Daughter of the Labyrinth

Chapter One: Nightmares

"For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great...You have no power over me..." She heard these words countless times in her nightmare, but who was saying them? Why did she always sound so familiar? Why did the Labyrinth crumbled every time around her? She tossed and turned in her bed until she completely rolled off with a thud and yelped. The fall woke her up from her nightmare, and she untangled herself from the bed sheets. Her head immediately shot up when she heard footsteps from down the hall. "Amara!" The door swung open and standing between the doorframe was a tall figure, wearing a white blouse with ruffles on the cuffs, a black vest, grey pants, and black leather boots. Other knew him as the Goblin King, some knew him as Jareth, but to her he was simply known as... "Papa..." Amara gently rubbed her head as she stood up and met his gaze. "Are you alright, sweetness?" She shakes her head softly and looks to the ground. "It happened again, Papa. The nightmare..." Jareth took his shaking daughter into his arms a gently rubbed her back. "There, there. Papa's here. I won't let anything bad happen to you, not like it did with her." Amara looked at Jareth with her tear filled eyes. "Her?" "Y-your mother...You remind me of her. Looking more and more like her every day." Amara had short, pixie like hair, colored brown with blonde highlights, green and brown mismatched eyes, and pointed ears, which in her species was rare, but it made her all the more special to Jareth. After wiping her tears away, Jareth kissed Amara on her temple and carried her back to bed, hovering a crystal in his hands and letting it pop like a bubble above her, sending Amara peaceful dreams as she fell asleep against her pillows. Jareth smiles as he walked out of the room and shut the door gently. Walking back down the hall to his bedroom, he sat on his bed and sighs deeply. Amara's mother, a woman Jareth never forgot, gone without a traced. He cursed himself the day she disappeared, and he was left with a child to raise himself. And for years, he went countless nights without sleep. "I'm sorry...it keeps happening to Amara. I kept my promise to you, and she's almost a fine young woman, but her eyes...It makes me regret losing you..." Tears were forming in his eyes as he clutched his pendant close to his chest and lied on his pillows. "It's so hard to forget you...And she never knew you...but I could never forget your eyes, your stubbornness...you love..." Jareth closed his eyes and breathed lightly. "I wish the goblins would find you...and bring you back to me..." He opened his eyes, expecting to see the woman he loved so much next to him, only to find nothing but himself in the room. Magic didn't work like that in the Underground. "Jareth...you're a fool...!" He cursed himself again and lied on his pillows once more.

When morning came, Amara was dressed in a black and green corset, grey leggings and black boots. She placed on her black leather gloves and walked out of room. Once she was out, a few goblins poked her leg with sticks and she kicked them away. "Quit it, you tiny bastards! Or I'll send you to the Bog of Eternal Stench before you can blink." She clearly took after her father. Amara walked down the hall to the dining room to meet her father for breakfast. He was sitting there, juggling a few crystals in between her fingers. He smiled when he saw his daughter enter the room. "Good morning, sweetness. I hope you slept well after that nightmare last night." Amara took a sip of her peach juice and looked at Jareth. "Papa...? What was Mom like?" Jareth looked up from the crystals and sighs. "This again? Haven't I told you hundreds of times before?" "I just like hearing it from you." Jareth tossed his crystals in the air as the vanished without a trace. "Your mother was fearless, stubborn, beautiful...Quite the adventurous type. But also determined. Never let anything distract her." Amara took a bite of her breakfast and listened carefully to Jareth. "How did you meet her?" Jareth nearly stiffens at the thought. It was so long ago, and it may not sound like a happy fairytale beginning. "Oh...it was...errr...How do I put it...? We..." Before he can control, Jareth and Amara were interrupted by a Goblin servant. "Pardon me, your highnesses." Jareth sighs in relief and slight annoyance. "What is it?" "Errr..." he leaned closer to Jareth's ear and whispered. "She's here." Jareth's eyes widened and he looked between the servant and Amara. "Guards, send Amara to her room. Don't let her out your sight." Amara looked at the guards and Jareth. "What? Papa!" Jareth took his brown jacket and immediately swiped it on. "I'm so sorry, sweetness, but duty calls." And with that, Amara was teleported back in her room. She growled in annoyance. "I'm never gonna know anything about my mother!" She sat on her bed, elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She conjured a crystal and tried to look into the Labyrinth, to find Jareth, but something was cutting her off. It must've been Jareth's own magic. "Stupid magic." She walked over to her window and gently pushed it open. Hopping onto the windowsill, she transformed into a snowy owl version of herself and flew down into the garden. Transforming back into her Fae self, she was startled when she heard a voice, clearing it's throat. Amara quickly turned around to see a dwarf figure behind her. "Oh, it's just you, Hoggle." The dwarf approached her with his arms crossed over his chest. "I know you're getting into trouble if you're down here." "How did you know I'm in trouble?" He chuckled at her and sat on the bench. "Saw you from the window." She sat down next to him and sighed. "Hoggle, did you know my mother?" Hoggle mumbles and spoke. "Who didn't? She was the queen. But also the champion of the Labyrinth." Amara looked at him in amusement. "Papa never told me that." "Well, how else did you expect them to meet?" Amara's amusement turned to curiosity. "That's how they met? Mom ran the Labyrinth? Why?" Hoggle shook his head. "Oh, no. Yous ain't getting anything out of me. I've said enough." Amara stepped in front of him as he moved off the bench. "Hoggle, please. I need to know. I've never known my mom. There must be something. Anything!" Hoggle kept shaking his head at her, keeping his mouth shut. Amara sighed and conjured up an emerald ring. "Please?" Hoggle's eyes widened at the ring, but he immediately shone his head again. "Nope, I won't take any more bribes, not like with your mother." Amara used her magic to make the gemstone bigger. "Pleeeease?" Hoggle grunts and takes the ring. "I promised Jareth I wouldn't say much, but somes believe she's still alive." Amara eyes widened in shock. "She is?! W-where?!" Hoggle urged her to come closer so he could whispered to her. "The Aboveground. I can't tell you much, but she used to own this book. It was red. 'The Labyrinth.' Had it since she was a kid. Find the book, you find her." Amara nods and Hoggle pats her on the arm, before the two were startled by a deep voice clearing his throat. "You should be in your room, young lady." Amara bit on her lips and flushed. "P-Papa..." Jareth grabbed her arm and glared at Hoggle. "I'll deal with you later." He teleported himself and Amara back into the castle.

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"Thanks for coming to get me, Sarah." A fourteen year old boy enter the front seat of a car. In the drivers seat was a woman with long dark brown hair tied into a loose ponytail and a brown leather jacket. "It's no problem," the woman said, "I know Dad and Karen are real pains." The boy took his backpack and placed it in the back seat. "It's almost like they don't care." Sarah laughed and looked at the boy. "How's theater class going for you?" "It's really fun. I can see why you liked it so much when you were my age." Sarah smiles and drove up to a white two story house. "Well, I guess this is my stop." Sarah places her hand on his shoulder and stopped him before he could grab the handle. "Wait, Toby. Before you go, I wanted to give you something." She pulled out a red book from her purse and handed it to the boy. "To help you practice with your acting." Toby smiled and kissed his sisters head. "Thanks, Sarah." He grabbed his stuff and went inside the house.