Thanks to the people who've responded...I hope you guys continue to read and to respond!
Once again, I do not own the Labyrinth, Jareth, or any other fuzzy puppets or rock starts in connection with this short story and God knows I'm not doing this for profit, just my own warped sense of humor.
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Inside the grand theater, everything was deathly silent. The enormous pit which held the full orchestra remained empty as well as the thousands of seats, vaulted boxes, and spacious aisles. The stage hands lovingly packed away the old set and it would be weeks before construction for The Labyrinth to begin. Official practices wouldn't begin until the arduous task of tryouts where completed. These weren't even scheduled to begin until next week. Not even mice dared disturb the oppressive theater.
Backstage in the practice rooms, on the other hand, things were slightly different. Elyssa D'Artagnan was currently bent over double, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her cheeks. Engaged in serious discussions of choreography for the new ballet, her inventive dancing partner Marcus was displaying his creative genius by grinding to Divo's song, Whip It.
"Next, let me show you a little tableau I like to call, Dance of the Sugar Plum Globlins," Marcus twirled around with his arms bent over his head in a mock stance. "Now whip...whip it good..." he sang, accentuating each "whip it" with a slap on his butt.
"If only you had told me, I could have brought you one of my pink tutu's," Elyssa yelled over the loud music.
"No thanks honey, I've got my own." His song finally over, Marcus plopped down next to where Elyssa was sitting and patted her leg. He stretched his lanky arms out and crossed his long legs in front of him. "So how was Mr. Wonderful last night? I hear he had such an effect on you that you passed out right in his arms. You're usually not the faint of heart type, but I suppose we all want swept off our feet by a cross dresser at some point in our lives, right?" Marcus said, grinning at her.
Elyssa turned and slapped Marcus' arm. "First of all, Mr. Wonderful wasn't exactly how I would have described him. Second of all, yes I passed out but it was Michael who caught me, and I don't want to hear any jokes about that one. Third of all, Jareth wasn't a cross dresser."
Marcus raised his eyebrows, "Well, well, well Ms. Happy Pants...who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? If he wasn't Mr. Wonderful, then why are you defending him?"
"I'm not defending him...he was just," Elyssa glared at Marcus, her temper rising. "Look can we just talk about something else now? If we don't get some choreography put together for this scene, Marishka's going to not only kill us, but stick us with the most humiliating poses she can think of. "
"Oh relax gorgeous," he pat her cheek patronizingly. "You know you look good no matter what position you're in," he eyed Elyssa suggestively looking her up and down. "Wouldn't you agree Michael?" Marcus sauntered away happily ignoring Elyssa's glare, relishing the beet red blush rushing up the guard's neck.
Marcus walked across the room to a narrow table which held, among other things, the CD Player and a small red book. Grabbing the book, he tossed it to Elyssa who caught it effortlessly. "Hey, guess what I found the other day in an old used book store. Somebody actually wrote a play for this thing."
Elyssa caught the book, turning it over in her hands. The Labyrinth was scrolled across the cover in gold lettering. A shiver raced down her spine, chills coursed through her body. Inexplicably, a sense of dread and foreboding crept over Elyssa. Rolling her eyes, she shrugged it off. Hooboy, I've got to start getting more sleep at night. She glanced over to where Michael, her ever-present shadow, was uncomfortably sitting. Ugly purple splotches hung underneath his dark eyes. Apparently she wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping lately.
"Somehow I find it hard envisioning you in a bookstore...did you lose your copy of the Kama Sutra again?" The snide remark came automatically, but all Elyssa could think about was the small book she held. Something about this was not quite right.
"Ha ha. Why would I worry about rebuying the thing when I could just come to your house and borrow yours? Come on Miss Priss, are we gonna do this crazy thing or what? Marishka expects at the very least for us to have something worked out for the Goblin King vs The Little Innocent Girl Who Got Sucked Into the Labyrinth number."
"I'm getting up Marcus, just hold on a sec." Fascinated with the book, Elyssa began to flip through the pages. Instead her rising fear disappearing, it kept getting worse. Why is this book so damned important, she wondered. Why the hell am I feeling this way...like I did last night?
"There's a picture in there of the Goblin King himself, and let me tell you he is simply To DIE For!" Michael stood in front of the ceiling high mirrors that lined one wall of the room, admiring himself. "...but then again, so am I."
Suddenly, the blood froze in Elyssa's veins. She had found the illustration. A man surrounded by small, hideous goblins stood in what looked like an ancient castle, but it was the man's face that caused Elyssa's blood to run cold. "Jareth..." Her whisper was so soft it was inaudible, "Oh my God, it's him..." She glanced at Michael, her eyes wide with terror. Startled, Michael stood, "Elyssa...? What's wrong?"
Marcus continued to ramble on happily to himself, "If only it were so easy to catch a nice cutie like that...Whoowee, I'd wish us both away!" He turned around, and placed his hands on his hips looking from Michael to Elyssa. "Have you heard a word I've been saying?"
Elyssa slowly stood up, book in hand. "Marcus, I..."
"Hmmph! I didn't think so. I said that I wish the Goblin King would come and take both of us away, right now, and you weren't even..."
All three of them jumped when suddenly the door slammed close. A cold gust of wind blew into the room, stealing their breath away. Without warning the lights flickered out, surrounding them in total darkness. Elyssa cried out, "Michael....Michael....?" Laughter, dark and menacing was her only response.
"Hello my dear...I've been waiting for you..."