As always, I own nothing. All credit goes to Jim Henson for the characters. On we go!

King Jareth sat in his throne lazily while listening to the grievances of his subjects. No other monarch in the Underground would even think of doing such a thing, but he was no ordinary monarch. He was the King of Goblins, and Conquerer of the Labyrinth for crying out loud. Goblins were ridiculous creatures and needed over the top reactions to control them. While he loved his job, it got really tiring to not speak to a more sophisticated species sometimes. That was probably why he made the goblins laugh at his jokes, to keep the illusion that they really understood him.

The monarch pinched his nose, trying to not fall asleep. Their grievances were so childish. Two female goblins were arguing because they got in a fight of whose dress was prettier. They each got so angry that one of their houses was set on fire, and Jareth ordered them to help put the house back together and presented both of them with new dresses to shut them up. His training with children in the Aboveground really helped with being king of such creatures.

A large gust of wind bust the marble white doors open, revealing 50 figures. The goblins hurriedly ran away to hide, the parents comforting their babies. Some of the figures were fey, some elves, some fairies, warlocks, and more. Jareth glared at the group for barging in on him and his subjects. Did the ambassadors have no shame? While Jareth wanted to continue with the grievances, he shooed his subjects out of the castle, telling them to come at a different date. It was protocol to have the Ambassadors to be held at a higher importance than his subjects, something that angered him greatly. He made an oath to put his subjects above all else, and yet he was supposed to make the ambassadors a higher priority.

A woman stepped forward. She did not cower beneath Jareth's death stare, but her violet eyes looked at him defiantly. The elven woman wore a golden dress with flowers intricately woven onto the hems of her skirt, in stark constraint to her dark skin. Her chocolate brown hair was in a neat braid down her back, her hands down at her sides. She crossed her right arm across her chest and kneeled on one knee, showing him the ring on her pinky that had the coat of arms of the High Queen of the Underground etched in. This bow indicated her respect to both Jareth and the High Queen as their ambassador.

"Ambassador Valeria, what is the meaning of this disturbance? And what message do you have from Her Excellency?" He knew what she was going to say, and was trying to not lose control. He was normally very good at controlling his temper for appearances, but when the High Queen was concerned, he found he had little tolerance for her.

The elf bowed down, then said "Your majesty. The High Queen has sent NUMEROUS personal messages to you. Why have you not replied?" Every single person in the room knew why, but all were cautious to not implicate anything just yet, formalities and all.

"I am not ready to take a wife, and I am doing just fine on my own, thank you." He was sick and tired of everyone trying to invade his personal life. They all knew about his history with Sarah, every bit of it. In order for his power and kingdom to be fully balanced and to be as powerful as it could be, there must be two monarchs on the throne. And more than ever, he did need more power. He was just too stubborn to admit he did.

"The jiangshi will cross your Labyrinth first! And then they will kill the rest of us!" A young man bellowed. A fairy, Jareth noted, and a young one at that, which would explain his tactlessness. This news did worry him. Though he had placed many provisions to protect the Labyrinth from the jiangshi, it won't last very long. The Labyrinth was the first line of defense. The vampire-zombie creatures grow stronger as the decades grow by, and no one knew where they came from.

The fairy continued his rant. "Take a woman to be your wife, and maybe you'll grow to love her! Is it really THAT difficult?"

The Goblin King had had enough. Did this fairy seriously think that loving was that easy? Did he imply that he hadn't tried to meet each and every one of the women sent to his castle from the each of the monarchs and ambassadors? He got up and angrily jabbed his finger in the fairy's direction. "DO. NOT. DEFY. ME. I will not be told what is good for MY kingdom." He had tried again and again to meet a woman who would be good for his kingdom and for him, but none fit the criteria. His kingdom was on the outskirts of civilization, and not many wanted him. Women would want him for two reasons; 1) because he was very powerful, second to only the High Queen and 2) because of his good looks. They didn't truly want a relationship with him. Plus, there was the regret he had about Sarah and the confusion he felt towards her.

The ambassadors all were worried for him, but also very sick of him. Why couldn't he just pick a woman? It was known that Jareth was charming, and would take good care of his wife. The same elven woman stepped forward. "Her Excellency has given you a timeline. If you do not find someone soon, we will choose one for you. Especially with the threat of the jiangshi that Ambassador Karden just mentioned." Jareth nodded, wanting them to go away.

All of them bowed, and left him. And they didn't have the nerve to even close his doors! He threw a crystal to close it shut, and transported himself to his chambers. Laying on his bed, he let go of his public, stoic persona, and cried to sleep.

His dreams were memories from long ago, while he was preparing to be king.

On his 13th birthday, he woke up to find that his room was full of crystals. While the young fey was panicking, his parents beamed at their son for finally finding out what his magic medium was. "I'm so proud of you son," his mother said. His father nodded. "One day, you'll be able to do so much! Let's celebrate!" All Underground children found their medium on their 13th birthday. While they may do magic through other ways, their mediums will prove to be the most reliable and the strongest form of magic that they can produce.

After calming him down, Jareth started perfecting his crystals and even tried a few spells. He made clothes for his parents appear, and they were delighted even though the clothes he created were some of the ugliest they had ever seen. During breakfast, Jareth's arm started to glow. All three stopped eating and stared. Carefully peeling his sleeves, back, his mother gasped when she saw a tiny maze etched on it.

"No." His father's eyes filled with tears. This is the marking of a new monarch. You see, the underground doesn't choose monarchs by family ties. Jareth was to be King of the Labyrinth, the most dangerous place of all. Dozens of creatures die in there every day. It was the most dangerous realm, and no one had ever conquered the labyrinth without aid of another monarch before.

A man in a deep purple robe appeared in their kitchen. The family was not surprised, they knew that he was there to take their son away to immediately train to be king. Within an hour, Jareth had went from being an excited teenager to having the responsibilities of a king on his shoulders. His mother begged, and the man agreed that Jareth could have one week to stay before he left.

After a month of magical training, he received practical training into Above and without magic. All monarchs are required to spend 5 human years in the Above. For the first few weeks, Jareth was lost and alone, miserable and homeless. He went to an orphanage, and found his love of children. He lived terrible conditions there, but was able to make life easier for them.

Jareth (or Jared, as he was called by the caretakers) was the best older sibling any of them could've had. He rocked babies to sleep, played dress up, and taught them about the world around them. He worked as a dishwasher boy in the kitchen for his living. The young king was most curious about the protests going on all the time. The American civil rights movement was going on, and he couldn't fathom how people of the same species could discriminate based on color or gender alone. He made sure to look out for the non white children the most as this orphanage was a rare one that didn't segregate them.

On his 18th birthday, he was again whisked away, this time to rule as king. He was angry that he was uprooted so quickly for the second time, without a chance to say goodbye to the children, especially the abused ones. While he was still kind and patient, he became more bitter towards the world and more secluded.

He felt a familiar tug that pulled him out of sleep. Sarah, he thought. It's been 5 years since he'd heard from her. He was too stubborn and too heart broken to look into her life, except for at the park when she was 16, and only because his goblins had escaped. He snapped his fingers to dress himself in his poet's shirt with tights and boots, a comfortable yet formal attire. With a swirl of glitter, he landed in her room.

Hey guys, so this is my first fanfic. I've tried to write some in the past, but they just never worked out. I'm determined to actually write this one and finish it and forced myself to post the first chapter here so that anyone that's following it will help me to actually be motivated! Don't forget to leave a review and thank you all so much.