This is a snippet from a larger Labyrinth fic I'm working on whenever the mood takes me. It's an adaptation of the old German fairytale Allerleuiah. I hope you enjoy it. :)


Sarah smiled shyly up at the Goblin King as she placed her hand in his gloved one – despite her infatuation, his intensity always made her feel nervous. Like a small mouse under the sharp gaze of a hungry cat.

"You look enchanting tonight, my Lady," Jareth complimented her as they approached the other dancers. He swept her into his arms, holding her as close as he dared – far closer than what was considered appropriate by Court standards.

"You are far too kind, Your Majesty," Sarah replied softly, inclining her head demurely. Jareth was both pleased and amused to see the light pink blush spreading from her cheeks down her graceful neck to her décolletage.

Tonight, he told himself, the plan would be put into action. The mysterious Lady Sarah would not escape him a third time. To thrice defy the King's advances within his own territory was to gain power equal to his. It was a very, very old, almost forgotten edict within the Goblin Kingdom, applying only to those of royal blood.

Jareth would not be terribly alarmed by this under normal circumstances, except he suspected strongly that Sarah was, at the very least, a Princess. Her bearing, her manners, her way of speaking all gave her away.

Not to mention, he had never seen ball gowns so fine, in his Kingdom or any other. Even the high aristocracy had not the means to obtain a trousseau like hers.

As appealing as the thought of having this woman as his equal was (for he did love a challenge), Jareth still did not know what Lady Sarah's motivations were. She seemed receptive enough to his attentions when they were together, but then she would vanish into thin air, leaving him unable to locate her and make an offer of courtship. It was a worrying thought. Did she intend to eventually receive him, or merely demand an equal share of his Kingdom?

He could still smell that enticing scent of magic on her skin, but Jareth knew Sarah was too young and too inexperienced a sorceress to understand the implications of giving him her true name so trustingly. With her name, he could find her, trap her and bind her to him.

He had the bespelled gold ring in his waistcoat pocket, ready and waiting. Whatever impenetrable magic she was using to keep herself hidden from him would be useless once he had it on her finger. He only hoped that his hunch was correct, and that Lady Sarah was disguising herself as Allerleuiah. It still escaped him as to why, but he would find out in short order, he suspected.

The irony of Sarah being bound with her own ring amused his trickster's side a great deal.

He nodded slightly to the musicians as they began to play a new song. He had given them orders earlier in the evening that once Lady Sarah appeared, they would play for well over the half hour that she would normally dance for.

If Sarah was flustered when making her escape, it would be all the easier to get the ring on her finger without her noticing.