Disclaimer: I don't own the movie Labyrinth. Obviously.

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Prologue

My name is Sarah Williams and I have no idea how I got into this situation.

My arms and legs are stuck like glue to a chair in a dimly lit room. I'm not bound by any ropes or tape, but I recognize the tingle of magic at work running along my skin where it makes contact with the wood. The same feeling once ran down my throat and pooled in my stomach in the form of a bite of peach.

But I'm not slipping into any gauzy dream now. I'm wide awake and it's just me, the table, and the woman.

The woman. She is beautiful, but that doesn't impress me. I am struck by her dress, which appears to be woven from hundreds of shimmering butterfly wings seamlessly stitched together. Rather than beautiful, it looks very, very cruel.

She's kidnapped me, and in my mind I've already connected her with the last kidnapper I knew. She looks just as arrogant as he, though decidedly less amused. Reclining back in her own chair, she studies me through pale white eye lashes.

Which is actually very deceiving, that ivory hair piled on her head. There isn't a single wrinkle to disrupt the seashell pink of her skin.

But I'm too annoyed to wonder at her age now. Instead I growl at her, "Who are you and where the hell am I?"

She blinks once, owlishly, as if amazed that I can speak a human language. Her eyes have a glassy quality to them and are ice blue.

Then she opens her mouth to speak, and the most amazing thing happens.

Orchids fall from her lips.

The blossoms materialize from nothing in the pink cavern of her mouth and tumble out to fall in the folds of her lap. The petals are so airy and light, they do nothing to hinder her speech, but only give it a whispery after-echo. It's all I can do to just gape. The woman is drooling flowers!

I'm so wrapped up in trying to comprehend what I see, that her words don't fully reach me until a few seconds after she's done speaking. "My name is Alma, dear." There is no affection in the pet name. "Would you care for some wine?"

There is a glass filled with liquid red something that I swear was not on the table a blink ago. I scowl and ignore it. Besides, I still can't lift my arms.

I repeat, "Where am I?"

Whether because she sees I'm uninterested or because she never really expected me to accept it in the first place, she picks up the glass for herself and sips daintily, pinky extended.

"We're in a waiting room, I suppose," she says finally, the petals now landing in her wine and floating like lilies. "We're waiting for your king to come looking for you."

"He's not my king," I snap, knowing immediately who it she's referring to. "And I'm not waiting around for him or anyone else! I saved myself before and I'll do it again."

For the first time, she smiles. Her teeth are pointed and pearly white in the gloom.

"No wonder he likes you," she says. "Everything Jareth's ever had has melted to butter in his hands, women included. But not you."

At another time, I might have swelled with pride at that. But at the moment I'm too agitated by the fact that I'm being held prisoner and used for Goblin King bait. I try to stomp my foot in anger, but it's still stuck fast, and all I manage is a great big twitch over one side of my body. I want to scream in frustration.

Alma seems mildly amused by this, which just pisses me off more. She sips at her glass, which holds now more orchid than wine.

I will myself to calm. A temper will get me no where; I learned that a long time ago.

So what to do then? There's no way in hell I'm waiting around for King Tighty-Pants. And it's clear this woman is made from the same stuff as he, whatever that stuff is. Magic, I guess.

And me? I'm only human.

But that didn't stop me last time.

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AN: Well, hi there!

It's been a long time since I've written and shared fanfiction. Long time. This story actually started off as a random drabble to keep myself occupied while I waited for someone. Then it sort of became... something else.

I hope this prologue encourages you to check back later for the real start of the story. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a review to tell me what you think. :)

Also, no, I have no idea what possessed me to write in the first person. D: And, yes, the rest of the story will be from Sarah's viewpoint as well.

Again, please tell me what you think! :)