Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine. Not mine.

A/N: Thanks to the readers and reviewers...this is where the story gets interesting. Confrontations are quite fun. Enjoy.

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At first glance, the bedchamber appeared empty.

Long forgotten by time, the room's furnishings were coated in a fine layer of dust. Burgundy drapes fluttered in the breeze as a stark humidity filtered in through the open bay window. Wide mahogany dressers lined the room's eastern wall, their drawers rusted shut from non-use. The room seemed untouched, unspoiled by human hands.

Perhaps the most unique fixtures were the grand tapestries plastering the walls. Although tattered from age, they weaved a sacred history of the Underground; an account few elders knew the half-of.

The walls of the labyrinth could be seen rising from the ashes in the largest drape. If one focused hard in just the right corner of the folds, two complementary figures with russet and wheat locks could be made out. The piece did not rest alone. The origin of the fae, the coming of the elves, the taming of the dwarves; each story performed to a silent audience. As the room waited, the scenes hung suspended in time.

How unfortunate that the room's intended inhabitant was unable to appreciate them.

"Zzzzzuuuuunnnn….zzzzzzzzzuuuuuunnnn"

Throaty snores carved through the solitude. Although the sound would have embarrassed the girl had she been awake, her subconscious shrugged off the notion. It had been so long since she'd properly rested. She slumbered on dreamlessly.

Some time later, a sliver of golden light trickled through the chamber's western window, settling warmly upon the scene. Muted tones promptly reverted to their daytime splendor. The chests were not, in fact, the deep mahogany as previously noted, but an ambered cherry. The wood glistened bright behind the grime.

The Labyrinth, tired of playing the anxious child on Christmas Eve, pushed dawn's early rise. Preparations were finally complete and reconnection was eminent. The entity no longer yearned for the champions' return, but their participation. At long last, the first stage of the Game could commence. Pleased by an unexpected entrance within the chamber, the impatient entity nudged against the aboveworlder.

A tousled head twitched in reply. Two clothed arms were drawn out from the cream sheets to rest crookedly beside the pillows. Slowly, they stretched taught, pushing the girl up off her stomach. She habitually reached for her bedside table clock. Her hand, still pressed with the fabric's creases, grazed burning liquid instead.

"Owh!" she shook her hand out. "Enough with the wet wake-up calls, Kate. I was finally having a good night's sleep. Just go away…" she turned back to the warmth of the pillow.

A feminine stutter jumped in. ""S-s-cuse me miss, I d-didn't mean no harm!"

Sarah's eyes snapped open and she groaned in recognition.

Damn, it hadn't been a dream. She frowned. And now I'm probably back in the Labyrinth. Wonderful.

Moving to a sitting position, she regarded the visitor. Unruly curls in an unlikely shade of green confirmed her fears; there was no way she was still in Connecticut. Posessing beady red eyes and a complexion of smudged charcoal, the girl paralleled the human traits Sarah so cherished. Stubby hands, short two digits by Sarah's count, fingered the silver crescent speared through her peculiarly shaped right lobe.

A chirpy tone broke in; the goblin girl was speaking again.

"….want to start…."

"Pardon?" Sarah questioned, shaken from her reverie.

"Thought you might be hungry. Miss wouldn't want to start It on an empty stomach."

"And just what is It?" Sarah's narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Just a bit of porridge and spiced cider…but please miss, if there's something you'd rather, just ask! Toffee'd be glad to fetch it for you." The goblin hurriedly supplied.

Sarah fought the urge to roll her eyes. The poor girl was obviously trying.

"Toffee is it? You wouldn't happen to know why I'm here would you?"

She was met with a guilty smile and a nod of jade locks. "I may…"

Sarah motioned for her to continue.

The smile faded. "But I's not supposed to tell…His Majesty forbids it, you see. Says it's not anyone's place but his. I has orders not to say much of anything." She clamped her mouth shut in fear, biting down sharply on her bottom lip.

The gears in Sarah's head began to spin. If the girl couldn't explicitly say the reason, perhaps she could work with the promise, and still figure out the situation. After all, it worked with Sir Didymus' sworn oath.

The goblin girl mistook her contemplative state for anger and jumped in again, wringing her hands nervously. "I's real sorry miss! Believe me, I'd tell you if I could but…"

Sarah cut her off. "I get it, I get it. You can't say." Leaning forward on the mattress, she continued. "But if I guess, or was on the right track, a simple nod wouldn't be 'saying', right?"

The girl scrunched her face tight, considering the proposal.

Now just to push it along. Maybe I can play off her guilt…

"And if this is my last meal before this big 'It', shouldn't I be as prepared as possible? You wouldn't want me to be unprepared, would you?"

"Oh! Well, no miss...but it ain't your last meal…at least, I hope not." She shrugged apologetically. "It all depends, you see, on your perf…" she stopped mid-sentence, her face paling considerably.

With a dramatic 'pop', the girl vanished on the spot.

Drat. So close, yet so far. I wonder what her rush was?

If she had to guess, she assumed that something had spooked the girl. She had seemed a bit jumpy to begin with. Sarah glanced around the room for any visible changes. The wind had picked up slightly, ruffling the peculiar tapestries surrounding her canopy bed, but other than that, nothing seemed out of place. Even so, Sarah waited for the proverbial axe to drop. Nothing was ever what it seemed in this place.

Minutes passed, and still Sarah found nothing which warranted the girl's abrupt departure. Maybe, this time it was what it seemed…just a spooky little goblin. Shaking her head amusedly, she pushed the covers off her legs and swung them off the bed. She eyed the food on the nightstand warily; she remembered all too well what trouble her last meal Underground wrought.

No way am I going there. I have to get out of here before someone else checks in.

After pulling on her boots, she crept towards the ornate door nestled between the two longest tapestries. Seeking the gilded knob, she turned it sharply. It refused to budge. Sarah growled in frustration and threw herself up against the beams, hoping to force it open. After a couple painful jars, she slid to the floor in defeat. It was no use; whoever had locked her in clearly didn't want her getting out.

From her viewpoint against the door, Sarah could see the far reaching Labyrinth spiral out the open window. On impulse, she leapt to her feet and ran to the railing. Looking down quick with anticipation, Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She was only on the second floor; perhaps escape was still possible.

She grabbed the nearest sheet of fabric, an extensive piece of burgundy drapery, and ripped it from the windowpane. Tying it tight around the bars, she tossed it over the edge. After carefully winding a section around her wrist for safety, she climbed over after it. The last thing she needed to do was fall.

Sarah scaled down the wall with ease, thankful that she'd watched a few spy movies in her time. She absently brushed her jeans off and prayed that nobody would notice her disappearance for awhile. Head starts always seemed to help secret agents. Picking a random direction, Sarah walked into the goblin city, mumbling to herself.

"I wonder if I can get out the same way I got in…although I doubt I'll have a whole thirteen hours head start. Maybe if I called Hoggle, or Sir Didymus…" The thought pained her. She hadn't called her friends in some time, preoccupied by the trials of college life.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you" a velvety suggestion caressed her ear.

Sarah spun around in surprise. He was near enough that she could see the individual hairs on his face. She found herself unconsciously drawn to the ones above his mouth. He was close. She gulped. Much too close. The laughing glint in his eyes, combined with the thin smirk on his lips, a tactic which probably left other girls swooning, especially in this close proximity, only succeeded in riling Sarah up. He certainly knew how to get a rise out of her. She forcibly pushed his chest back and instantly regretted it. For a lithe man, he really was quite muscular.

Sarah swallowed. "Any way is better than here. I don't know what the hell you've kidnapped me for, but I don't want any part of it."

"Oh Sarah, I haven't kidnapped you at all."

"Oh really?" she skeptically replied. "So I just teleported myself into your dimension, did I?"

"Certainly not. Teleportation takes years of practice to master. But no, I didn't bring you here either. Facilitate the exchange, yes, but like you so eloquently said, I have no power over you."

Sarah chose to ignore the part on practice and pounced on what she understood. "Then why am I here if I have power of you and your silly maze?"

Jareth opened his mouth to argue the point, but waved off her demand instead. "It is of little consequence right now, there is nothing you can do to fight it. I suggest you return to your chamber. Eat, don't eat, it matters little to me. I could care less if you prepare".

"Prepare for what?!" she all but shouted.

"The Game."

"I don't think so. I've had enough of your games. You don't play fa…" she caught herself, "that is…you don't follow the rules."

"That's twice now you've falsely accused me. You would make a terrible Underground peace-keeper." He ignored her shocked expression. "Tell me, specifically, when did I go back on my word?"

"Err…well, you…no. There was that time when…ah…" she trailed off. Try as she might, she couldn't name a single instance where he broke his promise. Skirted, bent, and twisted into a knot, yes, but never explicitly 'broke'.

He sniffed. "I thought so."

Sarah was beyond frustrated now. A few false accusations shouldn't have made her so guilty, but they did. She was supposed to be the good guy; the heroine in his sinister ploy. He had no right to make her feel like the villain.

"Argh, it doesn't matter. I'm not home, I want to be home, and you are the only one around with the ability to take me from home. That's good enough for me. Now if you'd be so kind to zap me back to my car?"

"I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Yes."

Sarah ground her teeth. She wasn't getting anywhere fast. All she was knew was that she was here for some 'Game' and nobody wanted to explain it to her.

"Fine. I'll do it my way then." She turned back towards the Labyrinth. She didn't think it looked as big as she remembered. Actually, she was certain of it. The maze was definitely smaller, the twists and turns relegated to a few clear paths through the dust. Those thirteen hours didn't seem so unreasonable in light of these changes.

Perhaps he's remodeling?

"That is precisely why I wouldn't recommend entering yet. You wouldn't want an unfair advantage over the others, now would you? Actually…" He paused dramatically. "…I'm not quite sure what would happen if you entered early." He suddenly grinned. "On second thought, I take it back. By all means, trudge into the Labyrinth now. You've roused my curiosity."

"Others."

He nodded.

"Others?"

"I'm not deaf, you know. I heard you the first time."

"I'll repeat it until I get an actual answer!" Sarah yelled.

"It's out of my power. Like I said, it's best if you just accepted the situation. It will all be explained soon."

An idea struck Sarah. He was quite forceful in his denouncement of power. Maybe, just maybe, she did hold a small advantage.

"Goblin King—" his mouth twitched in distaste at the formal title. She pressed on.

"I wish you would tell me exactly why I'm here."

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A/N: The plan is for the actual "Game" to begin in the next few chapters. But if people aren't interested...