Disclaimer: I don't own The Labyrinth, no matter how many times I attempt to wish myself away. I'm also not making a cent of profit from this; its merely for the funzys
Cape Pygmy Owl - Glaucidium hoskinsii
Sarah slowly slid to her feet, backing away from him slightly. "Destroy you all? Queen? Jareth, give me a straight answer."
The Goblin King sighed, moving to sit up. "I do not know how to say it any more plainly This is your kingdom; you named yourself it's queen, just as I am it's king, and it cannot survive without you. I warned you to turn back; my subjects warned you at every turn that even if you reached the center, you would never find your way back out. Not really. And yet you refused anyway. I have you given you as much time as I can, Sarah. And now we are out of it."
She drew her sheets up and around her, almost as if to form a dress with them. Steeling herself for a long moment as she took in the vision of her subjects; looking to be regular owls, though she knew that there were fae beneath those feathers. "So they are... dieing without me?"
"We all are." he told her simply, standing and walking around the bed to face her. "Our magic is leaking away, and without it, we are little more than creature and stone. glitter and crystal."
Sarah was silent for a long moment. "So what do I have to do?" she asked, looking up to meet his eye.
"You have until the thirteenth hour, of the thirteenth day, of the thirteenth year, -tonight- to take up your title and accept the magic that is coursing through your veins. By seating yourself upon the throne and partaking in our feast, you will call the lost magic back to us, back to you. But tread lightly, my pet, because this is a choice that cannot be altered once made; you name yourself as the Labyrinth's queen and you will never again belong in the human realm."
the brunet brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, looking at him curiously. "You... you waited until the last moment to come to me, didn't you? Why, Jareth? Why would you risk everything by waiting so long?"
His eyes revealed no emotion besides that what had already been evident in his gaze; a tired resignation. "Because I wanted to give you as much freedom as I could before asking you to cage yourself for eternity."
Note: Here. I'm updating this and Samhain, and then I'm going to write more with the girls and pretend I didn't actually do what I did today. In the words of a good friend of mine: It was like eating at a bad restaurant.