-1Chapter One: Prologue

"King of Goblins and Overseer of the Labyrinth, Jareth." a deep voice stated. Jareth himself stood in the center of the light room, looking attentive, but at ease with what was happening.

It wasn't every day one dies. But then again, it wasn't exactly a new experience for him. Decades after losing the mortal child, decades after her all too mortal death, the powers beyond him and his realm of lost dreams called, and, helpless to stop this tide, he answered and obeyed, and came to them.

His time as Goblin King, in this lifetime, was done.

He sighed, and wisps of golden hair swayed with the sudden breath and caressed his face and exposed neck. It was regrettable… he was unsure as to what his past lifetimes had accomplished with the realm of goblins and lost children, so had no means with which to measure his deeds against, but he felt a goodly amount of pride in what he had done thus far with it. When he had first entered the realm, it had been unruly and decadent, without a purpose, or rather, without a pattern to its purpose. How is one to know when to swap a little darling mortal babe for a changeling? Mortals themselves had still been something half-wild, nearly half-goblin, in his opinion, when he had come into rule. They had no idea how to call on something they only felt. It was a rather rough first few hundred years, he had to admit, but the human mortals had developed rather quickly, and understood his offers readily enough when such ideas were planted into their dreams, and like weeds in rich but otherwise barren soil, the ideas spread until, regrettably, they had sapped that rich soil and died slowly… the lush gardens he had created out of these mortals dreams, beautiful and deadly, had perhaps been too beautiful. They required too much faith to sustain themselves, and now only the minds of few mortals were rich enough in dreams to sustain these wishes… regardless, he hoped, as he stood silently and gazed at the brightness surrounding him, that his new self would remember something of that and improve upon what he had already set in motion. It would do no good for the Goblin Realm to fall into disarray again, though he suspected it would anyway.

"Ready yourself, Goblin King."

He nodded briefly, closing his eyes. A small knot of apprehension made itself known in his gut, even as he tried to will it away. He knew this would not be the end of course… but still…

Not remembering any of this life? The fun he'd had, the women he's had? None of who he was now? The thought… He shuddered slightly. And then… there was still the matter of her. Even if she was gone, and had been gone. She had been interesting. He almost wished he could have toyed with her, just a bit more, just to see what she would have done. He did not fool himself into thinking he loved her. Love was not something he knew, though he had heard of it.

No, the king of Goblins did not love.

But he did know amusement; he did know joy.

"Now, our lord."

He bowed his head, for one of the few times in his long, long life. And disappeared from all existence.