A/N: Wow, I can't believe I'm updating this soon... Maybe I should be evil and make those of you who are actually reading this wait another few weeks...

No. I can't wait!

As much as I wish I did, I do not own Labyrinth

Haunted

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"Good day, Linda..."

"What do want, Goblin King?" Linda Williams demanded.

"What, aren't you happy to see me, my lovely Linda? You're hurting my feelings," he sneered. Linda wrenched her face away from his ice cold gaze.

"Such a pity... and here I was so hoping to have a nice chat with you. Just like we used to have."

"Oh, you mean back before you revealed your true colors?" Linda spat, " back before you tried to steal my daughter away?"

"Linda, Linda, Linda..." he drawled, sitting beside his prisoner, "You brought this on yourself. All I wanted was a little payment for everything I did for you, and you refused to give me what I desired."

Tears sprang to Linda's eyes as she remembered that fateful day. She wasn't sure how long ago it had been, but a hundred years would not erase that terrible memory...

FLASHBACK

Linda sat at her desk, preparing another package for her darling Sarah. The usual stuff, a lengthy letter, some newspaper clippings, a few photos, a cute little stuffed rabbit wearing an I love NY t-shirt, and a poster for her latest production.

The door to her office opened, and the handsome Jeremy King entered. His reddish blond hair gleamed in the lamplight. Linda gave him a weary smile.

"Are you almost ready, my sweet?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe, looking slightly annoyed, "We're going to be late."

"One minute, honey," Linda said, finishing off her letter with a quick flourish of Mom. Then she stood, and smoothed out her tight black cocktail dress. Her dark hair was pulled up behind her head in an elegant bun, and there were diamonds adorning her ears and her slender neck. Jeremy gave his mistress a lustful smirk. She certainly was a beauty. She strode out of the room, and into the living room, where she began to search for her purse.

Jeremy watched her, a curious expression on his handsome face. She had been acting strange lately. She always seemed so distracted, and it was fairly certain that she had begun to lose interest in him. 'Perhaps now is the time. While she is still faithful to me,' he thought with a grin.

"Jeremy, have you seen my purse?" she asked, turning to face him. She was taken aback by his smile. It was unlike the warm, charming ones that had won her over six months ago when he came to the small town she had lived in her whole life. It was cold, cruel, merciless. Almost... evil. "Is something wrong, Jeremy?"

"Tell me, Linda. What's on your mind? Something has been amiss with you lately."

Linda let out a heavy sigh. She supposed she could not put this off forever. "Jeremy, these last few months have been like something out of a dream. But I miss my old life. I thought that Robert and I were over completely, but I miss him so much."

"Yes, relationships can be such fickle things. The slightest amount of pressure can cause them to fall apart. But I suppose that little Sarah didn't mean to cause such tension."

"Jeremy, don't blame Sarah. It's not her fault. Robert and I just hit a rut. I see that now."

"What are you trying to say, Linda?"

"Jeremy, I'm sorry, but as soon as this production is over, I'm going to go back to my family. I want to try to rekindle things with Robert."

"Of course, my darling. I understand completely."

"You do?" she asked, mildly surprised. She had been expecting more of a fight.

"Of course I do. I even have a proposition for you. As I mentioned before, children can cause such pressure in a relationship. But I know a way for you to get rid of that problem."

Linda stared at him, slightly mortified. What was he going on about?

"There is a place, Linda. A magical place where anything can happen. And a king who would take good care of your daughter. A man who has the power to make her wildest dreams come true. A place called the Labyrinth."

"How do you know that story? I've only ever read it to Sarah, and I've done the research. Her copy is the only one."

"Linda, you know what to do. Secure your happiness as well as her own. All it takes is one simple wish, and you can have everything you want. You can have your husband, and your new, glamorous lifestyle."

"Are you partially insane? I don't know how you heard this story, but its just a story. The Labyrinth, and the Goblin King don't really exist. And even if they did, I'd never wish away my daughter."

"Why- Why you ungrateful little whore! I took you out of that tiny little hell hole, and turned you into the toast of New York City! I'm even being so generous as to let you leave me, and you refuse to repay me!" Jeremy's smile was gone. He looked ready to kill.

"What do you mean, repay you?"

"You owe me, Linda Williams. I expect my payment. You will wish away your daughter, or this defiant breath will be your last," Jeremy snarled.

"How exactly will wishing for Sarah to be taken by some fantasy king help you?" Linda demanded, drawing herself to her fullest height. Jeremy looked amused at her actions.

"I've been watching your little daughter for almost a year now. Such a lovely child, and surely she will grow into a most beautiful woman. I want her, Linda, and you will deliver her to me."

A thought crossed Linda's mind at his cryptic words. A most impossible thought, and yet, it made sense. Could it possibly be?

"Its true, isn't it? The Labyrinth, the goblins, the Goblin king, they're all real aren't they?" she asked, her voice soft, "And you... you're him aren't you? You are the Goblin King."

"You are a clever one, Linda," Jeremy said, his wicked smile back again. Linda watched in horror as he began to change. His short reddish hair seemed to shoot out of his skull, and turned platinum. His tuxedo had vanished, and he was now clad in a strange ensemble, all flowing black leather and satin. A golden sickle shaped pendent gleamed on his chest. Linda fell backwards to the ground in shock.

"And now that you know my secret, beautiful, I'll ask you to refer to me by my given name. Jareth."

Linda was speechless. Never, not even in her wildest fantasies, would she have imagined this. The dashing, handsome actor who had managed to sweep her off her feet, was a figure from her ten year old daughter's favorite story. Perhaps this was all a bad dream.

"Now Linda, about your child. Give her to me, and you shall walk free this evening."

The shock had worn off, and was now being replaced with a violent rage. "What do you want with a little ten year old for, anyway? Searching for an intellectual peer?"

"Don't test me, Linda. It does no one any good to defy me."

"Well then, do your worst, Goblin King. I won't ever give you my daughter. You'll have to kill me first!"

"Oh, I have no intentions of killing you, sweet, but soon enough, you're going to wish I had..."

And at his last words, Linda's world went black.

END FLASHBACK

When she had awakened, she had been chained up in this damp cave, where her only source of light was a small shaft of sunlight that managed to filter from above.

Jareth didn't visit often, which she didn't mind, because when he did, it was just to bring her hurtful news. To tell her that Robert had remarried, that they had had a child together. Anything that he felt would break her beyond repair.

She looked to him now, hating everything about him. He had tricked her, and then stole her life away. She would never get to tell Robert and Sarah how sorry she was, and she would never get to see her beloved daughter grow up. She cursed herself for being so foolish. She had had a wonderful life, and now she would never get to live it again.

"You know, Linda, your daughter has grown into a lovely young woman, just as I knew she would," Jareth said, breaking the silence, "five years have passed above ground. Your sweet little daughter is almost sixteen."

Tears sprang to her eyes. Jareth noticed this, and decided to drive the nail in deeper. "I'm going to have her soon, you know. You may have given up your freedom trying to protect her from me, but by summers end, your pretty daughter will have given herself to me. You failed, Linda."

Linda's tears streamed down her pale, dirty cheeks. She kept trying to ignore his words, but it was difficult. He had mastered the ability to destroy with mere words. Every syllable he uttered was cold, smooth, and made to hurt.

"She will make a most perfect queen," Jareth hissed into her ear. He could feel her anger and hatred for him, and he loved it. It was almost as delectable as Sarah's fear for him. He decided to take one final shot, before leaving the foolish woman to wallow in her sorrow and self loathing.

"You know Linda, I have found from experience that the cries of a virgin are often the loudest. Perhaps you will be able to hear her screams as I steal away her innocence."

"NOOO!!" Linda screamed. Jareth laughed, and vanished, taking the torchlight with him.

Linda was left alone in the darkness again. If she hadn't had not hated Jareth before, she truly despised him now. That horrible monster was going to hurt her baby. And there wasn't anything she could do to save her.

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A/N: Hello. It's me again, the annoying little voice that talks at the end of each chapter. I hope that rather dark chapter didn't turn anyone off. I swear that they are going to get a bit more lighthearted later on. And then they're going to get all dark again. So I hope that you, my readers enjoy my story regardless of how dark or light it is. I'm really trying to create a story that is a refreshing change of pace from all the fluff. Don't get me wrong, I adore fluff. But I think that it is a bit over done, and not exactly my forte. I was pleasantly surprised to see a new Labyrinth fic that follows this philosophy. (Claiming my Prize by spidersfrommars, I highly recommend it)

Oh, and to the reviewer who requested more Sarah/Jareth, don't worry my friend. Good things come to those who wait ;D

So until next time, review!