The Goblin King sat on his throne, not sideways with his legs over the side as usual, but facing forward, leaning back, head sunken, with his chin nearly touching his chest. His unique, poofy, blonde hair hung in his eyes which, unbeknownst to anyone but himself, were red and puffy from emotional injury.
Sarah had beaten him. No one beat Jareth. Everyone knew that. Yet he, ruler of the Underground, had been defeated, by a teenage girl at that. He loathed it. Jareth had done everything; taken her baby brother, made her run his Labyrinth, lessened the time she had to get the child back, tried to drop her into the Bog of Stench, forced that dwarf, Higgle, whatever his name was, to give her the enchanted peach, trapped her in a dream. He'd taken every precaution and made it as difficult for her as possible, yet she'd gotten passed it all. How could she?
Jareth had given Sarah exactly what she wanted. She'd asked him to take the child away, hadn't she? That's what he did. He gave her an adventure and puzzle to conquer. Hadn't she daydreamed of one? He promised her everything. All he asked in return was for her to fear him, love him, and do as he said. It wasn't that much to ask was it?
Sarah intrigued him. She was beautiful, willful, brave, determined, and oh so defiant. Jareth loved and loathed it at the same time. She was so very enticing to the Goblin King. He would give her everything she desired, be her slave. He promised her all of this and she'd simply hurled at him the words he never wanted to hear; "You have no power over me."
Why had she refused him? All he wanted was her. Jareth had sworn he'd win her in the ballroom in the dream. He'd sung to her and he'd seen her expression, swore he knew what she was feeling. Until she'd remembered her stepbrother, Jareth swore he saw enchantment in her eyes. He thought he saw bliss and utter contentment. She'd seemed enthralled, just as he was, in nothing but their dance and each other. Didn't she want him?
The Goblin King sat, more still and quiet than his subjects had ever seen, his heart swirling with various emotions and his mind full of questions he was too prideful to ask. A goblin sat silent at his feet, polishing his boot. Others stood and wandered around the room, having hushed conversations with each other about what had happened and wondering what would happen next. Some of the goblins were missing from their usual places in the throne room, gone to Sarah to party and have fun. Oh, how ignorant the girl was of how much what she had done affected things in the Underground, especially the Goblin King.
The goblins misinterpreted their King's depressed and grouchy mood as a result of losing.
A particularly brave one approached the throne, speaking hesitantly, "I-I'm sorry you didn't win, Y-Your Majesty. Maybe you could s-sing something. That usually ch-cheers you up."
Jareth glared at the goblin at his feet as if he hadn't noticed the creature before, kicking him across the room with the boot he'd been polishing, "Not now!" He turned on the goblin that had spoken, "I'm not in the mood for singing!" He yelled louder than usual, "I'm sick of looking at you pathetic, stupid creatures!"
The Goblin King stormed out the door, hitting several of his subjects on the way out. The goblins, used to the abuse, just got up and carried on with what they'd been doing, the boot polishing goblin clutching his hurting side.
Sarah danced around her room, surrounded by her new friends and other creatures she'd met in the Underground. She was having a wonderful time celebrating her victory over the Labyrinth, completely oblivious to the owl outside her window that seemed to be watching her, understanding every word she spoke and every move she made.
What she didn't know was that that one owl was the most powerful creature she'd ever faced, defeated and rejected. And he was a sore loser.