Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth, or any of its characters. The story is my own, as are the original characters.
-Chapter 2-
"Yes, it is. You have to help him, you're the only one who can." He said gently.
"I don't have to do anything." She snapped. "What if I make it worse? What if he ends up killing me before any of you even get the chance?" He laughed again, still staring out at the castle. Sarah looked at him. "I mean it! I mean, the guy does have a temper."
"I've seen it first hand, and I'm sure I'll see it again for bringing you back."
"What am I supposed to do exactly? I get that somehow I'm supposed to put some magical band-aid over all this mess, but how?"
"I wish I could tell you Princess, but you'll have to figure that out with time." She sighed, but he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a soft hug. "You'll know what to do, I have faith in you. I'm going to send you to the castle now, have faith in yourself, and you can fix this." He stepped away from her. "But if he does throw a crystal at you, just hold up your hand, it won't hurt you. You have more power than you know here. Just give it time."
She blinked and looked back at him, only to find herself staring at the castle door. Brittle vines had taken over the heavy wooden door, almost blending it into the stone around it. Sarah turned around and saw the remnants of the Goblin city. Grass was waist high, and greenery had taken over the small goblin-sized structures. Many of the small towers had collapsed, and it was only because Sarah had seen them before they'd fallen that she knew what they had been. Turning back to the door, she looked it over, gliding her hands over the ivy, and the stones around the arch. She gasped as one of the smaller stones gave way, and the doors shook, then creaked as they swung open.
"So nice to see you again, Sarah." The voice that had haunted her dreams suddenly filled her ears. "To what do I owe the. pleasure?" Sarah spun on her heels only to come face to face with a pair of mismatched eyes and blond wispy hair. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, only to grin when she stepped back, almost like a choreographed dance until she hit the wall with a thud. His gloved white hands supported him on either side of her shoulders. She'd forgotten how intimidating Jareth could be, almost like a jungle cat that could poise to strike, or choose to play with its food. Searching his eyes, she couldn't read which outcome would be the inevitable.
"I-I came here-" she stammered. He cocked his head to the side, raising a sleek eyebrow.
"Kindari brought you here Sarah, don't undermine my intelligence. What I want to know is why." His voice was sharper than she'd remembered, colder somehow. She blinked, and their surroundings changed to that of the throne room. His heels clicked on the stone floor as he stalked away from her. After staring for a moment, she realized that it had changed. The cream stone was a cleaner cut, elegant dark red pillows trimmed in gold tossed around. Where the old horned throne had sat, now sat a larger version, gleaming in polished gold.
"It's different." she said quietly. Jareth turned to her.
"Changing scenery is necessary every few hundred years."
"Is that why parts of the Labyrinth are gone?" He didn't answer, or acknowledge her question. "Alright, let's try a different topic then. Why are people trying to kill me?"
"Am I supposed to know the answer to that question, or have you gotten under someone else's skin?"
"Kindari told me something along the lines of my death might stop the 'Golden Age' from ending." Jareth stared at her, blank faced. His lack of response ignited a thought. "You had no idea, did you?"
"Have there been attempts?"
"None so far that I know of, Kindari said he got me first." She sat down on a cushion, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "Why is the Labyrinth dying, Jareth?"
"I am a King Sarah, you'd do well to remember it." Sarah fixed her gaze on the scene carved around the domed ceiling. It was a depiction of the Labyrinth, and the many creatures that she'd met in her brief visit the prior year. She couldn't stop a smile as she saw Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus; even the fairies outside of the gate. "Pity."
"What is?" Sarah turned her attention back to Jareth, who was watching her intently.
"It's a pity that they lacked the one thing demanded of them, loyalty to their king. Now they're paying the price."
"You know, you don't always have to be such a villain. There's gotta be times when you feel like being the good guy." Jareth laughed, and it startled her. His laugh almost sounded... genuine.
"Oh Sarah, how naive you still are. What else has my beloved brother told you?" He said, voice dripping with disdain.
"Well it isn't like we had a heart to heart, he kind of just kidnapped me and gave me the rundown on people wanting to kill me, you being a little less inclined towards your own existence, my supposedly 'being chosen' by the Labyrinth... That would just about cover it."
"So aside from attempting not to get killed, why exactly did he bring you here?"
"If only I knew." Jareth ignored her, and began flipping a crystal back and forth over his hand. Sarah's eyes wandered back to the carving. "Where are they?"
"They?"
"Hoggle? Didymus? Ludo?"
"They're where they need to be, forgotten about for the time being." Sarah stood and crossed her arms.
"I want to see them." The crystal stopped abruptly on his fingertips, and he looked at her and smiled smugly. He tossed the crystal up, and it floated above him as he rose.
"Why is it that in the span of a year you still have not learned simple manners Sarah? Is it above you to say please?" He was standing directly in front of her, only breaths away. Sarah looked up at him, still determined.
"What do I have to do to see them?"
That's it for Chapter 2... Short and sweet. Thanks for reviewing guys, I'll try to get another chapter ready for next week, lot more meat in it. These last two were more of prelims :)
