The moon was bright, sitting high in the sky, as small, glowing stars danced in the clear night. The cool breeze flowed through the green leaves and branches of the forest, carrying the small barn owl deeper into the woods as he searched for a place to rest his wings. He had no idea how long he'd been flying. Dodging a few branches, he looked for somewhere that preferably wasn't a disgusting, gnarly tree to sleep in. He couldn't just fly into someone's house. Most people didn't like it when a random animal flew into their home. But he couldn't go to his own home, either. Flying to the Labyrinth wasn't possible since it was a whole other realm. And even if he could get there somehow, there was no way he was going to give his subjects the satisfaction of seeing him as a helpless bird.

After a while longer, Jareth's exhaustion finally won, and he flew onto a high, sturdy tree limb. This is ridiculous, he told himself. I am a royal. I should be sleeping in my bed, in a castle. Not stuck in the wilderness trying to rest in a tree! Damn that stupid girl. This is all her fault! She made a fool of me. She got my subjects to betray me, help her to get to my castle, and assist her in my defeat! And if that isn't enough, now that girl has ruined me! She's drained my magic! I don't know how, but she did! Now here I am, stuck in my owl form for who knows how long, with no way to get back to my kingdom, and no knowledge of how I can turn back into my handsome self! Damn you, Sarah Williams! I hope you fall off a cliff and break your neck! I hope you suffer a fate worse than death itself!

And with that final angry thought, the former Goblin King tucked his head under his wing, and closed his eyes for the night, wondering what in the world the next day would bring.

Sunlight covered the forest sooner than Jareth had hoped. His eyes were heavy, and he was flying slower than usual. Sleeping in a tree hadn't been comfortable at all. Already, he wished he was back in the Labyrinth, where he belonged. He had never been an owl this long. Ouch! Damn! Jareth shook his head, and went around the tree branch this time. Flying when tired wasn't easy. What made it worse was the fact that his stomach was growling every two minutes. He'd been looking for something to eat for what felt like hours now. Anything at all! Some berries, mushrooms that hopefully weren't toxic, just something to satisfy his hunger.

After running into two more branches, and nearly falling asleep mid-flight, Jareth was about to give up his search, and look for a nearby neighborhood house to raid someone's pantry, when something caught his eye. A small ball of white was scampering on the ground. A mouse! Jareth was about to dive down to the ground, when he realized just what he was thinking of doing. Am I really about to grab a living, breathing creature that's probably infested with worms, fleas, and God knows how many other parasites….and put it into my mouth? His roaring stomach answered for him.

Jareth dove down to the ground, and scooped up the small field mouse in his talons. He was careful not to hold it too tightly, and risk impaling it. If I'm going to eat a rodent, it's not going to be a squirming, bleeding mess. I'm going to make this quick, and then I'm going to pretend I never did it in the first place. He flew to the top of another tree, and dropped his prey on the branch. It tried to scamper up the trunk, but it was to no avail. How pathetic. Jareth seized the mouse by the tail and held it up. Just pretend it's not a mouse. Pretend it's a cinnamon tart. Just open your mouth, and choke it down. Owls do this all the time, its part of their natural diet. Like it or not, you don't know how long you'll be stuck like this. This may even be permanent! So you'd better get used to this. And with that, he opened his mouth -er, beak- and shut his eyes tight. Just eat the stupid mouse, already! It's at the bottom of the food chain, for goodness sake. If it wasn't me eating it, something else would in probably less than five minutes. Yet, he still didn't do it. As hungry as he was, he really didn't want to eat something that would move when he did.

He opened one of his eyes, and looked at the mouse he held in his talons. It was staring at him with its black, beady little eyes. Stop looking at me like that! It's nature's fault, not mine! Look, I don't want to eat you any more than you want to be eaten, but life isn't fair! So let's just get this over with, alright? He closed his eyes a second time, and….froze.

Time stood still, as Jareth desperately tried to convince himself. He was hungry, and this is what owls ate. It wasn't like he had too many options. Cinnamon tart, cinnamon tart, cinnamon….oh, I just can't do this! He opened his eyes and flew down to the ground, holding the mouse up to his face when he landed. You're lucky you're a disgusting rodent, and I don't have the stomach to eat you. Now get out of my sights before I change my mind. He carelessly dropped the creature onto the ground, and the mouse quickly ran off into the bushes. Jareth was fed up with himself. If this is permanent, I'm not going to make it out here for very long unless I adapt! That means eating things that are still alive whenever I feel hungry. There had better be a way to change back. I really don't want to sleep in a tree for the rest of my life, or have to hunt for food in winter. I don't want to hunt at all! I should have Goblins taking care of my every request, not scouring for hours on end for something to eat! Damn that Sarah, forcing me to...wait...what's that smell?

Jareth followed the sweet smell, until he found it on the ground nearby. A peach looked to have fallen from a tree somewhere, and was on the ground in pieces. He landed close to it, and started to eat it quickly. It was sweet and juicy, just what he needed. Jareth was so distracted by the food that he did not notice the trip wire buried under it…

Not until a small wire cage collapsed onto him.