Hell is for Children
by: A. Valentine
Summary: Why is it that Jareth steals away babies at a wish? Does he even really like the children? What happens to the others besides Toby? Inspired by 'Hell is for Children' by Pat Benatar and I originally was going to have it be darker, but I changed my mind and wrote this. Maybe some day.
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Jareth watched another parent wander his Labyrinth with a frown. It was another who didn't really care about the child. Not in the way a parent should. The small child that was now giggling away, playing with his goblins, she needed to stay with him. The simple thought willed the Labyrinth to move, forcing the parent to take a longer route instead of the more direct one he had been going. Letting the crystal fade with a wave of his hand, he looked at the small child again. She was small, and, not surprisingly, happy amongst the Goblins. Most of the children who came there were, really. No one seemed to realize that. Few even really became goblins. After all, he was already run over with the creatures as it was.
He stared at the little girl with sad eyes, taking in her looks. Unevenly cut blonde hair hung lankly from her head, dirty and greasy, as if she had not been bathed in some time. Her clothes were ratted, torn and also unwashed. What saddened him the most, however, was her skin. Dirty, filthy and bruised. Her whole body was covered in bruises and scars and even recent scrapes. He had seen the child before she had been wished away and had wanted to help, but he was bound by the magic, and could only whisk the child away if the child was whisked. So, when the father, a slovenly drunken fool, wished away his only daughter, he pounced on the opportunity, even though it hadn't been at him either, meaning that he was not bound to complete the wish. No, he wanted to.
The father was now running the Labyrinth more out of fear than out of love. He had no care for the child, but knew that if he lost the child he would lose the money he got from keeping her. None of it ever went to her. The child was underfed while the father ate like a pig and drank more than anyone he had ever known. He was a horrible man and Jareth truly wished that he met some ill fate within his Labyrinth. Perhaps he would fall down into one of his oubliettes, with or without the helping hands and die in there, starving and broken. The thought brought a wicked grin to his face. He had never really cared when he was young about how the children he stole were treated.
He was fae, so his thefts had been whims, indeed, when he was younger, the children's parents hadn't even wished their children away. He had stolen them. That was, until he had stolen the child of a wizard. The man had been powerful and had been aware of him as soon as he stepped into the house to take the child. Then and there he had been bound. He could only take children that were wished away. The old wizard also seemed to know why many fae did it, and added that they must defeat him to win their child back from him. He had responded to the wishes as they came and he had learned about the darker natures of humanity. The first few he had had merely fight him, but as they had fallen easily and he didn't especially enjoy killing, he had made them run his Labyrinth. Created it for that purpose.
Ever since, parents and siblings had been running his Labyrinth. Mostly parents. He knew that his Labyrinth was confusing and it was difficult for any of them to find their way around it in even twice the time he gave them, but he was bound and it let the runners live. Those who he believed did regret their choice he wiped their memories of his Labyrinth and even their wish and replaced the child with a changling to placate them. He could not return their child, but there had been no rule against him giving them a replacement. Changlings were queer things. They enjoyed living a life as a human. They were also the best replacements because, when they grew older, depending on how their 'parents' had treated them they could either kill them or grant them a wish. They were his way to ensure that he had not misjudged any of the parents.
He glanced into his crystal ball once more and bore an almost disturbing smirk before glancing at the clock in his throne room. It was a mere few minutes before the father's time was up and he was stuck in one of the Labyrinth's many oubliette's, the helping hands had not even tried to catch him and he had broken his leg on the way down. The sight pleased him, as he did indeed wish the man would die. He would leave him there to bleed and starve and think no more of him ever again. As the clock struck, signaling the end of his time, the child approached him, tearing herself away from the goblins and climbed on his lap, staring at him with wide blue eyes full of life and innocence and... hope.
"Daddy's not coming for me, is her?" The child ask as Jareth vanished the crystal, reaching out and holding the child. He nodded and she made a noise of joy before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek before scurrying off once again to play with the goblins. He smiled at the child, glad that he had been bound. He know understood why humans were so fond of their children.
A/N: Alright, so while listening to 'Hell is for Children', I was reminded of something Jack Hawksmoor brought up. What about the children who are wished away and are truly better off away from their families, whether or not they get turned into goblins in the end. I'm not going to debate him being a fae for one reason: goblins are fairies and fairies commonly steal children. They are usually flighty, whimsical and chaotic. They are also subject to being bonded by a powerful human by the use of their name. It's short, but it's meant to be.