Written for the LJ community springkink.
Disclaimer: Puck belongs to the people who first believed in him; I merely borrow from the Shakespeare and Gargoyles interpretations when playing with him. Jareth says that he doesn't belong even to his creators, so of course I don't lay any claim to him.
It's Own Reward
Visitors to the castle beyond the goblin city were rare—in fact, only one human had ever made it that far in all Jareth's time as Goblin King, and she had been an exception to many rules. Few of Oberon's Children had visited even when they were allowed, and Jareth's exile had ended any sort of entertainment from that area. With no news from that quarter, he hadn't heard of Puck's fall from favor until the trickster himself came with the news, bringing Alex with him. Jareth had never liked the lackey, but at least his company was a change from that of the goblins.
Puck could also tell a story well, which made it easier to hear all the exploits he recounted under the guise of being a good guest and entertaining his host. Jareth listened half-attentively as he held Alex, noting that no matter how lost in a story Robin Goodfellow was, he always kept an eye on his charge. The lackey had already told him something about four Athenians, a group of tradesmen rehearsing a play, and Titania. Now he was close to the end of the story about tricking a Gargoyle.
"And then, I turned every human in the city into gargoyles! Oh, the look on her face when she found out!" Puck laughed out loud, causing Alex to laugh, too, and clap his hands. "It was priceless! Of course I had to turn them all back eventually—Goliath doesn't have much of a sense of humor either—but it was fun while it lasted." Jareth nodded, waiting for another story to begin, but the trickster merely paused before saying. "Anyway, enough of my news, what of yours? Surely something worth telling has happened her in the last few hundred years."
Jareth thought for a moment. Sarah had been a failure rather than a triumph, and all the Children of Oberon knew how he'd become the Goblin King. Aside from those two events, there was little to relate. He settled for telling of the few humans who had wandered into the Labyrinth and eventually been turned into goblins. Shrugging, he added, "What can I say? I answer to no one."
Puck smiled." Service is it's own reward."