AUTHORS NOTE: This is my first Labyrinth Fan Fiction hell it's my first fan fiction full stop. I'm sorry this isn't a Jareth/Sarah story but this idea has been bugging me for a long time so I finally decided to put it into words.

Please read and review criticism and suggestions are more than welcome. If you give me an idea I like and use I promise to give you lots of credit ^_^ umm… apart from that if you're a kiddy-kin you really shouldn't be reading this because there will be various words and themes that you are hopefully too innocent to know about. LOL.

Big thank you to Emer who kindly agreed to be my beta reader and being my Grammar Nazi. Cos lets face it I need it big time J

Um other than that I hope you enjoy the chp and I don't kill Jareth too much!

And thank you to Emer and Dark Angel hotaru for reviewing J

Disclaimer: Usual stuff I don't own the Labyrinth or Jareth or Ludo hugs Ludo cos he's just so cute Wish I did but I don't. Any Non movie labyrinth stuff is mine or if it isn't I'll give credit to where its due.

Enjoy J

Chapter 2

The Goblin King lounged upon his throne twirling crystals around in his gloved hands, his mismatched eyes portraying no hint as to what he was thinking. Idly his gaze wandered over his throne room. The walls where made of creamy marble, whose regularity was broken up by giant windows, some of which contained patterned, stained glass. The ceiling was spelled to resemble sections of the Labyrinth. Like the Labyrinth, it changed--rarely ever showing the same scene. The floor was made of white crystal and reflected rainbows when Jareth allowed it.

He returned his attention to the petitioner in front of him and passed judgement, agreeing to look over the condition of the main highways and mend them where necessary. Dismissing the small assembly immediately afterwards Jareth produced a crystal and disappeared reappearing in one of his many guest rooms. Standing at the foot of the bed he studied the bed's occupant. Then he sent  a message via a crystal. Jareth sat down to wait, his foot tapping idly. A woman entered the room quietly.

"You called for me, sire?"

"Ah Darla. About our 'guest...'"

Darla's glance flickered to the girl in the bed. "What of her, sire?"

"Why has she not woken up?"

"Sire, you know as well as I do that the Labyrinth is an exhaustive test of endurance, even at the best of times. Considering the condition she came to us in, I don't blame her." Jareth heard the tone of disapproval in her voice.

"You don't think I should have let her run." It wasn't a question.

"Sire, as you have made it clear before, it is your kingdom and will you do as you will." Darla stated.

"That tone is more than bordering on insubordination, Darla." Jareth purred.

"And I've been your personal healer for too many long years to be bothered by trivial threats, Jareth." She replied unperturbed.

Jareth smiled crookedly and didn't press the point. "Do you know why she's still sleeping?"

Darla sighed. "I've tried everything I can think of to wake her up Jareth (maybe take this out, or put a comma before and after) with the result you see before you."

"Should we just let her continue sleeping, then?" Jareth asked raising his eyes in mild surprise. He knew Darla was not a person who liked to admit defeat.

"I don't see any other solution but to let her wake up on her own. From what I can see in her she needs to heal… badly…"

"Have you gained any hint of what happened to her?"

"No." Darla shook her head. "She's bottled herself up so tightly--I didn't think it was possible for a mortal to do so."

Jareth nodded and disappeared. Darla rolled her eyes at her king's dramatic exit and left the more conventional way.


Jessica was floating gently in what looked like the Aurora. She didn't know where she was but wasn't afraid. She had already pushed and locked away all the bad memories that had tried to invade this place. She smiled. She had always wanted to see the Northern Lights and now she was floating amongst them. They played around her, dancing, inviting her to join them in their festival across the sky. Jessica laughed and tried to see the forms of the dancers. The impression of wings was all she got. About to join in the dancing, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see whom it belonged to. A lady stood behind her smiling sadly at her.
"I'm sorry Jessica. I know you would rather stay here and dance with my friends but you've slept long enough and it's time you awoke." Genuine sorrow filled the Lady's eyes as Jessica's soul tumbled back into her body.


The first thing that registered in Jessica's mind was that she was comfortable. The second was that she was incredibly thirsty. Carefully opening her eyes she saw a pitcher that contained what she hoped was water. Levering herself up with some effort, Jessica reached a shaking hand for the pitcher and then stopped. Her tired mind decided that it wouldn't do her any good if she spilt it all on the floor as she carefully swung protesting muscles into a sitting position. It took both hands to pour water into a cup and swallow its contents again and again.
Her thirst quenched temporarily, Jessica looked around her. The walls were painted a soft emerald green with which had reflected patterns cast upon them. The source of the light, she found, came from the ceiling's skylight, which was made from blue rippled glass. The effect of the room made her feel like she was under water. Across from the bed lay an intricately carved dresser and two metres to either side of the dresser sat two doors. On the left of the bed she discovered her reflection looking back at her from sliding doors. Looking past her reflection she gasped at the beautiful view of the Labyrinth that lay outside of the small balcony. Jessica gazed at it for several long moments before tearing her eyes away.
Curiosity and a desire to get dressed prompted her to get up. With a sheet wrapped round her form she went to explore what lay behind the mirrored sliding doors. They held a variety of clothes of various styles, including underclothes in her size. Digging through them she found an acceptable pair of long pants and a sleeveless shirt to wear. The door to the left of the dresser opened inwards to the largest bathroom Jessica had ever seen. Cool white tiles gently reflected the light coming in from the doorway where Jessica stood. What she thought was the bath looked more like a spa-sized pool and looked deep enough for Jessica to stand in, with the majority of her to be still covered by water. Shaking her head at the decadence of a pool-sized bath she moved onto the other door.
Glancing in, she saw another, bigger balcony closed off from the room by glass doors. Next to it sat a small table with chairs, commanding a view of the Labyrinth. A fireplace lay in one wall, loosely surrounded by a leather couch and two deep, high-backed chairs. The walls were a light peach colour broken up by small tables with unlit candles and a door opposite the balcony that, after a swift peek, proved to lead into a stone corridor.
Jessica's stomach grumbled at her prompting her to go in search of food. Stepping out into the corridor she immediately went back inside to search for something to cover her feet against the icy stone. Shod in a kind of soft slipper, Jessica once more made her way out, going left down the corridor.
Walking down corridor after corridor and taking numerous twists and turns; Jessica was beginning to regret leaving her room. She was not only hopelessly lost but was feeling more than a touch light-headed. Leaning briefly against a wall, she closed her eyes, willing the dizziness to leave her. Opening them again she noticed two large double doors to her right and wondered how she had missed them. Turning one of the large handles she walked in…
 
Jareth appeared in Jessica's room and saw the bed was empty, conjuring a crystal he ordered it to show him the girl. Seeing the large bookcases around Jessica the Goblin King appeared in his library behind her. Studying her for a moment in the half darkness of his library, he noted that a slight wariness never left her stance. Producing a crystal, he illuminated the room.

Jessica found herself in the biggest library she had ever seen. Shelves started from roughly waist height and climbed towards the ceiling. Books of varying styles and conditions stretched off towards the darkened end of the room. Someone had spent a lot of time and effort to install strategically placed chairs, around the room for the comfort of browsers.
 
Jessica blinked painfully in the sudden bright light. Looking around to see where it had come from she saw the Goblin King advancing on her. Very slightly she began to tremble. She had been hoping that the last few days had been some horrible nightmare and that this was a somewhat calmer, friendlier dream. What happened to Mari? The frantic thought crossed her mind and was voiced before she could stop herself.

"What happened to Mari?"

Jareth began playing with a crystal. "Why so much concern over a mere child?" He asked indifferently. "After all, your time as her protector has ended."

Jessica resisted the urge to smash the crystal in Jareth's face. "I asked a simple question. One would have thought you'd be capable of answering it."

"Perhaps you forget who you are addressing." Jareth's smirk held no mirth in it as he towered over her.

Jessica forced herself to calmly meet the Goblin King's mismatched eyes. She could be civil if it got her what she wanted. "I merely wish to know what happened to the child, your majesty."

"She is aboveworld." He toyed with her, watching the anger seethe behind her dark brown eyes.
"Where above ground?"

"Where she will be wanted."
Jessica was about to give an angry reply when the Goblin king took her arm and said. "Come." And transported them both to the throne room.

Taking his seat on the throne Jareth spoke. "You gave yourself freely. Therefore you belong to me and the rules of my kingdom apply to you as they do to any of my subjects. Outside of the Labyrinth you will not have the benefit of my protection and could possibly be hunted down for sport by some of my kind. Fae do not care for mortals, so do not expect to be well-treated by any that come here." Jareth beckoned to someone behind her. "Sen will show you back to your rooms."
"What am I supposed to do here?"

"That depends on your behaviour."

"And what is termed good depends on you right?"

"Correct"

"And if I'm not good?" Jessica almost spat the last word out.

"Then perhaps you shall be introduced to my range of oubliette's."

"What are they?" Jessica ignored her resurging trembling and blamed it on exhaustion.

"A place where there is no concept of time. You are put there for people to forget about you. There is only you… and the dark." Jareth stood up and prowled towards Jessica as he spoke.

Jessica forced herself to steadily meet Jareth's gaze. 'Don't give this guy an inch.' She thought to herself.

Jareth was prevented from saying anything further when a goblin messenger slipped up to pass him a piece of parchment. Grimacing Jareth dismissed Jessica disappearing before she was out the door.

Jessica was deep in thought when she realised she was back in her rooms and realised her goblin guide Sen, was talking to her.

"What?"

"I said, milady, did ye be wanting anythin'?" Impatience touched the goblin's voice as Jessica shook her head in answer.
The goblin scuttled out leaving the mortal to her thoughts.

She had given herself for the child…
The child was safe…
Another piece of Jessica's heart broke when she realised she might never see the little girl again. Tears, that there had been no time for previously came slowly to her eyes. The pain that had been pushed down for so long was coming up like the stormy tide, crashing over her senses, dragging her down…
A brisk, practical voice stalled her rapid slide into darkness.

"Well, I see you're finally up, youngling. Now that you are, let's have a look at you." A small woman spoke quickly in a no-nonsense tone.
Jessica looked up to see a petite woman in a sensible white dress and long blue-black hair that was pushed behind a pair of slightly pointed ears.

"Who are you?" Jessica asked.

"Darla, I'm Jareth's Chief Healer and for the moment yours as well. I assume you have a name?"

"Jessica." The girl replied absently, Darla's ears having captured her attention. "Your ears…"
Darla resisted the urge to hide her ears as she answered. "The legacy of my Pixie heritage." If Darla wasn't as experienced as she was the blank intensity in Jessica's eyes might have frightened her. As a healer it was merely worrying, even though the girl was a mortal Darla didn't like losing patients and wasn't entirely sure that the girl wouldn't slip back into an un-waking sleep

"Pixie? I thought they were smaller"

"Well now you know different." The healer stated as she checked over the mortal girl's vital signs.

Giving into the temptation to look into Jessica's mind Darla placed her small hands on either side of Jessica's face saying. "Just relax it won't hurt." And prepared herself to go in. Jessica instinctively tried to shy away. She didn't know what the pixie was trying to do but didn't think she'd like the answer.

Standing inside a circle of trees, the Lady felt Darla try to enter Jessica's mind. Smiling grimly, she readied a forget spell for Darla.

Darla was swamped. Image after image flooded through her making her forget who or what she was. Pain wracked her body. No. Not her body--someone else's. Calm found her and a vision rose that was beyond the pixie's ability to describe. The vision was filled with cracks and fractures and felt like it stood upon the edge of the knife. A push in the wrong direction would shatter it into a myriad of shards, its pieces lost forever.
Darla's power wrenched violently away, throwing each body to opposite sides of the room.

Jareth felt to massive surge of Darla's power and produced a crystal to transport himself to his healer.

The Lady appeared in the room and placed the forget spell deep inside Darla. She did the same for Jessica and found to her annoyance that she was only able to push back the memories Darla awoke in Jessica. Feeling Jareth's magic, the Lady disappeared.

Jareth appeared, to find Darla struggling to push herself upright against the wall and Jessica moaning softly on the ground opposite. Pulling Darla upright Jareth demanded.

"What happened here?"

"I don't know, majesty." Darla gasped fighting for breath. She felt like someone had pounded her into the dirt several times.

"I fail to see how you could not know what happened, when it caused a massive surge of your own magic to occur." Jareth produced a crystal and gave it to the shaken healer. "Go to your rooms." Turning, he walked over to the girl and picked her up, carrying her to her bed. Walking back out into the main room, Jareth spread his magic out to fill every corner, trying to discern what had happened. He felt the constant presence of the Labyrinth's magic and Darla's own, including the massive backlash it had unleashed. There was nothing to suggest a stranger's magic but there was a feel of protection in the backlash.
Moving back into Jessica's bedroom to question the girl he saw she had fallen asleep, curled up in the ball he had left her in. Pulling a blanket over her he left.

Jessica was back on the hilltop where she had met the Lady. Above her the Aurora danced and sang inviting her to join them. Roaming over what turned out to be a rather large hilltop Jessica searched for a way up to the sky. Instead, she found the Lady.
"I'm glad you came back to me, even if it is by dreaming," she said smiling. "Will you not sit?"

Jessica sat on the soft grass. "Who are you, Lady?"
"Are you always this blunt, child?" The Lady chided gently. Jessica blushed and the Lady smiled to take any sting out of her words. "Very few have known my true name, child. Not even your newfound ruler knows it, although he is aware of my other titles."
"Other titles?" Jessica asked confused.

"I am very old and I have been known by many names. For now, 'Lady' will suffice."

"How old are you?"
"Almost as old as the Labyrinth that surrounds us."

"That's not exactly helpful, Lady." Jessica said reproachfully producing a deep-throated laugh from the Lady.

"Of course not, child. Of course not. But I have let myself be distracted from why I brought you here." Serious silver eyes held Jessica's gaze. "You must be very careful here, Jessica. Fae, generally speaking, do not like mortals. They feel that you are below them, not much better than animals. Although not all feel this way there are enough to be wary of. This does also apply to other races in the Underground, although it varies from species to species."

"Jareth said as much this morning." Jessica said.

The Lady nodded. "Despite Jareth's reputation he does try to take care of his subjects so that, if anything else, they don't rebel against him."
"Are all Jareth's subjects goblins?" Jessica asked.
"No. Some are Fae or Pixie or creatures like Ludo."
"Darla. She said she was a pixie."
"Indeed my child, this also brings me to a point I wanted to bring up. Do you remember what Darla tried to do?"
Jessica shook her head after a moment.
"She tried to read your mind."
"What happened."

"Darla's magic threw you both to opposite sides of the room breaking contact between you."

"Why?"
"Because of the pain that resides in your own heart, mind, and soul."
Jessica shuddered and voiced her thought. "How do you know this about me Lady?"
"I will answer that another time for our time here is short." The Lady seemed to hesitate for a brief moment before continuing, placing both hands either side of Jessica's face. "You must not let anyone into your mind. It is very important that you never let them into yourself. Remember this if nothing else." Jessica felt the words press down on her. "It is dangerous for you as well as others. If needs be you can call on myself or the Labyrinth to help you when others try, but either of us can only do so much."
"How would I call on the Labyrinth?" Jessica asked not understanding. "Is it more than a maze?"
"Always more than a maze child." With the Lady's last words the hilltop faded and Jessica fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

Jessica woke to soft moonlight streaming through her skylight and balcony windows. A clock that had not been on the wall previously told her it was midnight… Wait is that a thirteen? What kind of clock has thirteen hours? Jessica's growling stomach interrupted her thoughts reminding her that yet again she hadn't eaten. Sighing, Jessica once more went in search of food, wishing she had remembered to ask the goblin earlier.
Deciding to go left instead of right, Jessica tried to go down as many stairs as she came across until she felt that she was on ground level. Idly trying doors she found many of them were locked, as before. Before long she found herself in front of another large set of doors, similar in design to the library in a grandiose way. Pushing one door carefully open she saw that it was the throne room. Slipping inside, she paused to look around and gasped in wonder when she saw the ceiling. The vision on the ceiling was currently showing dozing fairies, asleep among the flowers. Jessica pulled herself away with some difficulty vowing to come back if she ever had the opportunity.
Going back out the way she came Jessica picked another direction at random and rounded a corner, almost running straight into the Goblin King.
Strong hands steadied Jessica and then let her go. Looking up, she saw the Goblin King looking down with a raised eyebrow.

"It seems that you have a habit of sneaking around my castle." Jareth purred.
"I wasn't sneaking."
"Oh really? Then what pray tell were you doing?" The sarcasm was evident in Jareth's voice.
Jessica's stomach rumbled in reply. Jareth frowned.
"When did you last eat, girl?"
Jessica shrugged. "I don't know. How long was I asleep?"
"Three days." Jessica blinked at that. Quickly calculating, she didn't like the answer she came up with.
"Too long." Jessica's stomach growled again.
Jareth sighed to himself. He was looking forward to his bed.
"Come with me, girl."
Jessica followed Jareth trying to memorise the way in case she had to find her way here again. She didn't want to be reliant on this cold king any more than was necessary.
Sen met the king and girl at the door of the kitchens. Bobbing a curtsy to the King, Sen ushered Jessica in, placing cheese, bread and cold meat in front of her. Glancing back towards the door Jessica saw that Jareth had disappeared. Relief washed over her. The Lady's warning hung firmly in her mind. Settling down, Jessica ate her first meal in days.