Crystal Ball

Chapter 1: Plots of Revenge

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Labyrinth. If I did, I'd be raping Jareth. Every. Day.

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"-And my kingdom is as great. You have no power over me!" Sarah's voice rose with confidence as she finally recalled the words that would vanquish the proud Goblin King before her.

A flash of pain and disappointment washed over Jareth's sharp features and he dropped the arm that offered the crystal, something that tempted Sarah with her heart's desires. He started at her with his odd mismatched eyes and for a moment, Sarah saw something there that made her stomach twinge with regret. The Escher room rumbled loudly and turned on its axis as it crumbled and dissolved from around them, pulling Sarah into a spinning abyss with the haunting feeling that she had lost something very precious...

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Sarah shot out of bed with a gasp, her eyes searching wildly for the tall, graceful Goblin King. Her heart hammered painfully in her chest and she willed herself to calm down and to breathe. With a groan, she lowered herself back onto her pillow and wished away the anxiety that tightened her chest. These dreams had marred her sleep for nearly six years now. She often found herself avoiding sleep late at night by writing down the vivid memories from her adventure in the Underground and turning them into amusing little tales that she could later read to Toby, her ever so energetic and imaginative seven year old brother.

Sarah stubbornly flung the blankets over her head and snapped her eyes shut, willing herself to fall back asleep. She tossed and turned for a long minute. Unable to find a comfortable position, she huffed in annoyance, pushed the blankets off of herself and lowered her feet to the floor.

The air was chilly and goose bumps immediately rose on the exposed skin of her calves and arms. With a shudder, Sarah grabbed her frilly robe and slippers and flicked on her lamp. She sat back down on the edge of the bed again and lowered her head into her hands and almost at once, a lump rose in her throat and her eyes watered. She swallowed at the lump and rubbed her eyes into the palm of her hands hastily, angry that something so silly would have her tearing up. The first sob snuck out of her without much notice but it wasn't too long before a second, third, fourth joined it and all at once, Sarah found herself openly weeping. She remained in her hunched state for what seemed like hours as she cried for herself, pitying her lack of sleep, for wishing Toby away in the first place. It wasn't the first time she had cried for herself and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

"It's just not fair!"

She continued to sob and chant that sentence for a couple of long moments before the sobs finally ebbed away. Sarah pulled herself up and shuffled to the dark window She stared out into the night and watched the branches of a nearby oak tree waved calmly in the breeze and she absentmindedly wiped her cheeks dry. Tomorrow would be the start of her second year in college. The leaves outside were slowly beginning to change and the air had a wonderful smell to it; something incredibly old and, dare she say it, enchanting.

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Jareth propped his head up against his hand as he stared into the crystal in his hand grimly, his legs swinging lazily over the armrest of his throne. He had watched Sarah many times before in such a state and, admittedly, felt a cruel stab of amusement the first dozen or so times this incident had occurred. As the weeks turned into years, Jareth felt the amusement ebb away at the sight and was left feeling puzzled, bitter and a swirl of emotions he had yet to fully understand.

Never had he afflicted a human so badly. She had been a child, nothing more than a selfish, foolish girl when she had come before him to defy him, to beat his labyrinth and to be the first to turn down heir heart's desires. It was a rare sight to see a human, especially one as young as Sarah had been, to resist his powerful magic. Many a man and woman had succumbed to his influence and charm, much less a bull-headed, selfish brat.

Anger and shame pooled in Jareth's stomach and he felt that the image of the young woman before him was again defying him. Had he not offered her most wild dreams? A Kingdom? It irked him to no end that she had successfully resisted him.

'What a pity.' Jareth thought to himself absently before he was pulled away from the vision before him by the loud guffaws and chortling of his subjects.

Goblins of all shapes and sizes ran about his throne room, cups of mead clutched in their clubbed hands as they drunkenly swivelled around the room. One or two whelps amused themselves with an Aboveground creature they had managed to capture on a more adventurous night of babe-snatching. They had heard the old human call ita 'chicken.' Thus, it had been presented to King Jareth as a gift. The creature clucked fearfully and darted around the room to avoid being captured and thrown around.

Jareth's eyes followed the little pest in amusement, watching as goblins fell over themselves in the attempts to capture it. He found himself grow bored quickly and turned his gaze back to the crystal and found Sarah staring out her window. He watched as her puffy eyes grew distant as they stared out into the night and found himself wishing to see what she was gazing at. Before long, he watched as she turned from the window to sit at her desk and pull out a worn journal out of the drawer. She wrote meticulously, pausing every few moments to consider what to write down next. When she figured out what it was that she wanted to say, she would gingerly bite at her lower lip and her eyebrows would knit together; it was an altogether endearing look.

Once she finished writing in her worn journal, she pulled out a second journal, though this one was brightly decorated with the name "Toby" scrawled out in gold pen. She began to write furiously. It was obvious that she was not putting in the same detail and serious tone into this one. Of course, Jareth had seen both journals before. When Sarah's sibling would come to visit her, she would often tell him grandiose stories of the Underworld, a place he would never remember. The stories would calm the child, bedazzle and ensnare his attention like no other could.

Jareth felt a small tinge of loss and defeat at the thought of young Toby. His prize. He glowered at the memory of losing him for a moment before he focused back onto the image of Sarah.

She was stretching her back in an attempt to release the tension that had wound itself there and Jareth's nostrils flared. Sarah had become an alluring sight in the years she had been away from the Underground. Long gone was the body of a stubborn brat-child; it had transformed and took on the curvaceous shape of a woman and Jareth found himself fully aware of every curve that made itself known.

A moment later, Jareth's face twisted. How dare she evoke these thoughts in him after all he had offered her! The human child who had defeated him would not have yet another victory. He moved the stars for no one, especially not twice in one life time.

It was in that moment that Jareth's keen fae mind began to plot his revenge. A smile grew on his wicked lips and he narrowed his eyes at the image once more.

"No one denies me. No one."