I'm going to town on this story before my enemy, writers block, comes to visit me. If there are things that I don't like, I MAY change them later on. So don't be surprised if small things get added or dropped. I have the bad tendency to write as I go along and not make myself a character and story outline at the beginning. Hey I'm an Illustrator and a painter by trade not a writer! . As always please review if you like or dislike something or if you want to e-mail me with comments, (cormak3032@yahoo.com) please feel free.

Disclaimer: yep, the full version is still located in chapter one. Unfortunately what's said is said and doesn't change. I still don't own the Labyrinth or it's characters. What a pity.

Chapter 4: Mistaken Intentions


She awakened slowly, visions of the Labyrinth, Jareth and the night she had gone to rescue Josh, floated clearly across her mind. The sun felt warm on her skin as she lay within the safety and comfort of her bed. The sheets felt a little softer this morning as did the mattress. Still not wanting to open her eyes she wondered what day it was. Did she have to work? Or pick up Josh after school? Finally she opened her eyes but she did not expect to see what she saw upon opening them. She was not sleeping in her own bed and she was not in her room or house. It took her a few moments to remember the events of last night. She was in the Goblin King's castle. Jareth's castle. Her dreams were still fresh in her mind along with the images of Jareth. He was powerful, and had struck fear in her heart as a teenager, but at the same time she would never truly fear him. Despite herself, she remained in the soft silk sheets of the bed and let thoughts of the Goblin King take over her mind.

She had taken her job of caring for Josh seriously after going to the Labyrinth. In the weeks and months that followed her Labyrinth experience, she dreamed continuously of the Labyrinth's twisted paths and of Jareth, who's image remained crystal clear in her mind. He had been a perfect opponent but had unexpectedly changed her feelings at the end of the game. She should have felt joy at defeating him, but instead she felt pure regret and often wondered if she had destroyed him and his kingdom. Her regret eventually disappeared and within the next year she unwillingly fell head over heels for him. At first the thought of having a crush on him was absurd! Her friends all had crushes on boys at school. Besides, Jareth was, well Jareth! The Goblin King, ruler of the Labyrinth and the Underground while she lived Aboveground. He was also an adult and she was a silly 15 year-old, turning 16 in a few short weeks. He would never be interested in her. Still, thinking about him put excitement in her life. She remembered the way he walked, the sound of his voice, the style of clothing he wore, the way his brow arched when he was contemplating something, his mismatched eyes that revealed the emotions he tried to hide. He had become ingrained in her mind. She dreamt of him more often then she had wanted to. Her friends had been worried when she wasn't drooling over boys at school. But her obsession with the Goblin King did finally end. As she grew older, she began to think that going to the Labyrinth was nothing but a very realistic dream. Her thoughts and dreams of Jareth were no doubt the result of reading the Labyrinth too many times, her wild imagination and the fact that she had not found a boy in high school that she liked. She grew to believe that she had created someone who was older and more experienced in life. Someone who was handsome, his character had been stretched and changed by her imagination. Jareth faded from her memory as did her trip to the Labyrinth. Soon she did not dream of the dashing Goblin King with the spiky blond hair, and mismatched eyes. She was dreaming of Mark Sampson, a very handsome transfer to her school.

There was a sound outside the door and she was brought harshly back to reality. She sat up in the bed, but remained quiet. The sound passed and she sighed. The last thing she needed to do was see Jareth after she had been thinking about him. She had closed Jareth out of her life 2 years ago and she refused to let him in again. She glanced down at the bed that she was sitting on and realized as she glanced down that she was not in her tank top and shorts. She was in her favorite peach colored silk nightshirt. Where had it come from? All of her belongings were at home. *Wait a minute, how did I end up in this bed? * She knew for a fact that she had refused to sleep in it and had instead curled up on the large windowsill. "Jareth." she hissed. She was suddenly very angry. How dare he bring her here and force her into things. "Damn that man. Who does he think he is?" She continued to glance around the room and saw that there was a dresser that she had not remembered seeing last night. Her curiosity got the better of her and she got off the bed, moving towards it. She carefully opened one drawer and to her surprise saw some of her clothes. A few pairs of her jeans and some of her t-shirts were folded neatly. "Ok that does it! First he invades my privacy by spying on me, then he kidnaps me, sends me into the Labyrinth in the freezing cold, makes me sleep in a bed I didn't want to sleep in and then steals my clothes!" She could feel her face becoming red.

"Steal is such a harsh word. More like borrowed them from your room so that you would be comfortable while you stayed. And you did have a good night sleep so the bed could not have been that bad."

She spun around on her heel to see the Goblin King standing in front of the door. She had not even heard him come in. "You are number one on my shit list right now Jareth. You had better stop screwing around with me." She could not believe the tenacity of this man. What angered her even more was how he stood perfectly still with that look on his face. The look that he was totally amused by her anger. He was probably laughing at her inside.

"Is this any way to start a beautiful day?"

"It will be a beautiful day when I'm back in my own bed in my own house. Aboveground."

"Oh come now."

"I'm starting to lose my temper Jareth."

'I can see that dear."

"Stop that! I'm not your dear." He grinned at her words, which only angered her further.

"I didn't come to argue with you."

"Good then you can get the hell out! You showed yourself in, why don't you show yourself back out?!" Her anger was flowing like a raging river now. She stood under his intense gaze. Why was he just starting at her like that? His eyes would not meet hers, but instead they glanced all over her and she suddenly felt VERY uncomfortable. She glanced down at herself suddenly realizing that she was wearing nothing but her flimsy silk nightshirt. Their eyes finally met and he quickly gazed away from her. Was that nervousness she saw in his eyes?

"I came to tell you that breakfast will be ready in a half hour, in the dining hall, just down the stairs at the end of the hallway." No words came to her at first. This was hardly what she expected. First he showed up, then brought her to the Labyrinth where he abandoned her, then he brought her to the castle, made her sleep in that bed and brought her clothes from home. Now he was asking her to breakfast? *I'm really lost... *

"Br- Breakfast?" she stuttered.

He grinned devilishly, his arrogance taking over again. "Yes. Breakfast you know, the first meal of the day? Or would you like to be stubborn and skip it?" She was about to open her mouth when he cut her off. "I would have thought that by now you would have realized that you are my guest and -"

"Excuse me, did I hear that correctly? Guest? I'm not a guest I'm a prisoner."

"Hardly. I see no chains bound to you. And I've tried to make your stay comfortable but you have made things... difficult."

"Maybe there are no physical chains, but I don't see me being able to leave if I want to."

"You don't want to leave."

She laughed heartily at this. " No I've only asked that you send me home about 10 times." She said through grit teeth. He gazed at her amusedly.

"You forget that I know you Samantha. I know exactly what you want, even if you do not yet know." She was about to start yelling and cursing at him but he never allowed her the chance. In one swift movement he had her in his arms and had lowered his mouth to hers. She gasped ready to start pounding him with her fists, but instead found to her horror that she was kissing him back! She could feel the warmth of his body beneath her, could feel his hands, one on the small of her back the other gently tracing her jaw line. His hair was tickling her face and neck as he kissed her so gently. Slowly he pulled away from her leaving her longing for his touch. She caught something in his eyes but it disappeared far too quickly and was replaced with arrogance and victory.

"What the hell was that all about?" *I think I'm going to faint. *

"Just a little something to let you think about." He said with a hint of arrogance.

"I'm not here so you can play games with me Jareth. You're acting like Mark for god's sake. Trying to win me over and manipulate me." As soon as the words had left her mouth she wished that she could have taken them back.

His eyes flashed dark with anger and for an instant she felt fear. "Don't you EVER, compare me to him. EVER." She had definitely struck a nerve. His tone was icy and his eyes were filled with rage. "I am nothing like him. Nothing!" he spat. She watched him walk away from her and pace near the door of the room. He stopped, suddenly glaring at her and she felt herself back away from him. "I never hurt you, I never beat you, and I never attempted to seduce you when your guard was down."

"What was that little display for then? You wanted to distract me from going home by kissing me? You did it to confuse me, to fall into one of your traps. Well it isn't going to work."

Jareth looked positively annoyed now. "Why do you insist that everything I do has to be a game?"

"Because that's the way you work. Games and trickery and deception."

"I have only been what you've wanted me to be." He shot back. "If you had wanted a knight in shining armor, I would have granted your wish. But you wanted me to be evil and without mercy so that you could beat me and feel a sense of triumph."

"So maybe I did want that in the past. But that was the past Jareth, 7 years ago. What I wanted as a teenager and what I want as an adult are very different."

"Oh are they?" he raised a brow, a look of pure desire in his eyes.

She forced herself to ignore the way he was looking at her. "Yes they are. You claim that you know me and that you know what I want. Maybe you know pieces of my life, but you don't know ME." She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at him. "It must be breakfast time by now and your food is probably getting cold. I won't be joining you." It took him a few moments to realize what she had said. Tossing his cape angrily behind him he abruptly left the room. Samantha turned and gazed at the empty room for a moment. *Why do I have to always go into defense mode? I dreamt of kissing him for two years. He kisses me and I practically spit in his face! Good going Samantha! I'm such an idiot! He can't possibly know what I want because I'm not even so sure myself! * In all truth, Jareth HAD confused her. His kiss had stirred unresolved emotions within her that scared the hell out of her. She moved to the bed and sat on the silk sheets while tears streamed gently down her face.

Jareth paced the dining hall like a caged animal. There was fury and power in each step. *I finally try and open myself up to her and she dismisses me! Acts as if I'm going to do to her what HE did to her! * He wondered if he had misinterpreted things. Perhaps it was not regret he had sensed coming from her after she defeated him, perhaps it had not been desire he sensed coming from her in the years that followed his defeat. *But I was so sure of it! Other wise I would not have wasted my time! I would have let her be, but now... * Jareth threw himself down hard into one of the chairs at the dinning table. Breakfast for two was laid out in front of him, but he didn't even glance at it. Instead he raised one gloved hand to his forehead and tried to cover the sudden grief, anguish and confusion he felt appearing.