. She reached out to him, gently turning his head back to look at her. "Your mother," she declared, struggling with her own emotions and nearly seething while trying to pick her words with care, "was a stupid, selfish coward! Any mother would be lucky to have you as a son!" He snorted again, and she could practically see his nose and mouth forming into the owl's hooked beak. "I know I'm blessed to have you as my husband!" She hugged him, silencing any further protests.



The End

[redwolf]

Your poor Jareth is still struggling wihth something beyond his control. Fortunately he has a Sarah to show him that he is loved 🦊🧡

[apachefirecat]

<3