AN: Here's the sequel!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth...just Jareth :P (And my own characters of course ^_^)
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The Heirs to the Kingdom
(Part I)
Aeslen dug through her closet for an outfit to wear to work that day. She pulled out a clean pair of black slacks and a shiny metallic silver blouse. She hurriedly threw them on and slipped into a pair of black strappy sandals. Then she went back to the mirror to finish touching up her make-up and make sure her long platinum hair was still in neat loose curls. Once she was pleased with her appearance she grabbed her purse and headed out the front door of her apartment. She locked her door before heading out to her car. When she got that strange sensation of being watched, she paused. She lifted her head to look around cautiously.
As she looked around her mismatched eyes swirled similar to what a bird's eye does when hunting prey. She shrugged it off and climbed into her car. As she sped off in her blue convertible a shadow moved away from a neighboring building. It followed the car at an inhuman speed, but Aeslen didn't notice.
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Blaethen stood outside looking out over her young students as they have recess. Her platinum hair just brushed the top of her shoulders. She wore a baggy blue sweater and a floral skirt with sneakers. Typical early education teacher wear. She felt goosebumps on the back of her neck and she spun around to scan the area with suspicion. Her own mismatched eyes swirled as she searched the area in vain. She was brought out of it when she felt a tug at the hem of her sweater.
"Miss Blaethen?" a little boy blinked up at her when she spun around in surprise. "Jake stole my ball."
"Well," she took him by the hand with a gentle smile. "Let's go have a talk with him, Tommy."
As she walked off with the little boy into the throng of children a shadow under some trees across the street moved. It slipped across the street towards the school.
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In the castle in the center of the labyrinth, the throne room was a mess. A young man reclined on a pile of pillows that filled the pit that had once been there in the center of the mess. The young man had long, thick black hair with streaks of blue in it; strands of it hung in his light silver eyes that were nearly white. He lounged in an open black poet's shirt and black leather pants with black leather knee-high boots.
A goblin came bounding in and stopped just outside the pit full of pillows. "Master Syrro, the girls have been found."
"Great, continue with my plan," the man said and waved a hand dismissively towards the goblin.
"What if they resist?"
"Then take them by force...*WITHOUT* hurting them."
The goblin saluted him and bounded out of the throne room, leaving Syrro to his thoughts about the events that had lead up to all this. His father had recently died, leaving him to rule over the labyrinth. His father had conquered the kingdom and drove out the old king and his family. There had been a bump in his plans, though. The labyrinth was ever changing and the only way to navigate it safely without getting lost was by the tunnels underneath, but even those got confusing. His father hadn't realized this until it was too late to get the map of the tunnel system from the old king. They were nearly exiled to their own castle cause they could not risk getting lost in that labyrinth.
Now he had found Jareth's children, he would use them as a gambling tool to get the map from him. Too bad his father had never thought of doing this, the fool. But, if his father hadn't been such a fool he wouldn't have to be doing this now anyways. He stood and started to pace the room. His goblins better be quick about bringing those girls to him. He had no time to waste in putting his plan into action.
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Aeslen stood outside her trailer, looking around. Something just did not feel right. She reached a hand up slowly to brush a blonde curl from her face and look around. Yanking open the door to her trailer she hurried inside and away from the horrid feeling, but the feelings of dread did not go away. They worsened. She thought she heard creaking from the other end of the trailer...muffled noises from another area. She kept looking around with frightened, wide eyes.
"Who's there??" she demanded.
A goblin poked his head out of the cabinet near her head and she squealed, jumping back. It snickered and then went on with what it had been about to say. "Lord Syrro requests your presence at his castle."
"Who the hell is Lord Syrro??" her eyes scanned the room as she heard more noises from all around her.
"Why, he is the new goblin king and lord of the labyrinth." The goblin gave a toothy smile and Aeslen blanched.
"I've finally gone mad...that's it. I over worked myself with movie after movie and now I've snapped." She raised a hand to her forehead.
"You comin or we gotta use force?" the goblin asked and all the other movement around her stopped as if waiting the answer.
"I guess I'm coming along, might as well have fun with this hallucination..." That was the last thing she remembered as the goblin threw something at her, it looked like glitter...but it sure wasn't the kind you got in the store. She slumped to the floor unconscious.
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Blaethen waved the last child away at the end of the day. She turned and walked back into her classroom to finish grading their tests before she went home. She shrugged off that awful feeling and sat down behind her desk. She tossed back her hair out of her face and got to work. She hadn't been working long when she heard something from the supply closet. Great, now she was hearing things, too. She ignored it.
She yelped when a pair of beady eyes appeared over the edge of her desk. A goblin pulled himself up to sit on her desk blinking back at her. She raised her pencil to poke at him, only to have the creature snatch it away and eat it. She started pushing herself back from her desk, but the chair stuck and she looked down to see more of the things holding the wheels of her chair in place.
"What are you??" she asked, starting to lose her composure a bit.
"Goblins," the creature on her desk said matter-of-factly and just blinked up at her some more. "We came to extend an invitation from Lord Syrro to join him at his castle at the center of the labyrinth."
"The castle at the center of the labyrinth??" she repeated dumbly.
"Yeah, you comin or we gotta do this the hard way?"
This snapped her out of her daze and she sprung to her feet. She made a break for the door. She didn't get far when a group of the goblins grabbed onto her ankles and lower legs. She toppled forward and lifted her arms to keep from hurting herself by the fall. She struggled against the hands. There sure were a lot of them! She flailed even more frantically. Finally one hit her with something and she blacked out on the floor.
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Aeslen's eyes drifted open as she felt something touching her cheek. She was looking up into super light silver eyes. The owner of the eyes was caressing her cheek and she was laying down somewhere that felt comfortable. Her mind raced, trying to remember what happened last. Goblins had made an appearance in her trailer and she had agreed to go along with them...she must be still in her delusional state. She sat up and looked at the man beside her, not bad.
"You that Syrro dude the goblins had jabbered about?" Aeslen asked with apprehension.
He nodded slowly. "And you are..."
"Aeslen Kobold...why did you bring me here?" She looked around to get her bearings. She was sitting in the middle of a soft pile of pillows with the man known as Syrro stretched out lazily beside her. The rest of the room looked like something took out of a medieval castle...and it was messy, her nose crinkled as she looked at it all.
"Maybe I should leave the explanations until your sister arrives," he said smoothly and propped himself up on his arm, so that he is almost sitting up beside me. He reached out with a free hand to touch one of her platinum curls and she moved away slightly. "You're not afraid of little ole me, are you, Aeslen?"
"Of you? Ha, don't make me laugh," she lifted her chin defiantly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw some goblins making their way in, they were dragging something behind them. She spotted what it was and tried to run over to her sister.
Syrro cought her by the arm and held her in place. "Not so fast, stay here beside me. There is no hurry."
"What have you done to Blaethen?" she swung angry eyes at him and tried to jerk her arm free in vain.
He pulled her close. "I gave orders neither of you are to be harmed, she will awaken soon." He looked deep into her eyes, studying her face. "You might as well get used to keeping close quarters with me as I plan on keeping both of you here for some time."
"What do you want with us?" she asked breathily, but not willing to admit the closeness was affecting her.
"Your father has something I want, he will give it to me or never see either of you again." His thumb started caressing her upper arm.
She ignored it. "What could my father possibly have that you want?"
"Oh my, did he never tell you your heritage?" a sly smile spread over his face. "My father became king of the labyrinth by wresting it away from the previous king, and driving him out along with his family. Unfortunately, the old king took the map to the underground passages way with him and the labyrinth is too hard to travel without using them."
"Your point?"
"The king had a young wife and twin baby girls when my father drove him out. His name was Jareth," he touched her cheek again. "And my dear, the darling babes were you and your sister."
Aeslen swallowed hard around the lump in her throat. "You have got to be kidding me." She forced out. She refused to let herself be distracted by her growing attraction to the handsome man. There were more important things at hand. She shook her head slowly. This had to be some elaborate joke. Her father wasn't some goblin king, and her mother wasn't some queen. Sure, they looked good for their age, but come on.
"You're lieing," came a shaky voice from across the room. Blaethen was standing with her fists balled at her sides. She stalked towards Syrro and stood glaring down at him. "Send us home, now."
"I'm sorry, but I am telling the truth. Faeries seldom lie, as you will find out," Syrro stood to face Blaethen. He reached down a hand to help Aeslen up beside him, but she avoided touching him to stand on her own. "And I can't send you home until I get what I need from your father."
"You're mad!" Aeslen glared up at him.
"Actually, I'm quite smitten, my dear," Syrro smirked and Aeslen just stared at him, confused. This only caused him to start laughing.
"Oh, shut up," Aeslen growled. Blaethen stood to the side stifling her own chuckles. Her twin turned to glare at her. "Who you laughin at? You're a prisoner, too!"
"And considering what he wants, we may be here awhile. So we might as well make the best of our situation." Blaethen responded unscathed.
"Doesn't mean I have to like this wart, though," Aeslen motioned towards an amused Syrro.
"No," Blaethen lifted her chin. "But it does mean you will be civil to the man who holds our lives in his hands."
"Bah, he wouldn't dare," Aeslen glared at him stubbornly.
"Would I?" he stepped closer to her to look down at her imposingly. A hand snaked out to catch her by the throat. Blaethen held her breath, fearing her sister had gone too far.
"No, you wouldn't," Aeslen held her ground. "You need us to barter with."
"I only really need one of you."
"If you had wanted to, you would've already. So go ahead," She calmly stood there looking up at him.
He released her slowly, brushing his hand against her cheek as he drew his arm back. "You're right, but I may change that idea if you give me too much trouble." He let the threat hang there before turning to head towards the door. He called over his shoulder, "Goblins will come shortly to take you to your rooms."
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Aeslen sat in her room by the window. She gazed out over the labyrinth Syrro claimed her father had ruled. She sighed and wondered for once if this was truly real. She usually woke up by now. She glanced over her shoulder towards the door as she got an idea. He said he couldn't travel the labyrinth without the map. She quietly opened the window and slipped out. She would get help and come back for her sister later. Without looking back, she sprinted into the labyrinth.
Syrro walked into Aeslen's room to see how she was getting set in, when he noticed she was nowhere in sight. He started walking towards the bathroom. "Aeslen? Aeslen, are you there?" he called and poked his head in. No one there. He turned towards the closet and headed over to look in there. Nothing. He let loose a ragged sigh and finally looked at the open window. She wouldn't. He stalked over and peered out. She would, and he knew it. He turned and dashed down the hall towards the room where he had told the goblins to take Blaethen to make sure she was where she should be.
He burst in the door out of breath. "Blaethen!"
She poked her head out of the bathroom with wide eyes. "What's the emergency? Let me guess, Aeslen. What's she done now?"
"She climbed out her window and I fear she ran into the labyrinth." He leaned against the door trying to catch his breath so he could look fearsome again.
"Well, that's Aeslen for ya." Blaethen shrugged and came out all the way from the bathroom. "What are you planning on doing about this?"
"I'm going to send the message to your parents that you are both here, as I had planned to do after checking on you both. That way he can come down here sooner with the map and we can go find her."
Blaethen gulped. "But what if he refuses...she's gonna be stuck out there...?"
"No, I'll send some of my shadows out there...hopefully they won't get lost, too. And, hopefully they can bring her back unhurt and without her putting up too much of a fight," he looked at Blaethen and saw the look on her face. "Well, I hope she's not hurt TOO badly..." he added wryly.
"Oh lord, I am never seeing my sister again, am I?"
"You will. I'll make sure of it." Syrro turned and walked out of the room towards the throne room. He didn't realize Blaethen had followed him until he paused in front of the pit of pillows and she bumped into his back. He spun around and looked at her.
"Sorry." She said meekly.
"What are you doing?" he asked her with mild amusement.
"You're not just going to tell me my sister went missing and then leave me out of it all." She planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin stubbornly.
"Fine! I don't have time to argue with you." He walked over to a mirror hanging on the wall. He waved a hand over the surface so that in the next minute it wavered and the faces of her parents appeared in it.
"Do we know you?" Jareth demanded of Syrro.
Sarah looked past Syrro. "Blaethen?? Is Aeslen there too??"
"Yes, so to speak." Blaethen glanced at her feet.
"You know my father, Jareth," Syrro began. "I am Syrro, the son of Arutin. Yes, I see from your quick anger that name rang a bell and you now realize who I am. My father has died and I am the new Goblin King. My father realized too late his folly in not taking the map of the tunnels beneath the labyrinth from you. I have taken your daughters and will not return either of them until you give me that map."
Blaethen stepped forward. "Father, you must. Aeslen ran off into the labyrinth and we need that map to find her before something happens to her."
"I truly do not want her hurt, my shadows are searching for her as we speak. Please come soon, I fear even my shadows may get lost before they find her. And, of course the Labyrinth HAS changed a lot, it is constantly changing."
"Don't worry, we'll be there soon," Sarah said and Jareth looked at her. They exchanged a look before she said more forcefully. "We WILL be there soon." Their images then disappeared.
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Aeslen sat on a large boulder beside a pond hidden in a deep forest within the labyrinth. She watched funny little creatures come and go, and others playing in the water. This place really was beautiful when it wasn't putting all it's energy into breaking you, it seemed. She smiled to herself and then laid back on the boulder. She yawned and stretched before dozing off. There was nothing she had to do, was there?
She woke with a start as a shadow fell across her. She opened her eyes to see Syrro looming over her and her memories came back to her at full force. "You! I thought you couldn't travel the labyrinth!" She sat up with wide eyes.
He held up a small disc in his hand. "Your father gave me the map." He sat on the boulder beside her, his hand went up to brush some of his unruly black hair out of his eyes as he looked her over.
"That means we can leave, right?" Aeslen looked him in the eyes expectantly. Bad idea, their eyes locked and her breath caught in her throat.
"Just your sister, I am keeping you for myself," he lifted a hand to brush her hair out of her face, then to cup her cheek. Her mismatched eyes registered alarm for multiple reasons as she gazed back at him like a deer caught in his very bright and shiny headlights.
"What?" she gasped.
He turned his head to look out over the pond. "It's a beautiful place, isn't it? I see why you stopped here." He looked back at her and leaned in close. "But, to me it does not compare to your magnificent eyes and your alluring face."
"Sweet talking me isn't going to make me forget the fact you just negated your deal with us." She whispered back with not as much conviction as it should of held.
"Actually, I never made a deal with you. And I had told you he would not see either of you until I got the map. I gave him back Blaethen. I never said I had to give BOTH of you back," he smirked at his own cleverness, keeping his face and...mouth close to hers.
"Bastard..." She whispered fiercely. "You're not making me do anything for you."
"I agree," he brushed his lips against hers lightly and she looked at him shocked. "I won't MAKE you do anything."
With that he plundered her mouth savagely with his own. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her up against him. Her eyes remained wide and her body rigid. Then as he deepened the kiss, her eyes drifted close and she placed her hands lightly against his solid chest as she melted against him. Some part of her brain still went *Wait! What are you doing??!!*, but she shoved it aside and started to work her mouth against his; reciprocating the passionate kiss. One of his hands tangled in her hair and the other smoothed over her bottom to bring her more firmly against him. She let out a small moan of approval. There was no thought at this point; only lips, tongue, hands, and bodies.
He drew back slightly and looked at her. Her eyes were closed and she was trying to catch her breath. He smiled and brushed a gentle kiss on her lips before loosening his grasp. Her eyes drifted open slowly to look up at him, her lips softly swollen and her face flushed.
"Come, I shall take you from this place where your beauty has no light to shine in," he murmured with his face still close to hers, their ragged breaths mingling between them. "Promise me you will not run away again and I will give you anything you desire." As he said this, the setting melted away and became her room. They were in each others arms, stretched out on the bed.
Aeslen pulled back slightly and sat up straight. "I desire my freedom."
"That, I cannot give you. I give you freedom to go anywhere in the castle and on the castle ground, even through the labyrinth and the surrounding lands that make up to the Underground." He laid on his back on the bed, looking up at her with his arms flung out wide to display his point. "But," he drew himself up beside her and gazed into her eyes. "I want you here in the Underground with me."
"Isn't it sad that you had to kidnap a woman, just to get some." She crossed her arms and looked at him with jaw set.
He chuckled. "You know full well I did not kidnap you to...'get some', as you call it. Now, that I have you, I can't bring myself to let you go."
Aeslen looked around as if others are in the room. "Does anyone else smell cheese?"
Syrro took her by the chin and brought her face back to look at him. "I mean it. Some day when I can trust you not to run off at the drop of the hat into dangers untold, then I shall let you have all the freedom you desire. For I shall know that at the end of the day you will come back to me. For now, I know I can not have that."
"YOU...trust ME?! Now isn't that a slight twist of things."
He stood and did his best to straighten his clothes. "You have had a long day. If you can manage a nap without trying to get your pretty little neck in trouble, I will send someone to retrieve you for supper later." He motioned towards the bathroom. "They are as advanced as the aboveground, so you may wash up and change before then." He motioned to the closet. "Clothes are in there." There were two other doors, he motioned to one of them. "That one leads to my own chambers. You may visit me any time you wish." He purred before leaving the room. A pillow hit the door just as it closed.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth...just Jareth :P (And my own characters of course ^_^)
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The Heirs to the Kingdom
(Part I)
Aeslen dug through her closet for an outfit to wear to work that day. She pulled out a clean pair of black slacks and a shiny metallic silver blouse. She hurriedly threw them on and slipped into a pair of black strappy sandals. Then she went back to the mirror to finish touching up her make-up and make sure her long platinum hair was still in neat loose curls. Once she was pleased with her appearance she grabbed her purse and headed out the front door of her apartment. She locked her door before heading out to her car. When she got that strange sensation of being watched, she paused. She lifted her head to look around cautiously.
As she looked around her mismatched eyes swirled similar to what a bird's eye does when hunting prey. She shrugged it off and climbed into her car. As she sped off in her blue convertible a shadow moved away from a neighboring building. It followed the car at an inhuman speed, but Aeslen didn't notice.
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Blaethen stood outside looking out over her young students as they have recess. Her platinum hair just brushed the top of her shoulders. She wore a baggy blue sweater and a floral skirt with sneakers. Typical early education teacher wear. She felt goosebumps on the back of her neck and she spun around to scan the area with suspicion. Her own mismatched eyes swirled as she searched the area in vain. She was brought out of it when she felt a tug at the hem of her sweater.
"Miss Blaethen?" a little boy blinked up at her when she spun around in surprise. "Jake stole my ball."
"Well," she took him by the hand with a gentle smile. "Let's go have a talk with him, Tommy."
As she walked off with the little boy into the throng of children a shadow under some trees across the street moved. It slipped across the street towards the school.
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In the castle in the center of the labyrinth, the throne room was a mess. A young man reclined on a pile of pillows that filled the pit that had once been there in the center of the mess. The young man had long, thick black hair with streaks of blue in it; strands of it hung in his light silver eyes that were nearly white. He lounged in an open black poet's shirt and black leather pants with black leather knee-high boots.
A goblin came bounding in and stopped just outside the pit full of pillows. "Master Syrro, the girls have been found."
"Great, continue with my plan," the man said and waved a hand dismissively towards the goblin.
"What if they resist?"
"Then take them by force...*WITHOUT* hurting them."
The goblin saluted him and bounded out of the throne room, leaving Syrro to his thoughts about the events that had lead up to all this. His father had recently died, leaving him to rule over the labyrinth. His father had conquered the kingdom and drove out the old king and his family. There had been a bump in his plans, though. The labyrinth was ever changing and the only way to navigate it safely without getting lost was by the tunnels underneath, but even those got confusing. His father hadn't realized this until it was too late to get the map of the tunnel system from the old king. They were nearly exiled to their own castle cause they could not risk getting lost in that labyrinth.
Now he had found Jareth's children, he would use them as a gambling tool to get the map from him. Too bad his father had never thought of doing this, the fool. But, if his father hadn't been such a fool he wouldn't have to be doing this now anyways. He stood and started to pace the room. His goblins better be quick about bringing those girls to him. He had no time to waste in putting his plan into action.
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Aeslen stood outside her trailer, looking around. Something just did not feel right. She reached a hand up slowly to brush a blonde curl from her face and look around. Yanking open the door to her trailer she hurried inside and away from the horrid feeling, but the feelings of dread did not go away. They worsened. She thought she heard creaking from the other end of the trailer...muffled noises from another area. She kept looking around with frightened, wide eyes.
"Who's there??" she demanded.
A goblin poked his head out of the cabinet near her head and she squealed, jumping back. It snickered and then went on with what it had been about to say. "Lord Syrro requests your presence at his castle."
"Who the hell is Lord Syrro??" her eyes scanned the room as she heard more noises from all around her.
"Why, he is the new goblin king and lord of the labyrinth." The goblin gave a toothy smile and Aeslen blanched.
"I've finally gone mad...that's it. I over worked myself with movie after movie and now I've snapped." She raised a hand to her forehead.
"You comin or we gotta use force?" the goblin asked and all the other movement around her stopped as if waiting the answer.
"I guess I'm coming along, might as well have fun with this hallucination..." That was the last thing she remembered as the goblin threw something at her, it looked like glitter...but it sure wasn't the kind you got in the store. She slumped to the floor unconscious.
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Blaethen waved the last child away at the end of the day. She turned and walked back into her classroom to finish grading their tests before she went home. She shrugged off that awful feeling and sat down behind her desk. She tossed back her hair out of her face and got to work. She hadn't been working long when she heard something from the supply closet. Great, now she was hearing things, too. She ignored it.
She yelped when a pair of beady eyes appeared over the edge of her desk. A goblin pulled himself up to sit on her desk blinking back at her. She raised her pencil to poke at him, only to have the creature snatch it away and eat it. She started pushing herself back from her desk, but the chair stuck and she looked down to see more of the things holding the wheels of her chair in place.
"What are you??" she asked, starting to lose her composure a bit.
"Goblins," the creature on her desk said matter-of-factly and just blinked up at her some more. "We came to extend an invitation from Lord Syrro to join him at his castle at the center of the labyrinth."
"The castle at the center of the labyrinth??" she repeated dumbly.
"Yeah, you comin or we gotta do this the hard way?"
This snapped her out of her daze and she sprung to her feet. She made a break for the door. She didn't get far when a group of the goblins grabbed onto her ankles and lower legs. She toppled forward and lifted her arms to keep from hurting herself by the fall. She struggled against the hands. There sure were a lot of them! She flailed even more frantically. Finally one hit her with something and she blacked out on the floor.
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Aeslen's eyes drifted open as she felt something touching her cheek. She was looking up into super light silver eyes. The owner of the eyes was caressing her cheek and she was laying down somewhere that felt comfortable. Her mind raced, trying to remember what happened last. Goblins had made an appearance in her trailer and she had agreed to go along with them...she must be still in her delusional state. She sat up and looked at the man beside her, not bad.
"You that Syrro dude the goblins had jabbered about?" Aeslen asked with apprehension.
He nodded slowly. "And you are..."
"Aeslen Kobold...why did you bring me here?" She looked around to get her bearings. She was sitting in the middle of a soft pile of pillows with the man known as Syrro stretched out lazily beside her. The rest of the room looked like something took out of a medieval castle...and it was messy, her nose crinkled as she looked at it all.
"Maybe I should leave the explanations until your sister arrives," he said smoothly and propped himself up on his arm, so that he is almost sitting up beside me. He reached out with a free hand to touch one of her platinum curls and she moved away slightly. "You're not afraid of little ole me, are you, Aeslen?"
"Of you? Ha, don't make me laugh," she lifted her chin defiantly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw some goblins making their way in, they were dragging something behind them. She spotted what it was and tried to run over to her sister.
Syrro cought her by the arm and held her in place. "Not so fast, stay here beside me. There is no hurry."
"What have you done to Blaethen?" she swung angry eyes at him and tried to jerk her arm free in vain.
He pulled her close. "I gave orders neither of you are to be harmed, she will awaken soon." He looked deep into her eyes, studying her face. "You might as well get used to keeping close quarters with me as I plan on keeping both of you here for some time."
"What do you want with us?" she asked breathily, but not willing to admit the closeness was affecting her.
"Your father has something I want, he will give it to me or never see either of you again." His thumb started caressing her upper arm.
She ignored it. "What could my father possibly have that you want?"
"Oh my, did he never tell you your heritage?" a sly smile spread over his face. "My father became king of the labyrinth by wresting it away from the previous king, and driving him out along with his family. Unfortunately, the old king took the map to the underground passages way with him and the labyrinth is too hard to travel without using them."
"Your point?"
"The king had a young wife and twin baby girls when my father drove him out. His name was Jareth," he touched her cheek again. "And my dear, the darling babes were you and your sister."
Aeslen swallowed hard around the lump in her throat. "You have got to be kidding me." She forced out. She refused to let herself be distracted by her growing attraction to the handsome man. There were more important things at hand. She shook her head slowly. This had to be some elaborate joke. Her father wasn't some goblin king, and her mother wasn't some queen. Sure, they looked good for their age, but come on.
"You're lieing," came a shaky voice from across the room. Blaethen was standing with her fists balled at her sides. She stalked towards Syrro and stood glaring down at him. "Send us home, now."
"I'm sorry, but I am telling the truth. Faeries seldom lie, as you will find out," Syrro stood to face Blaethen. He reached down a hand to help Aeslen up beside him, but she avoided touching him to stand on her own. "And I can't send you home until I get what I need from your father."
"You're mad!" Aeslen glared up at him.
"Actually, I'm quite smitten, my dear," Syrro smirked and Aeslen just stared at him, confused. This only caused him to start laughing.
"Oh, shut up," Aeslen growled. Blaethen stood to the side stifling her own chuckles. Her twin turned to glare at her. "Who you laughin at? You're a prisoner, too!"
"And considering what he wants, we may be here awhile. So we might as well make the best of our situation." Blaethen responded unscathed.
"Doesn't mean I have to like this wart, though," Aeslen motioned towards an amused Syrro.
"No," Blaethen lifted her chin. "But it does mean you will be civil to the man who holds our lives in his hands."
"Bah, he wouldn't dare," Aeslen glared at him stubbornly.
"Would I?" he stepped closer to her to look down at her imposingly. A hand snaked out to catch her by the throat. Blaethen held her breath, fearing her sister had gone too far.
"No, you wouldn't," Aeslen held her ground. "You need us to barter with."
"I only really need one of you."
"If you had wanted to, you would've already. So go ahead," She calmly stood there looking up at him.
He released her slowly, brushing his hand against her cheek as he drew his arm back. "You're right, but I may change that idea if you give me too much trouble." He let the threat hang there before turning to head towards the door. He called over his shoulder, "Goblins will come shortly to take you to your rooms."
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Aeslen sat in her room by the window. She gazed out over the labyrinth Syrro claimed her father had ruled. She sighed and wondered for once if this was truly real. She usually woke up by now. She glanced over her shoulder towards the door as she got an idea. He said he couldn't travel the labyrinth without the map. She quietly opened the window and slipped out. She would get help and come back for her sister later. Without looking back, she sprinted into the labyrinth.
Syrro walked into Aeslen's room to see how she was getting set in, when he noticed she was nowhere in sight. He started walking towards the bathroom. "Aeslen? Aeslen, are you there?" he called and poked his head in. No one there. He turned towards the closet and headed over to look in there. Nothing. He let loose a ragged sigh and finally looked at the open window. She wouldn't. He stalked over and peered out. She would, and he knew it. He turned and dashed down the hall towards the room where he had told the goblins to take Blaethen to make sure she was where she should be.
He burst in the door out of breath. "Blaethen!"
She poked her head out of the bathroom with wide eyes. "What's the emergency? Let me guess, Aeslen. What's she done now?"
"She climbed out her window and I fear she ran into the labyrinth." He leaned against the door trying to catch his breath so he could look fearsome again.
"Well, that's Aeslen for ya." Blaethen shrugged and came out all the way from the bathroom. "What are you planning on doing about this?"
"I'm going to send the message to your parents that you are both here, as I had planned to do after checking on you both. That way he can come down here sooner with the map and we can go find her."
Blaethen gulped. "But what if he refuses...she's gonna be stuck out there...?"
"No, I'll send some of my shadows out there...hopefully they won't get lost, too. And, hopefully they can bring her back unhurt and without her putting up too much of a fight," he looked at Blaethen and saw the look on her face. "Well, I hope she's not hurt TOO badly..." he added wryly.
"Oh lord, I am never seeing my sister again, am I?"
"You will. I'll make sure of it." Syrro turned and walked out of the room towards the throne room. He didn't realize Blaethen had followed him until he paused in front of the pit of pillows and she bumped into his back. He spun around and looked at her.
"Sorry." She said meekly.
"What are you doing?" he asked her with mild amusement.
"You're not just going to tell me my sister went missing and then leave me out of it all." She planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin stubbornly.
"Fine! I don't have time to argue with you." He walked over to a mirror hanging on the wall. He waved a hand over the surface so that in the next minute it wavered and the faces of her parents appeared in it.
"Do we know you?" Jareth demanded of Syrro.
Sarah looked past Syrro. "Blaethen?? Is Aeslen there too??"
"Yes, so to speak." Blaethen glanced at her feet.
"You know my father, Jareth," Syrro began. "I am Syrro, the son of Arutin. Yes, I see from your quick anger that name rang a bell and you now realize who I am. My father has died and I am the new Goblin King. My father realized too late his folly in not taking the map of the tunnels beneath the labyrinth from you. I have taken your daughters and will not return either of them until you give me that map."
Blaethen stepped forward. "Father, you must. Aeslen ran off into the labyrinth and we need that map to find her before something happens to her."
"I truly do not want her hurt, my shadows are searching for her as we speak. Please come soon, I fear even my shadows may get lost before they find her. And, of course the Labyrinth HAS changed a lot, it is constantly changing."
"Don't worry, we'll be there soon," Sarah said and Jareth looked at her. They exchanged a look before she said more forcefully. "We WILL be there soon." Their images then disappeared.
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Aeslen sat on a large boulder beside a pond hidden in a deep forest within the labyrinth. She watched funny little creatures come and go, and others playing in the water. This place really was beautiful when it wasn't putting all it's energy into breaking you, it seemed. She smiled to herself and then laid back on the boulder. She yawned and stretched before dozing off. There was nothing she had to do, was there?
She woke with a start as a shadow fell across her. She opened her eyes to see Syrro looming over her and her memories came back to her at full force. "You! I thought you couldn't travel the labyrinth!" She sat up with wide eyes.
He held up a small disc in his hand. "Your father gave me the map." He sat on the boulder beside her, his hand went up to brush some of his unruly black hair out of his eyes as he looked her over.
"That means we can leave, right?" Aeslen looked him in the eyes expectantly. Bad idea, their eyes locked and her breath caught in her throat.
"Just your sister, I am keeping you for myself," he lifted a hand to brush her hair out of her face, then to cup her cheek. Her mismatched eyes registered alarm for multiple reasons as she gazed back at him like a deer caught in his very bright and shiny headlights.
"What?" she gasped.
He turned his head to look out over the pond. "It's a beautiful place, isn't it? I see why you stopped here." He looked back at her and leaned in close. "But, to me it does not compare to your magnificent eyes and your alluring face."
"Sweet talking me isn't going to make me forget the fact you just negated your deal with us." She whispered back with not as much conviction as it should of held.
"Actually, I never made a deal with you. And I had told you he would not see either of you until I got the map. I gave him back Blaethen. I never said I had to give BOTH of you back," he smirked at his own cleverness, keeping his face and...mouth close to hers.
"Bastard..." She whispered fiercely. "You're not making me do anything for you."
"I agree," he brushed his lips against hers lightly and she looked at him shocked. "I won't MAKE you do anything."
With that he plundered her mouth savagely with his own. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her up against him. Her eyes remained wide and her body rigid. Then as he deepened the kiss, her eyes drifted close and she placed her hands lightly against his solid chest as she melted against him. Some part of her brain still went *Wait! What are you doing??!!*, but she shoved it aside and started to work her mouth against his; reciprocating the passionate kiss. One of his hands tangled in her hair and the other smoothed over her bottom to bring her more firmly against him. She let out a small moan of approval. There was no thought at this point; only lips, tongue, hands, and bodies.
He drew back slightly and looked at her. Her eyes were closed and she was trying to catch her breath. He smiled and brushed a gentle kiss on her lips before loosening his grasp. Her eyes drifted open slowly to look up at him, her lips softly swollen and her face flushed.
"Come, I shall take you from this place where your beauty has no light to shine in," he murmured with his face still close to hers, their ragged breaths mingling between them. "Promise me you will not run away again and I will give you anything you desire." As he said this, the setting melted away and became her room. They were in each others arms, stretched out on the bed.
Aeslen pulled back slightly and sat up straight. "I desire my freedom."
"That, I cannot give you. I give you freedom to go anywhere in the castle and on the castle ground, even through the labyrinth and the surrounding lands that make up to the Underground." He laid on his back on the bed, looking up at her with his arms flung out wide to display his point. "But," he drew himself up beside her and gazed into her eyes. "I want you here in the Underground with me."
"Isn't it sad that you had to kidnap a woman, just to get some." She crossed her arms and looked at him with jaw set.
He chuckled. "You know full well I did not kidnap you to...'get some', as you call it. Now, that I have you, I can't bring myself to let you go."
Aeslen looked around as if others are in the room. "Does anyone else smell cheese?"
Syrro took her by the chin and brought her face back to look at him. "I mean it. Some day when I can trust you not to run off at the drop of the hat into dangers untold, then I shall let you have all the freedom you desire. For I shall know that at the end of the day you will come back to me. For now, I know I can not have that."
"YOU...trust ME?! Now isn't that a slight twist of things."
He stood and did his best to straighten his clothes. "You have had a long day. If you can manage a nap without trying to get your pretty little neck in trouble, I will send someone to retrieve you for supper later." He motioned towards the bathroom. "They are as advanced as the aboveground, so you may wash up and change before then." He motioned to the closet. "Clothes are in there." There were two other doors, he motioned to one of them. "That one leads to my own chambers. You may visit me any time you wish." He purred before leaving the room. A pillow hit the door just as it closed.