In Love With the Girl
Story # 0235
by Kaline Reine

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth, or any of the characters or settings from it. It belongs to the Jim Henson company. ;) I also don't own the character of Lila Uriel, she belongs to Miru88.

WARNINGS: This story will contain graphic adult content, at some point. The pairings are JarethXOC and later JarethXSarah.

This fic is written for Miru88 b/c she is awesome! :D

Chapter 4:

Lila was still having a bit of trouble discerning whether or not all of this was real. She was in a castle, in the castle beyond the goblin city, just like in all the stories… How was she to know whether this was really real or not?

The last thing she needed was a knight in shining armor. And that seemed to be what Jareth was trying to be to her. She didn't want anything to do with the evil man who was going to turn her into a goblin soon…

Trying to think about something else, she got ready for dinner. She found there was a small bathroom adjoining her room. She'd already memorized the way from the castle's entrance and exit, to her room. She would figure out where the dining room was soon, she was sure.

She wished that she had something clean to wear… Lila looked around the room, and finally found a small closet, it's door hidden and disguised to look like part of the wall. There, she found some clothes suitable for both men and women. But the women's clothing was much too small for her. It looked like it would be suited for a goblin woman's small height. The men's clothes were a little larger. They seemed to range in size more. Shrugging, she pulled out a pair of baggy dark blue pants and a black shirt to go with it. That would have to do for now. She had a feeling she was going to

Lila went to go have a bath. She'd been working in the warm atmosphere of the goblin cafe all day… She needed to look at least presentable for her dinner with the King. Even if he was a King of Goblins, he still was a ruler, and she wouldn't want to offend him. Maybe if she were lucky, he might even spare her. As it was, Lila was already having trouble wondering why he hadn't made her one of his minions already.

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As it turns out, they did indeed have actual running water.

Someone knocked on her door, just as she had pulled the shirt over her head. Lila silently prayed for it not to be Jareth. To her relief, it wasn't. A tiny goblin messenger, about the height of her knees, tugged on the corner if her shirt, and pointed down the other side of the hall.

"You want me to come with you?"

It nodded.

"Uhm, just one second…"

As an afterthought, Lila went to pick up the brush she had seen in the bathroom. She ran it through her long hair, that was still wet from her bath. She wished it was dry, but that would take time, which she didn't have right now. The girl followed the little creature down the hall.

The castle's corridors twisted and turned so much that soon Lila was feeling disoriented. She had no idea how to get back to her room. They had gone up a flight of stairs, then back down to, and through all kinds of corners, before they arrived in a big empty room.

The King wasn't there, but there was all sorts of food laid out for them to enjoy. It was a small table, where she'd somehow expected a huge one, like something from a fairy tale.

'Hmph. Some fairy tale this is shaping up to be!'

As if on cue, the little silent goblin pulled out her chair for her to sit. There was only one other chair, and it was directly opposite her. She knew who it was for, at least… She sat there, looking at all the strange food. She wasn't sure, but it didn't seem polite to start eating without the King being there with her. So she waited a bit, eyeing the food suspiciously. There were all kinds of weird things she wasn't used to. She had no idea what some of them even were!

It was not long before the Goblin King arrived. Jareth was wearing a pure black outfit that was different from earlier. The ruffled shirt had been replaced with a silky one that exposed a lot of his chest. Lila tried not to stare…

"So, how are you tonight, my dear?" He sat down, as if nothing was wrong. "

Lila glared at him. She had to remind herself that he was evil. PURE EVIL! And he was not under any circumstances, to be trusted. Ever.

"Cat got your tongue?" Jareth smirked, and started serving himself some food. He looked at her empty plate, and frowned. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Lila jumped a bit, breaking from her thoughts. "Oh yeah… I'm not sure what kind of food this is."

"You'll get used to it."

What an ass. He didn't have to be so rude about it! But she supposed that living with goblins for this many years had probably made him that way. Maybe without him even realizing it.

Lila filled her plate with the food that was closest to her, having no idea what it was, or even if it was safe. But she would eat it… She was starving.

The first thing she tasted wasn't that bad, so she continued eating. Jareth wasn't really watching her eat, but he did look up at her every now and then. Their meal was eaten in awkward silence, until finally he spoke.

"So Lila, how was your first day in the goblin city?"

"You know how it was, you jerk," She told him coldly. Lila was usually nice to everyone, but in a situation like this… How could she? "Miserable. You sent me off into a strange place, with no money. I didn't even know what I was doing."

"Tomorrow, I could escort you if you like."

She thought it over. Lila was very tempted to say no, and just throw his offer right in his face. But that wouldn't help her with her at all. It might be easier to walk around if he was with her. Maybe she could even escape… And while she still was not interested in that knight-in-shining-armor thing, she thought that maybe it would help get the trouble making goblins to leave her alone. All in all, it was a good idea.

"…Sure."

She hoped she wouldn't regret saying that.

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The previous night had been spent all alone, and Lila was surprised when Jareth didn't insist on walking her back to her room. The same goblin who had brought her down, quietly took her back the way they had come. It was good to have a guide anyway.

The night had been spent contemplating her next move. Lila knew the way out, so she could leave the castle if she wanted to. But she knew there would be guards posted outside the castle, and near the city too. There must be some other way she could escape.

The next day, she woke up to the feeling that she was being watched. She had been so tired, she didn't even change out her clothes last night. The girl had gone straight to bed after her dinner with the Goblin King.

And that was exactly who had invaded her room. '"Get out!" She threw a pillow at him. "Why are you in my room?"

"I thought we should get an early start today," He dodged the pillow with a simple lean to one side, but allowed it to go sailing by his head across the room. "

"What if I wasn't dressed, or... Or something?!" She panicked. "You can't just come barging in here whenever you want! Crazy!"

Jareth smirked, as the girl pointed an accusing finger at him. "But you weren't in the nude. Are you ready to go?"

She blushed, seeing his point but… but still! How could she ever feel safe here with people just barging in all the time? She managed to nod, and brush her hair before putting on a pair of shoes that had been provided for her, and stepping out into the hall.

"I can make it even easier," Jareth smirked, already twirling a crystal on his fingertips. "Let's go."

Before she could do anything, the crystal in his hands seemed to dance. As it moved, she found herself being drawn to watch it. Jareth's grin widened, as the crystal orb enlarged, almost as if it were encasing them. Lila looked outside at the room they were in. Everything was distorted, as if she were looking at it through glass or maybe even the other side of a mirror.

There was a weird sensation. Soon the edges of the bubble rippled and faded. They were somewhere else. Jareth walked forward down the street as if there was nothing wrong. Lila looked around confused for a moment, and figured out that they were in the goblin city again, before joining him.

"What was that?"

"An easier way to travel," Jareth hooked his arm in hers. "Shall we?"

She looked at the sign on the building they were standing in front of. It read 'Goblin Fashions & More'. They went inside.

"Hello," A short little man greeted them. He seemed to of average intelligence, and he didn't look like a goblin. His hands were gnarled and his limbs were short…

'He must be a dwarf!' Lila figured.

"My King!" The little man bowed. "Can I help you?"

"We are here to purchase a dress for the lady," Jareth explained. "No need for formalities."

"Right well, please come right this way," The dwarf looked her over, seeming to size her up. "I have many choices, but I'm sure that we'll have your size. We're used to having the shorter crowd here."

Lila just followed him through the small store. Jareth went with her, and he looked at some of the clothes too. This shop sold some of the finest goblin fashions… And more.

They could both see the obvious problem here… Most of the garments were made for various size goblins and dwarves. None of them were anywhere near Lila's size. But the shopkeep seemed to think he could find something, so they let him look. Lila didn't see anything that struck her interest. All the colors were kind of drab and gloomy looking. She liked to dress to impress, but it hadn't occurred to her that maybe the definition might be different here. People in different societies tended to like different things.

It wasn't long before he pulled a dress from a hanger. It was a long, sleek black thing with a dark brown leather skirt, and little leather fasteners all over it. It didn't really appeal to Lila's sense of style, but Jareth seemed to smile approvingly.

"Try it on," The King urged her.

It looked like it would be a little short on her, but it should otherwise fit. It was clearly designed to fall around someone's ankles, but if she had guessed right, the skirt should stop somewhere near her knees. Still, it was better than nothing. She followed the dwarf man into a changing room, while Jareth waited outside, in the main part of the shop.

Lila realized that she had no other escort besides Jareth, and she was finally going to be left alone. She looked around on the way there. She didn't see if it was an exit or not, but it looked like the little door in the back might lead outside. Deciding to play it safe for now, Lila tried to change into the dress. But it really didn't fit her. She got it on, but it was much too short to wear to a ball.

Jareth wasn't really paying attention, he was walking around and looking at all the clothes. "Well?" He looked up when she came out looking disappointed.

"It doesn't fit…" Lila sighed sadly. "Are there any other stores we can-"

"Ah! Here it is!"

The dwarf came out of another part of the store with what looked like a very elegant human-sized ballroom gown. It was red and black, with lots of black crinoline and red lace. Lila really liked it. She hoped it would fit.

"That's really pretty," She smiled kindly. "Can I try it on?"

He gave it to her with a smiled, and nodded towards the dressing room.

This time Lila would not fail in her attempts to escape. She had been too afraid to really try for it before, but this time… She was tossing the dress into the slipping out the back door before she could stop herself. Lila knew she could find her way out of the goblin city. There had to be way out! Then she would figure out how to get home.

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A/N: I have a headache right now, so I'm surprised I was able to write this. It was pretty relaxing to be working on a Labyrinth story again. I hope it was enjoyable. Lila's character really seems to be developing a little more. She fits right in with Jareth, and I love it! XD The scary part is that most of this chapter was not planned, so it's mostly just improvisation. I never planned for Jareth to go with her, but it will work nicely.

-Kaline Reine