Welcome to Gaia! ::

::She took slow and careful steps, one hand tracing the wall of the Labyrinth. She felt old and tired, what with the great weight she carried on her shoulders.::

"Now, where is it?" She exclaimed to no one in particular

::She searched the floor, pushing the white hair from her eyes. It was her meaning in life to find forgotten things to add to the collection she carried on her back, and it was frustrated her that her travels this evening have so far found her nothing.::

::There was a noise and some rustling. She looked up quickly, noticing a dog-like figure in the distance.::

"Ah-ha!" She said, waddling closer to the figure.

::As she approached the animal, she noticed a small fairy fiddling with some small, shiny objects.::

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed victoriously as she swooped up the little fairy and the treasures in her large, rough hands...

"Thems be forgotten treasures, wee one... Nothing you'd have a use for." she said quietly and coldly

::She tried to shake the little fairy loose from the treasures she was holding, but the little thing clinged on quite tightly::

"If you let me have thems, you and the beast can help me look for more shinies..." she said with a crooked smile, and then added "Perhaps we can even discover the story behind them..."

::The Waste Witch looked at the beast rubbing up against her arthritic leg and her face twisted into a sneer. But after a moment's thought she pet the furry thing with the hand that wasn't being used to confine the fairy::

"Ah!! But that lovely jewel is the very reason I have ventured so far from the sweet comforts of my waste-filled realm! Silly thing!" She shook her head, and narrowed an eye at the small fairy "Do you know who that once belonged to?"

::The fairy tilted her head slightly to the side, and the witch could sense the fairy's interest... She knew that the fairy had no idea of the sentimental value this ring held, and planned to use this to her advantage... after all... having some companions has it's advantages::

"I'll tell you what, dearie," she said coyly, "You keep that little trinket, but I will only tell you what I know about it if you come along with me. I have other forgotten items calling to me, begging to be found..."

::And with that, she began waddling towards the nearest opening into the Labyrinth...::

"Hmmm..." the filthy woman exclaimed and slowly bent down (so as not to tip over from the great weight on her back,) to pick up the cup.

::She squinted as she inspected the small cup, and after a quick nod of approval, she tossed the item over her shoulder. It landed on her ever-growing pile of junk with a tin-like 'ker-plunk!' and continued moving into the Labyrinth.::

"This place is getting much too jumbled up for my taste..." she said, looking off into the dark and twisted corridors of the Labyrinth, "See dearie, I was once a favored subject of the Goblin King, nothing you would understand... what with your care-free fluttering and all. I had certain duties...responsiblities... and what with her escaping... The King no longer has a need for me." Her mouth crumpled up a little as she finished her tale, looking pathetic. She shook her head, and kept walking...
"See? I was kicked out of my home... exiled," She hissed.
"And I've been wanderin' 'round the Labyrinth ever since. I came across someone who said he had an idea for regaining the King's favor... but he would only tell me if I found what was lost to him.." As she said this last part, her eyes wandered to the little fairy's newest accessory.
"But it's not matter, dearie... that bird-brain can keep his ideas... I have just come up with a better one! I've been working on it for quite some time now..."

::She stopped walking and faced the wall of the Labyrinth. It looked like any other wall, and the fairy looked on - quite puzzled, unable to figure out what the woman was doing. The Waste Witch reached over her shoulder onto the great heaving pile of junk on her back and pulled out a small cylinder-shaped object. It was a tube of shiny, red lipstick.::

"Ahh! Here it is!" And the woman proudly drew a large rectangluar shape on the wall. She knocked on the wall three times, and it magically gave away to reveal the woman's secret hiding spot.

::The room was set up to resemble a child's bedroom, but it was comprised of old, forgotten, broken things. It was dusty, dirty and quite poorly lit. In the center of the room was a mannequin, missing an arm, wearing a dirty, ripped dress.::

"Don't you see little fairy? I'm collecting forgotten dreams and fantasies in hopes of luring a new bride for our King into the Labyrinth!!" she excliamed, quite devilishly...

"Hmmmm? Ah yes!" She exclaimed. She waddled over to the outfit, her prized possession, and stroked it with care. "This is special, yes? This is something special to most little girls - it's dressing up and make believe! To be a princess, or a damsel in distress, yes? It's all right here. All the possibility... This was hers, I won't even speak her name, dearie, you know very well who I mean..." She paused for a moment, to make sure the fairy understood what she was being told.

"It took me many days and much travel... travel isn't easy for my old bones, see?" She said, placing a hand on the lump she carried with her, hoping for some sympathy, "But I found that dress. It hurt the King too much to think of her after she left. So he tries to forget her. It's too painful...poor dear...so anything that once belonged to her has been lost, forgotten and buried deep within the Labyrinth!"

::She waddled away from the dresser to a vanity. The mirror was cracked, and there was a layer of dust on it an inch thick. Make-up, jewelry and other trinkets were spread out across the surface of the vanity.::

"It took me a long time to collect all this. His Highness hasn't been well since she left, yes? And the Labyrinth has felt it. The Labyrinth is more twisted up than ever before, even things that shouldn't be are getting lost all over the land, and things from the real world are appearing in here more than ever, so it's only a matter of time before a curious little girl wanders in here. And when she does, I will snatch her up and make her believe she is every bit the princess the King needs her to be! If she believes the fantasies we create for her more than her own reality, she is bound to stay here, as one of us, forever..." She pumped her hand in the air as she finished her speech, proud of her progress so far. Her plan was nearly complete.

::She walked out of the secret place and waited for the little fairy and her furry companion to follow. They left out the same door they came in, but they were no longer within the golden walls of the outer-most part of the Labyrinth. The door melted away as soon as they left it. They looked around and found themselves in tree filled glen::

"Hmm...The Labyrinth did it again... well, little one... let's get going." She said and wandered off into the trees.

::She stopped in her path as the fairy called her a hero. These words touched her, but she didn't feel worthy of them. She looked over her shoulder at her little companion.::

"I'm no hero, little one. I'm just like any other piece of junk. Once very important... but with no use any more - it just gets tossed aside." she said, sadly.



"Hmm? Oh, it's okay. I'm used to it. I shoudn't have scooped you up either. Talking to others is difficult for me... so askin' you nicely for it was hard for me to do... I just want to get back to my home. I like being around all those memories of happy childhood days. It's ... comforting..." Her eyes trailed off into the distance for a moment as she finished speaking, lost in thought.



::She walked down the forest path as the fairy spoke about the music. She did like that idea. Every fantasy needed music, didn't it?::

"Alright, that sounds good. Where should we go?"

::And with that, the ground opened up and swallowed them.::