Author's Note: This is a sequel to The Once and Future Queen.

Chapter 1

Time ticked by slowly, he was aware of every passing moment, even without the clock nearby. The light of a half-moon touched on the land before him, though he paid the scene no mind. Motionless on the balcony, he waited, barely breathing, his eyes closed as he focused his thoughts on the sign he was looking for. Waiting…waiting in the still night.

A soft breeze, barely noticeable, danced over the land from the east. It played through his hair as he inhaled deeply, his eyes snapped open as he recognized the scent of the ocean in the air. His hand gripped the edge of the balcony as he pushed the anger down inside. Once again, the eastern wind blew the unlikely smells of salt water through his kingdom, stronger this time, he knew he wasn't imagining it. It was a signal, one he had hope to never receive.

Lost in his thoughts, it took him several moments to realize he was no long alone. The little girl's eyes were wide and guileless as she looked up at him, in the darkness they were shadowed but he had the shade of green etched on his heart.

He faked a smiled as he knelt down to her, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"What are you doing out of bed, little one? You should be sound asleep." He asked softly, not wanting wake her mother in the adjoining room.

"Where you waiting for it?" She asked, her voice a cracking whisper.

"Waiting for what, darling?"

"The eastern wind. Like I told you this morning."

"I told you, you're too little to worry about such things yet." Effortlessly, he picked her up and silently took her back to her room.

"I know what you told me, but I can't help it." She said with the dramatic frustration only a seven year old could feel.

He tucked his daughter back into her little bed, kissing her on the cheek as she curled up among the covers.

"I know you can't control it when those thoughts come to you little one, but they don't always mean exactly what you think. They're like riddles, or puzzles."

"But I'm right so much of the time when they do happen!" She answered back as she sat up, exasperated.

He couldn't withhold the chuckle that escaped as he eased her back to bed. "I know darling, you're a very smart little girl, but think of all the times you weren't right."

She let out a sigh, as all seven year olds, she conveniently forgot about all the times she was wrong. "I guess." She said glumly.

He smiled down at her as he rose to leave. "Good night, darling. Don't let those thoughts worry you. If you have another one, just tell me. If anyone needs to worry, I'll do it." He winked at her before he left the room.

The smile on his face only lasted as long as she could see him. Wearily, he made his way to the bedroom he shared with his wife. Peaceful and still, she slept, a small smile on her lips was visible in the soft moonlight.

Before joining her in bed, he looked out over his kingdom. Labyrinth hedges glimmered faintly in the moonlight, the pathways dark and ominous. An occasional lantern flickered in the distance where the Goblin City's inhabitants went about their business. Once again, a breeze from the east reached him, the familiar scent greeting him again.

Dread formed a cold lump in his chest that he had been fighting since that morning, since he daughter had told him her unsettling prediction, a nagging thought that wouldn't leave the little princess alone.

"A western wind will come from the east. The sea will rise up. The past will take the future for its own. A war of blood will leave the rightful king."

Her little voice replayed over and over in his head, he could not let her see the fear her words brought him. He hoped it was nothing, or something so far into the future it wouldn't be their concern, but that afternoon the wind had turned suddenly. Lightly, the smell of the ocean played along the wind. To someone not looking for it, it would be undetectable, but to him it was the smell of his childhood.

He walked over to his wife's desk and slowly opened the small jewelry box that held her favorite pieces. He knew he would find the locket inside, silently he opened it and stared back at the two images it held. In the feeble light of the half-moon, his parents' eyes looked back at him, admitting nothing.

"What are you plotting?" He whispered the portraits, the only answer was the rustling of leaves as the winds began to blow harder.

He threw the locket in frustration, not caring where it landed, and turned to the western window. He knew he would only see the near endless darkness of the sleeping labyrinth, but he knew out there beyond his kingdom was another world, a world of salty breezes, mysterious creatures, raging storms, and most dangerous of all, an exiled king.

Jareth, the Goblin King, only had one fear. He feared the loss of those he loved; the family he had created after the loss of the family he had been born to. His daughter's premonitions were like puzzles, open to interpretation, but it had not taken much understand her latest warning.

His father was coming.