Sarah's head swam for a long moment, the only thing anchoring her was grip of steel at her wrist. When she finally opened her eyes she didn't have time to situate herself before she was pushed unceremoniously forward. Stumbling she fell hard on her knees on a polished marble floor. She bit back a yelp of pain.

Warily she stood to face her captor who lounged on a monstrous black onyx throne, his scarlet braids cascading to the floor like rivulets of blood. Pretending to be enthralled by the seams of his gloves he did not look up as he warned. "I did not tell you to rise."

She ignored him and took in the surroundings, she was in a throneroom, but it was nothing like the one she had ran through three years ago. This room was spotless, gleaming black and green marble, not even a stray chicken feather to be found. Thick curtains blocked any natural light, instead the room was illuminated by tall black metal standing candelabras.

He removed an invisible speck from his lap. "Noted the improvements have you?"

She shrugged. "If you say so."

His eyes narrowed. "You shall address me as 'your majesty'."

She snorted in derision.

His expression pinched as he finally turned to face her, open scrutiny in his eyes. "So this is what he risked everything for, such a pity."

Sarah couldn't care less his opinion of her and lifted her chin defiantly. "As I seem to not meet whatever your expectations were why don't you send me home."

He leaned forward on the throne, baring his teeth in a cruel grin. "I could... but no."

She balled her fists. "But I won! I beat the Labyrinth! You have no pow-" like lightening he was up, a gloved hand around her neck, thumb pressing painfully against her wind-pipe.

He spoke directly into her ear. "Perhaps that was true of the weak fop. But I assure you, I have power over you."

She struggled against him and immediately felt the grip tighten. He hissed in her ear. "I own you. And you shall spend the rest of your pathetic life as a lesson, a warning. No one wins against the Fae."

She stilled but glared daggers at him. "You stole me from my life just to imprison me?"

He waved a finger at her condescendingly. "Tsk, tsk, the Fae do not steal, they take what is offered or bargained."

Narrowing her eyes Sarah spat. "I won my bargain, and it wasn't made with you."

His smile was predatory. "Ah, but you see, the weakling that you made a bargain with has been judged unfit to rule. As such his prior bargains have being revised."

"That not-"

"Fair? What isn't fair Human, is that the fop let sentiment sway his hand. You should never have left the underground."

"I wo-"

His grip on her neck tightened, his other hand gripped her shoulder firmly. "Enough! I tire of your repetitive whining!" He released her neck but did not let her go, instead sliding a gloved finger down, grazing her collar bone, then lower. She hissed in warning.

He did not seem the slightest bit perturbed by her hostility. His voice was soft but filled with menace. "You are mine, to do with as I please."

Her eyes widened, a lump lodged in her throat. His hand still poised under the edge of her T-shirt he held her gaze while he traced circles on her skin. She shivered involuntarily at the sensation and he removed his hand... slowly. Flicking his wrist, he backed up, looking her over.

Reluctantly Sarah looked down, he had dressed her in a tattered rag of a dress. A cruel smile formed on his lips, showing sharp teeth. "There's a garment to suit your station." He flicked his wrist and the world twisted again.

Darkness surrounded her, her head was swimming and she crouched down to avoid falling. The floor was rough against her bare feet and the only sound she could hear was her own erratic breathing.

His voice from above broke the silence. "Such a pitiful kingdom, doesn't even have a proper dungeon, this will have to do."

After a beat he added. "Oh, and don't bother hoping for rescue, your co-conspirators are in no position to help you now."

His steps trailed away to nothing.

Sarah knelt in the darkness. Her chest felt tight, now fearing for the fate of her friends as well as herself, she shivered from the damp cool stone. She felt her eyes fill with tears but she shut them tight, choking back a sob. She would not show weakness.

Breathing in slowly she stood, the hole high above her head gave a faint light and she inched closer. A tiny piece of the night sky was visible, the few stars she could see glittered brightly but she couldn't see a moon. Did the Labyrinth even have a moon? Vaguely she remembered Jareth singing to her, he had said that he would place the moon within her heart.

What had happened to Jareth? What had happened to her friends?

In the dim light she shuffled carefully, searching for a wall. Finding one she sunk down and huddled against it. The tattered dress was thin but it did cover more of her than her t shirt had and she tucked her feet under the hem trying to conserve what little warmth she could.

In the morning she would find a way out. No matter what, she vowed to get back home.

Author's note

Dear readers,

Thank you for your patience with this chapter, I had the bones of it written months ago but struggled to wrangle it into shape. Hopefully the next chapters will be more forthcoming.

And thank you to Guest 2020 for the review!