This is a revised edition of "Ways of Goblin Magic", and I mean
majorly revised. I first wrote this nearly four years ago, upon
joining the Labyrinth email list. As a new Labyrinth fan, I wanted to
follow in the footsteps of the first two authors I ever read, Caillean
Greywolf and Stephanie Massick. So "Ways of Goblin Magic" became a
sequel to their writings, "The Cassandra Trilogy" and "Strangers Till
Now", respectively. But now I'm making it my own, and
dumping the sequel bit, because it just got too confusing.
Jareth and co. are, of course, property of Jim Henson and his
associates who made the movie Labyrinth in 1986. I don't own any of
them. I only own Aislinn and all other characters, besides Talius
and Stephan, who Caillean has given to the public.
Comments and/or constructive critisism is very much appreciated
@)----
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
@)----
Far off in the distance, a young girl could hear the cry
of her mother calling her for dinner. Her mother had a loud
voice... quite obstreperous at times, Aislinn thought, which people
in the neighborhood always said could carry an impressively long
distance. It was true, for sure; Aislinn's mother was nearly two
blocks from where her daughter sat under her favorite Oak Tree in the
park.
"Aislinn! Please come to dinner! The rest of the family is waiting!"
Aislinn quickly packed up her things; her nature book, her
binoculars, her notebook, and her favorite pen- the one with the
little goldfinch at the end. The auburn-haired girl loved nature,
she really did, but her mind was constantly on other things. She
would take these items with her and then forget them and just sit and
dream under the Oak Tree. She did try to remember the time,
although, more often than not, she was unsuccessful. Her family joked
that Aislinn's hobby was the trigger for her mother acquiring such
a loud voice.
'Sometimes I wish my mother would buy me a watch so I could be home
on time and she could stop embarrassing me to death! It's not my
fault I'm not old enough to get a job and she won't give me an
allowance,' Aislinn thought as she ran home. Aislinn was, at this
moment, sorry she had worn a T-shirt instead of a sweatshirt, or at
least remembered to bring one. The late August nights could be
strange in good old northern Michigan. The days could be pleasant,
but the nights could be freezing. Now, as a brisk chill scurried up
the street, Aislinn felt it upon naked arms and shivered.
"Oh, Aislinn! I told you to take a sweatshirt!" her aunt scolded as
she entered the house. "You know how the evenings are around here."
"Sorry, Aunt Anna," murmered Aislinn. "I didn't think I would be out
so late."
"You never do, kid." Her uncle smiled as he carried a tray of steaming
vegetables past her into the dining room.
"Leroy, please don't smile," scolded his wife. "She could have caught
pneumonia!"
"Oh, Anna, lighten up." Leroy winked at Aislinn as he passed.
Aislinn smiled back at him. She had always loved her Uncle Leroy.
He was the only one who understood how she felt about nature- perhaps
he knew better than she did. There was, however, one other "hobby"
she had which no one in her family could ever understand. Aislinn
loved to collect books, figurines, dolls- anything about witches,
wizards,sorcerers, magicians, and strange creatures. Aislinn never
really talked to anyone about this, but she had a deep love in her
heart for fantasy and magic. She longed for a world where everyone
was always happy, with nothing to do but go to balls with the women
dressed in lacy ballroom dresses, and the men adorned in shimmery
waistcoats accessorized with cummerbunds of gold and...
"Aislinn, planning to come join us?" Her mother gestured to a chair
beside Aislinn's grandmother.
"Oh- yes, sorry. I was just thinking for a second."
"You know, Aisy," her grandfather began; that was what he had called
her since she was three. "Sometimes I really do wonder what you
think about. You are quite a mysterious girl. You never do tell us
why you collect those strange statues of wizards and such."
"I just like them. They're cool," Aislinn replied nonchalantly as she
took her seat next to her grandmother.
"Oh, come now, Aislinn," said the gray-haired woman beside her.
"There must be more to it than that. For someone who has as many of
those things as you do, you must-"
"Come on, Doris, leave her alone," interrupted Aislinn's uncle. "She
just likes 'em, that's all."
"Why must you always interrupt me when I'm speaking to Aislinn,
Leroy?" asked her grandmother.
"Because, Doris, you are always on her case about the silliest little
things!"
"I'm just interested in my granddaughter's hobbies and interests!
What's wrong with that?" Doris snapped back. Aislinn covered her ears
as the ever-so-familiar squabble between her uncle and grandmother
began once again.
@)---
In the Goblin City, Jareth, King of the Goblins, sat on the balcony
of his bedchambers, staring out over his Labyrinth. I had been three
weeks since Sarah had left, saying she needed time to truly say
goodbye to her old world and promising to return. Jareth knew she
loved him and would keep her word. Even so, he couldn't refuse the
temptation to check on his Lady. He flicked his wrist as a crystal
materialized on his fingertips. Jareth smiled, for in the crystal,
he saw Sarah was beginning to pack her things in an old trunk. His
true love would be returning to his domain to become his wife. As
Jareth was staring longingly into the crystal,one of his servant
goblins nervously entered the room. "Your Majesty?"
"Yes, what is it?" the Goblin King asked impatiently, looking up.
"Your Majesty," repeated the goblin, bowing. "Your brother, His
Majesty King Stephan, has arrived. He says he wants to talk to ya."
'Oh, Stephan, what is it this time?' Jareth sighed to himself,
standing. "Very well, tell him I'll be out in a minute."
"Yes, Your Highness," complied the brown furry creature, and scurried
from the room. The King then went to his mirror. He couldn't meet
Stephan in what he had on now- it was much too plain.
At this particular moment, Jareth was wearing brown stirrup pants,
a plain white poets shirt with a ruffled collar and baggy sleeves,
a tight brown leather vest, and short black gloves and riding boots.
Jareth and Stephan were always trying to impress each other-
especially outfit-wise. They were forever in competition over who was
the more powerful King, always forgetting their older brother Oberon,
who ruled the Fey alongside Stephan, for Oberon had already said he
wanted no part in their childish bickering.
Waving his hand, Jareth changed into midnight-blue tights, a
translucent black shirt with baggy sleeves, a low neckline, and no
cuffs, a tight black leather vest, his favorite boots; the ones with
the pointed toes, heals, and fringe at the top, some fancier short
black gloves, and his favorite cape with the high, stiff, outward-
curled collar with the inside of black and blue shimmering material.
"There," he said to himself as he once again faced his mirror. "Now
I'm ready to see Stephan."
@)---
Jareth left his bedchamber and headed down the corridor towards the
throne room. Entering the large, now de-bachelorized, chicken-free
throne room, he placed his hands regally on his hips. "Alright,
Stephan, what do you want?" Jareth impatiently inquired.
Stephan, the practical twin of his older brother, excluding his almost
ebony hair, turned to Jareth, a smirk growing on his thin lips. His
emerald eyes sparkled as he replied, "Why, Brother, I get the sense
that I'm not welcome here."
Jareth rolled his eyes and murmered, "Well, I was in the middle of
something."
The Eastern Fey King cocked his head and smiled. "Oh Jareth, do
tell."
"If you must know," the King sighed wistfully. "Sarah is packing her
things at this very moment."
Stephan smiled slightly. "Good. It's about time she got back here.
Just one question, Brother. Once you two are wed, will there be room
around here for me?"
"Of course there will be, Stephan. You'll just have to call first,
as you have in the past. Oh, and by the way, Gods forbid you should
be happy for me."
"I am, Jareth. I'll just have to get used to the change- I suppose it
won't be that hard. She was already here a month."
The Goblin King nodded. "Well, you should be used to change after
800 years or so."
The Eastern Fey King laughed. "I suppose so." Then his
face turned serious. He walked up to Jareth, placed his hand on his
brother's shoulder, and said, "Jareth, I just want you to now that I
really am happy for you." Even so, he smiled grudgingly.
"Thank you," Jareth replied, returning the smile. "And don't worry,
Stephan, I'm sure that someday you'll become as lucky as me."
@)---
Aislinn jumped up from the table. "I can't take this anymore!" she
shouted over her uncle and grandmother, who then stopped in dead
silence.
"Aislinn, what's wrong?" her grandmother asked.
"Grandma, I am so tired of you always asking me about my collection,"
Aislinn said huffily. "I've already told you that I collect those
figurines and books because I just like them. You don't have to act
like a I'm hiding some huge secret. And, I am sick of always you two
fighting about it. It's such a stupid argument, and I'm not staying
here another second to listen to it!" And with that, she turned and
stormed up the stairs.
"Aislinn, wait!" her grandmother pleaded, rising from her chair.
"Doris," said Aislinn's uncle, gesturing for her to retake her
seat. "Leave her alone. She's right. This is a stupid argument, and
she needs to be alone right now."
"Oh, alright," Aislinn's grandmother reluctantly agreed, returning
to her chair. "I suppose I just don't understand generation X, but
then no one ever does."
@)---
Aislinn flopped down on her bed and opened her beside table drawer.
There she found the new book she had bought a week ago from a garage
sale when her family had been traveling. She wasn't sure which state
they had been in, but they had been driving through a town on
their way back from Florida and had stopped at the sale just to see
if there was anything interesting. The girl whom Aislinn had bought
the book from had advised her to take heed of the warning at the
front of the book- or she would be sorry.
"What do you mean?" Aislinn had asked the girl.
"Just don't read any of the lines aloud from that book- as the
warning says- or you'll be in for a not-so-pleasant surprise."
Aislinn had been scared. The girl had looked so serious.
'Oh, well,' she thought as she opened the book and read
this "warning" the girl had spoke of. It just repeated what she had
said: not to read any of the lines from the book aloud.
'It's just put there to scare people,' Aislinn thought. Then she
noticedthe named of the author- Sarah Williams. "Sounds like a
normal name- pretty," Aislinn said to herself as she started to read.
'Labyrinth? Goblins? Goblin King?' she thought. 'This girl has quite
imagination- but I like this story!' Aislinn kept reading until she
came to the sketches Sarah had drawn. There was one of a dwarven man
dressed in a baggy shirt, strange vest, dirty-looking breeches, and
a skullcap, with lumpy skin and a huge nose. The next was of a big,
ugly, horned, yet sweet-looking red-brown, hairy monster. He stood,
even hunched over, just higher than a really tall human- perhaps
seven feet. The next sketch was a- fox? Maybe a cross between a fox
and a dog... that's what he looked like anyway. The creature was
dressed in a brightly-colored outfit from the medieval period.
Aislinn turned page after page of strange-looking creatures...
until she came to the very last sketch. 'Wait,' Aislinn thought.
'He's a human- and a damn good-looking human at that.' The man in
the last sketch kept Aislinn's eyes glued to the picture. His cold,
mysterious eyes, topped with dark, arched eyebrows, seemed to stare
into her soul. His eyes themselves were very unusual, yet strangely
attractive- one aqua and one hazel, with the hazel one apparently
having a permanently dilated pupil, even further enlarging the
contrast. His white blonde hair was in quite an unusual style. It
was spiked on top with long, wispy strands flowing past his
shoulders. He had such a thin, alluring mouth and the skin and
complexion of a china doll. Over his
eyes were painted light blue triangles, which seemed to sweep up with
his eyebrows as if they were part of them, while his aquiline nose
swept down his face just as gracefully. He was wearing a leather
cape with a high, stiff, outward-curled collar and a black shirt
with a low, open neckline; this allowed Aislinn to see the pendant
that hung around his neck. It was a triangle with two downward-curled
points that reminded Aislinn of the claws of a wild animal or the
horns of the devil. In the center of the silver triangle was a gold
circle with a quite elaborately-decorated lemniscate; an 8 turned on
its side- the symbol for infinity.
Aislinn stared into the eyes of this man, trying to figure of who he
was, until she noticed the lettering under the picture. In golden,
snake-like letters were painted the words: "Jareth, King of the
Goblins."
@)---
"*That's* Jareth?" Aislinn gasped outloud. 'How could she resist
*him*?' she thought. 'He's so- I don't know- alluring, mysterious.'
Then she paused. 'Wait- what am I thinking? This isn't a real story-
although the sketches are *so* life-like.' Aislinn was trying to
think logically. 'Maybe she's just a really good artist.' But the
eyes of the Goblin King kept creeping back into her mind. 'They're
*so* real. They're not something someone could have just pulled from
their mind... neither is he. Hmm, I wonder... It would so wonderful
if I could escape from this life- away from the problems of the world-
away to my fantasy land,' Aislinn thought. 'Away from my family who
never stops fighting...'
She turned back to the beginning of the leather-bound novel- the
warning. 'If this story is real- I don't care if you didn't want to
stay in Jareth's world, Sarah, but *I* do.'
@)---
Somewhere far away, a goblin opened its eyes. "Listen..."
@)---
"I wish-" Aislinn began.
@)---
"No! She doesn't have a child! And da Lady Sarah is comin' back! His
Majesty don't want no one here!"
"Don't say d'em words!"
* * * * *
"I wish-"
* * * * *
"No!" the goblins cried in unison.
* * * * *
Aislinn held the novel high above her head. "I wish the goblins would
come and take me away- right now!"
majorly revised. I first wrote this nearly four years ago, upon
joining the Labyrinth email list. As a new Labyrinth fan, I wanted to
follow in the footsteps of the first two authors I ever read, Caillean
Greywolf and Stephanie Massick. So "Ways of Goblin Magic" became a
sequel to their writings, "The Cassandra Trilogy" and "Strangers Till
Now", respectively. But now I'm making it my own, and
dumping the sequel bit, because it just got too confusing.
Jareth and co. are, of course, property of Jim Henson and his
associates who made the movie Labyrinth in 1986. I don't own any of
them. I only own Aislinn and all other characters, besides Talius
and Stephan, who Caillean has given to the public.
Comments and/or constructive critisism is very much appreciated
@)----
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
@)----
Far off in the distance, a young girl could hear the cry
of her mother calling her for dinner. Her mother had a loud
voice... quite obstreperous at times, Aislinn thought, which people
in the neighborhood always said could carry an impressively long
distance. It was true, for sure; Aislinn's mother was nearly two
blocks from where her daughter sat under her favorite Oak Tree in the
park.
"Aislinn! Please come to dinner! The rest of the family is waiting!"
Aislinn quickly packed up her things; her nature book, her
binoculars, her notebook, and her favorite pen- the one with the
little goldfinch at the end. The auburn-haired girl loved nature,
she really did, but her mind was constantly on other things. She
would take these items with her and then forget them and just sit and
dream under the Oak Tree. She did try to remember the time,
although, more often than not, she was unsuccessful. Her family joked
that Aislinn's hobby was the trigger for her mother acquiring such
a loud voice.
'Sometimes I wish my mother would buy me a watch so I could be home
on time and she could stop embarrassing me to death! It's not my
fault I'm not old enough to get a job and she won't give me an
allowance,' Aislinn thought as she ran home. Aislinn was, at this
moment, sorry she had worn a T-shirt instead of a sweatshirt, or at
least remembered to bring one. The late August nights could be
strange in good old northern Michigan. The days could be pleasant,
but the nights could be freezing. Now, as a brisk chill scurried up
the street, Aislinn felt it upon naked arms and shivered.
"Oh, Aislinn! I told you to take a sweatshirt!" her aunt scolded as
she entered the house. "You know how the evenings are around here."
"Sorry, Aunt Anna," murmered Aislinn. "I didn't think I would be out
so late."
"You never do, kid." Her uncle smiled as he carried a tray of steaming
vegetables past her into the dining room.
"Leroy, please don't smile," scolded his wife. "She could have caught
pneumonia!"
"Oh, Anna, lighten up." Leroy winked at Aislinn as he passed.
Aislinn smiled back at him. She had always loved her Uncle Leroy.
He was the only one who understood how she felt about nature- perhaps
he knew better than she did. There was, however, one other "hobby"
she had which no one in her family could ever understand. Aislinn
loved to collect books, figurines, dolls- anything about witches,
wizards,sorcerers, magicians, and strange creatures. Aislinn never
really talked to anyone about this, but she had a deep love in her
heart for fantasy and magic. She longed for a world where everyone
was always happy, with nothing to do but go to balls with the women
dressed in lacy ballroom dresses, and the men adorned in shimmery
waistcoats accessorized with cummerbunds of gold and...
"Aislinn, planning to come join us?" Her mother gestured to a chair
beside Aislinn's grandmother.
"Oh- yes, sorry. I was just thinking for a second."
"You know, Aisy," her grandfather began; that was what he had called
her since she was three. "Sometimes I really do wonder what you
think about. You are quite a mysterious girl. You never do tell us
why you collect those strange statues of wizards and such."
"I just like them. They're cool," Aislinn replied nonchalantly as she
took her seat next to her grandmother.
"Oh, come now, Aislinn," said the gray-haired woman beside her.
"There must be more to it than that. For someone who has as many of
those things as you do, you must-"
"Come on, Doris, leave her alone," interrupted Aislinn's uncle. "She
just likes 'em, that's all."
"Why must you always interrupt me when I'm speaking to Aislinn,
Leroy?" asked her grandmother.
"Because, Doris, you are always on her case about the silliest little
things!"
"I'm just interested in my granddaughter's hobbies and interests!
What's wrong with that?" Doris snapped back. Aislinn covered her ears
as the ever-so-familiar squabble between her uncle and grandmother
began once again.
@)---
In the Goblin City, Jareth, King of the Goblins, sat on the balcony
of his bedchambers, staring out over his Labyrinth. I had been three
weeks since Sarah had left, saying she needed time to truly say
goodbye to her old world and promising to return. Jareth knew she
loved him and would keep her word. Even so, he couldn't refuse the
temptation to check on his Lady. He flicked his wrist as a crystal
materialized on his fingertips. Jareth smiled, for in the crystal,
he saw Sarah was beginning to pack her things in an old trunk. His
true love would be returning to his domain to become his wife. As
Jareth was staring longingly into the crystal,one of his servant
goblins nervously entered the room. "Your Majesty?"
"Yes, what is it?" the Goblin King asked impatiently, looking up.
"Your Majesty," repeated the goblin, bowing. "Your brother, His
Majesty King Stephan, has arrived. He says he wants to talk to ya."
'Oh, Stephan, what is it this time?' Jareth sighed to himself,
standing. "Very well, tell him I'll be out in a minute."
"Yes, Your Highness," complied the brown furry creature, and scurried
from the room. The King then went to his mirror. He couldn't meet
Stephan in what he had on now- it was much too plain.
At this particular moment, Jareth was wearing brown stirrup pants,
a plain white poets shirt with a ruffled collar and baggy sleeves,
a tight brown leather vest, and short black gloves and riding boots.
Jareth and Stephan were always trying to impress each other-
especially outfit-wise. They were forever in competition over who was
the more powerful King, always forgetting their older brother Oberon,
who ruled the Fey alongside Stephan, for Oberon had already said he
wanted no part in their childish bickering.
Waving his hand, Jareth changed into midnight-blue tights, a
translucent black shirt with baggy sleeves, a low neckline, and no
cuffs, a tight black leather vest, his favorite boots; the ones with
the pointed toes, heals, and fringe at the top, some fancier short
black gloves, and his favorite cape with the high, stiff, outward-
curled collar with the inside of black and blue shimmering material.
"There," he said to himself as he once again faced his mirror. "Now
I'm ready to see Stephan."
@)---
Jareth left his bedchamber and headed down the corridor towards the
throne room. Entering the large, now de-bachelorized, chicken-free
throne room, he placed his hands regally on his hips. "Alright,
Stephan, what do you want?" Jareth impatiently inquired.
Stephan, the practical twin of his older brother, excluding his almost
ebony hair, turned to Jareth, a smirk growing on his thin lips. His
emerald eyes sparkled as he replied, "Why, Brother, I get the sense
that I'm not welcome here."
Jareth rolled his eyes and murmered, "Well, I was in the middle of
something."
The Eastern Fey King cocked his head and smiled. "Oh Jareth, do
tell."
"If you must know," the King sighed wistfully. "Sarah is packing her
things at this very moment."
Stephan smiled slightly. "Good. It's about time she got back here.
Just one question, Brother. Once you two are wed, will there be room
around here for me?"
"Of course there will be, Stephan. You'll just have to call first,
as you have in the past. Oh, and by the way, Gods forbid you should
be happy for me."
"I am, Jareth. I'll just have to get used to the change- I suppose it
won't be that hard. She was already here a month."
The Goblin King nodded. "Well, you should be used to change after
800 years or so."
The Eastern Fey King laughed. "I suppose so." Then his
face turned serious. He walked up to Jareth, placed his hand on his
brother's shoulder, and said, "Jareth, I just want you to now that I
really am happy for you." Even so, he smiled grudgingly.
"Thank you," Jareth replied, returning the smile. "And don't worry,
Stephan, I'm sure that someday you'll become as lucky as me."
@)---
Aislinn jumped up from the table. "I can't take this anymore!" she
shouted over her uncle and grandmother, who then stopped in dead
silence.
"Aislinn, what's wrong?" her grandmother asked.
"Grandma, I am so tired of you always asking me about my collection,"
Aislinn said huffily. "I've already told you that I collect those
figurines and books because I just like them. You don't have to act
like a I'm hiding some huge secret. And, I am sick of always you two
fighting about it. It's such a stupid argument, and I'm not staying
here another second to listen to it!" And with that, she turned and
stormed up the stairs.
"Aislinn, wait!" her grandmother pleaded, rising from her chair.
"Doris," said Aislinn's uncle, gesturing for her to retake her
seat. "Leave her alone. She's right. This is a stupid argument, and
she needs to be alone right now."
"Oh, alright," Aislinn's grandmother reluctantly agreed, returning
to her chair. "I suppose I just don't understand generation X, but
then no one ever does."
@)---
Aislinn flopped down on her bed and opened her beside table drawer.
There she found the new book she had bought a week ago from a garage
sale when her family had been traveling. She wasn't sure which state
they had been in, but they had been driving through a town on
their way back from Florida and had stopped at the sale just to see
if there was anything interesting. The girl whom Aislinn had bought
the book from had advised her to take heed of the warning at the
front of the book- or she would be sorry.
"What do you mean?" Aislinn had asked the girl.
"Just don't read any of the lines aloud from that book- as the
warning says- or you'll be in for a not-so-pleasant surprise."
Aislinn had been scared. The girl had looked so serious.
'Oh, well,' she thought as she opened the book and read
this "warning" the girl had spoke of. It just repeated what she had
said: not to read any of the lines from the book aloud.
'It's just put there to scare people,' Aislinn thought. Then she
noticedthe named of the author- Sarah Williams. "Sounds like a
normal name- pretty," Aislinn said to herself as she started to read.
'Labyrinth? Goblins? Goblin King?' she thought. 'This girl has quite
imagination- but I like this story!' Aislinn kept reading until she
came to the sketches Sarah had drawn. There was one of a dwarven man
dressed in a baggy shirt, strange vest, dirty-looking breeches, and
a skullcap, with lumpy skin and a huge nose. The next was of a big,
ugly, horned, yet sweet-looking red-brown, hairy monster. He stood,
even hunched over, just higher than a really tall human- perhaps
seven feet. The next sketch was a- fox? Maybe a cross between a fox
and a dog... that's what he looked like anyway. The creature was
dressed in a brightly-colored outfit from the medieval period.
Aislinn turned page after page of strange-looking creatures...
until she came to the very last sketch. 'Wait,' Aislinn thought.
'He's a human- and a damn good-looking human at that.' The man in
the last sketch kept Aislinn's eyes glued to the picture. His cold,
mysterious eyes, topped with dark, arched eyebrows, seemed to stare
into her soul. His eyes themselves were very unusual, yet strangely
attractive- one aqua and one hazel, with the hazel one apparently
having a permanently dilated pupil, even further enlarging the
contrast. His white blonde hair was in quite an unusual style. It
was spiked on top with long, wispy strands flowing past his
shoulders. He had such a thin, alluring mouth and the skin and
complexion of a china doll. Over his
eyes were painted light blue triangles, which seemed to sweep up with
his eyebrows as if they were part of them, while his aquiline nose
swept down his face just as gracefully. He was wearing a leather
cape with a high, stiff, outward-curled collar and a black shirt
with a low, open neckline; this allowed Aislinn to see the pendant
that hung around his neck. It was a triangle with two downward-curled
points that reminded Aislinn of the claws of a wild animal or the
horns of the devil. In the center of the silver triangle was a gold
circle with a quite elaborately-decorated lemniscate; an 8 turned on
its side- the symbol for infinity.
Aislinn stared into the eyes of this man, trying to figure of who he
was, until she noticed the lettering under the picture. In golden,
snake-like letters were painted the words: "Jareth, King of the
Goblins."
@)---
"*That's* Jareth?" Aislinn gasped outloud. 'How could she resist
*him*?' she thought. 'He's so- I don't know- alluring, mysterious.'
Then she paused. 'Wait- what am I thinking? This isn't a real story-
although the sketches are *so* life-like.' Aislinn was trying to
think logically. 'Maybe she's just a really good artist.' But the
eyes of the Goblin King kept creeping back into her mind. 'They're
*so* real. They're not something someone could have just pulled from
their mind... neither is he. Hmm, I wonder... It would so wonderful
if I could escape from this life- away from the problems of the world-
away to my fantasy land,' Aislinn thought. 'Away from my family who
never stops fighting...'
She turned back to the beginning of the leather-bound novel- the
warning. 'If this story is real- I don't care if you didn't want to
stay in Jareth's world, Sarah, but *I* do.'
@)---
Somewhere far away, a goblin opened its eyes. "Listen..."
@)---
"I wish-" Aislinn began.
@)---
"No! She doesn't have a child! And da Lady Sarah is comin' back! His
Majesty don't want no one here!"
"Don't say d'em words!"
* * * * *
"I wish-"
* * * * *
"No!" the goblins cried in unison.
* * * * *
Aislinn held the novel high above her head. "I wish the goblins would
come and take me away- right now!"