Title: The 13th Kingdom
Author: Diana
Crossover: Labyrinth & 10th Kingdom miniseries
Rating: PG-13 (mild language :: violence & assorted mature situations.)
Disclaimer: The following productions & characters are associated to the companies listed below & not with me:
"Labyrinth", Sarah Williams & Jareth, the Goblin King :: Jim Henson Productions, Lucasfilm LTD & Columbia Tristar. "The 10th Kingdom", Prince Wendell, Tony, Wolf, Virginia & Christine :: NBC Television, Hallmark Entertainment & the book by Kathryn Wesley. They are used here (under the terms of the Fair Use Policy) for non-profit, fan-fictional purposes only and no copyright infringement is intended. All of the other characters used in this story are copyrighted to me & may not be reused in other fiction without my express permission. Do not archive or repost without contacting me. Story © :: 1999-2007 -- rewritten version © 2007 :: Diana.
Summery: Virginia, Wolf & Tony are summoned back to the 9 Kingdoms to find Sarah Williams & rescue them from the threat of the 'Dark Lord', who is planning to conquer the kingdoms for his own.
Feedback: Is welcome.
A/N: My apologies over the delay in continuing this story (& others). Even I'm not entirely sure what happened -- but I moved into other venues & Labyrinth was forgotten for awhile. Still, I had some solid ideas for these stories back when I first wrote them -- so I've decided to rewrite & continue them, since they were good stories to begin with. Unfortunately I cannot just pick them up from where they left off -- I have a policy now that any of my fiction that predates 2002 has to be rewritten or edited before I can continue it -- my writing style has simply altered too much for me to be able to simply continue old stories. Right now, my plans are only to rewrite & finish three of these stories (The 13th Kingdom, Shadows of the Past & Beauty is Only Skin Deep) -- I will consider others once those are complete.

:: The 13th Kingdom ::

Prologue

Once upon a time, in the golden age of the 9 Kingdoms -- there lived five great queens. But three of these queens were considered to be the greatest of all. Queen Red Riding Hood, Queen Cinderella & Queen Snow White. Heroines even among their own; each immortalized in tales of love that circulated the 9 Kingdoms in which they dwelled. Each was blessed with beauty and wisdom (which made them wonderful rulers), for all their people loved them, and 'happily ever after' lasted for many years. Each ruled three kingdoms exactly, but they were all such a pleasure to deal with that no one ever had trouble with that arrangement.

Queen Cinderella was known for her compassion & humility. Though unquestionably beautiful, her years as a servant had taught her not to judge by social status. She was renown for her treaty of abolishing slavery in the 9 Kingdoms and making all her subjects equals. She was kind & generous & her annual royal balls were the talk of the kingdoms. Everyone was welcome, no one left before the stroke of twelve & if a gentleman asked to remove a lady's shoe, it meant he was proposing, which quickly became a favorite method of 'popping the question' & led to many happy --tho shoeless-- women everywhere.

Queen Red Riding Hood became a mighty advocator for the protection of endangered animals. Her wildlife preservation parks spread all across the 9 Kingdoms. She was also responsible for driving the packs of evil wolves out and imprisoning others who were known to eat humans. Her subjects all loved the delicious sweets she prepared every year for the Grandmother's Memorial Day Picnic.

Queen Snow White was the most powerful queen of them all, though she'd never admitted it. Nearly destroyed by her stepmother, she remained ever kind and loving. Everyone who knew her insisted they felt comforted just by being in her presence. Her face was beautiful, but more than that it reflected the true beauty of her soul. Having suffered the lack of love all her life, she sought that none of her subjects experience a life without love. Her heart and home was open to one and all, loving each subject dearly and unconditionally, embracing them when they needed it and chastening them gently when they were inclined to be naughty. Her subjects could knew she loved them and they in turn loved her passionately and among all the 9 Kingdoms, Snow White was the most favorite queen of all.

But since all of the queens adored one another they got on famously, none recalling their own deeds for a second, but lived in awe of the other two whom they saw as great heroines. Their mutual admiration and friendship kept the kingdoms in peace and they often teamed up to deal with threats against the land. Unified they drove the dragons, sea serpents, gargoyles, griffins and other such dangerous creatures out of the land. They backed the trolls into the enchanted mountains and kept them there for many years. They also imprisoned several dangerous dwarfs, demons, witches and even Sleeping Beauty's evil fairy godmother in the Snow White Memorial Prison. By removing the dangers from the land, they were able ensure happiness for their subjects and generally only had to deal with minor problems such as land disputes and greedy inheritances, small fare compared to life before the Golden Age. And so everyone lived in relative peace and safety. For a while.

All things change. Sooner or later they change. 'Happily ever after' is only a 'fairy-tale' after all.

Because the land was so peaceful, soon the great queens and kings grew impatient. They were bit by the traveling bug and sought faithful retainers for their kingdoms as they endeavored to explore the other worlds surrounding the 9 Kingdoms. Though convinced of the existence of worlds beyond their current reality, for a while they couldn't pass into them. Not until Snow White turned 25. For her birthday, the young queen was given a unique gift from the dwarfs beneath the enchanted mountains. They had built her three amazing traveling mirrors which would finally broke the spell that bound all creations in the 9 Kingdoms to their own world. Naturally Snow White was delighted and asked Red Riding Hood and Cinderella to accompany her on her journey. Her friends immediately took her up on her invitation and the three queens went journeying through the mirror together. They were gone for many years. And that trip was the talk of the 9 Kingdoms down to the very day they returned.

To the delight of everyone, the queens told delightful stories of another kingdom were there were no enchanted forests, perilous mountains, fabulous wizards or magical occurrences. And all the people in this strange land thought the great queens themselves were only made-up stories. Naturally everyone found this to be absolutely ridiculous and laughed at the very idea of such a strange place, sure that the merry queens were teasing them. But they enjoyed the stories of this strange land very much and always asked for Cinderella, Snow White and Red Riding Hood to repeat them at story time. Which the queens always did, for they loved nothing better than indulging their subjects.

But when asked what else they had seen, the queens would exchange wary looks & quickly change the subject. Young children who would hear from their parents about the strange land with 'no fairytales', would earnestly believe in the impossible place and daydream about the mysterious lands beyond, where adventure must lie around every corner. But by the time they grew up, they'd quite forgotten their childhood beliefs about the lands beyond the 9 Kingdoms and thought it only an amusing story for their own children. And so the inhabitants of the 9 Kingdoms might wonder what lie beyond the walls of their safe little kingdom, but they never discovered the truth. And it was well for them that they didn't.

No mystery can be kept forever. And although the golden years of the kingdoms remained happy and peaceful as the great queens ruled, it was only their bravery that kept evil at bay. And so, the time has come for you to know what the queens discovered beyond the walls of the 10th Kingdom.

The 10th Kingdom, more commonly known as our own modern world, is unknowingly bordered on both sides by other 'kingdoms' and it's the aftermath of both worlds that wash into ours, which is why our world struggles with both good and evil so consistently. On the one side, it is bordered by the good 9 Kingdoms; the realm of fairytales & dreams -- wise, happy and prosperous. But if the goodness spills over from the 9 Kingdoms… then where does the evil side come from?

Of course. You guessed it. On the other side of the mortal realm lie the Dark Kingdoms. Three dark kingdoms in fact. The three queens stumbled upon them by mistake and lived to regret it. Escaping barely with their lives, the three queens made a pact never to mention the Dark Kingdoms to their subjects for fear of worrying them needlessly. They also made a pact to destroy the mirrors as soon as they reached the safety of their kingdoms once more, so that the evil would never have the chance to enter their world.

But once they returned, Snow White couldn't bear to destroy such a wondrous gift. The dwarves had worked so hard to manufacture it just to please her. But she also saw the danger the mirrors posed to her subjects. And her love for them was equally strong. So she hid the mirrors, one carefully in the highest tower of her castle, where none could gain access to it but herself. One she ordered secretly dropped in the Great Circle Sea. And the last she hid in the lowest, dankest dungeons of the prison, where not even prisoners went because it was catacomb of isolated passages. Only the queen herself knew where they led. And over time the mirrors passed into legend and were forgotten. The other queens always assumed she had destroyed them. It was the only secret Snow White never told them. Little did she know that her carefully made decision to preserve the mirrors would provide help during her kingdom's greatest hour of need. And that they would also provide access to the greatest peril the 9 Kingdoms ever faced.

As for the dark kingdoms, well -- only the three brave queens saw them and even they only knew half of it. The 11th Dark Kingdom was a swamp, manufacturing most of the monsters and creepers to terrorize children, but there were worse distortions and grotesque monstrosities hidden in beyond the mire that defy the mind of mortals. Red Riding Hood was the one who discovered this kingdom, but even her love for animals could not protect her.

The 12th Dark Kingdom was worse still; the very birthplace of predators and demons, spawning evil unlike the world has ever seen. Wolves and lions fed on sheer bloodlust, while mindmelders and shapeshifters trained to corrupt, seduce and entirely destroy anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. Cinderella was the one who discovered this and her gentle nature was soon shattered as one of her own glass slippers.

But Snow White had the most troubling experience of any, for the 13th Kingdom was the worst of them all.

And that is where this story… begins.