Ch 3. Not Bulletproof

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Labyrinth or it's residents.

Authors Note: No this is not the last we'll be seeing of Bryan. Mwahaha. He's not getting off that easy. Please review. Feel free to ask questions. I had to edit this chapter to adhere to site rules. Just so you know the song she is singing is by Taylor Swift and is called Tell Me Why. As far as I know I only have to avoid putting the lyrics in it.

Rhea looked fearfully up at Bryan. The king grabbed Bryan by the collar of his shirt and dragged him away from the frightened girl.

"I'll admit that I can be cruel Bryan but that was just plain ruthless. Women should be treated with respect and generosity. When fear and love are both present in her heart it should be at a balance. Neither emotion should eclipse the other," he said harshly to the boy and turned to attend to the poor young woman.

Rhea felt strange. An urge she did not recognize pulsed through her veins as the goblin king gently caressed her sore cheek to soothe it. She met his gaze with confused eyes. The smooth leather of his glove helped to calm the stinging pain where Bryan had hit her. Involuntarily she found herself leaning into his touch. The urge got stronger when a familiar pattern of music rang through the air coming from the area itself it seemed.

"What is this," she asked cautiously.

"The magic in my realm dislikes certain situations. Anything that irritates me activates it. When such occurs it plays music to settle it's own anger down and ease the tension of the situation. Those involved may or may not get the urge to sing along to resolve the issue," the king explained.

"How do I make the urge stop," Rhea asked feeling it pull almost uncomfortably at her throat.

"Let it happen. When the song ends the urge will end," he brushed a thick red curl out of her face and moved away from her to allow her room to move about.

Seeing no other choice she let the words flow past her lips:

She looked down at her hands for the first line.

She looked up feeling slight confidence, and shook her head at Bryan.

She lightly touched her sore cheek and flinched at the pain.

She narrowed her eyes, now confident enough to glare at her assailant.

Bryan's eyebrows raised at her now serious tone of voice. She couldn't just sing at him like that.

She stood facing this dangerous boy she had fallen in love with once.

Anger flashed through her eyes like lightening.

Pain shocked through her heart as she recalled the signs of his potentially abusive nature that she had ignored.

She crossed her arms to emphasize her anger.

She recalled the recent argument over her living quarters and his threat to drag her and her possessions to his house if she would not come willingly.

She had thought he was just saying it to scare her but now she feared that he was actually capable of it.

Her head began making slight cocky movements indicating a temporary return of her preppy 'bring it on' attitude she once had with high school rivals.

Seeing the irritation at her defiance flash through her ex's eyes she turned and began walking away hoping the urge would cease with distance from her target. He followed.

Sensing his pursuit she turned back to him to find him too close for comfort. His eyes dared her to continue.

She pushed him back with both of her hands shoving against his chest.

He raised his hand to strike her again for shoving him only for the king to grab his wrist to stop him.

She took the opportunity to back away and put distance between her and Bryan.

Her back hit a wall and she looked to either side to see if there was any way to go.

She rolled her eyes at him and turned left walking out of his line of view.

Determined not to let her get away that easily Bryan followed her after jerking his arm away from the half amused king.

She wrestled away from Bryan as he tried to slip his arms around her.

He tried to grab her and turn her to face him but again she pulled from his grasp.

She backed against the wall to rest a moment and stared at the ground. Bryan opened his mouth to tell her to stop singing.

She continued singing and he closed his mouth realizing that she wouldn't listen.

He gently grabbed her shoulders and tried to get her to look at him.

She closed her eyes and turned her head away as he kept trying in vain to get her to listen to him.

She pushed past him, tired of his closeness, and kept walking.

As he tried to get a hold of her again she felt herself fall into a tear filled rage and wrenched herself away.

She slapped away another one of his desperate attempts.

She shoved him hard and he stumbled.

She shoved again as he still tried.

Again he reached for her and again she pushed him back.

His hands fell to his sides hopelessly defeated.

She backed away from him.

A tear rolled down his cheek as he realized there was nothing he could do.

The king offered him a crystal and promised to send him home if he took it.

Bryan nodded sadly and took the small orb. A moment later he was gone.

Rhea crumpled to the ground, sobbing at the sudden loneliness in her heart. She had needed him as the song said and now he was gone leaving behind a broken heart throbbing in her chest as it continued pushing life's essence through her aching veins. It forced her to survive an ordeal that for the moment she felt had stolen all meaning to her life from her soul. In it's place was only existence.

"You can still give up Rhea. Go home. You leave now and you will forget all this. You can return happy into Bryan's arms. Karen will be remembered only as a stillborn," the crystal was offered to her again.

Not daring to reach for the crystal she flung herself into this reluctant but generous kidnapper's arms. After a moment of surprised shock he let the crystal disappear, accepted her embrace, and rubbed her back. At least now she was wasting her time by crying brokenly into his chest.

Finally after three minutes of this she found her voice to speak, "Even if I can't make it in time I do not wish to forget that. That is who he really is and if I go home with no memory of it I will only learn it again after a more permanent bond has been formed between us. There will be no escape then. For I was not raised to believe in the concept of divorce."

The king sighed and thought about what she had just said as she continued to heave with sobs in his arms.

TBC…