The mirror door swung open with ease, revealing the strange but irresistible scene inside.

A ball room graced top to bottom with chilling shades of ebony.

Black chandeliers hung from the tall ceiling, dripping with inky crystals and glassy ornaments.

The room itself was packed with an array of strange looking guests, all clad in the same sable color as Allison.
Their faces hidden behind distorted, yet delicate masks.
Music pulsed through the swaying room in a wavering rhythm... causing the crowd to shift and twirl in dizzy patters.
Like a dank kaleidoscope.

Some guests lounged in the corners, draping themselves over piles of velvety pillows.... doing things with each other.
Things that were unclear to Allison, but she had a sick feeling the ignorance was for the best.

But something was off.
An ocean of fish.
There had to be a shark somewhere.

Allison brushed off the unease and slowly pushed through the swirling mass of people, marveling at the kindness she was welcomed with.

Almost immediately she was offered an assortment of drinks served with bold, toothy smiles.
Meaningless words of encouragement and welcome drowned out all sense like a narcotic, and mindlessly, Alison excepted the countless glasses filled to the brim with odd looking beverages.

The first she took was sweet and was followed with a familiar lingering flavor.

Drink After drink.

Dance after dance.

The flavor stayed a constant....
As did the feeling of being watched.

An intense sence of being stalked had Allison looking over her shoulder more than once before downing another glass.

How long had it been?

An age?

An age before Alison found herself completely immobile at her own accord.
Slumped over in the sweaty heat of her gown.
The music pumping the throbbing vain in her temple.
A glorious mixture of cackling sobs and salty heartbreaks.

'Their in the freakiest show'

This is the realm of adults.
They got her here.
A fellow adult.
The rotten taste of moldy peach on her lips.

'Wonder if he'll ever know"

A set of strong, leather clad hands grasped Allison's upper arms, ripping her from her stagnant trance.

Standing before her was Jareth.
His wispy hair coming to rest against his shimmering cheeks.
The tail of his black suit hung to the backs of his knees, and an array of thick jewels sprayed along his shoulders.

Ally was struggling to keep her bobbing head focused on the man before her, but the image of him to her was as smeared as a wet painting.

He held her steady while the room spun around her in a sickening blur.
The world was falling... and the only anker she had to latch onto...was him.

The words to the looped song was now just a mulling slur of noise that refused to silence.

For a moment...

For a split moment...

Allison was sure that it wasn't the room spinning... but it was in fact her and the king.
A hand at her lower back, and one in hers, they swayed and spun evenly with the rest of the party.

Jareth's lead stopped all to quickly, causing Allison to tilt to the side before settling.
She could feel his hands leave her for a moment before working at something close to her head.

"My precious Allison..." He cooed. His voice cool enough to sooth the rotting feeling in her stomach.
She aloud her eyes to flutter closed in trust as his breath brush the shell of her ear.

"Masks really don't suit you."

And with that he swiped the mask from her face, leaving her exposed.

Like a candle, the black gown she wore melted away in a puddle on the floor, leaving behind an equally as large, stark white grown covered in frilly ruffles and graced with dew like pearls.
Her hair un pinned and cascaded in massive waves that framed her rosy face.

A picture of innocence.

A little girl in an adults world.

The faces that once smiled so kindly at her now looked upon her in disgust and disinterest. Their delicate masks warped into the provocative faces of hideous monsters.

Jareth watched in amusement at young Allison's distress, mentally patting himself on the back for how well he was putting her in her place.

Hiking up her skirt, Ally ran through the crowd, tripping over fabric, and her own woozy senses, wondering about like a big poofy bleach stain.

Blinding tears burned her eyes as large greedy hands touched her as she wobbled by, taking full advantage of her in this vulnerable state.

How had she allowed herself to go so low?
To let herself get that exposed?

She felt around aimlessly on the wall until the welcoming feeling of a knob met her grasp.
The instant the mirror door cracked open, all the music, all the voices, smells, and pain gushed away in an overwhelming sensation of bliss...

...and the white lace fluttered around her as she suddenly dropped to her knees.