Introduction: All right. I'll admit it. First ever Labyrinth fic. Ever. And that's funny because I've liked the movie ever since I was little (and I was attracted to Jareth even back then). And, first off, I do need to say that I love Jareth/Sara, but that's been done so many times, I wanted to do something different. I can't figure if anyone would want to read this or not, but hey, different is often good.
Disclaimer: If there is any way in hell I could come up with a story like the Labyrinth, would I be posting crappy fan fiction up on the net, the last refuse of the untalented (well, most of them)?
Excuses: I'm listening to rave music.
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Prince Frog
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Chapter 1: Change is Good
Hoggle watched Sara as she rummaged through her locker, dragging out papers months old with doodles of fantasy lands on the backs, along with issues of old magazines she had long since forgotten she put in there. She pushed her hair behind her ears, sighed, and scooped out volumes of trash that had mysteriously multiplied since the beginning of the year. Where did it all come from? She pulled out a sheet of paper, and gazed at it, as if surprised of its existence in her locker. Carefully, she folded it up, and placed it in her pocket. Carrying an armful of all the junk she could manage, Sara made her way to the trashcan and dumped it. There, all done. Now she could go home and prepare for finals. Chemistry would be a toughie, but with any luck, she could pass with flying colors. She glanced at her rather unfeminine watch and jumped. She would be late for Jared. Better hurry. And off she went to meet her boyfriend in the parking lot.
Hoggle sighed and observed as the Mirror's image flickered and writhed and finally disappeared, only to reappear as a reflection of him. The Mirror always phased out erratically for Hoggle, it would only stay on a single image for its owner and master, King Jareth.
After the affair with Sara and the loss of half his power, the Goblin King had supposedly created and installed the Mirror to keep watch on Sara so that she might never mess with his petty kingdom again. Right. His subjects didn't believe it either. Jareth spent most of his time up in the Seeing Room these days, when he wasn't being a tyrannical ruler.
Hoggle had first discovered the mirror when he was ordered to dust the entire Goblin Castle as punishment for being instrumental in the Fairy-Mermaid Compromise. The fairies and mermaids both lived in the only clear lake in the entire kingdom, Reflection, and had continuously fought over the territory for as long as anyone could remember. Hoggle had been contracted to build a bridge over the lake, and found he could only do so if the two species of creatures would stop battling, so he had organized a cease-fire and peace conference. Everything had worked out really well until Jareth found out about it. He didn't like things going on his kingdom that he had no participation in. And so Hoggle had been punished.
The Seeing Room was at the very top of the Northern Spire, hidden behind a painting of a knight in shining armor. The Mirror was a stand up, 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide, framed in silver with intricate designs of eyeballs, giving it a rather creepy total image. The full title of the Seeing Tool was the Minute Mirror, so called because it was a window into the minute ago past, anywhere in the world. Hoggle knew that his King didn't want him there. That was obvious. But what Jareth didn't know didn't hurt Hoggle. So the little dwarf visited the room often and was very careful to avoid the Goblin King. All the goblins knew that Jareth was temperamental, especially about a certain little human girl. More than once the King had been seen storming down from the Seeing Room, blowing all goblins in sight away. The entire kingdom was forbidden to talk about Sara and any mention of her lead to a nice swim in the Bog of Eternal Stench.
It had been about a year since Sara's adventure in the Labyrinth and she was in her last year of high school. In the beginning, Sara had continuously called for Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Diddymas. But those callings had become less frequent and eventually stopped all together. So Hoggle was stuck simply watching her in the Minute Mirror. But that in itself was something.
Sara had started dating Jared about a half a year ago, and Hoggle didn't like the boy, and neither did Jareth for that matter. Jared looked exactly like a certain Goblin King, minus thick make-up (and Hoggle was sure the boy did wear some, nobody had that clear of skin), tight paints, a wacky 80's hairdo, and a couple years. Sara seemed to like the boy a lot though, to the chagrin of the dwarf and the King. A lot a lot. Too much, in Hoggle's opinion. Far too much of a pretty boy for Sara. Sara needed someone down to earth, a dependable, loyal guy. But she was on the other side of the Mirror, and as everyone knows, the only way to get to the Aboveground is to be invited. Which Hoggle and Jareth were not.
Hoggle glanced at his jewel imbedded watch. Shit! The Goblin King was due up here any minute. Better make himself scarce. The dwarf was just about to make his exit when here heard the sound of leather boots on the stairwell, a very specific sound, and one that Hoggle feared most of all.
Oh! Um... behind the Mirror, hurry! Hoggle slipped behind the Mirror, a place he always forgot to dust, just in time as Jareth stalked into the room, something he did very well. The King of Goblins was dressed in black finery, mostly silk. He wore the usual black tights, with leather boots reaching up to his knee. He shirt was especially old fashioned, the kind with puffy sleeves and open at the chest with delicate ruffles. The cape made of some indescribable substance flowed like black blood, dripping over Jareth's back like some needy lover, and fastened with a silver chain incrusted with sapphires that matched Jareth's eyes.
"Sara," Jareth ordered the Mirror. Hoggle could feel the Mirror vibrate slightly as it sought its prey, notably faster for Jareth than for him. It was suddenly still, and Hoggle could see his King's eyes soften as he gazed at its image. With a sweep of his cape, Jareth sat down on the ruby glittering chair in front of the Mirror. Even though Hoggle couldn't see the Mirror's image, he could hear it.
Sara walking, the sound of her feet becoming faster, and then her giving a cry of joy: "Jared!" (This drew a growl from both Hoggle and Jareth)
"Sara!" A familiar voice, devoid of an accent. Him sweeping her up in his arms. "Finally clear up that damn locker?"
"Yeah, you have no idea of all the stuff I found, stuff I completely forgotten about." A ruffling of paper and denim.
"What's that?"
"Hm? Just some old doodle of mine."
"Let me see."
"On, no you don't." Playful wrestling, sounding like it ended in a kiss. "Just don't laugh at it."
Unfolding of paper. "No, it's good. I didn't know you could draw that well. But who, may I ask, is the fairy boy in the tight pants?" ("Fairy boy?" Jareth growled)
Laughter. "The old sexy nemesis of my fantasies. You don't think he looks hot?" (A pleased smile from said nemesis)
"Let's not go there. And who's the dwarf?"
"Huh? That's Hoggle."
"Hodgepot?"
"Hoggle. He happens to be a very dear friend, so leave him alone."
"You are so weird."
"That's why you love me." More kissing.
Very dear friend. That sounded nice. Better than sexy nemesis, any way. Hoggle sighed silently, stirring up the dust on the back of the Mirror. Oh no. Not good.
"ACHOO!" Crap.
Hoggle heard the rustling of silk, the clicking of leather heels, and then the Minute Mirror was pushed away revealing a very scared dwarf to an angry Goblin King.
"G-Good evenin', Master Jareth. Pleasant time to get a liddle ahead on castle dustin'."
A rather evil smile, displaying very sharp white teeth, crept into Jareth's face. "Come come, Hogwartz. Is that the best excuse you could muster?"
"Do I look like Harry Potter to you? An' who said I was givin' you excuses? I-I just-"
"Do you know the punishment for lying to a King, especially a Goblin King, in the Underground?"
"Um, well, as a matter of fact, no. But perhaps you could inform me... some other time?"
Jareth leaned closer, towering over the shaking dwarf. Speaking slowly, in clear, precise, drawn out words, "Tell you what. Why don't we play a game." It was not a question.
"What kind of game?"
"My kind of game." The handsome Fae King roughly grabbed Hoggle and set him upon the chair. "I told you once that I'd turn you into a prince. I think I might finally make do on that promise."
"I-It wasn't a promise. An' you already did, anyway."
"Quiet." The Goblin King brought Hoggle's face very close to his, so close the dwarf could smell the King's perfumed breath. "Now, I want to think of your princess."
Before Hoggle could respond, "What princess?" the image of Sara drifted into his mind. He was suddenly very uncomfortable and taller than Jareth.
"Ah yes. Clothes." The king snapped his fingers. The uncomfortable feeling was gone. Jareth scrutinized Hoggle. "Well, not typically prince-like, but I suppose it will do for a modern one. No come off the chair and look at yourself."
Hoggle, unused to having legs longer than a foot, nearly toppled off the chair. Jareth caught him and looked him up and down when they were both on even floor. The once-dwarf was rather disappointed at being slightly shorter than the King; he liked the feeling of Jareth looking up at him. "The Mirror," The King said, and shoved Hoggle in it's direction.
And... all the curse words Hoggle had used since he was two left his brain as he stared in rapture at his new reflection. Princely was definitely a word to use, if not just plain handsome.
He was tall, at least six feet, if not more, with a muscular frame, not overly so, but strong, and yet managed to pull off being long and lanky. Jareth had dressed him in dark jeans, with leather lace up boots without (thank god) any heels. A white dress shirt, a size too large and slightly loose, covered chest features that the majority of women would drool over. It wasn't all left to the imagination though, the top three buttons open. Blonde hair fell into his eyes, which had miraculously become an emerald green. His hair was bleach blond, cut short except for his bangs. High cheekbones graced his face, devoid of any hair. Elegantly sculpted lips, containing a set of perfectly straight white teeth, accented his face. His nose however, was just slightly too prominent and crooked.
"You did that on purpose."
The Goblin King shrugged like only he could, sensuously and nonchalantly. "Even I cannot change everything. This is as much of a Prince as I can make you out to be. I'm rather pleased with it."
"Now what am I goin' to do? It's not like this does me any good. You do this jus' to tease me."
Jareth tsked. "Have you so little faith in me?" he said sarcastically. "She, your Sara, invited you. Go to her, Prince Hoggle. Or should I say, Prince Frog. That is what your name means in the Goblin dialect, you know."
Hoggle gaped. "You mean... I can... to Sara?"
"Yes... you can... to Sara," the Goblin King spat, mimicking him. "Now, go to her!"
And with that, Jareth pushed Hoggle into the Mirror, and to the surprise of a dwarf-turned-prince, he went through.
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Well? Bit long, I know. But I had much to say! Shorter next, I promise. Please review and tell me if you like it.
Disclaimer: If there is any way in hell I could come up with a story like the Labyrinth, would I be posting crappy fan fiction up on the net, the last refuse of the untalented (well, most of them)?
Excuses: I'm listening to rave music.
------------
Prince Frog
------------
Chapter 1: Change is Good
Hoggle watched Sara as she rummaged through her locker, dragging out papers months old with doodles of fantasy lands on the backs, along with issues of old magazines she had long since forgotten she put in there. She pushed her hair behind her ears, sighed, and scooped out volumes of trash that had mysteriously multiplied since the beginning of the year. Where did it all come from? She pulled out a sheet of paper, and gazed at it, as if surprised of its existence in her locker. Carefully, she folded it up, and placed it in her pocket. Carrying an armful of all the junk she could manage, Sara made her way to the trashcan and dumped it. There, all done. Now she could go home and prepare for finals. Chemistry would be a toughie, but with any luck, she could pass with flying colors. She glanced at her rather unfeminine watch and jumped. She would be late for Jared. Better hurry. And off she went to meet her boyfriend in the parking lot.
Hoggle sighed and observed as the Mirror's image flickered and writhed and finally disappeared, only to reappear as a reflection of him. The Mirror always phased out erratically for Hoggle, it would only stay on a single image for its owner and master, King Jareth.
After the affair with Sara and the loss of half his power, the Goblin King had supposedly created and installed the Mirror to keep watch on Sara so that she might never mess with his petty kingdom again. Right. His subjects didn't believe it either. Jareth spent most of his time up in the Seeing Room these days, when he wasn't being a tyrannical ruler.
Hoggle had first discovered the mirror when he was ordered to dust the entire Goblin Castle as punishment for being instrumental in the Fairy-Mermaid Compromise. The fairies and mermaids both lived in the only clear lake in the entire kingdom, Reflection, and had continuously fought over the territory for as long as anyone could remember. Hoggle had been contracted to build a bridge over the lake, and found he could only do so if the two species of creatures would stop battling, so he had organized a cease-fire and peace conference. Everything had worked out really well until Jareth found out about it. He didn't like things going on his kingdom that he had no participation in. And so Hoggle had been punished.
The Seeing Room was at the very top of the Northern Spire, hidden behind a painting of a knight in shining armor. The Mirror was a stand up, 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide, framed in silver with intricate designs of eyeballs, giving it a rather creepy total image. The full title of the Seeing Tool was the Minute Mirror, so called because it was a window into the minute ago past, anywhere in the world. Hoggle knew that his King didn't want him there. That was obvious. But what Jareth didn't know didn't hurt Hoggle. So the little dwarf visited the room often and was very careful to avoid the Goblin King. All the goblins knew that Jareth was temperamental, especially about a certain little human girl. More than once the King had been seen storming down from the Seeing Room, blowing all goblins in sight away. The entire kingdom was forbidden to talk about Sara and any mention of her lead to a nice swim in the Bog of Eternal Stench.
It had been about a year since Sara's adventure in the Labyrinth and she was in her last year of high school. In the beginning, Sara had continuously called for Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Diddymas. But those callings had become less frequent and eventually stopped all together. So Hoggle was stuck simply watching her in the Minute Mirror. But that in itself was something.
Sara had started dating Jared about a half a year ago, and Hoggle didn't like the boy, and neither did Jareth for that matter. Jared looked exactly like a certain Goblin King, minus thick make-up (and Hoggle was sure the boy did wear some, nobody had that clear of skin), tight paints, a wacky 80's hairdo, and a couple years. Sara seemed to like the boy a lot though, to the chagrin of the dwarf and the King. A lot a lot. Too much, in Hoggle's opinion. Far too much of a pretty boy for Sara. Sara needed someone down to earth, a dependable, loyal guy. But she was on the other side of the Mirror, and as everyone knows, the only way to get to the Aboveground is to be invited. Which Hoggle and Jareth were not.
Hoggle glanced at his jewel imbedded watch. Shit! The Goblin King was due up here any minute. Better make himself scarce. The dwarf was just about to make his exit when here heard the sound of leather boots on the stairwell, a very specific sound, and one that Hoggle feared most of all.
Oh! Um... behind the Mirror, hurry! Hoggle slipped behind the Mirror, a place he always forgot to dust, just in time as Jareth stalked into the room, something he did very well. The King of Goblins was dressed in black finery, mostly silk. He wore the usual black tights, with leather boots reaching up to his knee. He shirt was especially old fashioned, the kind with puffy sleeves and open at the chest with delicate ruffles. The cape made of some indescribable substance flowed like black blood, dripping over Jareth's back like some needy lover, and fastened with a silver chain incrusted with sapphires that matched Jareth's eyes.
"Sara," Jareth ordered the Mirror. Hoggle could feel the Mirror vibrate slightly as it sought its prey, notably faster for Jareth than for him. It was suddenly still, and Hoggle could see his King's eyes soften as he gazed at its image. With a sweep of his cape, Jareth sat down on the ruby glittering chair in front of the Mirror. Even though Hoggle couldn't see the Mirror's image, he could hear it.
Sara walking, the sound of her feet becoming faster, and then her giving a cry of joy: "Jared!" (This drew a growl from both Hoggle and Jareth)
"Sara!" A familiar voice, devoid of an accent. Him sweeping her up in his arms. "Finally clear up that damn locker?"
"Yeah, you have no idea of all the stuff I found, stuff I completely forgotten about." A ruffling of paper and denim.
"What's that?"
"Hm? Just some old doodle of mine."
"Let me see."
"On, no you don't." Playful wrestling, sounding like it ended in a kiss. "Just don't laugh at it."
Unfolding of paper. "No, it's good. I didn't know you could draw that well. But who, may I ask, is the fairy boy in the tight pants?" ("Fairy boy?" Jareth growled)
Laughter. "The old sexy nemesis of my fantasies. You don't think he looks hot?" (A pleased smile from said nemesis)
"Let's not go there. And who's the dwarf?"
"Huh? That's Hoggle."
"Hodgepot?"
"Hoggle. He happens to be a very dear friend, so leave him alone."
"You are so weird."
"That's why you love me." More kissing.
Very dear friend. That sounded nice. Better than sexy nemesis, any way. Hoggle sighed silently, stirring up the dust on the back of the Mirror. Oh no. Not good.
"ACHOO!" Crap.
Hoggle heard the rustling of silk, the clicking of leather heels, and then the Minute Mirror was pushed away revealing a very scared dwarf to an angry Goblin King.
"G-Good evenin', Master Jareth. Pleasant time to get a liddle ahead on castle dustin'."
A rather evil smile, displaying very sharp white teeth, crept into Jareth's face. "Come come, Hogwartz. Is that the best excuse you could muster?"
"Do I look like Harry Potter to you? An' who said I was givin' you excuses? I-I just-"
"Do you know the punishment for lying to a King, especially a Goblin King, in the Underground?"
"Um, well, as a matter of fact, no. But perhaps you could inform me... some other time?"
Jareth leaned closer, towering over the shaking dwarf. Speaking slowly, in clear, precise, drawn out words, "Tell you what. Why don't we play a game." It was not a question.
"What kind of game?"
"My kind of game." The handsome Fae King roughly grabbed Hoggle and set him upon the chair. "I told you once that I'd turn you into a prince. I think I might finally make do on that promise."
"I-It wasn't a promise. An' you already did, anyway."
"Quiet." The Goblin King brought Hoggle's face very close to his, so close the dwarf could smell the King's perfumed breath. "Now, I want to think of your princess."
Before Hoggle could respond, "What princess?" the image of Sara drifted into his mind. He was suddenly very uncomfortable and taller than Jareth.
"Ah yes. Clothes." The king snapped his fingers. The uncomfortable feeling was gone. Jareth scrutinized Hoggle. "Well, not typically prince-like, but I suppose it will do for a modern one. No come off the chair and look at yourself."
Hoggle, unused to having legs longer than a foot, nearly toppled off the chair. Jareth caught him and looked him up and down when they were both on even floor. The once-dwarf was rather disappointed at being slightly shorter than the King; he liked the feeling of Jareth looking up at him. "The Mirror," The King said, and shoved Hoggle in it's direction.
And... all the curse words Hoggle had used since he was two left his brain as he stared in rapture at his new reflection. Princely was definitely a word to use, if not just plain handsome.
He was tall, at least six feet, if not more, with a muscular frame, not overly so, but strong, and yet managed to pull off being long and lanky. Jareth had dressed him in dark jeans, with leather lace up boots without (thank god) any heels. A white dress shirt, a size too large and slightly loose, covered chest features that the majority of women would drool over. It wasn't all left to the imagination though, the top three buttons open. Blonde hair fell into his eyes, which had miraculously become an emerald green. His hair was bleach blond, cut short except for his bangs. High cheekbones graced his face, devoid of any hair. Elegantly sculpted lips, containing a set of perfectly straight white teeth, accented his face. His nose however, was just slightly too prominent and crooked.
"You did that on purpose."
The Goblin King shrugged like only he could, sensuously and nonchalantly. "Even I cannot change everything. This is as much of a Prince as I can make you out to be. I'm rather pleased with it."
"Now what am I goin' to do? It's not like this does me any good. You do this jus' to tease me."
Jareth tsked. "Have you so little faith in me?" he said sarcastically. "She, your Sara, invited you. Go to her, Prince Hoggle. Or should I say, Prince Frog. That is what your name means in the Goblin dialect, you know."
Hoggle gaped. "You mean... I can... to Sara?"
"Yes... you can... to Sara," the Goblin King spat, mimicking him. "Now, go to her!"
And with that, Jareth pushed Hoggle into the Mirror, and to the surprise of a dwarf-turned-prince, he went through.
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Well? Bit long, I know. But I had much to say! Shorter next, I promise. Please review and tell me if you like it.