-=-Alexa's Note-=-
I originally wrote this little story as a part of a round robin
on the Labyrinth List. I think the RR was about Jareth wanting a
bedtime story. He was very critical of my tale, in parentheses,
but I have chosen to leave his comments out. Later on, I decided
I liked the story so much I fleshed it out a little more, and
reposted it. It was apparently so good I snagged an award for the
story (yay!). And now I leave it to you. As usual, the Labyrinth
and all its inhabitants don't belong to me. Amy is my personal
salute to the M. M. Kaye book, The Ordinary Princess.
Merpeople are rare and wonderful creatures, even in the Labyrinth. They have hair and eyes in wonderful, brilliant colors, and no two are exactly the same. It is true that they have no immortal soul, but they are indeed capable of falling in love with humans to win one, not such a rare occurence as the popular fairy tale implies. Though Mr. Anderson's famous mermaid didn't get her prince (ah, the lies Disney would have us believe), that's not to say that none of them do.
Once upon a time in the deep blue ocean of the Underground, there lived a mermaid named Ehlana. She was beautiful, with long, lavender hair that trailed behind her has she swam and eyes of the same color that twinkled with adventure and mischief. The oceans of the world were her playground, and all the wonderful secrets they held were hers. She was free-spirited and brave, and happy.
But one morning in particular, she was very unhappy. It was the day she had dreaded for months, when the soldier Caspian intended to ask for her father for her hand in marriage. He was handsome and noble, and many of the other mermaids thought him quite a catch...but Ehlana could find no love in her heart for him. She waited in her garden, knowing that Caspian would come soon, and that her father would consent, pleased to have such a match for his daughter. And Ehlana knew too that she would have to marry Caspian. She was forbidden by long custom to challenge a marriage arranged by her father.
Ehlana saw the handsome young merman soldier swimming past the anemones just beyond the gates of her home, and saw the purpose in his blue eyes. She threw down the pink flower she'd been playing with, and started towards him, depserate to make him listen to her.
"Caspian!" she called.
He smiled when he saw her. It was supposed to be a wonderful smile; all the other girls thought so, anyway, but Ehlana felt no warmth from it. "Ehlana. I'm glad to see you. Do you know why I've come here?" he asked her, taking her hands.
She broke away from him, swimming back a bit. "Yes, and I...I want to ask you to change your mind," she told him.
"Change my mind?" He looked at her as if she'd lost her own. "I wouldn't dream of it. You're perfect for me, Ehlana. You'd make the ideal soldier's wife. And besides," he said, lowering his voice. "I wouldn't have any one else."
She sighed softly. "Please, Caspian, reconsider. I don't love you." He chuckled, touching her face. "You'll grow to, Ehlana. Trust me." Caspian tapped her under her chin with his fingertips gently, and then moved past her.
Her heart sank with the realization that her cause was lost. Struggling to keep back frustrated tears, she shot away from her garden, swimming as fast as she could, seeking escape.
It was nighttime when Ehlana emerged from the unfamiliar ocean she had swum to. She pulled herself up onto a rock, tired and sore from all the swimming she'd done, still distraught. She looked around.
On the shore ahead of her were lights. Bonfires. And people. They were dancing and singing, their voices drifting up into the night like the sparks off their fires. Ehlana cheered, glad to see humans and glad to see them enjoying themselves. She stayed on her rock for a while, content to watch, but soon the laughter and dancing drew her closer, and she swam to the sand a little away from them, and emerged, perfect legs covered with a shimmering green dress. (A struggle for land legs was entirely uneccessary--Ehlana, like all mermpeople, was simply magic.)
A girl that looked about the same age as Ehlana herself greeted her. "Oh, I say," said the freckled brunette. "I've never seen you before."
"I'm visiting. From...another kingdom," Ehlana finished lamely.
The girl winked at her. "You're travelling incognito. That's all right. I'm Amy." She extended one small, tanned hand and the girls shook.
"I'm Ehlana."
"That's a lovely name." Amy giggled. "Come on, then." She pulled Ehlana towards the bonfire, where the dancing and singing was. They accepted her easily, letting her into their circles, treating her like an honored guest, as she and Amy (who was a fourteenth assistant kitchen maid at the castle), made fast friends. She was happy again, but unable to lose the constant, nagging thought that soon all her happiness would be over, and she would be Caspian's bride.
Then she saw him. He stood only a few feet away, almost glowing in the light of the bonfire they were close to. His eyes were thoughtful and dark, and soft, reddish-brown hair fell into them. Her breath caught in her chest, and for the first time, she felt that strange longing and joy that is love. And then he turned his brown eyes to her.
She froze, terrified and excited, unable to do anything but stand there, staring at him. Then she tugged on Amy's sleeve. "Who is he?" she hissed.
The little kitchen maid shrugged, smiling. "Just the prince."
"The prince? Of the entire land?"
Amy giggled again, a charming sound. "Of course. What else is one the prince of?" Then she gasped. "Oh, don't look now, but he's--"
Ehlana turned around. The prince was standing right beside her. Her heart began to pound and she felt a little lightheaded as he spoke.
"Would you like to dance with me?" he asked, his voice sounding like music in her ears.
"Yes," she whispered, smiling happily. But just as she was about to take his hand, she remembered...she was engaged. She turned and ran from him, running down the shore into the darkness far away from the bonfires. Amy and the prince called after her, but she ran until all she could hear was the waves crashing down on the sand. When she was safely away, she dived into the surf, her dress giving way to scales and a fish tail, her bitter tears hot in the cold ocean water.
*****
"Ehlana!" called a voice. It was her father. She hurried out of her garden, where she had sat most of the morning, dreaming of her prince.
"Yes?" she asked. She put her head down demurely, trying to summon up some expression of happiness for his benefit.
Her father beamed at her. "I have good news, child. You will marry the soldier Caspian."
She choked back a disappointed sigh and turned her eyes to him. "I--"
"Of course," he went on, "there will be a delay. He has been sent to a far sea on a mission for the king. In the meantime, we may prepare for a great celebration!"
Ehlana nodded slowly, but her thoughts were already turning to the prince, and his dark eyes. She had to see him again.
The very next night, she found her way back into that sea, and back to that rock where she had seen the party. There were no bonfires that night, but there was a lonely figure wandering in the starlight, looking out at the water. It was him.
Ehlana was caught in her indecision. She was promised, but she loved this stranger. What could she do?
The water near her broke suddenly. Surprised, Ehlana drew back to see a siren smiling up at her. "Sister," she said, in her echoing, musical voice. "You look sad."
Ehlana shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "I am." She gestured to the shore. "I love him."
"That's good," the siren answered, swimming backwards around her rock.
"But I am engaged to a merman I don't love."
The siren stopped in mid-stroke. "That's bad. How did you get yourself engaged to someone you didn't love?"
Ehlana frowned. "My father promised me." "So why on earth are you so set on keeping a promise you didn't make?"
The simple sense of the words struck her. She looked back to the prince, the image of his dark eyes in her mind.
"Go to your love." The siren flipped over, then dived down into the water, disappearing away in the flash of her smooth, white tail.
The mermaid took a deep breath, and then dived into the water, determined to know his heart. She walked slowly up the beach to him, having changed to her dress and legs farther down the shore. She called to him. "Hello?"
He glanced up at her, and his face lit up with joy, surprise, and curiosity. Ehlana felt a strange sensation inside herself, like a light coming on, when he did so. He started catiously towards her. "We don't have to dance, if you don't want," he said first, smiling warmly.
She felt that feeling again, as she replied. "I wanted to dance with you...I did. I was just afraid..."
He tilted his head to one side. "Of me? Well, I can understand completely. After all, I am so terribly threatening..."
She giggled, the bright feeling inside her growing stronger. "No, I was afraid of something that had nothing to do with you, except--"
"Please tell me your name," he interrupted.
She glanced at him, surprised. "Why?"
"Because I want to know it."
"Ehlana," she answered.
"Good," he said. "That's a beautiful name. I was hoping it was something like that. You see, the strangest thing happened to me last night." The feeling was so strong then she almost felt faint. It was like being an empty pitcher your entire life and then filling up with...with... "I met this wonderful girl on the beach. How did I know she was wonderful? I don't, exactly, except that I do. And I didn't know her name. It's a dreadful thing to fall madly in love with someone...and not even know their name."
A soul! She had a soul! Ehlana realized what the feeling had been...their love was real, and she had a soul for it. To his surprise, she ran into his arms, her lips pressed to his in a sweet, joyful kiss.
"Ehlana," he whispered in her ear, her name sounding wonderful in his voice. "Marry me."
"I'm a mermaid," she blurted out.
"I'm a prince. We're even, Ehlana. Marry me."
"Yes," she answered softly.
"Are you going to run away now?"
"No." She kissed him again. "Never."
*****
Caspian returned from Triton's mission to a mystery. Ehlana had disappeared. Furious, he began to question everyone who knew her, but they all gave the same answer. No one had seen her in weeks. Finally, he asked a siren.
She flipped her dolphin tail at him and laughed. "Oh, her! So you're the lout. Really too bad for you."
"What are you talking about?" he demanded hotly.
"She's getting married. To a prince, even. True love." The siren sighed. "Isn't that romantic?"
"No!"
The siren narrowed her blue eyes and shook her head at him, making her blonde locks float around her face. "You don't have to be a sore loser." She swam past Caspian, laughing at him.
He only knew one place to go...the Goblin King.
Caspian was ushered into the dirty throne room by a pair of goblin servants. Their king sat on his throne, somehow managing to look bored and yet still retain his air of menace. The young soldier was impressed, and bowed low and humbly before the king. "I have a favor to ask, your Majesty."
"You and everyone else. So, Caspian. What is it?" Jareth's tired gaze was slanted with a hint of amusement.
"My betrothed is marrying another tonight. I want her stopped, at any price!"
Jareth rolled a crystal thoughtfully on his hands. "Spells in adversity to true love have a way of breaking at the most inopportune moments for the villain. Still, this could prove interesting."
Caspian smiled. "Then we go!"
Jareth's smile was something else, something wicked that Caspian didn't catch. "Lead on, noble merman," he said.
*****
Ehlana was shaking with joy, her white veil trembling before her lavender eyes. Her wedding to the prince was to begin in just a few moments. They would belong to one another forever, and it well should have been the happiest day of her life. Still, she felt something amiss, but couldn't place just what exactly. But then the music of her wedding march began to play. She adjusted her flowers in her gloved hands nervously, then took a deep breath and stepped through the doors into the opulent chapel crowded with guests that oohed and ahed over her. And there he was, at the end of the aisle, her handsome prince in his uniform, waiting for her.
"STOP!" The voice thundered through the chapel, shaking the walls, frightening the guests. "She has broken her vow, and she must pay!"
The bride whirled around to face the owner. The Goblin King himself, Caspian standing close by. "No," she answered bravely, throwing down her flowers. "I won't stop. I love him."
The prince drew his sword, rushing to her side. "Ehlana, what is this?"
Jareth ignored the blade and produced a crystal in his palm. "You, who she loved so much she would betray her promise, this is how I curse you. Be a stupid, lumbering beast for the rest of your days." He tossed the crystal at the prince, and as it touched him, he was enveloped in a bright light. It faded slowly away, and in the place where Ehlana's love had stood was a tall, shaggy creature, reddish-brown hair falling around his body, dark, deep eyes staring at her with only enough comprehension to know that something terrible had happened. It let out a low, reverberating moan full of misery and pain.
"Oh, no," cried Ehlana, touching one of the beast's hands. Then she turned her laverder eyes furiously on the Goblin King, and started for the prince's sword.
"Ah, no, my dear," said Jareth, sending out another crystal at her. As it touched her, she froze. "A mermaid is creature of the water, a woman with a stone heart, but yours burned for a prince. Be what you should have been." Ehlana's skin darkened, until she was a perfect stone statue.
"No!" shouted Caspian. "Not her!"
Jareth only chuckled a little. "You said stopped at any price. It's a package deal. If she kisses him, the spell is through." He sighed. "So few things are immune to love's kiss."
In a flash, Caspian, Ehlana's statue, and the altered prince were standing in the Labyrinth, Jareth before them. "This has been amusing sport," he said, stifling a yawn. "But I really must get back to the castle. Goodbye." He vanished.
But just as Jareth disappeared, a shower of stones came skipping uphill to where Caspain and the beast were standing. They jumped and danced around the monster, and it let out a soft sigh. Caspian realized it...Ehlana's spirit. In the Labyrinth, all things were connected. As stone, she could control the rocks with the soul she had won by her true love. He had to find the way to change them back.
"What's your name?" Caspian asked his once-enemy.
"Ludo," the beast returned. "Ludo miss mermaid."
Caspian's heart was filled with repentance for his misdeeds, and he touched Ludo's hand. "It's all right. I'm going to go find help. Stay here...I'll be back." He looked around, then decided on the direction he would go, and started out. But he had taken only two turns, when the Labyrinth floor beneath him opened up and and he was swallowed into an oubliette, lost.
Ludo was left to wander the maze, Ehlana's rocks by his side, his memory of his past life fading ever more. He alarmed the different creatures wherever he went, though he was gentle and friendly, and it wasn't long before he was captured by a strange group of goblins, tied up to be tormented. Jareth would have perhaps taken great pleasure in his misery, if he hadn't been so preoccupied with problems of his own...Sarah was in the Labyrinth then, and her story was spinning itself out.
She defeated Jareth. She never knew really what became of the Labyrinth after she left it, but the truth was that spells by the hundreds were broken. Goblin children returned home, completely restored. The oubliettes let forth their captives. And even a few more magical things happened...
As Sarah and all the friends she had made in the Labyrinth danced and played games in her room that night, Ludo was sad. Though his memories of Ehlana were fading and weak, he knew something was missing, something was undone. Somewhere in his memory, a whisper told him to call the rocks. And he did, with all his might.
Sarah stopped in mid-bounce as Ludo raised his head and howled piteously. She didn't know it, but it was the sound he had made when Jareth had transformed him. And in her vanity mirror, she could see a statue of a beautiful girl in the Labyrinth, the surface of the stone rippling and changing, growling lighter and softer. She was coming to life before Sarah's amazed eyes.
"The mermaid bride," breathed Sir Didymus. "I had heard the tale of the statue, but I had never believed..."
"You mean," Hoggle asked him, "that all those stories were true?"
"Of course," said Ehlana, moving and breathing on the other side of the mirror. She stepped close to it, and put her hand on the surface. "Thank you, Sarah, for freeing me from this spell. But I have to finish it. Will you help me through?"
"Sure!" Sarah put her own hand to the mirror, and Ehlana grasped it, the surface rippling like water as she stepped through. "This is incredible!"
"Not so incredible as this," Ehlana told her. She walked over to Ludo, and wrapped her arms around him, giving the beast a gentle kiss. Bright light filled Sarah's bedroom, and Sarah had to close her eyes against it. When she opened them, a handsome young man was there in Ludo's place, his arms around Ehlana.
Ludo looked up. "Sarah...I don't know how we can thank you for what you've done..."
"I do." Sarah smiled. "Live happily ever after."
And they did.