A lonesome king stared out at his vast labyrinth. He stood alone on a high balcony connected to his chambers. Someday he hoped to share this sight with someone, but after hundreds of years of being alone, he began to doubt that he would ever share his life with someone. Of course, his emotionless face revealed nothing of the inner feelings of self-doubt. Perhaps, he decided, that this was his flaw. Perhaps he did not reveal his feelings enough to others.

The king narrowed his eyes on a particular section of the labyrinth. To the naked eye, this section did not show any movement of some sort, but the fae standing on the balcony knew by instinct that more was occurring under the dark, overhanging trees that concealed the view of the forest surrounding the bog.

She was there.

Jareth did not want to admit it to himself, but he decided that this plan of having her chase after her brother was not the best way to gain her affection. She would be angry, he knew, when she sees him next, but he could not bring himself to simply let her win. To give up and hand Toby back would not only be a sting to his pride, but it would also mean he would never see Sarah again. No, things had gone too far for him to admit defeat now.

He would just simply have to alter the game.

Jareth smirked, and with a quick and well-practiced gesture of his gloved hand, he pulled magic from the surrounding air to form a clear, round crystal. His eyes focused on the crystal, not simply looking at it, but looking into it, forgetting the sight of the majestic labyrinth before him.

"Well, I know we're close to the bog." Sarah said, pinching her nose. She could never get over how terrible it smelled. It must be connected to the Goblin City sewers, she mused with a humorous grin.

Hoggle led Sarah through the vast expanse of trees to reveal the reeking Bog of Eternal Stench. Instantly, the smell crashed over them in waves, causing both to scrunch up their faces in disgust. Sarah had never smelt something so horrid before, and she could barely keep herself from retching. She found she did not even want to breathe out of her mouth, as if the stench was so powerful it would linger forever if one were to simply inhale it once.

Defining the unpleasant odor was almost impossible. She could not figure out where the smell came from, or any other smell that could even compare. It was its own distinct smell.

"Hoggle, where are they?" Sarah asked the dwarf walking in front of her. Her eyes stung at the intensity of the atmosphere.

"I's - I's don't knows." Hoggle stated in sudden confusion. His brows pulling forward at his sudden realization. He had looked so sure before, but now his composure was hesitant. The dwarf stopped walking, taking Sarah by surprise by the sudden halt. She maintained her balance awkwardly, so not to trip over her shorter companion.

Hoggle looked around the bog, eyes never staying too long on the swamp water itself, but they scanned the edge. He swore not to think of the possibility of his friends falling into the bog.

"Perhaps, they's gone further." The dwarf decided with a firm finality that made Sarah shrug in agreement. She knew arguing with him would not achieve anything, nor would it get them closer to the castle, so they trudged onward.

The rocks Ludo had called years ago to save Sarah's life- or at least her social life- laid in the same spots. They seemed to be molded in, holding on tightly to the bog as if this was their rightful place, and the two companions crossed the sturdy boulders without incident. Letting out a relieved sigh once their feet landed upon dirt once again.

"Look!" Sarah said suddenly, startling the dwarf. Hoggle jumped and lost balance, but before he could tip into the bog Sarah's arm shot out, grabbing hold of him to keep him upright. Once he was perfectly balanced, he shot Sarah a reprimanding glare, but Sarah was looking at something else.

She could see something further out between the trees. Three dark figures moving towards them. The first one was small, only as tall as Sarah's knees. The second one was only slightly taller than the first, but the last one was huge. The last figure was a sharp contrast between the first two, it was large and walked with lumbering movements. Whereas the first seemed to hop with energy, and the second walked with a proud stance. The familiarity of these shadows had caught Sarah's eyes.

"Sarah, it's them!" Hoggle's eyes widened, relieved that his longtime friends had not gotten lost or fallen into the bog.

"Sawah!" The big lumbering shadow yelled, his deep voice carrying through the forest. Without hesitation Sarah grabbed Hoggle's hand, pulling him towards their friends and away from the bog.

"Hey guys!" Sarah greeted in excitement once they had met. She pulled each of them into a hug and reached down to pat Ambrosius affectionately. He nipped at her excitedly.

"My lady, how farest thou?" Sir Didymus greeted back. They all fell in sync with each other, walking towards the direction of the castle in a silent, but mutual agreement. Sarah smiled, realising that she had not felt this happy with anyone else until this moment. Perhaps, when this was all over she would visit them. Depending on, of course, if the king would not bog her after their eventual meeting.

"I'm doing good, Sir Knight. Are you guys okay?" Her green eyes peered at them in concern.

"Ludo… happy…" The beast voiced his opinion and Sarah grinned.

"Good, then we'd better hurry to the castle…" Sarah began with a determined expression clouding her face, "I hope Toby is okay."

No one answered her, for they did not know how the boy was doing, either. Jareth was known to have a temper, but he would never take it out on a child. The worst he would usually do was kick around a few goblins when he felt grumpy, but he could be cruel. Still, it was well-known that the king had a soft spot for the William's family. Even if the family did not know it themselves.

The five companions followed a worn trail through the dense trees. Knowing that if one of them were to stray it could be dangerous. They walked silently, and though Sarah was never one that had to fill the silence, she found it uncomfortable in this situation. Her nerves were a jumbled mess, confusion covered her mind in a thick layer. Two simple words repeated in her mind over and over again.

Goblin King.

She found her emotions were out of hand with him, as each time he came into her mind her feelings would change like some insane rollercoaster. One second she would hate him, the next she would think of his mysteriousness with an air of curiosity, and then that same thing that made her hate him would pull her in like some school girl crush. Rinse and repeat.

To still her overwhelming thoughts of her brother and the villainous king, Sarah settled for small talk. "Do you know how far the castle is from here, Sir Didymus?" She asked with a nonchalance to her voice, though the concern was evident.

"About an hour's worth, my lady." Sir Didymus replied with a courteous nod.

Sarah simply shook her head in response, then noticed something missing. Hoggle had been at her side a minute ago, but the right side of her was now absent of his presence. "Hoggle?" She called and abruptly stopped to turn around. The rest of the group stopped as well and waited.

She spotted the dwarf a little ways behind them, peering at something in the bushes with curiosity. Sarah saw, rather than heard, him sigh in satisfaction as whatever he inspected met his approval. He reached out and picked something up from the base of the bushes, bringing it close to his face as he scrutinized it. A ray of sunlight bounced off of the tiny object in his hand, and Sarah realized what he had found.

Hoggle is like a metal detector for jewelry pieces, Sarah shook her head in amusement at this thought.

"Sarah!" Hoggle called her over, waving his hand at her. She walked towards him slowly with a grin. Once she stopped before him she crossed her arms and waited, looking down at him.

"Says, isn't this yours?" Hoggle asked, lifting up the small ring for her to see. As he lifted it closer to her green eyes, the sun rays reflected on its surface and Sarah's grin dropped.

"My costume ring…" Sarah whispered. How it had gotten into the forest, Sarah would never know. She had given it to the Wiseman ten years ago, and for it to suddenly be here was strange. She reached out a hesitant hand to grab it, and Hoggle put it gently in her awaiting hand.

She saw the greediness in his eyes, but for him to simply give it to her after finding it must have been a show of affection. If Hoggle had wanted it, he could have simply put it in his pocket and she would have never known.

It was an unspoken truce they shared when their eyes met, she knew he wanted it, but he gave it back to her without protest. She forgave him fully in that moment, and he saw the forgiveness in her eyes and he instantly did not feel bad for giving up such a good piece of jewelry.

They were silent for a moment as their friendship repaired itself in their minds.

"My lady!" Sir Didymus called, breaking the silence, "Dost thou want to continue thy quest?" His formal voice broke Sarah out of her thoughts. She nodded mutely in response. Hoggle pulled back and gave her an affectionate pat on her arm, smiling slightly, before he turned and began walking back up the trail to meet Sir Didymus, leaving her alone to her own thoughts.

Sarah silently looked down at her ring, still staying behind for a moment. Her mother had given her this ring. It was not worth much, but it had been a sentimental object. She had hardly wanted to give it up, but when Toby's life had been in danger she had not given it two thoughts, simply just handing it over to the Wiseman.

Sarah looked ahead at her friends that were walking at a very slow pace forward, slow enough for her to catch up, but still walking towards the direction of the castle. Without giving another thought about it, Sarah slipped the ring on hastily and began walking towards them.

Instantly, the ring tightened on her finger, as if it was trying to latch onto her forever. Sarah stopped walking and peered down at the ring, confusion riddling her face at the odd sensation. She brought her hand up to pull the ring off, but it was stuck on as if it had been super glued to her finger.

She began to feel faint, noting that this felt similar to when the witch had tried to swap bodies with her. Similar, yet, not life-threatening, but it was some type of magic, all the same.

Magic.

Her green eyes widened in shock at this realization, her hand urgently trying to pry the ring off, not caring if she hurt her skin at all. The charmed ring remained stubbornly stuck on her and began to glow a bright, crimson color. Sarah froze, staring at the ring in awe as the dizziness overtook her body. Her mind hazed and slow.

She sat down abruptly, not noticing how her bottom hurt as she quickly fell to the ground. Her green eyes gazed at the ring in confusion as they slowly drooped shut. Only one single word repeated in her mind as she drifted off. A name that overtook and burned her mind...

Jareth.

Far away, standing upon a balcony that overlooked the labyrinth, a man smiled a dangerous, winning smile. Things would go his way this time.

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've kind of been procrastinating...

Anyways, I do not own the labyrinth in any way. I'm sure that even in an alternate dimension I would still not own the labyrinth. : /

Thank you for reading! Next chapter should be up soon.