"You never paid much attention, did you?" his smirked belied his arrogance.
"What is there to pay attention to?" She spat back at him, eyes flashing.
He stalked towards her, mismatched eyes flashing. "Your myths, your legends, your fairy tails." He was looming above her now.
"You- You can't frighten me!" She steeled herself.
"I am King. I believe I can do as I please." He reached out a hand to stroke her cheek.
She recoiled as if his touch was poison, and in a way it was. His eyes flashed in anger, and she turned to flee. His hand shot out to grip her wrist. He twisted her back to him.
"Let Me Go!" She shrieked, struggling as he pinned her back against his body.
"You really are a stupid girl, don't you know the rules?" He purred into her ear.
"What do you know about rules?"
"A good deal more than you, I'd say. I thought if anyone, you would know about fairy rings."
Confused, she said, "I wouldn't be here if I stepped into a fairy ring."
"This whole world is a fairy ring. And humans who step into fairy rings-"
"Will never escape by their own hand." The words were breathless. It had been a year since she dropped out of school, studying folklore and its roots in history, but she did remember that. "But I ran your stupid Labyrinth!" She was incredulous, and her fight grew stronger against him.
His chuckle was bemused as he loosened her slightly. "But that isn't the only rule you broke!" The king was pleased with himself.
"But-"
"And I thought you were supposed to be educated."
From no where and everywhere at once, a clock began to chime, thirteen times.
"But I ran your Labyrinth. I made it to the castle beyond the Goblin City!" There was a whine to her voice.
"No one likes a sore loser!" He chided patronizingly.
Catherine looked frantically around the room for any means of escape. She had taken the blind leap of faith from the platform in the Escher room, only to find herself embroiled in a face off she feared she may lose.
"What about my niece?!" You said if I made it to the castle, beyond the Goblin City, I could have her back!" She broke free, taking a few steps back into the blackness of the void. Even the air seemed to sparkle.
"The exact verbiage of our binding verbal agreement stated I need only to 'Give her back,' if my memory doesn't fail me. Nothing was mentioned as to who I was to return her to." The "give her back" perfectly mimicked Catherine's voice from a previous conversation.
"But who will you give her back to if not me?"
"Why, her parents. I'll just reorder time. No one will even know to miss you."
Catherine stepped back further. "I don't get it. I made it through the Labyrinth."
Mismatched eyes watched, looking wizened and almost sympathetic. "Have you forgotten everything from your studies?" The Goblin King shook his head. "My dear, you have done everything in the wrong way."
"But I picked the right doors, I made the right choices in the tunnels, and I survived those horrible singing birds!" She stomped her foot impetuously.
The king chuckled mirthlessly. "You take too much for granted. You danced and dined with the fae. Have you ever heard of Persephone?"
"Yes, her and- Oh." Stark realization dawned on her delicate, if slightly dirty at the moment, features. "I ate the berries that the owl led me to."
"I know."
"I know you know!" Catherine spat. "Why would any of the people I met on my way here betray me?" Her lip started to quiver in hurt.
Even the Goblin King softened, as did his features. "And you take another thing for granted. Fae folk relish in the chance to have a human play thing." He was suggestive, and he took a step forward, towards Cat.
"But that's not-" Yet another epiphany struck Catherine heard in the chest. That owl now seemed oddly familiar. "You- YOU-" she rushed at him, fisting flailing. He captured her hands.
"I led you to the berries. I saw you in my crystal, found you, and then led you to the Berries. I was The owl."
An angry howl came echoing from Catherine's mouth. She was enraged. "You are ROTTEN!" She punched the Goblin King in the arm to punctuate each word. "I have never met such and ARROGENT, SELF ABSORBED, UNETHICAL, IMMORAL SNAKE in my life!"
"Flattery will get you now where my pet." He stepped closer, giving her no momentum for any more blows. "Besides, I am not the only one to participate in your downfall."
"The dwarves?"
The king shrugged. "Not intentionally, I am sure. But you danced with them."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Catherine answered to the accusations. "You- I-" Eloquence escaped her at that moment.
"Your slip ups don't end there."
"But-" Catherine searched for the right thing to say. "You have no pow-"
"Don't lie to yourself, young thing. I have nothing BUT power over you." He smiled wolfishly.
"But-"
"You miss so much. I tell you to quiet your hysterics when we first met. You did as I bid. You took to the Labyrinth. Just as I bid."
"I was trying to do the right thing for my niece!" Catherine had tears dripping now.
"You did everything I bid you as you went though my Labyrinth, even if you did not know it. You've done as I willed. Don't you want your gift?" His laughter was loud and cold, like a line of clouds looming a head of a storm front.
"But its not-" Fair. She finished to herself.
"Don't bore me." Jareth almost looked ready to yawn. "You managed to make it thus far without whining, too much. Just accept your fate gracefully."
"I-"
"Have already lost. You're not going to win. Ever. Though I do venture to guess you'll continue to try. But then, life will be intensely interesting, to say the least." He grasped her wrists again.
Catherine frantically backed away, tripping over nothing and falling backwards, landing hard on the fog covered ground. As her head hit the hard surface underneath her, the Goblin King loomed over her. As the gravity of the situation hit her, she heard him say…
"I won you fair and square, pet…"
Darkness over took Catherine, and for then at least, she had some form of respite from what the cloudy future may hold.
A/N-
This is a prequel/middle chapter for a Fic I am working on when my day job is slow. I'll probably feel more motivated to elaborate on the scene if people read and review. Even constructive criticism to help me improve will get me exited enough to publish more!
