A Crystal at the Door, a Goblin Under the Bed

By: Ginger_Snapp

Chapter One: Bats, Goblins and Crystals; oh my!

All content belongs to Jim Henson. I only borrowed them for a spell. No copyright infringement intended.

But if you wanna leave take good care,
hope you have a lot of nice things to wear,
but then a lot of nice things turn bad out there.

- Wild World by Cat Stevens

A slender, gloved hand wound its way around the door frame, allowing its owner to glance into the room without revealing itself to its inhabitants. Seeing no one, but still hearing the staccato of frightened breathing, the figure ceased hiding and entered into the room. The atmosphere darkened as a commanding presence filled the room, pale in the moonlight of the open window. Searching for the outline of the stowaway, the monarch prowled the room until it stopped dead and locked eyes with a small, dark, and terrified creature. The other glove revealed itself, wrapped around a shiny object raised like weapon. The figure poised to strike, and the target let out a pitiful squeak.

Sarah Williams lowered the thin metallic baseball bat and flipped on the kitchen light. The night was turning out to be quite difficult without the added nuisance of an unconscious goblin to deal with. However, she kept the bat pointed threateningly at the little creature, which slightly uncurled out of its fetal position. "Another spy, are you?"

He shook his head pitifully. Sarah's eyes hardened in response. She'd dealt with enough of the King's spies and crystals to know what was going on. Her arms tensed as she raised the bat back to swinging position, and the little thing squeaked again. "Okay, okay! I is a spy for King."

She couldn't say she was surprised. On more than one occasion, she'd glimpsed a small foot out of a cupboard or heard giggles from the attic back home, and known that she was never truly alone. Karen and her dad had never really noticed, but Toby was always playing with shadows, and the number of "imaginary friends" he'd had over the years had been worrying for everyone, though for different reasons. Sarah had grown suspicious that the goblins were simply there for the occasional glance at her and the amusement of her toddler brother, and had ultimately come to the decision that they were acting on their King's order to be there. At the time she called herself paranoid, but with the entire set of cut crystal dinnerware Karen had received from her mother that year, Sarah never felt completely secure in her family home.

"I thought as much. Get out, before I whack you." Her hands tensed around the bat as the goblin coward in fear, yet he still made no movement. Its small, squashed face looked up at her sorrowfully.

"I is sorry, Lady." The little thing was attempting to win her sympathies, biting its crooked lip and even producing a few tears. It looked remarkably like Toby using his puppy-dog eyes. It wasn't going to work.

"Wont come back. I make promise."

Definitely wasn't going to work. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him.

"Wont tell King nothin, Lady."

He was pretty small.

"Bye, Lady."

She could probably throw him quite a distance….

Sarah sighed, and the Goblin's face perked up as she put her weapon in the umbrella stand by the door. "Wait, she commanded, while the goblin pretended to still be scared. Not wanting her to changer mind, she supposed, though it could see shed given in. "If you go back now, you'll report to Jareth." The goblin shook his head emphatically, but Sarah cut him off. "Yes you will, or you'll get thrown in the bog. I know Jareth." And I don't want him knowing me. Or the new place I'm living in.

"…Lady?" The goblin looked up at her; the wide but dim eyes brought her back from her thoughts with a confused look.

Sarah crouched so as to be on-level with the goblin. "What's your name?"

"Grok, Lady," replied the goblin, perking up. From his features and build, alongside his name, Sarah was almost positive it was a boy. Grok's ears were long and pointy, sticking back from his head like wings so disproportionate were they to the rest of his size. Contrasting the length of his ears was the inescapable breath of his face, which was wide and rather flat. Sarah imagined him running into many flat surfaces and falling on his face often, his numerous falls broken only by the perfectly round button nose.

Sarah let out another heavy breath, thinking. "Alright, rules," she started, careful to stay away from idioms or phrases that could be misinterpreted. After all, what's said is said. She had learned a lot about direct communication from the word play and trickery she had experienced in the labyrinth. Goblins weren't exactly smart, but they were as fond of tricks and mischief as their master. "No breaking anything. Hide whenever I say. Answer any of my questions truthfully…" She attempted to think of any other mischief the goblin could cause. "Stay inside the apartment. Follow any other instructions I give you." Incase there was something she forgot. "And no more reporting to the King. If you follow those rules, you can stay with me. The Goblin King has no power here, and you'll be fine. Double cross me and I'll bog you myself."

Her last comment made him wince, and Sarah softened. She gave a small smile, though she didn't want to undo any of the emphasis she'd put on her words; neither did she want to be like his master. Grok was still for a moment, unusual for such a rambunctious creature, probably still trying to process the instructions. The dark haired woman took the opportunity to strip off her winter gear, pulling her thick cap off and shaking her hair out of its thick scrunched. Her scarf she hung by the door, for whenever she next had to brace the biting winter.

"Lady, wait! I has somten to tells you!" The little goblin tugged on the edge of her jacket, attempting to get her attention."

She looked down at him, a little surprised at him, though she wasn't really sure why. "What is it, Grok?" she asked rather absently, wondering what in the hell she was going to do with a goblin in her house. What did you feed him? She thought it would be rather like having a pet, then immediately felt ashamed for thinking of goblins as something she would own.

She removed her jacket, still thinking. Still, she was going to have to figure out somethi – "King hide crystal. To see inside housey!" Sarah's head snapped up to where Grok was pointing, her teeth locked around the tip of her glove as she stopped mid removal. Zeroing in on the glittering sphere just poking out behind her cookbooks, she dropped the glove her teeth and gave the man she knew was watching a truly cold look. When she'd forced as much of the ire she felt into her gaze as possible, Sarah moved around the island and marched up to the cabinet. She could see why he had picked this spot. It was a tall place she rarely used and could barley reach, though as she stretched she could just feel the glassy surface at her fingertips. Nudging it, she heard it roll and saw it just before it dropped off the edge, giving her time to think before she caught it in her shirt. Common sense said not to touch the thing.

In anger she put her gloves back on for protection and then transferred the crystal to her hand. Grock cowered as she did so, whether from her anger or feared retribution from Jareth, she did not know. Carefully she wrapped the crystal in her scarf, blinding the man behind the glassy window. Without putting on any of her other winter items, she stormed out and slammed the door behind her. Four flights of squeaky, metallic stairs later, Sarah was both level and fuming. With purpose, her stride took her down the sidewalk away from the other buildings.

Sarah had been expecting this. The goblins in her family house were numerous, and the crystal chandelier, goblets, and wind chimes were a constant reminder that she was being watched. There was no reason not to expect that they would do the same to her new house. However, she was hoping that her first year of college had thrown them off the scent. No goblin or crystal had seen her, besides her visits home, in quite a while, and the window in her dorm had remained quite owl free. She had expected them to find her eventually; however, she wasn't expecting it quite so soon. She'd liked her private life, the past few weeks of no room mate, not goblins, and definitely no crystals had been very relaxing. Realizing that all of that had been an illusion made her angry, angrier than she'd been in a while. Arriving at the edge of the sidewalk to where the complex dumpster was, Sarah glanced around, checking for any street signs or markers that would give an indication of her location. Finding none, she unwrapped the scarf, peering into it only to find her reflection staring back at her with fuming eyes.

"Hear this Goblin King," she yelled to the peach sized sphere in her hand. "Stay out of my world, stay out of my house, and stay out of my life!" With that, Sarah raised the crystal and threw it onto the asphalt where it shattered with a satisfying crash. Shard of glass went everywhere, glinting in the moonlight.

Drunk with the power and anger coursing through her, she spat at the remains to the crystal, and then marched back to the apartment, attempting to turn her thoughts towards her adopted straw and away from the interference of the Goblin King.

Alright, more in depth than I planned, and not nearly as light as I wanted. I know we've seen a million of these "Sarah realizes that Jareth is watching her" stories, but I plan to focus mine more on the goblins in her life than on Jareth. I promise it will become much fluffier! Can't say how far this will go, but at least two more chapters, I should think, and then a series of one-shots to follow.

P.S. I'm in the market for a beta, if anyone cares. You probably noticed form this story. I plan on working on a lot of fandoms, but right now its just Labyrinth and Moonrise Kingdom. Contact me!

Reviewing reminds me to finish stuff. If I don't post just review with the length of time it's been, and it will guilt me into it. Do it several times, if need be. Love Ginger.