"Dad! Are you home?" Elizabeth walked into her house with goose bumps running down her spine. It happened every night when she got to her front door. She was always afraid of her father; his drunk fits never seemed to cease and it always ended up in bruises and blood. A sophomore in college, she couldn't afford to move out let alone pay for school. She was stuck here and she knew it.
Elizabeth walked into her kitchen, her big brown eyes wide and she saw the bottles of beer strewn across the counter, her father suspiciously staring at her from his seat at the table.
"Where haveyoubeeen." His words flooded together and he slowly rose from his chair shooting daggers at his daughter who backed away slowly.
"I was at the library. I told you yesterday that I needed to study for my exam next week."
"LIAR!" Her father grabbed a beer bottle and flung it at Elizabeth who screamed at the impact on her cheek. The blood began to ooze down her face. How am I explaining this one?
"I'm not lying! I swear! Please!" Elizabeth pleased as her father grabbed her dark golden hair and pulled, leveling her face with his. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and she winced as he pulled even harder causing her eyes to fly open. His mouth contorted into a wicked sneer as he flung her across the room.
"Daddy, please! I didn't mean to upset you!" He kicked her in her stomach and flung yet another beer bottle at her, shattering as it impacted against her arm.
"Sweetheart, I know you're lying, sweetheart, just like your mother." He attempted to kick her again but she gained enough energy to block the blow. Infuriated, he yanked her up from the hair and slammed her against the wall. Her pleas rang through the house, but no one could hear her. Elizabeth stared up at her father as he slapped her across the face smearing the blood and tears. He sneered and walked back to his seat and ordered her to clean up the mess. Shaking uncontrollably, she cautiously rose up from the floor and did as her father asked her, careful to make no sudden movement in fear that he would over react. Still crying, she cleaned the shattered glass from the floor and waited for her father to pass out. Once unconscious, she slowly made her way to her bedroom.
I hate my life. The tears began to fall like a waterfall; her sobbing filled the bedroom and she didn't even bother cleaning the dried up blood. Truth be told, she was at the library studying for an exam. She majored in psychology and was having her final exam in the week to come. She knew that if she tried hard enough, she could get a good job and finally leave her father. However, that wasn't going to well. She didn't know where her mother was, not that she cared anyway. It was her fault that Dad got drunk every night. It was her fault that Elizabeth was left alone with her own problems. It was her fault. . . .her fault. . .
Elizabeth picked up her favorite book, Jane Eyre. Flipping through the pages and wiping away her still flowing tears, she faintly smiled as she reread the part in which Mr. Rochester professes his love for Jane. Imagine if I had my very own Mr. Rochester. Someone who could take me away and swirl me off my feet. Someone who could love me and hold me. . . . She shrugged off the thought, knowing that that would never happen. She knew she pretty; she had big brown eyes and dark gold hair. She had clear ivory skin and was slender. But deep down, she knew that no one ever wanted to get to know her. They wanted her body, and if she didn't oblige to their needs, she was a nobody. She never gave in though. She was innocent. She yearned for love.
I wish somebody could just take me away. . . Elizabeth closed her eyes and began to drift off into a deep sleep when she was interrupted by a soft seductive voice, "You called." She jerked awake and gaped at the man before her. "Are you just going to stare at me? I don't have all of eternity. Well maybe I do. . ." He smiled to himself at his joke and quickly looked back at Elizabeth as he heard a faint whimper.
"What's going on?" She whispered. Oh my god. There's a man in my room. And he's wearing leather tights! Wake up Elizabeth. Wake up! The mysterious man shot an eyebrow up and eyed her with an amused expression on his face as she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them up again with a dismayed expression on her face. She repeated it twice before he interrupted.
"Alright, let's go." He proceeded to pick her up, but she jumped up and backed all the way up until she hit the wall. He stopped a moment and looked her up and down. Bruises covered her arms and one side of her face was swollen. He frowned and took a step forward.
"Get away from me! I don't who you are or what you're doing, but . . .but" She made a run for the door but with no avail. He materialized in front of her and she screamed. Tears began to fall and she began to shake. "Please don't hurt me."
The man had a baffled expression on his face as he stared at her. "Why on earth would I want to hurt you? Let me remind you, precious, you're the one that called me."
"What do you mean I called you? I never called you. I don't even have a phone to call you!"
He shook out his head and took out a crystal ball. Whoah..where did that come from? Can that really fit in his pants? Elizabeth stared up at him with a confused expression on her face as he made a gesture toward the ball. She took a cautious step to him and looked into it. She gasped as she saw herself crying earlier. She head herself whisper, "I wish someone could just take me away." She stared up at him and just looked into his eyes. "You're going to take me away." She said it as a statement and not a question.
"Yes. I'm glad we finally understand now. Now, you're going to come with me now and forget about this place."
He put out his arm expecting her to take it but she stayed firm and eyed him. With a false sense of courage, she squared her shoulders and said, "What if I don't want to go with you?"
He looked into her eyes and let out a laugh. It surprised her. How can he laugh in a situation like this? Elizabeth looked down embarrassed that he took her for such a fool. "You have no choice. You made your wish. I am here to follow through with that whish"
"Well, I take it back!"
"The Labyrinth doesn't allow you to just take it back." He looked at her almost insulted that she even questioned that power that a wish can possess.
"I don't even know your name or who you are! You don't just expect me to run off with some stranger, do you?"
He eyed her and confidently said, "I am Jareth, King of the Goblins and you're Elizabeth, dweller of New York. See? We aren't strangers anymore." He eyed her up and down as she processed the information that she was given.
Jareth? King of the Goblins? Is this guy on crack? She glared defiantly towards him and stated icily, "I'm not going with you."
Elizabeth backed away as he walked towards her. He looked like a lion about to attack its prey. His glare made her whimper and goose bumps ran up and down her spine. Shit. What have I gotten myself into?
"You dare defy the order of the Goblin King himself? Few have made it out alive with disobedience. But, you're lucky. You are a mortal and a naïve one at that. I will say it one more time before I drag you by force. Come, take my hand and leave with me. I will not ask again."
She immediately grabbed his hand at the sound of the threat. She wasn't getting out of this no matter what happened. She just hoped that this Jareth person wouldn't hurt her.
"Wait! Can I take something with me?" He rolled his eyes a little too dramatically and impatiently allowed it. Elizabeth ran to her bed and grabbed Jane Eyre. His eyebrows rose and he saw the object she possessed. He then took her hand and everything began to spin into oblivion.