February 22, 2006: Some time ago, I received a comment about how I refer to Jareth as a snowy owl when he is in fact a barn owl. I would just like to clarify that in my story, 'snowy' refers to color, not breed. I didn't even know there was a breed called snowy owl or I may have used a different descriptive term there.
Author's Note: Churned this out in about a week. I said no more stories after I finish my current ones, but sometimes the idea strikes and there's nothing to be done for it but to write it out. This story was inspired by Nene Thomas's "Queen of Owls" painting. If you want a good idea of what the White Queen looks like, check it out on her website It's also inspired by the fact that I got really tired of stories where either J/S are a happy normal-ish couple or else Jareth is too proud and Sarah is too stubborn and there are buckets of angst.
Chapter One: The Legend of the White Queen
Underground. The
Castle Beyond the Goblin City.
Three days after the
fall of the Goblin King.
There was a party in the throne room, and every goblin in the realm was there. Goblins meshed together in the pits, goblins climbing the walls, goblins tumbling over each other's smelly, dirty bodies, for there were chickens to be chased and plucked, beers to be gulped and belched, and thrones to be piddled on. And there was no one, absolutely no one, to stop them.
The Goblin King was dead.
The celebrating began a mere thirteen hours after the ruler's demise. The goblins showed no remorse; they weren't capable of it. It was just not in their nature to feel anything beyond base emotion. They were very simple creatures and happy as such.
And so, being as such, not one of them expected, considered, or even anticipated the slight turn of events that was about to occur.
The sound was soft at first. So soft, in fact, that the goblins nearest the throne dismissed the noise as a mouse or rat that had slipped into the walls. But soon they were cocking their heads curiously and shushing their neighbors. And slowly, the sound grew into a steady, staccato rapping.
Tap...tap...tap...
The murmur of the goblin hoard fell away as all present, no matter how drunken or distracted, picked up on the gentle crescendo of approaching footsteps.
Those nearest the throne began to draw back as a translucent figure appeared behind the throne, walking forward as if out of the darkness and becoming more solid and real with each step into the light. A wave of power preceded the figure, dissolving filth and sweeping everything else away like dry leaves. The goblins pushed against each other in their fear to escape a room that suddenly seemed to have no exit. The being continued forward with a measured, stately grace, its features becoming more refined with each step, as though it drew strength from the fear that radiated through the room.
At last, she (for the being was most definitely female) passed through the throne itself, the layered white satin of her gown making not a whisper, and hovered at the lip of the pit as the goblins held their collective breath. A hint of a smile played across her face and then she sat serenely, and obviously real, on the great stone seat of the ruler.
The goblins breathed as one and a little one near the front tittered nervously. The woman's gaze flickered across him momentarily and then he was flung, head over heels, across the room and out the window. As they listened with wide, horrified eyes, his echoing wail was cut off with a thunk. A weak moan revealed to them that he yet lived, but whether that was by accident or design...
Tap.
One click of the woman's toe against the hard floor brought every eye to her with rapt, terrified attention. The smile whispered across her features again, and then she began to speak. And she continued on relentlessly, even when every creature in the room had fallen to its knees before her, even when some were lying prostrate on the floor and trembling.
Thus began the reign of the White Queen.
Aboveground.
Sarah's room.
One day after the
fall of the Goblin King.
Sarah's hands trembled. She clasped them tightly together on her lap, but that did nothing to stop the butterflies in her stomach. Her three friends were arrayed before her.
"All of it?" she whispered, trying to come to grips with what they had just told her.
"Every last scrap," Hoggle nodded. "I'd be surprised if Jareth has enough power left to keep a human mind inside that owl's body."
Sarah's breath exploded from her lungs in an astonished rush.
"Tis true, my lady! What once was the king's now belongs to thee. That is, his magic as well as the entire kingdom!" Didymus was pleased as anything at the heights his friend had risen to.
Sarah stared back and forth between him and the dwarf, at a complete loss. She turned to Ludo, who was eyeing her with curiosity and concern.
"Sawah…fwiend?" he queried and she couldn't help but smile. At least in one person's eyes, nothing had changed.
"Of course!" She embraced the beast. "I will always be your friend." Hoggle and Didymus exchanged glances.
"But not," Hoggle ventured, "our...queen?" He said the word haltingly, as if testing a foreign fruit.
Sarah shook her head. "I can't just pick up and leave. I just got Toby back! I want to get to know him now, to be a real sister." Her throat tightened with emotion. "I've already wasted so much time...he needs me."
"But Sarah, we needs you too!" he protested. "Nobody else can run things now. Nobody!"
Didymus nodded. "That is the way the magic works, my lady. It is thy duty!"
She frowned at them. "I don't even know the first thing about running a kingdom, much less a magical one..."
A loud crash interrupted her and the trio spun to see Ludo with his head poking out the window. Broken glass was everywhere, yet the beast was luvkily unharmed. Even as Sarah pulled him away from the jagged opening, he continued to stare fixedly outside. She glanced curiously, almost lazily, out into the night...and then she saw it.
Boldly perched on the tree branch right outside her bedroom window, a snowy owl.
She started to back away, and then she remembered. A slow smile slid across her face as she peered into the darkness. "What are you doing here?" she all but sneered. "You don't have any power over anything, much less me, anymore!"
The owl hooted a soft warning.
"Sarah, wait! He can help you!" Hoggle interrupted. The dwarf hurried to her side, though he still glared suspiciously at the owl.
"Reeaaally?" Sarah drawled. "And why would he do that?" Didymus joined them at the window, clambering up on Ludo's shoulders for a better view.
"Because..." The owl gave a sharp screech and Hoggle flinched.
"Because..." Didymus began, and the owl drew itself up on the branch, flapping its wings alarmingly. Confused, Sarah took a step back, but Didymus continued bravely. "Because, my lady, he doth love thee."
The owl subsided immediately and turned its back on the observers. Sarah gaped at Didymus, and then turned speculative dark eyes on the sulking bird. "Of course," she whispered. "But what no one knew was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl..."
Her friend watched with hope as she determinedly faced them.
"Okay, I'll do it. But here's how it will be done..."
Underground. The
Labyrinth.
Six months after the
fall of the Goblin King.
The realm was divided into three provinces. Those within the great stone walls of the Labyrinth were in Lord Hoggle's jurisdiction. The dark forest and all of its inhabitants looked to Lord Ludo. And the Goblin City fell under the rule of Lord Didymus (who still preferred to be called Sir).
The castle was off limits to all but the three lords and the White Queen herself. No one ever saw the queen enter or leave the castle and no spying on windows or gardens revealed her presence. But always when a problem arose, she arrived like a whisper on the wind.
She always wore the same white satin dress, accented with black lace and ribbons. Her long dark hair always flowed freely down her back and her large, beautiful butterfly wings were never tangled or hindered by it, and there was almost always a delicate butterfly fluttering somewhere on her pale skin. She always wore the same mask, a mixture of feathers and white rose petals, which concealed her eyes as well as her identity.
And there was always, always a snowy owl hovering over her shoulder.
