Fae

The Labyrinth

Her lips were parched, her throat dry, and yet she felt as if she was drowning. She realized that she laid on a dune, that the sand burned her, but she could not summon the energy or the motivation to move.

The sand rubbed against her skin and made it raw, but she barely felt it. All she could feel was the ache of emptiness inside that threatened to consume her.

"Return to us." She ignored the voice that she knew. It sounded both male and female, young and old, and she knew that if her eyes opened, then relief would be had. But she would also awaken in a different place, and this time she would not be able to return.

"No." Her voice cracked, sand blew into her mouth, but still her eyes remained closed.

"Return to us." It sounded like a command, but still she refused. After all, if she could defy Jareth then she could defy his Labyrinth. Sarah knew that the Labyrinth was far older than Jareth, knew that it worked in tandem with the Goblin King to protect the simple minded creatures, the innocents. She knew that it was not a hateful entity, and she also knew that it shared an emotional bond with the Goblin King. She truly should have expected this to happen sooner or later. Jareth wanted her to return and now the Labyrinth wanted her to return.

Sarah was going to have a chat with Jareth when she awoke, but first she had to outlast the entity, not a small fete. The Labyrinth had the patience that only a scheming maze could have, she stood little chance, but she had to awaken sometime. Sarah just hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

She raised a hand to touch her face, to brush the sand from it, and nearly screamed when she realized the sand was building around her. The Labyrinth was trying to burry her alive, but she knew that it would not. What happened in dreams transferred over to the waking world, the Labyrinth would not truly endanger her life, unless it was really pissed at her.

"Stop this." Her voice croaked out as she rolled to her knees and began to move, but she could not escape the Labyrinth, for it was everywhere.

"You are the Champion of the Labyrinth, you are the Holder of his Heart, and yet you run from your fate."

"I run from what I do not want."

"A lie is a lie, no matter how you dress it."

"A jerk is a jerk no matter how tight his pants." Sarah ground out before the sand dune shifted and she felt herself falling, but still her eyes remained screwed shut.

"You need to return, he needs you, and it is where you belong."

"I belong where I am."

"You belong where your heart is."

"I am not having this conversation with you." Sarah grumbled as she pressed her hands against her face. The Labyrinth did not even have a body, for gods sake! It was a genderless form, it was the wind, the walls, and the animals. The Labyrinth was everywhere, seeing everything, except for the Goblin King's castle. The Labyrinth had no sway there, could see nothing there, but that did not mean it was unaware of what happened there.

"Then have it with him."

"I will not."

"Then you will not awaken, not until you agree to speak with him."

"Fine! I swear I will speak with him immediately after I awaken." Sarah swore and she could feel the smugness of the maze.

"Then I will aid you." Sarah did not get the chance to ask what the Labyrinth meant...

...she awoke in a bed that was familiar, but not the one she fell asleep in.

"This is a pleasant surprise." Drawled a voice from beneath her and she forced her eyes open.

"I hate your maze." Sarah spat out as she made to stand, but was soon pinned beneath the Goblin King.

"It is not a maze, it is a Labyrinth." Jareth corrected with a smirk, he did not know what his Labyrinth did, but he was not going to question it. Sarah was in his bed and he had other things he would rather be thinking of, or doing.

"It is a pain, much like its master." Sarah grumbled as she glared at Jareth.

"Come now, precious, I am not that bad." Jareth stated as he teased the skin of her neck with his teeth.

"Egoistical bastard." She muttered as she tried to ignore his advances.

"Now, now, precious, my parents were wed."

"You need to have a chat with your puzzle." Sarah ground out as she tried to ignore how delicious his weight felt on top of her, and she was certainly not thinking about what his hands were doing, or would soon be doing, or the fact that he did not wear a nightshirt.

"About...?" He paused in his advances and looked down at her.

"About interrupting my dreams, about burying me in sand, about putting me in an oubliette, and ssooo many other grievances." Sarah stated as she tried to move out from under him, but Jareth was too focused on her for her to find an escape.

"Very well, the Labyrinth and I will have a chat, right after I am done with you." He stated as he slid his hands back under her shirt and traced patterns over her skin.

"We are done now." Jareth grinned at the blush that stained her cheeks, she was adorable when flustered.

"Are you sure about that?" He questioned as his teeth skimmed over her collar bone.

"Yes."

"Too bad I am not satisfied." He said with a grin as he pulled her sleeping shirt over her head and ignored her squeal.

"Jareth!" She yelled and was quickly silenced with a kiss. Once more, Sarah could feel the smugness of the Labyrinth, just because it was not part of the castle did not mean that it did not know what was happening within the castle. Sarah had the distinct impression that the Labyrinth and Jareth were ganging up on her.