Chapter Two~ Your Wish, My Command

AN: Warning, there's some dark stuff in this story starting now. The goblins in this are far more than just mischievous little children turned monsters. Beware, you've been warned.

Jareth POV

It was said as sort of an off-hand comment. But the magic was still in the words. He felt the tingle of it in his heart (or what was left of it anyway), pulling him back the way he had just come. The girl he had just visited, the one who had smoked the mind-altering herb that left a thick scent in his nostrils and talked to him as if she knew he was something other than an owl. She had spoken the words, the ones that he had not thought she would say. He knew the goblins would already be in her room, and if he did not hurry back, who knew what kind of mayhem they would bring upon the poor girl.

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Acacia POV

It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since she'd fallen asleep, but something had forced Acacia to open her eyes. Sitting up in the bed, she realized that the cover had stuck to her sweat-covered skin. Was it a nightmare? A crazy dream? All too often, one or the other would wake her up in a cold sweat and her not be able to remember much except for a few blurry details. Never mind that her head was still buzzing from the weed. Looking around her dark room, the shadows seemed to jump out at her, and the sound of cackling met her ears. Acacia's eyes widened. Surely this had to be a high-induced mirage! In her chest, her heart seemed to be trying to beat out a samba on her ribcage. The frightened woman squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"It's not real. It's not real." She repeated to herself, a mantra she had come up with in her youth when the darkness would begin creeping towards her in the middle of the night, or a nightmare would jolt her from sleep. But, instead of calming her, the sounds surrounding her seemed to get louder, as if whatever hid in the shadows thought it funny that she was trying to imagine them away. Her words got louder as she rocked back and forth with her hands over her head. All at once, the laughter stopped. The sudden silence was almost as eerie as the sound. Opening her eyes, she looked around, finding nothing. "I need to stop smoking right before bed," she mused to herself, wiping the sweat from her face.

Before she could pull the covers over her head and go back to sleep, something jumped from the shadows in the corner by the TV, forcing her back onto the bed. A scream worked it's way out of her as the thing sat on her chest. Then more followed. There were at least twenty of them, tiny, grotesque creatures that seemed warped and dirty in the dark of the room. Her arms were pulled to the sides, and her legs held down when she tried to kick her way out of their grip. The laughter returned ten-fold, drowning out the noise of the storm outside. Acacia screamed again, and this time, the one on her chest stuffed a nasty tasting rag into her mouth.

"Quiet, pretty." She nearly gagged as her sense of smell was assaulted by the thing's rancid breath. Her eyes went wild, darting back and forth trying to find a way to get out of this situation. But, the more she struggled, the harder they held her. She could feel her bones grinding, her skin bruising. Suddenly, she had a thought. I might die. And that single, lone thought was enough to throw her body into overdrive. Lifting her bottom off the bed, Acacia bucked, throwing off several of the creatures that held her legs and hips. Once they were free, she hauled her legs up and around the neck of the one on her chest, and twisted to toss him into the ones on her left. They released her arm, and she grabbed her backpack, using it to punch the ones on her other side. Spitting out the gag, Acacia managed to get herself completely free from whatever they were, and jumped towards the door.

She never even touched it. Something kept her from being able to go within a foot of the handle without hitting an invisible wall that shocked her when she smacked hard against it. Her frantic scrambling gave the midgets time to gather themselves and start coming for her again. Acacia pressed herself against the invisible barrier, now no longer electric, trying her hardest to keep them from coming near her. Behind them, the window swung open with a bang! And she screamed again as something flew in. Of course, she couldn't believe her eyes when she watched the owl she had been talking to just a little while ago transformed right in front of her. In it's place stood a tall figure, cloak billowing in the wind and glitter flying everywhere. The man didn't say anything at first. From what she could see of his face when lightning made the room glow, it looked like he was smiling. The goblins (for that was the only word she could come up with to fit their description) seemed even more riled up with the man's presence. They screeched and jumped around her, pulling at her sleep pants, her t-shirt, her hair, all the while the man at the window didn't say a word. He just stood with his hands on his hips, head tilted at the sight before him.

One of the goblins, a larger one wearing a pointed helmet, had snuck under her arm and managed to grab hold of her breast, causing her to cry out in pain and fear. It's sharp little fingers dug into the exposed skin higher up on her chest, and tightly squeezing her tender flesh. Tears leaked down her face, and she pulled the knife she kept in the side pocket of her bag out of it's sheath to slash at them. The sound of her pain and attempted murder of the goblins spurred the man into action. In less than a second, he was across the room, taking hold of the goblins two at a time and throwing them at the wall. The one groping her was torn away with a squeal, and Acacia curled in on herself nursing the cut on her chest that was now oozing blood and her free hand still held out in front of her.

"Are you alright, precious?" The man asked in a deep, velvety voice.

The woman froze at the sound. Slowly, she turned. Now, she could see him much better, and the sight did nothing to quell her fear. The man seemed larger than life, big hair that was longer in random places, and a particular shine to his aura that made her reel back. "Am I alright? Am I alright?!" She hissed, forcing herself to stand up. It was hard to do, between with the lingering jelly effects of the drug, the tingle at her back from the wall, and the forcefulness with which she had been handled. "You send your minions in here to scare me, while you just stand there and let them manhandle me, and you're asking me if I'm alright?!"

"Well, I'll admit, they were a bit overzealous, but-"

"A bit?! These little motherfuckers were holding me hard enough to leave bruises! That one, " she pointed her knife at the goblin in the helmet, "fucking tore up my chest." Without even really meaning to, she pulled down the collar of her shirt to show the bleeding scratches. The shiny man's eyes flitted from her face, to her chest, and seemed to harden. "So, no, I'm not alright, you fucking creep." He was surprised when she got up in his face with her words.

A smile broke across his face, exposing sharp teeth and making her gasp. "My apologies, my dear. It was not my intention for them to scare you. I only meant for them to help me in taking you away."

"Away?" She blinked. "What do you mean away? Where am I going? Who the hell even are you?!"

"Why, to the Goblin Kingdom. And I am Jareth, the Goblin King, of course." The way he said it, so nonchalantly, made her shiver.

Shaking her head, Acacia closed her eyes and started muttering to herself again. "It's not real. This isn't real."

"Very real, I'm afraid, dear." Her eyes shot open, gasping when she found him much closer than she remembered him being. Her automatic response was to press the blade against his gut, though it didn't seem to really phase him. "Come now, no need to be frightened. You asked for this, didn't you?"

"Did I?" Her eyebrows scrunched together. "I really need to stop smoking before bed." She told herself.

"This is no hallucination, my dear. Nor is it a dream."

"That's not possible. This has to be a dream. People don't just get attacked by goblins and then spirited away to some magical, mythical kingdom."

"Of course they do. Usually, though, no one remembers them afterwards. And those that do, everyone thinks they are insane. Now, precious," he held out a hand, "it's time to go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" She batted his hand away. "I didn't ask to be taken anywhere."

"Did you or did you not say the words 'I wish the goblins would come take me away'? I would not be here if you hadn't."

"No, I said that I almost wish they would. I've had a bad day, and I'm high. But, I am not going anywhere!" Breaking past him, she made her way into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Backing against the opposite wall, she realized that she still had her backpack, so she slipped her arms through the straps. Beyond the door, she could hear the goblins hooting and hollering. "How is no one hearing this?" She whispered to herself.

"Because, my dear," came the Jareth's voice, "I've magicked the room. No one is coming to look for you. Why, they've already forgotten you. Even that despicable human you called a partner. Now, how about we do this the easy way and you come out, hm? Come now, precious."

"GO AWAY!" She screamed through the door as she climbed into the bathtub, knife brandished out in front of her like a sword. "Go away! I don't want to go!" Pounding began rattling the wood, and she cowered into a ball.

"STOP!" Jareth voice startled her, and the sounds of fists on the door halted. "If she screams one more time, you shall all be bogged!" For some reason, the threat seemed to carry a heavy promise of following through. Maybe it was just the seriousness with which he spoke, or maybe it was the hush that fell over the horrid goblins out there. "My dear, sweet Acacia, you needn't fear. I shall not harm you. Please, come out."

How the fuck does he know my name? Acacia gulped, as her throat seemed to be dry as a bone. "You are not taking me anywhere."

"On the contrary," her eyes shot up as he materialized through the door, "I can. And I will. You see, what's said is said, and words have power. Therefore, I must take you. Now, now, there's no need to cry, love." Acacia flinched when his gloved knuckle grazed her cheek, wiping away a tear that had begun to fall. "Such a lovely girl such as yourself should not be sad. It is a crime for such beauty to weep. Look," before her eyes, he produced a crystal ball from the air. Juggling it over his fingers, he lowered it. "A normal crystal ball, much like the one you had once upon a time. But, turn it this way," She couldn't look away from the dancing globe. It was hypnotizing. "or that, and you can see anything your heart desires."

The crystal danced in her vision, the images within it sucking her in. Promises of riches beyond measure; of a home; of love. Such pretty things she saw in those abyssal depths. They drew her further and further away from herself until she had drifted far, far away from herself.

"Shh, sweet girl. Sleep now, and it will all be better soon." Jared grinned as he watched her eyelids droop, and her body relax down into the tub. The large knife she held clattered against the porcelain. "That's it, love." Gently, he passed a hand over her face to move a few locks of hair out of the way. It seemed as if she weighed no more than a feather (even with her pack on) when he reached down and very easily picked her up. "Off we go, you lot!" He yelled at the goblins, who immediately disappeared. Then, looking down at the sleeping woman in his arms, he muttered, "We must get everything ready."

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The first thing Acacia was aware of when consciousness began seeping back to her was the fact that she was laying down. And it was uncomfortable as all hell because she still had her backpack on, too. With a groan, she sat up, head spinning, and tried to swallow down the nausea that was trying to force it's way up her throat. Breathing shakily, it was a bit hard for her to make the world around her stop spinning and make sense of where she was. The ground under her was hard and dusty. Staring at the odd orangish sand, Acacia's mind couldn't quite wrap around the fact that she wasn't in her bed in the hotel room.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" A gasp escaped her as she spun on her ass to look behind her. The movement of going to her knees caused her head to swim and she swayed. "Yes, I thought so. Unfortunately, sleep spells do tend to have a lasting effect on humans. It should wear off soon enough, love."

"I-I'm not your 'love', asshole." She said, forcing herself to stand. Using a tree, she managed to stay upright and not vomit all over the place. Speaking of place, she gaze was drawn to the scenery around her. Everything had a strange light to it that made her already aching head pound. "Where the hell am I?"

"I think you know very well where you are, Acacia." One of his hands raised to point to the area behind her, and she followed his finger. Stretching on for miles as far as she could see, was the longest, most elaborate maze she had ever seen in her life. "That's right, precious."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"The same reason I bring anyone here, my dear." The Goblin King fixed her with his mismatched eyes, and understanding flooded through her.

"To run the labyrinth," she breathed.

"Very good. I must say, you catch on quicker than most."

Acacia swallowed past the lump in her throat, feeling like the air was being sucked from the area around her. "Why though? I didn't wish anyone away. There's no one waiting at the center for me to save."

"On the contrary, Acacia," the satin of his voice as he said her name was like honey. "You wished your own self away. It certainly was a surprise. I half expected you to wish away that lover of yours. Not that he was much of a lover, now was he, my dear? But, no, you called out and I have answered."

"You can't keep me here, Jareth."

He visibly shuddered when his name passed her lips. "Actually, I can." Producing a crystal from thin air, he swirled it around until it started to glow. Acacia's eyes followed the movement. Then, he threw it at her. The orb hit her in the chest and she was brought to her knees from excruciating pain that ripped through her body. Every muscle locked up, preventing her from even crying out. As suddenly as it came, the pain stopped, leaving her gasping face down in the dirt. "You have two options, Acacia. You can either run my labyrinth, and retrieve your soul from me at the center. Or...you can give in right now, and I will give it back to you. All you have to do is stay here. Forever."

"You sick motherfucker."

"Tut, tut, my dear. Such language."

"You can't do that!" She screamed at him, her face turning red as she tried to launch herself at him. But she couldn't move.

"And who is to say I can't?" Jareth smirked, juggling the now silvery-green orb over his fingers. "My, my, what a lovely soul you have."

"It's against the rules." Acacia growled.

The man's eyes turned to her once again, piercing. "There are no rules here, love."

"Yes, there are. I know all about fae magic and the power of the labyrinth. You can't just take a person unless someone has wished them away. Someone else. You also can't force someone to run for themselves. You have no power over me, Goblin King." The last words were spat out with a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

One of his odd, fae-marked eyebrows rose, a grin slowly splitting his face in two. Acacia's face fell, and she started internally panicking when she realized she still couldn't move. "Well, well. Aren't we a smart one." He knelt down on one knee in front of her, chuckling at her increasing sense of urgency. "Unfortunately for you, your information is a little out of date. By about a century or so if I had my guess. You see, there are many things that I may not have been able to do a few hundred years ago that now...well, I am much more powerful." Suddenly, his face turned dark, and his voice deepened into a much more threatening tone. "And by the by, you can only use that phrase when you've earned the right." Swirling to a stand, he pointed to a clock that was floating in mid-air. The clock hands read that it was three minutes past...thirteen o'clock? "Thirteen hours. That is all the time you have to solve my labyrinth. If you make it to my castle in the center past the goblin city, I will release you. If not, then you become my prisoner for the rest of eternity." As the last words past his lips, Jareth faded out, along with the clock. When he was gone, whatever spell he had cast on her let up and she was able to stand.

"Damn it!" She yelled into the void. "Motherfucker! Fuck you, Jareth! You can't keep me here!" The young woman staggered as bile assaulted her tongue. Bending over, Acacia heaved into the barren bush, one hand on the tree to keep her upright, and the other bundling her hair at the nape of her neck to keep it out of the mess. "Shit," a few retches and a shuddering dryheave later, she was able to wipe off her mouth and shiver in disgust. Her pack hit the ground and Acacia was rather grateful that the idiot hadn't thought to take it away. This was the bag she always kept around in case she had to get up and go and didn't have any time to pack her things. Reaching in, she easily found one of the water bottles she kept right on top of the other items. Her stomach churned a little when the water hit the empty pit, but luckily settled and didn't try to come back up. Equally, she was glad she had the foresight to add another knife, a set of clothes, and tennis shoes to the pile, as she was still wearing her pjs. It certainly wouldn't do to go traversing the labyrinth barefooted and in thin cloth that would probably rip at the slightest tug of a branch. So, she changed, not really bothered by the idea that Jareth could be watching her...or anyone else for that matter. She had long ago come to terms with changing around someone else. Once done, her pjs stowed away neatly, she slid her belt through the loops and added her knife to her hip where she could easily reach it.

"Alright. Asshole wants to play a game, then I'll play. But, he better be fucking ready for a royal ass kicking when I get there." Shouldering the bag and clipping the starp over her chest to keep it in place, she started down the hill to the outside wall. She knew that she would only find the door when she wasn't looking for it, so she elected to keep walking along the wall with her hand against it. The whole way, she went over all the things she knew about the labyrinth and it's not-so-benevolent king.

First off, nothing is ever as it seems. What looks like a dead end could turn into a door right to the castle the second you turn around. Second, most of the creatures are actually really nice and might help you find the way to get to the end. Third, if someone tells you not to go a certain way, you're on the right track, because the whole labyrinth is rigged to try to make you get lost and give up. And lastly, never ever tell the king that the labyrinth was easy, because Jareth is an asshole and will purposely make it a zillion times harder, including sending a giant death machine to try to kill you.

Yeah, so she had already pissed him off by rejecting his advances, and that was probably a really stupid idea. Especially given that he now had her soul in a crystal. But, seriously, the guy needed a lesson in what was and wasn't ok when trying to woo a lady. For example, stealing her soul (or sibling) and making her go through a fucking maze to get it back. Oh fucking well, too late now. Besides, how was she supposed to know that any and all references to the labyrinth and fairies were a hundred years too late. There was a lot of compelling stuff that seemed to be really recent. The freaking movie they did was only set 30 years in the past. Of course, she had to hand it to David Bowie, he had been blessed to look like a fae. There was also a person Acacia had found online in a chatroom for that sort of thing. The two had talked for weeks, swapping lore, when this person had told her a story about her brother being stolen away. Turned out there were lots of those same kinds of tales. Stories about older or younger siblings, and sometimes even friends, being wished away and then taken. Some of them had ended up in the nut house because they were so adamant about the reality of it that they had been deemed insane. Others kept quiet about it, only speaking to people online because they were less judgemental and often believed as well.

Lost in thought, Acacia hadn't been paying attention to where she was going until her foot collided with something laying in her path. The impact jarred her leg as she fell forward against the sand.

"OW! Watch it!"

"Fuck! Sorry," she groaned, pulling her feet off the person and rolling over. "Are you ok?"

"No, I'm not! I am the exact opposite of ok." Acacia stared at the new creature she had just tripped over. "Why don't you all just look where you're going when you come a'tramping along here?"

"Um, sorry. I just didn't see you." The person in front of her stood only about three feet tall, with a large head and hands that seemed too big for it's body, and a very wrinkly face that ended in a ridiculously long nose. "I'm Acacia."

"Hoggle." He said shortly.

"Right. Well, Hoggle, I'm very sorry to have run over you and interrupting your fairy extermination. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to keep on not seeing the door until my fingers hit it." With that she turned sharply on her heel and touched the wall again. "I need to get in." It was more to herself than to the dwarf behind her.

"Well, you're never gonna find it like that."

"Really? And why not?"

"Because," he toddled up next to her, then pointed around to where she had just come from. "It's right there."

"Of course it is," came the sigh. "Wonderful that we've already got the old 'turn around to face the way you just came' gag. Thank you very much, Your Majesty."

"Who are you talking to? Are you crazy or something?"

"No, but I might be if your fucking king doesn't stop being a dick." Acacia shook her head as she pushed open the large doors with a grunt. "Anyway, nice meeting you, Hoggle, but I've got to get going."

She took a moment to look down the left and right direction, the only halls to go through. "Well, which one ya gonna pick? Left or right?"

"Which way would you go, Hoggle?"

The dwarf chortled. "I wouldn't go either way. Whatever it is you're going after, you'd better just give up and go home. You ain't never gonna see the kid again." With that, he started going back out the doors.

"I can't. It's not a child that Jareth took from me. It was my soul." The words made him stop and slowly turn back to look at her. "Exactly. It doesn't matter if I give up. I'd get stuck here either way, and I can't stay here. I'm getting that crystal back, and nothing you do, no matter what the Goblin King orders you to do, I won't fall for it. Besides, I'd rather thought that Sarah had changed you for the better." Hoggle started at the sound of his old friend's name. "Apparently, you're still a coward. Goodbye." Without even giving him a chance to say anything, she swung the door shut. After thinking for a moment, Acacia dug a quarter out of her pocket and flipped it. "Heads go left, tails go right." She muttered as it flew. It dropped back into her palm and she quickly flipped it onto the back of her other hand. Heads. "Left it is."

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A/N: It started out slow, but then I put the burn to this chapter and finally cranked it out. Other chappies up on multiple stories soon, folks.

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AcaciaDawn105