Dang it I did it again. Ah well. have fun, and give the author some love!!

As The World Falls Down

"Majeste?" Toby asked the next morning as he followed her through the palace. "Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly," Majeste nodded, stepping through another doorway.

"Did you see the owl flying around you last night?"

"An owl?" Majeste asked, stopping for a moment and turning to look at Toby.

"Yes. He was really big, and he was flying around you a bit. It was really weird."

"What happened to him?" Majeste asked, a trace of fear in her eyes.

"I don't know. I fell asleep."

"There was an owl," Majeste said. "Now come along. We need to get out of here."

"Why?"

"It's Jareth's castle and he'll no doubt have some surprises waiting for us if we don't hurry and get out."

"That was he last night, wasn't it?"

"Who?"

"The owl. Sarah told me that he can turn into an owl."

Majeste suddenly put a hand over Toby's mouth and gazed about the room worriedly. "Listen," she whispered. "Don't ever talk about Jareth out loud. If he finds out that you know anything about him, he'll get you for sure. He already tried to turn you into a goblin once. Don't encourage him to do it again."

"He's trapped in Crystalla. He can't hear me," Toby frowned as she moved her hand.

"Jareth has powers that even I don't fully understand," Majeste said, glancing about the room they were in. "He can see and hear everything that happens in the Labyrinth. It's part of him. No more questions. Come on."

Toby followed Majeste with wide eyes, a chill sweeping through him. Was it possible for the Goblin King to appear wherever he liked whenever he liked?

"Courage, Master Toby," Sir Didymus chirped as Majeste moved quickly, the room echoing as thunder sounded outside.

"Is it just me," Toby wondered aloud, "or does the weather seem to be getting really bad?"

"Toby, come here," Majeste suddenly ordered, and Toby moved over to her. He was astonished when she threw an arm around him and pulled him into a doorway.

"What are you doing?" Toby gasped as she held onto him tightly and braced herself in the doorway.

"The world is falling down," Majeste said, her eyes afraid in the darkness that hung frightfully about the castle.

The ground shook terribly, and Majeste tightened her grip on Toby.

Seconds later, the ground stopped shaking, and Majeste opened a door. "Let's see what is in here," she said, trying to sound cheerful, but Toby could tell she was disturbed by something.

Toby, Majeste, Sir Didymus, and Ambroscious stepped into the room and the door slammed shut eerily behind them. Lightning flashed outside of the room's windows, illuminating the room momentarily. The room was nothing but stairways, going left, right, upside down, right side up, and sideways. There were over thirty doors by each stairway, and Majeste gasped. "Turn around!" she ordered. "Go back through the door we came through!"

Toby turned and found that instead of there being only the one door they had come through, there were three. Not only were there three doors, but also they were moving too quickly for him to grab hold of one of them.

The lightning flashed again, and Toby caught sight of an owl standing calmly in one of the open windows, gazing down at him curiously. "Majeste," he whispered hoarsely, tugging at Majeste's sleeve. "I don't think that owl was there before."

"Owl?" Majeste gasped, spinning to see the owl. As soon as she laid eyes on it, it flew up into the air and swooped down towards her, claws extended. "Toby, Sir Didymus! Get out of here!" Majeste shouted.

The owl suddenly flew in front of her, his wings beating at her face, blinding her.

"Stop it!" Majeste screamed. "Toby, get out of here! Run!"

"We cannot run when you are in distress, my lady!" Sir Didymus squeaked, and Majeste screamed again as one of the claws scraped across her cheek.

"That was an order, Sir Didymus! Do not defy me! Keep Toby safe!"

A minute later, Majeste slipped and fell, landing in a crouch on the floor, the slit in her dress from her journey through the Winds of Time revealing a long, bloody scratch on her leg.

"Jareth! Stop this!" Majeste screamed, and instantly the owl disappeared.

Majeste stood up slowly and gazed about the room. "Toby?" she called, and there was no answer. The great maze of a room was very dark, only lit occasionally by flashes of lightning. Majeste trembled, for darkness frightened her and the storm outside was very great. She could hear the wind howling and rain beating like stones against the palace walls.

Majeste began to walk, climbing up one staircase only to find that it led to nowhere. The lightning flashed and the thunder sounded again, and Majeste shuddered, her eyes wide. "How can I get out of here?"

As Majeste walked about, trying to find a way out, she didn't see Jareth appear in the darkness behind her, his eyes glowing. He was playing with his remaining crystal orb, watching it dance easily across his fingers. He looked up and gazed at Majeste, a small smile on his face.

"Afraid of the dark, Majeste?"

Majeste gasped and then turned around. No one was in the darkness, and she shivered fearfully. "Where are you?" she asked.

"Up, down, in or out. You pick."

"I don't want to play games, Jareth. Where are you?"

"Where I always have been."

"Where would that be?"

"In the darkness watching you."

A hand suddenly came up around Majeste's throat, and she screamed, her scream echoing through the room. "You forgot the part about you being behind me," she gulped. "Will you permit me to turn around and see you?"

"I think not. I'm not in the mood for any of your tricks."

"Tricks?" Majeste asked. "You are hurting me."

"Tricks, such as gazing at me with your tear-clouded eyes and begging me to hold you. I'm a goblin, nothing more, nothing less."

"You are angry that you showed compassion last night," Majeste said slowly and then tried to turn.

Jareth keep his hand tight on her throat and pulled her back against him. "Angry?" he hissed, his mouth close to her ear. "Why would I be angry? I am here to compromise."

"Compromise what?" Majeste gulped, having difficulty breathing.

"Give me the power to rule your world and then we won't have to meet at the bridge and the Labyrinth will be saved."

"How can I possibly give you power over Crystalla?" Majeste gasped. "You aren't the born heir to the throne and I am not dead. You wouldn't kill me!"

"I am an evil goblin," Jareth hissed again, running his fingers against her throat. "When I want something, I get it. Give it to me, and I won't have to take it."

"I only have one form of power, Jareth, and you have abused me too much for me to give it to you," Majeste said, growing irritated by Jareth's touch. "Take your hands off me."

"If this power is the same one that enabled you to stand freely on the bridge, then you can give it to me, for you can never lose it. You don't have the strength to do it."

"I freely gave you my love, Jareth," Majeste said, "and I can freely take it back. Showing you my love won't give you the power to rule Crystalla."

Jareth spun her around suddenly, his hand still on her throat, his face inches away from hers. "Name me king over Crystalla, Majeste, and the destruction of the worlds will cease. It will take you days to find your way to the bridge. My kingdom will be destroyed by then."

"I would have to whole-heartedly name you king, Jareth, and I cannot do it," Majeste said firmly, trying to pull away from him. "I can't even love you anymore. You won't let me."

"If you don't, I shall leave you to find your way out of the Labyrinth alone."

"What have you done with Toby and Sir Didymus?" Majeste asked, still pulling away.

"Their welfare is my own concern," Jareth smiled, pulling Majeste even closer to him so quickly that she fell against him. "Give me what I ask for and I shall leave you alone."

"You can never leave me alone. You never were able to, and you never will be able to. I will not let you become king of my father's world. You shall have to be patient and wait for me to get to the bridge."

"I want the destruction to stop now!"

"It can't while I am here and you are in Crystalla. We shall have to meet on the bridge. That is the only way to stop the destruction. The longer it takes for me to get there, the more destruction there will be," Majeste said, her breath hot on Jareth's face as she breathed heavily, trying to get away from him. "Now release me so that I can find my way to the bridge, with or without help."

"You resent me," Jareth growled, putting his forehead against hers.

"I do," Majeste said, still straining to get away from him. "How can I care for you after the way you have been treating me? You leave me in darkness in a great maze and grab hold of me as though I were a doll. You threaten me and demand that I hand my kingdom over to you. I can't possibly care for you any longer."

"Say it like you mean it," Jareth said, his mouth uncomfortably close to Majeste's.

"Don't start," Majeste said, noting the change in his voice. "If you think I'm going to give you my kingdom because you suddenly become charming, you are very mistaken."

"Mistaken, Majeste? You used to tremble at my touch," Jareth smiled slightly, his eyes closed and his mouth on Majeste's cheek. "You can't resist me. It's not in your character."

"You think me a weak fool," Majeste stammered. "You believe I will give in to my emotions and give you my kingdom."

"I don't think you are a weak fool. I think you are helplessly in love."

"Jareth, get away from me!" Majeste gasped, again pulling to get away.

"Think how simple it would be if you gave the kingdom to me. I could stop the destruction of the two worlds and then give Crystalla back to you. The worlds would be able to heal," Jareth said and then put a finger on Majeste's face. He ran it along the scratch that he had made as an owl, and the scratch began to heal beneath his touch.

"You would give Crystalla back to me?" Majeste asked, the tremble Jareth had been anticipating shivering through her body.

"Maybe…" Jareth murmured, stroking the place where the scratch had been.

"No, you wouldn't," Majeste answered for him, and then pulled back. "I'll find the way to the bridge on my own if I have to. I will not hand Crystalla over to you."

A vicious glow began to shine in Jareth's eyes and he snarled, "It will be nearly impossible for you to get through this room and Confucius."

"I'll do it," Majeste said and then pulled away, falling down a few stairs due to the strength it had taken her to release herself.

"You will do it alone, in the dark, without any mercy from me," Jareth shouted and then pulled his cape around his face. An instant later, he was an owl again, and he flew past Majeste, brushing his wing against her cheek as he did so. He then disappeared out the window and Majeste dropped to her knees, gasping as the scratch from before reappeared and stung worse than it had when she first received it.

Majeste did not like having to stay in a dark confusing room by herself, but she discovered, as she stood up slowly, blood on her hand, that she would much rather be by herself in the strange place than with Jareth. He knew she was trying to stay strong, yet he played on her emotions. He understood that she would never give her world to him, and yet he had tried his best to take it. He had healed her wound, trying to entice her, and when refused, he had made the wound come back, hurting more than it had the first time.

Majeste glanced at the long slit in her skirt and shuddered. She was a very modest person and would have greatly liked for her dress to be repaired, for she was almost positive Jareth had seen the scratch, and the last thing she wanted was for him to think more wickedly of her than he already was.

Using her right hand, Majeste held the slit shut and then began to walk, first up one stairway and then down another. Numerous times she fell, bruising several parts on her body and getting ugly cuts on several other parts. After half an hour passed, she began to panic, and she quickened her speed to a run, racing up and down stairs and in and out of doors.

"If you want the Labyrinth to stay in one piece," She finally shouted, lightning flashing outside, "then you shall have to free me, Jareth! If I can't find my way out, your world will perish!"

There was no answer, and Majeste scowled as she stepped towards another door. "So be it," she said as she opened the door. "The Labyrinth will perish as well as Crystalla. Due to ancient legend, Jareth, you and I will be the last ones to perish, and it will be a cruel and tormenting death. That is the way it was always said to be when the worlds fell down and only the two leaders were left."

A voice cut into Majeste's mind, cold and unfeeling. "And you want to perish in such a manner, don't you?"

Majeste shivered and walked through the doorway, leaving the frightening room behind her and stepping out into a long corridor outside, rain pounding on her and lightning flashing overhead. "I must be in Confucius," she said uncomfortably, putting a hand on one of the corridor's mossy, slimy walls. She suddenly remembered Toby and Sir Didymus and began to shout. "Toby! Sir Didymus! Ambroscious! Where are you?"

"Haven't seen them," A deep voice said from behind her, and she turned to see a goblin leaning against the wall, nibbling on something.

"Who are you?" Majeste asked, noting that his stance was quite familiar.

"Jaif," the goblin replied curtly. He put his hand against the wall and Majeste noticed a bush of some sort with eyes placed on the wall. Jaif promptly pulled some of the eyes off and ate them. Majeste's stomach churned, and she stepped away, her face turning pale.

"You wouldn't happen to know the way out of this, would you?" She asked, looking away from Jaif.

"It depends on where you want to go. Slime is one way, the castle another, Winds of Time another…"

"I want to get to the bridge separating the Labyrinth from Crystalla," Majeste said curtly.

"Oh. In that case, I don't know," Jaif said easily.

"You knew where all the other exits were."

"Yes, but I wasn't threatened with death if I told you about those."

Majeste sighed and shook her head. "Very well then. Good bye."

Majeste left Jaif and began to follow the paths through Confucius. She had only been walking for fifteen minutes when she suddenly slipped on a small puddle of mud and landed on her hands and knees in a bed of thorns. She let out a great cry and then stood up shakily, the bottom of her dress ripping off. Majeste was afraid to look at her hands and legs. They burned ferociously and she knew that they were greatly damaged. The thorns had managed to slide across the tops of her wrists as well, leaving her with thin bracelets of blood.

"I didn't think it would ever come to this," Majeste sobbed as she grabbed hold of one of the walls for support, blood staining her dress. "I should always have avoided the goblins as I was taught to. I was foolish and allowed myself to be entranced. Never again will I do that. I shall be hard and cruel in return for the coldness that I received."

Majeste looked at her hands and legs to find that they were bleeding terribly in uncountable places, and her tears stung her scratched face as she cried.

"There, there now. I don't believe a young lady like yourself would be able to become so cold."

Majeste glanced at the wall to see a small worm looking up at her expectantly, his blue hair flattened from the rain(1).

"Why not?" she found herself asking.

"If you become so hard, you will only become one of them."

"One of what?"

"The goblins of course, and then Harin will have won after all."

"Why do you speak to me like this?" Majeste asked, leaning over to see the worm better.

"You are the princess of Crystalla, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"It isn't your nature to be cold and hating. That is why he needs you."

"He needs me?" Majeste asked, confused.

"Yes, the King of the Goblins. He needs you because you are the kind side of him."

"He doesn't have a trace of kindness in his body," Majeste frowned. "Thank you for the help, little worm, but perhaps Jareth will do best if he receives his own treatment."

"Since when has cruelty ever resolved anything?"

"Since when has kindness?" Majeste snapped and then continued walking, tears streaming down her angry face. "I don't want to be so kind," she whispered to herself. "I'm tired of being loving when all I receive back is evil. I am willing to be kind to everyone except for Jareth," she resolved. "I'll treat him with the same cruelty he gives me."

A flash of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, as though the storm was adding more power to Majeste's words. Majeste felt strong as she walked, but there was a lingering feeling of deep pain in her heart, and she knew, try as she might, that she would never be able to free herself of it, no matter how cruel she was.

Toby, Sir Didymus, and Ambroscious, in the meantime, found themselves standing amongst the rocks that were on the Labyrinth side of the abyss.

"How did we get here?" Toby wondered, scratching his head. "It must have been one of the Goblin King's tricks."

"Which leaves the beloved princess of Crystalla in grave danger," Sir Didymus piped up unhappily. "We have failed her."

"She told us to leave," Toby shrugged.

"But if we were noble knights, we would have stayed."

"Perhaps she wanted to see King Jareth alone. If they love each other, you know…" Toby suggested and then shuddered, sticking his tongue out. "Never mind. Now I'm grossed out."

"They don't love each other!" Sir Didymus harrumphed. "One is a goblin and the other is a crystal princess. Goblins are not permitted to love, and the people of Crystalla loathe the goblins. The battles between them go back hundreds of years."

"It was a totally gross book that I had to read for school, but have you ever read Romeo and Juliet?" Toby asked.

"Never heard of it."

"It's about a young lord or something who falls in love with the daughter of his enemies. They end up getting married and then both die. Their death brings about the friendship of their two families," Toby said. "It was a disgusting book, but maybe that is what is happening between the goblins and the crystal people."

"You are suggesting that King Jareth is in love with someone?" Sir Didymus asked, his nose twitching.

"It's possible, isn't it?"

"He was in love with Sarah once."

"Gross! Dude, why are you telling me that?" Toby asked, squishing up his face. "They didn't kiss, did they?"

"I don't think so. I suppose King Jareth can be romantic when he wants to be," Sir Didymus said and then harrumphed again. 'It's an agitating thought, however."

"Okay, let's change the subject now," Toby winced. "Too much mushy stuff. What are we going to do now?"

"I suppose we will have to wait for her ladyship to get here."

"Assuming that she does."

"She will," Sir Didymus nodded. "King Jareth doesn't like to play with his prey for too long. He gets bored."

"I do need to go back home soon," Toby sighed, sitting down and gazing at the fire and water in the abyss. "I'd have to do homework again, but I do miss my mom and dad."

"As soon as the bridge is repaired, you will be returned to your home, young one. For now, rest, and we shall wait for King Jareth and Princess Majeste to come to terms."

I hope that won't involve a whole bunch of romantic stuff, Toby thought to himself.

(1) - yes my dear friends this is in fact our blue friend who 'Allo'ed Sarah!