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Behind the lost traveler, a Djinn appeared sitting upon the wall. His name was Derrik and he resided with in the labyrinth, rarely taking leave. He watched the fairy boy get confused frustrated, and apparently hungry. As far as anyone knew, the Djinn had appeared to dwell here for as long as the walls had been put up.

He was a mysterious fellow, slipping around, to and fro. Appearing here and there. Helping and causing mischief. But usually it was a bit of the two combined in one.

"You look lost. Hopelessly lost. Maybe you should just give up? Or maybe turn the way you came? Or perhaps if you stand perfectly still the entrance will come to you!" Derrik laughed at the fairy. He didn't like fairies. He didn't like anything with beauty that could compare to his. He hating fighting for attention. He liked to be seen and heard when he desired.

"It really is something to assume one is a demon right away. I find it offensive. Do I really truly look evil to you? But then again, I shouldn't let some boy who can't even eat an apple with an ounce of dignity pull me by the tail." He dropped off the ledge he was sitting on, and became a puff of smoke that blew around the fairy, and then solidified before him.

"Here, let me help you." He grabbed the fairies hand and started to bring a finger to his mouth, started to slowly and gently lick it. "Hmm, that was a ripe apple wasn't it."

Derrik smiled and stared at the fairies wings. He had seen many fairies. He had seen many beauties, but each one was different and unique. It was why he loved sitting in the labyrinth, other than the few encounters the shifting maze had given him with the bog of eternal stench.

"My dear boy. It is boldness that gets one ahead in life. If I was not so bold as to help you in your time of need." He grabbed Jades hand again, and licked another of his sticky fingers. "You would be wondering around aimlessly, soiling your lovely garments with the succulent juices from the very fruit you yourself enjoyed."

He stuck another of fingers in his mouth, and started up at the fairy with his brown eyes sparkling. It was as if he was tenderly enjoying a meal, and just like that he was done. He gave Jade his hand back and smiled. "When wondering the labyrinth, its best to desert any signs of food. Whether discarded rines, or the sticky traces left on finger or..." Derrik gave an obvious glance at the fairies mouth.

"So, we should move, before you garbage attracts some of the less tasteful residents." He interlaced his fingers in the fairies hand, and pulled him along forward. He walked down a section, turned, turned, and then they were in a clearing. A lovely section of the labyrinth that was very much like a garden with a dried up fountain in the middle. The shrubs all around brown and dried. "Such a lovely garden." Derrik let go of Jade's hand.

Derrik smiled and started to walk around slightly. He did in fact know his way around. He wasn't sure what it was that guided him around the ever changing maze, but he could navigate well enough. He turned to look at the other. "An apple core is indeed garbage to those of..." He eyed the other up and down before settling on a statement. "Our caliber."

He walked over to a broken bench and sat down. "After all, what use do we have of an apple core? We surely wouldn't eat. Well I can't speak for you, but based upon your appearance I would guess that you don't eat them." He smiled again and brought a leg over the other and leaned in on it.

He looked around at the dried up garden. He had remembered when the are was lush and green. He used to hang out here with several of the locals. Causing mayhem and help them to enjoy the scenery. But know it was dried up, just like the many years he had spent here, alone.

"Well... What causes a pretty face like yours to get lost in such a place as this?"

Derrik watched as the fairy investigated the area. Derrik showed a small sign of sadness as though the fairies inspections solidified the death of the garden. "If it means nothing to you, why did you defend it so?" It had truly puzzled the Djinn.

"Ah, the bushes here used to be splendid back in the day. People used to get lost here for more reasons than just loosing their way. They used to lose their train of thought admiring the beauty of the foliage here. It used to be lovely."

He shrugged and watched the Fairy fumble in the folds of his skirt, and hands into pocket to find things he wanted. "I assume your fell prey to the walls. How they all look the same. You know, a quick secret. When navigating a labyrinth, you don't always move towards your destination. Sometimes you have to walk away to walk to your goal." He smiled again.

"I guess you could say I live here. I live here and there, and everywhere. Im a free spirit. Move where ever the end takes me, and it allows me to meet the most interesting of people, such as your self."

"We have waited long enough, I do believe introduction are in order now. My name is Derrik, and yes... I am a demon of sorts. I am a Djinn, perhaps your very ticket out of here. But only if you truly trust me. But if you have done your homework, you will know that is something you never do with the likes of me."

Derrik took the cookie, mostly out of courtesy as he was not hungry. He nibbled on it, and found it to be good more so than not. "Well I could fix this garden up, just my abilities are bound to a few words, that no one ever speaks around me. But I don't blame them at all. I wouldn't trust me either."

Smiling, Derrik gave a nod to the man he know knew the name of. "Well Jade, its nice to meet you. I have seen many of your kind, none quiet as radiant as yourself though." He stood up and walked to a barren tree, that looked like nothing more than stick in a pot.

Derrik gave it a soft kick, which called the pot to crumble and spill over the ground. Derrik blushed. "The labyrinth really needs to have some work done to it. Its falling apart. Why just the other day I was walking, following the most peculiar creature. She was very fascinating, but as I followed, the very ground beneath my feet crumbled, and I found my self in a oblyete. I really hate them things. They are so dark and dreary. A place to keep things till you forget about them. Oh well, I can move about when and how I feel like it, so I was gone from it in no time."

"Yes, trust. Its something Djnn take for granted. We are never trusted. We will do what we will. Make a laugh out of you. You may think that we are helping you, but in the end, its not. Its nothing more than a game, my dear. We play with hearts, toy with them. Release them. Reel them in. Play with them, and the body of their own. Release. And for some reason, you keep coming back." As he spoke he had come close and closer to fairy, and he was now standing close.

The breathe from Jade was warm on his cheek. He could feel the embarrassment he was causing on the others demeanor. He enjoyed it. Whispering Derrik replied once more. "Its what I live to do, you see. I am here to be a paradox of the heart. To confuse you, to take you as mine. To make you feel embarrassed by my actions. These are all my tools. And my many years are what have strengthened them."