"Move the stars, Jareth, move them for me." Her voice was soft; her breath on his ear burned more than the hands she touched him with. It was searing his heart, so sweetly. She was holding his head in her lap, across her beautiful lap, and she was leaning down to kiss his forehead and cheeks repetitively, slowly. This was the manifestations of his dreams come to life. This was what his eternity was supposed to be, him and his Sarah. Her scent poured over him in waves, almost touching him as softly as her lips did.

"I'll move them." He reached up to where the sky above was glittering violently with silver light. He felt her pull on him slightly to keep him from moving upward. He remained in his place, suspension never felt so sweet.

In the back of his mind there was a quiet nagging, as tedious and distracting as a goblin, but easily pushed away from his thoughts. He had Sarah to think of now, she was here and that was the only thing that mattered. He was making a fruitless pursuit in stealing her kiss, craning upward as far as he could and sticking his chin up, trying to show her what he wanted. But for every attempt he made, she pressed her small hand against his chest and pushed him back down. This was how they were to sit then, kisses were only for his face and never his mouth. If this was how it was to be for eternity, he was almost satisfied. Her scent was enough to leave him seizing, wheezing for his breath because she was all consuming in his lungs and in his body.

She was safe… She was not safe.

The lingering nag was rising again, but Sarah leaned down to kiss his nose, bending over his eyes to reach and the scent of her skin altogether smashed those worrisome thoughts. Fully engrossed now and reaching with gloveless hands to try and hold her for a kiss, Jareth let himself sink down into his own sweet oblivion.

Had he not been so sweetly deceived he may have seen how there was something very off about Sarah: her clothes were dark and wilted, her hair was too black and too straight, so it hung limp. Among these there was something wrong with her eyes, but too subtle for noticing. Sarah herself would even struggle in describing the difference, what indescribable malice that lay in the green depths was beyond recognition. Soullessness had no name or title, and this seemed to make it unrecognizable. Even Jareth was not aware of it.

Sarah tumbled to the ground in her haste to stop. She had just come across a corner and crashed into a great hanging beast. She dragged herself away in fear before looking back at the giant. Its ruddy flesh was hairless, the skin sagging in many heavy folds. His face was wide, with great fangs bursting out of his wide jaw, and black horns sticking out from his skull in wild, thick coils. He stretched his long arms out towards her and cried out. He was suspended at his massive ankles by a thick rope. It was tied to a great hook hanging up over the hedges of thorns.

"Sa-wah!"

On her knees she straightened up, her heart beating hard in her chest as she began to recognize the beast.

"Oh god… Ludo?"

He made a terrible gurgling sound and continued to reach for her in vain. His wide eyes were so black and wet with tears that tears sprang up in her own eyes.

"Fwiend!" He moaned.

"I'll get you down!" She called and began looking through the dark to find some way to release him. But the hook was too high for her to reach on her own.

"Ludo, can you call rocks to help me? I need to reach the hook!"

The hairless Ludo began to holler for them, and soon a great rumble under her feet assured her they were coming.

She stilled suddenly when no rocks came through the maze to reach them… Instead an army of goblins appeared, spears glinting in the dim light, blood red eyes glowing viciously. Sarah threw herself in from of Ludo to keep him safe from the sudden deluge of monstrosities, but she was grasped suddenly around the neck by his massive clawed hand. His thick nails sharpened and dug into her skin and she was lifted up. His other hand grasped her around her waist and pinned her against his hanging body, a perfect angle for the spears to pierce her. The crowd of ugly goblins chanted and squealed in delight at the sacrifice. She realized when the first spear prodded her leg that she had been drawn into a trap.

Gasping, she bucked against the monster Ludo and tore wildly at his hands. She drew blood from his skin, chewed holes into his massive fingers and kicked violently at the spears of the goblins at her feet. Her shoes were torn from her feet and a quick terrible jab to her heel made Sarah scream. The sound startled the creature that held her and she took advantage of the pause. Biting down hard against his massive finger she found herself falling free.

A goblin's spear tore across the flesh of her cheek, but that was the only injury she attained on the fall. She sprinted through the crowd of goblins, pushing and dragging her way through their mass, thankful that, though they were vicious, they were still smaller than her.

She dove into the labyrinth again and ran, barefoot and bleeding, across the dark stone path. Her injured foot was in agony and her cheek was wet with blood, but her terror was stronger than her pain and she ran on through the darkness.

Linda had fallen. She was in the kitchen pouring a glass of water. It was somewhere close to four in the morning and Jeremy was sleeping. She had left him in the bed; he had only fallen asleep a few hours ago and needed the rest. Throat dry, she had snuck to the kitchen quietly, where she now stood beside the running faucet, hands clenched against the edge of the sink and sweaty hair hanging over her face.

She had been standing there for only a few seconds when she cried out as a sharp pain overwhelmed the heel of her foot. Crashing to the floor she heard Jeremy cry out in surprise at the sound and he came running from the bedroom to find her.

She was clutching her foot in her hand, crying and a cut on her cheek was bleeding.

Jeremy helplessly tried to take her up in his arms. There was little he could do for her now. It was then that he finally decided what he had been hoping he would not have to do. After dressing her injuries and putting her back in bed, Jeremy flipped open his address book to find his doctor's phone number.

Sarah finally slowed when the only sounds she could hear was her own heart and frantic breathing. Dizzy with fear she slumped against the stone wall and tried to slow her breathing. She clutched her bleeding heel and began to cry a little in spite of herself. Around her a silence had fallen, so she was alone with her own thoughts and frantic breathing. The air was cold and damp, but as she bled she began to feel warm and sleepy.

Tearing some of her shirt sleeve, which proved to be excessively difficult, she tied her foot up over the deep, bloody wound. The cut on her cheek she left alone, for it had already dried and was starting to grow hard with scabbing.

How long had it been? Maybe an hour, or possibly two, but it could not have been much longer. She clambered awkwardly to her feet and began the terrible walk that would be hers from now on. The bottom of her foot sang with every step, a terrible song of hot, tingling pain, while the rest of her body shook softly in response.

She paused in her limping across the path when she heard a gentle snap. It was too dark to see far ahead but she squinted wildly, her hands outstretched and ready to fight.

"Who's there?" She said.

"Me."

Her heart hoped for Hoggle, but the soft voice was not gruff enough. What first appeared from the shadow was a face, quasi-familiar, but deeply wrong. It was too pale to be the sun-browned Goblin King and too dark in the eyes and the hair. Head covered in feathers of the blackest shade, the man moved like a bird, swift and violet movements. So when he tilted his head to observe her, she could almost not detect the movement.

"Jarah."

"How are you enjoying my labyrinth?" It was as though the shadows melted off of his black feathers like a blanket being pulled away as he moved towards her. She winced at his eyes, so black, but milky white pupils that went on for years sat in their centers. He was dressed sparsely, in a strange kind of misty material that moved over his body like it was a living creature. Amid his crazily feathered hair, Sarah could see pieces of small bones tied into the black locks, small beads and strange glittering trinkets. Sarah could see that among the tiny sticks of bone and glinting silvery beads there was a small doll tied around the next near the bottom of his hair. She could see its sad face, button eyes torn away so only their shadows remained on the fabric, peeking out from under his left ear. Her mouth was a stitched line of dull red thread, a semi-circle with edges turned up.

"I thought this was Jareth's Labyrinth." Sarah could not stop staring at that doll, but it was better than his terrible eyes.

He moved a jerking step closer to her.

"The moment you leapt down the stairs you left Jareth's world, my dear." Jarah smiled, and she could see his fanged teeth were sharper than Jareth's. "You are in my world now, very different than my brother's Underground."

"Where are we?" She asked. She crossed her hands over her chest to hold herself, for Jarah had brought with him a terrible chill that was sinking closer and closer to her.

"We are in my land."

"That's very specific." She grumbled and tried to move back from his approach.

"I see you have hurt yourself." He bent slightly to observe her foot, which had left a little smear of blood on the dark stones below.

Sarah was about to protest with him, and blame one of his rotten goblins, when she thought better of herself and simply nodded.

"Might I tend to it, then?" The tone in which he asked was so gentle that Sarah almost immediately said yes, but her affirmation came later, because a flicker of some kind of malice gleamed in his odd eyes and made her hesitate. But she was bleeding, so she nodded again and followed his gesture to sit down.

"I take it my brother was not so kind when you ran his little maze. Is there not a fairy bite on your finger?" He spoke slowly, as though he was not used to the tempo. She could imagine that when he talked naturally it was at a much swifter speed and perhaps a much more difficult tongue.

As if to force her to acknowledge it, the scar on her finger tingled at the mention of it. It was a small thing, a little circle made from pointed dots, where the pretty fairy fangs had chomped down on her skin.

"Jareth does not take care of his guest, but I do." Jarah took Sarah's bandaged foot in his hands and lifted it up. He tenderly peeled away the shirt scrap and eyed the injury seriously. He leaned down very low and quickly, before she could protest, his tongue lashed out and licked the wound. He smiled at her, tongue hanging out of his mouth and red with her blood.

She whimpered in surprise and pain, but the pain was only temporary. It was terrible for a second, stinging viciously, when all at once it stopped and her foot felt cool. He let go of her foot and she dew it towards herself. It was totally healed. She prodded the fresh skin in wonder and looked up at Jarah in slight awe.

"Thank you." She said.

He smiled at her, a similar grin of Jareth's, very crooked and odd, as though he was smiling at an ignorant child. His feathered hair rippled and the flood of movement rushed through his strange scarred limbs.

"Shall I leave you to continue your adventures?" He asked serenely, leaning back against the opposite wall from hers.

"How much time do I have left?" She asked tentatively.

His smile grew wider and he was swallowed into the shadows again, like a fog being swept away by the wind. He was gone, and Sarah was alone again.

Please review! I appreciate all constructive criticism.