A/N: I can't thank you all enough… please keep up the reviews! I hope you guys enjoy this chappie… Let me know if you don't think it works : )
…Oh, and I don't own the Labyrinth, so no sue me, k?
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My mind and body are one…
Elyssa danced in the empty ballroom, her arms and legs working in perfect unison to the soaring music played only in her mind. Years of training and discipline paired with determination and skill, forging the beauty of her dance. Elyssa's face was flushed from exertion, but her body remained exhilarated from the much needed exercise. For the first time in months she had slept soundly, peacefully.
For just a few moments, Elyssa found peace, completely and utterly happy in her dance.
Which, of course, is probably why she almost jumped out of her skin when she slammed directly into the path of His Majesty, the Goblin King. Thrown off balance, she collapsed to the floor, heart racing uncomfortably fast.
"Not a very graceful fall for a ballerina," Jareth smirked, his voice mocking.
Pushing herself up, Elyssa bit back the angry retorts practically begging to be screamed. Instead, she calmly rose to her feet, dusting herself off. Glancing at the barred door, she struggled to keep her voice even. "Do you just enjoy sneaking up on people, or do you just not like to knock?"
Jareth chuckled, then spread his hands innocently. "I would have, but the door was locked, and I'm not used to being barred from rooms in my own castle."
Elyssa turned to face Jareth, a sharp rejoinder on the tip of her tongue. She was shocked to see him still dressed in the same clothing from the night before. His always immaculate clothing were wrinkled, while his already wild hair stood in complete disarray. Fighting back the sudden urge to giggle, she wondered… He looks like he's pulled an all-nighter. I wonder what the hell he was doing all night…
Perhaps it was just seeing him in the morning light, or maybe it was his disheveled appearance, but whatever it was – Elyssa was for once, not afraid of Jareth. Seeing him like this made him look almost human… almost. Her voice belied her sudden sense of mirth. "Wow, you don't look so hot," she quipped, a small smile spreading on her lips.
Crossing his arms in irritation, Jareth looked Elyssa up and down. "Yes, well I'd love to hear your scintillating opinions on my appearance, however I have trouble taking fashion advice from someone waltzing about barefoot and in badly shredded trousers."
Unfazed, Elyssa smiled sweetly. "Oh, I tried dancing with the boots on, but it just didn't seem to work for me. I kept expecting people to put dollars in my shorts." Turning to go, Elyssa headed towards the doors. "It was great seeing you this morning, Jareth, but I think I've had enough fun for one morning."
"Elyssa," his voice sliced through the air like a knife. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, cooled by Jareth's icy eyes. "I did not dismiss you from my presence." Elyssa stopped dead in her tracks, her back stiffening in surprise. "You will do well in the future to remember that I am King, and as King, your new ruler. Never turn your back to me again."
Slowly, Elyssa turned on her heels to face Jareth, her eyes glistening with anger. How dare you speak to me that way, she wanted to scream. Instead she quietly murmured, "As His Majesty wishes."
Folding his hands behind his back, Jareth turned away and began pacing the room. "I came here to watch you dance Elyssa," his voice regained it's mocking lilt. "So dance…"
Elyssa's mouth dropped open, incredulously. "I'm not going to just dance here in front of you," Her mouth quickly snapped shut, inwardly rolling her eyes when she realized what she'd actually just said.
"What was that," Jareth turned, his eyes dangerous. "I don't believe I heard you right."
She swallowed hard, mind racing. This is definitely not going the way I wanted it too… "I can't dance. Without music, I just can't seem to keep a beat worth anything," Elyssa laughed nervously. "I was actually just getting ready to give up when you, er… showed up." I really wish he'd quit looking at me like that… Jareth's intense gaze seemed to burn through her skin, looking directly into her soul. His eyes made her want to squirm, or at the very least to crawl under a rock somewhere and hide.
Jareth moved towards Elyssa, his gaze never leaving her face. Stopping just a few steps away, a crystal appeared in one gloved hand. His voice surprisingly gentle, Jareth whispered, "Think of a song, dear one."
Elyssa stammered, "What? I don't understand what you mean, I…"
Gazing down into her eyes, a strange smile tugged at Jareth's lips. "You said you needed music, now think of a song. Any song will do, just think of it and it will play."
He's really going to make me do this… Damnit, he's really going to make me do this… her mind complained. Sighing, Elyssa moved away from Jareth towards the middle of the large room. Right… So this is his game, to see just how uncomfortable he can make, to make me suffer even in this. Something about the strange, intent way Jareth was staring at her was unnerving, threatening to throw her off balance. Well, I'm not going to let him win this time… With grim determination, Elyssa closed her eyes, moving into first position. Repeating the words of concentration she had learned so long ago, slowly the world stopped moving leaving just the music and the dance. My mind and body are one…
The soft slow opening chords to Pas de Duex filled the empty air in the ballroom, emanating from the tiny crystal held in Jareth's hand. With precision, Elyssa began to move. Her right leg gracefully extended, arms outstretched as she moved into the complex poses of ballet. After several moments, she was no longer aware of Jareth's distracting gaze, let alone Jareth himself. In her mind, this had become just another solitary practice, one of thousands.
Silently, Jareth moved closer, standing inches from her, a pained look in his eyes. Some dark, inner struggle was taking place in his mind, but Elyssa merely danced, completely oblivious. Jareth wrapped his hands around his body, his eyes smoldering. Why are you doing this, his heart shrieked, but the cold, calculating part of his mind silenced the insurrection. He couldn't stand the temptation any longer. Faster than a striking snake, Jareth grabbed Elyssa's arm, pulling her against his body. Wrapping his arms around her, pinioning Elyssa in his embrace, Jareth silenced her protests with his kiss. Shocked into submission, Elyssa put up no resistance. Jareth's mouth covered her own, his tongue prying open her yielding lips, making it impossible to breath. Fighting for air, black specks began to dance in front of Elyssa's eyes. When he finally pulled away, Elyssa sagged in his arms, gasping for air.
Lifting his head, Jareth searched Elyssa's dazed eyes, looking for some unspoken thing. He leaned down as if to kiss her again, but something held him back. Growling in frustration, Jareth pushed her away, turning his back to her. "If you value yourself, my dear, I suggest you leave now…quickly." His voice was thick and strained, all hints of mocking laughter gone.
Surprised and confused by Jareth's sudden rejection, Elyssa backed up slowly towards the door. "Jareth, I…"
"Now," he hissed. Jareth wrapped his arms around himself, practically doubled over in pain. When she hesitated a moment longer he shouted, "Damn you, girl, leave me."
Needing no further instruction, Elyssa bolted for the door. Racing through the hallways, she hit the stairs leading out of the castle at a dead run. Heading towards the Labyrinth, her head reeling in confusion, Elyssa soon lost herself amid the dark corridors.
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A large gathering of goblins huddled outside of His Majesty's private solar. The sound of furniture crashing against the wall, followed by loud epitaphs and angry curses filtered from outside the doors. Each time something would crash, the goblins would cringe, then grin appreciatively. After awhile the sounds slowed down, and then ceased. The quiet that followed was deafening. Finally, one of the braver goblins broke the silence. "Well at least His Majesty's back to his old self again, right lads?" The goblins nodded their heads in approval, grunting their assent. Another one spoke up, "It's nice that Himself has gotten back into the old swing of things. Get it? Swing of things?" The other goblins looked at each other, confused before he muttered, "Ah, never mind."
The taller goblin spoke again, "It's just not natural for His Majesty to spend so much time moping around. It's about time he spent some quality time breaking things. I mean, us Goblins need some attention too, now and then, right lads?"
"Yeah, that's right!" "Darn, tootin!" "Bring back the free cheese day!" The goblins stomped their feet, and danced around giddily while singing an ancient goblin song. Their raucous little party continued for several minutes before a stern little figure appeared down the hall wielding a large wooden spoon.
Bashion, the Mistress of Chambermaids began bashing the others goblin on the head with her spoon, her face red with irritation. "Silly little fools, can't ye see that Himself needs some peace and quiet around here?" She cracked her spoon over a particularly stupid looking goblin's head making him howl in pain. "Now clear off all of ye, before I get really mad." Whimpering, the other goblins ran off in every direction, scattering through the castle. Bashion raised her voice, yelling after them, "And don't let me catch a single one of ye sleeping at yer posts today! I'll be watching!"
When the last goblin had appeared down the corridor, Bashion slowly opened the door leading into Jareth's solar. As she feared, the floor was littered in broken dishes, shattered chairs, and books pulled from shelves. Shaking her head in amusement, she wondered again at the power of her master's temper. I wonder what the little hussy has done to anger him so? Ah, well… it's probably just as well, that I don't know. Moving further into the room, stepping carefully over the scattered debris, Bashion searched for her Monarch. She found him collapsed on a low couch, one arm slung over his eyes, his chest rising and falling with deep even breaths. Moving towards the balcony, Bashion pulled the heavy velvet curtains, shutting out the light. Heading back towards the door, she glanced back over her shoulder, surveying the damage one last time. Closing the door gently behind her, Bashion headed off towards the kitchens in search of a broom.
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Elyssa ran for what seemed like hours, a painfully dull ache increasing with every breath. When she finally stopped to rest, she was shocked to find herself in the depths of a dark forest. From what she had observed through her window in the castle, and from her "tour" with Hoggle, she had a pretty good idea where she was. Or at least, she thought she did…
"This is great," she complained. "Now what do I do?" Sitting on the forest floor, Elyssa leaned against a tree when her belly ground. "And now I'm hungry… what else could go wrong with the day?"
A small cultured voice spoke, startling Elyssa out of her lament. "Hungry, are we? Well my dear, we'll just have to do something about that, no?" A tiny man stood just a few feet away dressed in a dark green coat lined with shiny gold buttons. She was shocked to notice that he wore no pants. His legs were covered in curly, black fur, and instead of feet, his legs came to a pair of cloven hooves. His head was covered in dark ringlets, and extending from his forehead were two small horns. "I am Master Gaiven, and I am very pleased to meet you." He extended his small, child sized hind to Elyssa, who shook it in amazement.
"What," she whispered. "What are you?"
Master Gaiven laughed gaily, pleased with her question. Swooping into a bow, he replied, "I Madame, am a Fawn – a child of the forest. And you, my dear, look tired and hungry. Please be so kind to join me for tea. It's so very rare for me to receive visitors anymore."
Not wanting to seem rude, Elyssa stood up and accepted his offer. Besides, she thought, I'm starving, I have no shoes, and to top it all off, I'm lost big as you please. Maybe her can help me find my way back to the castle. Hopefully Jareth's cooled off by now…now, if I could just figure out what happened, I'll be doing good.
Gaiven led them down a pathway in the forest which stopped directly in front of a neat little hut. "Wow," she murmured. "This looks like something out of a fairy tale."
Gaiven beamed appreciatively. "Well it's not much, but I call it home." Leading her inside, he quickly sat her in a chair close to a roaring fire before hurrying to the kitchen. Elyssa leaned back in her chair gazing around her in fascination. Over the fireplace was a mantle lined with miniature paintings of other fauns, some young some old. Upon the wooden walls where hung paintings of forest scenes and other eclectic decorations. In the corner stood an old fashioned grandfather clock. After only a few moments, Gaiven bundled out of the kitchen carrying a steaming tray of food.
Lunch was delightful. Along with fresh bread and cheese, there were exotic fruits and nuts unlike anything Elyssa had ever eaten. Gaiven chatted on about life in the woods, his extended family's ailments and the uniqueness of his herb garden while Elyssa nodded politely, but her mind was simply too distracted to listen. All she could think about was the strangeness in Jareth's eyes when he looked at her, the thought filling her with an awkward mix of fear and excitement. Her lips still burned from the scorching fire of his kiss, but her heart stung in painful confusion at his sudden rejection. The thing that hurts most, she thought, is that I had absolutely no say in the matter. He kisses me at his leisure, than has the nerve to force me away…I can't take it. It was simply too terrible to consider. The idea that Jareth could take her, toying with her heart and emotions, use her body in any way he saw fit, and then drop her without a second thought… With every passing moment, Elyssa became more and more uncomfortably sure that that day was fast approaching.
"Try another biscuit, Elyssa." Gaiven held out a tempting tray full of delectable cookies. At that moment, the antique clock began to chime, ringing out the third hour. Elyssa was shocked when she realized how many hours had flown by since that morning. And goodness only knows just how long it'll take me to find my way back…
Standing, she shook her head no to Gaiven's offer. "Thank you, Gaiven, but I must be going. I didn't realize how late in the afternoon it's getting, and I have to find my way back to the castle." Gaiven wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Castle? Why on earth would a young Miss as yourself want to go to a dismal place as that?"
Smiling at his reaction, she responded, "I didn't say I wanted to go anywhere… I have to. Trust me, if it were my decision I'd stay for another cup of tea." Gaiven fretted, his hands fluttering in distress. "Miss Elyssa, please allow me the honor of escorting you back to the city. These woods can become quite confusing to strangers." He quickly stood and pulled a walking stick out of a corner closet. "Besides," he giggled, his child like face brightening. "I need the exercise."
Taking his proffered hand, Elyssa accepted his proposal with a grin. Heading out the door, she followed the handsome fawn through the woods.