AN: I wanted to try my hand at a Labyrinth fanfiction. This is my first one and the characters will probably seem a bit out of place sometimes but this is the way that I perceive them. Some things will be OC and others not so much. Thank you in advance for reading. This story will get a little dark. And by a little I mean moderately. After all, Jareth is looking for a way to ease his pain, and what better way than taking it out on others? Chapter one will contain Sarah's point of view over four and a half year's time, leading up to her 20th birthday.

Prelude

He would have given her everything. Everything! If only she would have stayed, he would have returned the babe back to his home. He would have bent to her will; listened to her every whim. Treated her like the Queen he wished her to be. She hadn't stayed though. She had said those cursed words and thrown everything he had done for her back in his face. He had been fuming at first. How dare she? How dare she defy him? How dare she act as if what he had done for her was for nothing?

As time went by he started to realize, slowly, that perhaps she hadn't truly understood his offer. Perhaps he had not said his right words. She had been young and naive. Being immortal, he had a tendency to forget that mortals required a more blunt approach. Oh sure, it had started out innocently enough. Just another silly girl wishing for things she couldn't comprehend, taking for granted the words she had spoken but somewhere along the line it had become much more than that.

He had watched her then, just as he did now. He had watched her fight her way through his beloved labyrinth. He watched as she began to realize that life wasn't always fair. He watched her stand up to his challenge with the courage that a young woman such as her couldn't possibly possess. And yet, she persisted. She never gave up. Even when he had thrown so many obstacles in her way, she kept going.

He had intended for the peach to make her forget her goal; a simple distraction and nothing more. He had not planned for it to backfire in such a gut wrenching way. She was stunning in her white ball gown. Her hair was curled, with strings of crystals and pearls intricately placed throughout. Her bright green eyes, usually so sharp, were softer; gentler. She had sought him out that night in the crystal ball room and that was when he felt it; the pulling in his chest. He was compelled to touch her, to go to her, his eyes never once breaking contact with her. It had seemed like an eternity before he was able to take her in his arms and dance with her. He had been so close he could smell her delicate perfume, lilacs and peaches; a slight touch of irony.

A few more seconds and he was sure he would have kissed her, then and there, but she had spotted that damn clock! He hadn't expected to feel hurt when she pushed away from him. He definitely hadn't expected to feel his eyes mist over as she shattered the bubble that had kept them both captivated. He had practically begged for her to love him, to stay with him. With six little words he had felt his heart crumble.

"You have no power over me."

It had taken him months to even step foot out of his chambers again. He was angry; angry at her for leaving and angry at himself for the ache in his chest and the wetness in his eyes.

It was a completely different feeling than what he was used to. He had felt lust multiple times, having a pick from some of the most beautiful women in the Underground. But this, this was something different. He would sleep and dream of her only to wake up feeling miserable. He would find tears running down his face every time he remembered the way she had bested him, as if he were absolutely nothing to her. The ache only increased over time as he watched her grow from a naive, ignorant child to a wiser, more intelligent young woman.

He had tried to drown out the thoughts of her within the first year of her absence and quickly realized that there weren't enough women or alcohol to cover up his pain. After the thirteenth tryst with an Elven beauty he found himself wishing that it was Sarah he was with. He wanted it to be her he was lying next to; touching her, holding her, worshiping her body. The alcohol only made him dream of her to the point of insanity.

After two years he had taken to watching her through his crystals, sometimes forgoing sustenance for weeks to simply watch her doing the most mundane things. He loved watching her sleep. Her face was so serene and beautiful while she slept. Not that her fiery passion in her eyes while awake wasn't beautiful, but when she slept he saw a sweetness to her that she didn't often show. How he hoped that she was dreaming of him while she slept. The thought of her dreaming of another left him feeling slightly distraught. He wanted to be the reason she slept so peacefully at night.

He longed for her to say his name; to make a simple wish for him. She never did. After four and a half years he had given up hope. His precious Sarah never once uttered his name out loud. In fact, after her return to the Aboveground she avoided the words 'I wish' all together. She called on her friends less and less over those four years as well. It was as if she were trying to forget the Labyrinth even existed.

After four and a half long years the Goblin King's hold on his kingdom began to wane. He had let his labyrinth change at will. Communications with the other kingdoms of the Underground had all but stopped. He had not grown weaker by any means; he had simply lost interest in controlling his world. The thrill of ruling had lost its spark. He still dealt out punishment when needed and made sure to keep trade routes open for his subjects, but beyond the most important details for his kingdom's survival, he stopped bothering.

The change in his demeanor had become most worrisome for his subjects. The king had lost his liveliness, his arrogance, his need for playing tricks and games. He had nearly lost his social standing. Some even questioned if he had not lost his mind as well! Darker forces began seeping into his kingdom little by little and he didn't even seem to notice, what with spending almost all of his time locked away in his palace!

His subjects did not realize that the situation was much, much worse than it seemed. Jareth, the Goblin King, had felt the darkness creeping in on his kingdom and had wondered, for the first time in his immortal life, if the darkness could kill the pain.