I don't make any profit from this fic! This is purely for entertainment and fun! Labyrinth belongs to Jim Henson. Yami, Marik and the others belong to Kazuki Takahashi. Kuinnu belongs to me!

Chapter 4: Challenge ~Swan Lake~

Once upon a time, there was an enchanted lake. The lake was home to a castle that housed a sorcerer and his daughter. It was also the prison of a beautiful princess and her cursed handmaidens. By day they were cursed to be swans, and by night they returned to human form. One day, a handsome prince arrived at the lake and fell in love with the cursed princess. Promising their love to each other, the Princess agreed to attend the ball the prince was holding the following night. As the Prince waited for his beloved to arrive, the sorcerer and his daughter, disguised as the Princess, arrived before the cursed maiden. In the deception, the Prince swore his love to the daughter, and not to the Princess whom he loved. Realizing his mistake, the Prince chased after his beloved, determined to get her back and make amends. But could his words of apology repair the betrayal of love, even if made by mistake?

A loud, frustrated groan escaped from the young woman's lips as she stopped and leaned against a wall of the Labyrinth. Kuinnu was more than glad to be out of that strange Hall of Mirrors, but something else was bothering her now. She kept getting the feeling that someone was watching her, maybe following her even. And the thought of another stalker aside from Marik wasn't a pleasant one to the teenage girl. Unfortunately, thinking about the Goblin King caused her to remember his first appearance in her father's bedroom. The look in his dark, regal violet eyes... It sent shivers up and down her spine, and Kuinnu honestly wasn't sure if she liked it or not. The emotion that his eyes held when he stared at her... It was as though he had known her for years, even though he'd never met her until that moment after making her wish.

"Ugh! What the hell am I doing? Why am I thinking about him when I should be focusing on getting through this damn thing and getting to the palace!?" Kuinnu said to no one as she looked in the distance to see the palace, heading off in that same direction. 'I don't have a lot of time to waste. I need to keep moving, or things could become worse for Yami. And I won't let anything happen to him. I just gotta stay focused on what's at stake here. Because if I lose this wager, Yami is the one who pays for this.' The possibilities of that outcome made her shiver in fear. Kuinnu honestly didn't want to know what Marik would do to her boyfriend if she did fail to reach the palace in time to save Yami. Her book said that the Goblin King would turn children who were wished away into more goblins. But what would he do to Yami? Would he do the same, or would he turn him into something else? Something even worse than a goblin, if such a thing was even possible?

Despite her attempts to do otherwise, her thoughts slowly kept drifting back to the King of Shadows. And Kuinnu had to admit, even if he was her 'enemy', he was still very handsome. The blonde teen shook her head, gripping her necklace charm and remembering her promise to her prince. 'Handsome or not, Yami is the only one for me.' She assured herself quietly. Kuinnu kept repeating that statement to herself, while part of her began to wonder why the Goblin King had been so… gentle, to her. The look in his eyes when they first met – It confused, and even scared her a bit. And yet part of it made her curious to know more. The teen had to know why Marik had looked at her like that, why he spoke gently and tenderly to her. It was almost as if the King had been speaking to a lover. 'But… That can't be right. Can it?'

Kuinnu just shook her head again, picking up her speed and breaking into a swift run. 'No way. Just no way in hell. This isn't like in my book. There's, there's no way the King of Goblins could be in love with a girl like me.'

Marik chuckled softly, rubbing his chin as he gazed into his magic mirror, watching Kuinnu as she worked her way through his Labyrinth. She was doing very well, better than he had expected. He was able to give her that. The king even felt a sense of pride at how well she was doing so early on in their wager. The girl was proving herself more and more to be an ideal choice of becoming his queen. Though, judging by all her mistakes thus far, and all the breaks she was taking, Kuinnu would never make it in time to save her 'precious prince'. It really was quite amusing to the Goblin King to watch his Light in moments like this.

"Ugh, what the hell am I doing?!" The image of Kuinnu in the mirror cried out, and his violet eyes narrowed a bit more as his smile grew. What is she doing? He wondered to himself, having seen the dreamy expression on her face for a few brief moments. "Why am I thinking about him when I should be focusing on getting through this damn thing and getting to the palace!?" She shouted in frustration, seemingly to no one.

Marik's smile grew into a slow, victorious grin as he heard the young woman speaking to herself. "Oh, my dear Kuinnu. I wonder who you could be thinking of right now, my beautiful Light?" He said quietly to the image of the teenage girl in the magic mirror. Clearly, he was in her thoughts. That was a good sign. Not much of what he had hoped for but a good start nonetheless. Now all he had to do was keep himself in her thoughts and remove the human boy from them. With any luck, as time went on, she would forget about the human boy.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Trouble! Big, big trouble!" A large goblin exclaimed as it entered the room, looking panicked about something. Marik looked away from the mirror, startled slightly at the sudden intrusion. He turned and glared daggers at the goblin that had entered his personal chambers. "What, what is it?!"
"Master Rishid said it was urgent! That you need to come to the throne room right away! No time to waste!" The goblin said to his King, bowing as low as he possibly could.
Rishid... Marik paused only for a moment to think of what his elder brother could want before quickly leaving the room, brushing past the goblin with no more than a side glance as he walked briskly passed him, walking in a hurried pace.
In the throne room, a number of goblins were surrounding something, staring in awe and curiosity and shock. Marik harshly threw open the doors to his throne room, casting his narrowed eyes around the room of his subjects before spotting Rishid, walking towards him. "What is this? What's going on?" He demanded, casting a frown around the room.
"Sire, look..." Was all that Rishid could say to his younger brother, slowly gesturing to what the goblins were all staring at.
Lying on the floor, half unconscious, was Yami. The youth was apparently weak from breaking out of the crystal prison that Marik had placed him in, which was now shattered into many tiny pieces. Rishid only narrowed his eyes at the scene before him. He had never thought that something like this was even possible. Let alone from a mere mortal adolescent.

Marik looked over, and drew in a small, sharp breath at the sight, his amethyst eyes going wide with rage and confusion. He quickly frowned and stalked forward, pushing goblin after goblin out of his way. "Move! Move, you fools! Get out of our way!" The King of Shadows growled as he did so. He glared down at Yami once he stood in front of him, dropping to his knees. Marik narrowed his jewel colored eyes and grabbed a fistful of the human youth's hair, yanking his head up to look at him. "How?!" The Goblin King barked, his voice echoing around the grand throne room. "How did you get out of that crystal?!"

Yami yelped in pain as he felt someone pulling on his hair harshly, opening his wine colored eyes slowly to stare into another pair of violet eyes. Eyes that did not look happy to see him at all. As his head began to clear, thanks in part to the sudden pain, the teen slapped the other man's hand and pulled away from him as best as he could. "Who the hell are you? And where am I? And where, where is Kuinnu?" He demanded in a low but surprisingly firm tone of voice. A small pain hit his throat, as though he'd come down with a sudden case of a cold and sore throat.

Marik frowned, watching the mortal youth carefully with anger barely hidden in his royal eyes. His hand balled into a tight fist, to the point he almost broke his skin and drew blood. He utterly hated the way that one of the first things Yami demanded to know was where Kuinnu was. To demand to know where his future queen was. "She is not here. Who knows where she is?" The King of Shadows said. "Perhaps she's trapped in a dungeon deep in the lower levels of my castle? Or maybe she's out fighting for her life in my dangerous Labyrinth? Who knows where the lovely maiden is at this moment."

"No... Where is she?" Yami said, standing up, going slow since his legs were still weak from his forced hibernation. "I heard her singing. And I followed her voice and that light to wherever the hell this is. So where is my girlfriend?" The spiky haired youth demanded of the bronze skinned blonde. "And I swear, if you've hurt her, then so help me..."
The gathered goblins and even the courtiers who were bold enough to watch the scene all just stared in shock at the human boy who would dare to speak to their King like that. If anyone else had been bold enough to even try to speak to the Goblin King like that, they would've been sent straight to the dungeons or thrown head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench in an instant.

Marik forced himself to calm down as he watched the human boy. He had to tell himself to remember that first and foremost, he was still the King of the Shadow Realm. He still had to act like a true and powerful monarch, and not like some common teenager. Slowly unclenching his jaw, Marik narrowed his eyes slightly as he flicked his wrist, causing a thin veil of light to cover him as his attire changed into the same clothes he had worn earlier when he had answered the summons of Kuinnu's wish. "I speak the truth. Kuinnu is not here in my castle. However, she is currently out in the vast Labyrinth that surrounds this city. She placed you in my power when she invoked an old, nearly forgotten power, calling upon myself and my powers to take you away from the Human Realm." He said, his tone much calmer and more regal, befitting of a king.

"I wish the goblins would come and take you away! Right now!"
The words echoed around inside of Yami's head once again. The slow realization that his girlfriend hadn't just been quoting their play, but actually and honestly wishing for him to disappear in a sense, it began to hurt. The spiky haired teen balled a fist, still worried about his girlfriend's safety and wellbeing if she was really out in some giant maze. Yami made a mental note to have a long talk with Kuinnu when this was all over. The stage of denial that this was all a dream was long gone, especially with his head still pounding in pain from earlier. "So you're telling me that my girlfriend is out fighting for her life, trying to get to this place?"

Marik just crossed his arms, not sure if he should feel insulted by that comment or not. The Labyrinth was meant to be a challenge. If it were easy to beat, Marik wouldn't have the power he possessed. "Hmph. 'Fighting for her life' is over exaggerating it. Racing against time, however, yes, very much so. But I have one of my servants following her, to keep her out of any life-threatening dangers. Believe me, I am not trying to kill her, nor do I want Kuinnu dead." The Goblin King said, doing his best to keep his tone even while speaking to his rival. He wasn't going to lie when it came to the safety of the young woman that Marik intended to make his queen. The Shadow King had no desire to see her hurt, by any means. Only to fail and lose their wager.

"She's still out there. And she can't be watched at every moment." Yami said in response. His red-violet eyes darted around the throne room, taking in the details of the room. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but stare in awe at the beauty of the ancient-styled architecture. If he wasn't in this particular crazy situation, Yami might've thought he was transported back in time and could've enjoyed things a bit better. But as they were, the youth focused only on finding something that would help get him out of this strange place and finding Kuinnu and getting the both of them back home. He noticed a pair of guards nearby, both of whom who were armed with swords on their hips. "And why should I just stay here? Why can't I just leave and go out and find Kuinnu myself? I'm sure I could find her faster than just waiting for her to get to this castle."

Marik just frowned at those words. "Unfortunately for you, when Kuinnu agreed to challenge my Labyrinth in order to free you, after she wished you away, you were placed under my power and my…" He growled lightly to himself, not wanting to say the next word. "My protection. And if you leave my castle, that protection is void. Thus I cannot allow you to leave. Regardless of my own thoughts and feelings on the matter, I know that my dear Kuinnu will be highly upset if something were to happen to you before she reached this place. Well, IF she manages to make it here in time." The King said, pointing to the wall where the magic clock was tracking the teenage girl's remaining time was hanging. "From the looks of that clock, she has roughly 11 hours remaining. Though from what I am told, she keeps stopping to take breaths. Perhaps travelling and running long distances in boots is not the best of ideas."

'Boots? So, does that mean Kuinnu is still dressed in what she had on after school?' Yami thought to himself before deciding he wasn't going to wait any longer. He slowly began to move towards one of the guards, making a grab for the man's weapon. A gasp escaped the gathered court members and a yelp of surprise erupted through the goblins as Yami pointed the sword at Marik. "If a challenge is what's causing her to run that maze of yours, then why not let me challenge you, Goblin King?"
There was a brief look of surprise on Marik's face as Yami pointed the blade at him in challenge. However, instead of responding in same, he instead crossed his arms, a light chuckle escaping the monarch. "As much as I would enjoy an opportunity to put you in your place with your own challenge, I must decline."
"What?" Yami asked, his eyes widening. "Why the hell not? You make it sound like you have to accept any challenge given to you. So then why are you refusing mine?" He asked, trying to remain calm in front of the immortal king.
"If you don't remember, you are the very reason for Kuinnu's challenge. You're the grand prize. The prize can't go and make a challenge while still participating in another deal. Maybe if she makes it, if she wins the challenge, you make one of your own." The Goblin King sneered. "But then, your own challenge would be completely pointless either way."
Yami narrowed his eyes, holding the blade closer towards the other teen. He had noticed how the King addressed his girlfriend as 'his' dear Kuinnu. But now, it was slowly starting to make more sense. He almost wanted to kick himself for not realizing it sooner. "I'm not the prize you're after though."

"No, you're not the prize I want. I would simply turn you into another goblin. Rather, I will if my beloved Light fails to reach my castle in the next eleven hours. She is the one I really want." He smirked darkly, even with the blade so close. "Now, put that sword down, boy. It's meaningless in your hands."
"If you think I'm going to let you hurt my girlfriend, you're dead wrong. Kuinnu is not going to fail. That much I can be sure of." The teenage youth said, his eyes seeming to flash blood red for a second, his grip on the handle only tightening.
Marik had seen the very brief red in Yami's eyes, but chose to ignore it for the time being. "Hurt her? I have absolutely no intentions to hurt her at all. And you're not much of a boyfriend if she would so easily wish you away to the goblins." He laughed lightly. "I doubt she will make it in time. There are too many obstacles in her way, even removing the potentially deadly ones."

"And you think you can be a better boyfriend? You don't even know her in the slightest. You've never laughed with her. Never held her when she was crying. Never shared a kiss with her that is sweet and innocent and yet deep and passionate all at once." Yami said rather firmly. "Trust me, Your Majesty. Kuinnu never gives up when she sets her mind to something. And if she's set her mind on making it here, to get me out of this mess, then she'll make it. And she'll make it with time to spare."
"I could give her all that and more. I could make her even happier than you ever could. And even if she does persist, if she fails in the time limit, she will still lose. It is not all a matter of persistence, but time as well. And I can be just as stubborn to win as well."
"You don't know what makes her happy. And do you honestly think she'll want to rule over a place like this? With someone like you?" Yami snapped, daring to lunge at the Goblin King.

"Indeed, it would no doubt be new for her, but I am confident she will learn to love this royal life, and that my beloved Light will learn to love me as well." The Goblin King said as, with one swift and fluid motion, he produced his scepter and used inhuman strength to not only block Yami's attack, but counter with enough power to send the human flying backwards.
The mortal teen grunted as he was sent flying, wincing upon making contact with a pillar. "And I think that you're completely insane if you're believing all that. You're the last kind of guy she would fall for." He snapped, wincing again as a pair of guards pointed their weapons at the human teenager.
"You don't know that. You may know a good deal about her, but not as much as you seem to think." The Goblin King said as he lowered his scepter. "You speak as though you know every single minute of her life, of every detail of her mind. What do you really know? I know her well enough to see someone like you is not good enough for her. Someone like you, who would have her abandon her dreams, will only destroy what makes her beautiful and unique. And that is something that I shall never allow."

Yami winced again, rubbing his back as he stood up slowly, trying to be cautious of the blades pointed at him. Even if he couldn't be killed by the Goblin King or his servants, he doubted that they couldn't hurt him if necessary. "You won't win her over, not ever. And you know why? Because if she's risking her life out there to make it here to save me, that means she loves me with all of her heart. Just as I love her with all of mine. She'll never love someone like you."
Marik narrowed his eyes darkly at the human boy, holding back his quickly growing urge to physically harm the youth. He just had to bide his time for now. Time was on his side, not theirs. "Rishid, take him to a secure room. Make sure that he cannot escape. Chain him up if you feel you must." The young king ordered his brother. "Just make sure that he cannot leave."

Rishid bowed his head to his younger brother and then turned to look at Yami. "Of course, Your Majesty." The elder male said, gesturing to the guards to follow him to a room where he could put the youth. Rishid could already tell that Yami and his words were getting under Marik's skin. And even under his own. The youth was dangerous, but not in the same way that Rishid saw a threat in Kuinnu. The girl was a threat because of his brother's desire for the girl, and her own wishes to save her lover.

'A love triangle that could cause this empire to fall. Gods willing, allow my brother to have the woman he desires for his bride and let order remain in the Shadow Realm.' He thought to himself as he reached a room, unlocking it before having the guards shove Yami inside, chaining him to the walls before leaving.

Marik returned to his room, locking the door with his magic and slowly walking over to his mirror. The Goblin King refused to look at the glass for a few moments, trying to calm himself down. His mind kept repeating Yami's words. The claim that Kuinnu would never return his own feelings for her. Marik didn't want to admit, not even to himself, that he feared the boy was right. That the feelings he held for the mortal girl would go unrequited. 'No. I don't need to listen to the words of a man that she herself cast aside. She will come to love me, she just needs to forget the human world and come to know me first.' He told himself, balling a fist.

When he finally looked up at the mirror, he wasn't surprised to see Kuinnu's image reflected inside it yet again. The girl was still running through the Labyrinth, working at making her way to the center. "How do you do this to me? A mere human woman…" He thought out loud to no one. In some ways, Marik thought himself crazy that he allowed his heart to be captured by a simple mortal. He already had an impressive harem of beautiful creatures from many corners of his domain. Elves, fairies, harpies, nymphs, even some hybrid females. All of them were equally beautiful in their own way. Some were playful and coy, others were seductive and alluring. Each of them vied for his attention to be his favorite. Not that he had a favorite among the lot of them. Although beautiful, Marik knew that each woman wasn't above using tricks or dangerous methods to get what she wanted. One of them had even nearly killed another just to keep her apparent position as his personal favorite harem girl. Needless to say, Marik showed no mercy when he ordered the attempted murderess to death.

The youthful looking monarch shook his head as he refocused on the image of his beloved. Just the sight of her seemed to relax him, causing him to remember why he loved her and not any of the women of his harem. It was exactly because of her humanity that he loved her. The potential that a mortal had to be surrounded by either light or dark, something that those of the Shadow Realm lacked. The way a human soul could be either as pure as snow or as dark as pitch. Kuinnu was indeed one who had been surrounded by the Light. Marik couldn't help but feel like a moth being drawn to a flame when it came to that Light that she possessed.

Marik leaned against one of the bedposts of his bed, placing a hand over his heart, hearing it beating steadily faster as he watched her in the magic mirror. He didn't even seem to notice as the words began to flow from him, his voice a soft but steady tone. "The look in your eyes burns my chest
It's a look that pierces
Breathe and you capture me
You melt my frozen heart

Just a young girl is all you should be
Yet all of me is crumbling
Just one simple human being
Yet you're making me shiver

Now I can't rob you of your life
I want the love of the living you
And so I'm stepping forward
To claim this forbidden love…"

Marik couldn't help himself as his arms seemed to cross over themselves into a self-hug, imagining the warmth of her skin next to his own. Remembering the distinct scent of the cherry blossom scented perfume that clung to her clothes and to her hair. "This thought that has sprouted in my heart
Is cutting my body apart
Blood is pouring through the wounds and
You're the only one who can heal me

If I send you back to that life
At that moment you'll forget me!

Until I win your love,
I will pursue…"

Marik paused, pushing himself off the bedpost and moving towards the mirror once again. He lightly touched his fingers to the girl's face in the mirror, his eyes seeming to shine ever so slightly as he watched her image. "Wherever you will go
I will follow you
In the round of love and death…"

Kuinnu groaned lightly as she walked up a small flight of stairs. Taking a small breath, she looked around, seeing a dead end. "Guess there isn't any way to go further from here. Better turn back to that last fork and try a different route." She said to herself, turning and seeing what seemed to be a new wall that hadn't been there a minute before. "That wasn't there… a minute ago..."

"Such is the way of the Realm of Dreams." A voice said, causing Kuinnu to yelp in surprise.
"Where everything seems possible and nothing is what it seems." A second voice said, nearly identical to the first one.

"What the hell?!" The blonde asked, seeing two nearly-identical men. Both were dressed in a similar style, but one wore red while the other wore blue. She also noticed that the marks on their bald heads were different. "This thing was a dead end a minute ago."
"I believe, young lady, that it is time you knew." The red said with a smug smirk.
"That the dead end you speak of is right behind you." The blue one finished, also wearing a smug smirk on his face.

Kuinnu turned around, widening her eyes. Sure enough, behind her was a wall that hadn't been there before. "What the-?! It keeps changing!" Kuinnu whined as she saw that the way she had just come from was now blocked off, leaving her effectively trapped inside the small area with the two rhyming gatekeepers. "What am I supposed to do now? And who the hell are you guys? And why do you keep rhyming? Do you know how annoying that is?" Kuinnu asked them.
"I am Para, the Keeper of Locks." The red one said, bowing his head.
"And the Keeper of Keys, I am Dox." The blue one answered, also bowing his head to the young woman.
"Uh huh. Sure. Totally ignore my question and just keep on rhyming…" The blonde said with a flat expression. If this went on much longer, she was going to punch something. Or rather someone. "Look, tell me how to get out of this place. I need to get to the King's castle."

"We are both well aware of your apparent noble quest." Para said, raising his head and watching the girl.
"However many would advise that surrender is best." Dox added, smirking a bit more.
"Speak normally! And tell me how to get out of here!" Kuinnu demanded, rolling up her sleeves. "Or I'll start busting heads and breaking teeth."

"Heh, quite the feisty one, I see. All right then, listen carefully. If you wish to advance any more, you must decide on a single door." Para said, revealing a red door behind himself and a blue behind his brother.
"Behind one door is the road to the King and his royal court. While behind the other is a road of a very different sort." Dox added, allowing the human girl to see both doors clearly. They were the same in every way, an exact mirror image to one another. The only difference was a red mark on Para's, while Dox had a blue one.

"Okay, so these doors lead out of this place. One leads to the castle, and the other leads to something pretty bad I'm guessing. Easy enough. But I remember this part. You won't outright say which door is which and which leads where." Kuinnu said.
"The time has come for you to choose." The Lock Keeper said, smirking at the young woman.
"And see if you win, or if you lose." The Key Keeper finished, wearing a smirk identical to his to his twin brother.

'So if I want to get out of this place, and get away from these rhyming idiots, I need to pick a door. Correction. I need to pick the RIGHT door.' Kuinnu thought to herself, gripping at her necklace tightly. 'I don't want to think of what will happen if I pick the wrong door.'

Oh my gods~! FINALLY!

Over two, nearly three years later and finally an update! *faints* First off, I need to thank all of my friends who helped me finally finish this bastard chapter… In the few years since the last update, I've had a few idea changes on what is going to happen in the fic. That half-killed me at times. I'm going to try and update more now that I have a general idea of how I am going to finish this fanfic.
So, here is my question to you all: Now that Marik and Yami have met and know what Marik is intending, who is the better choice for Kuinnu? Does she stay loyal to the end to Yami? Or does Marik show her something to make her rethink her heart? That's what I need to know from you guys.

As for the song that Marik sings, it's called 'Ai to Shi no Rondo' (The Round of Love and Death) and you can check it out on y-tube. https(colon)(slash slash) (slash) watch?v=NEY0H5VVfXQ
Kuinnu © Me
Yami, Marik, Yu-Gi-Oh © Kazuki Takahashi