The characters are not my own, but this is my own spin on the Labyrinth movie by Jim Henson and what could have happened afterwards.

This started as more of a plot-bunny than anything. It is a bit smutty with some out-of-character Jareth, just to warn you. That being said, I sincerely hope you enjoy!

And always,

"Please leave a contribution in the little box"

Thanks for reading!

When she entered the Ballroom full of dancers, it wasn't like anything she recognized. That's because it wasn't her dream...it was his.

"I don't have to..." I murmured as I overlooked the twists and turns of my Labyrinth. Sarah was lost in those depths, and deep within me I felt an odd, primitive stirring begin. Absently, my lips repeated the words I didn't truly believe. Just empty words to fill an empty space. Idly I conjured a crystal. Her image danced across the polished surface as I rolled it across my hands. I knew what I was about to do, and I knew the risk I was taking.

But then again, how else would I know for sure? I had to trust the Labyrinth. I felt its presence, pushing in the back of my mind, whispering what needed to be done.

Still, I didn't know if this would work. The Labyrinth seemed to think it would. I watched the solid crystals, my emotions so convoluted I couldn't make sense of them. They were as tangled and changing as the Labyrinth itself. I offered the crystals to the empty space, and the magic of the Labyrinth wrapped around them, lifting them to the sky. They turned into flimsy bubbles as they left my fingertips. My eyelids grew heavy, and I dragged myself from the overlook. I didn't know which one of those dreams she would choose, but I could hope. As the last crystal drifted away, the drowsiness began to overtake my consciousness. When I awoke, I would be in my dream- whatever dream the Labyrinth had decided would be her greatest challenge. This was the nature of the spell. The magic surrounding her would reach out and select the fantasy from the crystals I had conjured.

It could be a nightmare to terrify. A romance to seduce. An adventure to conquer. Each pulled from the deepest corners of my mind, places even I dared to hardly wander.

It was a unique spell, one that I had never used on a runner before. But I'd never had a runner like my precious Sarah before. This spell would reveal not only my feelings- but hers as well, making us both vulnerable at the end. It was a risk I chose to take.

Oh for so long I'd watched my precious Sarah. Her soul had called to me the moment she was born, and I was fascinated by her. I had never seen a girl so full of imagination and magic in the human realm.

As she grew, she rarely gave her parents trouble. They did not know that it was I that kept their babe gurgling with delight. Despite their happy babe, it was not a happy home, and her parents divorced. This drove her further into fantasies, a desire to be somewhere far, far away from the fights and the arguments. She never saw me. Perhaps she noted an owl perched nearby, but she was always too young to understand what it meant. I tried to deny it. Truly, I tried. For me to know for sure that this innocent child would one day be my queen, she would have to run the Labyrinth. And the Labyrinth had a mind all its own. Sarah is still too young now to understand what she is to be.

I needed her to know that I would give her everything she would ever need, anything she could ever dream.

I smiled as I stepped in the ballroom. Sarah was ultimately a romantic, looking for her prince charming. I recognized this scene. This had been one of the Queen's balls, and I hated these affairs. My distaste was reflected in the ghoulish, ugly masks. The real ball had not been a masquerade. But in my mind, it had certainly felt like one.

Not wanting to disrupt the dream, I wove my way through the dancers. And then, like the parting of a great sea, she was there.

Oh she was devastatingly beautiful even now, even so young. The glow of womanhood was just beginning to bud beneath her childish innocence. Her eyes were lost and confused as she moved through the crowd. Among the faces, she was the only one worth remembering. The only one that stood out in the throng of shallow, vapid creatures that smiled to hide their true thoughts. A harsh pain thudded in my chest as I watched her. I don't understand it, but in the depths of my dream I felt a song beginning to take shape and fill the air. The magic of the Labyrinth clearly understands more than I.

"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- within your eyes...

There's such a fooled heart,

beating so fast In search of New Dreams,

a love that will last within your heart

I'll place the moon within your heart...

I knew this song. It was a song I had composed, intending to give it to the one who defeated the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth hadn't chosen this song by accident.

Dancing with one of the dream images, I continued to watch Sarah. And then it hits me. I was to be her greatest challenge. For the Labyrinth to have chosen this dream, Sarah must want me. Underneath her defiance, she is drawn to me. The Labyrinth is also testing her ability to defy me. Unexpectedly, my heart beat a little harder at the thought. My thoughts evaporated when her eyes locked with mine, and everything else melted away.

Green. Sparkling, innocent, sweet, pale green eyes. Pale pink lips that parted to take in a sharp breath when our gazes finally clash. For a moment she is so open, so vulnerable to me. Something deep throbs in my soul, something unfamiliar and powerful. I vanished before my own weakness could show. Here, in this dream, we are not enemies. Here, I am just a man seeking my soul-mate, and she just a woman seeking the same.

I watched closely even as I danced with one of the images of a masked woman in my dream. I didn't like the way Sarah seemed frightened by what was happening; she was so lost, and yet...so ripe. Smiling, I moved towards her. I knew that because it was me she was looking for, she would not refuse as I took her hand.

Our gazes locked and I envelope her in the safety of my arms. I want to hold her to me, to protect her from all the harms and dangers untold of the Labyrinth. None of these things I say, but I hope she can see my silent plea reflected in my eyes. I hope that she can see the truth behind this illusion. The song moved from the background of the dream and pushed its way past my lips, saying the things that I could not. Her waist is small and delicate under my gloved hand, and in the dream, we move together through the steps of a waltz seamlessly. She fits with me. Belongs with me. Even as the world falls down, I would be there for her.

I could see the innocent, naive want in her eyes. She does not understand what it is that she craves, but the craving is there. It is intoxicating to me, my Fae blood singing. I push away those instincts. She is far too young. Sarah though, is human. Her fear of the new sensations stirring within her is obvious.

Eons ago, I had created the Labyrinth to separate myself from everyone, including a Fae woman I had once thought myself to love. Once I had discovered her true nature, I concealed myself within the center of my Labyrinth, swearing that only my one and only could defeat it. I had not considered that I would have a soul mate. Neither did I realize the ancient magic I had called on, for the Labyrinth took on a life of its own.

The Fae are a strange race. We can have many lovers and many loves over our long lifetimes, but very few of us find our true soulmate. It is said that once we do, our lives are lost to that person. We recognize that person from the moment they are born- knowing that one day, when they are ready for us to take them, they will never need any other give them everything, just to see them smile upon us with favor. We live for our soulmate. But I am bound by the rules I made, and so she must run the Labyrinth.

I waited centuries, each runner holding new promise. Some were Fae women, enchanted by the idea of defeating the Labyrinth and in turn, my heart and hand in marriage. Some, innocent humans that had wished away a child. Those, I offered a bargain for their children if it became clear they would lose. Few made it through the Labyrinth. Fewer still made it to the Goblin City, and none had made it to the Castle. Sarah was different. I had held a fondness Sarah from the time I laid eyes on her, a simple, innocent affection for the imagination and magic so rare in the human world. Now, as I watched her youthful beauty, a new stirring began within me. While she is still too young, I am still but a man, and very much aware of her budding womanhood.

Those eyes dart around the room as she became increasingly uncomfortable. My dream-images were beginning to notice she did not belong and were glaring at her through their masks. Sarah felt the tension amongst them, and it scared her. I knew that she could not stay much longer before they closed in on her.

Regardless, it still hurt when she wrenched herself free from the safety of my arms. In that moment, a certainty gripped me. There was no longer any doubt, any question, that this was my love. Here, at long last, was finally my queen. Still a child, and yet my perfect match. My spell was halfway broken- all she had to do was remember when she awoke what she had came to the Labyrinth for. And when she had seen the clock, something in her mind had triggered. She would remember. She was so close. I couldn't make the Labyrinth easier on her, but for the first time, I truly believed she would win as no runner ever had before. I believed in her. For her to not only be my Queen, but my soulmate, she had to have a will of iron, a strength that far surpassed any Fae. She would defy me.

Sarah. She didn't even know she was my other half. She had no idea that she was the only one who could defeat the Labyrinth.

And with a sickening tightening in my stomach, I know that I am lost to her.

And she must win. And my world must fall apart. That is just the way it is done. I only hope that at the end of her journey, after she has become the victor, will she realize the true prize: My heart, my soul, and complete power of my kingdom.

The Labyrinth will only accept my equal as its Queen. Someone fierce enough to deny her own desires in order to make choices that need to be made. Someone who can be fair and objective, despite their own feelings. These are the rules. She must come to me of her own accord, meeting me as my equal.

Should she refuse to return, it would be my undoing. For she is not just any woman I could love, she is my soulmate. I may never be free to love another. Sarah is not bound by such chains. Humans do not feel the pull of a soul mate as the Fae do. I had never dreamed that a human would have made it so far. A Fae woman would see through my tricks and games. A human woman not be so schooled. I will be forced to convince her it was all a game, that I had never truly meant her harm. Earning her trust will be a challenging task, one that I could just as easily fail. And to be rejected by her would crush everything inside of me.

No, that cannot happen. Time will bend her mind to me, and her heart will not forget me. Her will is as strong as mine, and only she can rule the Labyrinth as my Queen.

As the glass shatters, I awake in my own bed, surrounded by deep gray silks.

And I smile to the emptiness.

For she is my queen.