Unfinished Business

Rating: PG-13

Genre: General

Author's Note: I've been trying to think up a good idea for a Labyrinth fic, and this is the one I came up with. So I'm just going to go with it, and see what happens. The title is likely to change…after a few chapters, if anyone has any ideas, please give me some. Also, I know this chapter is really short, but that's just because it's mostly a prologue. The other chapters will be longer.

Disclaimer: Jim Henson owns Sarah and the inhabitants of the Labyrinth. Everyone else is mine.


Chapter One: I am Jereth

The young boy could not have been less than fresh out of the tenth grade. He walked through the hallways of his high school with his head lowered, to avoid eye contact. His long, light-blonde hair spilled into his striking eyes and onto the books he clutched to his chest.

It wasn't that he didn't notice the stares, and it wasn't that he didn't care. Today, with the stinging of his new black eye to distract him, it was easier than usual to ignore them.

He stopped and leaned against a wall, balancing his books upon his knee so he could pull down his shirtsleeve. He would get it even worse if one of the teachers found the red marks on his arms and called his parents.

Shit – he'd forgotten to finish cleaning his room the night before.

"I'm a dead man," he moaned.

He made it to class with seconds to spare. He sat in the back, in a corner. No one wanted to sit next to him. He was the weird kid.

"What did you do, punch out your own eye?"

The boy winced and looked up at his classmate.

"You did, didn't you? What the hell? Did you do it so everyone would think you got in a fight, Jared? So everyone would think you're some tough guy?" He leaned over and hissed into Jared's ear. "You…are so gay."

That stung. Jared was not gay, he was bisexual. And putting on a "tough guy" façade was the last thing he wanted to do.

He did not even reply to the other boy, but rather sat quietly in his chair and hoped the boy would go away – and he did, though not before pulling hard on a large chunk of Jared's silvery blonde hair.

Jared had one thing to look forward to – his parents would not be home until late that night. That meant time alone. Jared treasured his time alone. Sometimes he would lie back onto his bed and imagine he were somewhere else—somewhere where he was always alone, with no one to bother him. And those who did intrude upon his solitude would bend to his every will. In this imaginary land he had power, and he was happy.

He visited his land first thing when he returned home that day. He appeared in the forest – not his favorite area. The inhabitants were orange, furry creatures, and were difficult to control. Jared concentrated, and he was no longer in the forest. Now he was in his castle.

The castle was his ultimate safe-haven. Most of the areas inside were for him and him alone, and the other inhabitants of the castle – ugly, little creatures, answered to his beck and call.

Jared released a sigh of contentment.

If only he could never leave…


"Why does it seem like my eyes won't open? What is happening to me?"

"You no longer have eyes in the Aboveground. You…Outsider – tall and regal. You shall lead us! You will stay with us, our King. The castle has waited for you."

"Here…forever?"

"Yes, Sir, forever. Do you have a name, Almighty Goblin King?"

Not Jared. Never again Jared. Jared was dead.

"I…am Jereth."