A/N: Ah hell, I almost forgot the disclaimer... again. Who reads these things anyway? All right, I don't own Labyrinth, I don't own Jareth, and I don't own the Henson Dynasty. Happy now? (Thank goodness for QuickEdit.)

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It was an exact replica of my school picture. "What the hell!" I yelled, gaping at it. Of course, this year, I had gym third period, and of course, that was just before my grade had been called to the cafeteria to take pictures. It hadn't helped that I'd forgotten it had even been picture day.

My hair was frizzy. It looked like I'd stuck a pyramid of hair on my head and chopped off the top to make a set of bangs. That day I had put on an old, comfortable, State University t-shirt, one that wouldn't be constricting after getting back from a PE class spent on the track. The artist had gone so far as to add the rip in the collar and the toothpaste stain near the bottom.

Now I was really angry. Jareth had obviously commissioned this painting just to piss me off. "Well it worked!" I yelled at the ceiling. That was a humiliating depiction of me. "You complete jerk! Just for that I'm gonna beat the crap out of you when I get to the castle!" I screamed. He had better be able to hear that.

Fuming, I pivoted and stalked through a circle of furniture, nearly missing sight of a seventh portrait that somehow I hadn't spotted before. The frame was shining in the light of the other candles, and as I walked closer, the candle underneath it lit up.

Now I could look properly at it, and I did. For a moment I couldn't believe what I was looking at. I had to do a double-take. The content was just that shocking. I looked at it dumbly for several moments before it slowly started to sink in.

I stared at the painting in horror. I could feel my flesh began to creep. This was just too creepy. I stumbled backwards and landed, thankfully, in a very conveniently placed chair. My bare arms had goosebumps all over them. I shuddered and took in the portrait again.

The artist had painstakingly painted the figure in front of a full wine rack. Whoever it was had even gone so far as to label the bottles of wine, though they were in a language I couldn't read. There was a black stand next to the figure that held three candles. The man was wearing a long, dark, red coat over a formal white shirt and dark red breeches. In one hand he held a wine glass. The other hand was stuck in his pants pocket.

Sticking over the rim of the pocket was one end of a scroll. Instead of wood, though, the knob looked as if it were made of gold. There was a ruby embedded in it. Slowly, my eyes traveled away from the scroll and up to the man's face.

He was smiling, a genuine smile that reached his eyes. He looked happy. Happier than I had ever seen him, anyway. I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Seth had never smiled like that for me, but he had for this artist. This was too weird. I curled up into a ball, letting the pocket watch drop to the floor.

Why was a portrait of Seth in this place? What was there to this man that I didn't know? Him being real, that I had been able to handle, after I'd decided not to think about it too much, but why the hell was there a picture of him here?

I glanced behind me at the watch painting. The hands had moved. I looked down at the floor and saw they matched the position of my own watch's hands. If that painting showed something that was actually happening, then was the one in front of me the same?

But it couldn't be! Jareth wouldn't be treating his prisoner to a nice wine-and-dine treat, would he? Still... earlier, he had seemed overly familiar with my Muse. Ew. I made a face. Was Seth gay? I had some friends who were gay, I was fine with people being gay, but Jareth and Seth? Seth had always seemed kind of like a womanizer.

Maybe he was a woman. Only dressed up.

Ew.

That was a really disturbing mental image. If Seth was really Sethrida then I wasn't so sure he'd... she'd... even want to leave this place. How much was there that I didn't know about my Muse?

Well, he.. she... always said, "You have a lot to learn about Muses." I looked woefully back up at the portrait. Apparently I had more to learn that I'd previously thought.

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Seth was having a fit. "Jareth!" he roared, throwing his wine glass onto the floor. The Goblin King winced when he saw it shatter. "You keep breaking my things, Seth," he murmured.

"I don't care!" Seth yelled. "Why the hell is that painting of me still up?" It had been horrible enough to see the one of Lady Rachelle, but his own was just too much. "And why did you leave it where Kar could see it?" He glared angrily at the crystal spinning in Jareth's hand. Inside was a picture of Karleigh sitting in the portrait gallery.

The Muse was furious. He, unlike Jareth, had confidence that Karleigh could solve the Labyrinth. Unfortunately after seeing that painting he was going to have a lot of explaining to do when she finally did. Explaining that Seth really did not want to do. "Damn it, Jareth," he muttered, slumping back into his chair.

"I like that painting," Jareth protested. Seth rolled his eyes. "She probably thinks it's really happening, since you have that watch one in there, you idiot," he muttered.

Jareth snorted and threw a leg over the arm of his throne. "Paintings that follow time are expensive, my friend. Their subject matter also has to be fairly simple. Having one done of you or any other person would cost a fortune, and it would take a staggering amount of magic."

Seth shifted his weigh uncomfortably. "Like Kar knows that," he sighed. After a second's thought, he added, "Why is there a picture of Lady Rachelle in there?"

Jareth smirked. "That was there to keep you happy. You would get so heartsick for her whenever you visited, don't you remember?" he asked, his smirk growing wider when Seth blushed. "I can't stand to see you depressed, Seth," Jareth added, quite unexpectedly. Seth stared at him questioningly. He couldn't remember Jareth ever using such a sincere tone before.

"I hate that room," Seth finally said. "You just used it to show off, anyway." He recalled memories of meetings with other royals from other kingdoms being held in the gallery. Jareth had always used the pictures to explain what the Labyrinth was for, as if the royals were too stupid to learn anything without a visual demonstration. Though some of them really needed it, Seth remembered.

The two men watched Karleigh stare in shock at the painting for another moment. "Why won't she say something?" Seth whispered anxiously. Jareth raised an eyebrow. "You want to hear her thoughts, then?" he asked. Seth shot him a miserable glare and turned away. Jareth sighed and stood up.

He tossed the crystal at Seth, who caught it after a brief moment's hesitation. To his surprise it did not burst. He looked questioningly at Jareth. The King only began to walk out of the throne room, riding crop firmly clenched in his right hand. "Where are you going?" Seth asked.

As he reached the doorway Jareth sighed, exasperated, and turned his head over his shoulder. "I'm going to write that letter," he said. "Your despair is getting to me," he added in a condescending tone, a small smile on his face. He did enjoy teasing his old friend. However when this did not provoke a response from Seth, he sighed again and left the room.

Seth looked back at the crystal. Karleigh had moved away from the painting and was walking around the wall. Seth frowned. She was running her hand up and down the wall. What the heck did she think she was doing?

- - - "There has to be a door in here somewhere!" - - -

The words passed from Karleigh's mouth, through the crystal sphere, straight into Seth's brain. As soon as he registered them he perked up. At least she wasn't so in shock from the picture that she couldn't try and find a way out of there. If only there was some way he could help her, though! Sitting in the castle doing nothing was so frustrating! Not that he would know where to begin, though.

It'd been so long since he had been in the gallery that he had completely forgotten where the door was. Still, it shouldn't be that hard to find, right? Seth desperately racked his brain for some memory of where Jareth kept the exit to that room. Wait. "Why doesn't she just come back the way she came?" Seth wondered aloud.

Karleigh seemed to have heard, on some scale, his pondering. She walked back over to where the door she'd entered through had been, only to find that it was gone. She let out a cry of dismay that made Seth throw the crystal across the room.

"Damn you, Jareth," he muttered. Then he looked down at the floor and sighed. Once he'd seen Karleigh's wretched fascination with that movie, he should have begun telling her about the Labyrinth. He could have pretended it was inspiration for her fanfic. She didn't have to think it was real. At least that way she would have had some knowledge of the Labyrinth's inner workings. If he had only talked with her about it more, then she'd have a much greater chance of solving it.

It just wasn't fair. Why did he always have to be such an idiot? Why did he always have to be so nearsighted? Before this had cost him his powers, his friends, family, and his lover. Now he was going to lose the one person he cared about that still had feelings for him in return.

He sighed again and strode out of the room, in the direction that Jareth had disappeared in. "And damn me too," he hissed.

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Author's Note: Well, that line seems vaguely familiar, doesn't it? After he cursed Jareth I remembered it, though, and I had to put it in. Anyway. The reviews came in quicker than I'd expected. And if you're still confused, don't worry, Lady Rachelle will be here soon to explain everything. She was here in this chapter, actually, but it was just getting too long.

Like last time, three reviews unlocks the ability to post the next chapter. As soon as I'm done writing it... which will be fairly soon.

Thank you to the people who reviewed: Mab, Queen of Faerie, I'm so glad you care! ;) Draco's Daughter, was this a quick enough update for you? Haha ... anyway. BlueyChan, and I'm sure your muse wants you to write about him/her/it also. Ha thanks for reviewing. Princess-RainbowRose, ah! You seem so confused! I'm sorry. It'll be explained soon I promise.