Chapter Two
Meeting The King


She had closed the door, walked back down the hall and had started to climb the stairs when she realised something was terribly wrong. So back the way she came Emily went, fighting down her 'unnecessary fears'. She opened the door to Leila's room once more and fumbled for the switch.
"Leila?" She called out into the silence and the dark.
But she knew, without knowing how she knew, that Leila was not there.
"Leila, say something!"
Emily winced at the words as soon as they left her mouth. Leila was too young to talk!
Click!
Went the light switch but it seemed the bulb had blown for no light other than that from the open window blessed the room. Wait… open window?!

Nervously Emily slipped inside. She felt her skin crawl as sounds of movement and soft mutterings reached her ears. She tried to dismiss them as mere figments of her imagination, but it was almost impossible to do so.
"Well, well, well." A voice as smooth as glass said behind her, causing her to jump in surprise. "What do we have here?"
Emily turned around so fast she almost fell over and the owner of the voice had to steady her. When her stormy gave met their mix matched one she froze. He was almost exactly like her mother had described.
"Y-You can't…!" Emily stammered. "Y-You're not…!"
"I can't what, my dear?" The Goblin King said casually, an evil little smirk forming on his face.
"Y-You can't…."
"Yes? Yes?"
"You can't be here! You're not real!"

Jareth beamed with delight, as though those were exactly the words he had wanted to hear.
"Not real you say? Well, how is it I am here in your sisters nursery and the child you wished away is not, if I am not real?"
"Leila…" Emily whispered before suddenly seeming to find her voice. "Give her back!"
"Oho- So you suddenly believe in my existence, do you?"
Emily heard snickering and glanced around the room, finding no course to the sound.
"Give her back, Goblin King! Leila doesn't belong to you!"
"Oh, but she does. Don't you remember? You clearly said 'I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now' and we have." Jareth said, smirking at the young human.
"I… I didn't mean it!" Emily exclaimed as though desperate to have him believe her. "Please… just give her back!"
"It's too late, my dear girl. What's done is done. Your Leila is now… mine."
There was more soft snickering and Emily once again glanced around.
"What do I have to do to get her back?!" Emily demanded.
"So naïve." Jareth said with a smirk and a shake of his head. "Naïve, just like your mother."
"My mother?"

In a second Emily found herself standing on a lone hill. She looked out to see an odd maze- no! A labyrinth and in it's center was a castle. She frowned; it couldn't possibly-!
"Yes." Jareth said, that smirk seeming to be glued upon his face. "This is my labyrinth. My kingdom. If you wish to save your sister you must solve my labyrinth in thirteen hours."
"I have to solve that in thirteen hours?! That's not enough time! It's not fair!"
"Not fair?" He repeated, the tone in his voice sending a shiver down Emily's spine. "Not fair?"
But to her surprise he softly chuckled. Emily watched him, her head tilted slightly in her confusion.
"Yes my dear, you truly are your mother's daughter. She said the exact same thing when she was too tested against my labyrinth. 'It's not fair'."
"What do you-?"
The Goblin King grinned and moves in closer, until he was so close his lips gently brushed against her ear as he whispered,
"Your mother wished away her brother too, once. He was quite a lively chap as I recall."
Emily grinned in triumph, remembering how she and Uncle Toby had pretty much grown up together, her uncle being only three years older than she.

"And she saved him." Emily said happily. "She beat your Labyrinth and so will I!"
Jareth pulled away, a frown upon his face, which disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. Clearly I had not been the desired reaction.
"She was the only one to do so. Remember, my dear, thirteen hours."
"Piece of cake!"
The smirk returned to Jareth's face.

"We'll see."


Authors Notes: And now, ladies and gentlemen, with all the boring beginning stuff out of the way the real advneture can begin! Thank you for those who have expressed interest in The Riddle of Truth - I'll try to stop being so lazy and get these up regularly. Don't forget to review - constructive critisism is a great motivational tool!