Chapter 1

Jareth gazed at his reflection in the crystal floating before him. It hovered delicately in the air, gently bobbing, ready to float away or burst at the softest touch. In it he saw the creature he had become; pale and thin... and old.

He had lost count of the years as they flowed into centuries, and he no longer bothered to keep track of time. Day or night, it made little difference to him.

The only thing that did make a difference... that did make him take note of the world beyond... was Sarah.

His beautiful Sarah. She was older now, too. He often found himself watching her, feeding his obsession for the woman he could not possess.

Toby was no longer a baby, but a boy. It must have been more than a decade since Jareth had spirited him away to the Labyrinth. And now he was feeling all his years weigh down on him like never before; he could feel himself dying.

The crystal before him finally burst like a bubble, and his attention was drawn back to the present. He sat, as he often did, at the window ledge of the tallest tower, looking out over the goblin town and Labyrinth beyond. His heart gave a shudder as fear suddenly gripped him; he was dying.

Turning back into his chambers, Jareth began to pace anxiously. The two goblins who were waiting on him shifted nervously at their masters agitation, but neither dared to intervene.

"I must find a cure..." he muttered to himself.

"There must be a way..."

Producing more crystal balls, he once again began to rotate them effortlessly in one hand, before removing one with the other, and allowing it to float up through the air. Staring into its depths, Jareth willed for an answer to present itself; a way to once again cheat death.

Under his intent gaze, a pool of colour began to swim inside the crystal, swirling into shapes. He saw an island surrounded by shimmering blue sea and glorious sky. Then he saw a child; a boy, defying the laws of gravity and soaring through the air.

Jareth blinked, and the bubble burst.

"Peter Pan," he mused.