Here is Chapter 2. Please keep those reviews coming.
Disclaimers can be found in chapter one.
Chapter 2: Breaking the Rules
She felt as if she was flying. The sensation was incredible but it didn't last long enough for her to savor it. Her environment materialized around her. She searched with her eyes, realizing that she was definitely not in front of her house. She felt slightly disoriented. What had happened? Her aunt and uncle had come to pick up Josh and then...Jareth! She suddenly was very aware of someone holding onto her wrist and glancing up she gave the King of the Goblins a stare that rivaled one of his own.
"Let go of me!" She cried pulling her arm away from him. He raised a brow as she backed away. "What the hell do you think that you're doing?" Silence. It only fueled her anger further. "Damn you Jareth."
"Ooh why so much anger?" He chided.
"I don't approve of being abducted from my home lightly. Why did you bring me here?" she asked gesturing to her surroundings. * Why did he bring me back to the Labyrinth! * They were standing on a hill that overlooked the castle. It was much closer to the castle then the one she first started her journey from. "Besides, you're breaking the rules. I didn't summon you."
"I make the rules dear girl. Perhaps some of the rules and happenings of my realm appear in your book, but some things are very different. I thought you would have noticed that from your first trip here." He watched her run a hand through her hair in anger and desperation and he couldn't help but smile. She had not changed a bit.
"Take me home right now." No response. "Please? Damn it Jareth, I'm a little old for your games."
"Oh come now, we're never too old for games. What has happened to you Samantha? What happened to the carefree young girl with a thirst for adventure? Ah, I see now. You've let your retched aunt and uncle take your dreams from you. Such a pity."
"How dare you. You don't even know me." She spit at him. An old fire was burning in her eyes and despite himself he grinned.
He stepped closer to her. His face slightly higher then hers do to this height, and his proximity to her was unnerving. "I know you better then you think." He pulled back, twisting a black cape out of his way. She noticed suddenly that he was dressed a little different. His jacket had changed from black to brown and this one had a belt, which closed the front. The shirt he now wore, still white had a higher neckline and hid the talisman from her view. "I have a proposition."
"I'm NOT interested." She crossed her arms over her chest for emphasis.
"Oh but I know that you are. This act of yours may work for your friends and family but it doesn't work with me. You're just itching to know why I've brought you here." He stared intently at her and she lowered her eyes to the ground. "Aren't you?"
"Yes." She said softly. *Ugh, I hate giving him any notion that he has the upper hand. *
"I thought as much." He made a motion with his gloved hands and produced a crystal sphere. "I apparently underestimated you last time we met. You were the first to ever defeat my Labyrinth without the aid of its inhabitants." There was something underlying in his tone.
'Wait, you're still angry that I beat you. That's what this is all about. This is no doubt some form of revenge that you're trying to make against me."
"I'm long past all that, Samantha. Besides, revenge isn't my style." *If you only knew... *
She chuckled at this. "Isn't your style? You're the Goblin King, the dark lord of this land. Revenge is exactly your style. You're cruel, uncaring and obviously still angry that you got bested by a little girl. What a pity." She said mocking him.
"You think that you know so much, yet you know so little."
"Yeah that's the pot calling the kettle black. You who thinks he knows everything and he can't even stop children from defeating him. How's that for brain power?"
"You know nothing about me." He said in a warning tone.
'I know enough. Besides, if you know so much about me why don't you share with me some of your knowledge." * This is going to be good. *
"I don't think you want me to start sharing what I know." *It might frighten you. *
"Oh why is that? Because you know nothing?"
"Nothing, eh?" She watched his eyes suddenly become dark. " Tell Mark that he had better keep his hands to himself the next time he thinks about hitting you. The scar above his eyes while be the very least of his troubles." Jareth began to fade from view, but had enough time to watch her eyes widen with what he had said. * That was low, even for you Jareth. *
"How did you know that? Jareth?" It was no use. He was gone and she was talking to thin air. How did he know about the fight? What else did he know about? Had he been spying on her the years after she had defeated him? The thought of Mark suddenly made her feel insecure, unsure of herself and utterly vulnerable. * Damn you Jareth. * He always made his exit when he felt in charge.
He had left her on top of the hill with no proposition, no sense of direction and a feeling of vulnerability. She began to walk down towards the Labyrinth and as she walked to the tall stone walls, she realized that something bothered her. Not only had Jareth been spying on her, invading her privacy and her life, he had sounded very bitter about Mark. Jealousy or had he been concerned about her safety? If he knew about the fight where Mark got his scar, did he know about all the other times Mark had hurt her? She shook her head of the thoughts. She decided that she would venture to the castle and she would face Jareth. She would beat him at his own game as she had so many years ago. Even if he had been concerned for her, she was angry that he had been spying on her. She was angry that he had brought her here and she was angry for the way she felt when she was in his presence. "I will not go down that road again." She told herself aloud.
As she stopped in front of the wall, she noticed no door what so ever. 'If you can't go through, you can go over." She said glancing at a tall tree near the wall. She climbed it with some difficulty as it had been a long time since she had climbed a tree. She managed to do it and set herself down on top of the stone wall. "How to get down." The drop to the bottom of the wall had to be about twenty feet. Maybe going over was a bad idea. She turned back to the tree with plans to climb back down it, but it was suddenly, gone? "It was right there a second ago!" After letting her anger settle she noticed that from the top of the wall she could see the way to the castle. She could spot the dead ends, and the paths that would lead her directly to castle. She looked around. If only she had some paper to make a map. Looking down she noticed that there was a loose flat rock in the wall that resembled a piece of slate. She picked it up into her hands and cleaned any dirt from it. Taking a smaller rock she began to scrap a crude map into the rock. After it was finished, she realized that she still had no way to get down. Further down the wall she saw vines growing from within the rocks. She grinned to herself. "I'll get there much faster then 13 hours. In fact, I'll beat my own record of 11 hours. I'll let Jareth just deal with that one." Satisfied with herself she climbed down the vine and began her journey.
In a window of the castle, Jareth held a crystal sphere in his hand and smiled wickedly.
At first her map seemed to work perfectly. Then walls appeared where they should not have been. It was growing darker and soon it would be night. How would she navigate in the dark and with a defective map? If she could scale to the top of another wall she would be able to see if it was truly the Labyrinth that had changed it's shape or if she had drawn the map wrong. There were no trees or vines to be seen. It was growing darker and she needed a place to spend the night. She had never spent a night in the Labyrinth before. It had been daylight the entire time she was here last. She found a dead end with a bench and settled on it realizing that she was exhausted. She had been tired to begin with and dealing with Jareth had tired her out even more. The air had grown colder and she curled herself up on the cold stone bench. It had grown dark quickly. Strange stars twinkled in the night sky above her and the sounds in the Labyrinth frightened her. She shivered, but somehow managed to fall asleep. She awakened not much later, shivering uncontrollably. She was only wearing a tank top and shorts and the air had grown so cold.
"He's probably sitting by a nice warm fire while I'm out here freezing my ass off. That's ok. I'm going to beat him no matter what, even if it takes my last breath."
"They'll be no need for that. I couldn't live with myself if you perished in my Labyrinth. Especially since it was never my intention to have you walk through it again."
She bolted upright. In the darkness she couldn't see anything. "Jareth?" *What had he meant about not wanting her walk the labyrinth again? * He gave her no reply and for a second she panicked. It was so dark and the strange sounds she had heard seemed to grow closer.
Something grabbed her arm and she panicked. What if that wasn't Jareth? What if something had else had found her? She struggled but began to feel woozy and disoriented and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she found herself standing in a large room. There was a bed, made of what looked like old oak. It was covered with soft looking silks and pillows. She could see the Labyrinth stretched for miles outside an open window. She spun around. She was in the castle and Jareth was no where to be seen. *Why did he bring me here? *
She stood waiting for him to make an appearance but as it grew later it became obvious that he wasn't going to make one. She glanced at the bed. It looked so comfortable and she was so tired. *No! I won't sleep in it. I won't play his games! * Instead she took a seat in the large window will and gazed out across the Labyrinth. Her eyes grew heavy and she tried to fight sleep but it was no use. In minutes she was sleeping uncomfortably against the stone window frame. The sound of soft footsteps clicked across the cold stone floor. Jareth took one look at her sitting in the window asleep and frowned.
"When will you stop being so damned stubborn?" He asked quietly. With a wave of one gloved hand, she was now laying beneath the silk bed covers. With a second wave toward the fireplace in the corner, a fire began to roar up the chimney. A little more satisfied, the Goblin King left the room
Disclaimers can be found in chapter one.
Chapter 2: Breaking the Rules
She felt as if she was flying. The sensation was incredible but it didn't last long enough for her to savor it. Her environment materialized around her. She searched with her eyes, realizing that she was definitely not in front of her house. She felt slightly disoriented. What had happened? Her aunt and uncle had come to pick up Josh and then...Jareth! She suddenly was very aware of someone holding onto her wrist and glancing up she gave the King of the Goblins a stare that rivaled one of his own.
"Let go of me!" She cried pulling her arm away from him. He raised a brow as she backed away. "What the hell do you think that you're doing?" Silence. It only fueled her anger further. "Damn you Jareth."
"Ooh why so much anger?" He chided.
"I don't approve of being abducted from my home lightly. Why did you bring me here?" she asked gesturing to her surroundings. * Why did he bring me back to the Labyrinth! * They were standing on a hill that overlooked the castle. It was much closer to the castle then the one she first started her journey from. "Besides, you're breaking the rules. I didn't summon you."
"I make the rules dear girl. Perhaps some of the rules and happenings of my realm appear in your book, but some things are very different. I thought you would have noticed that from your first trip here." He watched her run a hand through her hair in anger and desperation and he couldn't help but smile. She had not changed a bit.
"Take me home right now." No response. "Please? Damn it Jareth, I'm a little old for your games."
"Oh come now, we're never too old for games. What has happened to you Samantha? What happened to the carefree young girl with a thirst for adventure? Ah, I see now. You've let your retched aunt and uncle take your dreams from you. Such a pity."
"How dare you. You don't even know me." She spit at him. An old fire was burning in her eyes and despite himself he grinned.
He stepped closer to her. His face slightly higher then hers do to this height, and his proximity to her was unnerving. "I know you better then you think." He pulled back, twisting a black cape out of his way. She noticed suddenly that he was dressed a little different. His jacket had changed from black to brown and this one had a belt, which closed the front. The shirt he now wore, still white had a higher neckline and hid the talisman from her view. "I have a proposition."
"I'm NOT interested." She crossed her arms over her chest for emphasis.
"Oh but I know that you are. This act of yours may work for your friends and family but it doesn't work with me. You're just itching to know why I've brought you here." He stared intently at her and she lowered her eyes to the ground. "Aren't you?"
"Yes." She said softly. *Ugh, I hate giving him any notion that he has the upper hand. *
"I thought as much." He made a motion with his gloved hands and produced a crystal sphere. "I apparently underestimated you last time we met. You were the first to ever defeat my Labyrinth without the aid of its inhabitants." There was something underlying in his tone.
'Wait, you're still angry that I beat you. That's what this is all about. This is no doubt some form of revenge that you're trying to make against me."
"I'm long past all that, Samantha. Besides, revenge isn't my style." *If you only knew... *
She chuckled at this. "Isn't your style? You're the Goblin King, the dark lord of this land. Revenge is exactly your style. You're cruel, uncaring and obviously still angry that you got bested by a little girl. What a pity." She said mocking him.
"You think that you know so much, yet you know so little."
"Yeah that's the pot calling the kettle black. You who thinks he knows everything and he can't even stop children from defeating him. How's that for brain power?"
"You know nothing about me." He said in a warning tone.
'I know enough. Besides, if you know so much about me why don't you share with me some of your knowledge." * This is going to be good. *
"I don't think you want me to start sharing what I know." *It might frighten you. *
"Oh why is that? Because you know nothing?"
"Nothing, eh?" She watched his eyes suddenly become dark. " Tell Mark that he had better keep his hands to himself the next time he thinks about hitting you. The scar above his eyes while be the very least of his troubles." Jareth began to fade from view, but had enough time to watch her eyes widen with what he had said. * That was low, even for you Jareth. *
"How did you know that? Jareth?" It was no use. He was gone and she was talking to thin air. How did he know about the fight? What else did he know about? Had he been spying on her the years after she had defeated him? The thought of Mark suddenly made her feel insecure, unsure of herself and utterly vulnerable. * Damn you Jareth. * He always made his exit when he felt in charge.
He had left her on top of the hill with no proposition, no sense of direction and a feeling of vulnerability. She began to walk down towards the Labyrinth and as she walked to the tall stone walls, she realized that something bothered her. Not only had Jareth been spying on her, invading her privacy and her life, he had sounded very bitter about Mark. Jealousy or had he been concerned about her safety? If he knew about the fight where Mark got his scar, did he know about all the other times Mark had hurt her? She shook her head of the thoughts. She decided that she would venture to the castle and she would face Jareth. She would beat him at his own game as she had so many years ago. Even if he had been concerned for her, she was angry that he had been spying on her. She was angry that he had brought her here and she was angry for the way she felt when she was in his presence. "I will not go down that road again." She told herself aloud.
As she stopped in front of the wall, she noticed no door what so ever. 'If you can't go through, you can go over." She said glancing at a tall tree near the wall. She climbed it with some difficulty as it had been a long time since she had climbed a tree. She managed to do it and set herself down on top of the stone wall. "How to get down." The drop to the bottom of the wall had to be about twenty feet. Maybe going over was a bad idea. She turned back to the tree with plans to climb back down it, but it was suddenly, gone? "It was right there a second ago!" After letting her anger settle she noticed that from the top of the wall she could see the way to the castle. She could spot the dead ends, and the paths that would lead her directly to castle. She looked around. If only she had some paper to make a map. Looking down she noticed that there was a loose flat rock in the wall that resembled a piece of slate. She picked it up into her hands and cleaned any dirt from it. Taking a smaller rock she began to scrap a crude map into the rock. After it was finished, she realized that she still had no way to get down. Further down the wall she saw vines growing from within the rocks. She grinned to herself. "I'll get there much faster then 13 hours. In fact, I'll beat my own record of 11 hours. I'll let Jareth just deal with that one." Satisfied with herself she climbed down the vine and began her journey.
In a window of the castle, Jareth held a crystal sphere in his hand and smiled wickedly.
At first her map seemed to work perfectly. Then walls appeared where they should not have been. It was growing darker and soon it would be night. How would she navigate in the dark and with a defective map? If she could scale to the top of another wall she would be able to see if it was truly the Labyrinth that had changed it's shape or if she had drawn the map wrong. There were no trees or vines to be seen. It was growing darker and she needed a place to spend the night. She had never spent a night in the Labyrinth before. It had been daylight the entire time she was here last. She found a dead end with a bench and settled on it realizing that she was exhausted. She had been tired to begin with and dealing with Jareth had tired her out even more. The air had grown colder and she curled herself up on the cold stone bench. It had grown dark quickly. Strange stars twinkled in the night sky above her and the sounds in the Labyrinth frightened her. She shivered, but somehow managed to fall asleep. She awakened not much later, shivering uncontrollably. She was only wearing a tank top and shorts and the air had grown so cold.
"He's probably sitting by a nice warm fire while I'm out here freezing my ass off. That's ok. I'm going to beat him no matter what, even if it takes my last breath."
"They'll be no need for that. I couldn't live with myself if you perished in my Labyrinth. Especially since it was never my intention to have you walk through it again."
She bolted upright. In the darkness she couldn't see anything. "Jareth?" *What had he meant about not wanting her walk the labyrinth again? * He gave her no reply and for a second she panicked. It was so dark and the strange sounds she had heard seemed to grow closer.
Something grabbed her arm and she panicked. What if that wasn't Jareth? What if something had else had found her? She struggled but began to feel woozy and disoriented and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she found herself standing in a large room. There was a bed, made of what looked like old oak. It was covered with soft looking silks and pillows. She could see the Labyrinth stretched for miles outside an open window. She spun around. She was in the castle and Jareth was no where to be seen. *Why did he bring me here? *
She stood waiting for him to make an appearance but as it grew later it became obvious that he wasn't going to make one. She glanced at the bed. It looked so comfortable and she was so tired. *No! I won't sleep in it. I won't play his games! * Instead she took a seat in the large window will and gazed out across the Labyrinth. Her eyes grew heavy and she tried to fight sleep but it was no use. In minutes she was sleeping uncomfortably against the stone window frame. The sound of soft footsteps clicked across the cold stone floor. Jareth took one look at her sitting in the window asleep and frowned.
"When will you stop being so damned stubborn?" He asked quietly. With a wave of one gloved hand, she was now laying beneath the silk bed covers. With a second wave toward the fireplace in the corner, a fire began to roar up the chimney. A little more satisfied, the Goblin King left the room
