Chapter 1: Why the Goblin Princess Had to Learn Her Lessons
Morighana's father was the King of the Underground and the mighty Labyrinth that surrounded it. His castle stood in the very center of the Labyrinth just beyond the Goblin City and that was where she was sent to live when she was a newborn. The Goblin King was not her biological father, but was her uncle. Jareth's brother, Robin, and his wife, Annalise, ruled the vile kingdom of the Seven Towers and were determined to have an heir that they could raise to be as evil as they and ensure that tyranny would reign forever in the Seven Towers. But only a boy would do. Morighana was not a boy, but a girl, and her parents wanted nothing to do with her. She was only a few hours old when Robin and Annalise prepared to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Literally. They were about to do the murderous deed when Jareth, still a Goblin prince at the time, showed up on their door step wishing to see his neice.
Annalise was giving him a sob story about the child being stillborn, when cold and hungry Morighana began to cry. Jareth confronted his brother and the truth was revealed. The Goblin prince asked if they cared if he took the child with him and raised her as his own. Normal parents would have questioned the Prince's motives for wanting the infant. But they said take her, don't bring her back or we will see to it that she dies.
Jareth agreed, the necessary papers were signed, and within an hour he was a father.
Morighana grew up to be just like her "papa", wicked and arrogant, cunning and deceitful, and many other less than flattering things. At the time of these particular events that will follow occurred, she was about ten years old in Labyrinthian years. Because time in Sominus is much slower than Earth time, she was still little more than a baby. She was very pretty with a round baby's face and inky black ringlets that hung wild and free. She had peculiar eyes, aside from the odd color that swept upward from the corner of her eyes toward her thin black eyebrows as everyone in the Underground had. Her eyes were like a ring made of black pearls set in gold.
Morighana was being frightfully bad one day, so bad that even the goblins would not play with her. Jareth was busy crashing a ball in the Crystal Kingdom and so she had no one to entertain her. She wandered the streets of the Goblin City being horrid to anyone she met. Finally, one wizened old goblin who sitting oustide on his porch invited the princess to sit with him. Morighana refrained from being mean to him, for she was lonely and had nothing to lose by humoring the goblin. She listened to him prattle on about the Underground and Labyrinth and she soon grew bored and left.
That night at dinner, Morighana asked Jareth about the old goblin's fairy stories, and the Goblin King nearly choked on his drink.
"Those are hardly stories," he said dabbing at his mouth with the linen napkin. "He was giving you a history lesson."
He looked at her oddly then frowned and asked, "You've never heard of the Reign of Good Goverance?"
She shook her head, curls flying, and continued eating not caring one bit about the Reign of whatever.
Jareth seemed distrubed by this and as he tucked her into bed later on in the evening, he told her that, beginning in the morning, she would be going to learn her lessons.
"A princess must know about her subjects and kingdom if she is to be able to rule," he answered when she cried why must she go to school.
He kissed her nose and said good-night.
Morighana stewed in the dark hating her lessons already, though she had idea just what was in store for her.
Morighana's father was the King of the Underground and the mighty Labyrinth that surrounded it. His castle stood in the very center of the Labyrinth just beyond the Goblin City and that was where she was sent to live when she was a newborn. The Goblin King was not her biological father, but was her uncle. Jareth's brother, Robin, and his wife, Annalise, ruled the vile kingdom of the Seven Towers and were determined to have an heir that they could raise to be as evil as they and ensure that tyranny would reign forever in the Seven Towers. But only a boy would do. Morighana was not a boy, but a girl, and her parents wanted nothing to do with her. She was only a few hours old when Robin and Annalise prepared to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Literally. They were about to do the murderous deed when Jareth, still a Goblin prince at the time, showed up on their door step wishing to see his neice.
Annalise was giving him a sob story about the child being stillborn, when cold and hungry Morighana began to cry. Jareth confronted his brother and the truth was revealed. The Goblin prince asked if they cared if he took the child with him and raised her as his own. Normal parents would have questioned the Prince's motives for wanting the infant. But they said take her, don't bring her back or we will see to it that she dies.
Jareth agreed, the necessary papers were signed, and within an hour he was a father.
Morighana grew up to be just like her "papa", wicked and arrogant, cunning and deceitful, and many other less than flattering things. At the time of these particular events that will follow occurred, she was about ten years old in Labyrinthian years. Because time in Sominus is much slower than Earth time, she was still little more than a baby. She was very pretty with a round baby's face and inky black ringlets that hung wild and free. She had peculiar eyes, aside from the odd color that swept upward from the corner of her eyes toward her thin black eyebrows as everyone in the Underground had. Her eyes were like a ring made of black pearls set in gold.
Morighana was being frightfully bad one day, so bad that even the goblins would not play with her. Jareth was busy crashing a ball in the Crystal Kingdom and so she had no one to entertain her. She wandered the streets of the Goblin City being horrid to anyone she met. Finally, one wizened old goblin who sitting oustide on his porch invited the princess to sit with him. Morighana refrained from being mean to him, for she was lonely and had nothing to lose by humoring the goblin. She listened to him prattle on about the Underground and Labyrinth and she soon grew bored and left.
That night at dinner, Morighana asked Jareth about the old goblin's fairy stories, and the Goblin King nearly choked on his drink.
"Those are hardly stories," he said dabbing at his mouth with the linen napkin. "He was giving you a history lesson."
He looked at her oddly then frowned and asked, "You've never heard of the Reign of Good Goverance?"
She shook her head, curls flying, and continued eating not caring one bit about the Reign of whatever.
Jareth seemed distrubed by this and as he tucked her into bed later on in the evening, he told her that, beginning in the morning, she would be going to learn her lessons.
"A princess must know about her subjects and kingdom if she is to be able to rule," he answered when she cried why must she go to school.
He kissed her nose and said good-night.
Morighana stewed in the dark hating her lessons already, though she had idea just what was in store for her.