We continued to dwell deeper into the labyrinth. I felt fairly confident now with Hoggle by my side to guide me in the right direction.

At the moment, we had passed the inner walls of the labyrinth and were heading into the very belly of the beast, as to speak.

Hoggle was silent, just waddling along. He had spoken little to me as we went along, especially after the incident with the Jareth-form. I suddenly felt very small and childish. Here I was, stuck in some fairytale land with a dwarf as a guide and the clock tick-tocking away. I now understood my mother's frustration. I vaguely wondered how Jennifer was doing. She was no doubt making Jareth go insane. Hmph, he deserves it…I thought bitterly.

Meanwhile, at the castle…

The small form of a prepubescent girl was curled up in the fetal position as raunchy goblins giggled and pointed fingers at her. Jennifer was partially hidden in the corner of the filthy room, her stick arms covering her eyes. This had to be a nightmare, it had to be. She wondered if her sister did mean those nasty words. What if she wasn't even trying to solve the labyrinth? A stake of panic shot through the girl's heart.

Jareth, in the other hand, had a hand poised over the bridge of his nose. His eyes were closed, his brows furrowed in concentration. The beginning of a headache was forming and the drunken roars of the goblins around him didn't help much at all. The man let out a sigh, cracking open his mismatched eyes to stare at the wished-away child in the corner.

She had been pretty quiet the time she had been here. Jennifer, as he observed since her birth, was an arrogant type of child. She had grown up spoiled rotten, much to Jareth's surprise. Sarah was not one to spoil her children, so Jareth supposed it was the child's father's fault. Though, the time she was here, she had been curled up in the corner, eyes closed and skin pale. Jareth wondered if she was hungry or thirsty, but a nasty part of him willed himself not to become caring in front of his goblin people. He'd give her something later.

But…his thoughts went back to the girl running his labyrinth. When she was born, Sarah called on Jareth. It was highly unusual for her to call on him, especially after not seeing him for many years. She had explained to him that if anything happened to her and her husband (Jareth had flinched at the word), to take her daughters to the Underground. But she failed to mention taking them before anything happened to her.

And then Jareth watched Sarah's daughters grow. Nadia had been a quiet, reserved girl her entire life. She would prefer spending an afternoon indoors, a good book clutched in her hands, than going outdoors and getting muddy and sweaty. She had a small group of friends, who, over time, evaporated from Nadia's reach. She was now grown into a young woman whose childhood innocence was not far short of leaving her. Jareth realized this only a year ago, when he had been watching her at some party. She was reading in the corner of the basement when an obviously-drunk boy tried to hit on her. She handled the situation by herself, but Jareth had understood that she was no longer considered a child.

He knew the labyrinth would be no problem for her. Jareth was running out of ideas – and fast. Sarah was the first to ever finish his labyrinth, and that was ages ago. But Nadia had the upper hand. She had grown up listening and reading the story. Jareth had to think fast.

"Would ye Majesty be interested in some ale?" A drunken goblin prodded Jareth in the knee, swaying slightly on his feet. He blinked up at his king with red, watery eyes before hiccupping.

Jareth stared at the goblin with annoyance before kicking it away. His headache was beginning to grow and throb tremendously. He stood, clasping his crop in his gloved hand.

A hush fell over the goblins in the room as Jareth stood. A few of the intoxicated let out mumbles. The King's people looked up at him expectantly.

"I would like to be alone," he announced, glaring at every creature in the room. They stood in their spots. "Now." They scrambled for the door.

Once the room was empty, nix a few hens, Jareth walked over to the curled up girl in the corner.

"Jennifer," he whispered quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. The girl flinched, tightening herself into a ball.

Jareth sighed. "Jennifer, I'm not going to hurt you. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

The girl lifted her head and stared up at him. "Where's Nadia?" she demanded.

"She's running the labyrinth, obviously."

Jennifer looked away for a moment. "She's…she's not going to get hurt, is she?"

Jareth quirked an eyebrow curiously. "Oh, why the concern?"

Jennifer went silent. "I…I am a bit hungry…" she mumbled after a moment's silence.

Jareth nodded. "I'll be sure to have something brought to you." He turned his back to her, ready to leave when she called out to him.

"Don't hurt Nadia."

Jareth froze in his spot. "My dear child, I cannot promise her safety, but as long as she stays away from me, she'll be fine."

With that, he left the room.