"You tricked me! Ah!" Raelinn faced the Labyrinth in awe. She turned around to go back to her apartment, to wake up from this dream. But all she saw when she turned around were fields of flowers and tall grasses. "I need to wake up!"
"You have woken up, dearie. You woke the magic inside of you. Magic I infused with your body. Thankfully, I did my research and found out that your grandmother was a changeling and you had the capacity to house the magic, but that is time for another discussion!" Jareth smiled and clapped his hands. This time, his gloved hands made noise.
"What? My grandmother was a changeling? This isn't funny anymore! I can't be here!" Raelinn was beginning to worry. She could feel the grass under her feet and smell the odd mix of wet stone and flowers. It was all too real. She spun around in circles, looking for a way out. She tried imagining her apartment, but she couldn't bring herself to want it badly enough the more she took in her surroundings. She looked at the Labyrinth. It was different looking than when Jareth was king. It seemed bigger now, large trees had randomly sprouted throughout and were towering over the maze, unknown birds were flying high, you could see in one section the walls were shifting, and the castle in the middle of the Labyrinth was bigger and more ominous looking than before. Jareth was running his hand through his hair and sighing.
"I hate to admit that I like this new look. When you're done fooling about, come here. I have something for you to wear", he said as he turned to face her.
"No, you stop fooling about! I need to get home! Take me home!" Raelinn exclaimed.
"No. You agreed to help me. You were too easy to persuade," Jareth laughed.
Raelinn opened her mouth as if she were offended and crossed her arms. "I said no such thing!"
Jareth laughed again to mock her. He twisted his hand and a crystal appeared. He flicked it with his other hand and the crystal turned into white sand that blew away in the wind. What was left was an amulet hovering less than half an inch above his black glove. "Here wear this," he put his hand out so she could take it.
Raelinn looked at it. "How are you able to suddenly make noise with your hands and manipulate objects?" She asked with one raised eyebrow. She picked up the floating amulet and turned over the crescent moon shape in her hands.
"Oh so you noticed that? Good. You'll need those observation skills. Here in the Labyrinth I have more power to manipulate. I can even," He laid a heavy hand on her shoulder, "touch you now. You better stop angering me then."
Raelinn furrowed her eyebrows and shook off his hand. She was not going to show Jareth that she was unhappy with this new development. He'll probably find a way to poke and prod me at every moment if he knew, she thought. She held up the amulet, "What is this? Protection?"
"An amulet of course. You typically wear it around your neck," Raelinn rolled her eyes at his sarcastic comment and pulled it over her head and let it hang around her neck. "I made a copy of mine because it's a family heirloom. This is the copy I wore when out to certain areas on other kingdoms. Couldn't have it stolen. Since my amulet is missing from my body because it fused with yours," Raelinn gave a horrified look at him when she heard that and Jareth just smiled and continued, "I'm sure that Majeel thinks I transferred the gateway between our worlds into the amulet." Raelinn remembered his story of how he transferred the gateway magic into her body, but to hear it said like that was a little horri-
"Wait, Majeel will think this amulet has the magic? You can't make me wear this! He'll go ballistic! I'm taking it off," Raelinn tried to slip it over her head, but it wouldn't budge. It would suddenly become very tight when trying to get it past her chin. "Ughh! Nooooo! Are you trying to get me killed too?" Jareth ignored her last question.
"Too easy," he chuckled. "You better smarten up if you're going to be of any help to us." He stopped laughing. "Remember, only you can see me. You should act like you don't know who I am. Keep up your cluelessness and you'll be safe." And with that he disappeared.
"Ughhh you…." Raelinn looked up in time to see Jareth looking behind her. She looked back briefly to see another man walking toward her. She turned back looking around to find that Jareth was gone. Her eye darted left and right. She whispered, "Jareth? Jareth?"
"Hello there. What do we have here? A lost wonderer?" A voice asked. Raelinn turned around. The man was getting closer. He was tall with hair so black it looked blue sometimes. It was long and full, like a lion's mane. His face was ghostly pale and his red eyes bore into her. He smiled what was supposed to be a friendly smile, but instead it came off as seductive and cold. He wore all black except his "tie" was a dark black/blue beetle that may or may not have been real. It had a sheen to it that flickered a dark blue when he moved. "Were you talking to someone?" He asked.
"I was just muttering curses," Raelinn had no idea what else to say. She didn't know this man, but she had a very strong suspicion who it was. She remembered Jareth's rude remark to keep acting clueless. "Can you tell me where I am? I'm afraid I have no idea."
Majeel nodded. "You are in my kingdom. This," He gestured toward the Labyrinth, "is my Labyrinth. I am king Majeel. And you are?"
"Raelinn. Oh, you're the king? Pardon me, Your Majesty," Raelinn shivered a bit and awkwardly bowed. This man was alluring and so very scary at the same time. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be clueless on.
"Raelinn," Majeel tasted the name on his tongue. "I see that you're wearing something around your neck. Where did you get it?"
"I don't know. I was sleeping in my bed and woke up with it around my neck. I opened up my bedroom door and ended up here," Raelinn lied. "I can't seem to get it off either." To demonstrate, she tried pulling it up over her head. Majeel saw that the amulet's chain tighten before she could get it over her chin. He folded his arms and put one hand under his chin, his long fingers framing his face.
"That's a shame. I believe that amulet belongs to me. That's a crime to steal from the king you know. If you can't get it off, I can fix that for you," Raelinn looked up, hopeful. "But it would be such a shame to cut off that pretty little head of yours wouldn't it?" He titled his head slightly and smiled, showing sharp brilliantly white teeth.
Raelinn was sweating bullets at this point. Okay, okay, I can fix this. I just need to figure out how to get out of this. "We don't need to be so hasty, right? I can figure out how to take it off. I just need…I just need," Raelinn was wringing out her hands and shaking slightly. She looked to the side and at the Labyrinth. She thought of an idea. "Do you like playing games, Your Majesty?" She asked and immediately regretted asking. Majeel's eyes lit up, twinkling and Raelinn knew the answer.
"Games? What did you have in mind?"
"I can take off the amulet. I'm sure I can find the knowledge in the Labyrinth. It has libraries and people who will know, correct? If I go through the Labyrinth, gaining companions who will help me, reach the castle and can take it off, I get to keep my head. If I get to the center and cannot take it off, you can do what you need to take it off." Raelinn said, feeling like this was the right thing to say, but hating saying it.
"That's a lot you're putting on your own plate. You have to solve my Labyrinth and figure out a way around the magic that keeps it from going over your head," Majeel was smiling with pleasure. He enjoyed seeing her squirm. He enjoyed looking at her and her hazel eyes. And he really enjoyed her trying to flatter him by calling him "Your Majesty". "But I like this idea. Just as long as I can," He took a step closer to her, bending slightly and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him, "Chase you."
Raelinn's heart was racing. What does chase mean? She had images of wild animals chasing her and nipping at her heels, but banished the thought. She wanted to be strong and not faint in front of him. She could tell he was more than enjoying himself. "Chase? Well, that's a lot going against me. That's why I said I will gain companions who can show me the way through the Labyrinth and who can help me beat the odds."
Majeel let go of her and stood up straight. "You put a lot of trust in the inhabitants of the Labyrinth. I hope you find companions who will help you, for your sake. Since I became king, I altered the Labyrinth. It is longer and more wild than before. I will give you considerable time. I want you to become enthralled with my Labyrinth and not want to ever leave. I want you to fall in love with my magic. I want your knees to buckle when you see me," Majeel said looking intently at her and smiling his sharp toothed smile.
Just to spite him, Raelinn did her best to stop shaking from her near death experience that turned into a game with her life on the line.
"But I accept! You, Raelinn, have one month to solve the Labyrinth, find companions who will help you, and look for a way to take that amulet off your neck. If you fail to take it off if you reach the castle, I will take it off for you. If you fail to solve the Labyrinth by the end of the month, you are mine to keep." Raelinn started to protest parts of the deal he proposed, but a man sized mirror had appeared with him walking into it. He snapped his fingers and the mirror folded in on itself over and over until it disappeared.
Raelinn took a deep breath to steady herself. She turned toward the Labyrinth and started walking.