I'll Be There for You; As the World Falls Down

I turned another corner, pretty sure that I had just turned the same corner five minutes before. "This is so frustrating," I said to no one in particular as I slumped down against a stone wall. As I wallowed in my own self pity I could hear someone shouting obscenities. I got up and followed the sound of the voice only to see a very little, odd looking man. "Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Hoggle. Who are you?"

"Abigail. Hoggle, do you know a way out of this labyrinth?"

"I might."

"Well, can you show me?"

"Show you what?"

"Show me how to get out of this Labyrinth."

"What will you give me if I do help you?"

I thought about it for a moment and then reached up to hand him the silver and black cross necklace I always wore, but then realized it wasn't there because I had woken up in my pajamas, and thus, without my necklace. "I don't have anything to give you, I'm sorry."

"Then find your own way out of here," he said, turning and walking away.

"I don't think I've met anyone ruder," I said to myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat on my throne watching Abigail while the goblins chased chickens around the room. "Your Majesty, what if she makes it out of the Labyrinth?"

"She won't."

"How are you so sure?"

"She doesn't have the patience, she'll give up soon."

"What if she does make it out though?"

"Then I'll keep my promise, and I'll send her home."

"Really?"

"Yes, really! I do not make promises I don't intend to keep. And besides, I'm in love with her, and I'll never get her to love me too if I break the promises I make her."

"Don't torture yourself the way you did with Sarah."

I didn't say anything at first as I thought back about the girl I had once been in love with. She too was like Abigail in quite a few ways, and I was surprised that she made it through the labyrinth and to my castle. I kept my promise to her as well, and sent her, and her brother, home after she solved the labyrinth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I continued my journey trying to figure out which way I had already come from, and which way I hadn't with much difficulty. That's when I came upon two doors that were guarded by talking playing cards.

"Excuse me," I said. "Do either of you know how to get out of this labyrinth?"

"No. We only guard the doors, we don't know what's behind them," the blue one said.

"We can tell you one thing though, one door leads to the castle, and the other leads to, dun, dun, dun, certain death!" said the red one.

"I don't want to go to the castle though. I want out of the labyrinth."

"Then we can't help you."

Frustrated I turned around and started to walk away, "That dead end wasn't there a moment ago."

"Things are always changing in the Labyrinth," one of the cards said.

"There's the opening over there," the other one said.

"Thanks," I said, then walked away from the strange little cards.