Welcome reader. My goodness, it's been a long time.

I have gone through and edited these chapters to the best of my abilities. I intend to finish this one with all due speed and move onto a new project that is very exciting. I hope you enjoy this and please message me if you see anything wrong, or leave a review to tell me what worked and didn't work. I love hearing all forms of criticism, so please don't be shy.

Disclaimer: Labyrinth is owned by Jim Henson studios, Stardust is owned by Neil Gaimon, Marv Films, and Paramount pictures. I am just borrowing them both to spin a yarn.

In dedication to David Bowie, whose music is immortal in my mind.

"What lies behind us, and what lies ahead of us, are tiny matters compared to what lives within us."

-Henry David Thoreau

Chapter 1

~1~

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

Shu, a gray, pale, short goblin glared menacingly at the intricately carved stone head. The head, one of many lining the walls, stared back at her with a decidedly unimpressed look.

"You'll have to blink sometime," it said flatly. "Now Go back while you still can."

Shu smacked the head, only to cradle her gangly hand in pain. Amidst riotous laughter, Shu charged after her husband.

"First, we get thrown into a dark, damp, oubliette, and now we have to wonder this stupid maze," she grumbled. "I will kill your cousins if we get out of this, mark my words."

Said husband was one of the taller variety, with mud-colored skin, pure white hair that brushed his shoulders. and a hooked nose covered in warts. He held the torch aloft, adding a yellowish tint to his green eyes.

"We're almost out," he said. "I know where I'm going."

Shu's glare shifted to him.

"Sure you do, Ruz," she said. "Hence why we've passed that rock five times now,"

"I said we're fine."

"And I said you're an idiot."

"Soon it will be too late," A distant one shouted. Shu jumped, earning a smirk from her husband.

"Frightened of a little noise?" he noted.

"No," Shu sniffed. "If these things couldn't scare some nitwit looking for her bawling baby brother, then why would I-"

Ruz slapped a hand over Shu's eyes were shifting all around the tunnel, eyeing both the natural cave walls and brick replacements with equal apprehension. He turned his gaze back on Shu and pulled her closer.

"He'll hear you," he hissed.

The walls shivered slightly, creating a low rumble. At the sound of moving earth, both goblins turned behind them. With a low twittering sound (Shu could have sworn it was a giggle), the dirt ceiling above them began to shift dangerously. Ruz yanked Shu back as a wall of dirt fell in a leviathan fashion, blocking the only exit in the tunnel. When the dust cleared, they were looking at a solid wall and an echoing sound that could have been mistaken for laughter.

"Now look what you've done," Ruz said. "You loud-mouthed bitch."

Shu was stunned for a few seconds before anger rose in her chest. She narrowed her eyes and pushed Ruz's hand away.

"Oh, what are you afraid of, Lack-wit?" she said. "He didn't do that; he hasn't done anything like that in weeks!"

"That had to be him, you moron! Who else has that kind of power?"

"Not our Fancy-pantsed king." Shu rolled her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, someone hasn't been nearly as threatening as normal."

"Maybe not in front of you," Ruz muttered. "The several goblins he dumped headfirst into the bog would disagree."

"So he's a sore loser," Shu replied casually. "I ain't scared."

Arguing was pointless, so Ruz turned to keep walking instead. As the two continued their trek, the stone faces continued their tirade...but, halfway through, it was clear that whatever was behind them was running out of steam. Curious, Shu cocked her head to the side and listened.

"This is not… uh…. the way!" one tried.

"Be…be something..." The head contorted it's eyes and nose in thought.

"Beware, dummy," It's neighbor said. "Beware!"

"You see?" she gloated. "Even these poor sods are more bark than bite."

"They always were," Ruz said. "That proves nothing."

"Sure it does!" The goblin lady huffed. "How else do you think we managed to escape?"

Ruz sniffed. "I figured out the broom closet trick."

"Which the likes of you shouldn't have even been able to find!" Shu slapped the back of his head. "His royal prissiness has lost his touch, admit it."

That low rumble got louder, beginning to sound more and more like a dog's menacing growl. What little light they had through the cracks and crevices of the dirt began to shrink until everything went pitch black. Feeling her confidence take a dive, Shu stuck close to her husband.

In a final response to the goblin's treason, one of the stone faces jerked open its eyes. Feeling a sudden burst of energy, it opened its maw and let out one last bellow.

"BEWARE! FOR THE PATH YOU TAKE WILL LEAD TO CERTAIN DESTRUCTION!"

With a shriek, Shu barreled over her husband and down the tunnel. Ruz went splat against the dirt, and his wife vanished into the goblin lifted his head and spat out a mouth of dirt.

"Damn woman," He said. "Get back here!"

Shu continued to run, hitting walls and flailing in the dark. She hit something hard face first, curling around it, and fell to the floor. "Owwww…"

"Baby doll, you okay?" Ruz called. "I'm coming!"

Shu snorted at that and stuck both grubby hands in her apron's pockets. She clasped a small match and struck it against her nose. The tiny light cut a small hole in the dark, creating harsh shadows. She'd landed in a square alcove made from solid brown brick with cement squares for floors. Each corner had its own personal cluster of cobwebs and the ceiling sagged from rot and age. There was a ladder at the far east corner, but Shu was hardly giving it the time of day. At the center of the room was a pedestal, only about three feet in height, made of old red brick. At the top, a silver owl claw clutched something sparkly.

Shu held the match closer and saw that it was little more than a small, glass sphere, swimming with a rainbow of colors, but lacking any luster. She shrugged and plucked it off the silver claw for closer inspection.

"Bloody hell, what are you?" she asked.

Ruz arrived moments later. His eyes landed on the crystal and the color drained from his face.

"You...p-put that back!" he stuttered.

Shu looked up. "What are your knickers in a twist for?"

"That's one of his majesty's magical crystals, now put it back."

"Is it now?" Shu said and grinned. "Aren't we lucky…"

Ruz ceased his impromptu heart attack, mouth hanging open. "Are you daft? He'll kill us if you so much as scratch it."

"Without his magic 'thingamajigger?" Shu smirked, throwing and catching it.

Ruz frowned. "He's got more."

"Than he won't miss one."

"I'm not taking a nose-dive into the bog of eternal stench over you," Ruz sputtered. "Put. It. Back!"

Shu frowned, and slowly backed away. "No. I'm gonna keep it and take over that damn city. And if you're smart you'll help me out so we can share."

Ruz wasn't smart, but he was smarter than this. The tunnel walls were shifting much quicker now, and the room was looking smaller in the minutes time. There was no way either of them would get out if she kept talking like that, kept staring at that crystal ball with the same wild look in her eyes. The male goblin went still, and Shu finally caught his eye.

"...I did it for you, love," he said. Then, as she looked on, he dropped the torch into the muddy water.

The crystal was ripped from Shu's hands as the darkness enveloped them both. She gasped, and Ruz made his quick exit up the ladder. Shu's arms began to grasp and grab wildly.

"COME BACK HERE! GIVE ME THAT!"

Ruz knocked open the lid to the tunnel, emerging out of an urn. He was in the garden section now, surrounded on all side by box hedges. They used to be clean and sharp, but now looked much more unruly and faded in color. Even the statues situated near them, commissions from Jareth himself, looked like they were crumbling. But Ruz refused to ponder on bad art and vaulted himself out of the turn and onto the cobblestones.

Ruz rolled onto his back to catch his breath. It looked like the sky was just starting to darken, and little stars began to peer out from the clouds. It was pretty, pretty enough to almost distract him from just how much trouble they were in. But, hearing the huff and puff of his wife struggle up the ladder, he forced himself back to his feet.

His wife poked her head out behind him, eyes wide with rage. Ruz shook his head and held the little ball up high.

"It's for your own good!" he shouted and threw it as hard as he could. It soared up into the sky, far far away, while Shu tackled her husband and tried to strangle him. The crystal reached the peak of its arc, ready to fall back down when a sudden gust of air blew it back up at impossible heights. By the wind, by magic, or perhaps fate, that little ball soared up to the heavens.

~2~

Yvaine had been minding her own business when it happened. In fact, she had done little more that night then open her eyes.

The star stretched her pale limbs with a yawn. She sat up and allowed herself to start glowing at full, her white light illuminating her familiar celestial home. The rose reds and bright oranges were giving way to the black velvet night, with various rocks and gasses to greet her tired eyes. As the night began to settle in, Yvaine saw her family slowly fill the sky with red, blue, and even brilliant white light. The kaleidoscope of colors and sights were old news to her now and had been for the past thousands of years.

Sybil, Yvaine's nearest sibling, rose moments later, her blue aura beginning to softly shimmer in the night sky.

"Good Evening," Yvaine smiled. Sybil groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"You're always up too early," the younger star moaned.

Yvaine chuckled and gave her a push. "Come on, come on! It's starting!"

Sybil groaned again but straightened out anyway. Yvaine impatiently waited for her sister's white-blue aura to reach full radiance before eagerly scanning the ground below them. The two were poised above a stone labyrinth, ancient and massive, with oodles of twists and turns. It alternated between traditional stone walls, thick woods, and intricately trimmed gardens, and constantly shifted in design. Yvaine took a moment to admire it before centering in on the castle in the middle, specifically to the western tower.

"There he is," she whispered.

Sybil rolled her eyes. "It's just an owl."

The creature, pristine white with chocolate brown wings, was more than an owl. Yvaine found his heart-shaped face to be curious somehow, thickly-outlined, with one eye darker than the other. It always held itself in the most regal fashion, never slumping, and preened itself to no end. Yvaine found it about two hundred years back and was still unsure of how this lovely creature connected to the terrifying maze below.

"It's more than that," Yvaine insisted, gray eyes narrowing. "Nothing is ever as it seems; you should know that after living here for millennia."

"You should be bored with it after two," Sybil countered. "How bloody interesting can a fluffy bird in a stone cage be?"

"Shush, there he goes!"

At a sudden updraft, the owl spread its wings and took to the skies. A smile stretched across the star's face as she watched the beautiful creature survey the labyrinth, flying about each section in graceful circles. The star put her hands under her chin and watched the elegant flight with wistful eyes. Her sister eyed the owl with an ever growing sense of boredom, yawned, and glanced back at her sister.

"Stop that," Sybil said.

Yvaine blinked. "Stop what?"

"That kicked-puppy look on your face." Sybil frowned. "What's wrong?"

Yvaine didn't speak for a few moments. She sighed and glanced back at the owl, watching it look over the bog. "You were right about one thing, Sybil," she said. "I am bored. Bored and jealous."

Sybil gawked. "J-jealous? Of what?"

"Of that," Yvaine pointed to the owl, "of the goblins, of humans, of everyone, really."

"But why?" Sybil grasped her sister's shoulders. "You're a star! You shine brightly, you're magical, and you're beautiful. All those people you listed are usually jealous of you."

"But they're not stuck here," Yvaine murmured. "I'm bored of just sitting here and watching everything fly by me. Those little goblins are more interesting than you think. I saw a whole family toss two of them in the oubliette last night."

"That's wretched."

"That's interesting. And that owl-" she groaned. "Oh, he's a tease. He can go anywhere he feels like it, fly away wherever his fancies take him. Me…I won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

Yvaine's heart began to ache, watching the owl circle back towards the thick woods. Sybil wrapped her bright arms around Yvaine's shoulders, and Yvaine gratefully leaned back.

"You have us at least."

The owl suddenly let out a squawk-like noise, wobbling in flight and hitting the breaks. It flapped stationary for several minutes as Sybil gave her sister's shoulder a shake.

"Yvaine, look! Look!"

Yvaine followed Sybil's finger. Two Goblins rose out of the garden section of the Labyrinth, one holding something shiny. Yvaine frowned and quickly caught sight of her owl. It was heading for the two goblins on the ground, and was preparing to dive...but for what?

Sybil suddenly screamed. "Look out!"

Yvaine turned on reflex. A bright object collided with her chest to the sound of shattering glass.

The star screamed and flailed. The wind rushed past and burned her cheeks, her home fading out of sight. She heard her family scream, the moon cry out, and her own piercing shriek as the ground drew closer and closer.

Yvaine landed with a sickening crack. As pain shot up her right leg, she managed to see her owl swoop down near her landing. Tired, hurting, and more scared than she'd ever been, Yvaine closed her eyes and tried to let the darkness take her down.

If you like what you see, feel free to leave a review, and don't forget to share with your friends! If you want more, click follow or, if you want to know everything I do, hit follow for the author. See you next time!