A/N:
Hey all! This is my first Laby fanfic so if it's horrid I'm sorry. Just a note to all, she might not be in the first few chapters but I am including Sarah in this story. And yeah, Jessica is a self-insert but I'll do my best to keep her from becoming a Mary Sue. And if this in any way resembles a fanfic of your own I'm sorry, half my ideas are my own and the rest are combinations of other peoples. AnywaysDisclaimer:
I do not own Jareth, Sarah or any of the other original characters from the Labyrinth. It belongs to those people who made the movie. I do however own a bunch of CD's and stuff, but never mind. I'll just be quiet and let you read now.Revenge is Sweet. Isn't It?
Jessica sat up and closed the book The Labyrinth. She smiled. She really liked that book. No, that was an understatement. She adored it. She loved it. Well, maybe not the whole book just the parts with Jareth in them. Jareth, the goblin king, he was what made the book worth reading again and again.
Jessica adored and loved Jareth. But reading the book also made her a bit sad. Jareth loved Sarah, that girl who didn't care about him. It made Jessica jealous. Jessica didn't hate Sarah, she even understood about her baby brother and all but still…
Jessica shook her head. What was she thinking? It was just a book for crying out loud. Jareth was just a name. It wasn't real…
'If it's not real,' a little voice in the back of her head whispered, 'then why are you afraid to wish yourself away?'
"Shut up," Jessica growled at the voice. All right, so she believed it might be real. Just because she didn't want to wish herself away didn't mean she was scared. She just didn't care to spend eternity in the Underground.
'You're scared,' the voice whispered again.
"Am not," Jessica countered aloud.
'Prove it,' the voice sneered. 'Go on, say the words. Dare you!'
Thunder boomed ominously. Jessica jumped. Then she shook herself. It was just a normal thunderstorm—it had nothing to do with Jareth.
'Say it,' said the voice.
"I wish," Jessica started. She stopped and then took a deep breath.
"I wish the goblins would come and take me away." she whispered, "Right now.
Jessica jumped as the thunder boomed again. Her vision went blurry. She felt as though she was going to faint. She closed her eyes. When she opened them she was on a hilltop overlooking…
"The Labyrinth," Jessica whispered.
"Rather magnificent, isn't it?" asked a voice right by her ear. Jessica started and then, slowly, turned to look behind her.
There he stood, just the way she'd always pictured him, wearing an outfit very much similar to the one he had wore during the ballroom scene with Sarah. Jessica met those mismatched eyes she had always sworn she loved, and got the distinct impression that Jareth was laughing at her. She turned to look back at the Labyrinth that Sarah had journeyed through.
"Yes," she said softly. "It is." She sighed and turned back to look at Jareth.
"So what's the deal?" Jessica asked. "Am I really here–"
"Forever?" Jareth finished for her. He nodded but did not look too enthusiastic about it. "I'm afraid so."
"I have thirteen hours don't I?" Jessica asked.
"No," Jareth said. "As of the moment you uttered those words you are here forever."
"But that's not fair!" Jessica exclaimed. "You gave Sarah–"
"The situation with Sarah was entirely different!" Jareth snapped. A pained expression crossed his face. In a slightly softer voice he said, "And please refrain from mentioning her again."
Jessica swallowed. She was in a fix now.
The silence stretched on for a few minutes until Jareth said, "Well, we might as well head to the castle. Come on." He held out a hand almost impatiently. It was gloved, as always. Jessica took it and seconds later they appeared in the throne room. Jareth released her hand instantly and strode over to his throne. The room was filled with goblins. They all stared at Jessica. They hadn't seen a human since Sarah and most of them hadn't ever been this close to one. Jessica stood awkwardly in the middle of the throne room, unsure of were to go or what to do. Jareth sat in his throne, apparently lost in thought. Jessica cleared her throat and he looked up.
"What?" he asked, sounding irritated.
"Never mind," Jessica said. She strode over to the nearest window and stood looking out of it. The window overlooked the Goblin City. There wasn't anything interesting happening. She yawned but didn't turn around. She at least felt like she was doing something when she gazed out the window. Jessica hated feeling idle and useless. She just hated it. And if Jareth had been telling the truth about her being stuck here for eternity then that meant she would probably end up feeling idle and useless for a very long time.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," Jareth called from his throne.
Jessica ignored him and continued to stare at a very uninteresting house at the edge of the Goblin City. She heard him get up from his throne and walk towards her.
"It's only forever," he said as he stepped up next to her.
"Not long at all," Jessica said very softy, the barest hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"You're acting like I dragged you here," Jareth said. "You asked to be taken away."
"I didn't really think it would work," Jessica answered, her voice suddenly angry. "It was just a book for crying out loud! I didn't think—"
"That's right, you didn't," Jareth said, his voice so cold and devoid of emotion that it sent shivers down her spine. "Next time you wish for something I suggest you seriously consider whether you really want it." He turned and strode away from her. Jessica turned her head and watched him leave the room. There was the walk that she loved; the one she had wished she could see in person. Now it just didn't seem as important. She didn't care. She just wanted to go home. She had always pictured Jareth falling in love with her. But he was still pining over Sarah and as far as she could tell he only saw her as a silly little girl who didn't know what she wanted. Jessica did know what she wanted, or so she had thought before this. Now, with Jareth going all moody on her she just wasn't sure.
Jessica turned and looked out at the Goblin City, sighing. All in all it was not a very good start to her first day in Jareth's castle.
Jessica walked away from the window and moved to leave the room. When she tried to step through the doorway, she fell backwards, as though she had tried to step through solid wall. Jessica felt something warm run from her nose and gingerly she touched it. Damn, she was bleeding. She was surprised her nose wasn't broken. She touched it again. No, it wasn't broken.
Loud noise broke into her thoughts and Jessica realized that the goblins were laughing at her. She glared at some nearby but this did nothing, if anything the goblins laughed louder. Jessica sniffed in effort to keep the blood from coming out. She stood up and reached out with her hand. Her hand ran into an invisible barrier. So he had chosen to trap her in here. Jessica turned in anger to the goblins that were still laughing. She took a step towards them.
"Shut up!" she yelled. To her astonishment, they did. Then she felt a presence behind her and realized Jareth was back. She turned to look at him, her hand cupped under her nose to catch the blood and keep it from falling onto the floor.
"You tried to leave the room," Jareth said, glancing at her bloody nose before conjuring up a black handkerchief and handing it to her.
"Brilliant observation," Jessica said sarcastically, taking it and putting it to her nose.
"Why?" he asked.
"I was bored." It was a simple answer and it was the truth. Jareth met her eyes and she found that she couldn't hold his gaze. Those eyes seemed to peer into her very soul.
Jareth reached and pulled the handkerchief from under her nose. Jessica moved her hand to catch the blood but there was none. Her nose had stopped bleeding. She looked at Jareth in surprise. If she hadn't known better she would have said he was on the verge of smiling at her.
He looked away for a moment. "I will make you a deal," Jareth said. "I will give you free reign of the castle if you give me your word that you will not try to leave." His eyes were on her face once more.
'He knows me,' Jessica realized. 'He knows that I can't make myself break my word.' She swallowed.
"I promise," she said.
"Good," Jareth said and this time he actually smiled. Jessica felt herself smiling in response. "I will have one of the goblins show you where your chamber is." He snapped his fingers and moments later there was a small, somewhat cute goblin tugging on her pants. She followed it out of the throne room through a series of passageways. The goblin seemed particularly shy. Once they had reached her room Jessica asked the goblin its name. It squeaked out something that sounded like "Iri" before running off. Jessica shook her head and opened the door.
She gasped, more from shock than anything else. The chamber was a replica of her room. There was her desk, covered with papers and clutter just like always. Her dresser, with all the jewelry boxes in their places, her binder filled with collectors' cards, her diary box and its key. There was her bed with its wrinkled sheets and her whitish colored stuffed rabbit, Ginny, sitting on her pillow.
Jessica walked over to her closet and opened it slowly, expecting its contents to spill out as they always threatened to do. She gasped again. The closet was neat and orderly. Jessica peered clothes hanging in it. While she recognized at least half of the clothes to be her own, she had no idea where the rest of them had come from. It was the same with the shoes on he floor; some were hers but most were not. She looked at the shelves on the sides of the closets. Someone had organized everything, including her book collection.
Jessica brought her head out of the closet and walked over to her dresser. One by one she opened the drawers, finding each one as neat as the closet and filled with clothes she knew she had never owned before in her life. She closed the last drawer and went to sit down on the bed. She immediately swept Ginny into her arms and gave the stuffed animal a hug. Confusion lines etched themselves into her face as she thought about this room in which she now found herself. It had been arranged to look as much like her room as possible. Why? Why would Jareth care if she were comfortable? He thought she was a silly little girl. Didn't he?
Suddenly everything she had assumed about Jareth dissolved into nothingness. She didn't know how he thought but she had gotten the distinct impression he was still very much stuck on Sarah. But if that were so then why did he seem to care about whether she was comfortable? This room had been carefully arranged, as though he'd been expecting her to call him. But that was impossible, wasn't it? She hadn't even know she was going to wish herself away. How could he have known? Jessica bit her lip, trying to make sense of it.
* * * *
Jareth sat in his throne room, staring into a crystal. Jessica's image sat in that crystal holding her stuffed rabbit and looking extremely confused. She was, Jareth decided, trying to make sense of something. Her emotions showed clearly through her brown eyes. She was very much confused and just a bit worried.
She had been happy when she had seen that her chamber was very similar to her room Aboveground. Then she had opened the closet doors. Having her things organized had been a mistake, he saw that now, but it was too late to change it. It had triggered the confusion. Confusion regarding his intentions, no doubt. He couldn't afford for her to doubt him; she played such a major part in his plan. He needed her trust. He watched as she looked closely at her stuffed rabbit and then slowly looked around the room. She had realized that the objects in the room were not replicas of her things; they were her things. He cursed softly as alarm registered in her eyes. She wouldn't trust him now; she felt violated. It was all plainly written in her expression. Now he would have to regain the little amount of trust he had forfeited.
Jareth banished Jessica's image from the crystal, already contemplating how to regain that trust tenfold. An idea began to form and Jareth smiled. That smile was filled with malicious intent and if Jessica had seen it she would most definitely have been afraid.
A/N:
Well people, there's the first chapter! I hope you liked it! So tell me, should I continue it? Please review!