Drabble #80: Surprise

[jalenstrix]

...we had a quieter response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 79, with an entry by me (your intrepid drabble proposer jalenstrix).



For this prompt, we continue with our one-word drabble roots, relying on a word with so many possibilities:

Surprise

What's going on? Who's surprised about it? And who isn't? Tell us all about it labyfic-style.




Given our entries from recent months, let's continue with the 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
Drabble: $your_beautiful_drabble



I'll aim to get the next drabble challenge out on the first Friday of next month (June 7).

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.)

Comments

[jalenstrix]

Word count: 384
Drabble:

Jareth walked into the throne room and froze with the preternatural stillness that clearly signaled “not human”. If you blinked, you’d assume he was an actual statue. A statue dressed to kill, with rock star fashion and the occasional devastatingly functional weapon, but a statue nonetheless.

His expression was priceless, too. Rarely do you get a chance to see an immortal being completely gobsmacked. The eye-watering mishmash of the throne room, liberally interspersed with highly decorated chickens and “hapee birfdey” banners, had had its intended effect.

“I thought you needed cheering up,” I said, by way of explanation.

Jareth’s single raised eyebrow was eloquent.

I grinned. “It’s not every day your favorite Faerie Lord turns...how old was it again?”

“Older than dirt!” supplied one goblin with more heart than brains.

“Older than rocks!”

“Than bog water!”

“Than air!”

“Than glitter!”

That last one brought a collective “oooooh” from those assembled. Glitter was by far and away the most eternal substance they knew.

By this point, Jareth’s face had begun twitching involuntarily.

I shrugged. “At least they settled on something shiny. Consider yourself lucky. Wait, is that the hint of a smile I see?”

He attempted a very impressive glower. “Why do you insist on barging into my life like this?”

“Would you believe for the lolz?”

“The what?”

“How about because you needed it?”

“And that’s your concern why? Don’t you have better things to disrupt?”

I crossed my arms, completely unfazed by his growl. I’d heard worse. “How about because your mood is intimately tied to the climate of the Labyrinth, where many of my dearest friends live, and they haven’t seen the sun in months. Someone had to do something.”

He huffed out a disdainful breath. “Always the hero.”

“Damn right. And everyone needed rescuing, so here we are. Now hush while we do a nice round of Happy Birthday. I made cake.”

He started at me, unblinking. “Your cruelty is boundless.”

“Cake. With lemon frosting. Which is your favorite. Now, hush.”

I raised my arms to conduct the obedient goblin horde. “Happy birfday tooooo yoooooooouuuuse…”

And if Jareth’s mouth twitched up ever so slightly, no one really noticed but me. The first sun ray broke through the overbearing grayness of the Labyrinth’s sky outside, and it looked just like heaven.

[redwolf]

I think I'd rather avoid the horror of goblins singing, but cake! Cake is always good 🦊🧡