~Chapter 7~
"Riddler's Riddles"

We took the next turn on the forest path, still searching for a way up and over the wall we had abruptly run into. Hoggle had been there to pull Sarah up and save her from the Fireys. Fortunately, we had been intelligent enough to get rid of them on our own, and had soon joined up with the lost contingent of our list, who had had a very interesting episode with a belligerent talking tree...which had turned out to be nothing more than Jareth’s ventriloquisim.

"I’m hungry," moaned Kitiara.

"I’m tired," groaned Caitlin.

"I miss my email," sighed Irish Creme, and everyone muttered and sighed quite pitiably in agreement.

The problem with the wall was, it apparently went all the way around the forest. The only way out was over or through or back, and there were as yet no doorways, no ladders, and we sure as hell weren’t turning around. We had been treking along the wall, following it’s curves for nearly two hours, hoping to solve the puzzle with sheer persistence. We were giving up rapidly.

There was a "hmph" behind me and the sound of someone sitting down. We turned around, and Heddy was in the grass by the wall, her face cross and her shoes off.

"What are you doing?" asked Katie.

"Quitting. I can live without email. Hang Jareth."

I was aghast. "Live without email?! In the information age?!"

"It’s just not worth it," Michelle agreed. "We’re running out of time. We’ll never get out of here."

"And I’m hungry," Kitiara added gloomily, plopping down in the grass beside Heddy.

Other Listians began to sit down, and I felt the mind-numbing effects of the mob and started to do so myself, hopelessness washing over me.

"Hey gang...why so down?" The voice echoed around us in the forest, and we stared around in surprise, searching for the owner.

"Hi."

Elysian Wynd screeched and we whirled around to see a man in a green suit leaning into her face, close-cropped hair of an unbelievable shade of red covered by a bowler that matched his clothes. He was a shock, to say the least. No wonder Elysian Wynd was backing up into the wall to get away from him.

"My dear, there is no cause for alarm," he said, bowing low. "I mean you none." He began to stroll around us, twirling a ridiculous cane with a question mark handle. "Certainly not."

"And just who are you supposed to be?" asked Dreamin’.

He pointed the cane straight in Dreamin’s face. "Riddle me this...

"What’s like a compass in two directions
Or all in one at even a glance
For at times we may never know when...
But with it things can last."

"This is insane," I muttered.

The man in green hopped over to me and leaned close. "Well," he whispered so low I had to strain to hear. "I’m sorry you think so. But..." He cupped his hand to my ear, and I listened hard to hear the whisper I believed would follow. "NO ONE ASKED YOU!" he shouted. Stunned, I staggered back against the wall, my ears beginning to ring.

He turned his attention back to Dreamin’. "Your answer?" he asked.

"A clock," she answered confidently. "What do I get for answering correctly?"

"My name. I am Mr. Riddler."

"THE Riddler? Like in Batman and Robin?" asked Mortelle.

"Oh you’ve heard of me!" He looked as though he would jump for joy...and proceeded to do so, clapping his hands. "How delightful."

"So how did you get here?" asked April. "I mean, what are you doing in the Labyrinth?"

He sighed and smiled, strolling arond again. "Riddle me this," he asked April.

"Life may be beneath you
But above you I seem dead
Listen to me for I can speak
A sound from an animal’s head."

He turned his curious face to me. "Any comments, Miss Close?"

"No thank you. I don’t wish to pull a Beethoven this early in my musical career...Hey, how did you know my name??"

"I know lots of things about all of you." He turned back to April. "An answer?"

"Its...I don’t know, I guess..." April shrugged.

"No answer, no answer," he said, then strolled away from her.

"Hey!" Angel called after him. "Can you tell us how to get through this maze?"

He stopped, his cane in mid swing, and slowly turned to her. "Riddle me--"

"That’s not an answer!"

He chuckled. "It will be."

"I’m near air
On top you’d see
Exactly where you’d want to be."

She groaned and leaned back on the wall. "I have no idea..."

Corky snapped her fingers. "It’s that thing in the hedge maze we crawled out of!!"

"Well done," he said.

"So show us the way out," said Irish Creme.

He looked at her slyly. "Of course, you realize the question was only did I know the way out. So I can tell you that I do indeed."

"What?!"

"Riddle me--"

She waved her hand. "Never mind."

He shrugged.

"Okay, okay. So if we get this next one, will you show us how to get out?" questioned Shannon.

"On my word, m’lady." He bowed low again, and I have to admit, the gesture had it’s own odd charm.

"Riddle me this," he announced,

"Sweet it is
In war or strife
But to mock it
Is not nice."

"Love," someone called out.

"Good try," he said. "But wrong."

The Listians started to call out other answers. Soon the air was filled with shouted words, but the Riddler seemed to hear all of them, and all of them were wrong.

"You know," April said, sitting down next to Heddy and away from the confusion of the shouted suggestions, "I got to thinking about the riddle he asked me."

"What was it?" she asked.

"It’s that tree that was in the bog, the tree Jareth was throwing his voice on."

"Oh, gosh, I never thought about it. But it makes sense."

"Yeah, I know. Riddles are like that though. Once you start turning them around in your mind and looking at all the different angles, it’s really a piece of cake."

A shower of question-mark shaped confetti fell on April’s head. She ducked and blinked in surprise. A banner unfurled with a joyful "CONGRATULATIONS!!" writted on it in different colored letters on a green background.

The Riddler blew into a trumpet (where he got it from I have no idea still). "You have correctly answered the riddle! For she’s a jolly good fellow, for she’s a jolly good fellow..." he sang.

"Okay, okay, just show us the way out!" cried Starz, her hands clapped over her ears.

"Please! Don’t sing anymore!" begged Ruby.

"Hmph. Well." He waved his cane at the wall, and a door slid open. "You may leave."

"How did you do that?" demanded Fay.

The Riddler shrugged innocently. "I might be willing to give you the answer riddle-free...if you take me with you. I tire of the Labyrinth. It’s lonely, and the Fireys don’t answer riddles. Besides..." He batted his eyelashes at us. "I can’t think of anything better than tagging along after a group of such lovely..." he took Maedeline’s hand and kissed it. "Charming..." He stopped to kiss again. "Ladies."

Rommel and Gerrard groaned, rolling their eyes.

"You know," began Rebecca thoughfully, "He might be...useful to have along."

"He’s technically not part of the list," Jessie pointed out.

"I could be," he interrupted. "I promise, once we save your email, I’ll join up myself. Until then, I can be honorary."

"All in favor?" asked Aimee.

"Aye." We raised our hands together...well, all except Rommel and Gerrard. They were a little reluctant until a few of the girls raised their hands for them.

"It’s decided, then," Pyrephox. "We take the green dude."

He did a little dance, kicking his feet high and twirling his cane. "Follow me!" He danced through the door. "And riddle me this..." he was saying to one Listian.

I wondered as we slipped through after him...was this how the children felt when they began to follow the music of the Pied Piper?

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