A/N: While I am nominally a writer of HP fiction and GH fiction, I have dabbled in other genres, when I first began writing HP fiction, I went looking for the name of the Goblin King. Search engine after search engine would send me to a photo of David Bowie as Jareth the king from the Labyrinth. At the time, I filed it away in my notes and forgot about it while eventually deciding to use the name most often mentioned in fanfics as kings of the goblins.
When David Bowie died last year, I remember pulling out the movie where he played the Goblin King, we had a few laughs regarding those infamous pants and his hair in the movie but the response from the girls I write for regarding the songs reminded me of why I had enjoyed his music once exposed to much of the older stuff, sorry but early 80s Bowie music wasn't as good. However, Underground, Dance Baby Dance and As the World Falls Down inspired some notes but not any real intent to write.
With the death of Alan Rickman, I found it hard to write HP as I have a loved Alan's skills as an actor and that voice which bleeds over to Snape. I have been when I have the spare time; going through my old thumb drives, trying to get back into the swing of writing and found some old notes that I had written from the few days between David and Alan's death.
I couldn't bring myself to erase them, but I also wasn't inspired to write them until I saw a YouTube video while looking for one of David's songs to use for a background to a chapter I was reworking in an old GH fiction, but low and behold, who was in the video, Gary Oldman, Sirius Black himself. I found myself distracted and reminded of the notes I had found and the need to write this came up.
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The Time Shall Come
Chapter One: When you wish...
The beautiful young boy sobbed as he lay in the large wood four poster bed with the blood red heavy silk curtains closed. He had never felt more lonely in his life than he did at this moment when most of his kind would consider the grandest day of his life. He had been appointed king of a great land, at such a young age. He had heard the whispers, had seen the envious grimaces as the men spoke among themselves, all being careful to only speak where the king of all or his queen couldn't hear them, of course.
The boy had heard though, had seen the scornful sideways glances and had felt the sting of the carelessly said words. He had seen the ambitious and speculative looks in the young women of his world turn to disappointed moues when their mothers would tug at their arms to keep them from speaking to the newly crowned king.
Turning over to lay on his back, he wiped the tears away with his arm sleeve and stared at the intricately carved nymphs on the tester of his new royal bed. Sighing as he tried to regain his composure and return to the ornate glass ballroom of his recently granted castle, he heard light footsteps and hastily climbed out of the bed and went to stand at the window, desperately attempting to appear as aloof as his High King did when dealing with unwanted intrusions.
"Jareth?" The young boy stiffened at the sound of the soft voice of the last person he wished to see him when he was feeling so down. "I know what is being said..."
"Is it true?" He asked, his tone of voice cold as he struggled to keep his writhing emotions hidden.
"Yes and no." She quietly replied as she moved to stand beside the boy and attempted to reach out to comfort him. When he shrugged her hands from the tops of his shoulders, she turned him around and saw what he was trying so hard to hide. "I did ask for you to be sent to this kingdom, but the rumors of why are very wrong."
"Is your husband, my father?" He asked losing his struggle with his still-maturing voice as it cracked on the word father unable to ask what he really wanted to know, was the High King his biological father.
"Jareth, in so far as that he raised you, yes, he is. However, look into your soul, the truth is there for you to see." She softly replied. Lifting his head, so that she could look him in the eyes, "Your magic is so strong, that is why you are being crowned, it is not a punishment or a banishment."
"You never loved me." Jareth felt the words leaving his mouth in spite of his wish to have never spoken them.
Her soft lilting laughter had the boy shuddering in pain and she quickly realized that he had thought she was making him fun of him. "Jareth, one day, the truth will be revealed to you. At that day, more than the truth regarding your past will be known. Just know, that you of more than anyone else in this kingdom or any other in the Underground have my respect and my wishes for a beautiful future than any other fae other than the man who raised you as a son."
The beautiful boy regained his composure, at least on the surface and at a sedate pace escorted the High queen back to the coronation celebration and using his magic created an outer shell of indifference and regal aloofness which is all he showed to those gathered.
When the last of the guests, including the High King and Queen, had left, the boy allowed his shoulders to slump. Walking back down the stone corridor to his quarters, he sank onto the bed and lay there, still awake as he tried to figure out what to do next.
Over the next three months, the boy trained with his courtiers whose job it was to prepare him to rule over the lands he had been granted. Those whose job it was to train him in the politics were amazed at how black and white he choose to see things, there would be no shades of gray in these newly granted lands.
"Whats said is said, what is done is done." He firmly replied when questioned by his advisers on denying the need to forgive trespass.
The young king walked out of the study and went to his afternoon lessons, the only ones he truly enjoyed. In the Labyrinth, the spirit came and surrounded the boy, then shaped itself into a visible creature and floated around the young king now seated on the bench in the middle of the hedge maze.
"How are you, your highness? Jareth?"
The boy knew that this wasn't a question about his health, physical or otherwise, but no, it was about his magic. All of his advisers only questioned him on his growing knowledge, never on his inner needs, that wasn't their job.
"Growing more powerful every day." He proudly replied as he showed his instructor his mastery of the crystals while inwardly wishing for someone, anyone to express an interest in him for some reason other than his position.
The spirit nodded sadly, knowing that for the boy, this meant the day was coming when he would no longer need her. All that was left was to help him find his animal spirit and she was almost certain that even if he hadn't admitted it to her, he had found out what it was.
By the time it was the first anniversary of his reign as King of the Southern Lands, Jareth had outgrown his political advisers who had returned to the High Kingdom full of warning of the young ruler's inflexible ideas of right and wrong. His economic advisers were full of praise for his financial astuteness not only of their world but like most kings he played around with the mortal markets.
The High queen had heard from the spirit of the Labyrinth how young Jareth had fulfilled his powerful and inventive abilities with magic and had spoken to her husband, her concerns brushed away as her being an overwrought woman.
When the next set of tutors spoke of his intelligence and deep thirst for knowledge, of the library that the boy was creating, there was a sense of pride. When that knowledge was put to practical use and the newly crowned king used his magic to create a garden which thrilled all five senses, when the castle keep was soon filled with art and fortified so that not even magic could breach it, the High King proudly pointed to it as proof that his choice of the boy as king had been correct.
The High king had heard the rumors of the fae women who paid visits to the kingdom and the pleasures that they wound find with the young king. While he wasn't happy to hear of the young king's promiscuity with the even married fae, he could understand the need for female companionship. It was only those rumors that kept him from worrying about the boy.
If only he had paid closer attention, he would have realized that that steady influx of visitors were slowly causing the young boy to grow colder and colder as he realized that while these women were more than willing to throw their bodies at him, to share sex with him, but they would never be willing to be seen at his court. To do so was now considered social suicide in the Underground for ambitious fae women.
Each visit left the young king more confused by their heated caresses which were followed by abrupt exits when he had fulfilled their fantasy of sleeping with him while the boy who had only given into their whispered requests and promises out of a need for companionship which was quickly denied. Each late night exit left the boy feeling like an outcast and as if he carried some sort of dreadful curse upon his very soul.
There was a blindness by the High King to the coldness, the sense of isolation growing in the young king so when he appeared before his sovereign to find out what his true role as King the older ruler never knew until it was too late to repair the damage he was about to inflict on the boy king.
"Your royal highness," Jareth said as he knelt before the king who might or might not be his biological father. "You summoned me."
"Jareth, rise." Once the overly pretty boy had done so, he ordered him to sit across from him. "As you know, each kingdom in my realm was created to support Underground as a whole. Now that you have completely ascended to your role as King it is time to inform you of your purpose."
"Thank you for choosing me," Jareth replied politely.
"When you were born, your astounding gift with magic, in effect, your natural talent with this ability was soon related to me by the midwife who delivered you." The High King stood and walked to the window, his eyes staring out over his kingdom, his back to the boy.
Jareth watched the High King, curious to know if he was about to hear the truth of his parentage, but instead, the High King turned around and said "That was the moment that I knew you must be raised in this castle. I watched over you, molded you in the hopes that you were the one I have been watching for over the last five millennium. You have proven yourself beyond anything I would have ever believed possible."
"Thank you, your majesty," Jareth replied a bit confused.
"As a reward for your skills, both learned and natural I have decided to appoint you to a long neglected position, that of Keeper of the Aboveground and all its wonders."
Seeing Jareth's confusion, the High King put a smile on his face and explained "As Keeper of the Aboveground you are responsible for the small gates that connect both worlds. You are Master of the Labyrinth, of mortal dreams and protector of the propagation of our realm."
"Your majesty, I am rather unclear as to what this means," Jareth replied having never run into a description of such a realm.
"Simply put, your job is to interact with mortals in any way required." The High King proudly announced. Seeing Jareth frowning and realizing he really didn't understand, he said "There are mortals who still believe in our world, who sometimes end up here. It is your decision as to where they end up. Here or aboveground. It is your job to decide if those who truly believe deserve to have their wishes granted or it they are being selfish. It is your job to bring the unwanted children who are wished away and choose their fates like I once did yours."
"Mine?" Jareth asked in a soft voice.
"Yes, I knew even when you were a child that you were meant to be a king. Now it is up to you, to decide the fates of others." Jareth was confused but nodded as the High King told him that he was to be granted three wishes to help him achieve his goals in spite of Jareth truly not sure how he was responsible for the propagation of their world. All knew that fae babies were few and far between, so how was he to fulfill that obligation?
He was still thinking things through when the King asked him "Who do you choose to rule over? Elves? Dwarfs? Trolls?"
Jareth listened as the High King extolled the virtues of all of the races in the Underground and found that he had no wish to rule any of them. When the King finished, Jareth said: "I will take those unwanted, those exiled by all other kingdoms into my realm, give them a place in my kingdom."
"Jareth, you may choose to do this, but you must choose a creature to rule over, it is a requirement of your position."
Jareth cynically couldn't help thinking how as it a wish if he was required to do so. After thinking on it for a few minutes, he realized there was one species he had not heard mentioned. One species that fit his earlier requirement, a species that most in his world disdained. Hiding his true thoughts he looked at the High King and said: "I wish to choose the goblins."
The High King looked taken back at the choice and with a slight frown asked. "Are you sure that you meant to say the Goblins, of all creatures?"
"Yes, I choose to rule over the goblins," Jareth replied in an even tone.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather the elves or the dwarfs?" The High King was beyond puzzled why Jareth would choose to rule over the lowest of the low. The Goblins were so low that they weren't even offered up as subject to any previous King who had come before.
"No, I have made my choice." Jareth replied then said, "What is said is said."
"Fine, but I think you will come to regret this choice." With that, the King handed Jareth the book of Goblins which automatically connected the large city of Goblins to his lands. "Jareth, think before making the next wish. You must choose them before your wedding."
"My what?" Jareth asked, his voice cracking at the unexpected news. "You have chosen a bride for me?"
The High King chuckled and waved off the intense fear coming from the boy. "Jareth, relax my boy. No, as King it is your choice who you wed. As far as I am aware the seer hasn't seen a bride for you for many, many years."
The teenager relaxed even as a small part of him felt regret because a bride would be someone to talk to, someone to play with and someone who would always be there for him.
"I vow, your majesty, to uphold my responsibilities to the Underground with honor and faithfulness," Jareth replied before he exited the throne room.
As the young king soon gained respect by those who he ruled by law and those who choose to accept his rule by moving to his kingdom, he found himself growing more and more cynical as his own people paid fewer and few visits to his kingdom. He began refusing all invitations to court unless he had to be there for unavoidable functions. After each visit, he grew more and more determined to find excuses to stay away.
The years passed and Jareth had begun to truly understand his job in the propagation of the species as he brought the wished away children to his kingdom. Most wishers choose to take their dreams and abandon their children to him. Few willingly took the option of the challenge of the labyrinth.
Watching as the children were first wished away by those whose job it was to love them, then as they found homes where they were loved and cherished, had the young king growing weary at the pain the children often suffered before coming to his world and lacking compassion towards those who wished them away until his black and white, right or wrong views had him giving fewer the option of their dreams and forcing more to run the maze, where failure was the only option.
When the caregivers would lose, Jareth would then choose a family from those who had petitioned for children. In the meantime the children would spend a week in his castle, giving Jareth a taste of what had long been a secret dream of his, a family of his own, one who would never leave, one who would love him in spite of his crown.
As time passed, loneliness grew and the young king withdrew even more from the High Kingdom. It was soon half a millennia and the High Queen and her husband were gathered in the throne room as the yearly courts gathered.
When Jareth appeared looking regal but unapproachable, sat in on the required meetings and then disappeared midway through the last day, the High King demanded an audience with his wayward subject. "You should not have left."
The handsome blond man looked at his king and said "A child was wished away. In this century as you are well aware, that is a rare event."
"The outcome?" The High King inquired as if there was any doubt. There had not been a successful runner the entire time Jareth had been king and many had been forced to attempt it.
"The child will remain and become one of us," Jareth replied. "I will be looking at the petitions the minute I am free to return to choose a family."
"Jareth, your dedication to your kingdom and your duty have been well noted, but your lack of time at court and of a bride have also been noted." The High King left that it was his wife who had noticed the lack of a wife and he who had noted the lack of time at court. His subjects out of fear of the powerful magic that Jareth had at his disposal rarely criticized the still young king.
"You once told me that I could choose a wife on my own schedule, was this not true?" Jareth challenged his king in spite of the inherent dangers in doing so.
"Jareth, it still remains your choice of who and when. I am just concerned." The High king tried to connect to the man most called the Goblin King in spite of his rightful title being King of the Southern Lands.
"I am fulfilling my duties as your subject if you are unpleased..." The strange wording had the High King looking quizzically at the blond. "If not, I will return to my castle to begin going through the petitions."
"Jareth..." The High King looked at the boy, thought to himself how the rumors had ended, how Jareth refused all visitors to his kingdom except those whom he had to meet on official business. How even the late night visits from the women of the fae had seemed to come to an end. He had heard the bitter and sharp statements about how Jareth had been insultingly honest with the unfaithful wives or deceiving maids regarding their morals.
"Your majesty." Jareth bowed and exited, quickly using magic to return to where he felt wanted and needed by his subjects, if alone in a room full of others.
The High King let out a troubled sigh and looking at his wife who had been watching him speaking to Jareth with a worried expression on her face, gave a slight shake of the head to let her know that he had not succeeded in his quest to speak to the powerful young fae.
In the castle near the goblin city, the five hundred and fifteen-year-old king lay back on his bed, tears no longer fell when he thought about his life, instead, there was a resigned acceptance that this, this life he leads was to be his lot in life.
Still, the heart that was wrapped up in cold unbreakable diamond-hard crystal couldn't help quietly wishing for what it still dreamed of. A family, a life where those in it, never left. Where he was wanted for who he was and not what he had or could do for others. The mind was hardened, but the soul was crying out for its mate. The young boy had once truly believed that his other half existed, of course, that was a time when he had believed himself the beloved adopted son of the childless High King and Queen.
Time had slowly eroded his belief in love, at least in regards to a chance that someone could love him, cold rationality had taken over but that soul, that part that gave him his ability to perform some very powerful magic knew that when the time came, the right person would come along and help to fill the emptiness that existed in his heart.
Of, she wouldn't do it by herself, because no one person, no matter how well intended or full of love could achieve such a task, but she would teach him that love wasn't about pain, that love was about opening your heart to others around you. That it was about taking a leap of faith and finding what you truly needed to be happy.
Still, that lonely man lay back on his bed, looked around and quietly and unknowingly said out loud "I wish... I wish I could find someone to love me for me."
Falling asleep, still wearing his court clothes, the Goblin king never saw the bright silver strand of magic floating away from his lips and towards the open window nearby.
He never saw it float towards the hidden spirit who was part of the Labyrinth, he never heard her giggle and then gather the small strand of magic into a crystal and sent it towards the Aboveground. The spirit and others of their world had long awaited this wish, had known that the one the Goblin king wished for would only be created when his heart was ready for her to exist. It was finally time, oh, it would take years for the wished for to join them, but the goblin queen was finally going to be born.
To Be Continued
