A/N: Just wanted to note that I don't own any of the songs in italics. I'm not sure who does, but it's not me!
Chapter 4
Sarah started to walk closer towards the Labyrinth when she tripped over the hem of her dress.
"Shoot!" she said as she got up. Inspecting the dress, she noticed a rather large rip around the knee. Sighing, she ripped it further until the skirt was gone completely leaving only the bodice and a sash of white fabric around her waist. Dusting her blue jeans off, she said to herself,
"Well feet! Here we go again!" She made her way to the outer wall of the Labyrinth. The fairies flew around the outer plants. But to Sarah's wonder, they were not even smiling to themselves, but hissing and spitting all over. She looked to the Labyrinth and felt along the walls trying to figure out where the door was. Unnoticed, a bit of the overgrown ivy began to trail along her hand. When Sarah felt something brush up against her, she looked down and saw the ivy threatening to submerge her hand. She pulled and when it wouldn't let go, she pulled harder until she was released and sent flying to the ground landing on her behind. She heard the ivy snicker as their eyeballs watched her. She got to her feet and said,
"How do I get into the Labyrinth?" Suddenly, the doors opened with a long creak and she cautiously stepped inside. She saw a clock hanging on the wall of the long corridor. She had already wasted ten minutes. She looked to her left and saw a clear path; she looked to her right and saw overgrowth and weeds.
'Last time, I figured the easy way was the wrong way. This time, I'm sure she's switched everything around.' So left she went. She felt along the walls trying to find the hidden opening careful to avoid the Eyeball ivy. But everything was solid She sighed in frustration as she continued on.
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Jareth walked around the outer wall until he came to a spot where he saw the sparkle of the Labyrinth turn a different hue of gold. Unlike Jack and Sarah, he had the advantage of knowing how the Labyrinth works.
"How do I get into the Labyrinth?" he said in a bored tone. The doors opened and he walked in seeing the clock show fifteen after thirteen. He smiled,
"Jez, you really do underestimate me don't you?" Then he walked towards the clock and instead of hitting his nose with the minute hand, disappeared into the hidden opening and went to the right.
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Jack went along the wall until he spotted the fairies buzzing around and hissing. Walking up to one, cautious not to scare it away, he stared at it in wonder until the thing turned suddenly and bit him in the nose.
"Ouch!" he said standing up straight and holding his nose. After making sure there was no blood, he glared at the fairy and contemplated pulling his gun on it. But figuring that even he is not that good a shot, only checked to see if his gun was loaded before asking himself,
"Alright, how does one get into the Labyrinth, I wonder?" Then he heard a long, rusty creaking sound. Turning to see the doors had opened; he stepped inside and looked around.
"That's interesting!" he said to himself tucking his gun back into his sash. Looking to the right and to the left, he chose the right figuring the easy looking way was an easy way to get lost. The clock read twenty after.
He walked along, noting how for an elaborate maze, there seemed to be no openings. He stepped over the fallen logs and brush in his path before breaking into a quick run. But still, it was all the same. Finally he stopped to catch his breath.
"You know...for wanting me to play your game you sure don't play fair!" Jack yelled to the air hoping Jezebel had heard him. Then he heard a feminine shout of frustration. He jumped and looked around for the Fae enchantress. Instead, his eyes landed on a dark haired woman a little way down the path beating furiously against the walls before slumping down to one side and balling up like a kitten. He stepped slowly towards the woman. He soon heard her muffled sobs and instinctively took out a worn, dirty rag. He stopped before the woman and handed the cloth down to her. Slowly she looked up and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
"I believe that that is the purpose of this here handkerchief Missy." said Jack. The young woman took it and said,
"Thank you." She wiped her eyes and said,
"Who are you?" Jack slurred,
"Captain Jack Sparrow at your service, Milady." She smiled weakly at him and said,
"I'm Sarah Williams." Jack nodded and said,
"And do you come here often Miss Williams?" She huffed weaving a hand through her hair,
"Oh, once every five years, now. You?"
"First time." answered Jack offering a hand to help pull her up.
"Word of advice Captain. Nothing in the Labyrinth is what it seems to be." said Sarah as she took Jack's hand. As he pulled up, she looked him over and said,
"So Captain what are you? A pirate or something?"
"Perhaps. What are you? A fairy princess turned farm boy or something?" he asked. Seeing her confused look, he shifted her eyes to her blue jeans and sneakers. She looked down and said,
"I was in a play and I was getting undressed when Jezebel showed up." explained Sarah.
"Well lass, at least she didn't see your bare bottom like some around here!" said Jack. Sarah quirked an eyebrow.
"Really? May I ask why you had your pants down?"
"You may." nodded Jack.
"Well?" asked Sarah after a moment.
"Let's just say I wasn't enjoying myself, Savvy?" answered Jack. Sarah nodded but then saw the pendant around Jack's neck.
"Where did you get that?" asked Sarah nervously. Jack fingered the pendant.
"Stole it from Jezebel. That's how I got into this little mess in the first place. Why do you ask?" said Jack. Sarah shrugged,
"I was just curious."
"Or just curious to know that I am in fact Jareth or Jezebel in disguise trying to fool you...perhaps?" asked Jack. Sarah locked eyes with him.
"Well I wouldn't be surprised."
"That's alright. I admire a girl who can spot a deception when she sees one. But I swear on the Code of the Brethren, that I am who say I am, Savvy?" said Jack. Smiling Sarah said,
"Savvy." Jack clapped and rubbed his hands together.
"Right then! What say you and I try to find an opening to this puzzle, aye? What say you?"
"Aren't we suppose to be competing against each other?" asked Sarah.
"Technically. But systematically, if we join forces we double both our chances at getting out of here with our necks. And if we double of chances of getting out of here with our necks, then we can assume it won't matter which one of us wins since we both would win, Savvy?" Sarah nodded and said,
"Yeah, okay. But I've felt all along the walls and there doesn't seem to be any openings!" said Sarah.
"Ahh...so the openings are hidden aye?" said Jack.
"Yeah, at least that's how it was last time. But I think Jezebel would figure I try to use my past experience in the Labyrinth, so then she would switch everything around. But since the doors opened the same way they did, maybe they didn't, so..." Jack interrupted her by placing a finger to both of their mouths before saying,
"Why don't we do less talking and more walking aye?" Sarah nodded before placing a hand on the wall hoping to feel an opening. Jack followed her example with the opposite wall. Silence fell between them before Sarah said,
"So...where are you from?"
"The Caribbean. And I hope to get back there soon." said Jack.
"Are you really a pirate?"
"Aye."
"What year?" asked Sarah in a curious tone.
"1675. Why?" asked Jack.
"I knew it! The Fae can go anywhere in time they want! I'm from the year 2004!" said Sarah. Jack turned his head with his eyes wide.
"Really? That's interesting!" he said before turning his eyes back to the corridor before him.
"That's very interesting!" he said stepping over a branch.
"So Jezebel is just mad at you for stealing her pendant?" asked Sarah.
"Well, that, and I called her a snob and a brat among other things!" smirked Jack.
"Oh so you didn't ask her anything?" said Sarah.
"Don't think so. Why?" he asked.
"Faes have to grant requests made unless they harm anybody. My friend Hoggle told me." said Sarah.
"Heggle?" asked Jack.
"HOGG-LE. And don't forget it. He's one of the reasons I'm here. Jezebel is holding him and my other friends' hostage until I beat the Labyrinth again." she said.
"Speaking of which how did you beat the Labyrinth before?" asked Jack.
"My friends helped me mostly. Hoggle got me through over half the Labyrinth, Sir Didymus the fox knight helped me through the bog and the forest, and Ludo the rock caller beast helped me get through the Goblin City." said Sarah.
"And what got held over your head that time to make you go through the Labyrinth?" asked Jack.
"My baby brother. Technically, I asked Jareth to take him away, but I was just a moody teenager who only half meant it never thinking for a million years that Jareth even really existed no matter how much I wanted him to." said Sarah.
"Wanted him to?"
"Yeah, you know. Silly teenager with a silly crush." laughed Sarah.
"So you think this Jareth is attractive?" asked Jack.
"Sure. I mean, I'd have to be blind not to notice right?" asked Sarah.
"And what are you going to do when we run into him?" asked Jack.
"What?" asked Sarah pausing.
"Well after all, it would seem to me that if we were allowed to meet, than one can only assume we shall meet Jareth can we not?" reasoned Jack.
"That's true. But gees, I...never thought about meeting with Jareth again." said Sarah subconsciously running a hand through her hair. Noting how flustered she got, he said,
"Well if this Jareth bloke is half as good looking as his charming sister, then we are in for a...interesting time, aye?" Sarah looked at him slyly and said,
"So...you think Jezebel is attractive?"
"Sure! I mean, I'd have to be blind not to notice right? Sides..."he said looking her up and down suggestively,
"I've never met a woman I didn't like. It's just some like Jezebel are the ones that catch me eye more. With her long, silky hair, her cute, tight, curvy little body, those rosy lips and those gorgeous eyes of hers..." he said trailing off grinning wickedly. Sarah smiled,
" So you're definitely attracted right?" Jack smiled at her,
"Only as much as you are to Jareth!"
"Oh I'm not attracted to him! Not after what he did to me! Taking my brother, threatening to turn him into a goblin, and then trying to force me to love him!" huffed Sarah.
"What?"
"He asked me to stay with him! To 'love him, fear him and he would be my slave!' Huh! Yeah right!" she said. Jack thought back to what Jezebel had told him about Faes in love.
'A Fae can only give away their hearts to the first person they kiss...'
"Did you ever kiss Jareth?" asked Jack.
"No why?" asked Sarah.
"Just curious." he said before thinking,
'That's interesting. Why would Jareth try to get Sarah to love him if he hadn't given his heart away with a kiss like Jezebel said?'
"You know, come to think of it, I did ask Jezebel something." said Jack.
"What?"
"I asked her to catch me if she could."
"I think she's already done that don't you think?"
"Aye, that's true!" nodded Jack.
"Oh no!" cried Sarah.
"What?" asked Jack as Sarah stepped away from the wall. Jack soon saw the clock he had seen earlier. Sarah looked at the closed doors in despair.
"We're back at the beginning! I've just went around in a circle!" Jack stepped towards the clock and said,
"Well that's unfortunate."
"Yeah. Maybe we could go around again? After all, this place does keep changing. One minute you're facing a dead end and then the dead ends behind you." said Sarah as Jack began to lean against the corridor wall neck to the clock. But he quickly fell through. When he saw the two openings to the right and to the left of him, he said,
"Sarah?" Sarah turned and gasped when she saw Jack through the hidden opening.
"I don't believe it! It was here the whole time!"
"Well you must give her points for originality!" said Jack.
Jack got up and started down towards the left. Sarah soon followed behind him. When they came out of the corridor, the elaborate and wondrous maze one expects a Labyrinth to be with twists, turns, zigzags and whatnot stood before them. The castle loomed over the horizon. Sarah heard Ludo howl.
"Ludo!" she cried. Jack took her hand and said,
"Come on!" He led her through what seemed to be the closest path to the castle. Suddenly, he spotted a dead end up ahead. He grinned wickedly.
"This way!" he said. He allowed her to go first into the dead end before Sarah said,
"But Jack, this is just a dead end!"
"No Luv I believe that is the dead end behind you!" Jack's muffled voice said. Sarah turned and saw a block of wall all around her.
"Jack? What have you done?"
"TA LUV! AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FREE ADVICE!" he shouted through the wall.
"Oh! Jack you tricked me!"
"PIRATE!" Jack called over his shoulder. Sarah huffed before turning around desperate to find a way out. Jack continued on towards the humming happily to himself before he heard someone clapping. He looked around the corner and saw Jezebel, now in a light purple suit, clapping slowly. She folded her hands and said,
"Nice work, Captain. I thought for a moment you really were trying to help her!"
"Well I'm not as big a fool as you'd like to think!" said Jack.
"Now what got that idea in your pretty head, Captain?" she smiled innocently.
"Are you flirting with me?" asked Jack. Jezebel sashayed over to him and used a finger to draw imaginary lines on his chest.
"What would you do if I were?" she asked batting her eyelashes at him a bit. He gulped.
"Depends on why you would be flirting with me?" She shrugged,
"It's not every day a girl hears that a big, tall, handsome rogue pirate captain finds her attractive. Is it?" She walked pass his shoulder, allowing him a whiff of her hair which he thought was heavenly before gulping again and saying,
"So um...why did Jareth bring Sarah here last time?"
"What?"
"You told me Faes can only give their hearts away to the first person they kiss. So why would Jareth drag a teenage girl to the Underground to beg for her love if he didn't love her first? But if he loved her first, that meant they kissed before. But Sarah says she didn't kiss him, so..." Jezebel interrupted Jack by placing and finger on his lips.
"You think too much Jack. Just, make sure they don't solve the Labyrinth. Hmm?' Then she turned and began to fad away,
"But how...?"
"Jareth is coming your way right now." echoed Jezebel's voice. Jack shrugged and decided to wait. But then he placed his fingertips over his lips remembering how close he just was to the girl and smiled.
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"What was that about?" asked Hoggle with his long hands on his hips as Jezebel came back into the throne room.
"What was what about?" asked Jezebel as she flopped into the throne.
"That flirting with the Captain?" asked Hoggle. Jezebel smiled.
"Captain Sparrow is a notorious woman chaser. I figure part of his punishment is tempt him with a (if I do say so myself) beautiful woman until he can no longer stand it and then, shoot him down cold!"
"A little harsh don't you think?" asked Hoggle raising an eyebrow.
"Well, so was what he said about me!" said Jezebel.
"Just don't get carried away Jezzy. For three good reasons."
"Oh?" said Jezebel amused.
"Yeah. One, you might cast yourself as a villain and end up like Jareth, two, you might hate yourself for it 'cause you just ain't that type of girl, and three, if you don't watch it, you might end up falling for him for real!" said Hoggle counting off on his fingers. Jezebel snorted,
"Yeah right! Like I'd fall for a pompous, arrogant, lying rat like him? I'm just looking forward to the second when I look deep into those big brown adorable puppy dog eyes of his and tell him off for good!"
"You just said he had big brown adorable puppy dog eyes." pointed out Hoggle. Jezebel's smiled faded.
"I did?"
"Uh-huh! You sure you're not attracted to him?" asked Hoggle.
"Of course not! Now, don't you have something to weed?" asked Jezebel. Hoggle nodded and walked out the throne room leaving Jezebel alone to think,
'Attracted? Yeah right. I've noticed he's handsome, but I'm not attracted to him...am I?'