Part 2: The Prophecy of the Labyrinth

"Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards." -Seren Kierkegaard

            Red clay extends as far as any eye can see. In the distance, the wind begins to blow the topsoil in every possible direction. Rising above the plateau, a single rock structure proudly faces the desolate land. Inside the castle, a dark-haired male paces back and forth as he glances out the window.

            He scowls and walks towards the opening. "With each passing year, the sand erodes more of the rock away. The glory that we enjoyed in years past is obviously far behind us."

            Behind him, a lone goblin stumbles in. "Master, what troubles you?"

            "Oh you are here. Nothing troubles me- nothing at all!"

            The goblin gives the Goblin King an appraising glance. "Nothing indeed! Of course you are troubled! Your kingdom has fallen into disrepair; most of your servants and subjects have deserted you, preferring death in the surrounding desert to continuing to serve you! Please, forgive me if I have left anything out?"

            The proud king turns on his subordinate with frustration. "You are so impudent- you dare to speak to me that way?"

            "Don't be so surprised; I have always spoken to you thus, just as I did to all who preceded you."

            "You believe that your longevity gives you authority over me?" The tall fae raises himself to his full height.

            "No, I have no authority over you, Your Highness, nor do I mean to insinuate that I do. Still, I call things as I see them- and you are troubled." Before the king could respond, the old goblin continues. "You look so much like your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. Oh I do hope that I did not leave out any greats…"

            The fae elegantly raises an eyebrow. "Alright, I am curious. How do I look like him?"

            The goblin nods eagerly. "Yes, Your Majesty. He, who as you already know built this castle, sat in that chair and pondered how to make his kingdom sustainable for the sake of those who would come after him. What he did not know was how fickle these humans can be, as his grandson found out."

            The king moves closer to his long-time confidant. "What?"

            The old goblin nods with a heavy sigh. "Yes, it is no lie. The painful truth was deliberately forgotten; those who knew were forbidden to mention it. Over the years, humans have gone through interesting phases. There have been times when they have clung to fantasy and superstition and others in which reason and logic tended to prevail. Still, they were rather primitive and such revolutions were thankfully confined to only one or two of their continents."

            The king lounges in his chair, deep in thought. "These changes in attitude undeniably affect our world in return."

            "Yes naturally, Master. The prophecy of the Labyrinth comes out of one of those dark times. In my humble opinion, it will be your son's duty to fulfill the prophecy."

            "Ahh, yes, young Jareth. As my heir, he should be here to hear this. Where has that boy gotten to anyway? He is such a bundle of mischief that one- too much like his poor mother ever was if you ask me."

            As if cued, Jareth pops in. He appears to be in his mid-teens, but he has not grown to his full height yet. Dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt that is open halfway, he wears tight black pants. From his young chest, a medium-sized pendant that proclaims his position gleams in the indirect light. He puts a young version of his trademark smirk on his face. "Greetings, father. I believe that you called me, did you not?"

            The father looks at his son to let him know that he is unamused at his son's attire. Jareth always chooses to dress exactly like his father. His blond hair came from his mother, but it is painfully obvious to see that he and his father are cut from the same cloth from their choice of clothing to their mismatched eyes to their singing abilities. "Yes, Jareth. It is appropriate that you are present at this meeting. We are discussing the prophecy of the Labyrinth."

            Jareth nods and turns to the window with a smirk, almost as if he could already see the expanse of the maze stretching out before him. "My Labyrinth," he mutters with glee.

            "Why was I cursed with such a son? You spend so much time dreaming; I am amazed that you are not human!" Jareth glares at his father with contempt. "You do not treat this responsibility with the amount of importance that it truly possesses. Jareth, your project will help to bring balance to our world and help to protect us from the changes in human attitudes! I am already at work on a plan to make sure that the enchanted words are never forgotten again."

            Jareth rolls his eyes. "Yes, I am aware of that. You sent all the goblins to that one house in hopes that the mother will wish away her little child, a worthless female." He pulls a crystal out of the air and holds it in front of his father. "Look at this babe- nothing special in her at all. I do not know why you bother. Do you enjoy wasting your time?"

            The goblin moves between them. "Young Master, do not presume too much. I believe the babe to have unseen magic. She is more than she seems, as the world within your Labyrinth shall no doubt be." He raises his eyebrows to emphasize his point. "Like her, your Labyrinth shall be more than just your creation; it will be its own world. You will be proud to say that you have tamed it, but one day your Labyrinth and you shall fall prey to a very unlikely foe. Only then will you understand the true nature of your creation and of yourself."

            Jareth laughs. "You believe her to be the babe with the power of voodoo, do you? Your brain must be full of cobwebs after all this time! You would see the babe with the power of voodoo if you looked in your shoe. You will find the child everywhere because you want to see it so badly."

            Putting his gnarled hands on his hips, the old one responds. "Forgive me for saying so, but thanks to your stubborn nature, you will choose to ignore what is true because you do not wish to see it!"

            The king shakes his head. "Enough from both of you! Jareth, I believe that he may be correct. This may be the prophesized babe. We cannot ignore the possibility simply because previous kings have sounded false alarms. We must be prepared; one day it will be real. I know that you must not be pleased with the prophecies made about you."

            Jareth's face twists in rage. "Shut up, father. You have been misinformed. I have had enough of this prophecy nonsense for one day, so forgive me if I retire now. I hope that you enjoy watching that other worthless world and trying to set that stupid prophecy in motion!" With a pop, Jareth disappears. The father and servant look at each other in exasperation.

            "Be patient, Your Majesty. You cannot really blame him for being angry, considering the circumstances."

            "Yes, the boy loves control and the prophecy promises him both that… and defeat. I would not happily embrace that prediction either. Still, he has an important role to play in the future of our world. Never again should we face this issue, not if the Labyrinth does bring balance to the magic in our world and if we can be reassured of the presence of the myth in the human world."

            The goblin glances at his master in curiosity. "Are you sure that she will agree?"

            "Which woman?"

            "The mother."

            "Linda? Of course she will. She loves her daughter very much. As the prophecy declared twice, love can be the most powerful magic of all."

            "Master, I thought that was only used once."

            "No, it was mentioned twice." He looks into a nearby mirror and realizes that the older woman is finally beginning to fall under his spell.

            Meanwhile, Linda stops bouncing Sarah on her knee and freezes. Her mouth opens to speak, but no sound comes out. With unseeing eyes, she stands up and walks to the window to secure the lock. When she realizes that the lock is still in place, she shudders and the spell is almost broken. In haste, two more orbs float to help expedite the process.

            The goblins hold their breath and wonder when she will say something. Some of them realize that she is in a trance, but others begin to fidget as their attentions spans have reached their limits. They eye the babe with longing and delight since the child now has a happy grin on her face as she trustingly looks up at her mother.

            Linda opens the window regardless of the pouring rain and sits upon the sill. Without blinking, her voice cracks as words that are not her own fill her mind. Another power tries to manipulate her and gives her a very convincing argument. Pictures of her career on hold flash through her mind and the power tries to get her to hate her daughter. She speaks, "I wish… I wish that… I wish that I had not gotten pregnant."

            The goblins shake their heads. "That's not right. Why can't they ever get it right the first time? Come on, lass, say the right words- just say the words and we will set you free! Just say that I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now."

            Sarah blinks and gently puts her hand on her mother's cheek as she tries to get her mother's attention, but Linda is preoccupied. With a burst of hideous insight and cruelty that she never knew that she possessed, Linda holds Sarah out into the night for the world to see and obediently begins speaking the words of the spell. "I wish that the goblins would come and take you away… right now!"

That's all for now, everyone. Part 3: Make a deal shall be up soon! Please review everyone!