CHAPTER TWO

Sarah was vaguely aware of dawn approaching as she rose to consciousness. Without opening her eyes she stretched out her limbs only to discover how different she felt. Bleary eyed, she started to wake up and take in her surroundings and work out why her limbs were not responding as normal.

She was outside.

Through the brief glimpses she received as she blinked herself awake she could ascertain she was no longer indoors. She'd gone to sleep in her bed. Why was she outside? Like being doused in cold water she was suddenly awake and trying to sit up. Except the second thing she noticed was she was curled up under a hedge. Why was she outside and in a hedge? Filtered dawn light streamed through the gaps in the foliage, not enough to warm her but enough to ascertain her surroundings.

She made to move the branches out of her face with her arms. Except the third thing she noticed was she didn't have arms. She had wings.

She had wings? She must have been dreaming. She couldn't have wings. But sure enough as she again tried to move her arms she found she had wings. White and tan wings. Sarah tried to swear but she suddenly heard a screeching sound. It took her a moment to realise the sound was actually coming from her.

Oh no.

'Am I a bird?' She thought in a panic. She resumed looking around her body noticing very quickly that her head could turn far more easily than her own human neck. She would have gasped but again she uttered a single light shriek. She had a white body and her wings were a medley of white and very light brown. If she didn't know better she would have guessed she was a barn owl.

'Am I Jareth right now? Have we swapped bodies?' She thought amidst her shock. She tried scrambling her way out of the Bush but the twigs just snagged on her delicate feathers. Sarah would have groaned if she could. Stuck as an owl and stuck in a thick hedge. It had to be a dream. Yet it felt so real. She could feel the tug and pull of the twigs on her wings. She could feel the early morning sun beating it's way through the canopy above her to warm her owl body. She could smell the loamy earth under her feet. No, not her feet. Her talons. She looked down at them as she clenched and unclenched her razor sharp talons. An idea sparked in her brain. She could use her razor sharp talons to fight her way out. She gingerly lifted one claw up and squeezed her muscles to practice her movements. Then without further ado, she grasped the branches within her reach, and slowly lifted her wings to keep her balance. It was arduous work and she was so busy fighting through the tangles of branches that she didn't hear when someone approached her.

"Ah, what have we here?"

Jareth spotted a flash of white and tan in the brambles below the hedge maze. He heard a few cursory screeches and scratching of claws and ruffling of feathers. He lowered his body to sit on his haunches and with a gloved hand, parted the leaves and twigs away to see his quarry. Stuck within the hedge was a barn owl, fighting for freedom. Not just any barn owl, but Jareth instantly recognised it as a female barn owl. Taking pity on his kindred animal spirit, he snapped some of the branches to ease the bird's escape. That's when she noticed him. She stopped her frantic movements to face him. She froze, eyes widening. Jareth cocked his head to the side as he watched her reaction.

"You're in quite the tangle there aren't you little lady?" Jareth softly asked the now terrified owl. "Let's get you out of there."

He reached his gloved hands into the undergrowth to help ease the owl out but she suddenly started hissing and backing away. Owls were predators but still vulnerable in certain situations. He saw her fear and empathised completely. He scanned the owl from head to talon and wondered why the Labyrinth brought an owl into his world. They did not exist in his world, and were very much an Aboveground bird. One that he adopted the form of so he could travel between worlds without notice. He spared a fleeting thought for the intercepted wish that brought him here and considered if the owl and the wish were connected in any way. His brief train of thought was cut off by an indignant screech from the trapped bird.

Jareth rocked back to sit on his booted heels and smirked. "Trust me, I understand your fear, wee one, but I mean you no harm. I am very familiar with your kind."

Jareth pondered if showing her his owl form would ease her mind, but knowing this was an actual owl and not a magical shapeshifter, hindered this thought. She wouldn't trust an unknown male barn owl any easier than a fae man. He settled on breaking a few more branches getting closer and closer to the captive owl. He hummed quietly an old fae tune to help reassure the helpless bird.

As soon as Sarah heard the snapping of branches, she paused what she was doing and turned to face the offending sound. Her little bird heart froze in her feathered chest. It was none other than the Goblin King himself, crouched down trying to clear the branches away from her. Not only was she vulnerable as a bird but she must be in the Underground. She had not been this terrified since he'd sent the cleaners after her. Or her slide down to the Bog of Eternal Stench.

So her list of problems had grown exponentially. Not only was she stuck as an owl, but also down in the Labyrinth and Jareth is the first creature she finds. Or rather the first creature that finds her. This was not good. Her panic must have been obvious as Jareth tried to calm her down. He didn't seem to be aware of who she was, which gave her some relief. Perhaps he just thought of her as an ordinary owl. She started to conjecture on how an ordinary owl would behave when stuck in a hedge, but decided her current route of panicking can't be far from reality. She also considered that he was her best chance of getting out of this mess in the first place, as her efforts had been pretty futile.

He started humming a tune as he broke the final branches keeping her imprisoned. As he used his hands to untangle the twigs from her feathers she clicked her beak at him to remind him she was a very angry owl indeed. As she felt the last tether release from her new body, she started to flap her wings widely, screeching at the top of her lungs (meanwhile praying she wasn't making a mating call) and scratching the ground. Thankfully, Jareth backed up a little giving her a glimpse of freedom. In a burst of white feathers and screeches she steamrolled out of the hedge and into the pathways of the labyrinth. She didn't know how to fly but she knew how to run. Sarah was awkward and ungainly on her new limbs, but she put her heart and soul into her escape, not even giving a second thought as to whether Jareth was following her or not. After what felt like forever she slowed down and tried to catch her breath. Her wee owl lungs heaved with the effort of her fight for freedom.

But now as Sarah decelerated and started recuperating she commenced reasoning about her predicament. What on earth was she going to do? Stuck as an owl and in the labyrinth? She couldn't communicate her needs. She couldn't make her way to the centre and say her right words. She was well and truly trapped. Even if she found Hoggle or Ludo or Sir Didymus, they'd only know her as an owl. They may even confuse her with Jareth (she obviously had answered the question of whether they had swapped bodies, having recently seen the Goblin King in the flesh). It seemed to Sarah that her throwaway wish had come true, except she had no idea how to fly. And even if she did, where on earth would she fly? It would make no difference, flying or not. She was stuck here. The most doleful sound she could make escaped her beak.

The sun was getting higher and the bright light was starting to sting her sensitive eyes. She needed to find somewhere dark and soon. But she couldn't see a thing over the high hedges in her short new body. Not even the rough location of the castle. She shuffled into the shade provided by the shrubbery without getting too close. If she got tangled again, she doubt she'd have the Goblin King too rescue her a second time.

The Goblin King. He was not what she had expected on a second meeting. He was less cruel, less stern than she remembered through her run. More gentle and helpful than she'd ever consider giving him credit for. He did after all get her out of her predicament and his manner was almost kind. Granted he didn't know who she was and he probably was different with animals than he was with his own kind or humankind. He looked the same however. Not that she paid too much attention in her harried state. And she didn't see much of him through the hedge, save his leather gloves, wild blonde hair and his blue mismatched eyes that she would recognise anywhere. She wondered how he'd react if he discovered who she was. Would he help her turn back into herself? Or would he punish her for her victory in her run? Was he punishing her now? She thought back to her wish. She'd wished to fly away like the owl in her painting. He was the only being she knew that granted wishes. Well she got what she wished for. His punishment was complete indeed. There was no brother to win back this time. Nothing to guide her to that final point. She was an owl. How could she change that? Maybe if she bet the labyrinth in 13 hours as an owl she could turn back into herself? Then perhaps Jareth would have given her those guidelines? Perhaps it had been a mistake to run away from him so quickly. Fuck. Sarah wished she could swear but all that came out was that high pitched screeching noise. Her thoughts returned to her last run and ultimately her brother, Toby. Now 11 years old and she missed him greatly. Not just because she was an owl in a magical realm, but because she'd moved a fair distance away from her family home and it had been an age since she saw them all. She was deep in thought ruminating about her family, when a shadow passed over the path that Sarah was resting on.

Normally a wild animal rushing off for their freedom would give the King no second thought. But it was a bird from the mortal realm, and one that was the female of his own second form at that. As she took off, running, he noticed, but not flying, he started to convert to his owl form. He was unsure why she wasn't flying but if she took to the skies, he'd have better luck catching her as an owl than a fae. He considered that she may be injured for her to choose the slower method of escape, as he took wing. It didn't take long to find her as she darted through the hedge maze, finally coming to rest just short of the wise man's garden. He circled around a few times, scanning the poor flightless owl. If real Owls could be contemplative, she was certainly the picture of that right now, huddled in the shadows, staring into space, unmoving.

He circled lower and landed gently about 3 metres away from where she cowered. He approached her as an owl, watching as her head turned to face him. She should have heard him well before now, he thought to himself. Barn Owls had incredible hearing but by the way she turned and looked at him and then reacted, she'd only just noticed him. Perhaps she was injured after all. He hopped closer to her. He gave a few chirps that he hoped was reassuring to her. He wanted to ascertain that it was safe and uninjured and then figure out what the labyrinth was up to in blocking a wish. And if this owl had anything to do with it. If she was caught up in a wish, it was better to have her close by and safe. She wasn't running away from him this time, but she did appear cautious and guarded. She was quite a pretty owl, he thought, as he looked into her heart shaped face. He wondered, vainly, if the owl would feel the same about him, if he was a real owl. He found himself preening slightly as he stood before her. She just clicked her mandibles together and hissed quietly. A warning. She was still defensive. He argued internally, pondering his next move. He didn't want to frighten her by turning into a fae in front of her eyes. Maybe he should befriend her as an owl first. He cocked his head at her as she hunched down on herself. No feathers seemed to be out of place and she didn't appear to be in pain from what he could tell. He was taken back then, when she suddenly hurled herself away from him and tried to take flight. Like a fledgling, she was uncoordinated and unbalanced. But unlike a fledgling, she didn't get a handle on flight and came crashing down to the ground in no time at all.

Jareth reacted quickly. He resumed his fae form and scooped the dazed bird up in his arms. He knew that a barn owl defence was to lie on its back and kick out with its legs, so he quickly conjured up a towel to restrain her and transported himself straight into his castle.

Sarah's attempt at flying was a failure. She was now the captive of the Goblin King. Oh if he knew who she was, oh how he'd crow. How smug would he be if he knew Sarah was the helpless bird in his arms? She wasn't injured but she was certainly dazed. She cursed at herself. How could she try to fly with no idea how to do so? It apparently was meant to take more than just flapping her wings and hoping for the best but when she'd seen Jareth in owl form right in front of her, she had been spooked and then fight or flight kicked in. Clearly flight was not the winning choice.

Sarah could have fought but in reality what other choice did she have? She'd have to eat which meant hunting, but hunting meant flying. She suddenly became aware of bodily functions that in her panic had no time to consider. She couldn't just ask the Goblin King to escort her to the toilet. But the more she thought about it, the more she felt the need to toilet. Taking a shit on the goblin king certainly had its merit but even so. Her pride could not let her foul herself like that. She was starting to overthink it. And the more she thought about it, the more she really wanted to relieve herself, but the more her human pride fought against that idea.

Before her bodily instincts kicked in, however, she realised they had transported to a new location, and she was placed down on a hard surface and the towel removed. She looked around and her beak almost dropped open in shock.

She was in the most beautiful indoor garden she'd ever seen. High above her head were glass panels enclosing all these wild beautiful plants, trees and flowers the likes of which Sarah could only imagine. She heard moving water and spied a wee river running through a rockery and some beautiful shrubs and greenery. It was idyllic with the light streaming in and dancing around the light mist caused by the little rapids in the water feature. Sarah had enough time to notice little paths cutting through all the plants and trees and how she longed to walk through as a human. It was quite the indoor fairy forest.

"You'll be pretty safe in here," she heard Jareth say in a soft rumbling baritone, bringing her out of her reverie and admiration for this beautiful place. She saw him standing in front of her and she guessed by his height in relation to her, that the marble surface she was standing on, was a table.

"You don't appear to be injured or in pain," He continued. "Shock and a bit dazed perhaps. But my little lady, you shouldn't be here."

Sarah froze. Does he know who I am?

"No, you shouldn't be here at all."

AN:

A bit of a longer chapter this time. Thank you so much for those who reviewed and added to favourites or followed the story. It helped me get this chapter out a lot quicker than I had anticipated. To the guest reviewer: we will learn why the Labyrinth interfered with the wish later in the story :)