In which the right words are said.

I do not own Labyrinth.



The Wish

"Jeremy Tyler Carter, you are so dead!!"
The giggles of a hyperactive six year old could be heard up in his bedroom as July Ana Jones tried to pull herself up the stairs of her Uncle's two storey Victorian home.
She glanced down at the main cause of her problems: her left ankle, wrapped in a brace that kept it immobile.
Only a few days previous, she'd been in her garage, up on a ladder to put away a tool kit after working on her car. On her way off the ladder, she'd slipped, caught her left foot in a rung, and twisted her ankle badly, tearing her Achilles tendon.
JJ's uncle Karl had a business meeting out of town, and he'd asked JJ to stay the night with Jeremy. JJ had agreed to do so, and now here she was, limping up a flight of stairs to reclaim her stolen crutches, plotting ways to torment the six year old, and muttering curses under her breath.
She finally made it to Jeremy's bedroom, and while the boy was happily bouncing on his bed, the crutches were nowhere in sight.
JJ growled, "Jeremy, where did you put them?"
He giggled, "Goblins took 'em."
The redhead took a deep breath, steadying her temper, "Jeremy," she said, "I'm going to give you to the count of five. Either you bring my crutches to me, or I'll--"
"Goblins took 'em!"
"There are no such things as goblins, kid, now if I--"
"There are, and I'll prove it to you!"
JJ rubbed her pounding head, "No, there are not. The count of five, Jeremy. One, two--"
The six year old jumped off of his bed and pointed at her, "I wish the Goblins would come and take you away, JJ! Right NOW!"
The lights flickered and died, plunging the entire house into darkness.
JJ growled, "Great. Don't worry, Jeremy, it's probably just a blown fuse. I'll go and… Jeremy?"
She paused, waiting for a response, and trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. When neither came, she reached out a hand to feel for the doorjamb that should've been just behind her shoulder. Her fingers met nothing, and she stumbled, putting weight on her injured ankle, and falling with a startled cry of pain, and suddenly the lights came back on.

The fact that she was no longer in Jeremy's room was painfully obvious. The flagstone floor she'd landed on was completely devoid of the brown carpet and the Spiderman play mat that should have been beneath her and it scraped the palms of her hands roughly, .
In the center of the large room was a shallow pit, and in this pit was piled a mass of strange brown creatures that stared at JJ with wide eyes in varying shades of gold and red.
JJ froze, staring back, noting that, although not a single one of them seemed to be over four feet tall, many of them had sharply pointed teeth, while others carried rusted swords.
The redhead slowly pushed herself to her knees, wanting desperately to be on her feet but hindered by the pain in her ankle. She put some pressure on it, and unwillingly cried out as sent waves of agony up her leg.
At the sound of her distress, several of the creatures climbed out of the hole and hesitantly moved towards her.
The largest stretched his big, hippo-like mouth into a grin, his lips curling around tusks that were capped with tarnished silver that had Celtic designs engraved into them.
As he reached out for JJ, she scooted away from him, but the other creatures surrounded her, all matching the big one's grin.
He (at least, she assumed it was a he) bent slightly, wrapping his stubby arms around JJ's waist, and to her surprise, lifted her to her feet with a strength that she wouldn't have thought he was capable of.
Unwilling to put weight on her injured ankle, JJ started to lose her balance, but the creatures that surrounded her kept her from toppling over. They pushed and pulled with clawed hands, but managed to keep from scratching her at all.
When the idea that they were helping her fully clicked in her brain, JJ smiled at them, "Thank you," she said, twisting to include all of them, "Thank you so much."
"Perdy lady's hurt," the big creature said in a slow, deep voice, "Hurt yer foot, perdy lady?"
When she nodded, the smaller creatures began insisting in squeaky voices that she had to sit down, and led her to a dais at the other end of the room, on which sat a peculiarly shaped chair that JJ hesitantly labeled a throne.
The creatures pushed her gently down onto it, but one of the ones still lingering in the pit piped up, "Kingy's seat, won't he mind?"
"Nah," one of the ones at her feet answered, "Kingy no mind. He's a big softy."
"I'm Gurk," the big one said shyly, still grinning at her.
The others followed suit with introductions, and JJ gave them her name, before asking, "Where am I?"
A tired voice from above and behind her answered, "The castle beyond the Goblin City, at the center of the Labyrinth. Didn't you read the book?"
JJ turned to find a cat lounging across the curved back of the throne-- no, not a cat. His ears were far too large, as were his jade eyes, and his forepaws were adorned with four dexterous digits, three fingers and a thumb. His tail was long, and tufted at the end like a lion's, and a star-shaped patch of creamy fur spread across his otherwise tawny chest.
Although his back legs were tucked underneath him like a cat, he rested his head on one paw, his elbow braced against the back of the throne, while his other paw combed his whiskers.
He smiled at her, smugly, and JJ scowled back, "That would depend on which book you're talking about."
"The Labyrinth of course. Our story. Not many read it these days. Surprising to see an adult wished away, I don't think that's happened before. How'd you manage it?"
JJ sighed, her scowl softening, "My cousin. He's six. He stole my crutches and then told me that Goblins had taken them away. I didn't believe him and he said he'd prove it." she glanced around the room before smiling dryly, "I guess he did… who are you?"
The cat-creature chuckled, "I'm Nobbiggo, one of his majesty's royal advisors. And you, my dear, are sitting in his throne."
Gurk huffed, "Lady hurt her foot, she needed a place to sit. Kingy won't mind."
"Oh won't he?" said a smooth voice from the doorway.
The goblins scattered, disappearing as swiftly as ninjas, though perhaps not as silently. The only one who did not flee the scene was Nobbiggo, and he calmly smirked over JJ's shoulder.
JJ turned to face the speaker, and was startled to find that he stood directly before her, though there was no way he could have walked from the doorway to the throne in that amount of time.
JJ swallowed a yelp and studied him, carefully schooling her face into a blank expression.

He was tall, with wild golden hair, dressed in what appeared to be a leather breastplate, a ragged black cloak fastened over his shoulders with a high curved collar that framed his elegantly carved face.
A thin mouth was curved into a smirk, and mismatched eyes sparkled mischievously beneath exotically upswept eyebrows.
His eyelids were darkened with eye shadow, which swept down the sides of his nose, giving him a decidedly bird-like appearance, and strangely, the effect suited him quite well. In fact, JJ was irritated to find herself thinking him to be quite handsome in a very strange, even alien way.

He stood on the stairs leading to the throne, one foot a few steps above the other so his knee was bent, upon which he rested an elbow, somehow managing to look fiercely intimidating yet casually amused at the same time.
"Well," he said, in a voice that was like silk against rough stone, "What have we here?"
"July Ana Jones," JJ answered, quite proud of the way she managed to keep her voice steady, despite the fact that her hands would be trembling if they were not clenching the seat of the throne.
The man's smirk turned into a grin, and that frightened JJ even more, "Well then, July Ana Jones," he said, somehow managing to make her name sound like a mockery, "Congratulations. You've found yourself a place in my kingdom. I see you've made your acquaintance with some of your fellow subjects, and they seem to have made you quite comfortable."
"Please," JJ said, "There's been some sort of mistake. Just send me home."
The man laughed, a sound that would have been delightful had it not had such a cruel edge to it, "I'm afraid you are home now, my lovely. Your cousin wished you away, and has declined the option to run the Labyrinth to reclaim you."
JJ's irritation spiked up, "Wait... Labyrinth? Of course he refused, you can't expect a six year old to run a labyrinth!"
The man continued as if she'd not spoken, "And seeing as how you have no other champions to run for you, you now belong to me."
The last part of the statement shocked JJ into a temporary silence, and she stared at the strange man with a blank look that was not pretended.
He reached over and casually took a curl of her long red hair between his fingers, "I must say, you're taking this well. Most humans would be screaming, in denial, or unconscious by now."
Irked by the uninvited contact, JJ slapped his hand away, "Hey, hands off, you! I don't care who you are, but--"
Flint sparked in his eyes as he straightened, towering over her and placing his fists on his hips, "I am Jareth, King of the Goblins, Lord and Guardian of the Labyrinth, Protector of the Lost and Heir Apparent to the throne of Tir Nan Og. You may address me as, "Your Majesty," or "My lord", or another title befitting my station," the smirk suddenly returned, "However you word it is entirely up to you."
While the inner part of JJ was running and hiding, the foolish part of JJ was despising being intimidated. With some effort (and a subtle helping nudge from Nobbiggo) she stood, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin to stare up at him defiantly.
Standing at 5'6", she wasn't exactly short per se, but a great many people still managed to tower over her, and she was used to having to stare down people taller than herself. It wasn't easy, but she'd had twenty years to practice.
"Now you listen to me, your poofy-ness," she growled, "I don't give a damn who or what you are, but if you do not send me home right now, you are going to have more trouble on your hands than you can handle."
Arching an eyebrow, the Goblin King stepped even closer, until his body was pressed against hers and his cinnamon-scented breath tickled her ear as he leaned in to whisper, "Oh you precious thing… I'll bet you drove your mother and father insane."
Carefully, he placed one finger against her breastbone, and ever so gently pushed, causing her to fall backwards onto the throne with an undignified yelp.
He took a step back as she came to her feet once more, the pain in her ankle forgotten, her fist clenched and flying towards his face. Effortlessly he caught it, and with a casual strength, pried JJ's fingers loose, clucking his tongue at the abrasions on her palms.
"Not here for even an hour and you've already injured yourself?"
JJ's anger was quickly replaced with curiosity as the Goblin King used his teeth to pull the glove off of his other hand, allowing it to drop to the floor as he traced his bare fingers over the scraped flesh.
JJ winced in anticipation of a fresh sting, but instead, her skin tingled, and as she watched, the abused palm smoothed over, leaving no sign of the scuffing.
Wordlessly, the Goblin King did the same to her other hand.
"Wow," she said, taking her hands from his grasp and running her fingers over them disbelievingly, "That's amazing. Thank you." she looked up at him and found that his expression had softened to a genuine smile, "You're welcome, Miss Jones."
He sighed, looking suddenly very tired, "Madame, believe me when I say that, if I could send you home, I would. A wish was made, however, and since there are none to challenge the labyrinth for your freedom, you must remain here. I am truly sorry."
JJ paused for a long moment, an idea forming in her head. The Goblin King studied her with narrowed eyes, and remarked in a tone laced with suspicion, "A human woman thinking as hard as you are right now never bodes well."
"Can anyone run the labyrinth for my freedom?"
The King nodded, "As long as they are willing, yes."
"Then…" she took a deep breath, "I want to do it."
Suddenly the smirk was back as the Goblin King tilted his head to regard her with an amused expression, "Come now, July, it really will be so much easier if you just accept the fact that you're trapped here, and that you belong to me."
JJ bristled, irritated by his arrogance, "I belong to no one. I claim my right to nominate a challenger for my freedom, and I am that challenger!"
Something in the Goblin King's demeanor changed, and while he still held the same smirk, it was suddenly something dangerous, a tangible warning that made JJ's skin crawl and she side-stepped around the throne to put some distance between them.
Either oblivious to or ignoring her discomfort, the Goblin King swept past her, going to a high-arched window and motioning for JJ to look out.
She did, and gasped: a gigantic maze, sprawling out towards the horizon. JJ tried to judge the distance, but found that some sort of optical illusion made that impossible, as the labyrinth seemed to writhe, constantly in motion.
As if reading her mind, The Goblin King chuckled, "It's not your imagination. The Labyrinth is alive, and is always changing. It's filled with dangers: pitfalls, oubliettes, dead-ends that close in on you and leave you trapped until your time is out," he circled behind her, and his breath fluttered against her neck, causing her to shiver, "And creatures that enjoy the taste of human flesh."
JJ struggled to keep her voice steady, even as she lied, "It doesn't seem so bad."
The Goblin King laughed darkly, "You would do well to remember that in this realm, nothing is as it seems. Do you still want to run it?"
JJ stared out across the Labyrinth, trying hard not to show her dismay.
Worst mistake ever, she mentally grumbled to herself, even as she said, "Yes."
She turned to face the Goblin King, and when she did, she found that they were no longer in the throne room, but at the massive gate that lead out into the Labyrinth.
"You have thirteen hours in which to escape the Labyrinth," the Goblin King said.
"And if I fail?" JJ asked, regretting the question when he grinned.
"If you fail, you will remain here for the rest of your life. Other than that, well... use your imagination."


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