A/N: Hello to all. This is a sequel to my other Labyrinth fanfiction entitled "A New Offering". While it is not necessary to have read "A New Offering" first, it might be beneficial. This story is set pretty much immediately after "A New Offering", no more than six to eight months after the return to the Underground. I hope everyone enjoys this story and I hope all who read it will review. Authors live for input and comments. Also, for those of you who have read "A New Offering", you might remember the intended villain for the sequel was named Princess Xanthea. Well, I changed her name to Xaleigha as an homage to my dear friend Mythers and decided to make her a queen instead of a princess because Mythers is every inch a queen. Thank you & I hope you enjoy. - IrethAnwarunya
Chapter 1: The Captive King
Jareth laid in silence with his eyes closed, enveloped in the darkness that came from beneath his tightly shut lids. His long slender fingers slid from their resting place atop his chest down to the surface under him. The surface that supported his body felt foreign to him. Instead of the soft mattress that he shared with his wife, Jareth felt a cold rigidity below him. His eyelids fluttered open to reveal his mismatched blue eyes and upon raising his curiously aching body from the chilly slab, Jareth surveyed his surroundings. It was then that his eyes saw nothing. Jareth's eyes could not pierce the darkness and he twirled his wrist and summoned a crystal.
With one murmured word, the crystal emanated a brilliant white light and Jareth was astonished with what he beheld. The ground on which the Goblin King stood was nothing more than a square pedestal that extended to roughly six or seven feet. Beyond the pedestal was empty space yawning before him and as Jareth peered below, he could see nothing but darkness. He knew that the darkness extended to an end that was immeasurably far below and his Majesty prudently stepped away from the edge. Jareth looked a little closer and at the farthest reaches of the light of his crystal he saw the rim of another surface and surmised it to be the way out.
Jareth then attempted to transport himself from his current position to the surface across the deep void of darkness. In the place Jareth went whenever he transported himself, a place that existed outside of reality, he felt himself crash into a hard, solid surface and then he was returned to his former residence atop the stone pedestal. Once again, the Goblin King conjured an illuminated crystal and held it out into the darkness. It was then that his Majesty noticed a shimmering in the air at the edge of the far plateau and he assumed it to be some sort of invisible shield preventing him from escape.
"You won't get out that way," a honey-like voice said, "I've protected it with charms."
"Who are you?" the king of the Goblins demanded.
"Let's just say that I'm someone that you offended in your past," the satiny voice replied and Jareth noted the hint of steel overlaying the tone.
"Let me see your face. I should at least know the identity of my captor,"
The owner of the voice sighed. "Very well."
Suddenly, the pitch-black room was illuminated with a soft light and for the first time, Jareth saw the face of his abductor. He had known by the voice, that his kidnapper was female, but he was surprised by her diminutive size. Her flaming red hair hung in spiraling tendrils and her pale skin seemed to glow like the moon. Even from the immense distance between them, Jareth could tell that her exotic emerald green eyes were burning with hatred and her lips turned upward into a malicious sneer. Jareth desperately searched his memory for some recollection of this woman and for what he could have done to her to deserve this imprisonment.
"Where am I?" he questioned.
"You're in my oubliette," she replied.
"Oubliette? This is no oubliette," he protested.
"Oh but you're wrong your Majesty. My oubliette may be a little different from the numerous ones you have scattered throughout your Labyrinth, but it is still an oubliette. Not only is it a place to forget one's captive, but it also provides the added fear of falling into the bottomless abyss that surrounds you. My way is much more interesting," she explained with an evil glare in her eyes.
"How did you get me here? I think I have a right to know how I was abducted seeing as how I happen to have no recollection of my seizure," Jareth said.
The Goblin King's captor smirked and as she paced the rim of the oubliette, two lanky silver wolves with glowing, golden eyes loped out of the shadows. The auburn haired woman knelt beside the creatures. "Morwen," she stroked the luminous coat of the wolf on the right, "and Morion," she said as she absently scratched the ears of the wolf on the left, "are my most loyal servants. They always get the job done." She rose from her knees and whispered something Jareth couldn't hear to her pets. Then, the two animals seemed to shimmer and two raven-haired elves stood in their places.
"They're shape-shifters," she continued, "I'd wager that you paid no heed to the two new servants on the staff in your castle. Morwen and Morion here served you and your beautiful wife your evening drinks."
Fear wrapped it's hand around Jareth's heart and stalled it's rhythmic beating for a moment. Thoughts raced in Jareth's mind as he worried what this woman had done to his Sarah. Then, as if seeing into his heart and mind, his captor said, "Have no fear Goblin King. I've done nothing to harm your beloved wife. Your goblets contained only a simple sleeping draught. Simple, but powerful enough to insure that neither of you would awaken until you were safe in my oubliette."
Jareth's frantic heartbeat slowed and returned to normal. "Why have you brought me here? What have I done to you?" his Majesty demanded.
"You'll learn soon enough. I'd hate to ruin the surprise for you," the enigmatic creature answered with a malicious grin. "Morwen, go fetch the Goblin King some food," she ordered and the petite female elf retreated into the darkness.
"I'll leave you now your Majesty. I have other things that require my attention. Running a kingdom is tedious and a taxing job as you know,"
"Wait!" Jareth called out as the cryptic woman stepped into the shadows, "Might I know where I am? Or at least who it is that is holding me prisoner?"
"If you wish," she said and moved back into the light, "You are in my Domain. I am ruler over the Domain of Aracia."
"And who would you be?" Jareth questioned.
"I am Xaleigha," she answered and then the Goblin King found himself alone in the near tangible darkness once again.
Without opening her eyes, her Majesty slid her arm over the satin bed linens and felt for her husband. Sarah's hand fumbled around blindly before she concluded Jareth wasn't beside her. She then opened her eyes and searched the room but found herself alone. Sarah sighed and rose from her comfortable bed, uneager to face the tedium that awaited her in her newly acquired role as the Queen of the Underground. She tugged the bell-pull on the wall and waited for her attendants to arrive. A moment later, the two elves Kathandrienne and Killianeson entered and set about getting her Majesty ready for the day ahead.
"Which dress would you like milady?" the towheaded Kathandrienne asked as she presented two gorgeous velvet gowns to Sarah.
"Kathandrienne, those are my afternoon dresses," Sarah stated, "Find me another one."
"But Sarah, it is afternoon. It is a few hours past midday," Killianeson said as she twisted Sarah's sable hair into an ornate braid.
"How could Jareth let me sleep that late? Has he been that busy today?" she asked.
"No one has seen his Majesty today. Hoggle has been attending to the royal business," Kathandrienne answered.
Suddenly, Sarah's heart dropped into her stomach and began twisting and turning as if it were practicing the steps of a waltz that had been lost in the dim reaches of antiquity. She knew something was terribly wrong. When Sarah could not conjure her husband's image in one of her crystals, she bolted from her dressing table and began a frantic search for Jareth.