A Ring in the Hand
Summary: Sarah left a contribution, a ring. Unknowingly our heroine invoked an ancient rite and is now bound to the Underground and the Labyrinth's King. And then the Summer King finds out.
Rating: T (implication of sex in public... sort of... I err on the side of caution)
Disclaimer: I neither own, nor claim to own, The Labyrinth and all it's characters. I lay claim to future OC's that may or may not show up. But that is all.
**See below for Author's notes
Jareth held the ring in gloved hands. This changed everything. He wasn't sure, but he had an inkling that the Labyrinth had responded to his desire to possess the lovely child and then provided her with an opportunity and the compulsion to deposit this band of metal.
A frown creased his brow.
This was the problem with the great magics. Too much interaction with their creator, they sometimes developed minds of their own.
Of course, the Labyrinth was still acting in accordance to his desires. And therein lay the problem. He must truly desire her if the Labyrinth was be able to pick it out of his brain.
He could, by the law of the underground, which was writ into the very air she was breathing and interwoven among the paths she walked, claim her as his promised. He could claim her now. In fact, he should. To do otherwise held the promise of problems. The game the two of them were caught up in would be void and null. Toby would go home, Sarah would remain.
A twist of an elegant wrist brought a crystal into existence, a lovely child with a thundercloud on her brow pictured in it.
The king sighed. He was cruel, he was one of the last great sorcerers, and he had never intended to marry. Have her? Certainly. Eventually. She would lose, and then age in the underground. It wasn't a question of whether he would have her, but when.
Understandably, this changed everything.
If she remained, he would be wed. The very magic that enabled him to wield the labyrinth ensured that he was bound by the magics that governed his society. Including matrimonial traditions involving silly, cheap rings.
Jareth cast a baleful glare at the baby clad in red and white.
He twisted his magic and encased the ring in a crystal, black and smooth, the iridescent shimmer of a spell gleaming from its centre. He banished it to his closet, underneath the shoes. Where people put things that didn't want to see or think about.
He didn't think it would work, but he hoped.
With another twist the hedges that were covered in thorns, alive and menacing, became mere decorative bushes. The Goblin Guards snapping at the beast and tearing out chunks of his flesh became mere pests, frightened by rocks.
At the end of these thirteen hours of hell he would ensure that she would be out of his life forever. She would win, she must. Besides, there were other brunettes with which to satisfy his appetites.
He hadn't accounted for seeing her flounder in those last moments, and his sudden heartfelt proposal in response. Some god was feeling benevolent for she hadn't recognized the formal wording for what it was and recalled her lines with stark determination.
And with a scorch of magic, she and the brat were gone.
He stormed back into the castle, grumpier, with a raging desire to bed a brunette warring with his desire to smash every breakable item in his castle.
The Labyrinth was unreasonable and restless for the next 8 years, by Aboveground reckoning.
Doors closed on his fingers and clothes. Candles lit fire to tapestries, the goblins rampaged more frequently with more damage resulting, and droughts followed by floods turned the Labyrinth into a scorching wasteland and muggy swamp alternatively.
Jareth spent much of his time managing the results of the Labyrinth's sulk, sending bits of magic out in a steady feed to maintain his great work. A tiny tendril made its way Above where it cloaked the little bond that said "I am betrothed to a King" that would forever adhere to Sarah.
Life moved on in the Underground.
**AN: Well, as promised, chapter two. I normally post my stories in one bulk text. However I really felt that this story lent itself to beign physically divided into chapters. I hope you enjoyed so far. More to come. Yes, it is already complete. No I'm not going to string it out over many, many day to get as many reviews as possible. I'm not about reviews (though I TOTALLY APPRECIATE THEM AND LOVE THEM) Posting over many days when it's complete, that's silly. That's me writing for ego, or for you guys, and not myself. Which I do not do. Review if you are so inclined!
And rejoice! For Summer semester has started! w00t!! Can I just SQUEE in nerdiness? I have my two favourite profs this semester, ones for English (Late Shakespeare) and one for History (State and Society in Early Modern France). AWESOME. That's all.