I have always loved the Goblin King. No, I am not a goblin myself, but a human who wished her brother away. The King didn't give me a chance to run the Labyrinth; he only ever offered that to one girl. No, I had to find it on my own, make my way through, find Him.

And my brother, of course, but he had been a goblin for years by that point, and didn't recognize me, nor I him, and it was only by the King's mocking laughter that I discovered the truth.

And yet I loved the King, so I did not leave; I stayed hidden near his home, although I'm sure he knew I was there. I loved him from afar, but he never loved me, never cared romantically for anyone at all, at least until She came.

She came. I heard through rumors and warnings how she had been given a chance – thirteen hours – to find her little brother. And she did. And I was there, in the shadows, as the Goblin King offered her everything . . . and she rejected him.

I do not blame her; she was young and frightened and determined. But I had seen that look in the King's face and knew that he would never love me as he did her.

He was different after that, sad, and as the years passed I knew that his heart was broken, and I loved him, so I ventured back into the Aboveground once more to look for a woman whom I had only seen once and barely knew the name of.

I am very good at finding things. I found the labyrinth and my goblin brother and the King, and I found the girl, too. I was so sure after I found her that she would marry the King and all would be happy and He would be happy and even I, sad and alone, would have a taste of happiness. But I was too late.

When I finally found the girl, she was no longer the innocent beauty of so long ago but a withered grandmother dying in bed. I spent several hours with her and then I returned to the Goblin King, intending to tell him nothing. But he came to me; he had known my quest all along, and so I told him that she was gone; I had been too late.

He nodded.

I looked at him again then, at his sorrowful face, ever youthful, and my own youth, unnaturally preserved in the Underground, and I made him an offer: I would trade my youth, vitality, and life for his happiness. And he agreed.

I imagine he's gone to get her now, his lovely bride restored to her youth; he must be. I don't even know how much time I have left, but I think it's just enough to finish this.

And then I shall die.