AN: Here we go, the first chapter! I am so freaked out that it is the end of the school year, you don't even know. Tomorrow I have a baseball game to go to. I'm not necessarily a baseball fan, but it's a free be-with-your-friends school trip, so I figured I might as well go. Plus my boyfriend is going and I just love talking to him, although I've been hanging out with him a lot lately. I can't wait for the semi-formal that's coming up! XP So Excited! Anyway, I better get to writing this. Don't forget to review people! You'll get the title after you read it.

Harsh Realities

Chapter One:

Names Have Power, Sarah…

By: Narcoleptic Suicide

Small clear streams traveled the pale unblemished skin of her face as she sat with her head between her knees on her windowsill. She choked back a sob as his name passed through her mind. Jareth… Her eyes were red and puffy and her hair was frizzy and unkept.

She wasn't exactly sure what had triggered the reaction. After she returned from her trip through the labyrinth she had been fine, she had even had a party. It was exactly one week from when she had won back her brother and when the clock hit midnight, she had begun to cry.

All the girl knew was that she was happy for the lack of parents in the household. She knew that her dad and Karen were only trying to help, but all she wanted when they were pestering her about what was wrong was to be left alone. This event was no exception.

The girl trudged her way to her twin-size canopy bed and plopped down onto it. She tossed over to her side, facing the vanity at her bedside. Her throat clenched and felt even sorer than it already was. Tears began to rebuild in her eyes as she gazed at the figurine of the Goblin King. The tears broke free from the dam yet again and flooded her nose and cheeks with its salty presence.

" Why am I so emotional?" Sarah groaned and stuffed her puffy face into the pillow. Sarah's moment of misery was interrupted by the sounds of Toby wailing from his crib.

" Wait a minute Toby, I'm coming!" she responded and dragged herself off of the bed. She was determined to treat Toby well now; he was her little baby brother. She'd almost lost him once, and there was no way in the Above-or under-ground that she was going to let that happen again.

It had been foolish of her to wish him away-not that she really thought it would happen in the first place- he was after all, her brother. The very thought that she would do such a thing seemed so ridiculous now that she would have laughed had it not been for her strangely unexpected after-party depression. Opening the door to her parent's room, Sarah got an odd sense of deja vu. This was very similar to that one night that she had entered this room with Toby crying and wished him away to the goblins, although this time she was not filled with anger or spite. She slowly walked to Tobias' crib and leaned over the side of it to pick him up. Sarah held him in the correct position, cuddling him and bouncing him softly. He began to quiet down; obviously someone didn't like the thunder. The storm had yet to pass, although Sarah wished that it would. She had a strange feeling of foreboding because of it.

Sarah returned him to his crib and laid him upon it, then pulling up the blanket over his small toddler body to keep him warm and comfortable. She smiled when he stretched-clenching his little fists- and yawned a small cute noise of tiredness. She couldn't even imagine what he had gone through; he must have had a long thirteen-well, ten actually…-hours. She felt incredibly guilty over wishing him away.

" Damn, crying again…" Sarah muttered to herself. She lifted her right arm and wiped away the tears with the sleeve of her poet's shirt. The fifteen-year-old girl would probably feel guilty over this for the rest of her life, for her forever. What if she had lost? Toby would belong to him, to that wretched Goblin King. Then again, it wasn't as if it was the Goblin King's fault. It was hers. Still, she didn't know that he would actually show up and claim her helpless little half brother.

" I learned many lessons along the way." She thought sadly smiling bitterly, " I also gained some very good friends."

Sarah's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car coming up the driveway. Quickly glancing at the clock she noticed that it was thirty minutes 'til

One. She ran to her room and softly shut the door. Robert and Karen expected her to be in bed by 11:30 pm on weekends, they would be quite cross if she was wandering the house at this late at night, although, it should actually be early in the morning… then again, does it truly matter?

Forgetting to shed her clothing in her haste, Sarah climbed into bed fully clothed in her grimy ensemble covered in dust from her long day spent playing with Toby in the park. Laying her head down to her pillow, the girl closed her eyes and went to sleep.

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The sun shone down on the massive maze with an intense heat that made the cracked stone of the walls seem even drier, something that seemed impossible in her mind. No clouds were in the sky, it remained a desolate field of endless light blue, a color very similar to the dress Sarah had worn whenever she recited lines from "The Labyrinth". Previously, "The Labyrinth" had been one of her favorite books. It was her solace from the harsh reality of the world that she lived in. But no more, it was now a haunting memory of the unknown.

Cautiously, Sarah stepped forward. Suddenly a barrage of questions that her mind now held assaulted her. Why was she here? Was this merely a dream, or had she unknowingly been whisked away from the warm comfort of her bed and into the dusty roofless halls of the Labyrinth? Was this some sort of revenge that the Goblin King had tossed her into?

" No. This must be a dream." The girl told herself as she determinedly took a step forward.

" Well, well, well, what do we have here?" mocked a voice that Sarah found familiar.

She swung around only to find that she was now in a rather familiar throne room standing right in front of a rather familiar Goblin King. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise and she found herself oddly dizzy.

" Ah, feeling slightly dizzy are we?" the Goblin King asked with a smirk after noticing her slight swaying as she stood before him. "That would be from the sudden transportation from my labyrinth to my castle." He then explained, labeling his property rather possessively.

The girl tried to think of a retort, but such was her shock of seeing the Goblin King yet again that she couldn't think of anything.

With nothing else to say, Sarah simply asked, " Where are all of the Goblins?"

" What no hello to an old friend?" he teased. He only got a glare in return.

"How should I know? This is after all, a dreamscape. They are not here unless you wish them to be." He answered.

" So this really is a dream. You're not really here." She stated with finality.

" Why Sarah, are you actually disappointed?" he asked with wonder. " And here I thought you didn't like me."

Sarah clenched her teeth in annoyance. He always knew how to get on her nerves.

" Stupid arrogant Goblin King…" she said under her breath.

"What was that Sarah?" he asked politely, his eyebrows lifted high in question, however a slight hint of his trademark smirk still lingered on his lips. The girl found herself wondering what it would feel like to kiss those lips and hopefully wipe that smirk right off of his face, but then turned red at the very thought. She briefly wondered if she was crazy, and then dropped the idea, dreams were always strange… or at least hers were.

The Goblin King noticed her flaming cheeks and thought of commenting about it, but then let the thought flutter away from his mind. Was she blushing because she was embarrassed that he had heard her insult him, or for a whole other matter entirely? Perhaps she had an embarrassing stray thought? He allowed his mind to wander on the different possibilities, but then let go of the matter entirely.

" Wait. If this a dream… then why are you here? Why would I dream of you mocking me in your throne room?" she asked accusingly.

" Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, how should I know? I am merely a figment of your overly active imagination." He said.

"Sure you are." She said suspiciously, eyes looking into his to see if she could trace a lie. He looked perfectly sincere, however, the labyrinth had taught her that things are not always as they seem. Sarah decided to voice this thought.

" You seem to be telling the truth. But then again, as your labyrinth taught me, things are not always what they seem."

" You mean to say that things are not as they seem here in he labyrinth?" he asked.

" No, things are not always as they seem everywhere." She corrected.

The Goblin King made a noise of acknowledgement before saying something, " So you did learn something from your visit to the labyrinth. The trouble was worth something after all."

" You had trouble?! You didn't have to take my half brother Goblin King!" she responded with fury.

" I didn't just take him, you asked me to take him away from you and I took him." He answered, obviously loosing his patience. " And please stop referring to me as "Goblin King", it tends to get annoying."

" Ohg, really? Then pray tell what should I call you your majesty?" Sarah asked still feeling annoyed.

" Your majesty has a nice ring to it, but seeing as you more than likely wouldn't use it, my name is Jareth, and I will permit you to use it so long as you stop calling me by my title." Jareth said.

" But I thought it was disrespectful to call a king only by his name…" she said.

" Well, seeing as you are not one of my subjects and I am not your king, you calling me by my name alone is tolerable." He explained.

" All right then, Jareth." She stated testing his name on her tongue. It was pleasant to say at least, and she was sick of saying "Goblin King" all of the time.

Realizing that he had lead her away from the original path of conversation, Sarah said, " You changed the subject!"

" Why yes. Thank you for refreshing that memory, I forgot." He replied mockingly while slowly spinning a crystal on his fingertips.

" What is it with you and mocking me? Or do you do it to everyone?" she asked in a thoroughly annoyed tone.

" You're changing the subject." Jareth reprimanded.

" Ugh! You're impossible!" Sarah shouted in exasperation.

" Now Sarah, I know I'm attractive, however-" he began, only to be interrupted by a very indignant Sarah.

" That's not what I meant!" she sputtered, " I can't stand you!"

Jareth grinned in an attractively malicious way and stood up from his throne. His grin turned into an arrogant smirk he strode in her direction, stopping when he was a foots distance from her and leaning forward until their faces were only inches apart. His hands were clasped behind his back and his face relaxed, loosing its usual form of a smirk.

" I'm sure it was…" he stated, obviously not believing what she was saying.

" It was!" she yelled. Could he ever just stop the teasing and mocking? Wait, was she blushing?

" Damn it! I think I am." She complained mentally. He was just SO close. His nose hovered less than an inch from hers.

" I didn't say that it wasn't." he said with a shrug. Thankfully for Sarah, he backed up, however, he then began circling her, leaning almost as close as he was earlier. She felt almost as through she was his prey. Jareth seemed a hunter, circling her like a vulture. It unnerved her. It was, well… unnerving!

" What are you doing? She stuttered out in an attempt to break the silence that was suffocating her.

" Why, isn't it obvious?" he said softly, as though he was talking to a child "I'm evaluating you. I am trying to understand why you are dreaming of me. Why do you dream of me, Sarah?"

" I- I don't know…" she answered hopelessly.

" Of course you do." He muttered into her ear persuasively, " Just tell me Sarah."

Every single time he said her name she felt like her mind was getting foggier and foggier. She felt as though she was slipping deeper and deeper into a spell he had woven. The whole situation was hopeless. Sarah felt like she couldn't possibly resist answering anything he asked her.

" No! He isn't a figment of my imagination; this is affecting me far too much to not be him. It's Jareth, not merely a dream." she thought stubbornly.

" Stop that…" she slurred.

Jareth smiled softly and answered, " Stop what?"

" Stop whatever," she stopped to catch her breath, it was getting harder for her to breath, each breath got harder and harder to take, "spell you've woven, Jareth. I know it's really you".

" Are you willing to bet on that?" he asked, referring to her still believing him to be the real thing, to truly be there.

She paused and looked into his mismatched eyes, " Yes. I am certain that you are not a figment of my imagination. You have too much- I mean, are affecting me too much to not be Jareth."

"Does that mean that I do have power over you Sarah?" he asked pulling her back into the enchantment.

" No Jareth." she snapped, " You were irresistible and you knew it!"

" Did I?!" he demanded, " Did I truly know that Sarah, are you sure?!"

This time when he said her name it didn't do anything aside from send a confusing shiver down her back. For some reason she thought that that shiver wasn't in response to fear. He reached out as if to grab her by the shoulders, and then suddenly stopped when his hands rested but inches from her.

Jareth pulled back, a rather irritated face lay on his fine features. He then muttered, " Damn rules." Thus confusing Sarah even more.

What the hell did he mean by "Damn rules"? Was something keeping him from touching her? No, he had touched her when they had danced in the crystal ballroom. Perhaps it was a benefit she got from defeating him and his labyrinth… Sarah didn't know. So, being the curious little minx that she is, Sarah decided that she would make an attempt to get some answers.

" What do you mean by " Damn rules"? What rules could you possibly be talking about?" she questioned.

" It doesn't matter, they are far beyond your limits of understanding." he stated flippantly.

" Are you saying that I am stupid?" she asked. Sarah was beginning to believe that he very much thought her to be, and to tell the truth, she felt extremely upset with the very idea.

" I am saying you could not possibly comprehend the rules. So, I am not calling you stupid, merely not intelligent enough to understand anything I could tell you about them."

Not intelligent?! She'd show that arrogant asshole. God damn it, she defeated him and his labyrinth!

Before Sarah knew it, she had strode the foot between them and slapped him as hard as she could across the face, making his left cheek as red as hers. She immediately paled when she realized what she had done, but refused to stand down, he had insulted her and had most definitely deserved that slap. Sarah felt a twinge of regret for marring the one pale striking face of the Goblin King, but the thought dropped when she heard a strange noise begin to escape from Jareth's mouth.

Sarah then realized that he was laughing, at her! Her pale cheeks once again flamed into life and she lifted her chin slightly. Feeling rather indignant, she crossed her arms in front of her and glared at him with what she hoped was hostility.

" I have been waiting so long for you to do that!" Jared said merrily, his voice still holding that ring fo laughter. Sarah's arms dropped with her mouth as she gazed at him in astonishment, her left eyebrow cocked slightly higher than the right. Had she gone insane?

Then Jareth spread his arms and leaned forward making it seem as though he was going to embrace her. Suddenly a bright blinding light flashed in front of Sarah, and then there was nothing but darkness.

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To Whom It May Concern,

I hoped you enjoyed this chapter; it's 5 ½ pages. I had a lot of fun writing it. So, do you think that it's Jareth in the dream or is he just merely a part of the dream her mind imagined? You'll find out, if not next chapter, then soon. That's obviously not the end of this confrontation, but the end of the chapter, it was getting a tad too long. Goodbye people, see ya soon!

Best regards,

Narcoleptic Suicide