Fandom [You Have No Power Over Me] [Labyrinth]

[apolla]

Rain.

Arianna Jamison made a face as she stared out of her apartment window, watching the storm rolling in. The thunder was still off in the distance, but it was still on it's way, which meant she had to leave pretty quickly if she wanted to get to Adam's before it. Heaving a sigh, she pushed off the window and turned around, her baby blue eyes scanning her semi empty apartment. Sure, she had trinkets and odds and ends in it, but it still didn't quite feel homey. Maybe that was her fault.

The twenty year old had lived in this place for about a year and a half now, and though she struggled sometimes, it was worth it. She'd left home at eighteen, leaving behind her alcoholic father and his countless drug addicted girlfriends. Ever since her mom died when Ari was about seven, things had changed for the worse and never gotten better. Her father hadn't been able to deal with the love of his life's death, and he'd spiraled into a depression that led him to drink.

Though he'd never hit her or anything, there had been a lot of screaming fights that led to the cops being called, especially throughout her later teenage years. Sometimes his girlfriends took better care of her than he did-- how else would she have learned what it meant to be a woman? But they were always concerned with the alcohol or the drugs. Growing up around that life, she knew she wanted nothing to do with it. She'd graduated at seventeen, turned eighteen that summer, and left on her birthday.

She'd been here ever since. Picking up and leaving was extremely hard, but she made it through. She got a job as a waitress and eventually gotten a second job as a data entry clerk, which helped out with her rent a lot. Working two jobs was still necessary and hard, but she found time to have a small social life. She only had a few friends, but that was all she needed. Friends that helped her not to go insane.

Hearing another thunder clap rolling in the distance, she grabbed her two button black jacket and slipped it on, sliding her feet into her black heels as she did so. After adjusting those, she grabbed her purse and keys and left the apartment, locking it behind her. She ran to her car, knowing the rain would be much worse once she got to Adam's. Turning the key in the ignition, she shifted into reverse and backed out of the spot, and then was off.

She reached his house in about twenty minutes time, parked and ran through the rain again to get to his front door. She knocked three times before he answered, a slack-jawed grin on his face as he stepped aside to let her in.

"It's getting bad out there, huh?" He asked, staring at the storm for a moment before shutting the door.

"No, not at all." Arianna shot back, removing her jacket and draping it over a chair to dry. "Just us?"

"For now." He shrugged, moving past her into the kitchen. "I made snacks."

"You mean you bought chips?"

"Pretty much." He grinned at her, throwing a bad of ruffles at her. She caught it and threw it back, looking to the living room where he'd been playing Call of Duty.

"Do you play anything else?" She asked, going to sit on the couch and picking up the controller, unpausing the game to finish the round.

Spoiler: Outfit

 

[-Q-]

Thunder growled ominously as lightning flickered across the sky, arching through the dark tremulous clouds like flashes of silvery scars being raked by sharpened nails through the blackened heavens.

Rain fell from those skies as though a large cold shower had been put onto its highest setting and left to drench the city below with its stream.

Jenny was running late, as usual. She rolled her eyes at herself as she stumbled slightly; cursing her ridiculous choice in footwear as a heel caught in something and she nearly fell flat on her face. She pulled the shoe off frustrated with it and its inability to stay whole – she’d broken the heel.

She must have looked one hell of a sight, fumbling clumsily with one shoe off and the other in her hand, a newspaper held over her head with the other hand as she tried to navigate her way to Adam’s apartment.

Her make-up was ruined and the damned newspaper certainly hadn’t helped to keep her auburn hair dry! This was what she got for heading out straight after work! Saying that though, she had found something special for Ari, and she couldn’t wait to give her it.

She’d found it in a local bookshop and the little leather bound book with its yellowing pages and hand-drawn pictures looked right up Ari’s ally.

Jenny huffed up the stairs to the main door of the apartment complex and shouldered her way in with difficulty.

She knocked on Adam’s door, knowing that the longer she stood out here, the larger the growing puddle on the floor at her now mismatched feet.

When Adam opened the door, she rolled her eyes, pushing past him to get inside. “Broken heel AGAIN.” She huffed. “That is the last time I buy from that shop!” It wouldn’t be. She kept going back there because in her words ‘it’s cheap, and they’re so pretty’.

~

Jareth was bored. He was beyond bored. His kingdom simply hadn’t been the same since Sarah. He found that he actively missed the little brat and her brother. He had so wanted to keep them both. It had been a shame when she defeated his Labyrinth, despite all his tampering with the rules and fairness of it all.

He sighed as he looked out of the window; gazing onto his kingdom. All he needed was some entertainment. A sinister smile. One day, he hoped, someone else would be stupid enough to read those words from his book. To end up lost in his little game. One day, he would have the chance to redeem himself and take more than he had before. He could change the rules.

And maybe, in the end, he could have some company that wasn’t a slithering, grotty goblin.

 

[apolla]

"No, not really." Adam thought about it for a moment, then shrugged, dumping an entire bag of chips into a party bowl he'd found. He rummaged through the cabinets and found another large bowl, setting it on the counter and going to stand by the microwave. It beeped after a second, and he pulled out the bag of popcorn that had been popping. "Ow! Sonofabitch!" He nearly dropped the bag, but managed to get it open and toss it into the bowl. He waited a beat, then picked the bag up by a corner and dumped the rest of the popcorn in, then tossed the empty bag aside.

Just as he was about to head into the living room, there was a knock at the door. "Ooh, pizza." He said excitedly, heading for the door and pulling it open. The disappointment on his face was obvious. "Oh, you're not pizza."

Arianna turned around as she heard Jenny's voice, grinning even before she saw the state her friend was in. "Jesus, you look like you survived a monsoon." She paused the game and set the controller aside. Adam was quick to scoop it up and plop in his favorite chair to play. Arianna rolled her eyes and gave her wet friend a hug anyway.

"You really should learn to not buy from that shitty store." Arianna took the broken heel from her friends hands, examining it. "Looks like you could glue it back on, but is it really worth it?" She set the broken shoe on the ledge between the living room and the kitchen. "Other than being soaked, with one good shoe, how are you?"

 

[-Q-]

"Since when were we having pizza Adam?" Jenny smiled, rolling her eyes. "I'm pretty sure we all agreed on Chinese." She complained, but it was lighthearted.
Who didn't like pizza?

Ari pulled her into an embrace and she returned it in kind before pulling away, dumping her soaked newspaper of a temporary umbrella AND her done for heels in the little trash can Adam kept in the living room.
"Nope. Absolutely wrecked." She sighed. "No salvaging them." She admitted, mourning the loss of them already.

"You could at least have gotten me a towel jackass!" She glared at Adam. The three of them had been best friends in about forever.

Forever is a very long time.

"Oh!" Her eyes brightened as she reached into her handbag, rummaging through empty packets and other junk. "I found you something Ari. You're gonna love it!"

She found her prize and dumped her bag on the floor, offering Ari the book with a look of glee. "It's that story we read about online! Can you believe It? I finally found a copy. Actually, it might be THE copy." A wiggle of her well peered eyebrows.

 

[apolla]

"Chinese, pizza, who cares. It's all delicious." Adam patted his belly, though a pout appeared on his face as she yelled at him about a towel. Mumbling something under his breath, he disappeared down the hall and came back a minute later with a blue fluffy towel. He tossed it at the girl without looking to see if she caught it, heading to the kitchen to grab the chips and popcorn. He came back into the living room and set them on the table. He caught sight of the book Jenny gave Ari, lifting his eyebrow. "What book is this?"

Arianna gasped in surprise as Jenny pulled the book out of her bag and handed it over. Immediately, the blonde girl started flipping through the pages, loving the look and smell of the pages. "Oh my god." She exclaimed, sitting back down on the couch, almost missing what Adam said. "Hmm? Oh. It's this book we were reading about. It's a love story, minus the happy ending." She paused on one of the pages, drawing her finger down until she found a part she liked.

Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great...

Looking up from the passage, her eyes twinkling with excitement, she looked at Jenny. "I can't believe you found it! I bet you nearly have a heart attack when you did. I can't wait to read it from front to back!" She shut the book and drew her fingertip across the front of the binding. "It's beautiful."

"It's a fucking book." Adam rolled his eyes as he popped some popcorn into his mouth. "What's so great about it?"

 

[-Q-]

Jenny caught the towel with something of an "ooft" as it hit her.
She ruffled it, immediately bringing it to her auburn locks.
She was well aware that she looked like a drowned rat. Rain did absolutely nothing for her looks. Or so she believed.

Ari was suitably excited. Just the reaction that Jenny had hoped for. A wide smile spread across her lips. "I know!" She was just as excited. "I can't believe it either. I'd more or less given up on believing it was real." She giggled.

Adam didn't seem that impressed. She scoffed. "What do you know Adam. This book is special. There's this story..."
She threw her damp towel at him playfully.
"That some girl read this book and ended up having to deal with the Goblin King himself!"

She plopped down next to Adam. "I don't think I'd mind meeting him too much. He sounds quite sexy... even if he is a little bit..." She turned to look at Ari. "Is evil too strong a word?"

"It's only forever
Not long at all
Lost and lonely
No one can blame you
For walking away
Too much rejection
No love injection
Life can be easy
It's not always swell
Don't tell me truth hurts, little girl
'Cause it hurts like hell"

 

[apolla]

Arianna thought for a moment, studying the front cover still. It was simple yet elegant with a black design around the border, and the words 'The Labyrinth' engraved on the front in gold lettering. She moved her finger over the letters, a small smile gracing her lips. "I think evil is too strong of a word." She finally said, glancing over at Jenny. "I would say... misunderstood. I mean, he's got a kingdom to run. He can't be the nicest guy around; he's got to be able to rule. But..." She trailed off, looking back down at the book in her hands.

"He loved her." She looked up again, thinking of the story she and Jenny had read online. They were both suckers for romances, and they loved this story even if it didn't end happily for the couple. "She left him. But... did she have much of a choice? She had to save her brother." Sighing dreamily, she turned her attention to Adam, who was making gagging motions with his fingers. Rolling her eyes, her daydreaming broken, she threw a pillow at him, which he easily deflected.

Pushing himself to his feet, Adam came over and snatched the book from her hands, earning a 'be careful!' from Arianna. He flipped through the pages, landing on somewhere near the beginning.

"Through dangers untold and hardships blah blah blah..." He flipped some more, stopping again after a moment. He read silently for a moment, one eyebrow lifting as he read. "So she wished her brother away by just saying I wish the goblins would come and-"

"Shut up!" Arianna stood, snatching the book back from him. "Jeez, you don't just say stuff like that. That's like saying bloody mary three times while looking into a mirror. You just don't do it."

 

[-Q-]

"Shhhhh."
"What was that?"
"Someone was saying the words..."
"Shhh. They might hear us."
"Go on then... say the words."
"Finish them... go on...."

~~


Jenny sighed. The book and it's contents had been something of a romantasised work of fiction up until this very moment.

She remembered, a long time ago, when she and Ari were much younger, stumbling onto the story. Oh how they had dreamed of visiting the world that they knew so little of. The information on the website had been vague at best, so she could hardly believe it when she found a copy of the book.

Adam spoke the words. "No!" She protested, punching his bicep with as little real force as is used in instances of 'punishing' friends for their misdeeds.

"Jesus Adam, you've seen those horror movies. We don't even know if that story about Sarah was true. Don't say something like that unless you mean it!"

Of course, there was a part of Jenny that didn't believe for a second that one could simply 'wish' a friend away, but that didn't mean she wanted to tempt fate.

 

[apolla]

Adam held up his hands in mock defeat, stepping away from the two girls with wide eyes. "It's just a book. And I don't know who the hell Sarah is, so I can tell you that probably isn't real, either." He rolled his eyes and turned to grab a handful of chips from the bowl. Turning back to his two friends, he grinned big, and moved to put an arm around Jenny. "So, did we ever decide? Pizza or Chinese?"

Arianna rolled her eyes. That was Adam. He had one thing on his mind at all times, and it was usually food. "How are you not three hundred pounds again?" She set the book down on the table beside the couch and crossed her arms. "I vote Chinese."

"Seems like I'm outnumbered." Adam flashed a grin at Arianna, reaching for his cell phone. "And I'm not three hundred pounds because I was blessed with an amazing metabolism."

"Asshole." Arianna muttered, plopping back on the couch.

The night went on without much more excitement. Adam played video games, and she and Jenny chit chatted about whatever came to mind. They just hung out, like they always did. It never got old.

A couple hours passed, and eventually Adam grew tired of Call of Duty. He set the controller down, fat and happy, and caught sight of the book on the table. He leaned over and picked it up, flipping through the pages again. "So this shit's real?" He asked, mostly out of boredom. "I don't buy it."

 

[-Q-]

Of course Adam was totally and utterly oblivious to knowledge of the book, it's contents and the story; the myth behind it.

To Jenny, it had never made much sense to her anyway. Jareth had loved Sarah. She had never been sure if that love had been reciprocated by Sarah; who had seemed more interested in making friends.
But if Sarah had loved Jareth, why hadn't she wished herself away to be with him? Or returned to the Labyrinth some other way.

He must have been broken hearted!

The night went by as though the book hadn't even been mentioned for a good few hours. Chinese food was eaten, she and Ari had chatted while Adam was consumed by Call of Duty (again).

Adam just HAD to bring things back around to her present.
"Call of Duty isn't real either Adam, but I know you've looked into going LARPING with airsoft rifles!" She teased with a smile. "Can't you just let us have our little fantasy?"

 

[apolla]

Adam pursed his lips, thinking for a moment. "I wouldn't call it LARPING." He complained, holding the book with one hand while running a hand through his hair with his other. "And I do go airsofting, thank you. But no. It's not... What did you just say? God, forget it. It's totally different. People actually go to war and shoot guns, you know, but no way in hell did some girl meet a fantasy goblin king-- who probably wasn't that hot to begin with-- and turn him down to save her baby brother."

"You suck, Adam." Arianna stood up, knowing he was playing with them, but feeling a trace of irritation anyway. "We're girls. We like sappy love stories like that. So shut up." She reached for the book but he moved out of her range, looking back down at the red binding.

"But come on. Aren't real love stories better?" Adam didn't want to let it go. "Like you could have a real guy out there who likes you, but instead, you'd rather stick your nose into garbage like this." He lifted the book and shook it as if proving a point. "It's not real! Like if I looked at you, Ari, and said-" Here he paused, going back to the book for reference. "I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now, do you think they actually would?"

He'd said it before either girl could stop them. Arianna had crossed her arms, and was glaring at Adam. "That's not the point!"

 

[-Q-]

There was something of a cold, cruel and yet playful smile.
A chuckle that could be heard as the lights flickered in Adam's apartment.

"Well well, what do we have here?"
Sat in the window sill was a strangely clothed man. He stood.

Eyes; one blue iris, one brown, flickered over each of the gathered friends.
He stalked towards the one with the book, taking it from Adam with somewhat relative ease.

"I see you found my book." He moved gracefully, languidly, slipping behind Ari, long fingers brushing a lock of her hair. "I suppose, having read my book; you are aware of the rules..."

Jareth didn't care if they did. He did love a good entrance and the atmospheric weather outside was certainly pleasing.
His hand clasped one of Ari's shoulders. "You, are coming with me Ari." He glanced at Adam.
"Tut tut tut Adam. You should have listened to your friends."

 

[apolla]

Adam was about to come back at Ari with something else when the lights began to flicker. A chuckle could be heard throughout the apartment, sounding as if it were coming from literally all around them. Arianna froze, any good demeanor she had gone. Her first thought was a robber, or a murderer or something. But how would they have gotten in without them knowing? They were right by the front door all night, after all...

"Well well, what do we have here?"

All eyes turned towards the newcomer, each with disbelief. He stood and walked towards them, plucking the book out of Adam's hands with ease. Slipping behind Arianna, she felt him move some of her hair off her shoulder, and a shiver rocked through her body, nearly making her knees collapse. I suppose you are aware of the rules...

Ari looked at Jenny for help just as the stranger placed a hand on her shoulder. "He didn't mean it." She spoke quickly, turning around to face the man who was easily a full head taller than her. He was breathtaking, better looking than she could have ever imagined. With her own imagination, it wasn't hard to accept that he was really there. What was hard to accept was the fact that he wanted her to go with him. Because of Adam's stupid ass.

Though she wanted to strike him down with the meanest of glares, her own slight fear kept her from looking at him. "He didn't mean it." She repeated, a bit softer. "He didn't know it was... you were..." She trailed off, trying and failing to find the words.

 

[-Q-]

Sharp blonde eyebrows rose, almost meeting strands of equally shock blonde hair.
They dared to try to argue with him.

Jenny couldn't believe her eyes. "Adam, you dick..." her eyes were wide, she couldn't stop staring at the Goblin King, stood possessively behind Arianna.

A long pale hand closed over her friend's shoulder. "You can't take her." She argued. "He was just being obtuse."

A smile spread over Jareth's lips. It was somewhat cold.
"13 hours." He breathed.
Air had turned to look at him and he felt compelled to place a hand on her cheek, his heterochromiatic eyes pinning hers. The contact was brief, he moved away, out of her reach with a quick side step, as though dismissing her after feigning interest.
"If in 13 hours you two can defeat my Labyrinth, you can have your friend back."
He looked between the two of them.
"Find my castle, speak the words and all of this will simply be a bad dream."

An owl could be heard hooting close by and it drew Jareth's attention. "Yes, I know." He mumbled. "No time to lose."

He moved back over to Arianna, hand back on her shoulder, the two of them vanished from the apartment.

His castle was far different to her modern apartment.
Her friends would find themselves on the outskirts of the maze.

 

[apolla]

Arianna felt Jenny's hand on her shoulder and felt instant comfort. There was no way her friends would let this man take her away. And he would understand... right? It was a joke; a stupid, idiotic joke. But her heart slowly sank as she studied the look on the newcomers face; he wasn't taking this as a joke. Not one bit. His eyes met hers, and her breathing hitched. She couldn't look away, not even as Adam spoke up from behind her.

"Get out of my home." He had stepped up behind Arianna as well. "We're not doing shit for you. Don't you touch her!" Before he could reach out to hit the King, Jareth had simply dropped his hand from Ari's cheek and stepped away. Arianna reached up to touch her cheek where he'd laid his hand, and though she wanted to move closer to Jenny and Adam, her feet were frozen to the ground.

She should have moved. She should have ran. Because he moved back and placed his hand on her shoulder, and then all she saw was darkness.

Adam stared at the spot where Arianna had been a moment before, then looked at Jenny. He realized, though, as he looked at her that his apartment wasn't the backdrop anymore. "What the fuck?" He looked up, all around, trying to figure out where the fuck they were. They were outside, and the air was dry, feeling much like a desert. He nearly coughed."What is this?"

---

The darkness didn't last long. When Arianna opened her eyes, she knew she definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore. Or Florida, wherever. Looking around the room, her eyes landed on the stranger again. She couldn't stop the gasp. "Where... where are we?"

 

[-Q-]

Her friends had been annoying him with their futile attempts to derail his fun and games. He'd dumped them in the grounds outside the Labyrinth, much like he had done before and probably would do so again.

When they arrived at his castle, he took his hand from her shoulder.

Scuttle, scuttle, scuttle

"Out!"

"Yes your majesty."

He sighed, stalking towards a coat rack that looked as though it was higgledy-piggledy. He took off his jacket with a smooth sweep of cloth and hung it on the rack; which grabbed the material with its wooden fingers.

"You are in my palace, in the centre of the Goblin City." He indicated to the open space which served as a window overlooking his vast kingdom of filth and muck.

"Beyond the Labyrinth." A small smile. "If I were you Arianna, I would get comfortable. There are 13 hours between you and your friends." The way he spoke her name sounded like liquid silk.

His eyes grazed over her, as though taking her in for the first time.

She was the first human adult he'd had here in somewhere around a century and she looked out of place among the squalor he called a kingdom.

~

Jenny coughed, the dry atmosphere clogging in her throat. "You are in so much trouble when we get back Adam!" She told him furiously.

She raised her arms, pointing to the large imposing walls on their left. "Wanna know where we are? We're outside the damn Labyrinth. The goblin king has our friend, we have 13 hours to solve the maze and find her, or he gets to keep her forever!"

She felt like crying, but there wasn't time. She put on a brave face and started walking, trying to find the large gated entrance to the Labyrinth.

 

[apolla]

Hearing Jenny coughing, Adam looked over at his friend and reached out to pat her on the back. He was trying to help, but after all the helping he'd done so far, she probably wouldn't want it. Wincing at the anger in her voice, he concluded that she surely did not want his help, and he withdrew his hand. Following her gaze as she pointed to the large wall, he found himself looking around, trying to find some sort of door. He even walked a little this way, and a little that, but there was no door.

"He can't keep her. That's kidnapping." He spoke over his shoulder to Jenny, though he wasn't as sure as he sounded. Turning around, he saw that she was walking in the other direction, and he jogged to catch up to her. "I'm right, right? He can't actually keep her?" He paused. "And where is the fucking door to this place?"

---

The King of the Goblins turned away from her, practically gliding over to a coat rack. He removed his coat and hung it up, gesturing to the large expanse that served as a window. She took a few cautious steps towards it, and then a few more, until she was standing in front of it and could rest her hands on the ledge that came up from the floor. The city below was loud and terrifying, but the maze beyond was even more so. She couldn't see the edges at all.

He spoke her name and she felt a shiver course through her body again, this one not quite as strong as the one from when he'd touched her hair earlier. She looked over her shoulder, some of her blonde hair falling in front of her eyes. She reached up to move it, looking back at the maze, not wanting to explore the feeling she got when he gazed at her. "What am I supposed to do for thirteen hours while they solve your puzzle? Because they will, you know."

 

[-Q-]

Jenny's pretty face appeared to fall, as though she was defeated already. "You dont understand Adam. Rules... they don't work here like they do in our world. Up is down, left is right and forwards and backwards are relative concepts. Just... whatever happens, we can't split up." She almost pleaded with him, big green eyes boring a hole into him.

She finally turned her gaze away. "Abduction, by the way. It's only kidnapping if the subject it under 18." And that was partially what frightened her. The rules didn't apply here, shed said so herself; and she wouldn't put it past Jareth to play dirty.

She saw it then... the entrance way. "Come on Adam, keep up!" The bare soles of her feet raced across the ground, feeling the change from dust to brick.

~

Jareth shrugged. It was over the top and languid. "Feel free to explore the castle... if you dare." A challenging look flashed across his features for a moment.
He had some work to do. As bored as he had been, the mapped out deadlines sprawled across his table wouldn t read themselves.

The cold reality of the situation was that his kingdom was under threat; a war brewing that he had been trying to deflect for a long time now.

Long limbs carried him over to the table and he took a seat in an over elaborate chair, reaching for his quill.
He both wanted, and didn't want to host the female human.

Her beauty was compelling, as was her scent; refreshing, young.
But he had been spurned before.
Sarah had been so close to being his, but she had shot him down in a heartbeat.

 

[apolla]

Abduction. The word sent a cold chill down Adam's spine and made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, but he didn't want to show weakness in front of Jenny. He'd seen the way her face fell, and not only did he never want to see that expression again, but he wanted to be the one to save the day. After all, this was his fault. He was the one who had made the stupid wish in the first place.

"We won't split up. I promise." He smiled down at her, and was about to say something more when she noticed the door a ways ahead. She was already a few yards ahead, but his legs were longer so he reached her easily. The door came into view, and he stopped in front of it, studying the thing for a moment. "Do we just push it?" He glanced at her, then looked back at the heavy set of doors.

Deciding to find out, he stepped forward and shoved one of them. To his surprise, the doors gave way easily. They were in. "See? That wasn't so bad." He stepped inside and looked left, and then right, and then left again. "This isn't a fucking maze. Do you see a way into the actual... I don't know, maze-y part?"

---

Arianna's lips parted as though she were going to speak, but she shut them as if she thought better of it. Her gaze drifted to what appeared to be the doorway of the room, but the thought about going into a unknown castle unnerved her. Although... it could be a way to find a way out, and back to Adam and Jenny. Who said she had to play fair?

Hearing footsteps behind her, she jumped slightly and turned around, but he was only heading for a chair. She watched him for a moment longer, her eyes glancing at the doorway again. Unsure of what to do and feeling a tad bit awkward, she turned away from him to study the maze below them again.

She studied it for a long moment. "It's huge." She breathed. How were her friends supposed to solve the labyrinth in only 13 hours? No, she had to go to them.

Decision made, she turned back around, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. Not wanting to explore why she was anxious, and deciding it was because she was going to deceive him, she gestured towards the doorway. "I can go... anywhere?"

 

[-Q-]

Adam managed to catch up with Jenny with a few easy, long legged strides. She peered up at him as he asked how they got inside.

It had more or less been obvious to Jenny that yes, they should try to push the god damned door. She wasn’t about to answer something that both sounded rhetorical, and had such a bleeding obvious response.

When the two friends stepped into the maze though, Jenny’s eyes went wide. Adam questioned how they got into the main part of the maze and she sighed. “Adam… this is the entrance to the maze, we’re in it.” The place was huge, much larger than anything Jenny could have ever imagined it looking like.

She grabbed for Adam’s hand. “Don’t leave me.” She was admittedly frightened, worried for Ari. Who knew what that King was up to, what he might be doing to their friend?

“Adam… we have to solve this… we can’t let him keep her.”

~


“There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel
Open and closed within your eyes
I'll place the sky in your eyes”

Jareth could hear the tone in her voice change. The feathery quill stopped in its tracks, appearing as though he had stopped scrawling mid sentence.

With something akin to impatience, the Goblin King dropped the quill back into it’s pot, and pushed himself to his feet. The chair scraped against the hard cold floor of the expansive room.

“No.” He replied, evidently having changed his mind about her exploring.

He moved towards her, evaluating her with his eyes, a smile on his lips as he did so. She was going to be a challenge, and Jareth liked a challenge.

“You may only leave the castle with your friends, or with me.” He told her.

A quick rotation of his hand in the air, and a crystal ball appeared, floating above his palm. “But let me ask you this Arriana… do you really want to leave?” A calculating look in his eyes.

There was absolutely no reason for him to play fair. “I can offer you anything in the world Ari. I can make your dreams come true.” It was seductive, the way he spoke as his hands moved to turn the crystal this way and that in the air.

“Why is it that you want to get back to a job, you probably don’t like, and a world without love?”

 

[apolla]

Adam glanced around again, wondering if he'd missed something. "This isn't a fucking maze; it's a straight line. Both ways, there's no entrances that I see. What the fuck kind of maze is this?" He was about to walk to his left when he felt Jenny's small hand in his larger one. A little surprised, he looked down first before looking at her.

His expression softened, and he pulled her into a hug. "There's two of us, and one of him. Two heads are smarter than one, right?" Still holding her close, he stared at the expanse beyond her and sighed. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere." Pulling back yet still holding her shoulders, he met her gaze. "Let's solve this shit."

---

He stopped writing, and for a moment, it was quiet enough to hear a pen drop in the room. Quill? What was the damned expression anyway? It didn't matter, nor did she have long to think about it before he stood and marched towards her. His eyes were on her, cold calculation hidden behind them.

"What? That's not fair!" Her own eyes narrowed as he approached, her hands even finding their way to her hips. "You said I could go... explore." She added the last word as an afterthought, gesturing towards the door again.

He conjured a crystal from thin air, and immediately her eyes were drawn to it. Her gaze followed the crystal as he moved it all around, hypnotizing her. His voice was pure silk in her ears, wrapping around her and caressing her in places she'd never felt touched before. She shivered for the third time, her breathing a touch ragged.

Her thoughts drifted unintentionally towards her life back home. Jenny and Adam were the best things that ever happened to her, but working two jobs sucked. She barely had time for them anymore. Her apartment was small and shabby at best, which is why they never hung out there.

"I could stay..." She whispered, her eyes wide and unseeing as thoughts of her home life played in her mind.

 

[-Q-]

Jenny was absolutely certain that what they were gazing at was not just a simple straight line.
She had to concentrate, but the entire situation and Ari's subsequent abduction made such a task difficult.
She scanned the walls as Adam held her in a brief hug.
When he pulled away again, she sighed, a determined look setting on her features. "Alright. Let's kick this Labyrinth's ass!"
She let go of him, hand and all, putting one of her hands on the wall. "I think there might be secret enterences or something..." she stumbled "ooh. I found one!" She remarked with glee.

~~

Not fair...
Not fair??
Oh how he loathed that expression.

The crystal ball vanished before Arianna's eyes.
Suddenly there was a cruel smile on Jareth's lips. "Would you like to utter those words again Arianna? I promise you, I can show you just how unfair I can be." He threatened.
Even his threat was spoken with something close to seductive tones.

She had been thinking about it though. About staying. He'd been so close to tempting her before his temper had ruined it entirely.

He turned from her, throwing his hands up in exasperation, cursing himself inwardly as he paced, before finally drilling. His hands settled on the top of the chairs back and he breathed a sigh.

He didn't want to be this way.
But he didn't have a choice...

 

[apolla]

Adam watched Jenny as she started walking along the wall. "I don't think that's going to... no shit." As she stumbled, he jogged a little to catch up to her, making sure she was alright before looking at the spot on the wall where she'd found the secret entrance. "Hmm. Well I'll be damned." He muttered, holding his hands out in front of him and stepping forward.

Sure enough, he stepped through the 'wall', and turned back around to look at her, a touch of excitement on his face. "Jenny, you found it!"

---

Arianna gasped and took a tiny step back as the crystal ball disappeared. For some reason, Jareth's mood seemed to change. It did a full 180, all because of what she'd said? She didn't understand. Yet he still sounded... seductive, and for some reason, that scared her more than as if he'd threatened her.

"You don't have to be unfair." She stepped towards him, now that his back was towards her. "You can just... let me go." Her voice was close to a whisper, and she wondered... would it be that easy? Something was bothering him... but was it bothering him enough that he would let her go to save his mental self.

She wasn't sure, but she had to try. So she spoke again. "Keeping me here and putting my friends through hell is cruel."

 

[-Q-]

Spoiler: Gristlewald

Jenny positively beamed. She couldn't believe that had worked.
Adam seemed to be pretty surprised too.

She giggled. "See... secret entrances, we just have to be clever." she told him optimistically.

"Who are you?" A gruff, grating voice which sounded as though it were coming through a distortion machine came from behind Jenny.
Green eyes widened and she turned in fright. She didn't see anyone until she looked down.
The creature was little more than three feet tall, dressed in rag-tag armor.... or what looked like it may have once been armor.
"Ooh." Jenny exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"

The creature rolled it's little, pin prick eyes. "You deaf or something lady? I asked who the hell you are." The creature's under bite did nothing to the frown of an expression which now entered its face.

"Oh, I'm Jenny... and this is Adam" She replied trying to remain both calm and unperturbed by the creature's demeanor. "And who might you be?" She had bent slightly, her hands on her knees to see the creature properly, and so that she didn't seem so very tall all of a sudden.

The creature huffed. "Look what you've done to my garden!" It pointed to Jenny's bare feet, which seemed as though they had knocked through a little face surrounding a small patch of grass in the Labyrinth's stony paths. "Do you know how long it's taken me to get it perfect?" The little creature said.

Jenny frowned, moving the offending foot. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. We were just trying to find a way in. You see out friend..."
"Not interested." Gristlewald chuntered. "Now, get on your way. This fence is going to take me weeks to repair!"

~~~

A chuckle which shuddered in his shoulders lit up Jareth's cruel eyes and he turned to face Arianna once more. "I don't think you understand Arianna. Your friends have less than 13 hours to storm the castle walls to retrieve you. I would say I'm being more than fair. I don't want to have to have an excuse to shorten that time." He sounded as though he didn't like it anymore than she did.

"When I said you could explore, I said the castle. Those are the rules." He paused. "And the rules of your capture, you would know better if you had read the book from which the rules are set in stone."

He shifted, standing to his full height once more. "Anyway..." An amused gleam in his eyes. "You were the one who just said, you didn't necessarily want to leave."

He studied her. "Remember Arianna, I can give you anything your heart desires."

 

[apolla]

Adam jumped when he heard the unexpected voice-- though he'd never admit it out loud. He peered around Jenny, confused until he looked down and saw the odd looking creature. Although he was obviously not happy about their presence, nor interested in why they were there, Jenny introduced them and started to tell him why they were there. That is, until it cut her off and grunted out that he wasn't interested.

"Hey," Adam called out to the thing, crossing his arms. "She apologized, the least you can do is accept it. It's not like she meant to ruin your... garden." He hesitated on the last word, but decided not to comment further. "Can you help us through the labyrinth?" He asked after a moment's pause, stepping closer to the creature that was a good three feet shorter than him. "We don't have long, and we need to solve it."

---

"What?" Arianna blinked. "You can shorten the time? That's not fair at all! You gave them thirteen hours, so that's the amount of time they're going to have." She narrowed her eyes at the king.

His demeanor changed as he shifted, taking her aback once more. He was really making her dizzy. "That's not what I said." She mumbled, ignoring the blush that appeared on her cheeks. "You took what I said out of context. And you're trying to trick me, and it's not right." She turned away from him, back towards the window, crossing her arms over her chest.

Please, guys... please hurry.

"I belong there." She finally said with a shake of her head. "You know nothing about my life there, or how I feel."