Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Labyrinth or any of its characters or places. I do, however, own Lumini and the Castle of Shifting Shadows. Don't steal them!

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"Welcome back, Sarah." She knew the voice. It tugged at her memory- but just when she thought she had caught it, it slipped through her fingers like smoke. She frowned, turning to face the voice. It was almost musical.

Sarah saw groin-high black boots first. There was a slight heel on them- blunt and square, but still a heel. A glittering cape swung at the ankles. She followed the purple glint up to skintight black pants. Her gaze lingered a moment too long on the manhood beneath he pants, and she blushed. Not at the sight, but at the thoughts the vision stirred. Was she truly that bold? She didn't know. The pants gave way to a dragonskin jacket the color of ruby fire. The face, though- the face….for some reason, it looked wrong to her. She had seen something like this man before, but something didn't add up about this apparition. A wicked smile touched slightly thin lips. Black gloved hands played with a crystal, twirling and turning the orb with obvious skill and ease.

"Who are you?" Sarah muttered. A face rather like his surfaced in her mind, but was gone as fast as it had come.

"Do you not know me?" The voice smirked. Sarah stared hard at the man. She should know him, shouldn't she? It was obvious he knew who she was. There was something wrong about him. His cocky, arrogant manner was correct, there was no doubt about that. The thin lips were right, too. Everything seemed just fine- but there was definitely something wrong.

"Do you not know the Goblin King?" A name flittered across her scattered mind, but it was gone before she could grasp it. She shrugged off the feeling of wrongness; she could barely remember her own name right now, let alone someone else's.

Castle Beyond The Goblin City

Jareth stared at the illusions in a mixture of fear and awe. He hadn't expected Lumini to go to such extreme lengths just to break a human. True, he himself would have if given the chance. But Lumini was bored easily with his toys, and it was overly lavish for him. A new fear hit Jareth solidly in the chest. Could Lumini desire her as deeply Jareth himself did? Could Lumini lust for her as powerfully as he? Could Lumini love her?

The Entrance of the Labyrinth

Sarah stood staring at the man intently, wanting desperately to recognize him. Another fairy came close to her. She flinched, her attention diverted to the small creature. It didn't bite her as she expected.

"Remember, Sarah," the small female whispered before flying off. Sarah frowned. Remember what? What was she supposed to remember? Wait- her name was Sarah? Yes, that sounded right. She didn't know why, but it sounded correct. Another fairy landed on her shoulder. This looked much like the other had, female-shaped and pale in coloring. She grasped Sarah's ear in small hands and whispered as well,

"Remember, Sarah."

The Castle Beyond the Goblin City

Jareth frowned minutely at the fairy's behavior. This was not like them. They were simple creatures at best, and their memories were not so good. He shrugged it off easily. Perhaps the alteration in the magics of the Labyrinth had released them at last to their true glory. Was it possible they favored Sarah? Could they want to free her from her troubles?

We wish to help you, Jareth. A feminine voice whispered in his mind.

She means so much to you, and we have been trapped in forms not our own for far too long. Jareth thought it was another, but their voices were so similar he couldn't quite tell the difference.

She freed us from our prisons, and this is the least we can do.

The Entrance to the Labyrinth

The man before Sarah frowned deeply at the tiny creatures. A cloud of them swarmed around him.

"Release her from your lies!" they hissed in silver-bell voices. Sarah had a fairy on each shoulder now. One bit her ear, and she flinched. Neither disappeared.

"Sarah, remember. Remember your past in this place." She uttered a soft cry as frustration built. One of the creatures landed on her chest and bit something there- this time her cry was of pain. Her hand came to where the bite throbbed- and encountered a burn. Tracing the burn meant nothing to her, but the pain brought back the memory of how she had gotten it. It was a brand- marking her as belonging to someone she didn't want to be in possession of. Tears began to course down her cheeks as the tiny women began biting her all over her body and inciting throbbing pains in muscles she'd somehow forgotten were in complete agony. Pain better off forgotten flooded back into Sarah's body, and she screamed.

The Castle Beyond the Goblin City

Jareth watched as, again, Sarah's body was put through tortures he could do nothing to stop. Why were they hurting her? They were supposed to be helping her! He frantically tried to stop them, but they refused to listen to him.

We can heal her hurts, Goblin King.

We just have to put her through pain first.

That's just how it has to work.

Be ready, Goblin King. When we give the word, you must be prepared to collect her. We can only hold him off for so long. Jareth gave his assent. He would be ready. He had been for some time. Watching helplessly was one thing, but he had to get Sarah out of the Hell he had helped put her into in the first place.

The Entrance to the Labyrinth

The man gave a furious roar and swiped at the fairys. Once was all it took. The ones swarming around him dropped rather like stones. Their bodies ceased to move as soon as they touched the ground. They began to darken to a hideous shade of gray, losing their platinum luster as true and instant death befell them. The creatures perched on Sarah did not appear to be affected by the spell, strangely.

The illusion around Lumini, disguising him as an imperfect Goblin King, flickered and abruptly died. Sarah met the pure black eyes of her tormenter and screamed again. Her mind knew not but pain. She could not think past that she had to get away from him, to keep him away from her. He advanced and she fought back instantaneously, kicking out and backpedaling rapidly. There was about eight feet between them when her eyes clouded over.

The Castle Beyond the Goblin City

Jareth watched, panic mounting higher and higher. How could he possibly let her go through this? How, dammit? Especially after the little spell Lumini had just cast. That was a Death Spell, and there was nothing stopping it. He did not pause to consider why Sarah still lived after it. He didn't care at the moment.

The Entrance to the Labyrinth

The fairys clinging to Sarah bit harder at her brand. Her eyes cleared a little and the scream that reverberated around the open area made the very Labyrinth quake with rage. A kind of unearthly but very grounded scream of absolute fury shook the very air.

The Castle Beyond the Goblin City

Jareth breathed a sigh of relief. The Labyrinth had finally recognized Sarah. It knew her and would protect her from everything that wished her harm.

Just get her inside the maze. The Labyrinth will keep her safe then. He felt the fairy's agreement and watched as they herded her toward the ornate wooden door that would allow Sarah to refuge.

The Entrance to the Labyrinth

Lumini was fast becoming enraged. It seemed the very Earth wished to keep him from his prize. The few fairys still clinging to Sarah must have done something to her, for she had screamed upon looking at him. Now she was frantically scrambling for the entrance to the Labyrinth- somewhere he couldn't get to her. In retrospect, he never should have brought her to the entrance. Hindsight's a bitch.

"Through the door, Sarah." The fairy's whispered to her. She clung to the words like a lifeline in her rush for the door. The gateway to the maze opened, spilling forth light and fog like a welcome embrace. A flash of recollection came to Sarah's poor, agonized mind- a time when the door had seemed almost forbidding- but it was gone quickly. She cast a wild look at the man advancing upon her and quickly tumbled into the open sanctuary. The doors slammed as soon as she was through.

Lumini, who had been reaching for her, had his hand instantly sliced off. The Labyrinth had denied him admittance, had denied him her! This simply would not do. Intense pain shafted up his arm and he blinked out of sight, cursing Jareth.

The Castle Beyond the Goblin City

Jareth pulled himself out of Sarah's mind as she blacked out. He twirled a crystal casually between his hands, relief and elation warring for victory within him. He heard Lumini before he saw him. The darker man stormed into the Throne Room. Jareth's lips twitched as he saw Lumini was missing a hand.

"She belongs to me!" Lumini shrieked. Jareth had to restrain a laugh. He had never seen Lumini so distressed, so ill-composed.

"You are the one that brought her here, Lumini. You should have known the Labyrinth would protect her." Jareth's voice was calm and he stated only fact. It didn't improve Lumini's mood, of course.

"That means nothing!" He hissed in response. "I have branded her, I have claimed her! She belongs to me." Jareth gave him an infuriating smirk.

"Get out of my home, Lumini. She is no longer yours. Sarah is under the protection of the Labyrinth and no longer in your custody." Lumini gaped at Jareth in a very undiplomatic way before turning on his heel and stomping out of the Throne Room.

Jareth rejoined his mind to Sarah's as he felt her begin to wake up.

Just Inside the Gate to the Labyrinth

Sarah began to awaken some time later. There was a small feminine voice in her ear, and a much louder, masculine voice in her head.

Sarah, wake up. The male voice spoke in a soft, seductive kind of tone, as though he could convince her to wake up faster that way.

"Sarah, please wake up!" The female voice was pleading with her, as though afraid she wouldn't awaken. She sat up slowly, head spinning in one of the worst headaches she'd ever had. Memories flooded her mind of her recent imprisonment in the shadow hellhole, and every single muscle screamed in protest at each lone movement. There was the tiniest flicker of movement on her left, and she turned to see a tiny woman floating just before her eyes.

"Oh, thank the Spirit! I was afraid I'd lost you!" She perched on Sarah's lap, tumbling out of the air in a very ungraceful somersault.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked softly. She didn't mean to be rude, but she really didn't know who the girl was.

"My name is Melani. I am a fairy- well, the fairy now. The rest were killed trying to save your life." There was a wretched sadness in her voice. Sarah frowned slightly.

"The man…."

"Yes. His name is Lumini- the King of the Shadow Realm." Sarah nodded.

"I remember that. He wanted me to be his Queen." Melani nodded.

"You are actually the Goblin King's bride-to-be. Or at least, you are his chosen Life Mate. I'm supposed to take you to him." Sarah frowned and shuddered. Another man, with a claim on her very life? She didn't think she could take it again. Not another, anyway.

"Who is this Goblin King?" Melani smiled beautifully.

"I can tell you on the way. We have to get through the Labyrinth to get to him."

"And if I decide I don't want to belong to him?" Melani's smile faltered.

"Well, you'll know when we get there. But he is not anything like Lumini, I promise you, Sarah." Sarah stood up and began to get her spinning head under control. As soon as she could see once more, she could start to move out of the entranceway and toward this Goblin King.

The Castle Beyond the Goblin City

Jareth watched carefully throughout the entire interaction. Melani had not said the entire truth- fairy reproduction was through splitting in half and creating a second in that way. She would, eventually, continue her species. It would just take her a little time. He shrugged it off. The population of fairys was not currently his concern. As Sarah's world stopped spinning, he smiled.

Go right, Sarah.