This story is basically my take on what would happen if I encountered the Goblin King. Don't hate me for being a fan-girl!!!!! T-T

The movie Labyrinth belongs to Jim Henson/ whoever actually owns it.

I got home from school and ran up to my room, determined to finish the book I'd found the past week. The book itself wasn't very long, but the fact that I rarely got enough time to myself to read accounted for my nonexistent progress. I flopped onto my bed, snatched the small, red book from my nightstand, and flipped the front cover to the first page. Within moments I was lost in the story. But alas, a long day at school and a long practice on the tennis courts will tire out anyone, and I was asleep by the end of the first chapter. At this rate, I probably wouldn't finish by the end of the month.

I woke with a start as a flash of light splashed through the windows of my bedroom and the book slipped out of my hands. A crash of thunder followed soon after, and I tried to calm my breathing. I wasn't sure why I had woken up, exactly. I couldn't remember a dream of any sort, even though I could remember flashes of something. I leaned back down into my bed and snuggled my head against my pillow. Lightning flashed again, but I pulled the covers over my face. I fell back asleep, into dreams of fairytales and championship tennis medals.

When I woke up the next morning, my eyes were greeted by an unwelcome, exceedingly bright light. I squinted against the intensity and pushed myself up on my elbow. Then I realized something was off. I didn't have windows on the left side of my bed. My hands ran over the blanket, and the fabric felt foreign. I looked down to see a rich, burgundy comforter splayed across a bed that definitely wasn't mine. It was a dark cherry four-poster bed with curtains pulled back on all sides except for the headboard. I threw the covers aside and launched out of the bed, running for the door. My bare feet slapped against marble flooring, and my eyes barely registered the extravagant décor of the room. As I reached for the doorknob, the French-style doors swung open and in front of me stood a strange man. He had perfect, pale skin, like a porcelain doll, with white-blond hair, the same style as my auburn locks, falling to his shoulders, and fluffed at the top. He had one green eye and one blue eye, which looked down his straight nose to make up for the ten inches of difference in our height. I gulped, my hands slightly shaking under his cold gaze.

"Wh-who're you?" I stammered. The man continued looking at me, taking a step forward and closing the doors. As he advanced, I retreated, a bit faster than his pace. "Who are you?" I repeated, my voice stronger this time.

"I show you this level of hospitality and this is the first thing you say to me?" he sniped in a crisp voice, which had a hint of a British accent.

"I don't even know where I am," I took half a step back at his sudden remark, and held his gaze as my eyebrows knitted together and my chin dropped.

"You are in my castle," the man leaned his head back slightly, peering down at me with a haughty grin.

"Would you mind telling me where exactly your castle is?"

"Take a look out the window." His voice was low and smooth, like dark chocolate. I walked to the window, keeping eye contact for the first several feet before I turned to look outside. The window revealed a primitive city and an expansive maze, which stretched farther than I could see.

"What's going on? How did I get here?" I turned, intent on making one hundred and eighty degrees to face him, but stopped when he appeared right next to me.

"Isn't it a lovely sight, my labyrinth?" the man mused.

"Stop ignoring my questions and give me some answers!" I was now to the point where I wasn't scared, just angry. "Who the heck are you?"

"I, my dear, am the Goblin King."

"What sort of sick joke is this? Am I still asleep? Is this some messed up dream?" I backed away from him.

"This is no dream, Kelly," the so-called king took lazy steps forward, his head leaning back so he could look down at me. He looked so smug, and that angered me.

"How do you know my name? What's going on? Why am I here?"

"So many questions, my little Kitten," he smirked.

"So why don't you start answering?" I shot steely glares at him, but he seemed unaffected.

"I know your name because I've been watching you for quite some time. You're here because I want you to play a game with me."

"You could've just asked for my Wii friend code," my brow furrowed, and though I said the words, I had a feeling that he had a different kind of game in mind.

"I do not know what Wii friend code is, but I can assure you that is not my intent." In the blink of my eyes, the Goblin King was right in front of me, smirking down. "To go home, you must make your way through my labyrinth."

"What? That's not fair!" I took a step back. He tipped his head back a few inches as his smirk widened. I wanted to deck that smug look right off of his face. But as I blinked, the room vanished and we were at the outside of the labyrinth.

"If you want to get home," he leaned over my shoulder, now behind me, his face turned close to my cheek, "you must reach my castle in thirteen hours."

"That's unfair! What did I do to deserve this?" I demanded.

"Oh, Kelly, just play the game," he said, his voice taking on a slightly sour note, like a child that had just been denied his favorite toy.

"Can I at least have some shoes?" I turned to glare at him, but he wasn't there.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," he was to my right. He snapped, and I was wearing flats. "Remember, Kelly: thirteen hours." And with that he vanished.

"Just great," I huffed. I walked forward and looked down the wall of the labyrinth. "How do I even get in?" I mused.

"The door's right there." I jumped at the voice, and turned to see it's owner. It was a short, chubby, wrinkled creature.

"Who're you?"

"My name's Hoggle. You wanted the door, there it is." I followed his gaze to an open pair of heavy wooden doors.
"Those weren't there a minute ago," I breathed.

"Things in this labyrinth change all the time." Hoggle turned and waddled away.

"Um, thanks," I called after him. He waved, not looking back, and I entered the labyrinth.

Once inside, I found myself even more confused. There were no turns in sight, which didn't make any sense at all. I began walking down the left side, looking for a turn of any sort. I went fifty yards without finding anything.

"This is so dumb!" I yelled. "How am I supposed to get to the center if there aren't any turns?"

"Beggin' yer pardon, but there are turns." I looked around for the source of the voice, but couldn't see anything.

"Hello?"

"Up here!" My eyes followed their command and traveled up to find a purple bird.

"You talk?" my eyes widened.

"Of course I do! What do I look like, an idiot?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that," I mumbled, "Do you know the way to the center of the labyrinth?"

"Of course I do! I have a perfect view of the entire thing. Why, there's a turn a few feet to yer right!"

"What?" I walked toward the patch of wall that the bird was looking at, and sure enough, there was an opening. "It's an optical illusion!" I exclaimed, a smile spreading across my face.

"See? Yer on yer way already!"

"Thank you so much! I'm Kelly. What's your name?"

"I'm Sprickett," the bird chirped, ruffling it's feathers a bit.

"Would you mind helping me through the labyrinth?" I cocked my head to the left.

"I don't see why not," Sprickett flew down and landed on my right shoulder. "Turn right."

Sprickett and I ventured for half an hour, him guiding me through the maze, until we reached a dead end.

"That's the thing 'bout this place," Sprickett sighed, "you can go through a thousand times, and still get lost."

"That's alright," I tried to stay positive, "We'll just retrace our steps a bit." But I turned to see a dead end. "Wow, you were right about the changing."

"Don't worry, I'll find you a way out of here!" Sprickett flapped his wings, traveling high into the air before I could say anything. I sighed and turned around. There was a door where the original dead end had been. I bit my lip as I stepped forward and turned the handle. The wooden door swung open to reveal a long, dark, stone tunnel. I glanced over my shoulder to see that this was, in fact, the only way out, and that Sprickett hadn't returned, and entered the tunnel. Once I was five feet away from the door, it swung shut with an ominous thud, and I was trapped in darkness. I gulped and looked forward. There was no light whatsoever, so I reached against the wall and felt my way along the tunnel.

It seemed like I had been in that tunnel forever. I stopped to sigh loudly, trying to keep a positive attitude, and the floor gave out. I fell through the black and hit the ground with a loud thud. I moaned as I sat up, rubbing my ankle. My new surroundings were also dark, and gave me the chills. I heard a scuffling sound off to my right and whipped my head around, searching for the source of the noise.

"Is anyone there?" my voice quivered. As a response to my question, a small fire lit to reveal that I was in a small, round chamber. On the other side of the room, behind the fire, was a small, hunched figure. "Hello?" I called, leaning forward.

"Come over here, precious," a decrepit woman's voice emanated from the body. I stood and crawled forward, trying to keep my ankle as still as possible. The figure shifted as I neared.

"Can you tell me where I am?" I asked in a hushed voice, not sure if this new being was a friend or foe.

"Of course I can," the craggy voice answered.

"Will you?"

"Ah, now that's the better question. First tell me," the figure grew in height, and the Goblin King shed his disguise, "how are you enjoying my labyrinth?"

I scrambled backward, "You!"

"Me," he walked forward, through the fire, advancing on me. I tried to stand, but collapsed as I put weight on my sprained ankle. I cried out in pain as I hit the floor. In a second, the Goblin King was in my personal bubble, his face a breath away from mine. My eyes conveyed the whimper of fear that my mouth refused to let out. "Are you frightened?"

"N-no," I lied.

"You should be," he smirked. He seemed to do that a lot.

"How can I be afraid of what I don't know?" Ha, throw some logic at him, see how he handles that!

"I am Jareth, King of the Goblins, and ruler of this land and labyrinth."

"Congratulations," I sneered, trying to be brave. Jareth crawled forward, now over me, as I tried to sink into the floor.

"My my you have an attitude."

"That's what my mom tells me." I had a feeling that my act might be convincing, so I was determined to keep it up. Then I realized now was the time to fish for answers. "Why am I here?"

"I told you, Kelly, I want to play a game."

"But why pick me? The world is full with other, more suitable girls for this sort of thing."

He leaned his head down to whisper in my ear "Suitable in whose eyes?" My breath hitched a bit as Jareth's scent surrounded me. He smelled like magic.

"How do you know me?" I squeaked out.

Jareth sat back a bit and looked at me, smirking. "Do you remember that book that you found? The one under the tree you always sit under while you're resting after tennis?"

"The Labyrinth?" I inquired, remembering the title.

"Indeed. How do you think that book came to find its way under that tree in the first place?"

"You? But why? What does a book have to do with anything?"

"I take it you haven't gotten very far into the story," he murmured, obviously disappointed that I didn't read very much.

"Well excuse me for having a busy life," I crossed my arms, looking away from him.

I felt his hair brush my cheek as he leaned down, "Would you like to know what the story's about, Kitten?"

"I bet you talk in movies, too." I could tell he was planning on ruining the ending for me.

Jareth chuckled, "If you don't want spoilers, don't worry. I'll just let everything be a surprise." He gently grabbed my chin and turned me to face him. I could feel the subconscious blush creeping up my face as he leaned closer…