Certain Powers: The Misadventures
Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth. I just like to play there. The same disclaimer applies to any and all worlds that may pop up in this story.
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Prologue
The king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl, and he had given her certain powers…
It would be today. He was sure of it. He had been watching her all afternoon, rehearsing the lines in her pretty costume, that infernal mutt lying beneath the tree preventing him from getting any closer. To speed things along, he conjured a thunderstorm, the first drops sending her sprinting for home.
With a flap of his wings, he took flight, intent on the castle beyond the Goblin City. He had only to wait.
Today would be the day she would say the words.
-o0O0o-
Sarah tore through the streets of her small northeastern hometown, racing the storm with Merlin close at her heels. It was 7 o'clock and she was late. Her house came into sight, and she ran for the front door, only for it to open, her stepmother blocking the entrance with her hands on her hips.
"You're late."
Sarah rolled her eyes at her disapproving tone, and pushed past the diminutive woman into the entryway. "Sorry."
"Don't use that tone with me, young lady."
Sarah whirled around at the sound of the door closing. "I can use any tone I want to. You're not my mother."
Karen sighed. "You're right. I'm not your mother. But a girl your age should take some responsibility. If you say you're going to be somewhere at a certain time-"
"You can't tell me what to do! I hate you!" Sarah ran up the stairs, waiting for Merlin to slip inside before slamming her bedroom door closed behind her. Pulling out the slim red book she had been reading in the park when Mother Nature had so rudely interrupted, she tossed it onto the vanity. With a huff, she flounced onto her window seat, pulling her knees up to her chest as she watched the rain fall in full force now.
She looked up at a knock on her door, her dad's voice calling out to her from the other side. "Sarah?" He paused a moment waiting for a response that didn't come. "Sarah, we've got to go now, but we've put Toby down for the night. There's some leftover lasagna in the fridge if you're hungry."
Sarah rested her chin on her knees with a sigh. "Fine. Go."
"Oh, and Karen would like for you to pick up the living room while we're gone, and start the dishwasher after you've eaten. Okay, hon?" He lingered a moment longer before she heard his heavy footsteps down the stairs followed shortly by the sound of the front door closing. Sarah looked down at them as they got into the car, feeling vindicated when the wind flipped Karen's umbrella inside out, her vapid shrieks rising up through the storm as the cold rain soaked into her silk blouse and pulled at her carefully coiffed curls. Robert rushed to her side, shielding her with his own umbrella as she climbed in, running awkwardly around to the driver's side. Sarah watched as they drove away until the car was out of sight around the corner.
A cold, wet nudge at her hand drew her attention, Merlin letting out a small whine. Sarah smiled at him as she ruffled the fur on top of his head. She scooted over, patting the empty space beside her. "Come on, Merlin. Up."
Merlin placed two big furry paws on the window seat, looking at her once before pushing off with his back feet. He turned in a tight circle two and a half times before flopping down with a yawn.
"It must be nice being a dog, dreaming the day away, no expectations." Sarah sighed as she draped herself over the large sheepdog, wrapping her arms around his neck. "They treat me like a slave. It's just not fair." She nuzzled her face into his fur, turning her head toward the storm raging outside the window. "At least I have you, Merlin."
It wasn't long before the storm began to clear, the puffy clouds orange and pink in the fading light. Off in the distance, a rainbow arced across the sky. Sarah lifted her head and smiled. "Hey, look at that. What do you say we chase the end of the rainbow?" Merlin lifted his head slightly, smacking his lips sleepily in response before letting it sink back down on his front paws.
Sarah sighed, resting her chin on top on Merlin's head. "I guess you're right. We can't exactly go anywhere with that little goblin in the other room, can we?"
She turned her head, snuggling in deeper, her gaze fixed on the rainbow. "Wouldn't it be nice, though? To go an adventure somewhere far away, some place magical." She yawned, her eyelids growing heavy. "Sometimes, I wish…" The rest of the words fell softly under her breath as she drifted off to sleep.
-o0O0o-
"Your majesty! Your majesty!" the goblin screeched as he ran into the throne room, tripping over his own feet in his haste to bring the news.
Jareth was draped in his throne, unaware of the chaos in the room as he sat contemplating the game to come. He looked down at the goblin as he fell to his knees, his lips pressed into a thin line, irritated at the intrusion. He tapped a riding crop impatiently against his boot. "Yes?"
"The girl!"
"What of her?"
The goblin looked around the room at the others in an unanswered plea for support. He swallowed nervously before looking up at his liege. "She's gone."
Jareth bolted upright. "What?"
The small goblin cowered, inching backwards. "She made a wish, but they weren't the right words. And then she disappeared."
Jareth conjured a crystal, staring at it intently before throwing it forcefully against the wall, the glass shattering and the light scattering into a thousand tiny rainbows. "Damn that girl! Do I have to spell it out for her?" Jareth glanced around the now silent room, all eyes fixed on their king. He pointed toward a large goblin loitering in an arched doorway. "You there. Fetch my travelling cloak."
He strode purposefully toward the large wooden doors leading out to the Goblin City. "Inform Marco that I will be out of the kingdom for an unspecified amount of time." In the doorway he turned back, a scowl on his face as he surveyed the room. "And if you value your mangy little necks, you'll stay out of trouble while I'm gone. Is that clear?"
A murmur of agreement rose up from the room, a goblin handing him his cloak nodding and scampering off. The room grew quiet as the doors slammed shut behind the Goblin King.
-o0O0o-
Author's Note:
I don't know what to say about this story, and I'm not exactly sure what genre it will fall in. I'm literally going to be making it up as I go along. It is a prequel, so it's not a romance exactly, although there will probably be elements of it scattered throughout. It was just an idea that popped in my head while I was drifting off to sleep. What if her certain powers enabled her to wish herself into the story, but not necessarily the story Jareth intended? So, essentially, this will be a series of misadventures in various storybook realms before she finally says the "right words", and given that Jareth has a vested interest, he intervenes.
Fair warning: I have no allegiance to cannon in any of these other worlds. Most likely I'll take bits and pieces from various retellings that I like and mash them together, twisting them into whatever I need them to be.
Thanks for reading! Please, leave a contribution in the little box. :) Any guesses where she's going first? It should be fairly obvious, I think. ;)