Chapter 1

Jareth the Goblin King sat sideways on his throne watching the goblins run around, like they always do. It had been ten years since Sarah Williams had bested him and taken back the wished away child. Since then he had been ridiculed and humiliated by just about every Fae in the Underground. Not because she saved the child. Oh no, Jareth was the joke of the Underground because she had stolen his heart and then rejected him.

Now he spent his days trying to think of anything but the girl that ate the peach. Nothing brought him joy anymore. He no longer sang or danced. Even taking flight in his owl form was no comfort. The goblins noticed his mood and avoided annoying him the best they could, for an angry King did far worse than kick them or drop them into the bog.

As Jareth stood and started to return to his room, he felt the familiar pull of magic. Someone had wished a child away. Sighing, he donned his battle gear and called for his aid. "Squirt!"

"Yes, Highness?" the goblin said as he ran to the King, tripping and falling on Jareth's boots.

"We have work to do." Jareth stated plainly as he tossed a crystal up into the air. He and Squirt vanished in a shower of glitter and reappeared Aboveground. The goblin hurried to the crib to retrieve the child while Jareth looked around for the foolish mortal.

When Squirt looked in the crib he gasped. The babe in the crib was a rotting corpse. "Highness!" He tried to warn his King but it was too late.

Jareth turned when he heard his aid cry out, only to be hit over the head with an iron skillet. The blow to the head was just enough to disorient the King and allow the attacker to slap iron cuffs around his wrists. Jareth tried to struggle, but the iron made him weak. Jareth's legs were kicked out from under him and more iron was quickly fastened around his ankles and neck. "Not so mighty now, are you Goblin King?" she laughed as she stuffed a rag in his mouth.

Squirt watched as the attacker pulled the now gaged Goblin King to his feet and pushed him out the door. Jareth was trying to fight back but the iron blocked his magic and physically weakened him. When they were gone, Squirt came out of his hiding place. "Oh no...I have to find the Champion."

While the King held the power of the Labyrinth, goblins, being of the Labyrinth itself also held reserves of power that not even the King was fully aware of. In fact, only those goblins of the old order remembered it even existed. Closing his eyes, Squirt felt the pull of his home and simply 'followed' it, disappearing from the room with a muted pop, only to reappear in the heart of the Labyrinth. The warm pulse of Labyrinthine magic washed over him, tinged with distress. The Labyrinth knew the King was in danger. "We must find the Champion," he murmured, gazing upon the pulsing magic. "Have no fear, blood of my land. The King will return, and with him, our Champion."

Suddenly, by his side, the ones that had aided the Champion in her trip through the Labyrinth appeared.

"What...?" Began Hoggle, blinking and looking around in confusion, when Squirt bounced up to him and grabbed him by the shirt lapels, a panicked look in his eyes.

"King's been taken! We need help!" He pointed behind him and Hoggle blanched at the distress the Labyrinth felt, now able to sense it himself.

"Er, what do ya need me to do?" He asked nervously, never a good one for bravery.

"Find the Champion!" Squirt pleaded.

Hoggle frowned, looking over as Sir Didymus, Ludo, and the Wiseman shuffled into view.

"But we ain't spoken to her in years!" Hoggle began, Ludo nodding his head sadly.

"Don't matter! Must find her!" Squirt replied, looking around. "Not good with no King! Please, please!"

Before Hoggle could reply, Sir Didymus trotted forward atop Ambrosias. "Good sir, we will endeavor to complete this quest. Send us Above in disguise to her childhood home, and we shall find our Champion!"

Hoggle opened his mouth to protest but it was drowned out as magic swept up the three of them and within moments, he saw nothing but darkness.

The first thing he felt was grass in his mouth. Sputtering, he sat up, looking around in a daze. Blinking, he felt his face and wiped at his mouth, realizing they were in the front yard of Sarah's childhood home, then looked down.

Horror registered across his features as he heard the other two wake up.

"Blimey, we're human!" Hoggle moaned in dismay. He looked over and saw Sir Didymus sit up slowly, a wiry short older male in place of his friend.

"Well, what did you expect? Couldn't very well search for the Lady as a fox or dwarf, could we? Brother Ludo? Are you near?"

A low groan came to their right and Hoggle did a double-take at the mammoth sized man beside him with sandy brown hair.

"I think Ludo may still look out of place." Hoggle commented.

"Where Sarwah?" Ludo asked as he stood up. Looking at his friends, Ludo's eyes widened.

"Its alright my brother." Didymus assured him. "The Labyrinth's magic has disguised us. Now let us find the champion."

Didymus brushed the dirt from his clothes, straightened his glasses and approached the front door. Hoggle and Ludo shrugged and followed his lead. Knocking on the door, Didymus thought to himself how easy this quest would be. They would find Sarah, tell her what was wrong and return home with her and find the King.

A moment later an older woman answered the door. "Can I help you?"

"Good day, milady." Didymus removed his hat and bowed to her. "Could you tell me if the Lady Sarah is home?" Didymus and the others looked at her with hopeful expressions.

"Sarah? Why she hasn't lived here in a year. She moved away for college." Karen told them.

Hoggle stared, feeling the pit of his stomach drop. Luckily, Didymus was quick on his feet.

"Ah, I see. Do you happen to have her address? It's quite urgent. You see..." He glanced sideways at Hoggle, who appeared much older than the others, then pointed a finger at Hoggle. "...my father here wanted to thank her, she...helped us...several years back and well...it'd mean a great deal if we could thank her."

Karen stared between the three of them and luckily, whatever Didymus must have conveyed on his face had her smiling. "Say, are you one of those night college students she tutored last semester? She had fun with that, teaching people about computers and whatnot."

"Yes...me and my brother, both." Didymus gestured behind him with a smile.

Karen looked back at Ludo and something in her eyes softened by the slow kindness she most likely saw reflecting back at her.

"Wait here, I'll just get her address. Don't you want to call her first?"

Hoggle looked at Didymus, who shook his head. "No, lady. This is much better handled in person. We'd like to surprise her, if you don't mind."

What was left unspoken was that they didn't want to give Sarah, or whomever had captured the King, any advanced notice they were on their way to meet her.

"Oh, alright. One moment." Karen wandered back inside, accepting that answer easily enough.

"How are we supposed to get there?" Hoggle hissed to Didymus, who shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll find a way."

Karen returned momentarily and handed them a slip of paper. Didymus blinked at it but Hoggle snatched it, surprising Didymus by reading what was there. He looked up and offered Karen a heartfelt smile. "Thanks, lady." Hoggle said as he turned and left the house, the others right behind him.

"Thanks for stopping by!" She called after them before heading back into the house.

Hoggle stuffed the paper into his pocket, stopped at the end of the driveway, and looked at Didymus. "Well, what's next? You seem to know what you're doing. Lead on."

Didymus nodded and looked back at Ludo, who nodded in return. Turning, they headed in the direction of the street.

Meanwhile somewhere deep in the woods, Jareth found himself still bound in iron shackles, inside an iron cage. The room was dark, damp, and silent other than the sound of dripping water. He had been stripped of his armor and his pendant, the seal of his Kingdom and his link to the Labyrinth, was hanging on a pole just out of his reach. He was certain she hung it there to further torment him.

He hadn't seen anyone besides the woman that had captured him, but he heard voices coming from above, making him believe he was in a basement of some sort.

The iron weakened all his senses and even made it hard for him to think. He had no clue where he was, who held him prisoner, why they set a trap for him, or how he was going to escape. He did know that even if Squirt had escaped, there was no way he or the others would be able to find and rescue him, that's if they even wanted to save him. He hadn't been the nicest to them, especially in the last few years.

Sighing, Jareth rubbed his wrists. The shackles were starting to chafe and he feared it would soon lead to him getting iron poisoning.

As Jareth tried to focus on finding a way to escape, the door leading upstairs opened, allowing light to fill the room. Jareth covered his eyes, temporarily blinded by the sudden brightness.

He heard footsteps drawing closer to his location and tried to peek through his fingers. It was the woman who had captured him. She had a wicked grin on her face and she was tossing an apple up in the air and catching it. "Don't worry, your new mistress will be here to collect you soon. She paid quite a lot for you, so do be a good slave for her."

"Why are you doing this?"

"For the money of course." She took a bite of the apple, then tossed in into Jareth's cell. "Eat up. Don't want her thinking I starved you." She turned and walked away, closing the door behind her and returning the room to darkness
*****************************

Authors:

breejah0923

HachimansKitsune

Lady-Lannie-Queen-of-Goblins

PaintedGlass (AO3)

Sorry for the brief pause, we have 2 more at least on deck!

if you love fanfic and want to join in, feel free to come and find us on FB under Labyrinth Fan Fic Lovers, answer a couple of entry questions, and pop on in! We are a super fun and busy group with daily activities, writing challenges, and a ton of bulgy humor! we'd love to have you!