Second chapter! The rights to all things Labyrinth do not belong to me, and you should thank Jim Henson.

Hope you enjoy, and please review!

Leah x

She stood on a hilltop, overlooking the most impressive and terrifying thing she had ever seen in her life. It was a maze, twisting and turning in all directions, until her eyesight reached its limit and the maze disappeared. She could see a castle jutting up in the middle, but was too far away to make out any details.

The Voice shouted Labyrinth! in her head, and she knew. She saw the Goblin City, the repulsive little creatures that lived there. The Voice told her the Labyrinth was indeed something to be feared.

The Labyrinth was drenched in a sickening light under a blood red sky.

"I don't remember inviting you to run my Labyrinth"

Rosie spun. As she took in the figure standing there, the Voice shouted more words. Words such as Jareth! And Goblin King! And Careful! She understood that this was not someone to be messed with. Then the Voice said, I'm afraid you are alone now. Good luck. It went silent. Rosie's head felt empty.

The Goblin King smiled. "Nevertheless, here you are."

Rosie straightened up. "I don't want to run the Labyrinth. I don't even know how I got here."

But she did. It had to be the map. And the Voice, which had deserted her and left her stranded in a different world. At least the Voice had given her some information. She felt prepared, the shock which should have overwhelmed her kept at bay. Like she knew exactly what was going on.

The Goblin King stared. "I'm afraid that's not my problem. You're here, and to leave you must run the Labyrinth. It's the rules, if you will."

"But that's not fair!"

His smile fell from his face. "I knew a girl who said that once. Tell me, what is your basis for comparison?"

Rosie felt brave, which was ridiculous, considering the circumstances: trapped, talking to a man who had serious hair care problems (blond, fluffy and spiky all at once), being forced to run a Labyrinth – not something she had exactly trained for- and still wondering why she hadn't broken down and had a panic attack yet.

"What happens if I say no?"

The smile returned, ten times wider. "You get to become more familiar with the Goblins." She had no doubt he expected her to react to the word "goblin," but she thought it would be wiser not to.

"What happened to that girl you mentioned?"

He ignored her question. "Unfortunately, someone else is already running the Labyrinth."

Rosie looked out at the sprawling mess of twists and turns that lay below her. "What, it only occupies one?"

He shrugged; what do I care?

He turned and pointed towards a clock she hadn't noticed before. "You have thirteen hours to run the Labyrinth and reach the Goblin City."

Rosie nodded. "Fine. I'm ready." She blinked and he was gone.

"Right." She turned back towards the Labyrinth.

I really wasn't built for running, she thought.