Jareth's POV

Chapter Three: Shock

Just a note for future reference… if you can change from Fae to owl, and decide you want to take a vacation from your Underground kingdom to the world above, it's best not to fly up there during a thunder storm. Apparently, lightening really likes to strike things that are up high and like to fly. And it doesn't matter if you're magic and immortal, electricity does not segregate when it comes to pain.

My problems started just hours before coming to Earth, back down in the Underground. Every year I take a two-month vacation from my royal responsibilities, and travel Above to relax and be among humans. Really, humans are fascinating creatures. Some are beautiful and kind, while others can be terribly ugly and wicked. It's such a wide range of personality. No one is ever sure how a human will react, until you can get a feel for them and know them. But anyway, I'm getting off track. Yes, I go Above to get a change of scenery once a year, and am gone for two months. I travel in my owl form, yet when I meet someone interesting (who is more likely than not female) I reveal myself. And my, is that fun.

On the first day of my two-month vacation, I left my most trusted in charge, Hoggle. He's surprisingly a good, stern replacement for me while I'm gone, and knows how to take direction well. As long as beautiful women being trapped in my Labyrinth aren't involved, he's trusty. But that hadn't happened in over twenty years…

No. I don't like to think about that now. It was the only time I was ever rejected by anyone. It's just one failure out of many successes. But she was the only one that mattered. Stop. Sorry about that, sometimes my heart… there's a reason I learned to numb it up twenty years ago. Forgive me. Now, where was I? Oh yes, my vacation.

I left Hoggle back in the Underground, to oversee things. I always make preparations before I go on this trip, so that things run smoothly until I get back. You know, like threatening the goblins within an inch of their life to not do anything stupid or disobey Hoggle while I'm gone. Things like that help keep the peace. Punting a few of them around the castle does wonders too.

Finally, I was out of the castle, and after saying a spell, was back Above, gliding through the night skies in my owl form. Wherever I was, it started raining, but I thought I could tough it out until I found a beautiful woman on the street to talk to.

And of course, with my luck, in less than five minutes it became a downpour. I realized I had to find shelter… NOW.

I was flying over an old neighborhood, peaceful but somewhat run down. I had to find somewhere, anywhere, to wait until the storm passed. Even an oversized birdhouse would be fine. But circumstance would have things work out differently for me.

Suddenly, as I was flying, I saw a flash of white light, and felt a shattering jolt through out my body. The sound of thunder crashing filled my head and shook my very being violently, and I came crashing from the sky. Here I am, Jareth the Goblin King, one of the masters of the Fae, being thrown down by a bolt of freak'in lightening—in the Above of all places. Again, I remind you that I don't always have the best of luck.

I don't remember what happened next, only that my body crashed to the ground, and then there was darkness.

I was out of it for a while, I think, for when I woke up, I had no idea where I was, or how I had gotten there. I was lying on a mattress, with blankets wrapped around me, in a small room that was completely concrete, walls and floor. I saw three boxes full of clothing, and two large containers of books. I knew I was still in my owl form, since everything seemed so much bigger, and I tried to will myself to change back into my Fae form.

And nothing happened.

I tried again, trying to will my magic to morph itself for me, but I felt nothing. To my horror, I realized that the magic had literally been zapped out of me by the lightening storm. This had happened one other time in my life. When I was a young Fae, I had gotten too close to some lightening bugs (yes, there are such things in my world as bugs that give off electrical energy) in the Underground. It had taken me a few weeks to recover, me regaining a little bit of my magic each day, but I had made a full recovery. Yet I was now in this strange place, and I was in my owl form. Would that make a difference?

I wiggled myself of the blankets, and looked down at the floor. It was then that I noticed someone curled up on the cold, stone floor, with only a thin sheet around them as a blanket. I studied the figure, and saw that it was a young woman, with long black hair trailing down her waist. Her body was small, with a small bit of muscle, and her face pale. She wore a tight fitting blue t-shirt, but what she wore for bottoms was covered by a blanket. Her skin looked pale, yet I couldn't see her face, since it was obstructed by her hair.

I hopped off the bed and made my way over to her. I then, with my beak, began to gently lift strands of hair off her face.

Slowly I managed to find high cheekbones, full lips, and to my shock, two black eyes and bruised cheek. What had happened to his girl? Had she gotten into a fight?

Suddenly she stirred, and opened her eyes. Seeing those eyes made me quiver. She had deep, emerald green eyes, which were full of pain and hurt. I knew, just by looking at her, that she was going through a dark time in her life. And yet, she had brought me here, given me her mattress, and obviously did not mean to hurt me. To her, I guessed I was only an owl she took from the storm.

Look, I don't know why I immediately cared about her, but I did. I suppose the idea that she would give up her bed for an owl struck a cord with me. No one had been so kind to me like that in a long time. I tried to say thank you the best I could, by nuzzling her face and then curling up in her arms. And then, to my surprise, she held me close to her and stroked my back.

And I swore, for a moment, that I could hear her softly crying.