Title: My Will

Summary: Sasuke lured her into his kingdom in order to trap her with him forever. But he never expected Sakura's will to be as strong as his. AU, Based on the Labyrinth by Jim Henson

Pairings: SasukexSakura

Genre: Romance/Angst

A/N: This is part one of a three-shot I will befinishing within the last week of SasuSaku Month. :) Fueled by Sasuke's brithday and my obsession with the story of the Labyrinth, please leave me a message of what you think of the story. It is mostly in narrrative form at Sasuke's perspective, and I try to keep them as IC as I could placed on the situations I left them in. Arigatou

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or the Labyrinth and its manga sequel, Return to the Labyrinth by Jim Henson. But they inspired this story.

Chapter 1: Love Me

He has ruled alone for more than a thousand years. He had enjoyed the power over his Kingdom of logic-defying denizens, cherished the thrill of breaking their chaos and bending them to his will. But it has been so long and he has grown bored. It was around this time that he began to go to Human world.

At first, he found it to be mundane, devoid of the thrills and challenge of his kingdom. He looked down upon these humans, these predictable mortals but their antics were amusing, nonetheless. Then in his wanderings he saw Her.

He was as usual in his Hawk form, for there were Rules and he cannot cross over to the human realm in his true form. He was perched in an oak tree when he heard the high-pitched voice of a young girl. She was reading from a book, acting out the characters. She amused him like no other, in her world or his. This little fragile mortal thing, with her soft pink hair and emerald eyes, who pretended to be a hero but was so plainly a weak creature.

Again and again, he came to watch her. He discovered that she was abandoned by her mother who ran off with another man, and her father married another who bore him a son. At school, she was a loner frequently picked on by the more popular students in her class. She wanted to escape from her world, and retreated in her fantasies.

Her name was Sakura, a name he believed suited her. Like the flower, she looked fragile and delicate, at the same time, she possesses an inner strength, a defiant fire. And Sasuke, the King of the Underground, decided he shall posses her.

He cannot just take her to his kingdom, there were the rules, after all. So he left her a book, the type of heroic fantasy that she loves. He knew he would attempt to follow the story.

One night, frustrated with her baby brother, she spoke the words she had read. "I wish the King of the Underground will take you away right now."

With glee, he appeared before her for the first time in his midnight black royal robes. She stared at him, deathly scared and whispered, "You're him aren't you? You're the King of the Underground."

"What's said is said." Sasuke smirked. Everything was going according to plan.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped closer, "Please return my brother. I didn't mean what I said."

Behind him, he opened the portal to his world even wider and gesture her to come nearer. In the distance, was an intricate maze, a labyrinth, and in the center was a tall forbidding castle.

"Your brother is in the palace. You have thirteen hours." He pointed at an ornate 13-hand clock ticking beside him. "Go to the heart of my labyrinth or your brother remains as one of us forever."

When he returned to his throne, with her baby brother in his lap, he had expected the girl to give up after an hour. But he was wrong. Along the way, she has met her subjects and convinced them to help her. She went through the trick walls, passed through the confusing doors, and dodged his armies.

Frustrated that the girl's will has not been broken, he trapped her in an illusion. A trap in the guise of a fairy tale ball. Dressed in a flowing icy blue gown, her memories muddled by the magic that surrounded her, Sasuke easily lured her to dance with him.

While it was intended to distract her from the ticking clock, the King enjoyed this dance. He enjoyed their closeness, the feel of her heart as he held her close.

"I'll place the sky within your eyes" He whispered in her ear. "I'll place the moon within your heart. I'll paint you mornings of gold. I'll spin you Valentine evenings. Though we're strangers till now, we're choosing the path between the stars."

She looked at him then, her brilliant emerald eyes shining, then they shifted to alarm as she saw the clock behind him. In a heartbeat she pried her arms away, but he clung to her tightly. With determination, she pushed herself away and destroyed the illusion. Sasuke found himself back at his throne. She is near, if she defeats the heart of the labyrinth, he could not keep her.

She pushed through his armies and ran through the halls of his palace, intent on retrieving her brother. They are now face to face. Her eyes were cruel as he is. In a last ditch effort, he came to her with a final plea.

"I offer you your dreams, Sakura. I ask for so little, just bow down to me and I'll give you everything you want."

Sakura stepped closer, reciting the lines from the book he gave her. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have made my way to your castle to retrieve the child you have stolen."

In desperation, Sasuke decided to offer her what he has never given anyone. "Just love me, fear me, and I'll be your slave."

"For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great." She continued.

"Sakura, please…" He reached out his hand imploringly towards her.

"And you have no power over me."

With those words, it was over. She won. She returned to her world with her brother leaving him and besting him.

"Live without the sunlight. Love without your heartbeat. I can't live within you."