Disclaimer- Alas, Labyrinth isn't mine, but Jadir and Isandira are!

Chapter 2

The creatures I encountered as I traveled into the city were strange to my eyes. It was obvious they were not human, at least not as we normally think of humans. I approached the city, finding myself in a squalid area. My horse balked as the stench washed over us, filth lay in the gutters while the people who lived there cast appraising eyes upon us. I shuddered to think what their intentions were and urged my steed to walk faster. To say that I was uncomfortable would be putting it too mildly. I was terrified of these strange creatures.

Determined, I fixed my gaze upon the massive castle that rose from the center of the city and tried my best to ignore the looks I was receiving from those around me. The castle towers stretched high into the air above the land, and the whole of it seemed to be made of some black stone. I was reminded of the pictures one finds in the fairy tales, ones in which the evil witch always resided. The sight of it was enough to scare me witless, but some inner sense warned me that a show of fear would be my undoing. As I rode closer, the air around me began to thrum with some strange essence that I was unable to place. Glancing around, I found myself passing houses that were better cared for than the ones I had first seen. These were painted with bright colors and patches of well-tended flowers dotted the tiny yards. It was an odd sight to see considering the forbidding presence of the castle.

The sound of metal rasping together brought my wandering attention back to the ground before me as Storm suddenly stopped. Before us were four creatures dressed in mismatched pieces of half rusted armor and wielding spears and swords.

"What business do you have at the castle?" One of the creatures growled at me. It had actually growled at me, I was stunned.

I looked past them and found myself directly before the stairs that led to a pair of massive wooden doors bound in metal. Lifting my chin, I addressed them as calmly as I could; "I am lost and was told to seek the Castle so that I might find help."

"Lost are you?" The guards conversed between themselves for a moment before turning back to me. One of them started to speak, but someone clearing their throat caught their attention.

"What do we have here?" I looked towards the castle doors and saw a very handsome man standing there. His dark brown hair flowed like wildfire around his face, and he was dressed in a tunic of the purest black silk I had ever seen. My heart leapt into my throat as I gazed at him. Like so many other things I had seen since my arrival in this strange land, he was like nothing I had ever seen before. Painfully handsome, it was everything I could do to keep my seat, as I wanted to melt into the ground right there and then. He slowly made his way down the stairs and I knew from the behavior of the guards that this man must be their king. He smiled crookedly up at me, his dark brown eyes glinting in the sunlight. "You're a stranger to these lands aren't you my fair lady?"

I swallowed hard and dropped my gaze from his. Having never met with royalty before, I was unsure how to behave. Suddenly shy, I nodded, confirming his words. Fear washed over me again as he stood there watching me. Storm snorted when the king reached a hand up to me, silently offering to help me down from the horse. I grew dizzy when my feet touched the ground, staggering slightly, my legs stiff and hurting. It had been many hours since my feet had last trod upon the ground. I also realized that I had no idea how long it had been since my last meal when my stomach decided to protest loudly.

"Come my lady, let's get you some food." His voice washed over me like a warm summer breeze, full of warmth. I could not help but stare up at him. Without a thought, I allowed this strange man to lead me towards his castle, only to turn back when my beloved stallion cried out in panic. Pulling away from the king, I tried to go back to my horse, but he laid his hand on my arm. "Do not fear for him child. Your horse will be well tended. You may visit him later, after you both have rested and eaten." Reluctantly, I cast one last look towards Storm before allowing the king to take me into his castle.

"What is your name little one?"

"Isandira. Isandira Jennings your majesty." I stood in the throne room nervously as he walked around me. I could feel his gaze as he studied me, which only served to increase my fear. My fingers twitched against the coarse material of my riding skirt.

"I see you know who I am already. Good." I only nodded in response. "You are from Aboveground, are you not?" I nodded again, only to jump when his fingers lifted my chin so that we were looking each other in the face. "You have nothing to fear Lady Isandira." His hand dropped away and he turned to sit down in his throne, an oversized creation that looked to be made of stone and bones decorated with gold figures of unearthly origins. The arms of the throne looked like the horns of a horrific creature, faced so that they curved inward toward the seat. From where I stood, the whole thing looked as menacing as the castle had. Everything about the place struck me as menacing and vile. "You shall stay here as my guest Lady Isandira."

My eyes flew to him; surely, he was not serious? What right did I have to be a guest to the king? "Sir," I swallowed against the knot of fear lodged in my throat, "Sir, with all due respect, I would only like to find my way back to where I was." He sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"I'm afraid that's impossible my dear."

"What?" This was not happening. Surely I would wake up any minute now and find myself still traveling through the forest near my home. My thoughts must have shown on my face as the king gave me a sad smile.

"No dear, you are not dreaming. I did not bring you here, and your arrival was not by my command."

"What do you mean?"

"The only way in or out of this kingdom, is by my command." He stood and walked closer to me again. "However, you, my lady, seem to be the exception to that rule. I would like to know how you came to the Underground and entered into the Goblin City without having to traverse the Labyrinth." The look in his eyes scared me and I wondered what he would do when I could not provide him the answers he wanted.

"I'm sorry your majesty, but I cannot answer your questions for I have no idea of how I came to your lands. I have seen no labyrinth or anything else." It was everything I could do to keep from dropping to my knees and cowering before him; his eyes were wild and dangerous as he stared at me.

In the blink of an eye, the wild-eyed king before me changed again. He calmed instantly and took a step back. It struck me then that he might be some sort of mental patient. He was certainly erratic in his behavior at times, one minute he was a kind man then suddenly he reminded me of a lunatic. As impossible as it seemed, my fear increased. By now, I was trembling and I knew it was only a matter of time before he saw.

"No matter." He offered his arm to me, and gave me an arched look at my hesitation. "Come, it is time for dinner." I walked silently beside him, looking everywhere as we traveled the long hallways of the castle. After a few minutes, we stopped and he waved a hand through the air before him. Imagine my surprise when the gilded doors before us slowly drifted open. I glanced around but failed to find any who could have opened them. King Jadir saw my confusion and laughed lightly.

"How…?"

"Magic my dear." He lifted his other hand and twisted his wrist. I gasped as a light flared briefly and a beautiful crystal sphere rested on his fingertips. He offered the sphere to me; "Wish for something." The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I looked from the sphere to him and back. My father's voice rang trough my mind, warning me against taking gifts from a stranger, regardless of who they were. Quickly, I stepped back and shook my head.

"Come now Lady Isandira. It's a crystal, nothing more. A perfectly harmless gift." His eyes glinted with mischievousness, his smile mocking and I could not help but wonder what he was planning. Fighting my fear, I lifted my chin.

"Thank you your majesty, but I could not possibly accept a gift." His smile faded slightly and I could have sworn I saw something flash in his eyes, but it was gone before I could decipher it. I knew instinctively that this man was not one to have as an enemy and a wrong move on my part would be disastrous.

He made the crystal vanish and gestured for me to follow. Still hesitant, I looked around the room, awed by the splendor of it. The walls were white marble with veins of gold, and the ceiling was vaulted into a high dome where I could see what looked to be fireflies dancing about. A long table graced the center of the room, covered in white linen and surrounded by gilded chairs with ruby red padding. Gold candelabras sat every few feet down the center of the table. King Jadir stepped around me, pulled out a chair near the head of the table, and guided me into it. No sooner had he sat down when one of the small creatures I had seen in the city appeared beside him. It placed two goblets on the table along with a bottle of wine before turning to the king. I listened intently as he bent his head towards the creature and spoke in a guttural sounding language. The creature suddenly nodded eagerly and darted back through whatever hidden door he had come through while the king turned his eyes towards me again.

"What do you think of my kingdom?" His voice startled me, it was so gentle. He opened the bottle of wine and poured some into each of the goblets.

"I haven't seen much of it your majesty. What I have seen has been very peculiar for me, yet I find a beauty in the countryside that I've never seen before." I replied, trying to be as honest as I could and hope I would not insult him. I smiled graciously and accepted the goblet he offered me.

"Peculiar you say. Hmm, I do not believe I have ever heard my kingdom described that way before. Tell me my lady, what is it that you have found peculiar?" I shifted uncomfortably in my seat under the weight of his gaze. Carefully I took a sip of the wine. Its taste was unusual, yet pleasant and sweet, like a burst of fruits on my tongue. "Well?"

"Pardon my rudeness your majesty, but your entire kingdom strikes me as strange." I flinched at the flash of anger that crossed his chiseled features before he nodded for me to continue. "The creatures that live in your kingdom, I have never seen such things before."

He smiled at this and chuckled. "No, I would imagine you haven't. None of the goblins, dwarves or other Underground creatures will be found Aboveground anymore."

"I apologize your majesty, but did you say goblins and dwarves? Those are mere fairy tales."

"Indeed they are." The creature from before reentered the room followed by several more, all bearing platters and bowls of food which they placed before us. The aroma caused my stomach to clench with hunger and my mouth began to water. "However, as you can see, they are very much real here." He gestured to the creatures that were scurrying around serving us. "These are goblins, not very pretty to look at understandably, but they serve their purpose."

"What purpose is that?"

"To do my bidding. I am the Goblin King after all." He laughed and I had trouble suppressing the shudder of unease that coursed down my spine. Once the goblins had left the room, he bid me to eat. As we dined, he encouraged me to ask as many questions as I wanted, in turn answering all that he could.

Finally, we finished and he rose to his feet, saying that it was late. Like a gentleman, the king led me to a chamber that had been prepared for me. The chamber was exquisite in every way. Decorated in soft blues and white, I felt like a princess as he showed me around the room. His gaze followed me around the room as I peeked into the wardrobe and bathing rooms, making me feel uncomfortable again. Once he seemed satisfied that I would be fine for the night and that I was in need of nothing, he again made a crystal appear. Pressing it into my hand, he stared down at me.

"Such beautiful blue eyes you have." I felt my face flush at his words and looked away, suddenly shy. He reached up and touched my cheek, which made me look up at him again. My breath froze in my chest as I gazed up at him. I was worried that he would try something when I saw the look in his eyes. I had seen that look before in the eyes of the men back home. It was a look of wanting to bed a woman. Fearfully, I tore my eyes away from his and stepped back.

"Thank you for the room your majesty. It is most beautiful."

"Jadir." Each time I stepped back, he would take a step forward, as if we were dancing.

"I beg your pardon?"

"My name is Jadir. You may call me by my name if you so desire." His brown eyes had darkened to where they were almost black. My mind screamed in fear for me to flee, but I knew that if I did, I would never have a chance to return home. The Goblin King was my only hope.

"Please your majesty, that would be most inappropriate of me." When he sighed and stepped back, I wanted to sigh in relief. Never before had I been subjected to such behavior and I did not know how to react to it. I suppose he sensed this, for his face became expressionless as he turned away.

"Rest well Lady Isandira." He turned and left the room and I listened as his boot heels made clicking noises down the stone hallway. When they faded from my hearing, I sighed heavily and prepared myself for bed.

A/N: Please review and let me know what you think :)