Hello Readers!

So I've decided to post all the somewhat same chapters all together so that those who don't want to reread them don't have to (Although if you're one of those, you should probably read chapter seven or else you're going to be really confused). The next chapters to come will be posted separately and hopefully rather quickly. Thanks for your understanding and I hope you still enjoy Goblin!

~Mpenguin


Chapter Three

Dusk dissolved into the early shadows of evening when Jareth finally looked up from the book he had been reading and reluctantly decided to go back to his Study.

Placing the book down on the table in front of him, Jareth stood up from his comfortable armchair and cracked his back. It had been nice to have a day that he could do whatever he wanted without the nagging voice in his head pestering about the work that needed to get done; it had been nice to take that short nap; and it had been nice to finally finish that novel he had been in the middle of and then to finally begin another. All in all, Jareth thought with a small smile, today had been an extraordinarily good day.

That thought, however, just made the next task all the more dreadful.

Because no matter how smart Marcus said the goblin was, Jareth knew that in no circumstance would she have been able to finish all that work. It just wasn't possible: Goblins simply did not have the mental ability to finish a task in a single day. Not even Marcus, who was as close to human as Jareth had ever seen a goblin be during his reign, could accomplish a task in less than twenty-four hours. No, goblins minds were too spacey and empty for true mental labor, which could only mean that Jareth still had work to do. Sighing in defeat, Jareth then warped himself off to his much despised study.

What greeted him there, however, was so shocking, so disturbing, and so strange that Jareth had almost thought that his magic had gone amiss.

Because his study looked exactly as it did when he had left it.

The bookcases still stood against the walls with their tightly crammed books, the fireplace still had the same amount of soot, the floor and walls were still the same exact cleanliness, and the window showed absolutely no cracks or breaks.

It was the desk, however, that disturbed Jareth the most.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with it- no ink stains, no ripped papers, no bite marks, no anything. In fact, it was completely void of everything except for the one thing that made Jareth's heart nearly stop. The large tall pile of papers stood there, on the left hand side, stacked neatly and as if they hadnever been touched.

"Goblin!" Jareth shouted, "Goblin, you better still be here!"

No answer came and Jareth was besides himself, "That little menace." He snarled as he wandered over to the unfinished papers. "That little lazy pest. When I get my hands around your throat, oh, you are going to wish for the days that Marcus was the only one that-"

His eyes had just then scanned the first set of documents and suddenly Jareth found that his voice was gone. For there, right in his hands, was a entire finished document even completed with a note telling him where to sign.

Bewildered, Jareth grabbed and flipped through the rest of the stack and saw the same thing, done with a note saying 'sign here'.

"All of them, completely done" Jareth muttered to himself and in his shock blindly sat down in his chair.

Just then, the study door swung open and Jareth whip his head up to see Marcus stroll inside.

Watching the goblin halt in front of him and doing his usual greeting bow, Jareth vaguely heard Marcus say, "Can I get your finished work, sire?"

In a daze, Jareth said, "Yes. Just wait another moment. I have to sign and then you will have everything."

"All of it, Your Grace?" Marcus exclaim in disbelief, "Why, you haven't done that in decades! I'm so glad to hear that you're finally trying to do your work again, sire!"

He continued to ramble until Jareth, who hadn't been listening, cut him off with "The goblin who's the pain in the arse. How badly are you in need of her?"

"But Mommy! You promised!"

"I'm sorry...Mommy can't let you because..."

"But I wanna go! Everyone..."

"Well, you'll be able to go one day! Just not today."

"When?"

"Someday."

""You always say that!"

"If it matters so much to you, ….."

"But it's suppose to be a mommy daughter thing!"

"So? No one ever said that Dads weren't allowed."

"But …."

"….. You're being ridiculous."

"Please! ... I'll do anything! I'll do the dishes for a whole month! Please go with me!"

"…."

"But mom…."

"No, we'll go another day. I promise. Damn, now I'm going to be late! ….."

*Slam of a door

"But you never keep your promises."

Something wrenched her awake.

The goblin sat up staring wildly at the darkness that surrounded her. Panic surged in her veins along with an unbearable pain that caused her to curl up into a ball and whimper quietly to herself. Suddenly feeling wetness on her cheeks, she lifted her hand to her face and dabbed her cheeks lights. Surprised to find tears there, the goblin momentary wondered why she was crying until her sense returned to her and then she scolded herself for crying with no apparent reason. She made herself lay back down, trying to ignore the feeling that she had forgotten something.

Something important.

Something personal.

She ignored it all, closing her green eyes and falling instantly back to sleep.