The Labyrinth on Bourbon Street 2

The Wager is Set

Jareth had Allie by the waist and Sebastian by the wrist. "To the oubliette with you!" 

He sneered into Allie's cheek like he was going to kiss her as they reached the trapdoor from the throne room. Lapis wasn't far behind. She was clutching her fireplace poker in her hand like she was ready to impale him. But she couldn't be seen. As far as Jareth knew, she was taken off, back to her quarters by her chambermaids. 

"Ladies first?" He shoved Allie to the edge of the hole and she was, once again, caught by the heels of her shoes. His touch was so eerily familiar to that that she felt in her dream, and that which she now associated with Sebastian. It pained her to feel it.

He pried the trapdoor open and looked about ready to nudge her through the hole. Her hands and legs were tied like a damsel on a railroad. She was "the feisty one", after all. 

"Did you really think that you could outplay me twice in one lifetime?" Jareth condescended, getting a hair's width away from Allie's face. Allie curled her lips and spit right in his face without saying a word. Jareth wiped his face, his hand revealing a deadly glare as he pulled it away. He kicked her in the knees, throwing off her equilibrium and causing her to topple into the hole.

He effortlessly picked up Sebastian by his wrist. "Don't look so sad, Sebastian." He said, getting uncomfortably close to Sebastian's face. "Nothing will change. You can still pine for my Lapis, but you'll always be living beneath her."

With that, he dropped him into the hole kicking and screaming. 

Jareth smiled to himself as he kicked the door back down and bolted the lock. When he turned around, he was surprised to be greeted with an iron fireplace poker pointed straight at his face.

"I saw what you did with them." Lapis started. "You already have me. Return them safely to New Orleans or you won't even have me anymore."

Jareth laced his hands around Lapis's caramel-colored face. "You are sorely mistaken, precious thing..." He started, pulling her face close to his own. "You can't escape now."

Lapis locked eyes on him. She turned the edge of her poker away from him and pointed it at herself. She pressed the sharp end into her chest, her implications acting as a warning. No, it wasn't a warning; it was a threat.

"Yes," She stated, raising her voice proudly. She sipped in air before she spoke again. "I can."

"You wouldn't dare." Jareth scoffed.

"Want to find out?" Lapis smirked. She was never suicidal and had no interest at taking her own life; she was just an incredibly gifted bluffer who had seen a few too many action movies.

Jareth instinctively swatted the poker away from her hand. "You drive a hard bargain, Lapis." He admitted, trying not to sound worried. "But your threat seems a tad extreme. If you take your own life, I would have gained no incentive to free the prisoners." 

"I will not send them back to New Orleans." Jareth repeated. He started to walk away, somehow certain that his queen was safe. "They failed to best the Labyrinth and aren't to be trusted."

"Then let me run for them." Lapis whispered under her breath. Somehow, Jareth picked up on this and swung back around.

"Excuse me?" He asked, letting out a laugh. "You want to do what?"

"Let me run for them." Lapis crossed her arms. "I was told that you love watching your keep run around in circles for you."

Jareth cocked his head. "What makes you so confident?" He asked. "If Allie couldn't do it twice, what makes you think you can do it this time?"

"This time," Lapis tilted her head upward and tried her best to stare him down. "I won't be wearing stilettos and a cocktail dress."

Jareth backed up. "And if you were to run and fail?" He asked. Here Lapis faltered. She had nothing to offer him in return.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lapis swallowed, trying to sound like she had thought this through. "I don't get any of my demands. You can keep Allie and Sebastian and I here for the rest of time."

"And if you should somehow prevail?" Jareth continued. He seemed to be content with his winning share. Perhaps it was because he too saw that Lapis had nothing else to bargain with.

"Then..." Lapis looked away. "Then you let all of us safely on our way back to New Orleans. Allie, Sebastian, all of us."

Jareth took a second to ponder the thought. "It's a deal." He concluded. Lapis knew that he got off to the sight of a pretty girl running through his trap like a clueless rat in a laboratory. He couldn't deny it in the slightest.

"Not until I know that Sebastian and Allie are safe." Lapis demanded from over her shoulder. 

Jareth switched his neck back. "You're pushing your luck as it is." He warned. 

"Fine, don't tell me." Lapis sighed, desperate to know if her friends were safe at this point. "You have yourself a second-time runner." 

Jareth ran his crop under her chin, admiring her blushing cheeks. 

"You look so cute when you're flustered," He flirted, causing Lapis to turn up her nose in disgust. 

"How is this for a wager?" He started. "You come back to me, having failed to best the Labyrinth, and I am to do whatever I want with you." 

Lapis knew exactly what he was getting at, and reviled accordingly. But she knew no better option. "And since you were so kind as to even the playing field last year, I will do you one better. If you run for me, I will release them both. No matter if you succeed or fail."

"Okay..." Lapis's eyes followed the end of his crop. 

"Your aunt got thirteen hours..." He said, looking behind him at the newly-constructed clock in the background. "But I will give you until sunrise to find your way out of the Labyrinth."

Lapis started to drift towards the throne room door. 

"You are free to take whatever you want from the castle to help you on your quest." She heard Jareth tell her.

She couldn't stop her thoughts from wandering to the treasure room.