Chapter 3

What to do, what to do?

Jareth paced the floor of the now empty Throne room. He stopped to contemplate his next move – this was like a carefully planned game of chess that he couldn't afford to lose.

Not that he had anyone to play chess with anyway. A few ill-advised attempts to play with the Goblins had only led him to a quicker victory than usual.

He had to go get the girl soon, but for the first time in his long life, he was unsure of what he would say. He always acted with a suitably regal confidence but he knew, somehow, that it would be different this time. This one wasn't a petty teenager who'd read one too many fairytales and was looking for an easy way out. This one was cold, calculating…this one had thought this through. And she'd done it anyway.

The baby had been taken already. He had a special group of his most trustworthy subjects to do that. But he knew that it wasn't until those tiny seeds of doubt crept into Abby's mind that he could go to her… but what was unnerving him was the fact that he couldn't sense anything there. At all. No doubt, just a steely determination.

The people who made the wishes… but there was always doubt! And there was certainly never happiness – maybe briefly, but so, so briefly; those thoughts were always overcome by a profound sense of regret. Rarely, and very rarely, they would try their hand at the Labyrinth in an attempt to make up for their decision. They never came out again.

Well, of course, except that one… but that was once, and it would stay once.

But this time there was happiness. He pushed harder to find the root of the happiness – as soon as a wish was made, there was a link between him and the wisher; no matter the distance. No, there wasn't direct happiness – but a suppressed joy. She was happy, but there were so many things going on in her life that the happiness could barely break through the sadness. It lay on top of it, pressing it down, suppressing it with its weight.

And she was trying so hard. As the joy began to break free, she began to cry out. He could hear it like an echo in his ears. But her voice was unaccustomed to cries like that, and the wails soon stopped.

His reach into her subconscious didn't reach far enough to realise that at that moment, Abby had felt embarrassed. To her it was almost like there was always something watching, judging; and so she would keep quiet. But of course that something was only herself, and her own harsh judgements.

He paced nervously. To any observer he would seem his usual self, strutting around, planning his next cruel game. But inside his mind was racing. This is unusual, he thought… very unusual. He ran a hand through his golden hair. Maybe I should just go. Maybe there'll never be doubt in her mind….maybe I'll have to put it there.

He felt the familiar squeezing sensation as he became a Snowy Owl, and he flew out of the window. He soared over his Labyrinth, taking care to look at the areas where he knew the Goblins weren't doing their jobs. He could see, even from so far up, that the goblins were taking special care this time. He could see armour being passed around and people taking their stations. He realised it wouldn't last, probably not even for the next hour, let alone 24… but he knew how first impressions counted.

That girl, Sarah…she'd seemed just like any other brat. He had been curious about her though, and maybe too lenient while she travelled through the Labyrinth, and she'd gotten too far. And when she said those words…you have no power over me…. He's found his world shattered. When he awoke, he was an owl, unable to transform back for weeks. But he'd soared over the Labyrinth, watched as the Goblins wasted away, watched as they wandered aimlessly, unsure of what to do. He went to Sarah's house, and saw her sickly-sweet reunion with that Hogwart and the rest. After 9 weeks things changed again; he pushed out against being an owl, as he had been trying to do for the time since his defeat, and finally felt the stretch back into his usual elegant human form.

After returning to the castle, he vowed he would do better next time. That would never, ever happen again.

As he soared he imagined the new girl, focused on her – he hardly noticed the orbs floating around him, ready to take him to where she was. He disappeared like a bubble, and then he was outside her window.

Within seconds he was in her room, and was human. And there she was, sat on her bed, head in hands… but even from the other side of the room, he could see something odd. He could see, spread across her face, a smile.

This will be interesting…