His eyes smoldered as he waved a hand carelessly. A clock faded into sight, and hung in midair at eye-height. Pretty wood carvings inlayed the frame – wood nymphs, flowers, and such. I stifled a chuckle. I hadn't pictured Jareth as being quite so dainty. The Goblin King followed my mirthful gaze. He scowled, and attempted to maintain his few shreds of dignity by tossing his head arrogantly.

"You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth." He said stiffly. I smiled, and cocked my head innocently.

"It doesn't look that far." I said, purposely antagonizing him. He narrowed his eyes.

"It's further than you think."

"Uh huh. Okay, then."

"And if you do not complete the Labyrinth in time… your brother becomes one of us. Forever."

I flung out my arms in exasperation.

"Now you tell me."

The Goblin King looked confused. I smiled slyly.

"If I had known that before, I would have wished him away a long time ago."

Jareth smacked himself on the forehead. He began muttering furiously about how goblins are horrible influences on small children, and turned to stalk down the hill. My mouth dropped open in horror. Oh frack. He had believed me. I chased after him hurriedly.

"I was being sarcastic." I volunteered, trotting behind him. He stopped suddenly, and I ran into him. Yum, he smelled nice … like… detergent. The Goblin King whirled around, interrupting my pleasant discovery, his eyes smoldering angrily.

"Well, then." He said coolly. I winced. He was really mad now.

"Twelve hours." He said, turning away. My mouth dropped open.

"What?!" I gasped. Jareth spun back to face me, a look of disgust printed across his face.

"You have twelve hours to finish the Labyrinth." He said through clenched teeth. I gaped at him.

"What happened to thirteen?" I choked.

"Twelve. No more." He said smugly. I groaned internally. His sneer widened, and he began to fade into nothing while his fanged smirk remained. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Impressive..." I murmured as I watched him disappear. "Or at least, it would be if you were the Cheshire Cat…"

If the Goblin King heard me, he didn't show it. He had vanished, leaving an empty space in the air. I waited for a moment for him to reappear, and when he didn't, sighed, and turned to the Labyrinth.

"Well… it doesn't look that hard…" I tried to convince myself optimistically.

"Yeah, right." My subconscious responded, pouting unhappily. I glared at it.

"Shut up." I said. It snickered.

"I'm not the one talking to myself…"

"True." I said thoughtfully, before making sure my subconscious was firmly duck-taped to a rubber ducky, and then tossed out to sea. And so, freed of imaginary conversations, I skipped off merrily towards the Labyrinth. Or, at least, as merrily as one can skip when one's feet are devoid of footwear…

In his castle, the Goblin King stared into the crystal image of Sarah. He smiled mischievously.

"Interesting…" He murmured to himself. "Interesting…"

Um, yes well... it took me a while, and it's a short chapter. I'm terribly sorry. Please don't kill me... or worse, take away my computer!