Chapter 1. Beginnings
It all began when The Goblin King noticed the young girl. He was, as was often his wont, gazing into the world above, whiling away a little time playing tricks on unsuspecting mortals from above ground. It amused him. It was a time honoured tradition among the kings and queens of old and well respected. Minor mischiefs they left to the small goblins, dwarfs and hob goblins, lost keys and mismatched socks. The Goblin King on the other hand had always favoured mischief of another kind, the kind that left countries ablaze and kingdoms torn asunder. But also mischief of the heart, making the children of enemies fall in love, watching as their worlds came crashing down around them. When he saw Sarah- It was the first time anyone had made him stop in his tracks. It was her face, her small pale face with deeply innocent and curious grey-green eyes that you could drown in.
He'd seen her sweet face and soulful eyes and sunk into a mood that he couldn't be roused from. The King had stormed about the castle for weeks, gazing longingly into his crystals catching glimpses of her and her ordinary life. Nothing could draw him out of his moody, languishing habit. He was hooked and nothing that usually distracted him was working- he sent away the dancers, the jesters, the fools and the lovers. He all but abandoned his kingdom and it began to run amok. He sat in the dark yearning and watching. He began to learn about life, her Father, her Step-Mother and more importantly her younger brother. Slowly he began to insert himself into her conscience, a book here, a model there, anything to feel like he was
One day a goblin was serving him as he was watching her play with her little brother; Toby. The child was sweet and small with cherubic cheeks and blonde hair, the goblin had taken one look and said "want that one! Small and sweet, make good goblin" he had chuckled to himself and left, all the while muttering, "good goblin, new little goblin he he" An idea had begun to simmer in the King's mind. It was true goblins had long been taking little boys from their beds at the misguided wishes of their parents- but how to make Sarah give up the child?
So began the King's great scheme. In his mind stealing the child became intrinsically linked to keeping the girl. He used his powers of manipulation over the mortals, made her Step-Mother cruel, her Father uncaring, the child needed no help to be stubborn and spoilt, Sarah he left unaltered. He did not want her spoilt, and made it well known far and wide that anyone caught messing with her mind would have to answer to the Goblin King. No one crossed him, his reputation as a fierce and often cruel leader was well known and well founded.
The King watched as Sarah drew closer to him every day, pushed away by her family. She took to walking the parks and forests near her home, reading and re reading The Labyrinth- it had quickly become her favourite book and she had all but memorised it. Often when she was walking in the forests, the King was by her side, she didn't know it but the wild places on earth are where the lines blur most between the above and the underground.