Skye Says: This is an odd little story I decided to write based off of a dream I had… oO
Disclaimer: Honestly, why would you think that I would be so lucky as to own Labyrinth? Everyone except Sarah and Jareth are mine.
Prologue- Tennis and Teaching
AUTUMN. LATE OCTOBER.
A small cement tennis court. Three o'clock P.M.
The rhythmic pong and thud of tennis balls ricocheting off of the sun-warmed pavement and colliding with well-worn rackets.
A cry of victory as a game point is obtained. The sound of dry leaves scraping across the court.
Dark brown hair. Green eyes. Cruel, cruel eyes.
Her.
Him, watching from a window. Thinking.
Plotting.
A plan so simple that he was wondering why he hadn't thought of it before.
He wasn't intending on releasing her.
A voice. Silence shattered.
His student. Inquiring something.
Addressing him.
Turning to face her. Taking in her unkempt appearance.
Sighing.
"Sir?"
Shaking his head. It was nothing she should be concerned with. She wouldn't even understand. "Is there something you wanted to ask, Roxanne?"
She was nodding. Puzzled. Trying to remember what she'd wanted.
Realization. Her hand in the air, though she was the only student in the classroom.
Acknowledgement. Amusement, regarding her humanity. "Yes?"
"How do you spell 'Labyrinth'?"
His mind racing. His pulse pounding. Fear.
How did she know?
How could she know?
His hands dropping from the windowsill. Clenching into fists at his sides. Strange, for some reason.
Gloves. That was it. He wasn't wearing his leather gloves.
Jumbled thoughts attempting to focus on the question. Answering. Apprehension. "Labyrinth? Oh, L- A- B- Y- R- I- N- T- H."
Roxanne. Jotting it down. Disregarding penmanship completely. "Okay."
His tone clipped. Panic seizing his gut. "Why… why do you ask?"
Cerulean eyes rolling up to meet his. Staring. "You told me that I had to write a paper about it, Mr. King…"
A ghost of a smirk as the assumed name was uttered.
Jareth, the otherworldly Goblin King, reduced to human "Jared King", a high school English teacher. Odd.
Painfully obvious.
Staring back at her. The horror dissipating. Royal arrogance settling into his voice. "Of course."
Roxanne bowing her head over her paper. Saying no more.
Seconds rolling into minutes.
Him. Thinking some more.
Still plotting.
"Mr. King?"
A tap on his shoulder. Reminding him where he was.
Roxanne. Holding out her paper to him. "I, uh, couldn't remember how to spell 'Danae' or 'minotaur', but I didn't want to bother you."
Nodding dumbly. Accepting the paper. Had he gone mute? "You are dismissed- no, hold on. I sha- I will write you a… pass."
Pulling out a small slip of paper. 'ADMIT TO CLASS'. Searching frantically for some wax and his ring. Remembering that he no longer needed to use the royal seal. Foolish.
Those in the Aboveground simply used their names.
Jared King.
A shrill ringing making him jump. His bare hand smearing the signature illegibly. Stifling an Underground curse.
"Don't worry about it," Roxanne saying simply- sympathetically- and gathering up all of her belongings. "I'll just… run to my next class."
Leaving. Sprinting down the hall, true to her word. The door closing behind her.
Mumbling to himself. Grading Roxanne's paper.
Disappointed that she'd taken so long. "So much for having a free period."
Skye Also Says: Don't get onto me because this is short. It's a prologue, for crying out loud.
I lurve you all… whoa, that was random.