Disclaimer- The Henson Associates Inc. is refusing my offer for the legal copyright of the Labyrinth characters. The negotiations are still going on. They want 100 billion, and I keep offering them a dollar. It's quite tiring, so for now. I'm just borrowing the characters until I can get 100 billion dollars. Hey, if any of you would like to go in on ownership with me. Let me know. If we all put our dollars together, we could really buy the Labyrinth copyright, and we'd be forever powerful. We could also make Jareth do whatever we want. (Evil grin) Now in this chapter "Within You" by David Bowie is featured also a couple of lines from "As the World Falls Down" again. Hopefully he doesn't sue me. Also I have pulled direct quotes and scenes from the Labyrinth movie, these are not mine either. Not mine, Theirs!

AN- Wow… that was pretty cool. I got all bummed out because Norehnka was the only one who loved me and now I have two new readers and reviewers. Thank you for joining us notwritten and Princess of the Fae and as always thank you Norehnka, I was waiting on your review to put up this chapter. Much love to all of you. Okay are you ready? This is the last build up chapter and the next one is where everything goes to hell. Enjoy.

Insanity Takes Its Toll

Chapter 4: Curiosity and Consequence

Larizel couldn't take her eyes off of the book. She said the name over and over in her head and finally spoke it out loud. "The Labyrinth." The words rolled from her tongue and out into the dead air. Her body shivered unnaturally. She took the leather bound pages into her hands and opened the book to the marked page and read it out loud.

"Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered. I have fought my way here to the castle, beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great." She paused and took a shaky breath, saying the last words slowly. "You have no power over me." Larizel's voice carried unto the air and the last words echoed through the room. She shut the book and opened the inner cover. There, in beautiful penmanship was a hand written note.

"To my dearest Sarah, Dreams are only what you make them to be. Follow your heart and let it guide you to your destiny. Someday you too can make your dreams come true.

Love,

Mom"

Larizel's breath caught in her throat and she felt the knot in her stomach, as realization hit her hard. She was standing among the belongings of Sarah Williams. The book she held in her hands was the very book that the young girl became so obsessed over that she went mad. A very unexpected thought came to mind, one that surprised even Larizel. 'If the book was that good, I have to read it.' Curiosity was Larizel's biggest weakness, and this time it got the best of her.

Her enormous king size bed barely took up any space in the spacious master bedroom. The room had arched doorways and a small sunroom like corner where small double doors lead to a single spaced balcony. She had set the bed to face the window and set a nightstand with a lamp next to it. She loved to read before bed, always felt it helped to get her creativity going. She found that her best music was written at 3AM in the morning after waking from some of her more vivid dreams. She pulled the covers back and settled herself in for the night. She held the book in her hand for a moment running her fingers over the gold embossed print. With caution she opened to the first page and began to read.

The sand filled wind blew hard under the orange sky. She looked down over the Labyrinth that stretched out before her. She could hear voices, but they were so distant. She turned to find two figures on top of a hill. One male, with long blondish-silver locks dressed in shades of deep blue and midnight black. The girl stood facing away from him looking over the labyrinth. Her dark brown hair caught in the wind as he stepped closer to her. Finally Larizel began to make out their words.

"Turn back Sarah, turn back before it's too late." His voice was sincere, yet challenging. His voice held a strange accent, not unlike British, but then again, every accent sounds British in someway.

"I can't, can't you see that I can't" Her strength could be heard in her words, but she was so naive, so innocent, so stubborn and headstrong.

"What a pity?" His mocking tone left a bitter feeling in the air.

"It doesn't look very far." She tried to comfort, and convince herself. She had to go and she knew it.

"It's further than you think. Time is short." With those words spoken the world faded to dark. The orange sky was gone. A new scene appeared.

The ballroom was dressed in silvers and blues. The dancers were each their own world. The hideous masks that they all wore just showed the evil of their true selves. But one in the crowd wore no mask. She was dressed in silver and her hair was fixed into a waterfall of chocolate curls and silver flowers. She pushed her way through the crowds searching for something.

Larizel heard words in her head, but they weren't her thoughts. "Could this be the same girl, the same child that entered my Labyrinth only hours ago, and turned my world upside down? By the gods help me, how can I desire her as I do? How can I be falling in love?" With that the music played and the song began, a song that Larizel knew oh too well now. This was the song that she had heard in her head every time she entered the house. This was the song that he had sung to her in so many dreams, but this time, he wasn't singing it to her. He was singing it to his Cinderella-like prey.

"I'll paint you mornings of gold. I'll spin you Valentine evenings, though we're strangers 'til now. We're choosing the path between the stars. I'll leave my love between the stars." He sung almost genuine as he spun her around in his arms. Her heart stirred almost like jealousy or perhaps envy. She really wasn't sure, but she wished those lips to sing to her and his eyes to look at her the way he did the other girl. As quickly as this all came to her, the scene was fading again.

She saw a room that had no up or down, no wall, ceiling, or floor. It was a nightmare of stairs that were everywhere. Stairs that lead to sideways and upside down doorways and down walls and across ceilings and from her spot in a doorway she watched the brunette run determined up and down the stairs. All the while she heard a familiar voice singing softly.

"How you turned my world, you precious thing. You starve and near exhaust me." He walked along the bottom of the stairway shadowing the girl above. Then instantly walked from behind her. "Everything I've done, I've done for you" Larizel watched fascinated as he walked through the brunette defying any kind of logic and physics, which was non-existent in such a room. "I move the stars for no one"

His words held such blame and bitterness. He was once more in front of the girl. "Your eyes can be so cruel. Just as I can be so cruel." As he threw the crystal it instinctively hopped to the child that also defied gravity and logic, as he was able to crawl the room as it was seen, not as it was. The brunette ran frantically around the room trying to reach the child.

Then Larizel saw him leaning against a wall watching the girl. He was showing how hurt he was, the knowledge of losing… not the game, but the girl. "Live without your sunlight. Love without your heartbeat. I, I can't live within you" The words partly carried his broken heart through them mixing with a sighing of pain. She moved to get near him, comfort him from that pain… remembering a dream she had once before. She reached out a hand to touch his shoulder…

Larizel woke with a start. She heard something. It was some kind of loud crash. Her lamp was still on and the book lay on her chest. She must have fallen asleep while reading again. Her heartbeat was ringing in her ears, as her pulse raced. She could hear footsteps in the hallway, no in her room. She searched and tried to get her eyes to focus on the dark far corners of her room. Finding her voice finally she spoke in a shaky whisper. "Who's there?"

A strangely familiar voice answered her from the opposite corner. "You know very well who it is."

She felt her fingertips go numb as her hands began to sweat. She couldn't believe what she heard, even worse she couldn't believe what she was about to say. Her voice barely got out the words as they choked out in a harshly quiet gasp. "Jareth?"

AN- Hmmmm…. Isn't that interesting? Thoughts? Comments? Hate Mail? What are you guys thinking so far? I'm guessing this was the part you've all been waiting for… Jareth's grand entrance. Again… this whole story has been written so haha… I know what's going to happen and you don't. But a few reviews may very well get you the next chapter. Go forth and spread the word. On a side note since I know you guys are big fans, you should take a look at my profile. I list all the stories I read and love. You may have already read them, but if not… you should. Much love to all.