Disclaimer: I, sarcrow13, do not own Labyrinth, or any of the fairy tales that inspired this fanfiction: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Where the Wild Things Are, etc. I do, however, own Jasper Williams and her side of the story, as well as the parts of the plot that you do not recognize from the movie.

Northern Star

Prologue: In the Past

The past decides the future, but the present cannot change the past.

Though it is a cliche way to start this tale, of adventure and mystery and romance, there is no other way.

Once Upon A Time . . .

There was a kingdom.

Contrary to what all humans believe, there are more worlds than just theirs, and it is one of these worlds, thought to be fictional and make-believe, in which our story begins.

In the Underground, there are many kingdoms, all guarded by a sentient Labyrinth; the most famous of these kingdoms is the Goblin Kingdom, ruled by the Goblin King, Jareth. But before the Goblin Kingdom was established, Jareth even thought of, there was the Kingdom of the Fae.

The Kingdom was ruled by King Oberon, a kind and gentle Fae, with dark hair and light eyes. He was powerful and wise, but he ruled alone — for a very long time. And though they were at a rare time of utter peace, the kingdom suffered.

You see, a Fae is a powerful creature, full of intense magic and sharp wit and intellect, but without their Beloved, their soul-mate in human terms, they are not at their full strength. It is only when they meet and mate with their Beloved that they gain their full powers, thereby becoming the strongest of all of the 'mythical' creatures.

And while many current rulers of the Kingdoms are part-Fae, they are not full-blooded. The more Fae blood that runs through their veins, the more powerful they are.

As I was saying, King Oberon had not found his Beloved, and so he, and the Kingdom his life-force was utterly connected and intertwined with, suffered.

However, one day, Oberon was wandering the Underground mindlessly, utterly bored, he came across some cruelly mischievous pixies harassing a sick, weak Fae. He could sense a strange power coming from the beautiful Fae, somehow sealed into the dark, coiled ringlets of her hair that fell down to her ankles - even while in an elegant up-do - and her green eyes, the color like the velveteen underside of a leaf. He chased the pixies away and cursed them to hideous, dim-witted forms for the rest of eternity, thereby creating the Underground's first Goblins.

Later, a part-Fae, part-Drow would be assigned to be the ruler of these mischievous, dim-witted creatures after a couple of . . . assignments from Oberon went awry. His name was Jareth. But Jareth isn't important, not right now. He will be later, but for now . . .

Oberon helped the beautiful Fae stand, and the moment that their skin made contact, they both knew. They were Beloveds, bonded, destined to be together for the rest of the millennium-long lives.

The mysterious, now-not-so-sickly Fae introduced herself as Titania, and she thanked him after finding his name and being scolded for bowing reverently to him for his title. After he asked why she had been wandering, she admitted to him that her parents had died and she had no home, no place to live. And so he offered her a place in his castle, as his guest, and, needless to say, she accepted the generous offer.

Soon after moving in together, they fell and love and were wed.

However, the bliss of being together would not last forever, and Titania found out, after multiple failed attempts, that she was incapable of bearing children, try as she might. Fearing Oberon having to turn to other Fae women in order to produce a strong heir for the Kingdom, she ran to the Spirit of the Labyrinth, a mysterious enigma who was rumored to grant impossible wishes — for a price.

After a long bargain, the Spirit gave Titania and Oberon a child, at the price of the future of the child, which Titania saw as a small price to pay — both for the child, and for her and her husband. The Spirit also gave her a warning: Your babe will be the most powerful of the Fae, be the fairest of the fair, and will play a monumental role in the fate of the universe. Should your child e'er die, the existence of e'erything shalt be doomed.

Titania returned to her husband and told him all that she had been told about their child, only leaving out the fact that the Labyrinth had given her a heir to him at a price. Needless to say, Oberon was overjoyed at the prospect of having a child, and he was not willing to forgo any and every necessary protection for his Beloved and his child.

She was given guards and hidden away in a tower guarded by the Labyrinth's powerful magic, and as the child she was given grew in her stomach over the time, the Labyrinth whispered to her tales of magic, of the future and of the fate of her child. Ne'er did Titania tell another living soul these tales; they were between her, the Labyrinth, and the babe she so loved inside of her. At last, after nine months, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

She named her baby Pan, at the bequest of the Labyrinth, and after a few weeks, Pan was given an official welcoming — both into the Kingdom, and into the Royal Family. She was loved by all, heralded as the most lovely Fae of the entire Kingdom.

Pan lived to 6 — 600 in human years — before the Kingdom was attacked by the Drow, the dark elves. She was happy and loved, but in that attack, everything changed.

The Drow sought the power of Pan, one of the few pure Fae and the child of two of the strongest and heralded by all to be the most powerful of all. They did not know of the bargain with the Labyrinth Queen Titania had made in order to bring Pan into existence, or the importance of her role in all the worlds' fate. All they knew was she was powerful. And they wanted her.

But the Labyrinth, ever protective of its child, warned both Titania and Oberon of the impending danger to their child, and so together, many months before the attack was committed, the three began to plan together. And so a plan was made and put into action, sending Pan into the human realm, where she could not be harmed or even touched by the evil of the Drow, with her memories and powers sealed away.

The same night that she was sent away, the Fae Kingdom was destroyed entirely, all of those who lived there massacred by the Drow. Pan was left the only pureblood Fae left in existence, and she couldn't even remember her heritage.

But all too soon, everything will change.